What’s good in life?
Spending time with a good friend I haven’t seen in a long time.
Time with Wife and Kiddos.
Lord, life is good.
Author: hsoi
More CHL Tips
Bob S. writes a good article for CHL newbies. He passes along some tips he acquired from his own experience.
- Buy the firearm you are going to carry before you get your license.
- Buy a cheap holster or two.
- Carry around the house and yard for a while before venturing out in public.
- Practice drawing from your choice of concealment.
You MUST go to his site and read his explanations, especially on point 2. The rest of this won’t make sense if you don’t first read what he wrote. I’d like to expand upon what he wrote and add a few more things.
1. Please do that. Before you get your CHL you should have proficiency with a handgun. In fact, it’d be ideal to take the test with the gun you’re going to carry. However, this is a bit of a mixed situation. Before you get your CHL you’re not carrying a gun anywhere. After you get your CHL you’re going to be carrying a gun all the time (right?). There are issues, such as carrying ergonomics, that are difficult to fully appreciate until you actually carry. Plus, you may have some incorrect notions before you carry. For instance, you may think you need the smallest gun possible, but I know lots of people that carry full-sized 5″ barrel handguns every day with no concealment problems. Or you might start out with a large gun and realize that for your daily carry situations that a large gun just isn’t going to work out. So while yes it’d be ideal to obtain your carry firearm before getting the CHL, it may not work out. One thing to always keep in mind is if the gun you have doesn’t work out, you can always sell it and buy something else. Or keep it and buy something else. The thing to realize is this is your life that you’re working to protect: don’t compromise. If what you have doesn’t work, if after carrying you realize things aren’t quite right, don’t let ego get in the way: change your carry setup.
The above goes in hand with point 2, because you do need to figure out how holsters work and what the right method of carry will be. And if it doesn’t work out, change up. I’ll say that right now I’m going through another refinement of how I carry. Minor tweaks in my holster setting (rising it up one notch) and my clothing. It just takes time to figure these things out and you just have to do it every day. Don’t be afraid to throw something away that isn’t working and seek a better solution. Once you believe you have a solution, don’t skimp on equipment. Again, this is your life on the line, value it accordingly and don’t compromise. Have good equipment that won’t fail you.
On point 3 well… if your experience was anything like mine it took many months for DPS to process the CHL application and return the license. During that time you can and should wear the holstered gun around the house. When you go out, wear the empty holster. Get used to the feeling of it all. Also get used to the feeling that “everyone can see I have a gun, everyone knows I’m carrying”. Actually no, the world around you will be oblivious. In fact something of a de facto tradition is the day you get your CHL to do a “Wally Walk“. The end result of the Wally Walk generally is a let down because… nothing happened, which is precisely the point. The other advantage, like Bob S. says, is by wearing around the house you can start to figure out issues like going to the bathroom, if your wardrobe works, and that you need to squat down and not bend over to pick things up off the floor.
On point 4, the best thing I can say here is to get proper training. But Bob S. and I have had these discussions before. 🙂
One thing that’s great about a CHL is it opens up a wide door of training opportunities. Most firearms schools will teach their intro/basic/beginner courses to anyone, because that’s how it goes. However if you want to get into their higher level courses you must demonstrate good character. A CHL is often the ticket to these higher level classes because it shows you’ve been through a background check and have other factors on your side to say that, compared to most of the public, you are a proven good egg. Take advantage of this fact. Seek and obtain all the training you can, not just in marksmanship but in tactics and mindset. Use of the gun is a last resort, so anything and everything you can do to improve your odds of never having to use it, all the better.
Some additional random things:
- Don’t skimp on equipment.
- Buy a good belt. If you’re going to carry via a hip-based method, buy a good proper gun belt. It will better support the weight and stressed placed upon your waist.
- Don’t be afraid to change things up. Carrying is a lifestyle change, so if you have to change your waredrobe, colors and clothing patterns, how you do things in a day, places you go (or now won’t go)… you cannot be afraid to do that. All a matter of what you find more important.
- Button-fly jeans don’t work out very well, guys.
- Speaking of the bathroom, if you just have to pee it’s OK to use the stalls if that provides you with more coverage. On the same token, you can come up with good technique that works that urinals.
- Of course, when you have to sit down in a public stall, that has other issues and I’ve yet to discover a single workable solution. You have to discover what works for you…. which could also include never being in a position to have to sit down in a stall.
- You will have lots of fantasies about heroics. It’s natural. Work to channel that energy into productive and realistic ends by seeking out training, especially mental and tactical training. Remember, the only reason you should draw your gun is if you or a loved one’s life is in grave danger.
- Make it a part of your daily life. Yes, it’s going to be weird and uncomfortable at first. Just keep wearing it all day every day. Make strapping on the gun as mundane as putting on your pants. Eventually it will be weirder to not have the gun on your hip.
- Once the gun is in the holster, leave it there. Don’t mess with it, don’t draw it, don’t fiddle with it. Just leave it alone.
All I’ve got for now.
Duct Tape Robber
So you’re a criminal. You want to rob a liquor store. You don’t have a mask. What do you use?
MacGyver would be so proud. You must click to see the picture; it’s priceles.
Of course, Duct Tape Man was foiled in his attempt because people didn’t put up with his shenanigans.
Notice, though, that when the public is armed and empowered, that criminals don’t stand a chance. I believe that we as martial artists should be the vanguard of an armed populace ready to defend society.
One can debate if it’s our job and duty to defend society, but as Heinlein wrote, “an armed society is a polite society.”
History Lesson: how color came to computers
Cool video of Steve Wozniak telling how he brought color to computing:
To market to market
As soon as the local Cabela’s opened I was there, to take advantage of this weekend’s 10% off sale for NRA members.
Yes, so many things I wanted to buy, especially a new firearm. But I promised Wife I wouldn’t and I kept that promise.
In fact, I promised I’d only buy needed things. Things that I need to buy anyways but might as well buy now when I can get it a bit cheaper.
Bought lots more bullets for reloading. Bought a couple dry boxes. A couple more XD magazines. And just various and sundry things that I’d pick up normally. Thinking ahead towards future classes.
In terms of the store supply. Shelves were pretty full and in decent stock. I did notice 9mm bullets for reloading were fairly cleaned out, save for the Berry’s (which was fine with me). Most ammo supplies were pretty good. I was able to pick up a couple boxes of Federal P223S as well, which makes me happy. I’m going to settle on using that factory load and see where it gets me (and get back to figuring out my .223 handload at a later date).
Meantime, I need to get myself to the reloading bench, then to the range.
Teaching knots
I’m working on an effort where every day I teach my kids something useful. Doesn’t really matter the topic, just a little something every day.
I only just started a few days ago and so far we covered things like stopping bleeding, RICE, different hammers and how to use them, and today we started on knots. I’ll probably stick with the knot thing for a while, because hey… I like knots. All that Boy Scouts growing up.
I wanted to share an excellent website that teaches knots, called Animated Knots by Grog. Covers all your major knots from things like rescue knots, household knots (including tying a tie), Scouting knots, fishing knots, whipping and coiling, and even fun stuff like the monkey fist. Yes, we’re going to tie one of those eventually.
Earned a new certification
I passed the test, so I’m certified. Paperwork just has to be processed by HQ.
It’d be nice to obtain certification for their Personal Protection Outside the Home course, but it’s rather a cumbersome course to obtain certification in (number of hours required). It’s mostly a logistical matter, and hopefully they can be worked out.
Multiple attackers? Yes, you could survive!
In all the self-defense work I’ve been exposed to, the general feeling is if you’re dealing with more attackers than you have defenders (even as simple as 2 on 1), forget it. You will be overwhlemed, you’ll end up on the ground with them applying their boots to your head. The best defense for multiple attackers is to never get involved in the first place and a heavy dose of Nike-Fu (i.e. run), else you’re fucked. That’s the “common wisdom” of the matter.
Of course, it’s not always as simple as that, because you could have something that affects the force disparity, such as having a weapon like a big stick or a gun. But there’s just not enough groups out there that teach combining empty-hand combatives with firearms. Thankfully there is one such trainer that accepts this, Tony Blauer. His chief trainer, Tony Torres writes an article about dealing with multiple attackers which is well worth the read.
Yes, the reality of the situation is certainly not in your favor, but that doesn’t mean it’s a dead done deal against you as the conventional wisdom asserts. In fact, reading Tony’s article made me realize that we’re inconsistent in how we talk about surviving self-defense encounters. We talk so much about fight mentality and going into the fight with the attitude that you’re not going to lose, that you’re going to come out of this. But what do we do the instant someone talks about multiple attackers? We admit defeat. If our training is always admitting defeat, then that’s all we’ll ever have because we’ll be conditioned from the get-go that we’re screwed and in a no-win situation. Yes we should admit the reality of the situation, but then use that to find the positive and gear towards success.
For instance, I loved this bit in the article:
First Reframe: Addition
This starts as a psychological mobilizer. The additional opponents have now provided you with additional targets to hit!That’s right, by using the BTS principle of Closest Weapon Closest Target (CWCT), the presence of more than one opponent just adds more targets for your tools to collide with. Capitalizing on this reframe will help you implement the next one.
That’s a great way to look at it! Instead of thinking more opponents means an exponential rise in your chances of demise, instead more opponents means more targets to hit! Win!
Reading this article was an eye-opener for me. It did make me realize that we don’t address the topic of multiple attackers in a proper way. We’re defeatist, we should be aiming for success. Yes the training must accept reality, but give Tony’s article a read because it accepts the reality but frames it in a positive way and provides tools that could lead towards success. Read the article!
The Fight to Save America
Ben Stein writes on the Fight to Save America:
I wonder just how much today’s leaders of this great country realize the exceptionalism of this nation. In the Marxist history departments of today’s universities, they don’t teach that we are exceptional. We are just another racist, money-grubbing country. We are just war mongers and exploiters like everyone else, say these people with their tenure and their hybrid cars.
Nonsense, say I. There is only one America where a man like Barack Obama, out of nowhere, with no family background of connections or power, could come to be president.
There is no other country that takes in the wretched of the earth and in two generations — in one generation — raises them to the ranks of the mighty. If America is murdered by the Muslim terrorists and the environmentalist dictators and the atheists who want to take God out of our lives, there is no other place for freedom to have its citadel. There will be just unending darkness across the earth.
I hope Mr. Obama knows this. I hope Nancy Pelosi knows this. I hope you know this. We are in a fight now to save America, and winning this fight is more important than political correctness or trying to forecast the weather a hundred years from now. We are in a fight to save the America that has given so many of us lives we could not have imagined. We simply cannot lose.
I am there
On tour together during March 2010.
I will be there.
Megadeth is headlining. 20th anniversary of “Rust In Peace” and they’ll be playing the whole album. Awesome. I must admit to not being the biggest Megadeth fan because far too often when Dave Mustaine opens his mouth it just makes me want to smack him… either because he’s saying something stupid or because his “singing” voice is rather whiney. Nevertheless, Megadeth’s place in metal history cannot be denied, they’ve got a lot of great songs, and I actually look forward to the show. “Rust In Peace” is a fantastic album. In fact, the new album, “United Abominations” is really good; that new guitarist is amazing.
I’d say if there was any band on the bill that I truly wanted to see, it’s Testament. I’ve seen then a couple times in recent years and they’ve been solid. I think I’ve become a bigger Testament fan these days than I ever have been before (since the “Practice” days). Just solid and bone-crushing thrash.
Exodus. Meh. I mean, I love “Fabulous Disaster” and some of their other stuff. No question they put out some good heavy thrash. But I’ve just never been into them. Don’t hate ’em, don’t love ’em, just indifferent. But I still expect they’ll crush for the 30 minutes or so they are on stage.
Should be on hell of a show. Why don’t you have your ticket yet?
