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Tenth Anniversary Of North Carolina CCW: A recording is available of a
December 1 NPR broadcast discussing the outcome of ten years of licensed
CCW in North Carolina (second item on page).
http://www.ibiblio.org/wunc_archives/sot/
---
Conflict Of Interest For Cage?: Nicholas Cage credits his role in Lord
of War for prompting him to join Amnesty International but it appears
that he cannot become a poster boy for the international
firearm-prohibition movement because he remains a member of the National
Rifle Association.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1657335,00.html
---
US Troops May Have Lost Right Of Self-Defense: A change in the Standing
Rules of Engagement may have robbed US troops of the option to fire upon
an enemy when they are faced with an imminent threat of death or serious
injury.
http://jewishworldreview.com/kathleen/parker113005.php3
---
From John Farnam:
28 Nov 05
Comments on readiness:
"I can attest to this. I have been deployed four times since 9/11. The
first time was in Egypt, and we were told that we would receive
ammunition upon arriving in Country. They lied! When we arrived, due
to confused political protocol, no ammo was issued, even though we were
informed by J-2 that we had been targeted by local terrorists. I
suddenly got that 'cannon-fodder-feeling!' Marines down the road were
a different story. Every Marine was hot and good-to-go at a moment's
notice. Their commander wasn't worried about a
'career-ending-faux-pas.' He only cared about his guys. It was
refreshing indeed to see his attitude! We borrowed ammunition from
them, but I promised myself that I would never deploy again without my
own ammunition.
I got the chance to test my theory one year later. I was commanding a
detachment in Afghanistan and procured rounds for all my guys BEFORE we
left CONUS. Packed in our A&B bags, we arrived in Country with weapons
AND ammunition. Once off the plane, we were all carrying hot within ten
minutes! We didn't say anything, and no one asked. I'll never be
caught short again!"
>From a friend in the Philippines:
"I find this puzzling. Over here, everyone on base is armed, and all
personal weapons, rifles and pistols, are loaded all the time- on post,
off post, in the chow line, or sitting on the toilet. NDs are unheard
of. You might find it curious that this mode of thinking was imparted
to us by American trainers when your Foreign Military Assistance Program
had your GIs training our troops during the Cold War. Those GIs were
always packing hot pistols, and to be caught without one, or even an
unloaded one, was cause for disciplinary action!"
This was only two decades ago. What happened to you guys during the last
twenty years?"
/John
28 Nov 05
Comments from a master, military riflesmith on the subject of lead,
sometimes called "freebore," and its function in military rifles:
"Freebore specifications vary. Most often, it's not the length of
freebore but the angle of the throat. Most military chambers have an
eighth-of-an-inch of freebore and then a slow taper into the rifling.
This allows the bullet to pop out of the case quickly but then softly
enter the rifling, which keeps chamber pressures from spiking, but
maintains consistent bullet alignment for the sake of accuracy. The
most extreme case of freebore was actually found in the old Norma
Magnums. They had an entire inch of freebore. It allowed the bullet to
completely exit the case mouth before engaging the rifling.
Chamber pressures were low, but accuracy suffered.
Loose chambers, also found in military rifles, surely enhance functional
reliability, particularly when rifles get hot and dirty. However,
commercial ammunition has thin brass, compared with military
counterparts. Loose chambers, combined with thin brass, can lead to
case-head separations.
With regard to your JLD/PTR (H&K-91), keep the bolt head clean. Rifles
with fluted chambers share the "crap-in-the-receiver" problem with
AR-15s. Fluted chambers eject soot and unburned powder back into the
receiver, and it accumulates on the bolt. Even when using clean
ammunition, H&Ks (CETMEs and JLDs) will start choking at one thousand
rounds. Bolt, chamber, and locking-roller recesses thus need cleaning
every five-hundred rounds."
Comment: Most main-stream, utility-grade, military rifles currently
produced domestically work just fine. Manufacturers adjust chamber
dimensions and freebore so that the rifle can safely fire just about
anything that will fit into the chamber. Accuracy is acceptable, but
not anal. Chamber pressures are reasonable.
A problem arises when manufacturers, catering to the anal/target crowd,
produce tight-chambered rifles with no freebore. It would not be a
problem if they just painted such rifles pink, so we could all tell what
we were shooting! Ostensibly "military" rifles, with labels like
"Match" or "Target" should thus be avoided!
/John
30 Nov 05
On preparing for the widest possible spectrum of eventualities, from one
of our Instructors who works security at an upscale nightclub:
"In July of this year, the ring finger on my right hand was badly
mangled as a result of a dog bite. Fractured in several places, my
entire hand was in a cast for several months. I am right handed.
I continued to work the floor of our nightclub during this time, and the
jealous boyfriends and assorted drunken idiots with whom we deal
regularly cut me no slack because of my injury! For the first time, I
realized why you emphasize being able to handle guns and knives with
either hand! I was suddenly glad that we had practiced so many
support-hand-only techniques during training. I'm still not sure I'm
an expert, but I didn't have to learn it all on the job!
It is falsely comforting to think that we can ever rely upon the
all-inclusive availability of favorite weapons, favored hands, and
favored tactics. This episode showed me that it is delusional to
naively believe such things will always exist and be conveniently
available when critically needed!
We never know what fate has planned for us, but we can pretty much count
on it being a 'come-as-you-are war.' What we can do to prepare is to be
well practiced with both hands, both eyes, all kinds of weapons (not
just our 'favorite' ones), in all kinds of lighting, footing, and states
of exhaustion. To spend all our training time practicing only those
things at which we're already adept, is to kid ourselves, dangerously.
Ask me how I know this!"
Comment: Critical skills, such as one-handed shooting, reloading, and
gun handling, that are, by their nature, awkward and clumsy, are
important and need to be learned and drilled regularly. The purpose of
training is not to make us look good. Indeed, when you "look good"
during training, it means you're not challenging yourself adequately!
As Attila the Hun put it, "If victory is always easily gained, you are
simply striving toward the insignificant."
/John
30 Nov 05
Sage Comments form friend and colleague, Mas Ayoob:
"Tell your bouncer buddy that next time, he should ask the doc to dye
the cast 'tactical black' and install some chrome knuckle studs facing
outward. Better to be feared than mocked (at least in the bar at
closing time)..."
Comment: Mas' depth of knowledge constantly amazes me. You rule, Mas!
/John
(While I have come to question several of the things I learned from Mas,
I would never question his judgment in matters relating to alcohol and
bars.)
1 Dec 05
Great training thought, from one of our instructors in OH:
"In order to address this important area of training, we've instituted
'WEAK HAND/ONE HAND' days.
Designate a single day, and do everything (except driving and other
activities where there is a safety issue) one-handed. Get dressed, eat,
shower, read a book, brush your teeth, work on your laptop, dry-fire
practice, et al with only the opposite hand. Stick with it for the
whole day! It is a quick and inexpensive way to maintain and increase
important skills. It compels body and mind work together to overcome
unfamiliar obstacles.
IMPROVISE, ADAPT, OVERCOME- FIND A WAY TO WIN. DON'T WASTE VALUABLE
TIME DOING NOTHING MORE THAN LOOKING FOR AN EXCUSE TO LOSE. It is a
character-defining attitude that none of us exercise nearly enough!"
Comment: We all need to be doing this!
/John
(One point, which I believe I learned from Mas Ayoob, is to avoid the
term "weak hand." If we're training for success, it's foolish to clutter
our minds with concepts such as weakness. We have dominant and
non-dominant hands, feet and eyes. If you don't like this term, think of
them as primary and secondary.)
--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
