Guns

Self-Defense for all

/ hsoi / 5 Comments

I’m in my mid-30’s. I’m a big guy (6’3″, 200#). I’m strong. I’m physically fit. I actively practice an empty-hand martial art.

One might argue that I’m able to take care of myself should someone attack me. Why should I need a gun to defend myself? Just knock ’em out with my fists or subdue them with a hold or something, right? Of course, that assumes that anyone would mess with big ugly me in the first place…. no one should mess with me, I don’t look like an easy target. Well, assumptions are fine, and I’m sure if I come across as food to some predator that I don’t come across as an easy target. But when there’s a pack of jackals about, they can take down a lion. Your biggest, baddest sport fighters lose a match now and again. No one is immune. But for the sake of argument, let’s say I am because of my state.

Is the world filled with people like me? No, not really. 

Look at Kellene. She admits to being 200 pounds, 5′ 2.5″, and out of shape. Does she not have a right to defend herself?

How about disabled folks? I see folks on motorized wheelchairs buzzing around town, but I always wonder what stops some degenerate from taking advantage of them?

How about the elderly? Is a big and fit 19 year old attacking a 75 year old man with a cane, hip replacement, and pacemaker really a fair fight?

Perhaps you could argue I don’t need a gun because I’m fairly equal or dominant by myself alone. I wouldn’t agree, because I know wolves travel in packs, because I am not so arrogant and blind as to think I’m invincible and “it could never happen to me”. What I would like you to explain to me how and why the above people, who don’t have the same advantages I do, should be denied an equalizer. Why should they be relegated to be weakened prey? Are their lives not important? They have every right to self-defense.

And so it begins

/ hsoi / 5 Comments

The chOsen One claimed he wasn’t going to take our guns, that he wasn’t going to tread on our Second Amendment guaranteed but God-given freedom. I knew he lied then, his “change.gov” policies made it clear he lied, and now they’re trying to gain momentum by claiming it’s for the good of stoping drugs and violence in Mexico. Read about it here, and here, and here, and here.

This is dangerous waters Mr. Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress are treading into. With history of the previous AWB, basically the Congress got a major housecleaning after 1994. Bill Clinton even acknowledges losses were due to the passing of the AWB. If Mr. Obama wishes to have a long legacy, this is not the route to take.

 

Updated: and here. and good stuff here. and more here.

Updated 2: Seems Pelosi is saying no. (h/t to SayUncle). Sounds like someone knows she’ll be looking for a new job if she even thinks about going there. Still, it’s quite evident such things are on the mind of this President, Adminstration, and Congress… we must remain vigilant.

People don’t write bullshit, computer’s do.

/ hsoi

Because we all know, inanimate objects do things all by themselves.

We need a ban on computers… it’s the only way to keep our children and Interwebtubes safe, dontchaknow.

Women, firearms, and self-defense

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

Funny how some things come together.

Today I made a post and then I receive a comment from Kellene Bishop from Women Of Caliber. Never heard of her or her group before, but I’m starting to read her blog and she presents some good food for thought. She is of course geared towards women and self-defense issues.

Then I’m reading over at Joe Huffman’s blog and he links to the brief of amicae curiae 126 women state legislators and academics in support of respondant.

Kellene, looks like some good stuff for your cause.

Scout Rifles

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

JR’s econo-scout (h/t Tam). I was looking at this very same setup myself: the Savage Scout, the Leupold scope, etc. but I opted to go for the gusto and instead got a Springfield M1A Scout Squad, a Burris handgun scope 2-7x-32mm, a Galco Safari Ching Sling. No bipod at this time tho.

Why did I go for this?

Well, I’d still love to get one of the Savage rifles someday, but there’s something about the M1A/M14 platform that’s tough to beat. I knew that’s what I wanted and if I went for the Savage, I’d still want the M1A/M14 eventually so I might as well go for what I really wanted. 

While the dedicated scout scopes are good, I had been reading at the M-14 The Firing Line Forums about different scopes and the Burris had come up numerous times. I can crank it down to 2x and get the same effect, or crank it up to 7x and I’ve been having fun out to 200 yards (haven’t been able to shoot beyond that yet). Yes it makes things slightly heavier, but to me that’s just reason to get stronger.

I went with the Safari Ching Sling because that’s the evolution of the Ching Sling by the creator of it.

Nevertheless, JR’s got a great setup. If you’re not familiar with the scout rifle concept, it’s a creation of Col. Jeff Cooper and you should read his notes on the concept.

Firearm Refresher Course

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

I was sent this today.

“Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.” — Thomas Jefferson

  1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
  2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.
  3. Colt: the original point and click interface.
  4. Gun control is not about guns; it’s about control.
  5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?
  6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.
  7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
  8. If you don’t know your rights, you don’t have any.
  9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
  10. The United States Constitution, ©1791. All Rights Reserved.
  11. What part of “shall not be infringed” do you not understand?
  12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.
  13. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.
  14. Guns only have two enemies: rust and politicians.
  15. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.
  16. You don’t shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.
  17. 911: government sponsored Dial-A-Prayer.
  18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.
  19. Criminals love gun control; it makes their jobs safer.
  20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.
  21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.
  22. You have only the rights you are willing to fight for.
  23. Enforce the gun control laws we already have; don’t make more.
  24. When you remove the people’s right to bear arms, you create slaves.
  25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

Home Defense Shotgunning

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

While I’ve chimed in before with my take on a home defense firearm, Carteach0 has a nice piece on home-defense shotgunning (h/t Xavier). I will say I don’t like the buttstock shell holder because if you have to switch shooting to your “other hand/shoulder” (something we did in the KR Training Defensive Long Gun class), now you’ve got shells in your cheek and it’s going to be tough to aim. However, you may not have a choice and it’s certainly better than nothing. As InSights Training Chief Instructor Greg Hamilton says:

Chances are, if you’re ever going to be involved in a home defense situation with a shotgun, you’ll be in your birthday-suit. So unless you’ve got ammunition Velcro’d to your ass, all the extra ammunition you’ll have will be on the gun.

And while I’m apparently now biased towards an AR/M4-gery as my home-defense tool, there’s still some good reading in my take on a home defense firearm regarding use of a shotgun. Take a look at the section with links to The Box O’ Truth. Very good reading.

One thing I really liked was Carteach0’s additional piece on practice drills for shotgun home-defense. Look at the first reload drill. Notice the muzzle is kept between you and the threat (previously discussed here, firearm may be different, concepts are the same). Notice the shotgun runs dry, he then ensures the first load is dropped in and made ready… he doesn’t reload the whole gun then ready it, he gets one load ready to go then reloads the rest. This is important because you did the minimal necessary to get the gun back in a reusable state in case you have to start using it again before being fully replenished. Good technique. He’s very smooth in the video. I’m going to have to give his particular technique a try. Someone in the comments mentioned reaching under to pop the shell into the port instead of over, and gave a nice reason why. Have to try both approaches.

In terms of movement, one of the best things you can do is move in a natural way — like he said, it’s tough, tougher if you try to think about it. Try to let your legs and feet move in a natural way. Let your hips point in the direction you want to move, keep a slight bend in your knees, and walk. You should pivot your torso at your hips, like a turret on a tank, to take aim at whatever you’re shooting at.

Carteach0, thanx for the pieces. Good stuff!

(Re)loading from empty

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

Another nice video from Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch. This time talking about (re)loading an empty semi-automatic handgun (from slide-lock, because you’ve run the gun dry).

There are some subtitles of his technique to pay attention to:

  • Leave the muzzle between you and the threat. This keeps your eyes on the threat, the gun will be in your peripheral vision which is all you need. If you bring the gun in to your face to reload your eyes will focus on the gun and who knows what that threat is going to be doing and how fast they can do it in (see Tueller Drill). 
  • When he pulls out the new magazine, note it’s already positioned properly for the reload… no need to flip it around to get it positioned right. Ensure your spare magazines are stowed in such a manner. This then allows that index finger to index the first round of the magazine which will facilitate your brain and gross motor skills to guide the magazine into the magazine well.
  • When he racks the slide, he grabs the slide with an overhand grip. I’ll discuss this more in a moment.
  • Clint emphasizes being smooth, not fast. This is important! Yes you need to be fast, but not so fast that you fail to reload on the first attempt — that will ultimately lead to a slower reload. You must be smooth: slow is smooth, smooth is fast. When you practice these reloads, focus on being correct and smooth first, then gradually add speed but never go so fast as to let your smoothness and correctness degrade.

I wanted to talk a little more about the rack technique. Generally you see two techniques: the over the top grip like Clint used, or the “slingshot”  method. In the slingshot method you use your thumb and index finger (or maybe index and middle, or the side of the 2nd knuckle of the index finger) to “pinch” the rear of the slide and rack it like you would if you were pulling back a loaded slingshot. I prefer the over the top method because it provides a few advantages:

  • It’s a gross motor skill. If adrenaline is pumping, fine motor skills degrade.
  • It involves more muscles, thus is easier to rack the slide. If you’re not that strong (e.g. women, elderly), you’ll have more success, maintain a better grip on the slide, and be able to successfully rack the slide. Furthermore, if you’re using a gun you’re unfamiliar with, who knows… maybe the recoil spring on this one is a lot stronger than you’re used to; sure on the range you’d get to try racking again, but in a fight for your life you might only get one chance to rack it: give yourself every advantage to ensure your success.
  • On that same token, some of us might have one hand’s grip stronger than the other. What if you have to use your weak hand to rack because your strong hand is disabled? Over the top works with any hand.
  • And on that token, what if you lose use of your thumb? You can still rack over the top, even if some digits are disabled.

To perform the over-the-top technique, do it just like Clint demonstrates in the video, with the meat/palm-heel of your hand resting on one side of the rear of the slide and your fingers coming over the top and the pads of your fingers gripping the other side of the rear of the slide. Grip firmly, ensuring your hand/fingers do not cover the ejection port. Then pull the slide back in one smooth and fast motion (it’s easier if you move fast than slow). Your hand should travel all the way back to your shoulder, which means, when the slide reaches the end of its travel it should come out of your hand and the recoil springs slam it forward and your hand comes off and continues back towards your shoulder. Do not ride the slide forward, let the recoil springs slam it forward.

As well, as Clint said, don’t just drop the slide. Rack it, always rack it. Let your muscle memory work to always rack it. The gun that saves your life may be unfamiliar to you, so learn and practice techniques that work regardless of the hardware in your hands.

Tap, Rack, Bang – Pistol Malfunctions and How to Fix Them

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

A nice video of Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch on the 3 types of semi-automatic handgun malfunctions and how to clear them.

Just remember:

  1. Tap
  2. Rack
  3. Bang (if necessary)

If that fails:

  1. Drop the magazine
  2. Rack, Rack, Rack
  3. Reload (tap)
  4. Rack
  5. Bang (if necessary)

So really, it’s all about “TRB”, but if that fails, drop mag, rack rack rack, then TRB.

Some might suggest that if you have to drop the magazine, you should totally drop the magazine: don’t put it back in (to retain the magazine or not is up to you, dependent upon circumstance). Reason is, double-feeds are often caused by magazine problems, so if you’re having a double-feed problem you should assume magazine is at fault and go for a fresh magazine. It all depends upon your circumstance, but certainly once you are able you should test out that magazine to see if it keeps having problems. If so, mark it as problematic and either take it out of use or relegate it to a practice/range-only magazine.

Finally, practice these malfunction drills. Clint was showing them live on the range, but until you know your drills I wouldn’t recommend this. Get snap caps or other types of dummy rounds and practice like any sort of dry-fire practice. The nice thing about the drill is Clint shows how to set up the malfunctions so you can practice them.