The KR Training April 2013 Newsletter is posted.
Schedule updated through the summer, with all sorts of cool things on tap. I’m looking forward to the return of DPS-BUG.
Oh, and remember all my recent talk about getting medical training? Lone Star Medics is returning in September for Med-X EDC. You do not want to miss it. There’s no other class like it (that I’m aware of). You will learn practical and important field medical skills, and apply them in practical and live/pressure situations.
“A few people roll up in monster trucks, but others ride over on their bikes,” [hunting instructor Dylan Eyers] laughed. “That seems to be a new thing.”
Anti-gun and anti-hunting groups are going to have to find a new group to stereotype and demonize, because the growing trend isn’t to the redneck bubbas but rather to the young hipsters that understand:
“Hunting makes sense as part of a DIY foodie lifestyle. There’s a lot of satisfaction that comes from being able to grow or prepare your own food, and you end up with something that tastes great and I know it’s a lot better for me.”
Look at the trends as of late. To think global but act local. To be a locavore. Organic and sustainable farming. Ethical farming. Reactionary to industrial ranching, “pink slime”, ingredient labels you can’t read, and so on.
Folks, that’s what hunting is. (or is supposed to be… yes I’m sure, we all know of some exception).
You don’t get more “free-range organic” than a deer that’s been tromping around the woods all its life, eating acorns and leaves.
There’s a trend of returning to our roots. Yeah, globalism isn’t working out, so while young folk appreciate being connected globally, they’re living more locally and trying to embrace what once was. I mean, it wasn’t too long ago people tended to grow their own food, hunt their own food, make their own clothes — life wasn’t solely obtained at Wal-Mart. So a return to hunting is just a logical next step for folks.
It also speaks to current hunters and gun folk: these people are your future. Please look past their skinny jeans, tattoos, piercings, and other appearances to see they are trying to embrace and learn about something you hold dear. Be loving and open, accepting, understanding, patient, and happily recruit these people into the fold by teaching and sharing your passion. You know… bring us together.
Legitimate defense can not only be a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another’s life, the common good of the family or of the state. Unfortunately it happens that the need to render the aggressor incapable of causing harm sometimes involves taking his life. In this case, the fatal outcome is attributable to the aggressor whose action brought it about.
A fuller examination from Mr. Michael T. Barry. (h/t Wife) Please click through and read.
So despite what some “Catholics” might feel and say about gun control, they do not speak for The Church and one should not mistake their opinion for dogma.
Apparently Timothy Gramins:
At long last the would-be cop killer crumpled to the pavement.
The whole shootout had lasted 56 seconds, Gramins said…. Gramins had discharged 33 rounds. Four remained in his magazine.
Full story. (h/t John Robideau)
It doesn’t matter that Timothy Gramins is a police officer and was on duty. What matter is he was a man being brutally attacked, and he chose to fight, he chose to live.
And he needed a lot more than 10 rounds to preserve his life.
Who would need more than 10 rounds, indeed.
Some might say that he’s police, and they always get exemptions from the law. It’s precisely because they know there’s no good reason to restrict capacity, because one may well need it, as Sgt. Gramins did. Is there some reason we plebeians should be treated differently? Of Tom Givens‘ 60 students still alive today because they were carrying their gun, the range of shots fired ranged up to 11 shots. That’s more than 10; that’s more than 7. Was the life of this one person not worth it? because I thought “if it saves just one life, then it’s worth it”.
Who would need more than 10 rounds, indeed.
(Aside: another lesson to learn? you’re not dead until you’re dead. Keep fighting. Both Sgt. Gramins and his attacker were brutally wounded, but both kept fighting, both kept working to survive and live. You’ll be dead when you’re dead; meantime, keep fighting.)
So yesterday I post that you should learn some medical skills.
Then I post about KR Training and Lone Star Medics having an article in a national magazine.
It just keeps coming. Some of this is coincidental, some is intentional, relative to the timing of the Boston Marathon bombing and the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion. But if casting them in that light helps and motivates people to learn, then there’s some light from this darkness.
And so Greg Ellifritz posts some quick stuff about field medicine for terrorist attacks. It reminds me strongly about the lessons Caleb Causey (Lone Star Medics) taught me in the Medicine-X EDC weekend and Dynamic First Aid class.
Now I know Greg’s article is presented in the context of terrorism, but really, it’s useful in the face of anything more serious than a boo-boo or bee sting. Serious car wreck? you are likely to encounter a car accident than a gunshot wound or a bombing. Bleeding is bleeding whatever caused it. Stopping bleeding is important, regardless of what caused it.
Greg’s writing really mirrors what Caleb teaches, and what strikes me is how counter it is to any first aid training you may have had in the past.
Point #1: get the patient to safety.
In my youth I was always told to not move the patient. They might make exceptions for if there was severe risk, but it was always presented in a manner to really discourage moving. Thinking about it tonight, I realize that so many of those contexts were never serious. In fact, so much first aid training was never put in any sort of context at all. It was just “here’s a broken bone, how do you stabilize it?”. Maybe they might talk about being on a hike or some such, but really, everything was in a vacuum. Not necessarily a bad thing, but that’s where Med-X EDC really shined because it put you into real situations. It put you into context. It wasn’t done in a vacuum, and it made you realize what you need to do and you had to do it. I mean, Caleb saying “CONTACT FRONT!” over and over to me because I failed to “get off the X” and get the patient to safety as my first and most important task… those 2 words keep ringing in my head. And I’m glad for that, because I bet you dollars to donuts that if I’m in such a situation for real, I’m going to hear Caleb’s voice and MOVE. Learning took place.
Point #2, which really goes with Point #3 – stopping bleeding, and using a tourniquet. Yeah, I carry an IFAK (thank you, Caleb) almost everywhere. I tried to come up with a solution for carrying a SOF®TT-Wide on my belt with the rest of my EDC but haven’t found a workable solution yet (Caleb’s solution of an ankle wrap is genius, but I wear shorts a lot so it doesn’t really work for me). Again, it goes against so much prior thinking. I also appreciate the approach Caleb said about sterility. Everyone freaks about sterility, but Caleb is right: stopping bleeding now, treat infection later. I mean, infection doesn’t matter if the person bleeds to death; infection is treatable… later. Stop the bleeding first and foremost. Tourniquet is one of the best ways to do it, and while you need some training and instruction on how to use and apply them, it’s not hard.
Give Greg’s article a read. It’s short, and it may do more towards saving lives than any concealed carry gun, AR-15, or political hand-wringing ever will.
Remember the Lone Star Medics Med-X EDC class I took back in September 2012?
Karl Rehn of KR Training wrote an article on the class, which was printed in the April 2013 issue of Concealed Carry magazine. (link to PDF, article starts on page 80).
Coincidental timing to my prior post about getting medical training. But maybe the extra exposure here might prompt you to get some training.
I saw somewhere else someone making a worthwhile observation.
Bomb goes off killing and injuring many people, we blame the bomber.
Gun goes off killing and injuring many people, we blame guns.
We haven’t called for a ban on pressure cookers, or background checks, or licensing, or registration, or whatever… because we know that’s silly because the pressure cooker isn’t to blame. We haven’t called Martha Stewart evil or demonized the NRA (you know, the National Restaurant Association).
Why is this horrible event about the person that committed the act, and particular other horrible events about the inanimate object that the person used to commit the act?
I’m not trying to politicize the events, I really don’t want to do that. But it’s a fair observation that bears repeating.
Austin Police Chief Acevedo admits his department cannot keep you safe. That the FBI can’t keep you safe. That the government cannot keep you safe.
“It really illustrates the importance of vigilance,” Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said. “The police department can’t do it alone. The FBI can’t do it alone, government can’t do it alone. Ultimately, we’re all responsible for safety.”
Ultimately WE are responsible for safety.
You are responsible for (your) safety.
And yet, he testifies against campus carry and recently went to Washington DC to testify in favor of gun control proposals that won’t do much to impact crime but will affect your ability to do as he says and be responsible for your own safety.
So Mr. Acevedo, which way is it? I mean, great that you say you support CHL but again, your actions don’t exactly jive.
Nevertheless, it’s nice to see the Austin Chief of Police admit and acknowledge that the only person that can be responsible for your safety is yourself, and that “others” cannot truly keep you safe.
As they say, admitting it is the first step.
You don’t have a choice.
When you were rear-ended at the stoplight? You didn’t have a choice in the matter — you were the unfortunate recipient of the fender-bender.
When the teenager was more concerned with texting than driving and t-boned you? You didn’t have a choice.
When the drunk-driver veered across the double-yellow line and smashed head-on into your car, you didn’t have a choice.
Actually, you did have some degree of choice, and you likely exercised it. The moment you got in the car, you chose to buckle your seatbelt. In fact, you may have exercised some greater choice prior to driving the car. When you bought the car, you may well have researched things like the crash ratings and other safety features of the car, and chose your purchase at least in part based upon the car’s safety features.
We accept that life has risk. When we get into our car, we accept that risk. We may not consciously think about that risk every day, and we may only buckle up out of habit, but it’s a pretty good habit to be in if the statistics are correct and there’s a 1 in 84 chance of you dying from a car accident.
We buckle up not because we expect to be in an accident, but because we understand it can happen. If we could expect it, if we knew it was going to happen, why would we go there in the first place? Why wouldn’t we avoid it to the fullest extent of our capabilities? But since we can’t know when, since we can’t know where, and since we cannot choose when or where it will happen, since it takes us by surprise, since we have no choice, we take measures so that if it does happen, we can improve our chances of coming out on the other side alive.
No one considers you paranoid for taking steps to preserve your life. No one asks you what you’re afraid of. That’s because they understand that such things happen, and your actions are wise towards the preservation of your life.
When I put on my gun in the morning, it’s not because I’m afraid of anything. It’s not because I’m paranoid. It’s because I understand that violent crime happens. Rough numbers are what? about 1 in 250 of being the victim of a violent crime in the US? It’s not too far fetched that in your lifetime you’ll be the victim of a violent crime.
When that crime occurs, you won’t have a choice. You don’t get to choose when it will happen. You don’t get to choose where. Some people decide they’ll carry their gun when they go here but not there. Why? Is “there” somehow invulnerable? and if “here” is bad enough that you know you need a gun, why are you going there in the first place?
Some just want a gun in the car, in the glove compartment. What good does that do when you’re attacked while in the parking lot (which is where many victimizations occur). Again, you didn’t get any say in when or where you’d get attacked.
It’s important to accept that bad things happen that you have no control over. You get no say, you have no choice. But there are aspects where you can have a say, and where you can choose. When you make these choices, you don’t do them out of fear or paranoia, you do them out of acceptance of life’s risks. You do them because you understand the realities of life, that “shit happens”, and the more you can do to deflect the shit, the better your chances are of continuing your good life. It’s why we always buckle up when we get in the car, and it’s why some of us chose to carry a gun… always.
Check out this video of top-shooter Max Michel drawing, shooting 18 shots, 2 reloads, under 5 seconds
Yeah, with an open gun, but let’s see you do it with an open gun. 🙂
After you’ve watched it a few times and picked your jaw up off the floor, there’s a few things worth pointing out.
But the biggest thing that struck me was how even as fast as he’s going, he still shifts his eyes to look at the mag well when he’s reloading. It probably stood out to me due to all the recent classes I’ve been involved in, since reloading was a skill to be used. Too many people reloading without looking (I was guilty of this in the past). Too many people dropping the gun and reloading down at their belly, etc.. So that just stood out to me when I watched the video.
Another thing? It’s all fundamentals. Oh sure he’s got a race gun and race gear, and that does help the overall time. But if he didn’t have the technique, the equipment wouldn’t matter. It was sights, trigger, follow-through, etc.. All the basics.
I can’t shoot anywhere on the level of Max, but I know there’s wisdom in modeling after success.
(Edited to add): sometimes I write and queue up for publication at a later date. This was one of those times. Well, after having written this but before publication, TLG wrote an article that touched on this very thing about looking while reloading. Give it a read.
Stuff From Hsoi 