Guns

When you assume you make an ass out of you… because you shot your mom in the ass

/ hsoi

A Palm Coast woman who was accidentally shot by her son said she’s fine.

[…]

Her 27-year-old son, Todd Johnston, was cleaning his 9mm Glock handgun at the dining-room table when he inadvertently discharged a round, which traveled through his mother’s hip and lodged in the wall, the report states. Investigators deemed there was no foul play.

[…]

The younger Johnston wouldn’t answer a reporter’s questions but told investigators he assumed the gun was unloaded when he left the shooting range Thursday, according to the report. He said he began “field stripping” the gun, a process that requires the trigger to be pulled to remove the slide, when it discharged.

Full story. (h/t Fark)

  • That was not an accident – that was negligence.
  • All guns are always loaded. (Cooper Rule #1)
  • Yes, some guns require a trigger press to disassemble. There’s nothing wrong with that, so long as you have followed proper procedure (and we should not dumb down designs merely because people are negligent — that solves and improves nothing).
  • Before you pack up your gun, verify it is unloaded.
  • Whenever you pick up a gun, verify its state. Even if you set it down for just a moment, when you pick it back up you must verify its state.
  • The way to unload a semi-automatic handgun? Remove the magazine. Point the muzzle in a safe direction. Pull the slide all the way back, quickly and firmly to eject any round that may be in the chamber; lock the slide back. Visually inspect the magazine well to ensure there’s nothing in there. Visually inspect the chamber to ensure there’s nothing in there. You can also use tactile methods, such as inserting your pinky into the magazine well and chamber (breech end, NOT muzzle end) to feel for anything. Verify again. In fact, verify a third time. Make damn sure there’s nothing in the gun. Once you are certain there’s nothing in the gun, pull the slide to the rear to release/drop it. Point the gun in a safe direction, and you can then press the trigger to do things like release the slide for cleaning, or just drop the hammer/striker to release spring pressure.
  • A safe direction? There’s no hard and fast rule, but it basically means you have to consider where if a bullet came out of the gun, where would that bullet come to rest. Minimization of damage by that bullet’s travel and eventual rest is key. Remember, things like drywall and your mom’s hip will not stop bullets… bullets will go through them, they will cause damage. Don’t just consider things based upon what you can and cannot see — bullets may travel through, so what’s beyond?
  • Do not clean your firearms in the same places you eat. Cleaning involves strong chemicals, you’re cleaning away things like lead… all sorts of things you don’t want to ingest. Don’t contaminate your eating areas; it’s not good for your health.

20 years since Luby’s

/ hsoi

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Luby’s Massacre in Killeen, TX. Austin YNN has a story remembering it.

“I saw Hennard, he’d killed an older man, and he said that the man’s wife was sheltering the husband’s body, Hennard came up and the woman looked at him, and she realized he was going to shoot her so she bowed her head and he shot her in the back of the head,” Cox said. “It’s been 20 years but I still tear up when I think about that.”

That man and woman? They were Suzanna Gratia Hupp’s parents.

Who is she?

I’m sorry for her loss. I’m thankful for her fight.

 

5 years, and still no blood in the streets

/ hsoi

Nearly five years ago, Nebraska’s concealed carry law went into effect.

Over 15,000 permits.

Of course, any time laws like this are being debated, anti’s come out saying how this isn’t the Wild Wild West, how if regular citizens are allowed to carry guns that everyone will solve their problems with the gun and there will be blood flowing in the streets, etc. etc. etc..

And it never happens.

So far so good. The Grand Island Police Department told News 5 they have not encountered any issues with concealed weapon permits since the law went into effect in 2007.

Steve-“I’m unaware of any issues that we’ve had with them,” said Grand Island Police Chief Steve Lamken.

So once again, the data piles up… just more data for anti-gunners to ignore.

(And Omaha still needs to clear up it’s problematic legal situation)

If you’re free this weekend….

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

… you live in Texas (within reasonable drive to the Austin-Bryan area), and you want some top-notch defensive pistol instruction, then I’ve got something for you.

There are apparently 2 slots open for the Combative Pistol 1 class taught by Tom Givens of Rangemaster and hosted at the KR Training facilities. My guess is 2 last-minute cancellations, since I know the class was sold out long ago.

If you want to sign up, contact Karl Rehn of KR Training immediately. Call him.

Opportunities to train with Tom Givens should not be missed. If you carry a gun for personal defense, you owe it to yourself to get training, and training from Tom is some of the best.

That was NOT an accident

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

It’s pure negligence… and probably some stupidity (and perhaps even alcohol?) thrown in.

According to an incident report, 24-year-old Naomi Ensell told her boyfriend to put the gun away about 2 a.m. Thursday. But he told her it was safe and put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. The gun did not fire.

Deputies say he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger again. This time, it went off.

No, it’s never safe to do that. Rules violations everywhere.

Your head is not a safe direction.

All guns are ALWAYS loaded.

Never let the muzzle cover anything you’re not willing to destroy. In my book, my head is something I’m not willing to destroy.

Lessons from a gas station robbery video

/ hsoi / 11 Comments

Karl passed this to me. Some good CC footage of a convenience store robbery.

Some things to note:

  • Look how quickly it unfolded. Once second you’re helping a customer paying for their stuff, the next second you’ve got a gun in your face.
  • As well, look how quickly it ended. This isn’t a sporting event with 3 5-minute rounds. The sooner you can end it, the better.
  • The clerk had a gun, but it was on a shelf under the counter. He’s lucky he was able to retrieve the gun, but only barely. Better choice is to have the gun on you in a holster, that way wherever you are, there it is at hand.
  • Concealment isn’t cover. It’s better than standing out in the open, and making yourself small and difficult to hit is good (better to not get shot than it is to shoot). But also remember, not only can they shoot through cover, so can you. Consider that to your advantage.
  • When the fur flies and the adrenaline is pumping, tunnel vision will set in hard. This is one reason why in Defensive Pistol Skills 1 we emphasize the need to SCAN SCAN SCAN!

Another thing to consider. If you were the man in the cowboy hat, what would you have done? There’s no right or wrong answer, it’s a matter of considering yourself in that situation and figuring out what you would do. Better to have a plan before things happen than to come up with one while things are unfolding.

Need .45 ACP Ammo?

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

UPDATED: It’s been sold (didn’t take long… not surprised at those prices).

Live in the Austin area and need .45 ACP ammo?

Buddy, blog reader, and KR Training student Shawn has given up his 1911 for an M&P in 9mm. So he’s got a bunch of .45 ACP ammo that he doesn’t need any more.

From his arfcom posting:

I have 1,700 rounds of 45 ammo that I’d like to sell FTF in Austin, TX. Here is what I have:

600 rounds of Winchester white box 230 gr. FMJ
550 rounds of Federal American Eagle 230 gr. FMJ
400 rounds of Speer Lawmn 230 gr. TMJ
150 rounds of Winchester Ranger Bonded 230 gr. JHP

Asking price is $15 per 50 rounds of the training ammo and $25 per 50 rounds of the Ranger. Or buy the whole lot for $500.

I’ll consider trades, specifically similar quality 9mm ammo or perhaps a Walther PPS in 9mm.

Feel free to contact me with any questions. Thanks for looking!

Looking at ammoengine, that’s quite a deal.

Shawn gave me permission to repost this here, and if you’re interested, contact him via email.

Bass-ackwards

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Homeowner arrested after suspected burglar shot in the leg

The householder in his 60s, named locally as Malcolm White, is believed to have fired on one of two raiders who tried to break into his home in Whitbourne, Hertfordshire.

[…]

Family friend Barbara McKenzie said Mr White and his wife Josie were watching TV when they heard someone breaking their living room window on Wednesday evening.

‘Malcolm got his shotgun and apparently fired at one of the burglars.

‘Everyone here supports Malcolm completely,’ she added.

Yes… this is in the country formerly known as “Great” Britain.

Of course, we don’t know the full story, maybe there’s more to it, but in Britain? Unlikely…. because there, criminals now have more rights than law-abiding citizens. Two hoodlums break into the elderly man’s home, the man defends himself and his wife, and for that he gets charged with attempted murder and arrested.

Can someone explain to me how this man is a criminal, and not a hero?

Bass-ackwards.

Should you be allowed to carry a gun to church?

/ hsoi

Should you be allowed to carry a gun to church?

Yes.

What about the person sitting next to you?

Yes.

The question before a three-judge panel for the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta Thursday is whether Georgia’s prohibition on firearms in places of worship conflicts with the promise of religious freedom in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

GeorgiaCarry.org, which brought the initial lawsuit, believes religious institutions, not Georgia law, should dictate if firearms are allowed inside, and they point to accounts of shootings in churches as examples of why guns are needed even while worshiping.

Full Story. (h/t Fark)

An interesting legal approach by GeorgiaCarry.org, and we’ll see if it pans out. As expected, the opposition doesn’t get it.

But lawyers for the state say the ban makes it possible for “worshipers to focus on spiritual activities” instead of “protective vigilance.”

So perhaps we should ban smartphones as well, because I can tell you for sure they don’t do much to help worshipers focus on spiritual activities, especially when someone forgets to turn off their ringer. If this is about ensuring focus, there’s much else that we should ban to remain consistent. But of course, it’s not about that.

But Jonathan Lowy, director of the Legal Action Project at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a gun control group that is not a participant in the lawsuit, said there is no constitutional right to carry loaded guns in public.

“If you chose to have a loaded gun in your home to protect yourself, that’s your right. It’s a whole different issue when you bring that gun where me and my children and other families are just going about … business.

Let’s play a little bit with the phrasing here:

If you choose to speak freely in your own home to protect yourself, that’s your right. It’s a whole different issue when you start practicing free speech where me and my children and other families are just going about … business.

Is that acceptable?

Why isn’t it a different issue when police bring their gun where you and your children and other families are just going about business?

And it would be even more dangerous, he said, if well-meaning, armed civilians, faced with a dangerous situation, begin shooting in an effort “to save the day.”

“Injecting more guns into more public places and being held by more people causes death and injury much more than it’s saved lives,” Lowy said.

Mr. Lowy, can you please present the data and evidence to back this up? Because we have data and evidence, and it does not support your conclusion; in fact, quite the opposite.

I posted about this just a few days ago. There is much violence in church. You’d like to think if there was anywhere there wouldn’t be it would be in a church, but alas, such is not the case. If we want to talk about the ability for folks to focus on worship well… I’d say allowing someone to go on a violent rampage kinda makes worship a wee bit difficult. If there are ways good people can deter and stop such events, I’d say that helps the ability to focus on worship.

Consider what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about self-defense.

2265 Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for one who is responsible for the lives of others. The defense of the common good requires that an unjust aggressor be rendered unable to cause harm. For this reason, those who legitimately hold authority also have the right to use arms to repel aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their responsibility.

Emily gets her gun… well… tries to

/ hsoi

Emily Miller lives in Washington D.C.. She wants a gun to protect herself.

It’s proving to be most difficult to do so, and she’s writing a series about it at the Washington Times.

All you that believe in a woman’s right to choose? That “no means no”? That participate in “slutwalks”? Why are those of this same group so hell-bent on denying her the ability to protect herself in her chosen way? The inconsistency bothers me.