An Insight Into John Roberts' Politics?: The New York Times has sought
to reconstruct John Roberts' days as a clerk to Justice Rehnquist.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/31/politics/politicsspecial1/31roberts.html?ei=5094&en=35aafb2de426faac&hp=&ex=1122868800&partner=homepage&pagewanted=all
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What Is Suspicious Activity?: People are advised to report "suspicious
activity," as a defense against possible terror attacks. Bruce
Mandelblit offers some guidelines about what to consider suspicious.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/7/28/132748.shtml
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NRA Supports Guns In Parking Lots: As Oklahoma's law that would block
employers from banning storage of firearms in vehicles parked on
employers' lots awaits its day in court, the NRA has indicated that it
will campaign for similar laws in all states.
http://www.kotv.com/main/home/stories.asp?whichpage=1&id=87585
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From John Farnam:
26 July 05
Comments on close encounters, from one of my instructors in Europe:
"Defending against an attempted weapon disarm is defending against a
murder-in-progress. No other way to look at it. One should plan on
responding immediately with gun or blade. However, autoloading pistols
are vulnerable to malfunctions when pressed against flesh (which is why
J-frame, snubby revolvers will never go out of style).
Knives don't suffer from such limitations. It doesn't matter from which
side I get assaulted, one of my knives will cut/stab whatever piece of
alien flesh is touching me. Whatever my attacker does after that, he'll
probably let go first. That generates options for me. Sure, it
requires determination and commitment, but that's the point of fighting,
isn't it? My blades are all located so that at least one is available
to whichever of my hands is in the best position to respond (whether I
have guns on me or not).
Knives enable us to cover the most dangerous of possibilities. We all
need to keep them on us constantly and know how to use them effectively."
Comment: Couldn't agree more!
/John
27 July 05
Independent Action:
A friend and student recently found herself in an awkward and
uncomfortable situation while in the company of a "friend-of-a-friend."
She was unharmed, but she found herself in a strange place, with a
person who had grossly misinterpreted their relationship.
When she later talked with me, she had this sage advice:
MAINTAIN YOUR OPTIONS FOR INDEPENDENT ACTION.
Be able to transport yourself. Keep track of where you are and, when
stranded, what you need to do to get back to a familiar place.
Whenever entering a building, or any confined place, immediately locate
exits, find escape paths, identify objects that can be used for cover,
and look over the crowd.
Don't depend on others for your own personal security. Have your
weapons with you. Be prepared, and have the personal determination, to
use them when necessary. Maintain your good health. You have few
options without it.
Have credit cards and cash with you, so that you can function when
stranded. Always be able to independently: rent cars, stay at hotels,
eat at restaurants, make airline reservations.
Have a flashlight. When you find yourself in a dark place, your options
dry up pretty fast without a flashlight.
Have your own cell phone. Be able to communicate immediately with those
who can help you.
Don't be "trusting." Beware of people you don't know really well.
Don't hesitate to abruptly disengage and separate, even when it seems
impolite.
What comes through from the forgoing is the necessity of MAINTAINING
PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE, maintaining the ability to take effective,
unilateral action.
Those who are victimized are invariably: naive, adolescent,
unobservant, unprepared, unalert, unarmed, counterfactual. Most of all,
they foolishly believe someone else ares about them more than they care
about themselves. They need to grow up. With luck, they'll get the
chance!
/John
28 July 05
Alertness and training pay off for this student of ours in CA:
"This morning I was at my desk in a corner of the lobby, as usual
sorting through papers. I noticed a slovenly-looking person approaching
my desk from the side. I didn't know whom he was, but I did know he
didn't belong there.
I quickly drew my flashlight as I stood up. I directed the beam at his
face as I arrested his forward progress with a strong, verbal
challenge. I then moved off the line of force. He started to ask a
question, but never completed his sentence. As he fumbled, I informed
him he was in a restricted zone and directed him out of the area. He
turned around and left, mumbling to himself.
My training with Dave Manning, Larry Nichols, and you really worked!
Even in daylight, my Surefire simultaneously disoriented him and forced
him to look away. When he recovered and attempted to resume the
conversation, he found himself addressing empty space! I was no longer
where he expected me to be. As he searched around trying to find me, I
seized the initiative and announced (loud enough for everyone to hear)
that he needed to leave. All this happened within a space of five
seconds. It was a 'natural' reaction for me, because I have repeated it
so often in training.
Some people at work used to tease me about being 'over-prepared.'
Today, after the incident, several of them came over and asked me if I
would train them!"
Comment: Many of the protective/interactive skills we teach don't even
involve irearms or weapons of any kind. Alertness and preparedness
should always be "turned on," regardless of the circumstances. People
who think they will be able to perform as smoothly as my student did in
the forgoing scenario without ever thinking about it in advance or
exposing themselves to serious training are naive fools.
One of my instructors puts it this way: "I expect myself and all my gear
to be the toughest in the fight, and I am determined to keep going until
I win. Toughness, durability, preparedness, and personal competence
matter. I don't plan to have to worry about myself, my equipment, or
anyone with me falling apart when things get exciting."
WILLINGNESS IS A STATE OF MIND. READINESS IS A STATEMENT OF FACT!
Good show, my friend!
/John
30 July 05
Self-inflicted accident in OR:
A Salem, OR deputy sheriff was shot in his leg when he exited his patrol
vehicle last week. The injury was "substantial," and he will likely
suffer permanent disability as a result.
An internal investigation revealed that the bullet in question came from
the officer's own pistol, and that the pistol was still fully seated in
the holster at the moment of discharge (Glock pistol, model, caliber,
and brand of ammunition, all unreported. Brand of holster was also
unreported). Investigators say that the AD was not the result of
mishandling of the handgun. The deputy was wearing a jacket with
drawstrings and cylindrical, plastic toggles around the waistband. It
is believed that one of the toggles worked its way into the holster and
became entangled within the trigger guard. When the deputy subsequently
extended his arm to push open the car door, his coat became
taut as the waistband pulled up. As a result, the drawstring apparently
tightened around the trigger with sufficient tension to discharge the
pistol.
We can talk about the inadvisability of wearing jackets with drawstring
and toggles while carrying a pistol in a waist holster. And, we can
also talk about being careful upon holstering a pistol, and routinely
performing a "Push; Pull; Sweep" drill to assure that articles of
clothing are not inadvertently jammed into the magazine well or the
holster itself. Both were obviously contributing factors in the
foregoing incident, but I'd like to also address the subject of Glocks
and NY Triggers.
The installation of a NY Trigger will increase the trigger pull weight
on most Glocks from five to eight pounds. Equally important, the weight
of trigger take-up is increased from a nominal two pounds to six
pounds. In practical use, most shooters barely notice the difference.
I've timed myself and many students drawing and firing with and without
the NY Trigger, and I've consistently discovered the difference in time
to be statistically unmeasurable.
What the NY Trigger does is make the operator aware that his finger is
in contact with the trigger. I have NY Triggers on all my Glocks and
highly recommend them for any Glock used for serious purposes,
particularly those carried in holsters.
Of course, I can't be sure the installation of a NY Trigger would have
made any difference in the foregoing incident. However, in my informal
tracking, departments with NY triggers installed on their Glocks
consistently experience fewer accidents than do those with standard
triggers. If you own and carry any Glock pistol for serious purposes,
it is my recommendation that you install a NY Trigger without delay!
/John
spwenger's comments:
1. Sadly, a similar, unexplained discharge of a holstered Glock
occurred in Canada several months ago, with no "lessons learned."
The Rialto (CA) PD also reported an in-holster discharge of a S&W
99 pistol (as I recall), where a definite association was made
with the side zipper pulls on the jacket. (The zippers in question
are intended to facilitate officer access to the holstered
handgun.) It looks like the latter report may not have received
sufficient attention.
2. While it is not my own choice as a daily carry gun, my own Glock
is fitted with a New York (NY1) trigger and the 3.5-pound
competition connector. I would not consider the 3.5-pound
connector for a carry gun without the New York trigger but am very
comfortable with that combination. With the New York trigger and
the standard five-pound connector, the trigger stroke feels like a
very shortened version of that of a Colt V-spring revolver - there
is a palpable take-up phase, followed by an increase in resistance
just before the shot is pressed off. With the 3.5-pound connector,
the New York trigger gives a smooth stroke all the way through,
like a shortened version of the trigger stroke on a Kahr pistol.
--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
