Duh!

You have got to be one of the dumbest people on the face of the Earth.

This was a Darwin award waiting to happen!

When I'm at Red Ghost, there's always a pistol within easy reach (and by that I mean on my belt!) and the owner is the same way.

Really, attempting to rob a gun shop. Read Jay G's post as well!

An afternoon delight

The other day (or at least the other day is when I read it) Jay G posted about his .22LR spinner target and how much he enjoys the target. I have one, and I enjoy it immensely, but I don't use it with regular .22 ammo.

Slightly more than a year ago, I was introduced to the following ammo selection at the local gun shop that I frequent. A customer brought in a bolt action .22 rifle that he said would not function and fire properly. The owner grabbed a box of ammo from the desk drawer, grabbed the rifle and walked out the door. Around the side of the building we walked, to the small pile of sand next to the concrete wall.

"Terry, do you have a range back here that you've been hiding from me?"

"No"

"OK, so where are we going? What kind of ammo is that?"

"You've never seen these?"

"Nope, what is it?"

"Watch"

I watched as he opened the box of ammo and loaded the rifle. I put my fingers in my ear, and waited. Terry and the owner of the firearm seemed unconcerned.

Terry took aim, or at least pointed at the base of the wall/ the sand pile, and pulled the trigger.

"Pfffft."

"Huh, what was that?!?!?"

"One of these," said Terry as he handed me the box of ammo.

Super Aguila powderless 22's. A 20 grain bullet loaded for a maximum velocity somewhere below 500fps. The gun sounds like a BB gun when it goes off. The ammo isn't even strong enough to function the action on a .22LR semi-auto.

I immediately thought that this ammo was perfect for introducing a new shooter to the sport. As little recoil as most .22LR has, these rounds are quieter and would allow the shooting of the rifle in the backyard without wearing ear protection, which makes the whole experience far
more pleasant.

I bought a brick (because I always buy .22 in brick lots) and took it home. The next time I had the opportunity I put a few rounds downrange. I loved the idea, but I hated having to function the action on my uncle's .22 after every shot.

The next time I had some money saved up, and had permission to purchase a new toy, I headed to the shop and picked up the rifle shown in the picture. It's a Henry lever action, capable of shooting .22 short, long and long rifle. The combination is perfect.

I frequently shoot these rounds in the backyard at my aunt's house (with safe backstop of course). I shoot them about 20feet from where the rest of the family is sitting around talking. I have introduced several new shooters using the combo above.

My cousin brought her two daughters and her son to my aunt's house and we spent the afternoon putting rounds downrange. I've also used the combination to introduce my girlfriend of 2 years to shooting for the first time, and she enjoyed the experience.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments.

Always...

...carry a gun!

It's a lighter burden then regret...

and remember, the life you save may in fact be your own.

Weekend Plans...

So I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was considering going up to take a class with these guys. I am in fact planning on attending the session that they are having on Saturday morning, but prior to that, I'm planning on attending the TSRA dinner. My plan for the weekend at this point looks like this:

I'm ducking out of work a little bit early tomorrow afternoon, and driving up to Mesquite TX tomorrow afternoon. A short trip to the hotel I'm staying at will take care of a quick shower, and a set of clean clothes. I'll attend the dinner (hopefully get some pictures, but I'm not sure.)

I'll go back to the hotel and crash for the night, before getting up (probably around 5:30ish) to drive across Dallas to meet up in Weatherford TX. A full day in the classroom and on the range (been told to bring 400 rounds, I think I have 500 packed...) and then driving back to Franklin.

I'm planning on attending the class and using an XD45 Service in a Blackhawk Serpa holster, with Blackhawk mag carriers. I had a leather snap holster ordered, and it was supposed to arrive this week, but it doesn't look like it will arrive in time. Plastic it is. I'm also taking my Glock 19 as a backup in case I run into problems with the XD while we are shooting.

Anyone want to meet up in the Dallas area, shoot me an email, I know it is short notice.

--Jim

Sorry...

For the lack of posting...

I managed to get a weekend at home (I get one per month per contract) and spent the weekend in Indiana. I'm planning a couple of posts as a result, and I have a comparison post to put up as soon as I get it put together.

In the mean time, I'm also planning on hitting the TSRA dinner on Friday night, and going to North Texas Tactical Combat Handgun 1 on Saturday!

Let me know if you're going to be at either!

February 15, 2009

Op-Ed Contributor

The Coming Swarm

By JOHN ARQUILLA

Monterey, Calif.

WITH three Afghan government ministries in Kabul hit by simultaneous suicide attacks this week, by a total of just eight terrorists, it seems that a new “Mumbai model” of swarming, smaller-scale terrorist violence is emerging.

The basic concept is that hitting several targets at once, even with just a few fighters at each site, can cause fits for elite counterterrorist forces that are often manpower-heavy, far away and organized to deal with only one crisis at a time. This approach
certainly worked in Mumbai, India, last November, where five two-man teams of Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives held the city hostage for two days, killing 179 people. The Indian security forces, many of which had to be flown in from New Delhi, simply had little ability to strike back at more than one site at a time.

While it’s true that the assaults in Kabul seem to be echoes of Mumbai, the fact is that Al Qaeda and its affiliates have been using these sorts of swarm tactics for several years. Jemaah Islamiyah — the group responsible for the Bali nightclub attack that killed 202 people in 2002 — mounted simultaneous attacks on 16 Christian churches in Indonesia on Christmas Eve in 2000, befuddling security forces.

Even 9/11 itself had swarm-like characteristics, as four small teams of Qaeda operatives simultaneously seized commercial aircraft and turned them into missiles, flummoxing all our defensive responses. In the years since, Al Qaeda has coordinated swarm attacks in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen and elsewhere. And at the height of the insurgency in Iraq, terrorists repeatedly used swarms on targets as small as truck convoys and as large as whole cities.

This pattern suggests that Americans should brace for a coming swarm. Right now, most of our cities would be as hard-pressed as Mumbai was to deal with several simultaneous attacks. Our elite federal and military counterterrorist units would most likely find their responses slowed, to varying degrees, by distance and the need to clarify jurisdiction.

While the specifics of the federal counterterrorism strategy are classified, what is in the public record indicates that the plan contemplates having to deal with as many as three sites being simultaneously hit and using “overwhelming force” against the terrorists, which probably means mustering as many as 3,000 ground troops to the site. If that’s an accurate picture, it doesn’t bode well. We would most likely have far too few such elite units for dealing with a large number of small terrorist teams carrying out simultaneous attacks across a region or even a single city.

Nightmare possibilities include synchronized assaults on several shopping malls, high-rise office buildings or other places that have lots of people and relatively few exits. Another option would be to set loose half a dozen two-man sniper teams in some metropolitan area — you only have to recall the havoc caused by the Washington sniper in 2002 to imagine how huge a panic a slightly larger version of that form of terrorism would cause.

So how are swarms to be countered? The simplest way is to create many more units able to respond to simultaneous, small-scale attacks and spread them around the country. This means jettisoning the idea of overwhelming force in favor of small units that are not “elite” but rather “good enough” to tangle with terrorist teams. In dealing with swarms, economizing on force is essential.

We’ve actually had a good test case in Iraq over the past two years. Instead of responding to insurgent attacks by sending out large numbers of troops from distant operating bases, the military strategy is now based on hundreds of smaller outposts in which 40 or 50 American troops are permanently stationed and prepared to act swiftly against attackers. Indeed, their very presence in Iraqi communities is a big
deterrent. It’s small surprise that overall violence across Iraq has dropped by about 80 percent in that period.

For the defense of American cities against terrorist swarms, the key would be to use local police officers as the first line of defense instead of relying on the military. The first step would be to create lots of small counterterrorism posts throughout urban areas instead of keeping police officers in large, centralized precinct houses. This is
consistent with existing notions of community-based policing, and could even include an element of outreach to residents similar to that undertaken in the Sunni areas of Iraq — even if it were to mean taking the paradoxical turn of negotiating with gangs about security.

At the federal level, we should stop thinking in terms of moving thousands of troops across the country and instead distribute small response units far more widely. Cities, states and Washington should work out clear rules in advance for using military forces in a counterterrorist role, to avoid any bickering or delay during a crisis. Reserve and National Guard units should train and field many more units able to take on small teams of terrorist gunmen and bombers. Think of them as latter-day Minutemen.

Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen all responded to Qaeda attacks with similar “packetizing” initiatives involving the police and armed forces; and while that hasn’t eliminated swarm attacks, the terrorists have been far less effective and many lives have been saved.

As for Afghanistan, where the swarm has just arrived, there is still time to realize the merits of forming lots of small units and sprinkling them about in a countrywide network of outposts. As President Obama looks to send more troops to that war, let’s make sure the Pentagon does it the right way.

Yes, the swarm will be heading our way, too. We need to get smaller, closer and quicker. The sooner the better.

To quote Tam: Carry your damned guns people!"

Article seen here.

They Remember...

But they haven't learned.

Illinois still has no carry provisions, and has certainly not allowed carry on campus.

Today marks one year since the shooting at NIU. Nothing regarding proactive protection has changed. Such a shame.

Gun Sign I'll Support

Post it where you'd like. I think I'm going to give one to my favorite shop owner.

Make sure you visit the owners website. I might pick up a copy of his book.

(H/T Shooting the Messenger)

Feelings instead of Facts... Again...

Dana Parsons, a columnist at the LA times wrote an editorial a couple of weeks ago in support of Sandra Hutchens, the new Sheriff of Orange County. Sheriff Hutchens has changed the requirements in regards to getting a concealed carry permit in Orange County. Many of the people who currently have a valid permit will not be able to renew their permits, becuase they do not have "suffecient need."

Forget for a second that Sandra Hutchens doesn't know jack shit about any particular individuals "need" to carry a firearm (open or conealed.) Forget for a second that she is infringing on that right which "shall not be infringed." Forget for a second that she's out of lockstep with what the county commisioners (or whatever the governing body is) want, and is out of step with what her employees (at least some of them) want.

Dana admits, in an editorial this week, that when he opened his mouth in support of Sandra Hutches, he "knew there'd be hell to pay." Only the reaction wasn't what he thought it was. Apparently not everyone who chooses to carry a firearm for self defense is a cousin humping redneck who spits 'bacco. Dana goes on to say that he got dozens of emails, and the vast majority of them did not fit into the stereotype of "gun nuts." They zeroed in on the points that Dana had made, and argued their cases on merits.

So the Pro Rights crowd argued their case on the merits, but then Dana falls back on feelings, sharing the following:

As I suggested in the last column, I get the argument. I really do.

How can anyone dispute that if confronted on the street by a criminal intent on mayhem, it's much preferable to have a way to defend yourself?

But I and other pointy-headed people just can't extend that argument as far as the other side does. Bottom line: I wouldn't feel safer knowing that untold numbers of private citizens that I pass on the street -- yes, even salt-of-the-earth types who have been trained -- are packing guns.

Dana, I'm truly sorry that you feel less safe walking down the street knowing that good people might have guns. Now I have some bad news for you, the criminals that would prey upon the good people of this country, they don't go through the trouble of getting carry permits, and they're going to carry their firearms anyway. That means that by tightening the requirements on issuance of CCW permits, you're guaranteeing that the only guns around are the ones in the hands of the bad guys. That makes no sense at all dude.

Less gun control, more criminal control.

Daily Carry Gear

So Breda was nice enough to throw up a post about the stuff she carries each and every day. I also remember seeing a meme that floated around the blogsphere a couple of months back about what gets carried every day, so I figured I'd participate.

First of all, this is a picture of the stuff I carry each and every day when I'm at work (this stuff is carried all day, every day on the jobsite.) Unfortunately, work prohibits the carrying of firearms on the jobsite.

Starting from the bottom left:

Cell Phone (Palm Treo - Verizon Wireless)
Texas Key Ring (has the keys to my apartment, and office at work)
Cell Phone Case
Camera Case
Truck Keys
Digital Camera (Nikon CoolPix)
Small Notebook
Pen
Surefire E1b
Leatherman Multitool
Emerson CQC-7B w/ Wave
Wallet

When I'm not at work, I have the following stuff:


From the bottom Left:

Cell Phone
Wallet
Cell Phone Case
Texas Keys
Truck Keys
Leatherman Multitool
Small Notebook
Pen
Springfield XD45 Service (in a Brommeland Max-Con V)
Backup Mag
Emerson CQC-7B
Surefire E1b

--Jim

San Antonio Blog Meet Aftermath!

While I was at the blogmeet yesterday, I made reference to this cartoon, although apparently no one else who was there had ever seen it. I'm posting it so that they can enjoy it.

Now that everyone has read that and had a good chuckle, I should come clean and say that I have at least one of each (Glock and 1911) and like them both, probably equally.

Like I mentioned on Friday, I drove down to the blogmeet the night before, and met up with SpeakerTweaker for dinner at Biff Buzby's Burgers, which actually had a car show going on, even though it was the middle of February (gotta love Texas). The GPS unit I had indicated that there was a Dunkin Donuts in the area, so I planned on going there for breakfast.

I got up early Saturday AM, and headed for DD's, only to find out that it was no longer a DD, but was instead a local place. Ended up going directly to the range, and got there at about 8:30, even though the range didn't open until 9AM. Tweaker showed up between 5 and 10 minutes later, and Murphy was just a little bit after him. Before the range opened just after 9AM, there were at least 15 cars waiting to use the range.

We decided to hit the pistol range first, and settled up with the range. We had two lanes, and a total of 10 pistols (after 10% showed up.) Many stories were shared, much shootie goodness was enjoyed by all, and the range was packed. There was a CHL class going on, at least one police officer practice on the range, and numerous parent with children around. In addition, there were some people being introduced to shooting for the first time.

The total pistol collection that was evident on site:

• Kimber TLE II/RL
• XD45 Service
• Glock 19
• Ruger 22/45 Mk. 3
• Ruger Single Six
• CZ-52
• CZ-85
• Glock 22
• NAA Mini in .22mag
• Colt Lightweight Commander

And at a guess approximately 1000 rounds were fired through the various pistols throughout the course of the day. Both Speaktweater and Murphy got a kick out the .22LR rounds I'd brought, that have next to no recoil (they won't function a semi-auto).

After we finished on the pistol range, we moved over to the rifle range where we were shooting at 50 yards. Between the four of us, there were five rifles and a 9mm carbine.

• Sig 556
• AR-15 (M4gery)
• Bushmaster Gas Piston Carbine (AR-15)
• Mosin-Nagant
  
• Henry .22LR
• Kel-Tec Sub 2000

We had an exceptionally good time, considering that neither of the AR-15s on site was previously sighted in. We fixed that with Tweaters, but somehow I managed to forget the instructions for zeroing my EOtech, so it still shoots a little high and to the left. The grouping was nice though :)

At one point we were approached by a guy asking what the fascination with AR-15's is, since they "are made just for killing people." I jumped in with the argument that I know bunches of people who hunt with them, but what I really should have said was that us owning our AR-15's protects his right to own his deer rifle. Wasn't quick enough on the thought processes though. I was however quick enough to point out that there are more accessories for the AR-15 family of rifles than there are for any other gun platform out there.

It was a mighty good time, unfortunately it had to end far far too soon. 10% ducked out when his wife sent him a text message from the car saying "it's time to go." It was after 1PM before I realized how late it was getting, and that I had a long drive ahead of me, so I bid a fond farewell to Murphy and Tweaker, although they decided to pack it in about the same time.


After leaving the range, I headed back to the College Station / Franklin area, by way of Double Shot Liquor and Guns, located in Schulenburg TX. The shop seemed to have an awesome selection of liquor on sale, and a back room with several dozen firearms, and they have a drive through. How cool is that! Amongst the other stuff they had in the back room, Double Shot had a GSG-5 and at least one AR-15, which is always nice to see. The staff was very pleasant, and gave me a free coolie for beverage cans. Definitely a place to check out, although their selection for firearms was certainly not the greatest.

I also stopped off at Champion Firearms in College Station, and picked me up a new Surefire X300 for my pistols! All in all, a wonderful day, and the only way to make it better would have been to have more people join us. Unfortunately, it turns out that Sabra could've made it, but realized she wouldn't know how to meet up with anyone. Next time we'll have to make some signs up for the tables we are shooting at.

Muphy shares his thoughts up here.

10% has his views and report over here.

Last, but definitely not least, SpeakerTweaker writes out his experiences.

Thanks guys, for an awesome day!

Pictures will be put up as soon as I get them from Tweaker (I managed to forget I had my camera...boo hiss.)

San Antonio Blogmeet Update

Tomorrow is the day.

Go see Tweaker and let him know that you're coming...

that is... if you are in fact planning on showing up.

I'm driving down tonight.

Random Gunny Pic

Ruger 22/45 Mark III, 5-1/2 SS barrel

Ryan Frederick Verdict Announced

Sailorcut over at Captain of a Crew of One has been following the Ryan Frederick case, and the verdict was announced yesterday.  For those of you who haven't been following case, or don't even know about it, Ryan Frederick is the man who stood accused of murdering a police officer when the cops broke down his door as part of a drug raid.

As far as I've been able to tell, and I wasn't there, so this is all after the fact, a confidential informant told the cops that Ryan Frederick was growning marijuana in his house.  The cops got a judge to sign a search warrant, and the raided Ryan's house.  Supposedly Ryan was asleep in the back room when his dogs woke him up.  Ryan grabbed a pistol and when he saw the front door of his house being broken in, he shot through the door killing one of the detectives attempting to serve the warrant.

While I absolutely believe that it was a tragedy that Detective Jarrod Shivers lost his life in the process of doing his job, I think the responsiblity for the situation that caused him to lose his life should be carried soley by the police department.  Please don't misunderstand me, I think that police officers do a very dangerous and very stressful jobs, and I am proud to call some of them my friends.  That being said, as a general rule, police departments in this country are getting more and more militarized, and have more and more an opinion of "us and them."

As a factor of that militization of the police deparments, more and more SWAT teams have been formed.  Now with budgets being tightened, departments are attempting to keep their teams active, because the taxpayers don't want to pay for the units if they aren't being used.  This actually leads to SWAT teams being used for routine warrants and other incidents that do not require the use of a SWAT team.

SWAT teams often use a dynamic entry method, which leads to incidents like the one that cost Jarrod Shivers his life, and has now cost Ryan Fredericks his freedom.  To compound the problem, there numerous incidents of police going to the wrong address, and invading the home of an innocent person.

I'll say that I think Ryan should have been found guilty of the marijuana posession charge, then again, I don't exactly agree with the War on Some Drugs.  That being said, I hope he appeals the involutary manslaughter charges, and is acquitted.

Schoolteacher Suspended for Facebook Gun Photo

Gotta love this story on Fox News out of Wisconsin, although as one of only two states that does not allow any form of concealed carry, maybe it isn't so surprising. Sad yes, but definitely not surprising.

BEAVER DAM, Wis. —
A Beaver Dam Middle School teacher is on administrative leave after
school officials discovered a photo of her with a gun on Facebook.

In the photo, Betsy Ramsdale was training a rifle at the camera.

In an e-mail to WKOW-TV in Madison, Ramsdale said she removed the photo
immediately and that she is not "interested in any controversy.

Schools superintendent Donald Childs says a concerned staff member brought the photo to the district's attention.

Childs says the use of the photo "appears to be poor judgment" and is unaware of any sinister intent.

Ramsdale's biography on the district Web site states she is in her first year at
the school. Department of Public Instruction records show Ramsdale has
been licensed to teach since 1996.

Glad I didn't decide to become a school teacher, because I'd be fired over the number of gun pictures that I post. And to her co-worker, get over you Hoplophobia, and hurry, you look like an IDIOT.

Teaching People to Shoot Update

Update to my post over here, and on the main page of the blog.

By way of Captain and a Crew of One we find that Mulligan over at Do Over is keeping up with this list of people willing to introduce new people to the shooting sports. I left my contact info asking to be added to the roster.

UPDATE: I've been added.

--Jim

30 Days - Gun Nation

Xavier led me in the direction of this episode of 30 days, where a citizen disarmament advocate spends 30 days living in the home of a gun nut.

I remember hearing about this show when it first aired, but didn't get a chance to watch it on TV originally. I'm glad Xavier pointed the show out to me, and led me to where it could be viewed online.

The show is about 40 minutes long, and it's amazing to see the changes in Pia's attitude as it goes on.

I didn't grow up in a house with firearms, and my mother was extremely opposed to me having any in the house. As a matter of fact, when I purchased my first two pistols, I had to store them at a good friend's house, who had firearms of his own.

I started reading about the gun rights movement, and attempting to make an informed decision long before I bought my first two guns. I became interested in firearms and shooting while I was still in high school, and practiced with a mentor at work whenever he had the time and inclination. I knew long before I got to college that I would purchase my first pistols as soon after passing 21 I would.

I don't know that I've changed the minds of anyone, but I have definitely taken a bunch of people to the range who have never been before. Much of it happened when I was in college, had a nice range close by, and a huge pool of people to draw from. I've continued the tradition of introducing new people to the range and gun ownership whenever possible.

I even bought my girlfriend her first pistol for Christmas, and have taken her shooting several times since then. More on that at a later day.

To me, the single greatest thing that we can do to help ensure the future of Second Amendment rights to to introduce new people to the shooting sports, and get them to enjoy it.

I'll share my personal opinions on how to introduce someone to the shooting sports for the first time later :)

New Idea...

I do most of my reading of blog posts through Google Reader, and that definitely has some advantages.  However, it also has some disadvantages.  I followed a link tonight from Murdoc over at GunPundit to the Armed Canadian.  When I first opened up the page, I noticed the header that AC has on the top of his page regarding taking people to the gun range for their first ever visit.

I want to make the same offer, and I'm going to put a similar message on the header of my blog.  Just wanted to say thanks to AC for giving me the idea!

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!

Amen Dude!

And I'd be willing to bet that push come to shove, and the chips are down, I know how it would turn out.

Politically Incorrect

I've always hated the idea of being politically correct. I understand why it is necessary in this day and age (translation: to keep myself out of trouble) but I don't enjoy having to do it.

With that all said, please enjoy the following politically incorrect (at least in this day and age) picture.

For those of you who aren't aware, that's a Bushmaster AR-15 with 30 round PMag and an EOtech HWS and a Glock 19 with Crimson Trace laser grips, a Glock light, and a 33 round Glock mag.

Both are a TON of fun to shoot.