Castle Doctrine Makes Its Way Across America: John Longenecker takes on
the editorialists who are asking Texas governor Rick Perry to veto that
state's Castle-doctrine legislation. "...Let's look for a moment at the
outright hostility the anti-gun activists exhibit so clearly. Look at it
not as a civil right issue - which it is - but also as a
how-you-run-your-own-household issue..."
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2007/03/24/castle-doctrine-making-its-way-across-america/
---
Montana Police Administrators Oppose Self-Defense Bill: "Ignoring pleas
of the Montana organizations representing sheriffs, police officers and
county attorneys, the Montana House of Representatives passed on for the
Senate's consideration House Bill 340. The bill seeks to overhaul
Montana laws relating to gun possession, use and self-defense..."
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/03/19/opinion/guest/50-legiopinion.txt
The Reply: The president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association
wrote a reply to this op-ed piece but the Billings Gazette won't print it.
http://www.marbut.com/gazette/
---
Militia Versus Standing Army, The Biblical View: David Kopel presents a
summary of the experience of ancient Israel with war and governance and
how the Biblical account influenced the Founding Fathers' preference for
a militia system over a standing army.
http://libertyunbound.com/archive/2007_04/kopel-israel.html
---
M1 Carbine Accuracy: For those fortunate enough to own one or more M1
Carbines, the Civilian Marksmanship Program offers a paper on enhancing
their accuracy. From a cursory examination, none of the recommendations
appear to be things that would compromise reliability. Note that CMP
will soon be releasing a large quantity of M1 Carbines for sale.
http://www.odcmp.com/Coaching/CarbineNotes.pdf
---
From John Farnam:
20 Mar 07
On iron sights, from one of my instructors:
"Making the rounds of the local gun stores, I am seeing the beginning of
a dangerous trend. Defensive/military rifles like XCRs, Sigs, and FNs
are currently being sold without iron sights (the FN has rudimentary
back-up sights). I know this practice keeps costs down, and most new
owners want to shoot with optics anyway. In fact, many
recreational/non-serious hobbyists tell me that they don't like iron
sights, because they 'obstruct the view through the optic.' Of course,
that 'obstruction' is a vital piece of gear on any serious rifle.
However, the inconvenient fact is that there is no substitute for basic
rifle skills. We can't become so enamored with technology that we are
helpless and unable to proceed when batteries die, optics break, mounts
become loose, et al. Similarly, just because we have GPS doesn't mean
we can forget about learning to read a map and use a compass.
Serious rifle optics should be:
Zero/minimal magnification.
Mounted well forward of the shooter's face.
Rugged and dependable, as well as the mounts
Mounted so that they can be removed quickly.
Equipped with clear, clutter-free reticles.
Basic rifle skills must be preserved. Betting one's life on a single
battery and circuit, with no backup, is the dominion of fools!"
/John
20 Mar 07
Comments of Rifle Sights:
"On a recent hunt in a remote area of Zimbabwe, I had the experience of
picking up the 375H&H bolt gun I was using only to hear the scope rattle
like a jar-full of pennies. It was a high-end, European model. Yes, it
was broken and totally useless. I have no idea what caused it to break.
In any event, we dug around in my PH's tool box, found an allen-wrench key,
and pulled the broken scope off the rifle. Our hunt continued (further
interrupted solely by my confirming the iron-sight zero) only because
the rifle had iron sights on it.
I know you were talking about military rifles, but I am equally
distressed to see how few hunting rifles are wearing legitimate iron
sights these days. It is a foolish omission!"
Comment: Yes it is! I think manufacturers of military rifles, like RA,
FN, and SIG, offer the 'no-sight option' mostly because all their rifles
now come with Picatinny rails, and they want owners to select for
themselves what kind of iron sights they will put on it, and where on
the rail they will go, as they are easy to install at the user level.
Trouble is, some naive owners never get around to putting them on.
Foolish omission indeed!
/John
22 Mar 07
Rifle Slings:
Today, a friend called and wanted my advice on a sling for his new
DSA/FAL. When I provide such advice, the question I usually ask first
is: "What is the rifle for?" Put another way: "Whom are you trying to
impress: your friends, or your enemies?"
Quite often, new purchasers have failed to think that one through.
Assuming your rifle is for serious, rather than recreational, purposes,
we need to know the context. In most of our Urban Rifle Classes, the
context is "Domestic Policing/Domestic Personal Defense." We also
instruct classes in "Military Rifle," but that context is not the same.
In Military Rifle classes, the emphasis is (1) functioning as a part of
a team, (2) long-range, lethal engagement of enemy soldiers, (3)
aggressively confronting, at gunpoint, persons of unknown intent, and
(4) fire superiority.
In Urban Rifle classes the emphasis is on (1) functioning as an
individual operator, (2) constructively interacting in a non-threatening
manner, while armed, with persons of unknown intent, (3) relatively
close-range, lethal engagement of VCAs who represent a direct threat to
innocents, and (4) careful, individual shots, keeping in mind that the
our ammunition supply is limited, resupply is unlikely, and errant
shots, by definition, are going to hit something we didn't want to hit.
Within the later context, I have the best luck with a two-point sling.
The one made by Blue-Force is excellent. Three-point slings may work
fine in some military situations, but they do not lend themselves to a
"grab-and-go" circumstance, as they take too long to climb into and get
adjusted. One-point slings are fast, but the rifle tends to dangle."
The best one-point sling currently available is made by my friend and
colleague, Henk Iverson, at Strike Tactical.
When using a two-point sling, attachment points need to be on the top
side of the rifle, rather than on the under side. That way, the rifle
will hang right-side-up when carried in front. The front attachment
point needs to be near the front sight, but it may have to be on the
left side, rather than directly on top, as attachment points on top
obscure the sighting plane. Any good gunsmith can get this set-up
installed.
At the end of the day, you should be able to comfortably sling your
rifle in front, or to the rear, and still be able to quickly mount it
from any starting posture Also, while the rifle is mounted, you should
be able to quickly shift shoulders without the sling getting in your way
or preventing you from moving the rifle from one shoulder to the other.
Without a suitable sling, your serious rifle is handicapped. And, after
properly equipping yourself, you need to get into an Urban Rifle Course,
with us or any other competent instructor, where you can run yourself
and your equipment hard. Only then can you be relatively sure that you
have respectable gear that is going to hold up and serve you adequately
when it has to.
/John
(I recall reading, several years ago, an account from a British SAS
trooper, who had served as an advisor to the Afghan rebels, when they
were fighting the Soviet occupation of their country. He stated that one
of the first things that they did was to have their local advisees
remove the slings from their rifles. This served two purposes: to keep
the rifles in their hands while they were moving, for immediate reaction
if they were attacked, and to keep the sling hardware from rattling,
giving away their presence. On my own home-defense carbine, the role of
the sling is precisely to let the gun dangle briefly, if I should
require both hands for some other task. I find a one-point sling the
friendliest for shifting from shoulder to shoulder, a likely requirement
if I should have to move inside my own home [note that the only other
resident of my home is a German Shepherd Dog and that movement inside
the home with a long gun is a task not to be taken lightly]. Since my
carbine is fitted with a telescoping stock, the PR4 sling mount from
Jeff Cahill's TangoDown, LLC, is ideal. On Jeff's recommendation, the
sling is the Wilderness Tactical Single-Point Sling, which fits me best
with a 180-degree twist between its points of attachment.)
24 Mar 07
The trouble with "ambidextrous" controls on carry pistols, particularly
manual safety levers and magazine-release buttons:
I recently acquired a copy of SA's little EMP as a carry/backup pistol.
I like the size, and it runs fine, but it comes from the factory with
"ambidextrous," manual safety levers. That is, there is an identical
safety lever on both the right and left side of the slide. I know these
are trendy, and many sing their praises, but I think they are a bad
idea in a carry pistol. Accordingly, I'm having a gunsmith remove the
lever on the right side of the pistol, as I am right-handed.
When you carry the pistol in a waist holster, or even in a shoulder
holster, there should be no safety lever exposed to the outside. Such
exposed levers are inadvertently knocked into the "off" position with
great regularity as the gun is carried, all without the carrier being
aware of what has just happened. It typically happens when one sits
down in cushy chairs, accidentally bumps into something, or stumbles and
falls.
When compelled to shoot the pistol left-handed (the ostensible reason
for ambidextrous safety levers), I've learned to manipulate the manual
safety lever with my left thumb. All right-handed 1911 carriers need to
learn this trick anyway, as you never know which pistol you'll get to
use in your next gunfight!
The same caveat applies to "ambidextrous" magazine-release buttons. A
magazine-release button facing to the outside as the pistol is carried
is an invitation to a missing magazine at a painfully inconvenient
moment! Again, this button should only face to the inside where an
inadvertent release of the magazine is much less likely.
In their unrestrained enthusiasm to be "everything to everyone," gun
manufacturers often discover, as is the case here, that the "cure" is
worse than the disease! As professional gunmen, the last thing we want
is surprises, as an exciting "adventure" usually follows.
Don't set yourself up for disaster. Leave "ambidextrous" controls to
nimrods.
/John
(I remain unpersuaded by John's argument, at least in regard to safety
levers. While I regard the 1911 as an obsolescent design [as others are
free to view my own choice of double-action revolvers], that pistol is
equipped with a grip safety, arguably making its carry with the safety
lever in the firing position a bit safer than carrying a holstered
Glock. After all, the ultimate safety device on any firearm is keeping
the finger out of the trigger guard until the sights are on the target
and the shooter is prepared to fire. As to shifting the thumb over to
the opposite side to work the safety lever, that movement significantly
compromises the grasp of the pistol and may not be feasible for
small-handed shooters, such as John's own wife. Regarding ambidextrous
magazine releases, I don't normally find them necessary because most
shooters can operate a Browning-style magazine-release button, on the
left side of the pistol, with the index or middle finger when firing the
gun left-handed. John raises an interesting point, however, for the
operator who wears such a pistol on the left side of his body - since
this will place the magazine release on the outboard side with most
pistols, care must be taken that the pistol-holster combination does not
allow unintentional release of the magazine. Massad Ayoob, in his book
The Semiautomatic Pistol in Police Service and Self-Defense, reports a
case of an officer who was cut by an assailant because his S&W Model 39
pistol, equipped with a magazine-disconnect safety failed to fire after
pressure from the edge of the holster depressed the magazine-release
button and allowed the magazine to shift enough to disable the pistol.
The manufacturer of the holster subsequently modified the design,
providing a recess for the button.)
--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
