I was going to going to do it, but Linoge beat me to it.
Guns
Industry response
In response to Mexico wanting to sue gun makers (see: “Oh yeah… it’s their fault“), the firearms industry responds.
To buy, or not to buy
I’ve got an itch to buy a new gun.
Why?
Because.
The question is… what?
Shotgun? No. What I have suits me fine. If I wanted anything in this realm, I’d want something with a short barrel, but that means a lot of tax stamps and paperwork, which I’m not in the mood for right now. Tho of course, that could be somewhat mitigated by a Kel-Tec KSG. But good luck getting one any time soon.
Rifle? No. I mean sure… building an AR would be fun. Yeah, tweaking my 6.8 AR would be useful. I’ve been tossing around some ideas for new optics but then I pull back because while yes there are better optics out there than what I have, for what I do the optics are more than sufficient. Yes the other days I started my yen again for that Savage 10FCM Scout, but I’m not dying for it. Of course, I’ve also always had a yen for the Kel-Tec RFB.
Handgun? Yes… this is where I’m really feeling it. But then, I’m not surprised as I’m mostly a handgun guy. That Kel-Tec PMR-30 is interesting to me… not sure if I’d want to buy one, but they’re not too expensive. I’m sure they’re a lot of fun, and I can’t help but be curious about them as a self-defense gun for some people (especially now that Speer is making Gold Dot .22 WMR). I did want to buy a 1911 this year; it’s one gun I don’t have but should have just because of what it is. If I bought, I’m pretty sure as a first I’d buy an STI Spartan. But I’m having second thoughts because I really only want one because I feel I should have one in my collection — it’s a 1911, and that’s all the reason why. But I’m not feeling that’s good enough a reason because it would be a total safe queen for me, or at best a teaching aid. Not a bad reason, but it gives me pause. Ever since the Chiappa Rhino was introduced, it intrigued me. A way to have a carry snub, that could perhaps make .357 Mag in a carry snub a viable option?? And talk about a teaching aid… I know that would be a huge hit at KR Training Basic Pistol 1 classes and probably any other class I brought it to. If it panned out to be solid and reliable, I certainly could see carrying it… and that nudges it up the “good waste of money” ladder.
Some of the local guys are toying around with the Smith & Wesson M&P more. Back when I was choosing a carry gun it came down to the Springfield XD or the Smith & Wesson M&P. The only reason I didn’t go with the M&P was because at the time it was brand new and who knew if it’d be solid or another S&W Sigma stinker. Well, turns out it’s one hell of a gun. I shoot well with it, there are a lot of good things about it… and so perhaps if I did buy something new, this would be the way to go. The thing to consider here is the cost isn’t just for a gun, but Apex trigger parts, a couple of IWB holsters, mag holster, lots of magazines (which apparently are pretty scarce right now), sending the slide to Dawson for sights… that jacks up the cost substantially.
Then there’s a part of me that says to be responsible and use that money on other things… like maybe putting Dawson Precision Charger sights on my carry guns, buying lots of springs and replacing every spring I have in guns and magazines. Or just not spending the money at all. But there’s no fun in that. 🙂
Wife is probably reading this… and probably thinking the “not spending it at all” is the right option. 😉
Are you thinking about any sort of purchase?
Oh yeah… it’s their fault.
Mexico wants to sue US gun manufacturers for all the guns flowing into Mexico.
You know… if you really want someone to sue over letting guns flow into Mexico, how about suing BAFTE? Apparently they just sat around and let it happen. I don’t think Ruger or Remington was quite so involved….
Richard Feldman, President of the Independent Firearms Association and former gun industry association executive said: “Maybe we should be suing the Mexican government for their failure to prevent drugs from coming into our country.”
Indeed. Or perhaps better, why don’t we end this “war on drugs” because if there was ever a time to label something “EPIC FAIL”, THIS.
Second thoughts
There’s always been something about the Scout Rifle concept that’s always struck a harmonious chord with me.
I’ve got an M1A Scout Squad and I love it. I’d love it a lot more if it wasn’t so heavy; which really isn’t too big a problem for me but… read on.
I have a Savage bolt-action rifle in .308 Winchester, and it’s been my go-to hunting rifle putting more meat on the table than anything else. It’s a solid performer. I have no qualms about buying another Savage, and their 10 FCM Scout of course has much appeal to me. Not sure how well it’d really hold up if it was put through a rigorous weekend of rifle training, but being a somewhat light and handy hunting rifle? More than adequate.
And when Ruger announced their Gunsite Scout Rifle well…. I groaned. Part of the price tag is of course the Gunsite logo, which adds nothing but money to their pockets, which is alright, but I’d rather be getting more gun than branding/marketing. I didn’t want to like it. But this month’s American Rifleman features the rifle and it’s made me look at it again. I think the reason I reconsider it? How well could my kids handle it? I saw how Oldest handled the Savage when he took his first hog, but if not for being able to fully rest it on the sill of the blind’s window, he wouldn’t have been able to hold it out there (just too long, too unbalanced for his size/frame). But the Ruger? Hrm.
Yes I know… the whole reason I bought the 6.8 was for the kids. 🙂 But go with me… I’m trying to find excuses. 😉
I’m not saying it’s good, I’m not saying it’s bad. I’m saying I’d love to get my hands on one to give it a fair shake.
Shooting tips from Julie Golob
A short but great article by Julie Golob on how to shoot a pistol better.
This part stood out to me:
Q: What about your grip?
A: I like to get a high grip on the gun, gripping as strongly as I can with my strong hand, but not so much that my hand shakes. I also cant the wrist of my support hand down so that my thumb is pointing straight down range. I wrap my support hand fingers around my strong hand, with the fingers overlapping. My support hand thumb fits under my strong hand thumb like a puzzle piece. I don’t want any gap between my hands. I squeeze my support hand fingers toward my palm. Last, I use my chest muscles to compress the palms of my hands together around the back of the grip.
Gripping the gun is a full-body exercise! It will be tiring.
This is the kind of stuff taught out at KR Training. Come on down!
Ball and Dummy for Dummies
Dave Re wrote an article about the ball & dummy drill. He challenges the notion that it’s a good drill for curing flinch, offering his critique as well as a better drill.
Give it a read. It’s good food for thought.
I still think ball & dummy is useful because, if nothing else, it helps to make a shooter aware of what they are doing. Most of us will never SEE ourselves yanking the trigger and be aware that we’re doing it, until we press the trigger, there’s no bang but there’s one hell of a dipping of the front sight. So if nothing else, to that end, it’s a useful drill towards helping identify and become aware of a problem, which is really the first stage of fixing the problem.
But no question his suggestion of a solution is useful. I think Karl called it “zen shooting” to me. It’s slightly different but the point remains the same: shooting into the berm with no specific target so that all you do is focus on the front sight and watch the front sight as it moves. You learn a lot.
Politicians not keeping their word… whodathunkit?
It looks like Sen. Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville) and Sen. Mario Gallegos (D-Houston) like to go back on their word.
I don’t know about you, but people who give their word then go back on it? They lose a lot of standing in my book. Integrity is about all you really have in life, so it’s important to maintain and improve it… not lose it.
From Alice Tripp of the TSRA:
Dear JOHN, Rumors include the Brady Campaign funneling money into Texas to kill CHL on Campus!Background:
SB 354by Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) would allow adult students, faculty, and staff with a concealed handgun license to carry in buildings located on college campuses currently prohibited by Texas law. SB 354 would also stop colleges and universities from creatingadministrative rules which serve to expel a student or terminate an employee for simply having their licensed handgun in their personal vehicle.
You might be interested in knowing that every college and university in the state of Texas has such administrative rules on the books. That’s what local control buys you: zip, nada, nothing!
Update and Status:
SB 354 became eligible to be debated on the Senate floor last week. TSRA worked to help Senator Wentworth count the required votes to reach the two-thirds rule. The Texas House uses a Calendars Committee which prioritizes and sets the House Calendar; the Senate requires 2/3s of the total senators present to agree to bring a bill up for discussion. There are 31 senators and the required number is 21. The final vote is an up or down simple majority.
It’s a gentlemen’s agreement. I’ll hear your bill even though I might ultimately vote against it, and you’ll hear mine. It also gives power to the minority party and in the case of SB 354, a great deal of power. Two Senators have taken SB 354 hostage, two with help from their “friends”.
Senator Wentworth had counted his votes and turned in his list to the Lt. Governor and we were good-to-go with 22 votes, counting Senator Wentworth.
Governor Dewhurst recognized Senator Wentworth who made the required motion to suspend the rules and consider SB 354. A debate followed.
The list of senators agreeing to the two-thirds rule included Senator Lucio (D-Brownsville). Senator Lucio requested language that would address a primary, secondary, and child-care facility on one of his college campuses. Over night the language was hammered out and Senator Lucio’s staff believed the correction would address the school’s concerns, would be acceptable to Senator Lucio, and wasn’t harmful to Senator Wentworth’s bill. Good-to-go…
The next day, last Thursday, as Senator Wentworth laid out and began explaining his bill, Senator Lucio decided that he wanted his college to take the weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) to review this language and insisted Senator Wentworth hold off.
Wentworth was ready and anxious to get on with it. He would keep the language but did not want to wait three more days. Lucio removed his name from the list and now we were down to 21 but still Good-to-go.
For quite a while the debate continued among those who opposed the bill. This included Senator Steve Ogden (R-Bryan). Ogden insisted that so few students would have a concealed handgun license, how could this number possibly make a college campus more safe. Senator, this is about personal safety! Not policing a college campus.
After a couple of hours a group of senators gathered around Senator Mario Gallegos’ desk. Gallegos was on the two-thirds list. Senator Gallegos supported a similar bill last session and told me he had no problem supporting it again. However, with some pressure from the opposition, he too took his name off and now we were at 20 and below the required number. The wheels came off!
Senators Lucio and Gallegos signed the sheet and pledged to vote for the two-third rule to bring up SB 354. The pledge sheet was submitted to the Lt. Governor’s desk. Nothing happened to cause these two senators to go back on their commitment, their word to Senator Wentworth and to Texans.
Below is the list of contact information for Texas state senators:
Please pay special attention and email and to call Senators Lucio (D-Brownsville), Gallegos (D-Houston), and Ogden (R-Bryan). It’s not a waste of time, it’s important that everyone hears from you but particularly the “opposition”. If you have children or grandchildren in a Texas college let the Senate know this information too.
I clipped out the contact information. You can find it on the Texas Senate website.
Here’s an even better part to the story. Local CHL Instructor and rights advocate, Robert Greene, visited with Sen. Lucio’s office about this matter. He asked for their source of the information and was told “this conversation is over and you need to leave.”. According to Robert:
Sen. Lucio wouldn’t vote for SB 354 Campus Carry because of the high school using TAMU Kingsville cafeteria and gym. This is not true. After calling St. Gertrudis Academy, we found they are in their own building and use another K-8 schools building for a cafeteria and gym, which are already exempted under federal law.
Yes, the particular issue is of interest to me, but regardless of the particular issue… if someone gives their word then goes back on it, how can you trust them? How can you be assured they won’t renege on a promise they make to you?
KR Training March-April 2011 newsletter
The KR Training March/April 2011 newsletter is up.
Lots of classes scheduled through the end of Summer. Sign up now, because they fill up quickly — especially the beginner classes.
I forgot to mention…
At the end of the Defensive Pistol Skills 2 class this past Saturday, I mentioned my notion of “unacceptable hits” to the class.
I really want to spread this notion far and wide because to me it represents a mindset shift. We shrug off a miss as something without much consequence. But we must realize that every shot fired has a consequence, thus we must work to ensure every shot fired brings about our desired consequence — not an unacceptable one.
No, I’m not perfect at it and may never be (such is being human), but with that shift in mindset, I sure think it helps get you there.
Stuff From Hsoi 