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Shotgun chokes for home defense

/ hsoi

While a shotgun is not my #1 choice for home defense, it certainly can be used in that capacity. One thing that came out of the KR Training Defensive Long Gun class was the realities of using a shotgun in a home-defense situation.

Home defensive shooting is likely to go from 3 to 25 yards, or rather, very close range to the longest distance across your house. Measure it if you’re not sure, but most houses won’t be more than 25 yards. By nature, a shotgun shooting pellets will have those pellets spread. Just how much those pellets spread depends upon the shotgun’s choke and the load, even being different across manufacturers and brands.

Old_Painless over at the Box O’ Truth has BOT #44 discussing this very topic. He takes a look at how chokes affect patterns and how different brands of buckshot affect patterns. Conclusion? In general full choke does tighten groups up, but the actual load seems to matter a lot more. The take-home is that you shouldn’t just buy any old buckshot and expect it to behave like you want it to. You need to try different loads in your particular gun until you find the load and gun (and perhaps choke) “pairing” that works to give you your desired results. This is consistent with what came out of the KR Training class. Bottom line is you have to know how your tools will perform.

One nice thing that came out of BOT #44 was seeing that the Remington low-recoil buckshot worked so well. I believe Old_Painless used this product, but I can’t tell (his website doesn’t say exactly, and his box picture doesn’t match the Remington website, but this is likely the same load). Not only is that a tight pattern regardless of choke, but managed recoil is arguably a better choice for home-defense situations. The reduced range of managed/reduced recoil products isn’t an issue in the limited ranges of home-defense situation, it doesn’t beat you up as much, you can manage the recoil and get to follow-up shots faster. Win-win.

We live long and are celebrated poopers

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

While the title is referencing the Nibblonians of Futurama, it’s all I could think of this morning. For you see, my morning ritual now includes washing my walkways and driveway of all the poop left by the muscovy ducks that congregate at my house. I am amazed how much poop one duck can produce.

Learning from my dream

/ hsoi

When I woke up this morning, it also woke up my wife. She asked me why I was breathing short and fast. I shrugged it off because I was dealing with my dream. I’d like to share it with you because there’s something I learned (at least reinforced) and maybe you can learn from it too.

Continue reading →

Don’t fear the sun

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Linoge made a comment on my  posting “I’m not so sure about that“. As I wrote a reply I realized that what I had to say warranted a full-on blog posting. So here it is.

Wife and I have chosen to homeschool our kids. Why? Numerous reasons, but the key ones are the public school system sucks and we’re not rolling in enough dough to consider private school. I went to public schools all my life, Wife was in private Catholic schools. While I think my public school experience wasn’t too bad, I have heard from old friends with younger siblings how the same top-notch schools we went to have degraded. Due to things like “No Child Left Behind” concerns are less on true education and more on test scores. I know all too well how you can get an “A” on a test and walk out of the classroom knowing nothing (no cheating involved, it’s just about working/gaming the test and not on gaining true education and knowledge). So when Oldest was an infant and we started to think about our schooling choices, homeschooling wasn’t something we had ever thought about but the more we researched the option the more it appealed to us. Every year we reevaluate our options and approach because the bottom line is we want the best for our children and if situations change and there’s a better avenue, we’ll take it. So far no better avenue has surfaced and we continue to homeschool our children.

Of course, whenever you mention the word “homeschooling” to someone, the Pavlovian response is “But what about socialization?”. The “S” word. Socialization takes on a different meaning these days and frankly that’s socialization we can do without. And certainly homeschoolers can be a little bitter about the FAQs we’re constantly hit with. But if there is one thing I’m well aware of it is that my children can be sheltered due to homeschooling. Since they are not surrounded by those of their age group for 8 hours a day every day, there’s no question my children don’t receive the “socialization” that kids attending public or private school receive. In part that is one reason for homeschooling, because we can exert more control and influence over our children, who they are exposed to, what influences them. Remember that not all influences are good ones, and even with our controls our kids still get exposed to bad ones (Oldest had a bully situation at a summer camp last year). But I know that my job with my children is to provide them with the skills and knowledge that enables them to not just survive but thrive in the world. My children are only spending a short time with me; most of their life and time is going to be spent as an adult in the real world, so they need to know how to work with the real world — which includes knowing how the real world is, good and bad and ugly. To truly shelter my children is not doing them any sort of service.

I admit that you shouldn’t expose your children to all things, or at least that you have to be mindful of when and how to expose them. There is something about making things age-appropriate and ensuring the child has the maturity and capability to understand and handle what you’re doing. Let’s take guns as an example. There’s not much reason to introduce an infant to guns, but as soon as infant is able to be mobile (about 6 months, crawling stage), you as a responsible parent and gun owner must take steps to secure your firearms because that infant will get into everything and knows nothing and no amount of attempting to teach them about guns is going to help. As your child gets older and can understand what guns are about, even if they cannot fathom death, it can be reasonable to start to introduce things to them. For instance, if you’re watching cartoons and Bugs Bunny puts his carrot into the muzzle-end of Elmer Fudd’s shotgun and Elmer just gets a blackened face, it’s worthwhile to start explaining to your child the difference between fantasy and reality. Then when you think your child is able to handle more regarding guns, you can expose them as you wish. Look at Kathy Jackson’s articles on Kids and Guns for some excellent writings on the topic. If nothing else, and certainly when kids are at a younger age, you should introduce them to Eddie Eagle. His message of “Stop. Don’t touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult.” teaches nothing about gun handling, but a lot about keeping kids safe if they encounter a gun.

Do my children know about guns? Certainly. I make guns no mystery to them, and frankly this has caused them to think of guns as rather mundane with little appeal. I think that’s a good thing as there’s no forbidden fruit syndrome to make guns enticing. Do I care about teaching them defensive uses of firearms? No, not at this point. Right now I just teach them safety rules, marksmanship, fundamentals, and most of all to just have fun. Sometimes if something comes up, sure I’ll discuss it, but it’s not hypercritical at this point to give them intensive defensive handgunning 101. But basic ways to stay safe? Sure. Things like the InSights ABC’s (Always Be Cool). To be aware of surroundings and trust your gut. And certainly other more specific things get taught, just not some intensive course like I might enjoy taking. The reality is that shit happens, and if the shit happens to my kids I want to ensure they’re able to return home. The thought of not being able to hold and hug my child is most unappealing to me, and it’s my duty and responsibility as a parent to ensure they have every skill and bit of knowledge possible to ensure their success in life.

I don’t live my life in fear, and I do my best to encourage my children to do the same. Yes they have fears, but I teach them true ways of being empowered to conquer those fears. Allow and accept the fears to happen, face them, let them pass over and through you, learn to control them, and channel them to your advantage. I remember when my kids first climbed a ladder and they’d only go up a few steps, but then the day came when they climbed to the top and gleefully shouted “Dad look! I did it!” Small thing perhaps, but the lesson is they were afraid of the height, of the new experience, but they didn’t let the fear stop them and in the end they conquered their fear. This has enabled Oldest to enjoy having the upper bunk-bed; how life is better when you don’t live in fear, eh?

You only have so much time and so much energy in life, why expend it on fear? How much life can you enjoy? Fear is what leads to sheltering, and while I won’t say it’s not justified, if you’re always stuck in the shelter you never get to see the sun and all the beauty that comes from it.

Need a new A/C

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

*sigh*

I have 2 central A/C units on my house, one for the upstairs one for the downstairs. It was evident something was wrong with the upstairs A/C unit because things weren’t very cool and were rather humid. Had an HVAC guy out today. Put in 2 pounds of R-22 and detected a leak in the evap coil. *sigh*  It’ll probably cost me $1500 or so to replace the coil (parts and labor). But the real kicker is that these types of systems are about to be phased out due to the Clean Air Act of 1990. Need to get a Puron-based system.

So… that’s the thing. Do I save some money now and gamble for later? Or do I just dive in now and replace the whole system?

I really don’t want to spend a ton of money right now, but I just know that in the long run this system has to be replaced anyway. It comes down to whose problem will it be. If the system lasts long enough then I sell the house, not my problem BUT could it become a sticking point on house sale? On that note, having a new system could help with the house sale down the line (one less cost for the buyer).

Some months ago a circuit board had to be replaced on that same unit (ignition problems with the gas heater). So it feels to me like the system is on the way out. It feels like I should just bite the bullet and buy a new system.

*sigh* That’s a lot of money I didn’t want to spend.

So to that end, if any reader has advice on buying a home central heating/cooling setup, please share in the comments. I’ve never had to buy one of these before and I want to get the right system for my needs (want to learn how to determine that). Yes I want to spend as little as possible. 😉  But I do want to ensure quality and long-term cost savings.

Some points I’ve already picked up:

  • City of Austin does have some rebates for installing new systems, so that should knock a few hundred off the price.
  • There apparently is now a federal tax break that I can get for such things.
  • A quick Google search turned up this forum and thread. Looks like a place to start research.
  • The tech that was out said Bryant/Carrier are basically the same and are probably the best, especially since they’ve been doing the Puron systems longer than anyone. Second would probably be Lennox (if I remember correctly). Trane is good, but they only just started making Puron systems apparently.
  • Tech suggested getting a 10 year P&L warranty. That doesn’t sound like a bad deal, depending what all is involved. I usually don’t go for such extended warranties (they’re usually money in their pocket and out of mine) but heck, when I look at what I spent 7 months already on this one unit, I spent more than the quoted P&L warranty price so….. yeah.
    • I purchased Sears Master Protection Agreements on various major appliances I purchased there, and those paid for themselves if for nothing else in having Sears techs come out once a year for a service checkup.

Anyway, time to start reading. Please give me any suggestions you may have. I’m all ears.

The snake came back

/ hsoi

No, this isn’t about some politician getting re-elected…. 🙂

That Texas Rat Snake that came around the house yesterday? He’s back.

Wife went to take the trash to the bin. She comes back around the corner and there it was starting to cross the walkway. I’m sure it’s the same one, knowing there’s easy food and coming back for more. Trouble is, this time the momma duck was sitting on her nest.

So, no eggs for the snake tonight.

Because he had to go fully across the walkway, I got a better look at him. He’s much larger than I previously thought, in the 4′ to 5′ range, so certainly an adult. I wish I could get a complete picture of him, but he was into the bushes before I had a chance to get the camera. Then he noticed the duck, and opted to just hang out on the other end of the bushes. Once we found him I was able to pull back the bushes and get a better shot of him.

While you can’t tell much about his size, you can see his patterning far better. I’m pretty sure it’s a Texas Rat Snake. Good snake to have around, but certainly gave Wife the heebie-jeebies. 🙂

A couple of the other muscovy ducks came around to eat. It seems these 3 ducks (the two in the picture and the one on the nest) are a group. Always see them together. Don’t know what the relation is, given the 3rd wheel in this relationship, but I don’t really care. All I know is the kids have named every single animal that comes around (I think the snake is Charlie). It does help them keep track of everything, as they never repeat a name.

Wildlife where I live

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

One thing I love about the location of my house is the abundance of wildlife. Yes I’m in the city proper, but my house backs up to a greenbelt which is then connected to a few hundred acres of greenbelt, so we get all sorts of critters. Deer, coyote, fox, raccoon, possum, armadillo, and certainly lots of birds and reptiles. We do get lots of interesting lizards and snakes. Our neighbors across the street don’t get nearly what we do, because hot asphalt tends to be quite a barrier to cross. It’s really a nice thing… all the conveniences of the city, but a lot of the joys of the country as well.

A couple blocks from my house is a pond. Technically it’s part of flood control, but it does hold water year-round and has been landscaped into a nice park/pond. As a result, there’s a healthy population of turtles, geese, and ducks (mostly mallard and perhaps black duck, and the past few years Muscovy ducks have shown up). Every Spring the ducks wander the neighborhood, in search of food and nesting grounds. We currently have a nest in the bushes by our front door, which until just a few moments ago had 6 eggs.

I say that because Wife had a few friends visiting. She wanted to show them the nest and when she did she saw a snake eating the eggs. 🙂  The snake had just started swallowing the egg, so of course we had to bring the kids out for some nature study and research – a teachable moment! The snake seems to have eaten just the one egg and that was enough for him. He’s currently lounging in the bushes, getting some sun and digesting his feast.

Did some Googling and we think he’s a Texas Rat Snake, which are apparently quite common in the Austin area. This one was about 3.5′ long, so he’s still fairly young. The ladies visiting Wife wanted me to kill it, but I’m glad I didn’t. He’s not hurting anything and he’s not venomous. So he’s eating a duck egg… eh, he’s gotta eat something, right? Plus if he is in fact a Texas Rat Snake, he’s a good thing to have around in terms of keeping any rodents away. Of course, I think this guy was around more for the eggs than rodents. But still, good guy to have around, even if he does give Wife the willies. 🙂

BTW, if you click and look at the larger images you’ll see some black and white things all over the leaves of the bushes. Does anyone know what those are? I’ve been spraying the bushes for bugs but these seem to keep coming back and spreading. *sigh* I could just take them to the local nursery, but I haven’t been able to do that yet. If you know, please comment.

One of those happy moments

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Here I am. Sitting at my computer working (or pretending to). One of our cats, the “weird one”, opts to seek me out. Jumps up in my lap, spends a few minutes getting her head scratched. Then she opts to park it in my lap and take a nap. Purring away. Happy. Content. This is rare behavior from her… she’s not a lap cat.

But it’s welcome, both by her and by me. The wife and kids are out of the house, so it’s just me and the cats. It’s a nice, warm, peaceful moment.

I’m fortunate to work from home.

On a home defense tool – part 4

/ hsoi / 11 Comments

If you haven’t read part 1, part 2, and part 3, please go read them before you read part 4.

 

Through the joys of blogging and “suggested links” I stumbled upon a 3-part home defense series from Caleb/Ahab. Here are links to his part 1, part 2, and part 3. These dovetail perfectly into where I left off in my part 3, that equipment is important, but skills and mindset are more important.

I took a fantastic training course called Street & Vehicle Tactics, from InSights Training Center. When gun people take gun classes they want to shoot guns! But this class had no shooting whatsoever. Yes there was a lot of physicality and moving about, but most of what was taught was about mindset and tactics — it was all about using your gray matter. The course talks about Priorities of Survival:

  1. Awareness and preparedness
  2. Tactics
  3. Skill
  4. Equipment

This list is in order, and notice that equipment is at the bottom of the list. This does show that equipment does matter: if you have unreliable equipment, ineffective equipment, it’s going to affect your chances of survival. What has a greater impact on your chances of survival tho are the other listed factors. In fact, there’s a level of “force multiplication” involved here. What this means is as you go up the priorities list, your chances of survival multiply. Equipment gives you the least multiplier, awareness/preparedness gives you the greatest and could even compensate for all the others. The items at the top of the priority list will take you much further than the items at the bottom, and the more/better you can have of all the items, all the better for your chances of survival.

Going back to Caleb’s articles, let’s look at parts 1 and 3. In his part 1 Caleb discusses some good first lines of defense: checking the outside of your home and setting it up defensively (trimming back bushes, well-lit, fences); minding your doors and windows (solid, locked); having an alarm system (deterrent, notification system); the utility of a purposely-trained big dog; other things such as flashlights and mobile phones. What is this? awareness and preparedness. It’s being aware of your home situation: these bushes block this ground-level window, this tree next to the house comes close to that second-story window, there’s a dark spot over by the trash cans. It’s preparing your home: let’s trim back that bush, let’s get those tree limbs trimmed back, let’s install some floodlights around the trash can area, let’s repair the fence for Fido’s sake.  

In his part 3, Caleb talks about “the plan”. He discusses thinking ahead of time about what to do in a home-invasion situation. What to do, where to go, what role each member of the household has in the event — including children, where boundaries are. What is this? This is preparedness, and tactics. He has made a plan, it was made ahead of time, it could be thought through, and practiced. He is prepared. He has discussed the tactics: he arms and hunkers down, Mrs. Caleb removes herself from the line of fire and uses the mobile phone to dial 911 and report everything. A simple plan, but the tactics are worked out head of time. 

In his part 2, Caleb does talk about equipment. While he and I have arrived at a different set of equipment, that’s the equipment that works for him, and he offers some interesting alternative suggestions. One thing I would add is to look around your home and see what could be used in a pinch. For instance, I have a Vaughan SuperBar which would make a pretty ugly weapon.

The take-home message from this part of my series? While we love tools and equipment because it’s fun, tangible, and we just like tinkering with and talking about cool gadgets, it’s really the least important part of home defense or any type of self-defense. Your mindset and mental conditioning are the most important thing, and the more you can invest there, the further you will go.