The “Page 56” meme:
The closest book to me is Principles of Personal Defense by Jeff Cooper. Page 56 is blank, so I’ll use what’s on page 57.
Self-control is one thing the sociopath does not usually possess.
A few weeks ago I was a student of KR Training’s Defensive Long Gun course.
The intent of the course is to lay the foundation for the use of a long gun in a defensive manner. While many such courses are about “defensive shotgunning” or “defensive carbine”, this course is unique in that it’s about the use of any long gun: rifle, shotgun, or pistol caliber carbine. The basic principles are the same regardless of the particular firearm: presentation, rapid acquisition of sight picture (cleardistinctfrontsightpost-press-cleardistinctfrontsightpost), shooting from standing, shooting from kneeling, shooting around barriers, shooting distances of 3-25 yards, cover, movement. Another nice thing about having any sort of long gun in the class is that you get to see the effects of other long guns. For instance, shotguns are wicked things but as the distance to the target increases it becomes difficult to control where every pellet lands (e.g. at 25 yards, maybe you’ll need to use a slug). Or as well, using an AR, where the sights are very high above the bore, when shooting at close ranges you really have to compensate with holdover. The class gives you an opportunity to not only pick up skills with your choice of long gun, but it also gives you a chance to see how other long guns fare in the same contexts, learn the strengths and weaknesses of each. The class does teach some specifics about particular long guns (e.g. good techniques for shotgun reloading), but for the most part you realize that the principles are the same.
The “defensive” aspect is using the long gun for self-defense (i.e. this isn’t a gunfighting course, this isn’t military training). The course is aimed for situations such as home-defense, or maybe you’ve got a lot of land and need to be mindful as you’re out working on your property (people in Texas can have vast acreage). There’s time taken in the course to talk about tactics, situations, mindset, law and legal implications.
One other thing that I appreciate about KR Training’s classes (mostly in the more advanced courses) is the use of FoF — Force On Force. This is using things like AirSoft guns with safety gear, which allows us to actually shoot each other. The purpose is to role play, to be in scenarios. It’s realistic training, and any martial artist can tell you that training “alive” is the best way to train. What I like about such training is it’s open-ended: you get put into a situation, you have to figure how to get out — and the answer often doesn’t involve shooting anyone. It enables you to be in as close to a real situation as possible, but no one gets hurt; in fact, usually what gets hurt is your ego (that’s fine). This is the time and place to make mistakes and learn from them, in a forgiving learning environment. I find these situations to be the most humbling and best ways to learn. It’s a shame I cannot take KR’s AT-2 Class on Feb. 28. If you can, you should.
Anyways, some pictures from the Defensive Long Gun Class were just posted. Here’s a couple with me in them:
KR Training Defensive Long Gun 2009 Class - Students shooting from kneeling
KR Training Defensive Long Gun 2009 Class - Students shooting around cover
I have to say, all of this has entered into changing my choice of home defensive firearm.
John Longenecker talks about the very first pig with lipstick on it.
Went to the range with my buddy, foo.c. Apart from the cold wind cutting through us (and blowing uprange, right into our eyes), a nice day at the range.
One thing I love about gun-folk is how friendly most are. On the rifle range there were only 2 shooters: myself (foo.c was spotting, then we’d switch off) and another gentleman. Foo.c pointed out the other guy was shooting an SKS then a Mosin-Nagant. We stopped our shooting to watch the other gentleman fire his Mosin-Nagant, and the wicked fireball that came out the barrel with each shot. It was a thing of beauty, and we could only imagine how cool that would look at night. 🙂
The gentleman noticed we were talking about his rifle, so we all got to talking. He took an interest in my M1A Scout Squad, asking questions, and I think I may have convinced him to buy his own. He then let us shoot his Mosin, and I gotta tell you… that was fun. Never shot one before, kicked more than I expected, but boy it left me giggling. I’ve gotta get me one of those for myself.
On the downside, I just don’t like XS Sights. I put a set of XS Big Dot 24/7 Express sights on my Springfield XD-9 Service model. I did this because I wear glasses, and if something went bump in the night and I didn’t have my specs on, I’d still like some way to see the front sight. So I thought I’d try out the XS Sights to see if they would help. Well, my eyesight is so poor that without my glasses on I still can’t see the big front dot. Still tho I thought I’d give ’em a whirl. And over the months I’ve had them and used them I’ve discovered I just don’t like them. Yes they are very fast to acquire, and they certainly work for their purpose: as a defensive “fighting gun” sights they ought to hit the bad guy where it counts. But I just don’t like how they line up. If I want even a small degree of accuracy, it’s tough to get. Today I was just shooting 6″ paper plates at about 10 yards, the big dot front sight covered the plate completely, but even then I couldn’t hit the plate (I was constantly hitting high). The way to use these sights is to put the big dot over what you want to hit and press the trigger. So that’s what I was doing, and I wasn’t hitting what I wanted to hit (tho I was grouping ok). Now sure, if this was a bad guy and I put the big dot over center mass, it’d be effective enough. But sometimes I want a little more accuracy, and I just don’t get that out of these sights. Sure, you can compensate, but the way the sights work, it’s just tough for me to get that.
Don’t get me wrong. I think the sights are really cool and very good for their intended purpose. I know there are people out there that swear by them and I wouldn’t tell them they were wrong. But for me, these just don’t work. Recently I tried out a set of Dawson Precision fixed sights: a 0.100″ red fiber optic front with a fixed all-black rear sight. That worked out great for me: fast to acquire (the fiber optic front vs. the all-black rear), and where I would aim the bullet would go no matter the distance: I had no problem hitting a small 6″ popper “on the shoulder” of a no-shoot at about 25 yards. I just can’t “point and click” and do that with the XS Sights. The XS might work for you and I certainly think they’re good for what they are, but they just are not right for me.
So, time for me to ship my XD-9 off to Springer Precision for new sights and some other work.
I’ve been encouraging the wife to buy different things at the grocery store. Doesn’t necessarily matter what, just let’s break out of ruts and try some new things.
So this past grocery shop she came home with a duck. This isn’t the first time we’ve eaten duck, but is the first time we’re prepared it at home. We figured to start with a simple recipe: stuffed with apples, some onion, wrap it in bacon, roast it in the oven, and it turned out ok. Gave us a lot to think about for the next time (e.g. gotta make a sauce).
When the Mrs. told me the price of the duck my jaw hit the floor. You know, I can buy a couple boxes of birdshot for my 12 gauge for that. I could come home with more birds and have more fun doing it.
Yeah, I’m about “this close” to starting hunting.
Update: I forgot. I was corrected. Birdshot and duckshot aren’t the same thing (lead issues). Duckshot’s more expensive. Still tho, it’ll be more fun and more satisfying. 🙂
What I’m about to say I’ve said before, but after reading this, I think it bears repeating in a post all its own.
The post over at Hecate’s points out that the police were nearby… about 200 yards away in an adjacent parking lot. The responding officer was on the scene about a minute after the 911 call went through. But yet, 5 dead, 1 wounded, and the gunman was nowhere to be found.
Moral: even if the cops had to protect you, even if they wanted to protect you, they can’t. They just can’t be everywhere all the time. They just can’t respond fast enough to save you and prevent tragedy.
Some still refuse to believe this. So I offer this simple experiment. I find this useful to present in either a one-on-one or small group discussion. Usually it’s met by stunned silence because people don’t want to think about such things, especially such things happening to them. I only hope it gets people to seriously think about taking care of and responsibility for themselves. NOTE: I’m not actually advocating doing what I write below; it’s a presentation of a hypothetical situation for the purposes of discussion.
For firearms training in the Austin, Texas area, there’s none better than KR Training.
Karl just redid the KR Training website (looks good), and added a LOT more classes for the coming months.
I’m a graduate of many of the KR Training classes, and am taking more in the future. It’s top notch training with a great instructor. There are those that know their stuff but can’t teach, then there are those that can teach but don’t know their stuff; Karl’s one of those few that knows his stuff and can teach. One thing I think he’s especially skilled in is helping beginners. He’s friendly, he’s personable, his knowledge is vast, and what’s also nice is that Karl doesn’t rest on his laurels. Karl keeps up with things, he’s willing to challenge established notions if it leads towards a better end result, and he’s an avid competitor.
Whether you’re a seasoned gun owner or someone looking to take their first step into firearms ownership, I recommend getting formal training. If you live within a few hour drive of Austin, I recommend checking out KR Training.
If you want facts about guns, visit the Gun Facts Website.
All it does is present myths about guns, then refutes them with documented facts and statistics, often with that data coming from neutral and/or anti-gun sources.
So sure, maybe it’s part of the lies, damn lies, and statistics of the “pro gun lobby/agenda”. But then let’s see documented facts and evidence to the contrary.
Via SayUncle I learn about Gun Free Kids. They are, of course, against concealed carry on campus.
America’s colleges and universities are under attack from the gun lobby.
We’ll ignore the fact they’re under attack by crazy people bent on hurting innocent students.
The Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus is writing to colleges and universities across the country to alert them of the threat and to urge them to band together to oppose the gun lobby’s agenda to push guns into college campuses.
The is no agenda to push guns into college campuses. All there is is a movement to break down artificial legal barriers that keep law-abiding citizens from engaging in law-abiding activities, such as self-defense. Look, Virginia Tech already had policies prohibiting guns on campus, but that didn’t stop Cho Seung-Hui from going crazy. I dare say the only thing that could have stopped crazy would have been an armed student willing to shoot back. But instead all we have are sheep and wolves, and if there are any sheepdogs on campus the law forced them to leave their teeth elsewhere.
The case against guns on campus is strong. There are many reasons why it would be dangerous to introduce guns into colleges and universities.
- Arming students would make campuses more dangerous every hour of every day
- Armed students would be accountable to no one
- Arming students would not deter the rare campus shooting
- Academic debate cannot flourish in a room full of guns
- There are better ways to make college campuses safer
Ok….
You’re not going to stop violence and evil by banning guns; in fact, gun bans tend to lead to increases in crime (why? because Joe Citizen is now too weak to adequately fight back). Guns are merely a tool, and guess what? That tool works great in the hands of The Good Guys against Bad Guys! The Good Guys obey the law, so pass a law to ban guns, now the Good Guys won’t have guns — but The Bad Guys still will.
This group’s tag line is “protecting families from gun violence”. But as I look around their website, I fail to see how they’re doing anything to protect me and my family from gun violence, or even just plain old violence. I’d like them to explain that better. All I see right now are a lot of emotional appeals, no facts, and no real substance as to how they’re protecting anyone from anything.
I don’t deny there are stupid people out there, that there are dangerous people out there, that there are evil people out there. That these people are out to cause harm to innocent lives. And many times these people choose guns as the tool by which they inflict their harm. And when they go to inflict their harm, they have demonstrated they don’t care about social norms, standards, laws, ordinances, agreements, boundaries, signs, or you and your well-being. If you wish to abridge these people, I’m all for it. But until you can present me (y’know, one of The Good Guys) with some failsafe and foolproof way to keep them from injuring me, my family, my friends, and other good people in this world, please don’t cripple me and rob me of my choice of tools.
Here’s the Second Amendment News Roundup for February 12, 2009.
Meta-blogging I guess.
Stuff From Hsoi 