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Air Marshal Deplanes After Dropping Magazine: While the reporter doesn't
not understand the differences between clips and magazines and between
bullets and cartridges, the point is well taken: spare magazines need to
be carried as securely as the firearm itself. (This is a lesson I
learned myself several years ago, while using a toilet stall in a public
restroom.)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13098264/
---
Safety And Reflexes: While this commentary is oriented toward police
officers, its comments about consistency in equipment and where its
carried ring a familiar chord with me - I have been arguing this for years.
http://www.policetraining.net/newsletter-6-2006.htm#article-1
---
Shooting At Cars: While the article is largely oriented toward policy
and procedure for police, it contains useful information about how some
criminals operate and about how vehicles and air bags respond to being hit.
http://www.policetraining.net/newsletter-6-2006.htm#article-2
---
From John Farnam:
28 May 06
30M1 Carbine
At an Urban Rifle Course in PA this weekend, we again shot ballistic
gelatin through the standard, four layers of denim. This time, I wanted
to compare 223 DPX (53gr Barnes bullet) with the new 30M1 Carbine DPX
round (100 gr Barnes bullet). Mike Shovel from Cor-Bon was on hand with
a supply of both. The 30M1 Carbine round is now available from Cor-Bon,
and I, for one, made sure I have an adequate supply!
Interestingly, the 30 M1 Carbine bullet penetrated nineteen inches,
while the 223 penetrated fifteen! Both bullets expanded in the classic
Barnes way. Four layers of denim doesn't retard Barnes bullet expansion
at all, in any caliber.
Who have and use an M1 Carbine will benefit immensely from this round,
the first new round in this caliber in a long time, and the most
effective one of all available, by far. Recommended!
/John
(John doesn't specify that they used calibrated ballistic gelatin but 19
inches seems a but much. I guess it depends on what you expect the
Carbine to do. I tend to regard it as an early version of a
pistol-caliber carbine, analogous ballistically to a lever-action gun in
357 Magnum.)
29 May 06
What VCAs prefer, from a friend with the LAPD:
"Recently, a local 'reformed' gang member was lit up as he sat in his
car. I overheard officers behind me talking about strange looking
casings found at the scene. When I turned and saw what they had, I let
them know they were 357SIG.
No, our local gang members aren't studying the latest in ammunition
trends or reading scholarly works on ballistic improvements. They just
acquire any stolen gun they can get their hands on. Legitimate gun
owners, including cops, need to adequately secure weapons that are not
being carried. When they do, we may we may, once again, return to those
wonderful, idyllic days of Saturday-Night Specials!"
Comment: Gun safes are good things!
/John
("VCA" is Farnamese for "violent criminal actor." Rule Five: Maintain
control of your firearm.)
30 May 06
Happy ending, from a friend and student in CA:
"When we recently moved to a quaint, little town near San Francisco, I
was the recipient of numerous sneers and scoldings from several other,
local cops. Nearly all thought I shouldn't carry off-duty, nor keep
firearms in my house in a high state of readiness. Like all naive
liberals, they were cock-sure in their opinions, and resented that I was
bringing 'paranoid thinking' to their precious 'Wine Country,'
(actually, more like 'Whine Country') I quaintly absorbed their
self-righteous expressions of disapproval.
Several weeks ago, a VCA, wearing a black, ski mask, grabbed the wife of
a local resident, while she was walking her dog early one the morning.
She was dragged into her own house at gunpoint. The VCA announced he
was holding her for ransom! The woman's husband, also in the house,
hearing her plaintiff screams, grabbed his (loaded) revolver and went to
the rescue. In the living room, he saw the suspect holding a gun to
his wife's head. Without hesitation, he gunned him down. Suspect was
DRT! Wife was okay. The VCA was a former employee of the homeowner.
First homicide ever for the PD and the City! All my self-righteous,
liberal colleagues have recently (and curiously!) been
uncharacteristically silent about my attitude toward personal
preparedness. In fact, many have come to be, individually (so as not to
be seen so doing), and asked about concealed-carry options. Their
liberal arrogance has conveniently diminished, at least slightly. My
SIG/229/DAK remains in a high state of readiness. Call me silly!"
Comment: How many times do myths need to be dispelled? Who whine about
gun-owning Americans are the very ones to whom "the problem" belongs!
Self-righteous twits all share one, characteristic personality trait:
They can't be insulted, and they can't be embarrassed! No matter how
wrong it is clearly shown they are, they go on, unapologetically, as if
nothing had happened. They are unfit to occupy space!
/John
("DRT" is Farnamese for "dead right there." List members will recall the
original report of the incident referenced and the later report that the
shooting was ruled justifiable.)
June 06
>From a friend in the UK:
"The English press (who tell our politicians what to do) is now on a new
crusade to rid the Isle of 'knife violence.' One rag ran a headline,
'In The Shadow of the Knife,' with photos displaying a steak knife, an
ordinary table knife, and a kitchen knife. The hand-wringing text
lamented about how police have ruthlessly snatched these horrific
weapons from the hands of is guided citizens. A local, self-appointed
'expert' referred to 'knife violence' as 'epidemic,' but then sheepishly
admitted that knife attacks are actually decreasing. Never dissuaded by
facts, one politician is calling for a two-year, minimum, mandatory
prison sentence for the mere possession of any species of knife.
As in the States, media fear-mongers have found yet another new,
manufactured 'evil' to foist off on the public, and our lapdog
politicians are only too happy to grovel along. It's so much less
dangerous to disarm defenseless, innocent citizens than it is to go
after genuine VCAs. Our Sarah-Brady-wannabes have decided to ride this
wave for personal gain, which is, of course, the only reason they ever
do anything!"
Comment: Anyone in this country who naively believes our anti-gun
liberals will stop with Canadian-style, universal registration is a
fool. You've only to look to the UK to see what's coming next!
/John
(The rest of the story, to use the words of one radio newsman, is that
guns don't kill people, people kill people. If firearms are not readily
available, other implements will be used. Immigrants from areas where
citizens are traditionally barred from firearm ownership, particularly
parts of Latin America and the island archipelagos of southeast Asia,
are often well practiced in the combative use of knives. When they
choose criminal lifestyles in this country, it will is harder to
restrict their access to knives than to guns. It is foolish not to
develop some familiarity and skill with the use of knives as weapons. As
I told a potential student yesterday, "Unless I have access to your
brainstem, I can kill you more reliably with a knife than I can with a gun."
2 June 06
NTI 2006
"The reason the American Army does so well in wartime? War is chaos,
and the American Army practices it on a daily basis."
-from a post-war (WWII) debriefing of a German General
Yes, physical conflict, in general, is indeed chaotic, and the NTI is
designed to confront each participant with a series of tactical and
moral decisions, within that context, all of which must be addressed
quickly, decisively, and with all the skill one can muster. There are
few opportunities to change your mind. Leave delusions of perfection,
as well as your ego, at the hotel!
I shot the 2006 NTI event Wednesday, here in Harrisburg, PA. Best one
yet! Skip, Jim, and crew deserve, as always, a grand thanks from all of
us fortunate enough to be invited to participate
It was hot and muggy! All of us were sweaty, grimy, and exhausted by
the end of the day. As usual, there were four, force-on force
(Simmunitions) drills in Asta Village, and six, live-fire exercises in
various shoot houses. In addition, there are enlightening lectures,
panel discussions, et al, all of which contribute to a wonderful,
educational experience to which I look forward every year.
This year, the theme was DISASTER! All scenarios adhered to the idea
that we were operating in an area victimized by natural disaster. All
participants had to adjust their thinking accordingly! Many, in
addition to their usual complement of gear, carried "go-bags," which
contained water, Leatherman tools, IBDs and other first-aid supplies,
and additional ammunition. It was my decision not to carry a go-bag, as
I assumed I would be caught pretty much as I was" in a disaster.
Everyone had to decide how he wanted to approach this issue.
Live-fire targets and non-targets were, as always, all
three-dimensional, clothed, hit-sensitive mannequins. Multiple,
simultaneous threats were common! Participants are instructed to engage
threats with gunfire until they collapse or withdraw (run away). As is
my habit, I shot all threats, zippering up from the navel, multiple
times, often exhausting most of a magazine. Several targets required
brain-stem shots, and, when delivered, went down instantly. I was
compelled to transition to my backup guns more than once!
I carried two, Cold Steel Knives, and my Harkins-Triton automatic knife,
Fox OC, the Talon device (plastic brass knuckles), and a flat sap by
Boston Leather (which came in handy several times!). My backup pistols
were my small Detonics in my Alessi shoulder holster and my Kel-Tec 380
in a Comp-Tac neck holster. I used four, different main pistols,
changing them between drills: my new S&W M&P in 40S&W, my SIG 229/DAK in
357SIG, my G38 in 45GAP, and my Detonics 9-11-01 in 45ACP. All were
carried in Comp-Tac C-Tac IWB holsters (ky-dex), except my G38, which
was carried in Brian Hoffner's "Minimalist" IWB holster. All worked
just fine! I shot all events with Cor-Bon DPX ammunition, as that is
what I normally carry. Concealment garment was my CCW Clothiers vest.
Belt was fabric, by Wilderness.
Live-fire drills included: (1) Asta's Gooda Pizza, (2) Hersh's House of
Zen, (3) the Standard Skills Demonstration, (4) Help-Fool House, (5)
Asta Village Relief Center, and the (6) Elysian Field Airport and
Evacuation Center.
Lessons:
Pull-over, concealment garments, like sweat shirts, work poorly in
conjunction with shoulder bags! Several participants found their draw
seriously compromised by the presence of a shoulder bag. Those with
open-front, concealment garments had a much easier time of it.
Worn normally, baseball caps will prevent you from seeing things high on
the horizon. I did not see a threat that subsequently charged me,
because he was positioned high on a rise as I exited a door. When I
repeated the drill later (I had the opportunity to do several drills
twice), I had my cap turned around. This time, I saw and identified the
threat instantly. I concluded that, any time I draw my pistol, I'm
going to automatically turn my cap around (assuming I am able under the
circumstances). One needs to look UP now and then, as well as looking
around and behind.
As you're navigating through a building, looking for a injured family
member, what do you do with suspicious persons who don't currently
represent a threat? You can try to persuade them to leave the area, but
most of us are uncomfortable just abandoning them there and moving on.
I decided to knock them out, using my Boston Leather flat sap. Suddenly
striking them on the jaw knocked them cold and got them out of my life!
At the NTI, there is always a "Mystery Gun" exercise. This time, one
was compelled to move through a dark building with only a bulky
flashlight with mostly-dead batteries, and a found, Model Twelve, pump
shotgun, with a magazine plug, so that rounds (7.5 shot) had to be
loaded into the chamber, one at a time, directly through the ejection
port! I started by trying to charge the magazine tube, only to discover
that it would not accept even one round. My thinking was muddled! I
should have loaded the chamber first, then attempted to charge the
magazine. Organizing one's own thoughts, under pressure, is something
none of us exercise often enough, as I discovered!
I attempted a brain-stem shot at fifteen meters during the Airfield
Exercise, and my S&W M&P delivered in spades. The bomber went right
down with the first shot. I'm really getting to like this pistol!
Participants were obliged to use a found Kalashnikov during one drill.
I was subsequently compelled to shoot a target at close range, with the
rifle, while holding a limp, family member in the other hand. Since the
muzzle was down, and I maintained a strong, shoulder index, this was
easily and deftly accomplished. Had I carried the rifle muzzle-up, as
did some, I would have been disarmed before I could shoot. The lesson
is clear: keep your muzzle down! Muzzle-up carry positions are all
gun-give-aways!
The hardest threat to see is always the one BEYOND the threat that
currently has your attention! Looking PAST the threat is an important,
tactical habit and one that most participants, including me, universally
fail to exercise. Security and speed of movement are always mutually
antagonistic. Stalling is fatal. Moving recklessly is equally fatal.
One must operate somewhere in between the two extremes. I've firmly
resolved to habitually look past all threats. It remains to be seen if
I'm able to keep my promise!
I shot to death a person who, as it turns out, did not represent a
threat! In a restaurant, I was alerted to the presence of lethal
threats and, of course, drew my pistol. Suddenly, a man appeared from
behind a wall and confronted me. Range was three feet! The man was
holding a knife. Without hesitation and without any kind of
verbalization , I zippered him up the middle, shooting him eight
times. As it turned out, he was the chef (he was wearing an apron) and
was merely coming out to see what was happening. He had been chopping
onions and still had a kitchen knife in his hand. Did I do "the right
thing" or a "wrong thing?" I'll probably never know. What I do know is
that I made an irrevocable decision and acted quickly, without
hesitation and
without looking back. I decided it was too late to negotiate and too
close to do anything else. Others chose not to shoot. Ultimately, it's
your call!
Debriefing is tonight. More later!
/John
(I remain mystified why someone with John's experience and insight
insists on using so many dissimilar pistols in a high-stress environment.)
3 June 06
NTI 2006, Team Exercises:
This morning, participants organized into teams of two and did the
force-on-force, team event:
In the first scenario, I arrived at my brother's house. There has been
a disaster with wide-spread lawlessness in its wake. My brother calls
to me from the inside saying he has been shot. I move to where he is as
fast as I can, gun in hand, checking corners and closets as I go.
When I reach him, I find him with a gunshot wound in the leg, saying
something about how some woman shot him in his own home. He had no idea
whom she was, nor did he know where she had gone. We got direct
pressure on his wounds, but he was unable to walk without my help. It
was my judgement that we had to get out of the house as fast as we
could, through the back door, as there were looters in the front.
As I got him to his feet, looters came in the front! I couldn't see
weapons, but I confronted them at gunpoint, ordering them out. I was
successful in running them off! I then checked out the back room and
started moving my brother toward the back door. We got through just as
a neighbor, armed with a pistol, suddenly appeared. Seeing no sign of
recognition from my brother, I grabbed him, spun him around, and drove
him to the ground, doing my best to control his gun hand, simultaneously
demanding to know whom he was. He told me, with his face in the dirt.
The woman who had done the shooting had been hiding so deep in a closet,
I had not seen her. As it turns out, she was also a neighbor and had
shot my brother accidentally as she was scrounging for food. She
explained that, since I seemed to be interested only in leaving, she had
not emerged, nor had she shot me in the back, which she could have
easily done.
The lesson here is that, not all people with guns in their hands are
evil doers who need to be engaged with gunfire immediately! In a
disaster, lots of people will be armed, and strategies must be developed
enable civil contact without instantly establishing a hostile/lethal
environment. Gave us all a lot about which to think.
In the second exercise, I played the part of an unarmed hostage and had
little opportunity to interact with bad guys. I looked intensely for
opportunities to disarm the hostage taker, but none appeared. I was
ultimately rescued by other participants.
The lesson I learned is: Fight when you can! Options dry up fast as you
are captured, disarmed, and then eventually tied up and murdered.
Banquet is tonight, and then the 2006 NTI will be at an end once more.
Lots of good exercises and lessons to ponder, as always. This is an
event every competent gunman should attend!
/John
--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
