Joe's Crabby Shack

It's been a good run

2009-10-16T13:03:00.004-05:00

Anyone familiar with the Wayan's Brothers film "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" from the late 80s?

It's terrible, but I love it so.

I won't bore you with details, but at one point the hero is trying to drum up warriors to take on the local crime kingpin. Thinking he can find help there, he pays a visit to Kalinga (played by the esteemed Clarence Williams III), the head of the local black power army movement.

"Kalinga: Yes, we marched on the Federal building. Five hundred of us young brothers, full of outrage.
[sighs]
They were hiring that day. The brothers came with guns; they left with jobs. Oh, yes, whitey is very tricky."

So, what's that got to do with the Shack?

After years of badgering, watchdogging, and challenging the state's political leaders, they have called my bluff.

I can't get into the details, but I have accepted a position that will allow me to carry on the effort to protect Nebraskan's legal ability to own and carry firearms on the insider level. I'm going to work for the G (state-level G, anyway).

This was one of the hardest decisions Mizz Merchant and I had to make, but in the end it was an opportunity and challenge I could not pass up.

In a perfect world, I could continue to run this site anonymously. The political reality, however, is that too many people know me and would connect my thoughts here with my official position.

So, it is with a heavy heart that I must close down the Shack. This was not a mandate from my new employer. I think he's aware of this blog, but has made no mention of its existence. This decision was of my own volition.

Almost three years ago, the Shack opened its doors to allow me a place to vent and rant about boomsticks.

The original purpose was to provide an information clearinghouse for gunnies in Nebraska to stay up to date on legislation and elections.

To that end, the Shack lived up to mission (IMHO). As a body, gunnies were more unified in our defense and offense on bills over the past two sessions and I like to think the Shack (and its readers) had a lot to do with it.

When the legislature tried to sneak a few anti-gun bills through, the immediate and resounding wave of correspondence from Freedom Fiends quashed more than one bill. A friendly lawmaker has told me on a couple of occasions that the strong and fast response by you, the readers, has been instrumental in protecting our rights.

Good on you.

This hard call was made easier by the existence of the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association. This body has done an outstanding job of filling in where I have fallen down. The NFOA has become freaky active and engaged in a short period.

Thanks to Chris, Dan, Jay, Joe, Rick and all the others for the work they do. If you were a reader here, I highly encourage you to join the NFOA (it's free) and help them protect our rights. Join up, be a friend on Facebook, stay connected.

So, it's come time to say goodbye and thanks. I will still see many of you at Rock Your GLOCK and hopefully other matches. You have made this endeavor fun, it was never a chore. You all gave me something to take pride in and care about when my occupational situation did not. In all honesty, you readers kept me sane for the first two years of blogging.

For that, and more, you have my unending gratitude.

Stay safe,
xxxJM24xxx

Notes From The Gun Safe 10/16

2009-10-16T09:05:00.003-05:00

Remington ACR approacheth:
The Firearms Blog, among others, has shared that Big Green is going to offer a civvy, semi version of the ACR (which I first fell in lust with as the Magpul Masada). Looks like spring 2010, time to start saving.

Best of luck, Senator Fulton:
State Sen. Tony Fulton is running for state treasurer. Fulton has been a staunch backer of our rights, and will do a bang up job as treasurer. As an aside, this is historically a stepping stone to Da Guv's office. Got our vote, Sen. Fulton!

Uncompensated gear plug:
(Side note: Get Bent FCC)
I bit the bullet and dropped the coin for a SneakyBag rifle case. Awesome! It looks like a skate/snow/wakeboard case, yet holds my AR in travel condition. I toted it in and out of my hotel dozens of times a few weeks ago and no one looked twice. They are pricey, but worth it. Oh, yeah, that first testimonial? That's me.

On the deer stand:
Once again, Ol' Joe will be after Bambi with a 6.8SPC AR. Why? Well, it's a platform I am intimately familiar with, lightweight and easy to shoot. Plus... It'll drive the NE Game guys nuts to hunt with an eeeeevil black rifle.

On the bookshelf:
Reread -- Col. Grossman's On Combat. Good stuff.
Read -- Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Frankly, not that impressed. Sure, it was a decent book on survival, but the online freebie "Lights Out" is 10x better.
Want -- John Wesley Rawles new survival book.

Christmas came early:
My large steel box now has a neighboring large steel box. I ran out of room and Mizz Merchant pulled the Christmas trigger early with a new gun safe. Found a great deal, so pa-in-law wanted one, too. Want to see some freaked out store clerks? Have them help you load tw0 24 gun safes into a truck.

Ammo, primers return:
The handgun ammo shelf at Cabela's was pretty full yesterday, prices are still up but easing. I also found primers at both Cabelas and Scheel's yesterday. One brick of Federal small rifles set me back $29.99. High, but not as bad as the gun show commandos were trying to charge.

Programming note:
There will be a fairly major Shack announcement later today. Please check in and find out what's been going on behind the scenes.

NFA item in a hurry:
Part of that announcement will explain why I am accelerating my next NFA item purchase. The problem is, what will it be? The candidates:
-- Serbu Super Shorty AOW
-- 7.62mm can
-- .22LR can
-- Suppressed Saiga 12 gauge (OK, not likely but still 20 degrees of coolness)

Other option:
SBR Robinson Arms 14" XCR in 7.62x39mm.

Legislative front:
We have pre-emption, car carry, and mild church protection. What's next?

Nebraska Firearm Owners Association has a poll up asking that very question. Personally, my vote went toward Castle Doctrine, but a solid case can be made for uniform signage. Head over, vote.

Speaking of the NFOA...
Are you a member? OK, why the hell not? It's free, it's a great group, and they bust their butts spreading the word and facts about firearms laws in Nebraska. The more members they have, the more clout they carry. No offense to Jordan, but if you are relying on the NRA (a good group, too) to lobby for our rights, you are in or a let down.

In short: Sign up NOW!!!!

Until later today, peace, love and breadsticks to all!

Birdshot a bad SD idea

2009-09-16T09:02:00.002-05:00

For those who read the Box 'O Truth, you are already familiar with Ol' Painless' admonition that "birdshot is for little birdies."

Today's OWH has a story out of Lincoln that demonstrates why.

A 19-year-old Lincoln man was shot in the chest during a confrontation at an apartment complex Tuesday evening. His injuries were not life-threatening.
According to Lincoln Police Capt. Jim Davidsaver:
The man and a cousin were walking in the commons of a complex on the 1800 block of Knox Street about 8:30 p.m. when they were confronted by a group of about five men, one carrying a shotgun.
The gun went off, and the man was sprayed with pellets believed to be birdshot or something of that nature

The man gave chase but soon gave up, thinking it better to go to BryanLGH Medical Center West for treatment instead.
There were no arrests as of early this morning.

Replace birdshot with buckshot and the man does not give chase.

Granted, this incident was less-than legal use of a firearm, but there is still a lesson to be learned.

A Friend leaves the Statehouse

2009-08-12T14:28:00.002-05:00

From the LJS:

Omaha Sen. Mike Friend resigned from the Legislature Wednesday and took a job as the first director of the state's Office of Violence Prevention.

His resignation will be effective Sunday and he will report for his new job on Monday.

The office, created in the Legislature's 2009 by LB63, will be responsible for developing, fostering, promoting and assessing violence prevention programs in the state.

"Violent crime is a challenge for several cities, especially Omaha," said Gov. Dave Heineman in announcing his appointment of Friend. "There are too many shootings and gang related activities that need to be eliminated. We have lost too many young people to senseless acts of violence. This has to stop."

In July and up to Aug. 10, Omaha recorded 24 incidents of gun violence. The new violence prevention office is getting ready to do its work at a time when Omaha officials are talking about grounding the city's police helicopters and delaying its next police recruit class to save money.

"I know that they've got very difficult issues that they're working on right now," Friend said. "They're slashing to the bone right now. Everybody knows it."

Sen. Friend was good to gunnies, a behavior that I hope contiues in his new position, as the potential for gun law abuse is great.

I hope Gov. Heineman names a sufficiently gun-friendly replacement.

Mall Ninjas nationwide just wet themselves with glee

2009-08-10T15:45:00.001-05:00

Scary news for scary times

After numerous attempts to attack shopping malls in the United Kingdom, Britain's National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) trains shopping centers and other similar public venues on how to prepare for a terrorist attack, according to the Telegraph.

Security correspondent Duncan Gardham reports shopping centers have been targeted by terrorists three times in the last four years.

Too bad Gun Kid is still in lockup... you know what I mean.

Need some intel: Ted Turner

2009-08-06T11:31:00.004-05:00

Guess what I just saw happening up in my neck o' the work woods?

Ted Turner is coming to town.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

Turner is an ol skool cowboy, who once said that the world would turn to cannibalism dues to global warming, so he needed to stock up on .30-30 so he could take head shots at 70 yrds.

Turner is a huge ($1 billion) benefactor to the United Nations and its efforts to be the world's nanny.

So... Am I OK with this guy or should be I torked?

Your thoughts?

Another Midtown sexual assault

2009-08-04T15:56:00.002-05:00

From the OWH

A weekend sexual assault could be linked to more than a dozen similar crimes that have occurred in midtown Omaha and other locations since March 2008.
On Saturday, a 21-year-old woman told police she was raped in her Dundee apartment by a short and stocky man with short hair and a medium complexion. Family members of the victim later said she identified the suspect in a photo lineup, though police haven't publicly identified any suspects and say the investigation is ongoing.
The woman reported that the man entered her third-floor apartment near 49th and Underwood while she was sleeping. She said the man threatened that he would kill her.
Police said several similarities between Saturday's case and previous incidents indicate the cases likely are related. "It sure looks like it could be," said Lt. Darci Tierney of the Omaha Police Department.
In March, the rape of a woman near 37th and Marcy Streets prompted police to review earlier reports of a peeping tom, burglar and sexual predator. That woman, 66, told police that a stocky man about 5-foot-8 and wearing dark clothes entered her apartment through the front door, attacked her and sexually assaulted her.
Police say the woman's description of the suspect and other details of the crime had similarities to those in reports from last year. Police linked nearly a dozen cases last year to a suspect whom they described as having dark skin and an athletic, 5-foot-8 build. He was thought to be in his 20s or early 30s.
That man was said to be preying on women in midtown between March and September, but he also was thought to have struck outside that area, including a couple of times in south Omaha, Tierney said. Incidents in the areas of 99th and Y Streets and 69th and Pacific Streets also may be connected, police said. Both of those cases involved sexual misconduct.

I am frequently reminded by Mizz Merchant (among others) that women see the world differently than men. ACT time: Women see the world different from men like Israelis see the world differently than Americans.

As a woman, you are a constant target of aggression/predators. While many have chosen to fight back, how you decide to face a rapist is up to you.

Fighting back comes with the inherent risk of injury or death.

Not fighting back comes with the inherent risk of injury or death.

The best option, of course, is to make yourself a hard target. Predators are the same no matter the species. Lions do not take on the alpha male, they look for the weakest and slowest.

Attackers have a sense of self-preservation. If you can pose enough of a threat, he will move on to the next target. While stopping the thug is optimal, the bottom line is to save your ass first.

So...

Close and lock doors and windows, especially at night.

Leave lights on or put them on remotes.

Don't be distracted on your cell phone, make the call once you get locked in.

If your door does not have one, get a deadbolt installed and use the damn thing.

If needed, replace your bedroom door with a solid core door and add a deadbolt.

If (and only if) you are willing to use it, get a firearm and the training necessary.

Establish a check in system with a friend.

Take a self-defense course (if for no other reason than to learn awareness).

As always, thanks to Oleg Volk for the image.

Omaha crime: Yeah, I got nothing

2009-08-04T15:51:00.001-05:00

Presented without comment:

OMAHA, Neb. -- Vandals who defecated in Miller Park's pool Monday night committed the "worst" offense of a common problem, said Parks and Recreation Director Steve Scarpello.

Generous donors gave cash to keep the pool open one more week in the face of budget cuts, one of four pools to survive the summer cuts. But vandals gave their own deposits to counter the action, which will now keep the pool closed until Wednesday.

"Believe it or not, even though this is one of the worst I've seen, this kind of thing is not uncommon," Scarpello said.

The feces was spread over the pool decks and in the water.

Health guidelines require the hyper-chlorination of the water and a thorough sanitization of the pool decks before the pool can reopen.

Seriously, it's a sick world.

Somewhat related side note

2009-08-04T10:42:00.002-05:00

Now that I've been on the soap box, let me share an anecdote from last night.

I was in the shop/armory/man room of goodness putting together a new heavy bag stand. Mizz Merchant appears to tell me her brother was going to be an overnight guest, and he was on the way.

No biggie, we expected it.

But, we were out of refreshing, green caffienated beverage. So, let's run to the corner Walgreen's.

Sure, let's do it.

When we get to the store, I discover I have no wallet... In fact, I have empty pockets but for my primary pocket knife. OK, not good... But, heck, it's only the Walgreen's 3 blocks from home, right?

Oh, yeah, Mizz Merchant says, I need to get gas, too. There's an unmanned Shell a mile or so away, and they're the cheapest right now. Oh, and let's swing through the Burger King for ice cream after that.

I scowl and tell her that I am "underdressed" for the trip. She scoffs, says my dirty t-shirt and shorts will be OK for Walgreen's, gas station is unmanned, and BK is drive-thru.

"Honey," I say. "Why do you not like going to that Shell alone?"

"Well, it's unmanned and back from the road and there are some creepy people there often."

"OK, now think about what I mean when I say 'underdressed' for that trip."

"OH! Underdressed... Gotcha."

So, I get pop at Walgreen's, gas up at Shell, and sit in the drive thru at BK with three carloads of wannabe gangsta's eyeballing the wife's car. Truthfully, I found DJ Trevor and MC Bryce to be of little real threat, but still...

The lesson from my bad situation is simple:

Crap happens: You cannot plan accordingly.

If you are going to be self-reliant for personal safety, you must be prepared 24/7. I follow that rule pretty well, but last night was an epic case of FAIL.

Omaha crime: What can we learn

2009-08-04T10:30:00.002-05:00

Well... Nothing new, actually, but there have been a spate of incidents lately that serve as good reminders.

(Plus, I can post about them quick and delay the long Part II of the rifle post a little longer.)

First, from KETV.com (all bold is mine)

OMAHA, Neb. -- A 16-year-old girl was the latest victim in a series of parking lot purse snatchings around the metro, said Omaha police.

Three people have been robbed in grocery store parking lots since last week, police said. The snatchings happen in broad daylight and in the middle of parking lots, reminding shoppers and workers to be mindful of their surroundings at any time.

On Saturday, Alison Huf had just finished her shift at the Hy-Vee grocery store near 96th and Q streets. She was actually hit by the car before its driver snatched her purse.

"I was walking to my car and a car came up behind me and hit me," Huf said. "And I thought, like someone was pulling out and didn't see me so I turned around to see what was going on."

Gee, you have to pay attention to your world? Who knew? What's that? We landed on the Moon? AWESOME!

The second, third, and fourth, also from Channel 7.

Robbers hit three Omaha businesses overnight, including one that police know well -- the Kwik Shop at 36th and Leavenworth streets. For the third time since July, and at least the 27th time since 2001, robbers entered the store and demanded cash. Police were called to the store at 11:42 p.m. Monday.

The clerk told officers one robber grabbed money from the register and then demanded alcohol and cigarettes. The two fled with an undetermined amount of cash and bottles of alcohol and cigarettes, police said.

At 2:31 a.m., robbers matching those descriptions went into the QuikTrip near 60th and L streets. One robber with an Old Navy sweatshirt covering his head forced a customer to the ground while a second robber, face covered by bandanas, demanded the safe be opened.

The clerk refused and the robber, who the clerk said had a gun, went for the register. The robber was unsuccessful and the two fled without any cash, police said.

At about 7 p.m., witnesses told police two gunmen went into the Taco Bell near 62nd Street and Ames Avenue and demanded cash. They tried to get money from the safe and registers but were unsuccessful, police said. Witnesses said the robbers were two black males between the ages of 21 and 25.

Lots to digest there.

1) If a store has been hit 27 times, it may behoove you to drive a few blocks further for your HoHos and Diet Sprite.

2) Nothing good happens after 2 a.m. used to be my rule. It was later amended to midnight. Now days, I am seriously considering a "after dark" amendment.

3) Refusing an armed robber... Not smart. I'm all about fighting back, but when you are in a position of counting lands and grooves down the muzzle of a Hi-Point... Well, not much to do there (unless you are A: Michael Janich, B: Chuck Norris, C: Ninja).

4) Even I feel somewhat secure in a Taco Bell at 7 p.m. Sure, I still look through the windows before entering and examine the occupants while finding exits, but on my list of bad ideas, the 7 p.m. nacho run is pretty low. Shiite happens anywhere, anytime. Condition white will get you killed.

Morals of the stories:
-- Be aware, at all times, at all places.
-- Stay away from places that thugs use as an ATM
-- If you must be out at 0200, have all the antennae set to HIGH.
-- Safe places, at safe times... aren't.

Obviously, he didn't surrender fast enough

2009-08-03T08:25:00.002-05:00

As the po-po like to remind us, never, ever fight back in a robbery and you'll be perfectly safe.

Uh, well... almost.

From KETV.com

OMAHA, Neb. -- Police said a botched robbery led to an early-morning shooting that sent one man to a hospital.

Officers said they were called to the shooting scene at 36th and Lake streets just before 5 a.m. at Lake Street Delivery, a business that operates as a modified convenience store.

Police said the victim, Kenny Smith, 23, of Omaha, was shot twice, including once in the chest.

He was unresponsive at the scene and taken to Creighton University Medical Center in what police said was very critical condition, but paramedics were able to get his pulse back.

After interviewing witnesses, police said they determined that the shooting started with a robbery attempt.

"During the robbery attempt, one of the suspects discharged a firearm, striking the victim," said Pecha.

Granted, details are still coming in, but the inside scoop is that Smith did not fight back.

So, he should've been safe, right?

Urban Rifle: Part One

2009-07-31T09:43:00.004-05:00

We got started on the rifle in earnest after lunch on Saturday.

As expected, we started with the basics: Sighting in at 40m. I had read the specs on Farnam's Web site, so I was already zeroed, but I wanted to verify after 560 miles in the trunk.

Zeroing in
3 shots, slightly left but otherwise on the money.

Before we made any adjustments, John and Vicki shot each and every rifle (nice work if you can get it).

Vicki outshot damn near every guy there. She is a rifleman, through and through. My rifle was dead nuts, as she verified. The slight left bias was written off to my right hand/left eye dominance. Either way, I was well within minute of bad guy. John: "No changes, you're good to go."

Farnam works by the 40-to-240 theory. The 5.56mm round, if zeroed at 40m will return to zero at 240m. From zero to 240m, the round will never be more than 2.5 inches off zero. That is, despite what the DoD thinks, the MAX effective range for the 5.56mm.

Rifle technique
As I said Wednesday, there is a lot of rifle technique that I adopted. The most noticeable is the ready position.

Instead of low ready where you simply lower the rifle, John's ready position is to never take the rifle off the shoulder. He teaches to lay the rifle flat against the body, muzzle down and pointed to the left (for right handers) with the rifle rotated 90 degrees.

You end up with the stock sitting flat on top of your shoulder and the top of the rifle against your chest.

Here's why I like it so much.

From low ready, when you snap up on target, you tend to overtravel. Then you pull down, overcorrecting, and finally bounce up on target. By adding the 90 degree roll, it is far easier to snap the rifle into the right position, the first time.

When you couple in the high front thumb grip that Chris Costa teaches (competition style) it makes for a natural, comfortable way to carry the rifle.

THIS is my safety

When the rifle is mounted (i.e. anything but hanging on the sling) the safety is off. John figures it's an impediment that will pop up when the time is the worst. If the stock is on the shoulder, the safety is off and the finger is OFF the trigger. Again, when doing 360 degree turns and scans, the rifle was chambered and hot while facing the entire class. Muzzle discipline was no joke in the class.

Test by fire(ing)

After we had everyone on the money, we switched to an endurance test. 100 rounds, as fast as you can accurately fire.

The preparedness part of my brain cringed as I rocked off 100 valuable 5.56 rounds. The lizard side, however, was saying "YYYYYEEEEEAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!"

My focus was on not trying to be perfect with the dot. I had zeroed from prone, but was shooting standing. We had the option of kneeling, a table, or prone but I chose standing cause I want to practice like I'll fight, which is not going to be from a solid bench rest.

I was pretty happy with how easy it got to time the trigger press to the dot movement. In fact, it became a heck of a lot easier than waiting for the perfect, rock-solid dot on target.

Out of my flight of four, I was done well ahead of the others.

When we went down to examine, I joked to the head cop that I switched to the .410 upper over lunch. He stood in front of my target (and he's a pretty little guy) and said "How many holes do you see around me?"

"Uh, none," I said.

"100 rounds into my torso will make me very, very dead. Don't worry about bullseye accuracy, this is about shooting accurately, first. You shot first and fine."

Lesson learned.

Side note: Lot's of guys started to see the first issues start to arise with their boomsticks. My Franken-AR ran 100 for 100. The only stoppages were to swap out empty Pmags for full ones.

Small bullet, small target, small problem

Since we still had the paper out, it was time for the up-close and personal rifle work.

Working from 10 feet, we got reminded about height over bore offset. Since I work a lot with the rimfire kit, I'm up close and used to the sight offset.

For those unfamiliar, on the AR rifle, the sights sit about 2.5inches above the centerline of the bore. This was Gene Stoner's solution to his inline recoil buffer system. Instead of angling the stock down, like most rifles, Stoner has a straight back stock.

This makes for better recoil management (key, with the monster 5.56mm) but requires the eye to be too low for normal sights. So, the AR had the sight mounted 2.5 inches higher.

The end result is that any shot from 25m and closer, the point of impact will be 2.5 inches below point of aim.

For the purposes of this drill, we were looking to take a brain stem shot to shut down a terrorist holding ma-in-law hostage. The target is an area roughly behind and the size of the nose. To hit it, at this range, we had to hold over the target by 2.5 inches.

2.5 inches is a heck of a lot of face real estate. I was putting the dot slightly above the point right between the eyes, and I was hitting upper lip. Once I came to mental terms with holding at the hairline, I was fine.

Duck, ma!
The drill went like this:

We stepped from around an imaginary wall, at low ready, and yelled "What do you want?"

When asked a question, researchers have found, people will divert mental attention away from the task at hand (holding a hostage) for a few second to formulate an answer. In this window, we were to come to a firing stance and make the brain stem shot (double tap, actually).

Out of 20 reps, I only gave ma-in-law a pierced ear once. The rest were money shots.

Been there, done that
At this point, one of the co-instructors told the tale of his first few months on the S. African police force (after years in SA Spec Ops). He was faced with the same shot, and he took it.

The first shot went clean through the victim's shoulder, followed by several more to the perp. The victim was grateful for the rescue, but the instructor still had to deal with ventilating an good guy.

The lesson. If you feel that you can take the shot, go ahead. But be damn sure you can do it.

I'm pretty confident (on a bright, square range with perfect weather and no adrenalin). But I have had the talk with Mizz Merchant about when to duck.

Summary
-- My rifle is pretty dependable. It is mechanical, so it can and will fail, but for this duration it held up better than a lot of more expensive rifles.

-- My EOTech holds zero very well. Need more.

-- 2.5 inches of sight offset is a lot bigger than you think.

-- The flat body rifle hold is far more comfortable and effective than low ready.

-- Don't worry about 1" groups, this is a fighting rifle. Keep the shots in COBG (center of bad guy) and all will be well.

-- Get used to the fact that the dot will be dancing, you're human. Instead, focus on working that trigger press to break the shot when the dot is on the target.

Next issue: Steel at varying distances.

JOGI update

2009-07-31T09:42:00.001-05:00

Once again, I was Plan B for the social media job.

Congrats to Plan A, whomever you are.

*sigh*

I swear, sometimes...

2009-07-30T12:48:00.003-05:00

working here is like working in an Airplane! movie.

I'm talking about in-game events with an intern, when I see (over his shoulder) my boss walk by balancing a rubber pirate sword on his nose.

And by boss, I mean me.

The comical part is, he never missed a beat, as such sights are common.

Morning delays

2009-07-29T09:42:00.001-05:00

Sitting at car dealer, waiting for recall work to be finished.

Part One of rifle report hopefully to see light of day this afternoon.

Carry on.

Guess what I found?

2009-07-28T13:27:00.002-05:00

At the local bookstore here in Podunk...

MONSTER HUNTER INTERNATIONAL.

Now I have my "official" copy, which will be the lender as I'm hanging on to the self-published version for when Larry blows up into a huge movie writer.

If you have not gotten a copy, yet... Shame.

Go directly to Larry's blog, do not pass go, do not collect $200, do not read Perez Hilton.

READ THE SAMPLE CHAPTER.

Trust me, the whole book is better.

Course overview: Handguns

2009-07-28T09:03:00.004-05:00

To review:

My personal philosophy on training is that every person must embark on their own Musha-Shugyo, or training journey.

There is no one-size-fits all program. I believe that you must absorb as much education as you can, disregard that which does not work for you, adopt that does work, and drill what remains into muscle memory.

I remind you of that because there was a lot of the handgun portion I did not absorb into my personal journey.

To be clear, I am not smarter nor more experienced than John Farnam. I am, however, responsible for my own safety. Therefore, I endeavor to craft my training journey to fit my body and situation.

Handgun skills
Farnam started us off with the draw and trigger reset. He uses the four step draw that I (thought I) use.

Step 1: Establish master grip.
Step 2: Rip and rotate.
Step 3: Press out, meet support hand.
Step 4: Up to eye line, trigger press.

Part of my problem was that dreaded four letter word: Fast.

Full of fail
I forgot my fundamentals and was going balls out for speed. Why? No idea.

OK, OK... I was nervous, OK? I have been to training before, but never with a dozen cops and John Farnam watching. This was the first thing we did and I screwed it up.

This is good.

Farnam's philosophy (which I share) is that we do not train to show how good we are. We train to fail. Only through failing can we figure out what works and what doesn't.

Well, I got to learn a lot.

For starters, the support hand that I KNOW I keep tucked to the chest through the draw... Isn't always there. FAIL.

My draw is a "scooper draw." In other words, I start to extend the firing arm as soon as the gun clears Kydex, which makes for along scooping arc. FAIL.

On the reholster, the support hand sometimes fails to return to the chest in a flat fashion (I make a fist). FAIL.

I do, however, have pretty good trigger reset control. Despite my frequent forgetfulness of this skill at Rock Your GLOCK, under nerves and pressure, I was riding the link well.

Sights? Uh, sure.
We never really worked farther out than 7-10 yards with the handguns. Aside from the draw, my technique seemed pretty solid. I was one of the few not to the "get those thumbs up" lecture. My reloads were, thanks to practice and good mag pouches, consistent and quick. I rang the steel with almost every shot (except the rotator, but more on that in a sec).

The thing is, I don't recall ever using my sights.

I'm pretty sure I did, but even after the drill I don't recall a conscious sight picture.

Farnam teaches a "zipper" burst with the handgun. Starting at the naval, you run a four-shot burst up the torso, ending in the high chest.

I was zipping the targets up well, but I don't think I took more than a flash sight picture at best.

So, I guess that's a FAIL... Or a new acceptance of the Pincus-style philosophy about the balance of speed and precision. All I know is that Clint Smith would not be pleased.

After the draw
Farnam works hard to get students out of the sights. I have never really had this problem, but under stress it could pop up. By living in the sights, the shooter loses all peripheral vision and situational awareness. Most instructors break this by teaching the 360 scan.

Farnam teaches this by the 2 second rule. If you have not shot something in 2 seconds, you get the gun out of the face. Here's where we differed in philosophy the most.

I prefer the standard low ready, which is to keep the firing grip, but lower the arms and gun by a foot or so. Farnam does not like this as students cheat and lower the gun 1 inch, thus living in the sights. He also worries that this creates a retention issue (true).

His method is to pull the gun back under the chin, rotated 90 degrees. The end result is that the ejection port ends up 6 inches below the eyes (and under almost any safety glasses). He says it's more secure and you can "chin point" and fire if needed.

I have to disagree. Yes, it does reduce the take away threat, but what good does my gun do if I'm frakkin' blinded by burning gasses? I won't be wearing safety glasses in that dark alley.

This was one of the areas where taking the police class did not fit me. As a civilian, I can take retention steps that cops cannot. For example, I can run away instead of standing there holding a suspect. I will not be clearing a building, I will be running or bunkering in.

For me, I have adopted a modified low ready. I lower the gun a foot or more, then pull my elbows back to my sides. Think of the "ready position" from a Rock Your GLOCK shoot. My muzzle is still pointed at the threat (not the ground 8 feet to the left) but it is less ready for a takeaway attempt.

Again, no one size fits all technique.

The big controversy
The biggest gap between my comfort level and Farnam's method lies in position Sul.

Literally "south" this is where Farnam wants the handgun when doing a 360 scan. Place both hands flat on your chest, with the thumbs making a point at the top and the gun hand laying on top of the weak hand. If you had a pistol while doing this, you'd have Sul.

Farnam's thought, which has merit, is that the pistol is still up and close to ready, but the muzzle is down and safe for you to face people (which he then had us do several times).

IMHO, the same can be accomplished from low ready without compromising the master grip. In addition, Sul can be compromised by an in close attacker pressing the gun/hands back into your chest. The same cannot be done with low ready. If a close in attacker grabs the gun hand, you are likely already aimed at his low line areas. Press trigger until problem solved.

I'm not sure if this has more merit in the police realm, but for my non-LEO personal protection I see little benefit to Sul.

Of course, as with all things on this blog, that's just my opinion. Your experience and benefits may be different.

The Rotator
This steel target was at once the most evil and most fun thing we did with a handgun.

Made by Safe Direction, this idea behind this paddle-type target is to get the paddle rocking back and forth until it flips over. This requires precision fire (8"x8" target) and precision timing on a moving target.

All but three in the class were rocking John Browning's .45. If we shot well, we could flip it in 3-4 shots. The .40 guys took a bit longer. The one gent who brought a 9mm was hating. IIRC he never got the thing to flip. He came back on day two with a .45.

I was lucky. The trick is not to miss and to flip it before a mag change. The heavy arms slow down so much if you miss or have to reload. I got mine to flip with a quick double tap as it paused at the top of the arc. It tipped over as I went to slide lock.

The other rotator drill started with me standing by my target, spinning it, and running back to the line to draw and make it stop. Again, I lucked out and did it in 2 shots. Gotta love 230grs of momentum.

We ended the morning by shooting and moving. Come to the line, on command move, draw, and engage four to each of three targets, with 8-10 feet of movement in between.

In another case of FAIL, I was sidestepping, competition style. The preferred method was to go heel-toe while pivoting upper body.

Summary
Things I thought I did well were a mixed bag of WIN and FAIL. I now know what I need to work on. I have a new exercise, the Men's Room drill, that I'm using to clean up my draw stroke.

In short, the men's room at my office has a mirror that you see once you enter the door. There is a long enough walk to complete a full drawstroke, while watching the moves in the mirror. If the motion sensor light is off, I know the room is empty, so I use the light as my cue to execute a draw (sans gun, natch). Practice is good.

I know it may sound like I didn't agree with most of Farnam's teachings. Far from the truth. I adapted far more than I rejected. But, as I said, it's a Musha-Shugyo and you must find what works for you. I was not comfortable with the gun under my chin nor with Sul, so it does not fit into my journey.

Tomorrow, we'll cover the first half of the rifle portion. The rest of the class was full of things that I immediately adopted to my personal journey.

Off topic

2009-07-27T13:02:00.002-05:00

Did anyone else catch the KETV "I-Team Investigation" into the "in memory" stickers people put on their cars?

It was quality, modern, mainstream journalism.

"So, you put a sticker on the car as a memorial to the dead?"

"Yep."

"Why a sticker?"

"Flowers kept fallin' off."

"Why a car?"

"The dog kept lickin' the sticker off."

"So, why this person?"

"They're dead."

"Mm hmmm. Dead, right. So... why a sticker?"

"I'm going inside now, please get off my porch."

Summary: People put "in memory" stickers on their cars in memory of a dead person.

Thanks you for clearing that up, I Team.

(I, apparently, is either for Idiot or Imbecile)

One more time, people

2009-07-27T11:54:00.003-05:00

Rule No. 1: Treat all firearms as if they are loaded, all the time

Rule No. 2: Keep your finger off of the trigger until your sights are on the target and you are ready to fire.

Rule No. 3: Do not point a firearm at anything you do not want to destroy or kill.

Rule No. 4: Be sure of your target, as well as foreground and background.

How many of the four were violated here?

SARPY COUNTY, Neb. -- A woman shot in the home of a Sarpy County deputy Sunday night was handling a gun when it went off, said Sarpy County Sheriff Lt. Randy Furby.

The 24-year-old woman's two children, ages 2 and 7, were in the house at the time, Furby said.

The bullet hit the woman in the chest. She has since gone into surgery and is in stable condition, Furby said.

Multiple law enforcement agencies and the Douglas County Crime Lab all arrived at the home near 155th and Edna streets just after 8:45 p.m.

Sheriff Jeff Davis said other people witnessed the shooting.

It is not clear why the woman was handling a gun.

As always, Freedom Fiends, submit your guesses as to how long it takes before the official story is "the gun possibly malfunctioned and just went off."

(At the same time, best wishes and thoughts go out to the family. Stupidity should only affected the stupid, but sadly family is often caught up, too.)

Course overview: Housekeeping

2009-07-27T10:51:00.004-05:00

Over the next few days, there will be recaps of the Police Defensive Handgun and Urban Rifle course.

Today's installment, housekeeping.

Friday evening:
We all gathered at the Sturgis PD for the "lecture" portion of the evening. As a non-LEO, I felt mighty naked surrounded by armed people while I carried little more than three blades and purpose-built pen. Alas.

John arrived and "lectured." I use quotes because John's lectures are more of anecdotes, questions, and pithy quotes. Enjoyable, while educational.

The highlights were:
- In an increasingly dangerous world, rifles are king. Handguns are nice, but rifles are a must.
- Preparedness, preparedness, preparedness. Food, ammo, rifle, medical, training, preparedness.
- We carry guns because we don't trust the cops to be there the second we call, yet we trust the ambulance to be there? Silly. Carry your own med gear, such as an Israeli Battle Dressing (IBD).
- In John's world, we train for one reason, one purpose, and one goal: VICTORY.

Saturday morning:
We met on the Sturgis PD range at 0900.

John began by explaining the range safety rules. He not only runs a hot range, he's very strict about it. The best way to describe it would be "modified Israeli-style."

Israeli-style in that we were to be armed with pistol and rifle at all times. John very much prepares his students for SHTF times, and that means armed. His opinion is that within 10 years, the sight of Americans with slung M4s will be as common as it is in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.

I say modifed becuase, unlike the Israeli protocol, John has his rifle and handgun fully stoekd with one in the pipe.

When slung, rifles must be muzzle down and on safe. Pistols must be on safe and holstered in a quality holster. Maneuvering a slung AR around in a port-a-john was a training drill in and of itself.

On the rifle, the second you mount the rifle the safety comes off. Manual safeties are impediments, in Farnam's world. Needless to say, trigger finger disciplne is paramount. After most rifle drills, which hlaf the class would do at a time, shooters were to go to low ready and move while doing a 360-degree scan. At first, there was something troubling about a shooter turning around at the line with a hot weapon. Overall, muzzle discipline was good.

Muzzles are also to be kept down at all times. This presented a bit of a challenge to those of us who have studied Clint Smith or Chris Costa. Both preach that loading/unloading/malf clearance should all be done muzzle up to allow crud to fall out. Fortunately, I had worked enough of the drills that I could still do them without looking or having the rifle in my "workspace," but others struggled to keep eyes on target during these drills.

Press checks are also paramount, and this technique is one of the places John and I disagree.

But first, this:

My personal philosophy on training is that every person must embark on their own Musha-Shugyo, or training journey.

There is no one-size-fits all program. I believe that you must absorb as much education as you can, disgard that which does not work for you, adopt that does work, and drill what remains into muscle memory.

When training, however, give the instructor your 100% effort. Just because John and I disagree on brass check techniques, does not mean there is no merit. For many, his way will be best. For me, however, the Clint Smith technique works better. During the class, I tried John's way with full effort. I did the same with his rifle technique, and found it superior to my previous style.

John wants students to maintain a master grip on the pistol, then use the offside hand to retracxt the slide slightly. Then, the firing hand comes from under the trigger guard to pinch the slide in place so the offside hand can examine the chamber with a finger. All this happens while the gun is pressed into the chest for rearward support.

Too much hand jiggling for me and I never like using non-hands parts of the body for non-injury weapons manipulations.

I prefer Smith's method of using the weak hand to come up under the barrel while maintaining a master grip with the firing hand. The weak hand pushes the slide back, while the palm of the firing hand provides resistance. The trigger finger then can come up to tactilely feel for the presence of brass.

Doing this by touch is key in low-light.

His technique for rifle is pretty similar to mine. Before loading a mag into the rifle, feel to see if the top round is right or left. Drive the mag home, work the bolt. Now pull the mag and feel to verify the round is now on the other side. There is no where else the former top round could have gone, but into the chamber.

He then shows how to slightly retract the bolt and check, but I'm confident in the mag check method and don't want to risk an out of battery on the rifle.

That about covers the housekeeping part of the class. Tomorrow, we'll cover the handgun portion.

New (to me) rifles

2009-07-27T10:48:00.001-05:00

Need some info, Freedom Fiends.

Share with me your experiences, stories, advice, etc., on an old Winchester 61 and an old Winchester 74.

Both need cleaning and a wee bit of rust removal.

Gear report

2009-07-24T09:25:00.002-05:00

As part of the after action report from the Farnam course, I evaluated my gear.

Overall, I was very, very pleased.

Several classmates encountered gun issues, but both my AR and XD ran flawlessly.

I did experience some gear issues, but aside from one failure they were mostly learning curves.

The boomsticks:
The AR ran like a champ. At the lecture, we introduced ourselves and shared our gear. My Doublestar lower, with DPMS parts, and the DPMS upper (all built from a kit) was the only "frankengun" in the class. The majority of my peers were either running Robinson XCRs or factory-built ARs.

I figured if anyone would have reliability issues...

It was wasn't me. One factory AR just stopped running. Two others would not feed a full magazine. The Chinese AK wouldn't stay zeroed. And one XCR had all the threading on the end of the barrel fall off.

My plan was to clean the rifle before I left as it had 5-10 sighters through it (never happened). Then I was going to clean it the night before (never happened). I was going to clean it after the first day (never happened).

The end result was almost 700 rounds fired (on occasision, 100 at a time) in a dirty, dusty, dry atmosphere with only a quick squirt of CLP right before starting on Day One.

The XD only had about 200 rounds, but it ran flawless. This is my EDC, so I was happy to see no malfs.

Other good gear
Magpul Pmags are awesome.

I watched one gent load a metal mag, then drop it on the concrete. Voila, trashed mag. During one drill, I had to speed reload in the middle of the line. As I was 2-3 in line, so another 11-12 people followed me. By the time I recovered my mag, there were multiple boot prints.

It ran like a champ.

Blade-Tech mag pouches are awesome.

Despite being the only non-LEO there, I was also the only other one using an AR mag pouch, in addition to my XD mag pouch. Both are Blade-Tech with the Tek-Lock.

My speed reloads were consistently quicker than others because I was working from a consistent and solid mag location. This was especially helpful when changing from awkward positions. Others were fumbling for mags from cargo pockets or vest pockets.

One note, I need to lose weight. The pouches rubbed on my hip in a way that has left a hard contusion that's there a week later. Ouch.

Love my EOTech
I zeroed at 40m before I left. The gun then rode 500 miles in a case with another AR. Then rode in the trunk back and forth in no case. Spent 2 days banging on my hips and legs...

And never, ever lost zero. Three checks, three shots each, three times zero was solid.

The red dot helped with unconventional shooting, but it rocked in the night shoot.

Bad gear
My single-point sling (from... somewhere? It's many years old) broke at the end of the night shoot. I was walking bag to my range bag to grab it and go, when the snap hook broke in half.

For the record, prying gravel out of a phantom flash hider is no fun. They're sharp.

I stopped at the hardware store and got a snap ring to get me by.

So... any recommendations?

Late gear, good response
Seeing as I was going to be on a hot range, I upgraded my med kit (or tried to). A month in advance, I ordered a kit from Resq-pak, designed for collisions with high-velocity, lead-based projectiles.

It didn't make it in time.

I e-mailed the comapny to check the status. I was told that there would be a delay in this product they had not forseen. So... they sent me a similar kit (free) and promised I'd be on the top of the list when the other kits were available.

So, good on you ResQ-Pak. You did not need to do that, as I understand supply issues, but you took a neutral customer and made him into a positive customer (sharing the experience with a few dozen readers).

Summary
I realize my gear is not God's own guns. I'm sure I was just riding a hot streak in the great cosmic crap game of life. But I still felt pretty damn good about my stuff when it ended the course 100%.

That went well, I think

2009-07-24T09:24:00.000-05:00

Interviews went well, I hope.

Should find out today.

Sorry folks

2009-07-23T14:33:00.001-05:00

Multiple-hours-long job interview today.

No posts 'til Friday.

The men behind CorBon

2009-07-22T09:13:00.004-05:00

One of the added bonuses of my educational adventure was the chance to meet Pete Pi and his family.

Pete is a former Detroit cop who got tired of using substandard ammo against the nation's worst thugs. So, in a time before namby-pamby lawyering reached current levels... He made his own carry ammo.

Then his partner wanted some. Then his shiftmates. Then the captain wanted the whole precinct.

Thus, CorBon ammunition was born.

After years of part-timing, Pete gave up law enforcement (for a bit) and turned into a full-time ammo guy.

In the mid 90s, he relocated to Sturgis to expand his factory. Now, in addition to churning out premium ammo and hunting around the globe, Pete is a reserve police officer with the Sturgis PD.

Pete and his son Pete, Jr., are also instructors of Farnam's system (along with CorBon sales rep Ross Botha). All three, along with very tall son Dane Pi, were clasmates.

Meeting the Pi family was a great experience and has raised CorBon to the top of my "quality products" list. If the ammo is made to the same standards Pete exhibited on the range, I have the utmost faith in its function in my gun (oh, and both John Farnam and Clint Smith recommend it).

Oh, and what wonderful toys they shared. Wilson Combat ARs, Robinson XCRs, Patriot Ordnance... Surefire cans... .300 Whisper ARs. The "stock" Wilson trigger was... well... awesome. Me want.

(For the record, if you are on the line and a guy stands next to you with the Surefire muzzle brake... move. That thing hurts, even in .223. The shooter was wearing plugs AND muffs.)

With that, I want to publically thank the whole CorBon contingent (Sr., Jr., Dane, Jerry, and Ross) for making the only non-LEO in the course feel welcome.

I know my endorsements mean squat, but I encourage everyone to consider CorBon as an ammo source. I've met the quality of man that makes the product and I was impressed. As I burn up my current carry ammo, I'll be making the switch to DPX in my .45s and .380.