Ohio CHL-Records Law Causes Confusion: A new law governing access to
records on concealed weapons permits is confusing sheriffs and stirring
disagreement among legislative supporters, with at least one state
official calling for it be challenged in the courts. The law, set to
take effect Sept. 29, was passed during December's lame duck session as
a compromise between lawmakers backed by the National Rifle Association
and others who think the permits should be public records. The law only
allows journalists to view the records, but doesn't allow them to copy them.
http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770908017
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Which Safety Rules Weren't Violated?: An 18-year-old Tucsonan was
sentenced Friday to five years in prison in the shooting death of a
friend...Ramirez and Valenzuela were at Lincoln Park, near East
Escalante and South Pantano roads, with four other friends when
Valenzuela displayed a pistol that he had brought with him. The gun was
mishandled and Ramirez was holding it when Valenzuela was shot once.
Valenzuela was taken to a hospital, where he died.
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/62397.php
---
Polite Society Revisited?: Science-fiction writer Ben Bova strikes a
chord reminiscent of Robert Heinlein with his proposals for adults to be
required to own firearms and learn how to use them and to rescind laws
against dueling. (The complete Heinlein "polite society" quotation is
posted at
http://www.spw-duf.info/quotes.html.)
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/sep/08/ben_bova_safety_wellarmed_citizenry_and_other_craz/?
---
From John Farnam:
4 Sept 07
Incident in OK, from a colleague there:
"One of my off-duty officers was at a local convenience store last
Thursday. Staring at him, he noticed a VCA he had previously arrested
for assault. Our officer turned to leave, having no wish for a
confrontation. Unfortunately, the suspect, actively seeking a
confrontation, continued to stare, cursing under his breath.
The suspect made his move, walking over to our officer, fists clenched
and by now cursing and threatening loudly. The officer stepped back,
assuming an interview stance. He politely told the VCA that he couldn't
help him and that he needed to move on. Suddenly, the suspect reached
into his pants pocket.
Using a technique called "bursting," our officer pinned the suspect's
hand with his support hand and simultaneously punched him in the face
with the other. This maneuver sent the astonished suspect sprawling to
the ground.
Before he could recover, our officer delivered several more precise
strikes, then backed off and commanded the suspect to stay on the
floor. Other officers arrived quickly and took the suspect into custody
without further incidence.
This particular officer is a true Operator. He trains constantly and
attends continuing education at every opportunity. Here is an example
of preparation and opportunity having a chance meeting!"
Lessons: Be alert/aware. Go armed. Know when to disengage, and when
to stand and fight. Overwhelm your opponent quickly. Don't allow him
to recover. The best kind of fight is a short one!
Comment: Our civilization is stuck in "negotiation mode." We have
deluded ourselves into foolishly believing that all criminal violence
can be dealt with effectively through negotiation. We have unwisely
tried to persuade ourselves that it will never be necessary to stand and
fight. We couldn't be more wrong! Force may not always be the answer.
But, when it is, it is the only answer!
/John
(While the defender in this case was no doubt given the presumption of
having acted reasonably by his fellow officers, note the element of
jeopardy or expression of intent, coupled with the "furtive movement,"
as the would-be assailant thrust his hand into his pocket. Even with
stand-your-ground legislation, a private citizen would likely be
dependent on the corroborating testimony of witnesses in a similar
situation. Still, better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.)
7 Sept 07
Range accident, from an instructor in SC:
"We had a accident on our police range Friday.
One of our instructors left the line to take a phone call. While back
at the administration building, he raised his safety glasses, placing
them on his forehead. We concluded our course of fire and were
preparing to leave the range just as he returned to the line, with his
safety glasses still on perched his forehead! Nobody, including me,
noticed.
We had finished shooting, but a student was in the process of unloading
his AK 47. With his muzzle correctly pointed downrange, and after
removing the magazine, he pulled the bolt to the rear briskly in order
to remove the chambered round. As you know, Kalashnikovs eject with
much force, typically flinging the round, or ejected case, a
considerable distance.
You guessed it! The ejected round flew down the line and struck this
instructor right in his unprotected, right eye. He immediately dropped
to his knees. He was in great pain. He had to be transported to the
hospital, and we still don't have a prognosis.
This is the first significant injury we've experienced on this range"
Lessons: Harmful objects fly around ranges with no objective
predictability, and not all are directly associated with shooting! That
is inherent in the nature of ranges and of any shooting activity.
Accordingly, while on any shooting range, eye protection must be worn
constantly, by everyone, not just active participants, and not just when
people are actually shooting.
It's cheap insurance!
/John
(Massad Ayoob counsels that even those who don't require prescription
lenses are well served by wearing shooting glasses off the range. I know
one LFI graduate in California whose vision was spared by following this
advice when armed robbers he was pursuing took multiple shots through
the windshield of his patrol car, peppering his face with small shards
of glass. More recently, someone in a forum observed that even if he
misses, someone who shoots at you from close range could easily shower
your unprotected eyes with unburned powder granules. My students will
recall my pauses to show the stippling and tattooing these produce on
paper targets, as they do in living flesh.)
7 Sept 07
SIG's Short-Reset Trigger (SRT):
This week, I had the opportunity to use a SIG 229, equipped with SIG's
SRT system. The second and subsequent shots from this pistol (until it
has been decocked) all reset crisply and distinctly, but the reset point
is shallow, similar that found on S&W's four-digit autoloading pistols.
Of course, the SRT System is only available with SIG's
manually-decocking pistols.
For now, SIG will continue make pistols on all three systems (four, if
you count the new single-action 220). That is, some may still prefer
the conventional, deep-reset SIG trigger, and others will want the new
SRT, while still others will prefer the self-decocking DAK System.
My conclusion is that the SRT is a real boon to Operators who can
recognize, appreciate, and take full advantage of the increase in speed
and accuracy this shallow reset affords. The difference between the
conventional deep-reset trigger and the SRT is surely noticeable among
experienced gunman. Probably not among amateurs.
The SRT is available on most SIG models, and, for seasoned Operators, I
recommend it. It will eventually be available as a kit/retrofit, as the
upgrade involves the replacement of only four parts.
Many, like me, will still prefer SIG's DAK Trigger System for its
simplicity, but SIG is obviously doing its best to appeal to both the
beginner and the sophisticated shooter, the glib competitor, and the
serious gun-carrier/Operator. They listen, and I admire them for that!
/John
(Perhaps the best lesson to draw from this report is that different
pistols have different reset characteristics and that if you are in the
habit of switching carry guns, you could end up with a serious problem
if your reflexes are not tuned for the one you are carrying the day that
you really need to use it. Better, in my opinion, is to select one model
and carry at least two copies of it [preferably with a third copy in the
safe, in case one needs to go into the shop] than to switch handguns
along with your underwear.)
7 Sept 07
Federal Flight-Control Shotshells:
At a LEO Program this week in OH, one of my students, Training Officer
for a large agency, brought a copy of his department's short-barreled
Mossberg 590 shotgun. He came with two brands of 00 buckshot
ammunition. His agency does not issue slugs nor any other size of
buckshot.
Current department-issue is WW "reduced-recoil" buckshot, and he had a
supply of that. However, he is considering switching over to Federal
"Flight-Control," also in 00 buckshot, so he had some of that also.
The Federal rounds are full-power (not "reduced-recoil), and the recoil
difference is noticeable when one shoots one, then the other.
However, what jumped out at all of us was the difference in patterning!
Shooting at ten meters, WW rounds consistently produced twelve-inch,
uniform-density patterns out of the short-barreled shotgun. Out of the
same shotgun, Federal rounds produced dense, eight-inch patterns. A
two-thirds reduction! From an eighteen-inch-barreled shotgun, the same
Federal round produced four-inch patterns, an eighty-percent reduction,
all uniformly dense, and with no flyers.
Wad technology employed by Federal is clever. The one-piece, plastic
wad has fins that deploy after exit from the muzzle. When deployed, the
fins resemble those on a high-drag bomb. They are designed to
immediately slow the wad and prevent it from overtaking and passing
through the pellet mass. It works in spades!
A similar effect can be attained with conventional buckshot rounds on
shotguns equipped with the wad-retarding Wad-Wizard device or that have
been modified with a Vang-Comp. Now, Federal has incorporated the
technology into the shotshells itself.
When using this ammunition, even in a short-barreled shotgun, one is
essentially shooting a "bullet" between the muzzle and seven meters.
Maximum useable range has been effectively extended from twenty meters
to twenty-five meters; thirty meters with an eighteen-inch barreled shotgun!
For those using shotguns for serious purposes, Federal Flight-Control is
a good way to go!
/John
(What a tangled web we weave when we use shotguns to perform tasks that
are usually easier to perform with a carbine.)
8 Sept 07
Do we need to add another step to our Tap-Rack-Resume procedure?
At one time, I advocated, as part of our autoloading pistol
stoppage-reduction procedure, that one should, as a first step, first
release the trigger all the way and then press it again. Only when that
failed to get the pistol running need one continue with the T/R/R.
However, we began eliminating that first step when most of our students
started showing up with striker-fired pistols, like Glocks.
Striker-fired pistols lack a traditional, arching hammer. The ignition
system is little more than a spring-loaded firing pin. There are many
advantages, but there is one disadvantage: striker-fired pistols cannot
be made with a double-strike capability. That is, when the striker
falls on a dud round, releasing the trigger and pressing it again
accomplishes nothing! The entire slide must reciprocate normally in
order for the trigger to reactivate, a procedure that will, of course,
remove the bad round and replace it with a fresh one.
By contrast, trigger-cocking, hammer-fired pistols, which feature an
arching hammer and separate firing pin, can be designed so that, when
the hammer falls on a dud, releasing the trigger and pressing it again
will re-cock the hammer and cause it to fall a second time on the same
round, without the slide having to reciprocate, or move at all. Most
trigger-cocking, hammer-fired pistols, like SIGs, feature a
double-strike capability. Some don't.
The dud round is often not "dead," but just recalcitrant, and a second
strike will cause many to fire normally. Accordingly, some argue that
a "double-strike" capability is a desirable, even critical, feature on
a serious pistol.
In any event, we reasoned that pressing the trigger a second time should
be part of the stoppage reduction procedure, only with hammer-fired
pistols, and, of those, only the ones that have the double-strike feature.
However, it isn't just "duds" that cause pistols not to fire when the
trigger is pressed. There are two other conditions that give rise to
the same result: (1) The slide is out of battery far enough to activate
the disconnector, and (2) the shooter short-stroked the trigger, failing
to let it go forward far enough to "catch the link" (engage the reset).
Both these conditions occur with striker-fired and hammer-fired
autoloading pistols, and releasing the trigger and pressing it a second
time will surely remedy the second and may well remedy the first also.
So, should we reinstate a second trigger press as the first step in our
stoppage-reduction procedure, with all autoloading pistols?
I say yes! It is a quick step, consuming only a small fraction of a
second, and many of our students are unconsciously doing it already!
I've found it easy to teach, and students pick it up quickly and
naturally. However, a single, second drop will suffice. When that is
not efficacious, the student must go on to the T/R/R, rather than
pressing the trigger again and again.
/John
(I repeat my warning about promiscuously switching carry guns. Different
makes of autoloading pistols, in particular, may have different
operating characteristics and one cannot afford the risk that today's
pistol will not fit the reflexes you developed with a different one.
Note John's comment about short-stroking the return of the trigger. The
risk of this is great if you are not accustomed to the pistol you are
operating. Some pistols, such as the Para Ordnance LDA and Beretta PX4 C
model, must have the trigger go forward two clicks to reset for the next
shot.)
--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
