Guns

On Open Carry – Coda

/ hsoi

So Open Carry (of handguns) is coming soon to Texas.

In the past when speaking on the topic I’ve framed it as two matters: legal and tactical. These days I’ve added a third facet: social.

Please do flip back and read the prior entries:

Coda

What makes a hot topic a hot topic is the contention around the issue and the passion with which people carry themselves when debating the issue. Open Carry is a hot topic.

I think it’s great to see the legislative improvement regarding Open Carry. Is this enough for some people? No. But it is important to remember that sweeping and fast change is rare, and usually what winds up getting things there is incremental change. With many things in life slow, steady, incremental improvements, consistent work over time, that’s what gets you where you ultimately want to be. It’s like crash dieting vs. changing your lifestyle, which is going to lead to a better results over the long haul?

And because there are less legal impediments for law-abiding citizens, that does open up more options from a tactical perspective. But remember to evaluate your tactics from a point of knowledge and ability. This isn’t just getting a retention holster and learning a few retention techniques (but that is part of it), but dedicating yourself to greater awareness, getting empty-hand skills, undergoing scenario force-on-force training and improving your overall skillset (that whole “with greater power comes great responsibility” thing, and that includes improving yourself). It’s also making wise choices, because it may be the better approach is to remain the gray man, to not draw attention to yourself. Choose wisely, and don’t let your choices (driven by ego or ignorance) put you into a position of regret.

Always remember: if you put yourself in the public eye, the public will watch you and will judge you. If you do not like their judgement, handle it like a professional, handle it with dignity and respect, handle it with humility. Let them see that you are a Good Person by any standard (yours, theirs, society’s). Don’t become fuel for their fight; be someone who can dampen their flames.

On Open Carry – Social

/ hsoi

So Open Carry (of handguns) is coming soon to Texas.

In the past when speaking on the topic I’ve framed it as two matters: legal and tactical. These days I’ve added a third facet: social.

Social

A big reason a lot of people open carry is for the sake of normalization. I get it. If you see guns every day, it’s just part of life, it’s just normal. It’s the same arguments for multiracial couples (like my parents), homosexuals making PDAs in public, and so on. The more you see it every day, it becomes “normal”, it becomes “no big deal”. Desensitization.

Where trouble comes in is what can go with it, and how people go about it.

I don’t know if he still does it, but blogger Robb Allen used to do Open Carry Fishing events. Under Florida law you cannot open carry in general, but you can when hunting, camping, and fishing. So he organized events where people would go fishing and openly carry while doing so. It was no big deal, there was no thrusting of “his rights” in other people’s faces. Basically, he was polite, reserved, a gentleman.

Then there’s folks like Open Carry Tarrant County and shenanigans like this. No dude, you’re not being nice, you’re being a dick. Yeah, your points are valid, but your social skills suck. You failed Persuasion 101. No one is going to listen to you when you are rude, intimidating, argumentative, and carry yourself like an overbearing asshole. In fact, precisely because of that behavior you wind up setting the whole movement back and doing far more damage than any anti-gunner ever could. You also give them precisely the fuel and “ammo” they need to rally the “unwashed sheep” against us. Gee, thanks but please, stop helping.

Pro tip: what matters isn’t the message being sent but the message being received. Allow me to put my graduate and postgraduate education in Human and Speech Communication to use. Does it matter that Jimi Hendrix was kissing the sky? or that people heard he was kissing this guy? Does it matter how Cory Hart wears his sunglasses at night, or the fact still to this day no one knows what the hell he’s singing in the chorus? They all know what message they are (trying) to send, but what long matters is the message actually received. Consider how many times in your life you thought you were crystal clear in your communication, yet someone still misunderstood you? And likely, you thought it was their fault for not understanding you. Nope, sorry but it was your fault for not sending a message that they would clearly understand. You failed to understand your audience, you failed to shape your message in a manner your audience would understand, and you failed to either pay attention to the feedback they sent or failed to solicit feedback from your receiver/audience (and then perhaps also failed to pay attention to that feedback). You carry a gun because you believe personal safety is your responsiblity, right? Well then take some responsibility for your communication and actions, and failings therein.

In the end, failures of communication lie with the sender of the message. And often that comes from not shaping the message to the audience.

When I talk about some computer programming problem, how I talk about it depends upon the audience. If I’m speaking with another programmer, I’ll probably get very technical, including speaking in jargon. If I’m speaking with my wife, I can get semi-technical because she may not be a geek but she’s been with me for many years and knows how things go. If I’m talking with a 6-year-old, I’m certainly not going to use jargon and certainly will have to choose different words and a different approach. In each case I’m working to send the same  message, but I must take my audience into account in how I shape and send my message to ensure successful receipt of the information I am trying to convey.

So if I want to convey that carrying a gun is normal, I must first consider my audience. Consider the people around you. Many of you live in an urban environment that is likely filled with people who don’t think carrying a gun every day is normal. So you must consider you are starting from that deficit. Now if you want to win someone over into thinking it’s normal, well, consider what THEY consider normal. In their mind it isn’t normal to walk around all day caressing a gun and thrusting it in people’s faces. So what might they consider normal? Maybe not drawing attention to it, because chances are they didn’t notice in the first place, and so long as you don’t make it some centerpiece, they likely won’t either. And if you don’t draw attention to it, maybe if they do notice and see you otherwise just going about your business…. well sure it may surprise them and make them a little guarded, but like any good desensitization they’ll consider it less and less of a threat if the accompanying behavior is also less and less of a threat. If all they ever see is people acting – what they consider – normal, then eventually it will be.

But getting up in people’s faces is not going to win them over. It doesn’t matter if it’s your “right”, because even with our beloved First Amendment, no one likes someone else getting in their face and yelling at them. You being an asshole is a sure-fire way to make people think all gun-owners are assholes. And how does that help the cause?

Look, if your tactics at promoting “gun freedoms” wind up getting us less freedoms, your tactics aren’t working. Feedback: pay attention to it.

If you’re going to open carry as a social statement, then remember all that goes with it. Let your social statement show that you are a responsible, law-abiding, respectful, courteous, and kind citizen. Yes, you need to be a Boy Scout here: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, reverent.

Or consider it another way. If you carry openly, their going to see the gun and judge you upon that (and whatever irrationalities they may hold about gun owners). That’s going to be a difficult race to win. If you carry concealed, they’re going to see you first, and judge you upon you. If you’re being a Boy Scout in both situations, in the latter you’ll start from less of a deficit. And don’t you think you’ll get further if they first know you’re a normal guy and then learn you’re a gun owner? Don’t you think they’ll be more open to your advocacy?

On Open Carry – Tactical

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

So Open Carry (of handguns) is coming soon to Texas.

In the past when speaking on the topic I’ve framed it as two matters: legal and tactical. These days I’ve added a third facet: social.

Tactical

So just because it’s legal, does that mean it’s a good idea? Because the law says you can, does that mean you should?

As with many things in life, it depends.

There are stories of open carry deterring crime.

There are stories of open carriers getting robbed of their openly carried guns.

There are stories of police having their guns taken and being killed with their own guns. Uniformed police of course open carry, and in retention holsters. Granted, uniformed police act in a different capacity than private citizens, their job requiring them to come into close contact with known criminals who obviously have no reserves about murdering people. But too many private citizens allow strangers to get too close – witness the above open carrier getting robbed.

Yeah yeah… it won’t happen to you. You’re head’s on a swivel, you have the senses and awareness of Daredevil, you live in Condition Yellow. Sure. Fine. But you’re also human, and your awareness will slip, you will make mistakes.

If there are people in this world willing to murder a cop for their gun, what makes you think you’re immune?

Why advertise?

Most any trainer worth their salt understands that a fight avoided is a fight won – that whole “discretion is the better part of valor”. Open carry all too often becomes a situation of not avoiding the fight.

Certainly I’m making a blanket statement, from a tactical perspective, with a general recommendation against open carry. It does certainly depend upon context and situation, and may be right and may be harmless at times. But on the whole, in terms of general procedure for daily life, I remain unconvinced open carry is a sound tactical option for most private citizens.

And a big reason for that?

I’ll talk about tomorrow.

On Open Carry – Legal

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

So Open Carry (of handguns) is coming soon to Texas.

In the past when speaking on the topic I’ve framed it as two matters: legal and tactical. These days I’ve added a third facet: social.

Legal

From a legal perspective, I don’t see much reason for open carry to be prohibited. From a legal perspective, the reasons for carrying arms doesn’t and shouldn’t hinge on whether it’s under or over your shirt. Whether you, or those around you, are aware of it or not.

And sometimes, open carry may be the only legal means by which a person can arm themselves.

But that’s really all there is about it, and we to consider all this law does is change the status of certain behaviors in the eyes of the law.

To that end, I strongly urge you to know the law. A couple key points:

  • It is licensed open carry of handguns. You still need a CHL – tho I guess they’ll have to just call it an HL now.
  • You will need to know the law. The revisions to the Texas law code are… interesting. Take a read of Paul Martin’s analysis
  • Open carry remains prohibited on college campuses. Just because both Open Carry and Campus Carry passed in the same legislative session doesn’t mean that we’ve got unrestricted both. Again, know the law.

It will take some time for the laws to shake out, for Texas Department of Public Safety to make some determinations, and then for TX CHL (or maybe just “HL”) instructors to receive updated information, curriculum, and then how to proceed.

I know folks are excited here, but be patient.

 

KR Training 2015-06-13 BP2/DPS1 Quick Hits

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

It felt good to be back out at KR Training this past Saturday. The weather was awesome – warm, humid, but really not so bad (trust me, it’s going to get worse in a couple months, but it’s better than past summers). And there was only like a 5 minute cloudburst, else nice partly cloudy skies and just a good day to be outside.

Held Basic Pistol 2 (Defensive Pistol Essentials) and Defensive Pistol Skills 1, which are a very popular pairing of classes. Classes were sold out, and filled with a diverse group of folks of ages, genders, classes, you name it. Sorry, but your stereotyping of gun owners holds no water.

Here’s a few things I’d like to reinforce to the students.

Dry Practice

Take what you learned in class and practice it at home. You can do this for free – no cost of the range, of driving to the range, ammo, whatever. Only thing it costs you is about 10 minutes of your time, and after all your hard investment in class, 10 minutes a day every day (or at least every 2-3 days) is well worth it as you WILL see improvement in your skills.

Just work on the things from class. If you were in BP2, you can work on the TX CHL test. If you were in DPS1, work on the “3 Seconds or Less” drill. But you don’t even have to work on something like that. Pick a particular skill and work on it. For example, if trigger control needs work, try the Wall Drill. You could even try something as simple as this:

  1. two hands, gun on target, press the trigger (don’t disturb the sights) — basically the Wall Drill. Repeat 10 times.
  2. Do the Wall Drill again, but this time press out (positions 3 to 4). Repeat 10 times.
  3. If you were in DPS1, do the Wall Drill again, but now from the holster. Repeat 10 times.
  4. Basic Wall Drill. Repeat 10 times.

That’s it. Shouldn’t take you more than 5-10 minutes, and if you do that every day I guarantee you’ll improve.

Don’t worry about speed, worry about technique. Getting that sight picture. Pressing the trigger smoothly so the front sight remains steady. Working on the simultaneous pressing of the gun out and pressing of the trigger in. Speed will come.

Simultaneous Actions

This is new and awkward for folks, but this is where speed comes from. That from that high, compressed ready position, that when you press the gun out, you also press the trigger in – simultaneous action.

Most people are used to pressing the gun out, letting it settle, finding the front sight, then pressing the trigger. That’s a lot of serialized action and it all takes time. Simplifying, let’s say it takes 1 second to press the gun out and 1 second to press the trigger in. That means it takes 2 seconds to complete the task. But the mechanics of the actions don’t depend upon each other: they are independent motions. Thus you can do them at the same time. So if as you press the gun out you also press the trigger in, now you’ve accomplished the task in less time, and you never had to actually go faster. In fact, you could actually move slower and still accomplish it in less time! This is how you go faster without going faster. It’s about efficiency and economy of movement.

This is something you can – and should – practice dry. Again, don’t worry about speed, work on getting the mechanics down.

Equipment Matters

It’s great that the word is slowly getting out that equipment matters.  You can buy skill in this realm.

For example, we had one lady in class shooting a Ruger LC9. We could tell she could shoot, she understood what to do, had all the mechanics down, but she just had a rough time getting things done. In between classes Karl switched her over to a S&W M&P9 and she instantly shot so much better. It’s amazing what a better gun, with better sights, and a better trigger can do, eh?

A gentleman in the DPS1 class was shooting a Kahr PM9 from a pocket holster. This is a very tiny gun, and shooting from a very difficult starting position. Was it a struggle for him? In parts, yes because big hands making a fist in a small pocket is difficult to draw from. He had the marksmanship skills no problem, but the equipment was a challenge. Still, I applaud him doing this because that’s how he has to carry due to environmental constraints, so that he was willing to train precisely in the manner he chose to carry, that’s good. Even if the end result was he learned how much it sucked, at least he knows and now can seek improved solutions.

360º World

In the afternoon I worked the shoothouse. We weren’t out to teach anything here about movement in structures and such. The key was to sow the seed that the world is 360º, that people are 3-D — breaking though the notion of range artifacts (straight lanes, flat cardboard targets, etc.). It was certainly eye-opening for a number of folks, and if it gave you something to think about that you didn’t think about before, then great.

Speaking of which, I just learned that in December, KR Training is going to be hosting a new guest instructor, James S. Willams, M.D. and his Shooting with Xray Vision class. Seems quite relevant here.

As well, that weekend is going to be a great double-bill with Caleb Causey of Lone Star Medics offering his Dynamic First Aid class. Folks, if you don’t have some medical knowledge I highly recommend you get some. You are more likely to save lives through use of medical skills, so consider coming out for a good weekend in December to pick up on these unique and important offerings.

Happy

In the end, just a great day out there. Great group of students (including Oldest… always enjoy spending time with him). Got to get back to teaching. Man… just a good day.

Thank you all.

2015-06-11 – live fire practice

/ hsoi

Did some live-fire training today.

One major difference was using a bone-stock factory M&P 9. The only modification was the dots on the rear sight were Sharpie-blacked out. The factory trigger isn’t bad, but it sure has a hard-break. Apex DCAEK is forthcoming, as well as some Dawson sights (Charger rear, serrated black, 0.125″ notch; red fiber front, 0.100″).

That said, the setup and exploration was simple: draw practice. Random start. Hands start in various positions (at sides, on earmuffs). From concealment (under a t-shirt). At the buzzer, draw and fire one shot on a 12″ steel target at 10 yards.

I started with some dry fire, just Wall Drill stuff. Mostly to get used to that trigger. Two hands, SHO, WHO. Then live fire with the same, just on target and pressing trigger. Then did the same from low ready. And then again from press-out. After that, from the holster and on the timer.

On the whole the times averaged out to about a 1.5 second concealment draw. Some faster (1.38 I think was my fastest), some slower, and most of the flubs came from not getting concealment out of the way. But really, I’m happy with this. The daily dry fire and pushing myself in dry work is paying off.

I want to push myself harder tho… right now I actually want to keep speed at about 1.5 seconds but get the accuracy in line. I’d like it to be 1.5 second and ALWAYS hitting (today it was not always hitting). I know that I’m pushing fast and not necessarily seeing what I need to see, but certainly was surprised at how often I did see. What was cool was because of the way the ground is right now (after all the rains), if I missed and hit the berm it kicked up these perfect dirt clouds. It was actually more obvious when I missed than when I hit! And many times I’d see my sights and what they were doing, and the cloud confirmed it. Like I noticed the sights were to the left and sure enough, cloud. It was most excellent feedback.

So I’m happy, but now I want to keep that pace and bring up the accuracy to go with it.

But as well, I want to play with a few parameters.

First, I want to try on paper targets so I can work at closer range. Work at relatively the same speed and see how it goes. Can I work at 3 yards and maybe get to 1.25?

Second, I wonder how much my concealment draw is holding me back. I can distinctly remember feeling like I had to wait with my right hand for my left hand to get the shirt out of the way before I could really move my right hand in. So, I want to try again from open carry and see how it goes. If nothing else, it may give me more information as to where I’m holding back and what sub-position to work on.

Crazy thing? After shooting like that, I tried doing some slower “group” shooting on a small distant steel. I was missing so I stopped, unloaded and worked dry. Holy crap, every single shot was a yank – sights dipping like mad! Thing is, I couldn’t help it. I kept trying to stop, but couldn’t. My arm muscles were just clenching. But I also realized it was an age-old problem — it was my strong-hand muscles really clenching, and my support-hand was not crushing. Once I realized that, crushed with the left hand, and all was better.

So… I got my homework. Back to dry fire.

Human Technology

/ hsoi

A beautiful short video titled “Human Technology” (h/t Shawn)

The juxtaposition of high-end technology with the hand-crafting is of course the point of the piece. You could have only one or the other, but it just wouldn’t produce the same result. There are things the machines do better, there are things only the human eye can see. But I do believe that without the human touch, it wouldn’t be art.

 

KR Training December 2014 Newsletter

/ hsoi

The KR Training December 2014 Newsletter is up.

Lots of good things on tap for 2015, and it starts right off in January with the 3rd Annual Suburban Dad Survivalist Preparedness Conference. I won’t be able to attend due to other commitments, but Paul always puts on a great program and the roster this year is solid. Hope you can make it.

See you on the range in 2015!

The changing face of violence in the UK

/ hsoi

From Chuck Rives, an article about how violence in the UK is getting… worse.

Horrific wounds have been caused by screwdrivers and spoons as attackers look to circumvent knife-carrying laws by switching to “improvised weapons”.

[…]

Doctors say a trend has emerged of teenagers being stabbed in the rectum – a practice known among gangs as “dinking” that can leave the victim requiring a stoma bag for the rest of their life.

[…]

Chris Aylwin, a consultant surgeon at St Mary’s hospital, said: “There seems to be a decreasing value of people’s lives. One of the more worrying features that we have certainly seen are stabbings around the buttocks and thighs. People don’t do that without good reason.

[…]

Duncan Bew, the clinical lead for trauma and emergency surgery at Kings’ College hospital, said: “There is an intention to leave someone with an outward sign that they have been punished by a gang – a stoma bag or some other injury to ‘clip their wings’.”

You should read the entire article as there’s just too much to detail here.

Here’s my take-homes:

Bans Don’t Stop Violence

UK essentially bans guns, so people turn to knives. Now knives are being severely restricted, and so they’re turning to screwdrivers and spoons and other improvised weapons.

Ban all you want, it doesn’t stop people from engaging in the base behavior (how’s that “War on Drugs” working out?). If evil people wish to do evil things, they will always find a way. Instead of focusing on the tools, how about focusing on the root evil(s)? You only have so much time, money, and energy in your lifetime, so why waste precious resources on ineffective solutions?

Statistics Tell Certain Stories

According to City Hall, the number of knife assaults causing injury rose 7.7 per cent across London between April and September this year, compared to the same period last year. There were 335 incidents in September – 51 per cent up on the 222 recorded in March.

People love to quote how “gun violence” is low in the UK, and that it is. Maybe it is support that “banning guns” leads to less “gun violence”. But “banning guns” does not lead to a safer society, a society where there is less violence.

People like to quote homicide and murder rates as indication of how things are getting better or worse. Alas, murder rates only tell part of the story, because for it to be murder the victim has to die. Every year medical ability improves, and these days if you make it to the Emergency Room with any sort of vital signs, your chances are extremely high you will live due to the miracle of modern medicine. Thus, at most your attack will only be classified as “aggravated assault” – what used to be called “attempted murder” – and consequently “murder rates going down” are in part due to good ER’s, not reduction in crime.

Consider the contents of the article: the very intent of the attack is not to kill, but to severely maim and inflict not death but a lifetime of agony and suffering. How does this affect your statistics? And do the statistics really matter when you’re the one spending the rest of your life in a wheelchair with a colostomy bag?

Get Medical Training

A week after Joel was attacked, the trauma team at the Royal London saved a 16-year-old stabbed in the leg. “It was a really deep wound,” Mr Konig said. “That struck me as real intent, and that was just shocking. [In a week] we had one dead, one survived. Left alone, these people would all die.

“Passers-by were excellent at putting pressure on his groin and stopping him bleeding to death right there. If members of the public are having to come to your assistance to stop you bleeding to death, it’s like soldiers relying on their buddies in a war zone. If we have to start educating people how to stop someone bleeding to death, that does change things.”

This doesn’t mean you need to be a medic, an EMT, or anything of the sort. But get some basic First Aid training. Then maybe get some more advanced care in things like Wilderness First Aid, or other training that goes beyond “boo-boos and bee stings” to help you deal with things like severe bleeding and when and how to use a tourniquet.

Carry some form of medical equipment. Heck, my Dad has always carried a single Band-Aid in his wallet: it’s not a tourniquet, but you’d be amazed at how often it’s come in handy.

Some People Are Just Sick

I’m sure you are a positive person that surrounds yourself with other positive, uplifting, productive, contributing, and generally “good” people. Thus chances are you may not realize or really fathom that the world is filled with horrible people. Thankfully they are a minority, but they are still there and all it takes is one to ruin things.

Some people are just twisted and sick. Consider the attackers in this story: they are out to cause their victim a lifetime of suffering. I mean, intentionally stabbing someone in the rectum to cause the victim a lifetime of difficultly? How fucked up is that? Sorry for the language, but there’s no other way to describe such a vile, despicable act. It’s truly the mindset of a sick individual.

It’s important to accept the world contains such scum. You don’t have to like it nor tolerate it, but admitting and accepting they exist improves your ability to address the realities of the problem.

Real Solutions

Mr Bew is a trustee of Growing Against Gangs and Violence, a partnership between the Association of Surgeons, Metropolitan Police and Home Office that aims to end gang and serious youth violence through proactive work and “pupil power”. This Autumn it has reached 17,080 students in 70 schools in 11 boroughs – four times as many students as two years ago.

He added: “Trauma centres have made a massive difference to mortality and morbidity in the last couple of years, particularly in that younger group. The challenge for us is how we stop the kids coming to us in the first place.”

It’s Winter – Can you access your stuff?

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

And so with the changing of the seasons comes the changing of the clothing we wear. Yeah, there’s that one guy we all know from high school that wore shorts all year, but most of us start to wear more clothing – including coats and gloves – when the weather gets colder.

So can you still do all you can do with all this extra clothing?

How accessible are your pockets?

How accessible are the things on your belt?

If you’re wearing gloves, can your fingers still get to where they need to get to, without having to remove those gloves? And if you’re wearing mittens, what major changes will you need to make (including getting rid of the mittens).

What might you need to change to accomodate? New clothing? Modifications to the clothing? Different techniques?

What might you need to practice?

Take a few minutes and give things a try. Make sure things you need to get to you can get to, quickly. If you cannot, figure out the adjustments you need to make.

Better to find this out and work out a solution now, before the flag flies.