Guns

Don’t deny the less capable

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

“Just run away.”

“Just kick him (in the crotch).”

“You’re a young/strong/big guy, who would mess with you?”

These suggestions tend to be predicated by either your current situation or my current situation.

When you think about ways people might defend themselves if attacked, you think what you could do, like run away or kick him or being able to put up a physical fight — because YOU (or I) can do those things. There often lacks consideration for others that may not be as able as you.

When my ankle problem came up a couple weeks ago and rendered me essentially cripple, I went from capable to incapable in the unexpected blink of an eye.

Run? I couldn’t even stand up, let alone walk or run.

Kick? If I can’t stand up, how can I kick someone?

Big and strong mean nothing. If I could get around it was with a cane and then heavily leaning on it; my gait made it evident I was crippled.

You’ve seen the shows on Discovery Channel. Who do the predators go for? The young, the old, the sick, the injured. I’ve become prey.

For all those who seem to know better about how we are to keep ourselves safe, please tell me what I’m supposed to do? Am I supposed to keep a cell phone programmed with 911? so while I’m crumpled on the ground getting my head stomped in I can try to call for help? Oh wait, that’s right — I’m supposed to pee on my attacker.

Don’t just consider someone with a temporary injury. Consider those with permanent disadvantage: smaller, weaker, older, younger, frail, crippled, wheelchair bound, other disabilities. Even consider some of us may not have the resources you have, like money, gated-communities, or personal bodyguards and security detail. We’re not all as (potentially) capable as you.

Thus, your solutions may not work for me.

Being human, we are tool users. We have limits, and we use tools to overcome them. That’s why most of us use hammers to drive nails, and phones to communicate beyond shouting distance. We use tools to overcome our limits. And when some of us have greater limits, we may need better tools.

Do not deny us the use of better tools. You may someday suddenly find yourself in a new and less-capable context. You’ll want those tools.

Or at least, when you start suggesting solutions, and want those solutions to be applied to everyone, make sure you take everyone into consideration, because we aren’t all like you.

KR Training – Basic Pistol 1

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

What a fine day!

The weather was fantastic.

The students were great.

Just a great day to teach another Basic Pistol 1 class at KR Training.

Actually, we didn’t teach it at KR Training. Rather, we didn’t teach it at the A-Zone Range. Instead, we were at Schaefer Training Academy. Tom Schaefer offers, in conjunction with KR Training, the CHL classes and a Beginner Pistol class. Well, with some construction going on at the A-Zone, Tom was kind enough to let us use his place for class today. Thank you, Tom!

For me, what I liked about the class is refining the presentation. I’m finding places and ways to convey the same information in a simpler, and more effective way. It’s information overload as it is, so if we can simplify, put it into easier to remember terms, that’s going to go further and help out. I am happy to keep finding ways to do this.

Oh… and as I like to point out to those who wish to stereotype gun owners? I don’t think you could have pinpointed a single stereotype here. This was one of the more diverse classes (in every respect you could think of) I’ve been a part of. Actually, there might be one stereotype: it’s a group of people who understand and are willing to take responsibility for themselves. If being responsible for yourself is a bad thing, then none of us there today want to be right.

Thank you to the 11 students that came out today. Looking forward to seeing you back for Basic Pistol 2!

KR Training January 2014 Newsletter

/ hsoi

The KR Training January 2014 Newsletter is out.

Big thing is the 2014 schedule is filling out, and classes are already filling (and selling) out.

Hope to see you out at the A-Zone Range sometime in 2014!

Even more reasons to “just say no”

/ hsoi

Even more reasons why NOT the SERPA holster.

Despite all the solid reasons why to avoid this holster, it keeps selling, it keeps showing up.

Please folks, just say no. There are lots of other good holsters on the market.

MAG-20 in Austin

/ hsoi

Karl just sent this out. I thought it worth the repost.

KR Training will be hosting legendary trainer Massad Ayoob on March 8-9 for his MAG-20 course.
It’s the classroom part of what used to be called his LFI-1 class (Lethal Force Institute).

In my opinion, training with Mas is something that should be on every credible instructor’s resume.
Back in the early 90s, when I first started teaching, I flew to Oregon to take LFI-1 because (a) I thought it was important to do and (b) there were no LFI courses offered anywhere near Texas.

It’s 20 hours of classroom lecture. We’ll be holding it in Austin, at a nice, big meeting room (Red Oak Ballroom at Northcross Mall), and we’ll have catered food both days.

Mas is the #1 expert in the country on armed citizen legal issues. There isn’t anybody else in the training business that offers anything similar. If you train with Mas and you get into a shooting incident, he will come work on your legal defense if needed. If you are an instructor and one of your students gets into a shooting, odds are very high that you will get called to court to testify about the training you provided. Being able to reference Ayoob’s training and his curriculum as part of your own training may have significant benefits.

Live fire classes are more fun, but the mistakes that land people in court (or jail) are almost never live fire errors. It’s not poor marksmanship or a slow draw that results in criminal charges; it’s doing or saying the wrong thing, or shooting the wrong person. The core topics of the MAG-20 course are covered in the Texas CHL curriculum, but MAG-20 goes into much more detail and depth — depth you should understand if you are teaching those topics yourself to others.

It’s very unlikely that I’ll host Mas again in 2015, and this is his first class in Austin, ever, and one of the very few he’s offered in Texas in a long, long time. So this is not one of those “I’ll go when he comes next year” situations.
It’s a special event, possibly a one-time opportunity to attend without having to travel out of state.

Tuition is $450, which includes lunch and snacks both days. We will do a working lunch each day.

Registration is open on the KR Training website.
http://www.krtraining.com/signup.php
$225 deposit required in advance, per our typical 50% deposit policy.

Quote for today

/ hsoi

…if people were attuned to the causes of the overwhelming majority of gun deaths (guns and gangs, not mass shootings, with handguns, not rifles), the focus on gun control efforts would be very different. But ignorance redirects the focus to regulating law-abiding citizens with weapons seldom used in gun deaths.

– Josh Blackman, as a comment upon Ilya Somin’s article on Gun Control, Mass Shootings, and Political Ignorance.

(h/t Karl Rehn)

But I guess on this topic, ignorance is an acceptable excuse and solid foundation upon which to build policy and law.

Go figure.

The Year in Ammo (2013)

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

Anthony over at LuckyGunner sent me an email to mention their Ammo in 2013: A Look Behind the Scenes at Lucky Gunner.

I don’t always post stuff like this (i.e. solicted stuff), but I thought this was interesting and useful. Besides, Anthony didn’t just send out a blanket spam email. I don’t know if Anthony actually reads my stuff normally (or even abnormally), but it was evident in his email that he at least checked my blog first, and in his email to me commented in a relevant manner. Personal touches always make a positive difference. 🙂

From looking at the stats…

I’m not surprised at the popular calibers, both the contents of the list and the ordering of the list. Seems about what you’d expect.

Interesting that California is one of their top traffic spots. Really, I’m not too surprised because outside of a few cities, California is actually populated with a lot of “good ol’ folk”. It’s just that unfortunately those few cities dominate the political and cultural impact of California.

As a geek, I did enjoy seeing the growth of not just iPhone use but the visits from mobile platforms. Just shows how our habits are shifting. Desktop isn’t going away any time soon, but mobile is getting big.

Neat info, Anthony. Thank you for sharing with us!

 

Snagmag

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

I learned about the Snagmag at the SDS Conference.

One of the attendees showed it to me, as it was his way of carrying a spare magazine.

Now, I haven’t tried it and cannot vouch for how well it works, but the design did intrigue me.

First, it’s a way of carrying a spare magazine, which is important. Maybe you won’t have to reload or deal with malfunctions, but maybe you will. One of those “better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it” sorts of things.

Second, it’s probably a more comfortable way of carrying it. Some people can do the IWB spare mag thing, but lots of people report on it being uncomfortable. Plus, if the gun is IWB and the mag is IWB, that means you need a lot more waist size in your pants, which isn’t always practical. Plus, when you get into clothing with such a larger differential, other parts of the pants are going to be made larger as well, which can just make fit and comfort difficult.

In addition to comfort, it just gets things off your belt. Even if you carry the mag OWB, it’s still another thing on the belt, bulk, etc.. If those issues keep you from carrying a spare mag at all, this may provide you with a solution.

Third, it hides well. It’s not uncommon to see clips on pant pockets for pocket knives, so it just blends in. Granted, one downside is if you do the Insights Training Center practice of having 2 folders (one in each pocket), well… you lose one here. But not everyone follows that approach.

But the big thing about it is it may solve a lot of the problems with pocket carry of mags. I see many solutions for pocket carry of a spare mag, and while they tend to work, they tend to be predicated upon fit and friction. That is, they use fit of the pocket vs. fit/size/structure of the pouch in such a way that the pouch doesn’t fit well in the pocket, so the pouch intentionally hangs up when you “draw” leaving the pouch in the pocket but the magazine comes out. Friction is used as well, to aid in the pouch hanging up. Alas, this depends a great deal upon the pocket itself. Tighter pockets and it may not fit at all. Looser pockets, larger pockets, and there may be no hanging up. One solution is to have numerous pocket pouches, but that grows cumbersome and expensive. This Snagmag could help solve things because it doesn’t rely upon pocket construction to work in conjunction with the design. Granted there’s still some construction requirements (e.g. pocket needs to be deep enough, etc.), but it seems far less sensitive to such issues.

Again, I haven’t tried this product at all so I cannot vouch for it, recommend it, or anything. But I did think the approach was novel (and based upon known approaches, like the Emerson Wave), and could be useful for folks.

2nd Annual SDS Conference – AAR

/ hsoi / 7 Comments

Wow! What an awesome day!

I just returned from a day at Cabela’s. Yes, that’s cool in and of itself, but I was there not to shop but to present and learn. Paul Martin, the Suburban Dad Survivalist, was holding his 2nd Annual Preparedness Conference. If you weren’t there, you miss out on a lot of learning.

I know. You’re seeing the word “survivalist” and “preparedness” and conjuring up images of paranoid loonies stockpiling food and ammo in their compounds because the great Obama devil is destroying ‘murica, right?

Pul-leez.

There is nothing bad about being prepared. Ask any Boy Scout. Ask anyone that realizes the speech they have to present goes over better if they research and rehearse ahead of time. Same for the musician that practices and nails their performance. You have insurance, right? What are you afraid of? You wear a seat belt in the car, right? Are you paranoid? You have smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in your house, so that means you’re afraid of fire, right? Well, yeah… to some extent sure. But instead of just being afraid of what could happen, you acknowledge it, accept it, and prepare for it. Thus if it does happen, you can do something better than panic and freeze.

Being prepared is a good thing.

Today’s topics reflected that. We had presenters talking about risk assessment, how to start a backyard garden, how to can the food you grow in that garden, minimum standards for defensive handgun, improvised weapons, and bug-out bags and preparations. Quite a range of topics for a single day, and it could only scratch the surface. And while I was a presenter, I was more happy to have attended the day — I learned a LOT. It was simply fantastic.

Either you were there, or you missed out.

Stay tuned. I know Paul’s looking at doing a workshop this summer, and I’m willing to be there will be a 3rd conference. Don’t miss this stuff. It’s just too valuable. In fact, it’s so valuable, I brought the whole family. Everyone enjoyed the day.

Thank you, Paul. Great work!

Goodbye Sprouts

/ hsoi / 9 Comments

When we discovered Sprouts we were thrilled. So many great products, including hard to find health-type foods. Wife was thrilled, I enjoyed it. Heck, the first time I went to Sprouts I was giggling because of the great variety of foodstuffs they stocked and provided.

But alas, they will receive no more of my money. And for a family of 5 that wound up using Sprouts as our primary grocery store? That’s a fair chunk of money.

Why?

Seems Sprouts corporate decided to start posting “no guns” signs at their locations. I’m not sure how widespread this is across the nation, but certainly 30.06 signs are showing up at Texas locations (many reports are being made). I didn’t see any signs the last time I went to my local store, but it seems the rollout has been happening over the course of December 2013 so who knows. Sign or not at my particular store, it’s evident this is corporate policy.

I didn’t see any formal posting about this, but here’s something from their Facebook page:

Good afternoon Paul, Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts about our decision to prohibit firearms in our stores. Please understand that we recognize and respect our customers’ rights under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a right that prohibits the government (but not private retailers) from infringing on citizens’ right to bear arms. That right, however, must be balanced with our need as a retailer to provide a safe and comfortable environment for our customers and team members. That’s why, after careful and thoughtful analysis, we have decided to prohibit our customers and our team members from bringing firearms onto our store premises. While this decision may disappoint some of our valued customers, such as yourself, we stand by our decision and have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our communities about it.

We hope that you will continue to be a part of the Sprouts family notwithstanding our decision on this issue. We value your patronage and hope to see you again soon.

Sincerely,

Stephanie
Sprouts Farmers Market
Customer Relations Specialist

They are correct, that 2A is about restricting the federal government, not about private retailers. In fact, they do have every right to do this, and we have every right to take our business elsewhere.

I’m just saddened — and confused — by their decision.

They want a safe and comfortable environment. I would appreciate to know their logic and reasoning behind this, but they are getting bombarded with feedback about this decision, and given how they are active in responding to every non-gun-related post on their Facebook page but make no comments on the gun-related posts, they are obviously making no further comment on the issue.

It’s strange.

The 30.06 sign only prohibits law-abiding CHL holders. The thing is, if you look at facts and data, CHL holders are not the people you should be afraid of. In fact, CHL holders are statistically more law-abiding than the non-CHL-holding citizenry! If you want a safe environment, CHL holders are precisely the sort of people you want to have around. They aren’t going to commit violence. They aren’t going to steal.

There are no signs or ways to keep violent, gun-wielding felons out of your store. In fact, today they can still shop in Sprouts. But today, CHL holders — who cannot be felons, by definition — cannot shop at Sprouts.

How is that creating a safe environment?

I know we all want to feel safe, and these days people seem to put greater emphasis on feeling than actually being. But which actually makes you safer? Illusions or reality?

I would like to believe there is sound reasoning behind why Sprouts made their decision. In fact, they might gain support and expand their customer base if they were willing to share their specific reasoning. Furthermore, it’d be great if Sprouts was willing to enter into dialogue that helped guide them towards policies that actually lead to a truly safer and more comfortable environment. One that strove to provide real safety, and didn’t alienate law-abiding customers. I mean, it seems that thousands upon thousands of other businesses in Texas can do this, so I’m sure if Sprouts wanted to, they could as well.

Sprouts donated $100,00 to the victims of the Aurora shooting victims. That’s fantastic! I applaud their generosity and compassion. I just hope they aren’t extrapolating the acts of a madman to the 750,000+ Texas CHL holders that, again, are demonstrably law-abiding, sound citizens. I mean, we’re not supposed to extrapolate the actions of a lone terrorist to all Muslims, so I hope they aren’t committing the same sort of extrapolation.

I’d love to give Sprouts my business again because I appreciate their business model and the products they provide. But it seems for now this is their decision. I will take my money elsewhere, and encourage others to do the same. We will support those that understand the value of healthy living, and that do not treat the law-abiding with dangerous misunderstanding.