Guns

Accidents DO happen

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

A few days ago, an accidental discharge – not a negligent discharge – did happen.

It happened during an advanced class at KR Training. I wasn’t out there, but my friend and fellow assistant instructor, Dave Reichek, was and gave this informative write-up of the situation.

Interesting thing about it. The write-up is being shared far and wide in just a few hours it’s been up, and I’ve already seen the comments, the what-ifs, the armchair quarterbacking, the people who obviously know more and know better. Not earnest input and feedback, but “this would never happen to me because I’m hyper-dialed in” or other sorts of “superiority” types of commenting.

If there’s one thing I’ve had really reinforced to me in the past year it’s to be careful with armchair quarterbacking – you don’t know the full story, and even if you think you do, you don’t.

Some people are still wanting to argue negligence here. Why? Leave the semantics aside, stop strutting your ego around, and focus on what happened and what we can learn from it.

One that stood out to me?

Regular inspection of your firearms before and after each use is a really good idea!

True enough. We don’t do enough of this.

But even if we do it, is it enough? I mean, how many gun owners/users actually know their hardware well enough to be able to give it a proper inspection? Sure, we can give it a look over, but can we really tell what’s right and what’s wrong? How much do you know about how your car works (from top to bottom, end-to-end)? Will we always be able to detect finer issues? And even if we do this, there’s still no promise nor guarantee it will avoid all problems. I mean, even a mechanic’s car fails from time to time.

That reinforces in me:

  1.  We’re human. Things will always be imperfect. There’s always going to be things that break, things that fail. Including ourselves. Steps we can take to minimize negative consequences are good, but accept we can’t eliminate 100%.

  2. Continue to work to gain knowledge. Maybe taking an armorers course can help here. Take the guns you use regularly to a gunsmith for a “checkup” once a year. There’s all sorts of things you can do.

There are lessons to be learned, so learn from them.

ASP Street Defender – first impressions

/ hsoi

So I just gave the ASP Street Defender (pepper spray system) a try.

Slight history: thinking about pepper spray, ASP Key Defender – first impressions, ASP Key Defender – second impressions.

While my evaluation of the ASP Defenders got off to a rough start, I’m feeling more and more assured and willing to use this platform.

I don’t think I’ll use the ASP Palm Defender (small) because it’s just too small for me. The ASP Key Defender (medium) has been riding with me daily for about a month now. It carries just fine for me, and while the spray tests left me a little unsure, I still felt it was a fair choice. But I wanted to try out the ASP Street Defender (large), just because.

Ordered one, got some Heat and some Test inserts. Also ordered some grip tape (instead of skateboard tape) to try texturing the “safety” for better deployment. FWIW, I don’t like the grip tape as much — it’s a nice texture, certainly adds more grip without shredding your skin (unlike skateboard tape). But the skateboard tape is more “grippy” precisely because it’s more like sandpaper and thus a lot more friction and “grab”. The grip tape isn’t bad, but I’ll probably replace it with skateboard tape.

Then, time for spray tests.

The Test insert sprayed well, better than the Key Defender. First, it functioned. 🙂 Second, it certainly had more distance, more volume, more sprays. I mean, it stands to reason given the insert canister is larger — it’s not just longer, it’s a larger diameter. It’s advertised at 30 sprays vs. the Key’s 6.

That said, I also noticed that if you actually stuck to VERY short bursts, there was better performance. Long sprays of course work, but short blasts seem to work better. Not sure why, not an aerosol engineer. Just what I observed.

Then the Heat insert. This performed better than the Test insert, and WAY better than the Key insert. This is the sort of performance I was looking for. It’s one hell of a blast. It’s not some cloud, like a bear spray would be, but for the size and what it is, it’s sure a good dose. There’s a lot more oomph behind it, more “stream” (tho it’s still technically a cone/cloud). More reach.

I’m happy with this.

And again, the wind shifted and I got a good snoot full. So not fun.

I’m growing to like this platform. I’m going to swap out my Key Defender for the Street Defender and see how carrying it goes.

More later…

 

 

Yes, they do want to take our guns away

/ hsoi / 8 Comments

In discussing “sensible gun control”, a common refrain is: “no one is wanting to take your guns”.

Bullshit.

From the Georgia General Assembly 2015-2016 Regular Session – HB 731

Bill summary/introduction:

To amend Article 4 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to dangerous instrumentalities and practices, so as to prohibit the possession, sale, transport, distribution, or use of certain assault weapons, large capacity magazines, armor-piercing bullets, and incendiary .50 caliber bullets; to provide for crimes involving the possession, sale, transport, distribution, or use of certain assault weapons, large capacity magazines, armor-piercing bullets, and incendiary .50 caliber bullets; to provide for criminal penalties; to designate certain weaponry and ammunition as contraband and to require seizure of such by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation; to provide for enhanced penalties for the possession and use of machine guns; to provide for definitions; to provide for exemptions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

Emphasis added.

“Seizure” sure sounds like wanting to take my guns away. Maybe you use a different dictionary.

From the bill’s text:

210 16-11-119.1.
211  (a) Any assault weapon, large capacity magazine, armor-piercing bullet, or incendiary .50
212  caliber bullet possessed, sold, or transferred in violation of this part is contraband and shall
213  be seized and destroyed pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section.
214  (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation
215  shall seize and take possession of any assault weapon, large capacity magazine,
216  armor-piercing bullet, or incendiary .50 caliber bullet as provided for under Code Section
217  35-3-8. Any such assault weapon, large capacity magazine, armor-piercing bullet, or
218  incendiary .50 caliber bullet seized or taken by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation shall
219  be destroyed, and a record of such destruction shall be maintained by such bureau.

In terms of how the bill defines “assault weapon”, there’s a lot, but here’s a relevant portion (there’s MUCH more to the definition):

(C) Any of the following semiautomatic center-fire rifles: the AK-47; AK-74; AKM; AKS-74U; ARM; MAADI AK47; MAK90; MISR; NHM90; NHM91; Norinco 56,56S, 84S, and 86S; Poly Technologies AKS and AK47; SA 85; SA 93; VEPR; W ASR-10; WUM; Rock River Arms LAR-47; Vector Arms AK-47; AR-10; AR-15; Bushmaster Carbon 15; Bushmaster XM15; Bushmaster ACR Rifles; Bushmaster MOE Rifles; Colt Match Target Rifles; Armalite M15; Olympic Arms AR-15, A1, CAR, PCR, K3B, K30R, K16, K48, K8, and K9 Rifles; DPMS Tactical Rifles; Smith & Wesson M&P15 Rifles; Rock River Arms LAR-15; Doublestar AR Rifles; Barrett REC7; Beretta Storm; Calico Liberty 50, 50 Tactical, 100, 100 Tactical, I, I Tactical, II, and II Tactical Rifles; Hi-Point Carbine Rifles; HK-PSG-1; Kel-Tec Sub-2000, SU Rifles, and RFB; Remington Tactical Rifle Model 7615; SAR-8; SAR-4800; SR9; SLG 95; SLR 95 and 96; TNW M230 and M2HB; Vector Arms UZI; Galil and Galil Sporter; Daewoo AR 100 and AR 110C; Fabrique Nationale/FN 308 Match and L1A1 Sporter; HK USC; IZHMASH Saiga AK; SIG Sauer 551-A1, 556, 516, 716, and M400 Rifles; Valmet M62S, M71S, and M78S; Wilkinson Arms Linda Carbine; and Barrett M107A1;

Those aren’t “assault weapons”. Those are common, popular, semi-automatic rifles.

But they look scary.

Millions of US citizens own them, and many other firearms that would fall under the bill’s definitions.

Read the bill’s text.

It’s flat-out confiscation. Seizure.

Yes, they are wanting to take our guns.

Of course, that’s always been the goal, but finally they’ve stopped lying about it.

And now you should stop lying – or at least being ignorant – about it as well. They certainly do want to take our guns away.

Even more, I see no reason for me to open carry

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

Since Texas enabled licensed individuals to openly carry handguns about 2 weeks ago, I have public openly carried twice.

And honestly, I don’t see myself doing it again.

Why?

Well, first, I should explain why I open carried in the first place.

It’s because as a firearms instructor in Texas, I should be able to speak with some first-hand experience about such matters. Having to actually do something, having to actually go through it and being forced to consider things you hadn’t considered before, it’s enlightening.

And so, I carried twice in particular environments for the learning.

The first was on my way to/from the first KR Training Open Carry Concepts class. I figured given the nature of the day, it was appropriate.

The second was when I attended the 2016 Paul T. Martin Preparedness Conference. One of the topics was covering open carry, and Karl, Paul, and I figured it would be good for a few of us to open carry to demonstrate what we believe good, responsible open carry is and should look like — because we don’t want “that guy”. We were dressed in business casual clothing, carried ourselves professionally, and worked to give the impression of someone “with their act together”, not the “derp” that the media wishes to see and portray.

So each time I carried, it was because there was purpose, because there was reason.

And so, that’s where it’s going for me.

What advantage does Open Carry give (me)?

And the conclusion I’m coming to is: none.

Now, that’s a blanket statement, made for some poetic impact. In reality, it’s “almost none”.

When Karl gave his presentation on Open Carry, he listed the following advantages:

  • Faster access to your pistol
  • Potential deterrent
  • Easier to carry a larger pistol
  • More comfortable in warmer weather
  • “Normalization” of right to keep and bear arms

As blanket statements go, they are advantages. But at least for me? I don’t find them to be advantages. (and for the record, Karl’s pretty much in the same boat as I am — you had to view his PowerPoint slide within the context of his presentation).

Faster access to your pistol. Yes, technically an open carry draw is faster than a concealed carry draw. If concealed carry was faster, then the fastest competition pistol shooters in the world would be shooting from concealment – but they don’t; they all use open carry holsters. There’s no clothing to get out of the way, to foul the draw, to slow things down. But on the flip side, if you’re openly carrying you should be carrying in a retention holster, and having to deactivate that retention mechanism will cost you time. The more retention mechanisms to deactivate, the slower things get. And believe me, you can fail to deactivate the mechanism and totally foul your draw. So while certainly an open carry draw is faster than a concealed draw, a retention draw is going to be slower than an open draw. Advantage lost.

FWIW for me, my retention draw is slower than my concealed draw, from a level-2 Safariland ALS holster. I’m sure I could get faster in time, but my thumb is going to hate me. But even tho I am can get faster, it’s still going to be slower.

Potential Deterrent. Maybe. I covered this before. There are stories of crime being deterred, but there are also stories of open carriers being attacked for their gun — flat out inviting crime. So does the potential for deterrence provide a compelling enough advantage to me? Not really. I think it’s more of an advantage to leave ’em wondering and let my gun be a surprise, not an invitation.

Easier to carry a larger pistol. This is certainly a fair point to reason. It’s easier to carry outside the waistband than inside, and when you don’t have to consider the need to hide bumps and bulges under clothing, that matters too. Granted, while some Texas residents were always concerned about getting in trouble for printing or concealment issues, it was never a legal problem. And certainly now, it’s even less of a legal problem. Still, strictly speaking, open carry can permit the carry of a larger gun. Thing is, I carry a full-sized S&W M&P9 on my hip, inside my waistband, every day for the past many years. Works out just fine. But I know this doesn’t work for everyone because body shapes and styles are different. And interestingly? I find it more of a pain to carry in my Safariland 7377 ALS because it sits the gun out so far from my body, it balances weird, and my arm keeps banging into it all day. As well, because it doesn’t hug my body, it’s this big lump of steel sitting in an awkward place, and no, sitting in a desk chair all day just is not as comfortable. So, I’ll say to this point, it’s a personal issue, but for me, it’s not any advantage.

More comfortable in warmer weather. Hard to call since OC went legal in Texas in the coldest month of the year. 😉  But for sure, not having the gun pressed up against your body will probably be nice when it comes to sweating. Thing is, clothing choices start to matter more here too, and the clothing choices necessitated by OC may negate any summer advantages. However… I was joking with a friend that OC requires you to tuck in your shirt… unless you had no shirt, or even better – a belly shirt. Please, no, don’t do this. 🙂

“Normalization”. This is a political matter, not a practical one. While I certainly involve myself in gun rights matters and politics, I don’t carry a gun for political reasons. I might carry from time to time because of this or some other similar reason (e.g. the two times I’ve OC’d so far; not political, but for a reason other than practical, self-defense), but as for offering me some sort of advantage, there is none.

Other reasons. Having to put myself in a position of a responsible open carrier, I had to think about some things and make some changes that I didn’t like.

For example, I have to tuck in my shirt. I don’t like tucking in my shirts, because of body shape, comfort, preference, and so on.

But another important reason for an untucked shirt? I conceal a lot more than a gun. I wear a lot of things on my belt, and if my shirt is tucked in, I cannot conceal them. I lose a lot of useful tools, or I have to cram them into my pockets (and I may not be wearing pants that can support that extra load; and it’s uncomfortable). This is a loss of functionality for me, and that’s certainly not an advantage.

Another is I don’t need the attention. While at the conference I spent some time just walking around the Cabela’s. Now if any place should be friendly to OC it’d be such a store with such a clientele, and for the most part there it was a mundane issue. But for sure I saw a few looks, heard a few passing comments (nothing bad, just evident people noticed because Joe commented on it to Fred as they walked by), but otherwise uneventful. But even that small bit of attention wasn’t something I wanted. I prefer to keep to myself, to go about my business, and frankly drawing attention to myself just gets in the way and wastes my time. My time is precious, and if I’m going to spend it on OC-topics then I want it to be because I chose to engage in it, not because someone else drew me into it and interrupts my day.

And now with the proliferation of 30.07 signs, that’s certainly going to be an interruption of my day to have to weave in and out of contending with that. But if I’m just always concealed, I can just go about my business and have one less hassle to deal with.

Are there reasons to openly carry? Certainly. There can be times when it will be an advantage to do so. And I am thankful that, as a law-abiding citizen, I am enabled with options. In general, for me, open carry causes me more hassle than gain, from a practical, every-day standpoint. I may do it from time to time, and I appreciate that I can. But in general?

I’m going back to untucking my shirt.

KR Training January 2016 newsletter

/ hsoi

The KR Training January 2016 newsletter is up

Biggest thing is the coverage of the start of Open Carry here in Texas. Karl provides his thoughts on open carry, as well as a contest to win a free slot in the January 30 Open Carry Concepts class!

Lots of great classes shaping up for 2016. Hope to see you out on the range!

ASP Key Defender – second impressions

/ hsoi / 13 Comments

Last month I revisited the notion of carrying pepper spray. I settled on the ASP Key Defender system, made my purchase, and a couple weeks ago did my first spray tests with some disappointing results.

But maybe it was a fluke. I mean, it couldn’t have been on the market this long if it was a dud product, right? All duds eventually get weeded out so…. I wasn’t willing to give up.

I bought a few more inserts, both “heat” and “test” inserts. They just came in a few days ago.

Today I was speaking with some folks at work on the topic, so I took a quick break and gave a spray test of another test insert and another heat insert.

Results were much better!

The test insert did have a little sputter, but overall it worked well enough.

The heat insert worked pretty well. In fact, I got a snoot-full of spray because the wind suddenly shifted. That was mighty uncomfortable.

Once I recovered, I finished out the insert. When I did that, I had positioned myself relative to the wind which also happened to position my view of the spray cloud against the sun just right so that I really saw the spray pattern. It’s actually a pretty impressive pattern.

So I’m feeling better about things now.

One thing I wondered. The spray hole in the end cap is small. Could it have been clogged? After the first tests I washed the tube and endcaps to ensure all residue was removed. Maybe there was something in there that was flushed out? I wonder because the way the thing sputtered and “sprayed” was like a clog or other failure. I mean, it’s just aerosol, and if you’ve worked aerosol cans in your life you basically know how things will work or how they will malfunction. It was very akin to that. I obviously cannot say for certain, but it makes me wonder. My recommendation at this point is for people using this system to check the endcap hole – even as periodic maintenance – to ensure it’s clear.

And get this. Reader/commenter gteague made mention about expiration dates on the inserts. I didn’t see any. The remaining test insert I have doesn’t have any either. But the 3 remaining heat inserts? They all have a stamp of “Aug 18”. So… not sure what to make of the fact some inserts don’t have stamps – too old?

Anyways, I’m feeling more positive about the system. Sure, it’s still limited. Sure my confidence isn’t 100% still, but I am feeling better about it.

Frankly, I’m kinda curious to buy a ASP Street Defender (the “large” model) and see how it carries in my pocket.

Random Open Carry thoughts

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Just returned from KR Training‘s first Open Carry Concepts class. First, of course, because the (licensed) open carry of handguns only became legally possible in Texas just yesterday. But, this won’t be the last class (there’s another scheduled for January 30).

The intent of the class is to cover concepts relevant to the open carry of handguns, such as: proper retention holsters, open carry laws, draw/reholstering drills using retention holsters, relevant live fire drills, interactions with people (law enforcement, random folks), gun retention and disarm techniques. The class was co-taught with Leslie Buck of Tactical Arts Academy.

If you’re going to open carry, or even just want to learn a little more about it, taking a class like this is a must. Open carry brings a host of new issues into your world, and the more you can be aware of those issues and handle them responsibly and gracefully, the better off you will fare.

Class was sold out, and we had a good group of students. Some returning alumni, some new folks. But everyone seemed to get a lot out of the day, and it was eye-opening on a number of levels.

First, retention holsters are going to require practice. It will be different from your normal holster, not just in terms of managing the lock mechanism, but most retention holsters are going to “carry/ride” differently on your body, and even an inch of variation can make a huge difference to your muscle memory. There were numerous self-administered wedgies today when people would fail to deactivate the retention mechanism, try to draw, and wind up with their pants pulled up high. It’s going to be different, you’re going to need practice. Thankfully, working on drawing from a retention holster is something you can do at home in dry practice.

Second, almost no retention holster is going to be concealable. Is it that you can’t have retention and concealability? I don’t think so – I think it’s more about what’s on the market, but to some extent there is mechanics. I mean, that ALS mechanism would be difficult to work if it was tight against the body. This Safariland 537 has been working out really well in terms of concealment, but it was pretty evident in class today that while technically there is a retention mechanism, gee it’s really not much.  Even those with rigs like the Safariland 7377 were able to have the ALS defeated fairly easily with particular simple grabs – tho for sure, adding the 6006 ALS Guard greatly aided in making it difficult to defeat the retention. But then, that 6006 caused a lot of thumb pain and grief and missed draws. So again, it’s back to lots and lots of practice.

But when it comes to holsters, like so many things it’s going to come down to tradeoffs. My present feeling – for myself – is if I’m going to intentionally and knowingly open carry for some reason, using my 7377 with the 6006 is going to be the way to go. But this will also require me to not have a need to conceal (e.g. needing to enter a place with a posted 30.07 sign), because the only way I could conceal the 7377 would be under my huge Carhartt duck coat. The 537 is much more concealable, and I could potentially even see wearing it as a normal concealment holster (tho OWB, so I would have to have particular clothing). Then if I went open, or if there was need to be open but then sometimes go concealed, the 537 would work out better. But then, I just don’t feel as good about the retention mechanism (jury is still out; needs more testing but so far I’m not high on the retention mechanism). So, trade-offs.

Frankly in most respects? It feels like the best option is to just keep it concealed and go about life as usual.

See for me, the question comes down to: what is gained? Is there some advantage I’m gaining by carrying openly? I mean, fundamentally what it comes down to is: is my shirt tucked in or untucked. Really, that’s it. At this time, I see no advantage gained in carrying openly, and I do see disadvantages. But this is me in my life and my world. Other people, other circumstances, carrying openly may be useful. For example, now that a lot of reciprocity agreements with Virginia were just nullified, one way people can get around it in Virginia is to carry openly… so there’s an advantage there.

But for me? Well, what I appreciate most is having the option available to me, should I wish or need to exercise it.

And for what it’s worth, I did today. I mean, I was going to KR Training to assist in an Open Carry-related class, so might as well walk the walk now that I can. And that I did.

And you know what?

No one cared.

I’m not even sure anyone noticed.

If anything seemed to get noticed, it was the group of 3 “goth-ish” girls that walked into the Buc-ee’s, one of whom looked like a goth Santa Claus. That got everyone’s attention. My gun? Not so much.

Will I OC regularly? Again, I don’t think so because what does it gain me? I do see it causing me some hassle (e.g. weaving in and out of the web of 30.07 postings), and frankly, there’s a bigger thing I thought about as I was getting dressed this morning.

See, I have a hard enough time being “the gray man”. The very nature of me doesn’t blend in very well: I’m tall, I’m big, I have long hair, I have this fu-man-chu-like facial hair. I stand out. People may not know me, but people sure recognize me and I easily leave impressions on people. And there’s other things about me that cause a lot of interest and odd looks, and I’ve dealt with this most of my life. Consequently, I have to do things to manage people’s perception of me, sometimes in good ways and sometimes in bad ways. I know when to look intimidating, and I know when to look soft and friendly.

And frankly? I’d just rather not put the whole gun thing into the mix of managing those perceptions of myself. I don’t carry a gun as a fashion accessory – it’s a tool with a specific purpose. It’s too sensitive of an issue for some people. I don’t need the hassle that may come, whether it’s from dealing with 30.07 signs, to hysterical hoplophobes, to some dude that just wants to talk gun gear with me. If I’m out and about I’m either doing something with my family, or I’m taking care of business. I don’t need hassle and distraction and other shit getting in my way and delaying me. I like keeping my shirt untucked anyways – always preferred this, even before I carried a gun – because it’s just more casual, it’s just more comfortable, and Motörhead t-shirts look stupid when tucked in. 😉

And honestly, I don’t care to have people irrationally associate me with “gun”, because it will happen. I have enough things people irrationally associate with me anyways (because of my hair, my clothing, whatever). I’m getting older and prefer to make my life easier, not more annoying. Right now there’s nothing that I personally gain from carrying openly; and for me personally I only see potential negatives.

But to each their own. Everyone’s going to be different.

And if you are going to choose to carry openly, please please please. Don’t be “that guy” that hurts the cause more than helps it. Karl wrote some excellent thoughts on open carry. Please read them.

Carry on.

 

If you think education is expensive…

/ hsoi

Seth Godin wrote about Training and the infinite return on investment

Imagine a customer service rep. Fully costed out, it might cost $5 for this person to service a single customer by phone. An untrained rep doesn’t understand the product, or how to engage, or hasn’t been brought up to speed on your systems. As a result, the value delivered in the call is precisely zero (in fact it’s negative, because you’ve disappointed your customer).

On the other hand, the trained rep easily delivers $30 of brand value to the customer, at a cost, as stated, of $5. So, instead of zero value, there’s a profit to the brand of $25. A comparative ROI of infinity.

And of course, the untrained person doesn’t fall into this trap once. Instead, it happens over and over, many times a day.

The short-sighted organization decides it’s ‘saving money’ by cutting back training. After all, the short-term thinking goes, what’s the point of training people if they’re only going to leave. (I’d point out the converse of this–what’s the danger of not training the people who stay?)

Granted, Seth speaks in the context of marketing, sales, and business – his “lane”. But really, training – education – is relevant to any and every facet of life.

The more training you have, the more education you have, the more knowledge you have, the more it pays off.

Because to Seth’s last point: you stay in your life, so what’s the danger of going through life untrained and  ignorant?

Seth concludes:

What’s not so easy is to take responsibility for our own training.

We’ve long passed the point where society and our organization are taking responsibility for what we know and how we approach problems. We need to own it for ourselves.

If I apply this to one of my “lanes” – self defense – I actually am pretty astounded at how much people don’t take on responsibility for what they know and how they approach problems, which is odd because these are the same people that espouse how they have/carry a gun because they accept responsibility for their own personal safety. Often times there’s belief they are “good enough” and will be able to handle themselves if the flag flies, yet they’re unable to quantify what “good enough” should be – but whatever it is, I’m it (apparently).

Grant Cunningham writes about “shooting well”:

Any shooting you do — whether in competition, for hunting, or in self defense — is a balance of speed (how quickly you shoot) and precision (the size of the area into which you can shoot)….

Most people evaluate their shooting skill level under only one of those two factors. Either they focus on how precisely they can shoot, or they focus on how quickly they’re shooting. Either one in isolation gives an incomplete view, and the same is true when evaluating a gun; if you shoot slowly enough, so that each shot is a completely separate event unaffected by what came before or what will come after, then most guns can be shot “well”.

In other words, just about anyone can shoot just about any handgun (or rifle) “well” for one shot. It’s when you need to fire more than one shot, or when time becomes a factor, do you discover how things like recoil, weight, hand fit, and more affect your ability to shoot well. It’s not just about tight groups!

Granted, Grant’s writing was alluding to issues of caliber and recoil, but the whole of his article touches on the fact that most people believe they can “shoot well”, yet aren’t fully considering the complete context under which they may have to shoot.

That complete context, in terms of self-defense, is likely to go beyond these issues of caliber, recoil, and marksmanship. If you are in a self-defense incident, there’s going to be chaos, adrenaline, and intense high-pressure split-second decision making. Can you “shoot well” in that context? Remember: doing “well” in that context may actually require you to not shoot at all.

Some people are proud to seek out the least amount of training possible. They want the cheapest, least-hassle solution. As few dollars spent, as few hours in the classroom or on the range. It’s as if they are proudly seeking ignorance. I grant, if you can spend $50 or $500 and get precisely the same results, I’d go for the $50 option as well. But like most things in life, you do get what you pay for – and you get more spending $500 on a weekend training with Tom Givens or Massad Ayoob.

Especially if you contrast that $500 against the potential $50,000 or $500,000 or more you could wind up spending on a lawyer. Because ignorance of the law can be mighty costly.

You may not be training to be a customer service rep answering phone calls about a product. But aren’t you trying to bring value into your own life? You’re going to be staying in your life, hopefully for a long time, so take the time to invest in yourself. Don’t expect the state or others to provide “adequate” training, because it usually is not. Take the time, the money, the responsibility to invest in yourself. The education will pay dividends.

It was a good morning

/ hsoi / 10 Comments

I had a good morning.

How about you?

Details, for those curious.

Taken in Lee County, Texas, at the KR Training ranch, on Wednesday December 23, 2015, around 7:05 AM.

It was overcast, so despite first light it was still somewhat dark. Around 7:00 or so it was starting to just get light enough to be able to see well-enough, so I picked up the binoculars and started looking around. Looked south, nothing. Looked north… huh? Whoa! There’s already deer; they usually don’t come out this early. Just sitting maybe 125-150 yards away, eating. Very casual, very relaxed.

Wait. Are those antlers? Yup.

Lee County has the antler restrictions (must have at least 13″ inside spread). Hrm. Whoa… yeah, he looks to have the spread. Come on… lift your head a few more times so I can verify.

Yup.

Bye-bye.

Put 95 grains of Barnes TTSX squarely through the heart. He jumped but didn’t run. Quick, clean, ethical. Can’t ask for more.

Rifle is my usual: “franken-AR” with a Wilson Combat 6.8 SPC upper and a RRA lower (and their 2-stage match trigger), Leupold VX-R 3-9×50 with a LaRue mount, various little bolt-ons (e.g. Magpul CTR, ERGO grip, etc.), shooting Wilson Combat’s 6.8 SPC 95 grain Barnes TTSX loads. An excellent performer, once again.

He’s no monster buck, but it was a good buck – especially for Lee County. Got a decent yield of meat. Looking at his antlers and talking with Karl about it (Karl came out to the ranch today on unrelated business), it was a good harvest because while he doesn’t appear to have horrible genetics, he doesn’t seem to have ideal ones. So hopefully this will help in breeding selection.

Me? I’m giddy. I don’t get to shoot bucks all that often, and Karl was kind enough to let me shoot one this year (thank you again, Karl!). The weather was gorgeous (warm for this time of year: in the mid-60’s this morning). I’m happy I was able to get out, get away from the computer, enjoy nature for a while, and just clear my head a bit. In a way tho, I feel a little gypped! I was only in the blind (and the field, this entire season) a grand total of maybe 65-70 minutes – usually it’s hours, days. I was kinda looking forward to a bunch of time to just sit and clear my head, but hey… I can clear my head another day – while eating a venison burger. 🙂  I actually debated last night if I should go out or not because so many things, but I knew if I didn’t I’d regret it.

No regrets. 🙂

Making Good Decisions

/ hsoi

Recently, there have been stories in the news about private citizens using guns to stop petty crime (e.g. shoplifting, theft of goods).

A Michigan woman trying to stop shoplifters at a Home Depot.

A man  in Indiana trying to stop shoplifters at a farm supply store.

A woman in Bellmead, Texas trying to hold a purse-snatcher at gunpoint until the police arrive.

In all of these cases, the people had good intentions. They saw something bad happening and – given the popular outcry to “do something” when bad things happen – they did something.

Unfortunately, their choice of something to do wound up doing themselves more harm than good.

On Wednesday, a Michigan judge sentenced Duva-Rodriguez to 18 months of probation and stripped the 46-year-old of her concealed gun permit.

 

If convicted – Reynolds is charged with criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon and pointing a firearm – Reynolds could face up to five years in jail and up to $10,000 in fines.

 

A McLennan County grand jury indicted Emma Cotten, 28, on a deadly conduct charge in a Nov. 20 incident in the parking lot of a Bellmead Wal-Mart, sources familiar with the case said Wednesday.

[…]

Deadly conduct can be a Class A misdemeanor or a third-degree felony, depending on how it is alleged. That was unclear Wednesday, because the indictment remains sealed.

Is this right?

Certainly some people would say it isn’t, because they were just trying to help.

Others would say it is right, because they broke the law.

Let’s consider the actions themselves.

Maximize Enjoyment of Beer & TV

What was the context of the crime? Generally petty: theft, shoplifting, purse snatching. Certainly things society deems unacceptable, but it’s small property crimes.

Was anyone’s life in danger? Nothing in the news reports indicate the crimes put lives in danger.

Was deadly force – because that’s what these people all used – justified in these cases? I cannot speak to Michigan or Indiana law, but in Texas there are situations where yes you can use force or deadly force to protect property (see Texas Penal Code, Title 2, Chapter 9, Subchapter D, §9.41 – §9.44). But just because you can, does that mean you should?

Let’s get back to the maxim of “making choices that maximize your enjoyment of beer & TV“.

Did the choices these 3 people make enable them to maximize their enjoyment of beer & TV? I would say no. The fact they are now facing criminal charges means lawyers, court appearances, lots of money spent, perhaps loss of job and/or wages, not to mention the mental and emotional anguish and pain this will cause them, not just for the months it will take to resolve the situation but likely it will loom over them for the rest of their lives. To me, that doesn’t enable maximum enjoyment of beer & TV.

Yes I know it’s terrible to see crimes unfold around you, but your response needs to be in accordance. Could you have gotten pictures of the car? Maybe a good description, the license plate number? These are responses that can help abate the crime, but don’t put your life or other lives in danger. And then, you can proceed to beer & TV.

C.Y.A. – Can You Articulate?

What was troubling to me as well is the interviews with the first two citizens and what they said about their choices and actions:

“I made a decision in a split second,” she told judge Julie Nicholson on Wednesday, according to WJBK. “Maybe it was not the right one, but I was trying to help.”

[…]

“She’s there to help; saw something happening; thought it was serious; pulled her gun,” added Schwartz, her attorney. “She didn’t want to hurt anybody. We didn’t know that there were any people in the parking lot, other than this person that was driving away this vehicle. She didn’t shoot it in the air; she didn’t shoot it at the window, at the windshield. She fired at the tires.”

She made a choice. She needs to be able to articulate why she made that choice.

What did she understand about the situation? about it that made it serious enough to warrant the use of deadly force? That if she didn’t want to hurt anyone, why would she resort to an option that has the potential to cause hurt?

As two shoplifting suspects got into a truck in the parking lot of the Big R in October, Reynolds said he fired one shot in an attempt to stop the suspects from getting away.

“I wanted them to stay there [in the parking lot] until the police arrived,” Reynolds said.

[…]

Reynolds said he fired one shot at the truck just behind the passenger seat because he felt threatened.

“I figured if [the suspect] had a weapon, he wasn’t gonna use it then,” Reynolds said.

[…]

Reynolds said he never intended to shoot anyone; he just wanted to scare the suspects into waiting for the police, which is why he placed his shot where he did on the truck.

So which is it? Did you shoot to have them stay in the parking lot? Did you shoot to scare them? Did you shoot because you thought the guy had a gun and going to hurt you? But if you thought he wasn’t going to hurt you, how did you feel threatened? Or did you never intend to shoot anyone?

There’s a lot going on here, and his intentions don’t seem to be well-articulated.

(I also wonder if it was wise for him to try to articulate to a news reporter, before first articulating to the judge and jury).

As for the Bellmead case, I wrote about that last month under the same notion: Can you articulate?

It’s not just the ability to articulate your choices after the fact, to the police, to the judge, to the jury. It’s important to be able to articulate your choices to yourself BEFOREHAND.

Training – More than Marksmanship

If you choose to carry a gun, you take on a great responsibility. There are clear times to use it, and clear times not to use it. But there are a lot of times that aren’t so clear. Thus it is important for you to clearly articulate to yourself – before you find yourself in a situation – to know where your lines are drawn.

Will you insert yourself into a crime unfolding between two strangers? Maybe you are in the 7-11 when the place gets robbed. Will you try to stop it? Should you?  Maybe you see a man atop another giving him the ground & pound. Do you know what’s going on? Just because the guy on top is punching, does that mean he’s the criminal (maybe he’s the Good Samaritan beating some dude that just attempted to kidnap a child). Should you insert yourself?

What if you get involved, and then you get injured. Will those people pay your medical bills?

What if you get involved, and you injure someone else? Will you pay those medical bills? Will you pay for the property damage? Will you be prepared for potential lawsuits that could drag on for years and throw you into bankruptcy?

I’m not saying these things will happen, but they could happen. It is important for you to consider these things, and how they pertain to your situation and how you should react. The answers are different for everyone, and even the same person might change their answers when their life changes (e.g. you might respond different if you are single with no kids vs. married with small children).

Know your lines, where they are drawn, and what responsiblity and consequences you are willing to accept. Figure this out beforehand. I’m not sure any of these three people did:

“I thought, ‘Really? A felony charge?’” Reynolds said. “I’m very well trained.”

Maybe in marksmanship, but there’s a lot more to self-defense than marksmanship.

He still supports people arming themselves for protection, but urges people to get some kind of training.

Indeed. Learn from their mistakes. Get training – before you need to put it into practice.

The woman in Bellmead? Seems she didn’t have a handgun license. In Texas, the handgun license program really is about learning the law. I wonder if she had taken the class and learned something about the law, if she might have made different (better) choices that day.

And realize: training is more than marksmanship. There’s learning the law. There’s learning how to handle pressure situations (e.g. scenario training, force-on-force training). These sorts of classes aren’t as fun as burning through 1000 rounds of ammo in a weekend, but I’d say they’re a lot more fun and educational than being charged with a felony and being dragged through the court system.

So…

There’s a great deal to be learned from these 3 cases.

First, we must work to make good decisions. While “maximize enjoyment of beer & TV” sounds silly, it really works towards helping you determine what is a good decision (at least in this context).

Second, making good decisions comes from prior thought. To know ahead of time where your capabilities lie, where your lines are drawn. The ability to articulate those lines will be important in your decision making, and in your post-action explanations.

Third, making good decisions is empowered by knowledge. Ignorance rarely leads to good outcomes. The more you know, the better off you’ll be.

Finally, we have good people in this world. People that still care. People that are tired of seeing bad things happening and want to try to help. Really, we cannot lose sight of that, and we ought to encourage more of it. In encouraging it, we must direct and enable people to make wise decisions, and we ourselves must endeavor to ensure our decisions and actions will be the best they can be.