Guns

Quote for today

/ hsoi

…if people were attuned to the causes of the overwhelming majority of gun deaths (guns and gangs, not mass shootings, with handguns, not rifles), the focus on gun control efforts would be very different. But ignorance redirects the focus to regulating law-abiding citizens with weapons seldom used in gun deaths.

– Josh Blackman, as a comment upon Ilya Somin’s article on Gun Control, Mass Shootings, and Political Ignorance.

(h/t Karl Rehn)

But I guess on this topic, ignorance is an acceptable excuse and solid foundation upon which to build policy and law.

Go figure.

The Year in Ammo (2013)

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

Anthony over at LuckyGunner sent me an email to mention their Ammo in 2013: A Look Behind the Scenes at Lucky Gunner.

I don’t always post stuff like this (i.e. solicted stuff), but I thought this was interesting and useful. Besides, Anthony didn’t just send out a blanket spam email. I don’t know if Anthony actually reads my stuff normally (or even abnormally), but it was evident in his email that he at least checked my blog first, and in his email to me commented in a relevant manner. Personal touches always make a positive difference. 🙂

From looking at the stats…

I’m not surprised at the popular calibers, both the contents of the list and the ordering of the list. Seems about what you’d expect.

Interesting that California is one of their top traffic spots. Really, I’m not too surprised because outside of a few cities, California is actually populated with a lot of “good ol’ folk”. It’s just that unfortunately those few cities dominate the political and cultural impact of California.

As a geek, I did enjoy seeing the growth of not just iPhone use but the visits from mobile platforms. Just shows how our habits are shifting. Desktop isn’t going away any time soon, but mobile is getting big.

Neat info, Anthony. Thank you for sharing with us!

 

Snagmag

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

I learned about the Snagmag at the SDS Conference.

One of the attendees showed it to me, as it was his way of carrying a spare magazine.

Now, I haven’t tried it and cannot vouch for how well it works, but the design did intrigue me.

First, it’s a way of carrying a spare magazine, which is important. Maybe you won’t have to reload or deal with malfunctions, but maybe you will. One of those “better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it” sorts of things.

Second, it’s probably a more comfortable way of carrying it. Some people can do the IWB spare mag thing, but lots of people report on it being uncomfortable. Plus, if the gun is IWB and the mag is IWB, that means you need a lot more waist size in your pants, which isn’t always practical. Plus, when you get into clothing with such a larger differential, other parts of the pants are going to be made larger as well, which can just make fit and comfort difficult.

In addition to comfort, it just gets things off your belt. Even if you carry the mag OWB, it’s still another thing on the belt, bulk, etc.. If those issues keep you from carrying a spare mag at all, this may provide you with a solution.

Third, it hides well. It’s not uncommon to see clips on pant pockets for pocket knives, so it just blends in. Granted, one downside is if you do the Insights Training Center practice of having 2 folders (one in each pocket), well… you lose one here. But not everyone follows that approach.

But the big thing about it is it may solve a lot of the problems with pocket carry of mags. I see many solutions for pocket carry of a spare mag, and while they tend to work, they tend to be predicated upon fit and friction. That is, they use fit of the pocket vs. fit/size/structure of the pouch in such a way that the pouch doesn’t fit well in the pocket, so the pouch intentionally hangs up when you “draw” leaving the pouch in the pocket but the magazine comes out. Friction is used as well, to aid in the pouch hanging up. Alas, this depends a great deal upon the pocket itself. Tighter pockets and it may not fit at all. Looser pockets, larger pockets, and there may be no hanging up. One solution is to have numerous pocket pouches, but that grows cumbersome and expensive. This Snagmag could help solve things because it doesn’t rely upon pocket construction to work in conjunction with the design. Granted there’s still some construction requirements (e.g. pocket needs to be deep enough, etc.), but it seems far less sensitive to such issues.

Again, I haven’t tried this product at all so I cannot vouch for it, recommend it, or anything. But I did think the approach was novel (and based upon known approaches, like the Emerson Wave), and could be useful for folks.

2nd Annual SDS Conference – AAR

/ hsoi / 7 Comments

Wow! What an awesome day!

I just returned from a day at Cabela’s. Yes, that’s cool in and of itself, but I was there not to shop but to present and learn. Paul Martin, the Suburban Dad Survivalist, was holding his 2nd Annual Preparedness Conference. If you weren’t there, you miss out on a lot of learning.

I know. You’re seeing the word “survivalist” and “preparedness” and conjuring up images of paranoid loonies stockpiling food and ammo in their compounds because the great Obama devil is destroying ‘murica, right?

Pul-leez.

There is nothing bad about being prepared. Ask any Boy Scout. Ask anyone that realizes the speech they have to present goes over better if they research and rehearse ahead of time. Same for the musician that practices and nails their performance. You have insurance, right? What are you afraid of? You wear a seat belt in the car, right? Are you paranoid? You have smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in your house, so that means you’re afraid of fire, right? Well, yeah… to some extent sure. But instead of just being afraid of what could happen, you acknowledge it, accept it, and prepare for it. Thus if it does happen, you can do something better than panic and freeze.

Being prepared is a good thing.

Today’s topics reflected that. We had presenters talking about risk assessment, how to start a backyard garden, how to can the food you grow in that garden, minimum standards for defensive handgun, improvised weapons, and bug-out bags and preparations. Quite a range of topics for a single day, and it could only scratch the surface. And while I was a presenter, I was more happy to have attended the day — I learned a LOT. It was simply fantastic.

Either you were there, or you missed out.

Stay tuned. I know Paul’s looking at doing a workshop this summer, and I’m willing to be there will be a 3rd conference. Don’t miss this stuff. It’s just too valuable. In fact, it’s so valuable, I brought the whole family. Everyone enjoyed the day.

Thank you, Paul. Great work!

Goodbye Sprouts

/ hsoi / 9 Comments

When we discovered Sprouts we were thrilled. So many great products, including hard to find health-type foods. Wife was thrilled, I enjoyed it. Heck, the first time I went to Sprouts I was giggling because of the great variety of foodstuffs they stocked and provided.

But alas, they will receive no more of my money. And for a family of 5 that wound up using Sprouts as our primary grocery store? That’s a fair chunk of money.

Why?

Seems Sprouts corporate decided to start posting “no guns” signs at their locations. I’m not sure how widespread this is across the nation, but certainly 30.06 signs are showing up at Texas locations (many reports are being made). I didn’t see any signs the last time I went to my local store, but it seems the rollout has been happening over the course of December 2013 so who knows. Sign or not at my particular store, it’s evident this is corporate policy.

I didn’t see any formal posting about this, but here’s something from their Facebook page:

Good afternoon Paul, Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts about our decision to prohibit firearms in our stores. Please understand that we recognize and respect our customers’ rights under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a right that prohibits the government (but not private retailers) from infringing on citizens’ right to bear arms. That right, however, must be balanced with our need as a retailer to provide a safe and comfortable environment for our customers and team members. That’s why, after careful and thoughtful analysis, we have decided to prohibit our customers and our team members from bringing firearms onto our store premises. While this decision may disappoint some of our valued customers, such as yourself, we stand by our decision and have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our communities about it.

We hope that you will continue to be a part of the Sprouts family notwithstanding our decision on this issue. We value your patronage and hope to see you again soon.

Sincerely,

Stephanie
Sprouts Farmers Market
Customer Relations Specialist

They are correct, that 2A is about restricting the federal government, not about private retailers. In fact, they do have every right to do this, and we have every right to take our business elsewhere.

I’m just saddened — and confused — by their decision.

They want a safe and comfortable environment. I would appreciate to know their logic and reasoning behind this, but they are getting bombarded with feedback about this decision, and given how they are active in responding to every non-gun-related post on their Facebook page but make no comments on the gun-related posts, they are obviously making no further comment on the issue.

It’s strange.

The 30.06 sign only prohibits law-abiding CHL holders. The thing is, if you look at facts and data, CHL holders are not the people you should be afraid of. In fact, CHL holders are statistically more law-abiding than the non-CHL-holding citizenry! If you want a safe environment, CHL holders are precisely the sort of people you want to have around. They aren’t going to commit violence. They aren’t going to steal.

There are no signs or ways to keep violent, gun-wielding felons out of your store. In fact, today they can still shop in Sprouts. But today, CHL holders — who cannot be felons, by definition — cannot shop at Sprouts.

How is that creating a safe environment?

I know we all want to feel safe, and these days people seem to put greater emphasis on feeling than actually being. But which actually makes you safer? Illusions or reality?

I would like to believe there is sound reasoning behind why Sprouts made their decision. In fact, they might gain support and expand their customer base if they were willing to share their specific reasoning. Furthermore, it’d be great if Sprouts was willing to enter into dialogue that helped guide them towards policies that actually lead to a truly safer and more comfortable environment. One that strove to provide real safety, and didn’t alienate law-abiding customers. I mean, it seems that thousands upon thousands of other businesses in Texas can do this, so I’m sure if Sprouts wanted to, they could as well.

Sprouts donated $100,00 to the victims of the Aurora shooting victims. That’s fantastic! I applaud their generosity and compassion. I just hope they aren’t extrapolating the acts of a madman to the 750,000+ Texas CHL holders that, again, are demonstrably law-abiding, sound citizens. I mean, we’re not supposed to extrapolate the actions of a lone terrorist to all Muslims, so I hope they aren’t committing the same sort of extrapolation.

I’d love to give Sprouts my business again because I appreciate their business model and the products they provide. But it seems for now this is their decision. I will take my money elsewhere, and encourage others to do the same. We will support those that understand the value of healthy living, and that do not treat the law-abiding with dangerous misunderstanding.

Real solutions, please

/ hsoi

Charles C. W. Cooke makes an important observation:

You will notice that in not a single one of the cases [high-profile mass shootings] listed above did a perpetrator buy his weapon through an “unregulated private sale,” through “the Internet,” or in “the parking lot at a gun show.” Not one. Instead, in each and every case, one of two things happened: Either (a) the killer followed the law to the letter, or (b) he broke it spectacularly. That Sandy Hook involved little children made it that much harder to bear. But it did not change the salient fact: that massacrs eand [sic] private sales have pretty much nothing to do with one another.

So are they really wanting to “save innocent lives”? Or do they have other goals, and the death of children is merely a vehicle for them to play on the emotions of the public?

If they are sincere in their efforts to “save innocent lives” then I suggest taking a step back and reexamining priorities and solutions, and being willing and open to new solutions. You know the saying about how the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? Well, suggesting these same “solutions” to “gun violence” over and over, when they are demonstrated to not work, well… that’s just insane. So if you are sincere in a desire to end violence, then I suggest you start looking at other solutions instead of the ones that don’t work.

Else, we can only think you are stubborn, ignorant, or nefarious.

 

 

Get over it

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

I have an elderly neighbor (she’s in her 80’s). She’s capable: she totally lucid, drives herself where she needs to go, and you can tell she’s got her pride — she wants to be self-sustaining and not be a burden on anyone. We do help her out as she needs, but again you can tell she does NOT want to burden anyone and only comes to us for help when she’s exhausted all options. I respect that, and am always happy to help her out when she asks.

But let’s face facts. She’s in her 80’s. She moves slow. She’s fairly frail.

She is vulnerable.

I admit, I think about her vulnerability. Some days ago I was over at her house helping her set up one of those “medical alert” systems. She knows her state in life (thus why she got the system for herself). But it still weighs on me. I often find myself thinking about her vulnerability, and if there’s anything I can do to alleviate it.

Then I step back and think about greater issues.

Our neighborhood has recently had a rash of break-ins. Thankfully it’s mostly been cars, but I do know from time to time homes are broken into.

I cringe at the thought of her home getting broken into. And let’s face it. Most break-ins are not random. The criminal has stalked and monitored and determined ahead of time what houses are good targets.

What can she do? Some 16-35 year old male breaks into her home. How vulnerable she is. What can she do in the face of such a threat?

She’s not like Mayor Bloomberg, with her own “private army”, which she can enjoy in her own retirement. She’s not so privileged as to have to have a security detail. What can she do?

There’s so much big talk about “leveling the playing field” in so many other areas of life, but what about here when life itself is at stake?

Anti-gun mantras ring hollow with me. If you’re going to throw worn arguments at me, I say you should look her in the eye and tell her the same. Think about how your actions to deny our society’s most vulnerable citizens with a means of an equalizer actually serve to hurt them more than help them.

Because that’s what a gun is: a force equalizer.

It allows folks like her to tell some evil person bent on hurting her, on destroying her life, to stop and go away.

Can you look her in the eye and deny her?

I’ll even take pro-gun folks to task.

There’s so much rah-rah about guns, calibers, and what’s acceptable for personal defense. It’s not just internet message board bravado, but it’s even things like how Texas law requires a certain “big caliber gun” (.32 caliber or greater) to pass the CHL test. You could carry a .22, but you can’t test with it. Yes, I understand why they required things in this way… but it still kinda bothers me.

I think about my frail neighbor.

Could she fire such a gun?

Pull that trigger weight?

Manage that level of recoil?

I don’t know, but given what I’ve seen of her frailty, I’m not sure.

But because of her condition in life, why should she be denied?

What are you getting into?

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

Greg Ellifritz recounts a recent experience that has some good lessons for concealed carry holders. You need to read his article to fully understand what I’m about to say.

But in summary, in case Greg’s article disappears, you have a situation like this:

  • woman and man rolling around on the ground, punching, kicking, something ugly going down.
  • woman is screaming “rape!”
  • carry-holder rolls up on scene, decides to get involved.

Seems pretty clear-cut, eh? If you were the one rolling up on scene, what would you do?

And now, how would your response change if you learned the man was an undercover cop? Which was the case.

Greg’s point:

1) Know what you are getting into. The law generally allows you to use deadly force to defend an innocent third party from what you believe is likely to result in serious injury or death. The key word here is “innocent”. A robber resisting arrest is not an innocent third party no matter how many times she yells “rape”. You can testify all you want about what she said and how you thought she was being attacked. It won’t matter much as you wither under the prosecutor’s questions:

“You claim you thought she was being raped. Were any of her clothes removed? Were any of the “suspect’s” clothes removed?”

“You testified that you drive this route often. How many times have you seen a rape at that location at 3pm in the middle of a busy four-lane road?”

“You testified that you heard the victim yell out “I’m a cop” before pulling the trigger. Do you really believe that a police officer is going to rape a woman in the middle of a busy street in broad daylight?”

“So tell me again why you thought it was justified to kill this off duty police officer? Is it because you believed the words of a convicted robber? Or is it because you got a CCW permit and carry a gun so that you can kill people?”

You see how this is going to play out. Even if you avoid conviction, you will have to take out another mortgage on your house to pay off the lawyer fees. Things are not always as they seem. Don’t be in a rush to save the day when you aren’t fully aware of what’s happening.

We make this point a lot in our classes.

Do you know what the story is? Can you be sure you know? Should you get involved either way?

Yes I understand. We have a hero streak. We have a protector streak. A warrior streak. Whatever you want to term it, but people who tend to go through the trouble of obtaining a concealed handgun license tend to be of that “sheepdog” mentality and wish to be there to protect and defend others; to see justice served; to right wrongs, and all that. No, it doesn’t mean we want to be superheros and cops (tho I’m sure there are some with that attitude), but it’s just that we’re the sort of people with a mindset to want to do right and help others. This is a good thing for society.

Alas, the realities of the situation could throw a big wrench in the works, as Greg points out.

You have to ask yourself: is this worth dying over? is this going to maximize enjoyment of beer & tv? If you get involved and something happens to you, are those other parties going to take care of you? pay your bills? give you a job when you lose yours?

I understand a desire to jump in and help, but you have to be mindful if you’re really going to help or just make it worse… because you may not know the full story. Is it worth dying over? Or ruining your life over? Is the risk worth it?

Part of me hates being that way, because it makes me feel selfish and may keep me from helping an honest person in need. I think an extension of that line of behavior could lead us to a very cold and uncaring society. But on the same token, there’s the reality of how a wrong decision could destroy your life, and then you certainly won’t be able to do much to help better society. Just things to keep in mind. Tread carefully.

KR Training December 2013 newsletter

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

KR Training’s December 2013 newsletter is up.

Highlights include the initial 2014 schedule, which includes a lot of guest instructors, including Massad Ayoob. Don’t miss that.

Also, the 2014 Suburban Dad Survivalist Conference is almost upon us. Come join me and a host of other excellent presenters for a day of learning.

Looking forward to seeing you in 2014.

That’s how you get a customer – Brothers In Arms

/ hsoi / 10 Comments

Another story of “this is how customer service is supposed to be”. Actually, this isn’t so much what we think of as customer service — an after the fact correcting of a problem — but rather how you earn a customer in the first place.

This is about a place called Brothers In Arms (Facebook page)

After a short day at KR Training, I was determined on my drive home to find someone selling a Smith & Wesson M&P9c. There are numerous gun stores on the drive home, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to stop into them just to see.

There’s a new store in Bastrop that I’ve been meaning to stop into and check out, so I finally did. It’s a small shop, and while the owner was polite, he seemed stand-off-ish and didn’t engage me much. I looked around, it’s a nice little store, but they didn’t have what I wanted so I left.

Then I learned that John’s Guns closed. I had no idea. I liked going in there when I could, but rarely could because any time I was out in that area I was either there well before opening or well after closing time. But it was nice mom & pop store, but seems John retired… at least, according to the sign in the window, and the fact the interior was being renovated.

Out on TX-71 before you get into Austin, I kept seeing these banners for “custom gunsmithing” and other related avertisement, so I figured that’d be worth a try too.

That’s Brothers in Arms.

Turns out they’re actually a full-fledged custom shop, run by two bothers.

I walked in and Brad immediately engaged me, asking what I was looking for. I told him, and when he said he didn’t have any, he immediately turned to his computer to see about ordering one. His distributor had many in stock, he quoted me a price and delivery time, and we had a sale.

That’s how you do it.

I knew I wasn’t going to be out that way for a few weeks, and I knew I wanted some things done to the gun, like replacing the factory sights and installing an Apex kit. Since they were obviously gunsmiths, I asked if I could order the parts and have them shipped to their store, and then have them install them. No problem.  When I got home, I got online, made the orders, and away things went.

I did have some email exchanges with Brad, and he was always prompt in replying. We did have a slight communication confusion about the work and pick up time, but the did right by the customer in the end. They did go out of their way at off time to ensure I had everything done at a time that was convenient for me to do the pick up. When I did, I bought Oldest with me, and they were again open and engaging with him as he asked questions.

That’s how you earn a customer. You engage them, and work to meet their needs. They didn’t need my business (evident by the custom work they do, and the backlog of work they have). They quoted me a good price, were very accommodating, and worked to ensure I walked away happy. I’m more than happy to use them again, and would recommend y’all try them too. Yes, it’s a short drive outside of Austin, but that also avoids the higher Austin sales tax. 🙂  They give fair prices, do good work, and want to earn your business. Can’t ask for more.