"An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." - Col. Jeff Cooper

Friday, November 20, 2009

Why I love my Dan Wesson CBOB

First, for those that are not familiar with this gun, it is a 1911 style gun made by Dan Wesson, which is owned by CZ-USA. CBOB is short for Commander Bobtail. The Bobtail was invented (as far as I know) by Ed Brown. Basically, he took a Commander sized 1911 and bobbed the tail off of it by cutting the corner off the mainspring housing. This accomplished a couple of things. It made the gun easier to conceal since the part that was mostly likely to print under your concealment garment was that corner. It also removed some weight. Lastly, it made the gun it bit more comfortable in the hand.

It was an awesome idea and an Ed Brown Kobra Karry which is the gun he does this feature on is an amazing gun. Unfortunately, it is also WAY out of my price range. I'm not saying it isn't worth it. I'm just saying I can't afford it. Then, came Dan Wesson. They started producing their own bobbed 1911 and the great part was that they use a lot of Ed Brown parts so the quality is still very good. They fit tight, work well, are basically MIM free (it would take too long to explain the pros and cons of MIM parts so just google it. You'll find more info than you can shake a stick at) and they cost about 1/3 the price of the Ed Brown model. I got mine a little over a year ago for $850. Today, they sell for right around $1000 but I heard that Dan Wesson plans a 25% price increase next year.

The gun shoots great, looks great and is setup pretty close to exactly how I would have a gun built if I had it done custom. My favorite part is that they come with yellow rear and green front night sights which is my favorite configuration. I have the same setup on 2 of my 3 Glocks. BTW, if you want to know what one looks like, it is the gun I chose to use for the graphic at the top of the blog.

Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Life is too short

Yesterday, I wrote an article here blasting a radio personality that had done something to seriously offend me. I then went on several gun forums and expanded on my gripe with this person. After thinking about it all day, I have deleted my previous post. What I have decided is that life is too short to get so wound up about what someone else says. If the old post offended anyone, I apologize. I was just pissed and needed to vent. If you missed it and want to know what it was about, don't ask. I'm not going to rehash it again. It was something unimportant that I made way too big of a deal about. I'll try to write something more useful to my readers (both of you) in the next day or two.

Until then, stay safe out there and watch your six.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

A rant about gun shop sales people

I had originally planned to write this article on my new concealed carry pistol. Unfortunately, the used gun I bought turned out to be a jam-o-matic and thankfully the seller gave me a full refund. This meant that I headed out yesterday to hit the gun shops and try once again to find my new concealed carry gun.

First, let me qualify this by saying that I worked for over a year and a half at the largest gun shop in the Carolinas. Also, my family ran a pawn shop and gun shop for most of my life and I worked there off and on from the time I could see over the counter so I know what it is like to be on the sales person's side of the counter.

I walked into a local pawn shop that I have visited many times before and while they are small, there selection and prices on guns is generally very good. I took a look at a S&W M&P9c and really liked the feel of the gun in my hand. However, as I was examining it I noticed a small hole toward the back of the frame that looked suspiciously like an internal lock. I have a philosophical hatred for internal locks for several reasons that I'll go into later. I asked the salesman if that hole was an internal lock and without hesitating he just said "Nope, that gun doesn't have a lock."

A less knowledgeable customer would probably have just took him at his word, but the little circular arrow and letter 'L' next to it sure did look like a lock. I asked if I could see the owner's manual and after browsing it, I found a picture of that section of the gun that identified it as an internal lock. Apparently, that model is offered in a variation with the lock and another variation without it. Since the only one they had was with the lock, I thanked them for their time and left.

I then headed to another gun shop I've bought from before and asked them if they had an M&P9c. Yes, they had just gotten a shipment in and they pulled one out of the case to show me. I looked it over and there was that pock mark on the side of the gun again. I pointed this out to the salesman and asked if they had one without the lock. First, the guy looked at me like an idiot and told me that wasn't a lock. When I explained to him and I had just gone through this at another shop and if he'd like to get out the manual, I'd prove it to him too, he suddenly realized it was a lock. Then, instead of checking his inventory he decided to ask me in a rather condescending voice what I had against the lock.

I explained to him my objections...

1. They are ugly. They are a pock mark on a beautiful gun.
2. On lighter weight, heavy recoiling models they have been known to self-engage turning the gun you were just firing into a very expensive paper weight and possibly getting you killed if it happened at the worst time.
3. The KISS principle says to keep it simple and the lock is just one added complication.
4. It is the principle of the fact that S&W and others caved to the corporate lawyers and installed a useless device.

He looked down his nose at me and just said that you couldn't find these guns anywhere and if I wanted one I needed to just get one with the lock. He didn't seem to like it when I told him I wasn't going to spend nearly $600 on something that wasn't the model that I wanted.

I ended up going to the large shop I used to work at and bought a Glock 26 which is what I should have bought to begin with.

So, if you work at a gun shop here are a few pieces of advice...

1. Know the products you are selling.
2. If a customer asks a question you don't know the answer to, find out the answer instead of just making something up. You are selling devices that people may use to defend their lives. You better give them accurate info.
3. Don't stand there and argue with a customer about what they want. Especially, when the customer has already proven he knows more about the product than you do.

The first shop was kind enough to pull out the manual and gave me no grief about what I was looking for. I'm not happy that the salesman initially gave me bad info but at least he didn't argue with me about it and he even agreed he hated the locks too. The second shop will never get my business again. This is not the first time that someone there has given me bad info and then argued with me about it. A couple of years ago I was looking for a new gun that had just came out. When I checked with them, they told me that none had shipped and they were not available yet. When I told them I had just left another gun shop where I held one in my hand but could not buy it because it was pre-sold to someone else, they actually called me a liar and said none would ship for at least another month. Oddly enough, I managed to buy two of those guns within a week of that conversation. Their attitude sucks and they won't get any more of my money. I really don't know why I shopped with them again after the last incident. This is a shame because they are the shop closest to my house and actually have a very large selection and pretty good prices.

People refer to a lot of gun shop sales staff as gun shop commandos. Today, I got a great lesson in what those people mean. We are in an uphill fight to keep our gun rights. The only way we win is to bring more people into our hobby. We can't do this when people interested in getting into the hobby run into goons like I met today. That will turn them off and we will lose a new ally. Ok, my rant is over. Stay safe out there and watch your six.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Bug Out Bag / Get Home Bag / 72 Hour Kit

This is a subject I've been thinking about a lot lately and I wanted to share my philosophy on it. First, for those that aren't familiar with it, I'll define it. A Bug Out Bag (known as a BOB) is a bag or box or container that holds the things you would need to grab if you had to leave your home in a moment's notice and not know when you would return. Think of it this way... if emergency crews banged on your door in the middle of the night and told you there was a mandatory evacuation due to a wild fire or a gas leak or a crazy man with a gun on the loose, this is the bag you'd grab as you ran out the door. They aren't going to stand around while you pack so if you don't have it ready to go you'll leave with the clothes on your back. A Get Home Bag is a bag you usually keep in your car so that if you are not at home when the emergency hits you can either get home (in the car or on foot if needed) or can get to where you plan to meet up with your family. A 72 Hour Kit is the supplies you'd need to survive for 72 hours if no utilities or other resources are available.

Due to financial restraints as well as lack of storage, I have tried to combine all three of these ideas into a single kit which I call a BOB, but could really be used to bug out, bug in or get home. The point of all this is that you never no when terrorism, crime or mother nature are going to disrupt your plans and if you aren't prepared your chances of surviving are greatly reduced. If you want to know how bad it good get, just take a look at what happened during and after Hurricane Katrina.

The first thing to remember when building a BOB is that it is worthless if you can't carry it. You need to take a good, honest look at your own physical fitness and determine how big and heavy of a kit you can handle. Some are minimalist and will put the bare essentials in something like a Maxpedition Versipack (excellent bags by the way) while others will fill a full framed backpack like they plan to hike the Appalachian Trail for 6 months on their own. Personally, I think the wise choice is in the middle, but only you can make that choice.

Once you've determined how much you can carry and chosen a suitable container for your BOB (I prefer backpacks just because they are easier to carry) then you can start thinking about what to put in the bag. First priority should be what you need to live. That would be food, water, shelter and fire. Food can be as simple as protein powder and Slim Jims, but you need something. Water is a tough one because of the weight it adds. What I do is carry a small amount of water (4 20oz. bottles) and then some water purification tablets to make drinkable water if I have no other choice. I also carry an empty canteen that I can put on my belt for when and if I find a clear stream or some other source. For shelter I'd recommend some survival blankets and paracord. You aren't going to be able to fit a full tent very well in the pack and you can at least make do with the blanket and cord. For fire, I like to carry several disposable lighters as well as some waterproof matches.

Once you've got that stuff packed away, look how much room you have left in your bag. This is all personal opinion but the next things I would definitely want in my bag would be...

1. A good first aid kit
2. A change of clothes (especially a wide brim hat, something to keep warm, dry underwear and socks and some comfortable shoes)
3. A good, fixed blade knife
4. Area maps
5. Something to write with and to write on
6. A towel
7. A light source (or two)
8. A crank powered radio

If you manage to fit all that in your pack and still have some room first check the weight. If you think you can handle more weight then you can add other things that you think you might personally need to keep you somewhat comfortable. Here are a few suggestions in no particular order.

1. Some hard candy
2. Playing cards
3. A spare wallet with some cash and photocopies of your driver's license, medical insurance, etc...
4. Spare eye glasses or contacts if you wear them
5. Knife sharpener
6. Toilet paper
7. Sunscreen
8. Gold Bond powder
9. Signaling mirror
10. Foot warmers (those disposable chemical packs)
11. Rain poncho
12. Spare batteries for your flashlight
13. Gerber Multi-Tool or Leatherman
14. Compass
15. Whistle
16. A pre-paid phone card
17. Some Oral-B Brush Ups and some Plackers (those toothpick/floss things)\
18. Caffeinated Mints
19. Lip Balm

If you do a google search for bug out bags you will find tons of other lists. I encourage you to take a look at what they suggest as well and take your favorites from all of them. Just remember not to go overboard and build a pack you can't actually carry. Good luck and hopefully this is one of those things you have but never need.

One last point. Things like food, water, pain pills, batteries, etc... go bad. Be sure to go through your pack a couple of times per year and replace anything getting close to the expiration date. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Last Gun - Revisited

Back in May of this year, I wrote a rather long article about what I would do if I was forced to narrow down my collection to a single firearm. In the end, I chose a Glock 19 and I gave a lot of really good reasons for this choice. Since then, I've been thinking about it more and more. I still really like the Glock 19. I have one in my safe right now, and it is definitely a gun I would hate to see go. However, I think if I had to make the choice today, I would choose differently... maybe.

I thought about an old saying I've heard. The gun you have with you is infinitely more valuable than the one you have at home in the safe. This is very true. If you find yourself in a life and death situation you don't get to call time out and run home to browse your gun safe and pick the best gun for the job. You have to make do with what you have.

I work nights, so a night stand gun is fine and I do have one, but it isn't that big of a deal. Most break ins happen during the night and at night, I'm wide awake and in my office working far away from my bedroom and the full size Glock 17 I keep in my night stand. Therefore, the gun most likely to get used to defend myself and my family is the gun I keep in my office. That gun is a S&W J-frame .38 Special. I carry concealed (legally). I do not leave the house without a gun. When I'm grabbing my wallet and keys and mobile phone I grab my S&W J-frame .38 Special and slip it in my pocket.

If it is good enough to carry concealed and good enough to keep in arm's reach in my office, why should it not be my last gun? I could carry the Glock 19, but it sits in the safe. Why? It's just so easy to slip the little J-frame in my pocket that I never want to deal with the hassle of strapping on a holster and concealing a larger gun.

If you ask most gun professionals (I'm talking cops, P.I.'s, top competitive shooters, firearms instructors, gun magazine writers, etc...) what they have on them if you run into them on the street (off duty in the case of cops) I'd be willing to bet more than 75% of them have a J-frame revolver in their pocket. Why? They work and they are easy and convenient.

Now, I will state that a J-frame is a terrible first gun. Many gun shop commandos will tell new shooters, epecially female new shooters to buy a J-frame revolver for their first gun. Don't listen to them. They are small so they are harder to hold on to. They are light so the felt recoil is a lot more. Most of them have barely adequate sights. They are an expert's gun. They are hard to shoot well without a lot of practice and they aren't much fun to shoot at all.

However, for someone who knows how to shoot and is comfortable with a J-frame, I think it might be the last gun I'd ever give up. I'm still not sure if I ever had to make that choice that I could give up my Glock 19, but if I did it would be to keep my trusty little J-frame.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Pistol versus Revolver

One of the accepted things that you are taught if you work in a gun store is that you push new shooters and women toward the revolver counter. I'm not saying it's right and I'm not saying it happens 100% of the time, but it does seem to be the norm. I was listening to one of my favorite gun podcasts the other day and the host was railing against this. He said that he thought that a double action revolver was the worst choice you could make for a new shooter. He was specifically talking about female new shooters. I want to state my personal opinion on this.

The first thing is that people seem to make a lot of assumptions about gun choice based on gender. They assume a female shooter will have weaker upper body strength, will be more recoil sensitive and less likely to take up shooting as a hobby. I'd have to say that as a general rule, my experience has been that these are all true, BUT I've seen enough exceptions to have learned not to assume anything.

The logic behind pushing female shooters and new shooters to revolvers is that they are easier to operate, less likely to have a mechanical problem and need less maintenance. You can load a revolver, stick it in your nightstand and forget about it for years and it still work fine. The problem with that is that no gun should be just left loaded for years. If you own a gun for self defense, you should be practicing with it. You should know how it works inside and out. You should be taking it out to clean it and inspect it at least monthly and preferably shoot it monthly. If you do that, there is no real advantage to a revolver over a pistol.

In fact, there are several disadvantages. First, revolvers in general have more recoil. With a pistol, the motion of the slide absorbs some of the felt recoil. With a revolver, the only thing absorbing recoil is you. Second, revolvers have lower capacity and are harder and slower to reload if you run out of ammo. Lastly, a revolver may fail less often, but when it does fail it is much harder to quickly get it back into the fight than a pistol.

Now, please don't take this as a slam on revolvers. I love revolvers. I own several of them. I like shooting them more, because the slower reload and lower capacity makes me take my time at the range and concentrate more on my shooting skills and less on seeing how many rounds I can spray down range. In fact, I have my daily concealed carry gun within arms reach of me as I write this and it is a 5-shot .38 Special J-frame revolver. I just disagree that gun shop employees (and when I was one, I was guilt of it too) should steer people toward them. Instead, I think they should explain that a gun you don't practice with and understand will not do you any good if the time comes to defend yourself. If you do practice with your gun and train with your gun, either will do the job well.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

The Last Gun

Apparently, these posts are going to become a lot more erratic than I had originally thought. I seem to have lost the steam I had in the beginning when I was posting at least one article per week. I will try to do better.

I was having one of those odd thoughts running through my head the other day and started wondering... If I could only own one gun, what would it be? To me, this is a VERY difficult question because I have worked my whole adult life to build my collection so the thought of it being reduced back down to one gun is unthinkable. However, you never know when financial or political forces could give you no choice. Hopefully, the day will never come that this is anything more than a fun hypothetical discussion, but it is a good way to prioritize what is important in a gun choice.

To do this right, I had to set some ground rules.

1. One firearm, period. Not one pistol and one revolver and one rifle and one shotgun. Just ONE firearm.

2. So that it is realistic, I set a price limit. For a rifle, the max would be $2,000. If I chose anything else, it would be $1,000.

So, I had to figure out what things I use a firearms for and then prioritize them into what is the most important for me. Here is my list in order of what I feel is the most important...
  • Concealed Carry/Self Defense
  • Home Defense
  • IDPA
  • Teaching new shooters about firearms
  • Recreational Target Shooting
  • Wilderness Survival Tool
  • Hunting
I chose concealed carry as my top priority because it is the one thing I do with a firearm EVERY day. That greatly narrows down the list of possible choices. It completely eliminates rifles and shotguns from consideration. The whole reason for concealed carry is for self defense, so it would have to be in a caliber that is adequate for self defense. That means 9mm or bigger in my book (I do carry a .380 occasionally, but only as a backup or when I can't conceal anything else). Since it needs to be concealable, that means no BIG guns so scratch off N-frame revolvers and particularly large pistols like the HK Mark 23 or Desert Eagle. For home defense, pretty much anything that is good enough for self defense while carrying concealed can do the job at home too, so that's not a problem.

Since I really enjoy IDPA and would want something I could be somewhat competitive with, I can't go too small on the gun size or too big on the caliber size. That means probably sticking to a compact or full sized pistol or a medium framed revolver and limiting my calibers to 9mm, .40S&W, .45ACP or .357Magnum. Since single column .45's have too low of a capacity as compared to other similar pistols and double stack .45's are too big for smaller hands, I eliminated it from the list. If I went with a pistol, I'd rather go with 9mm than .40S&W just because ammo will be easier to find and less expensive, but with the hotter defensive loads, it will still do the job.

Now, I needed decide between a pistol and a revolver. My first instict was to go with a revolver. They are durable, simple and (in my opinion) beautiful. However, as I looked at the next two items on the list (teaching and plinking) I realized that both of these are best done with a .22LR. Since I can't get a second gun in .22 in this scenario, I need to limit my choices to guns I can buy a .22 conversion kit for. So... scratch off revolvers.

The last two items are a problem. If I'm going with a pistol in 9mm it isn't going to be great for outdoor use or hunting, but there is a reason they were at the bottom of my priority list. Besides, in a pinch, you could use a 9mm pistol for hunting smaller game (I'd say anything smaller than a boar) and while not ideal, it will fend off smaller 4-legged predators in a wilderness situation. It wouldn't be too great against bears, but choosing one gun means making compromises.

Now, I need to find a 9mm pistol that is reliable, durable, decently accurate, is small enough to conceal but big enough to compete with in IDPA and you can buy a .22 conversion kit for it. There are probably others, but the only one I know that fits all those criteria is a Glock 19. I guess that would be my choice. Hopefully, it is a choice I'd never have to make.

A few other reasons for this choice would be that Glocks very rarely break. If they do break, they are very easy to work on and the factory parts are available from plenty of retailers. In fact, you can put together a fairly complete spare parts kit and all the tools you need (one punch) for less than $75. Plus, you are getting a very handy sized gun that is not overly heavy that has a great capacity and there are tons of aftermarket accessories to make it fit your needs.

If there was any way I was able to keep a second gun, I have no questions about what my second gun would be. I'd take an M4-style AR-15 for my other gun without a second thought.

As an interesting side note, I posed this question on one of my favorite gun forums. I was surprised at the variety of answers I got. Some people went as large as a FAL or M1A and some went as small as I did with a Glock 19. The point is that there is no one answer. Everyone has different things they do with guns. That is the beauty of our hobby is that it is so diverse.

Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Building an AR-15

First, I apologize to my readers (if I actually have any) for the lack of posts lately. I've just had a bit of writer's block and couldn't seem to come up with anything worth writing about. Today, I'm going to try to cover the basics of what is involved in building your own AR-15. This could get a bit on the long side, but I'll try to keep it as direct and to the point as possible.

The first part you will want to purchase is the Stripped Lower Reciever. This is the part that has the serial number and is considered the firearm by BATFE. This means it's the only part you will need to actually go through an FFL dealer to buy. There are many many brands to choose from and to be honest, most of them are the same other than the logo on the side. I personally don't care for billet lowers because they tend to be overpriced and they leave less room for customization. Avoid the cast lowers because they are of poor quality. If you stick with a good aluminum forged lower from a reputable maker you should be fine. A couple to avoid are Vulcan and Hesse. They are rarely within spec and not worth the trouble. A few that are good and safe bets are DPMS, Stag, Rock River Arms, CMMG, Spikes Tactical, LMT, Bushmaster and Mega. I'd avoid Colt lowers because they use a non-standard pin size so it just adds a level of complication that is not needed.

Once you have your lower, you will want to find a lower parts kit. At the moment, that may be pretty tricky. It seems everyone is out of them. Stick to a name brand on this. I personally like the Rock River Arms LPK's, but Stag and LMT are also excellent. This is where the first customization starts. You can get different safety selectors, grips, trigger and hammer pins, trigger groups, etc... A lot of this will depend on what you plan to use the rifle for when it is complete. I can tell you what I chose, but that does not mean it is necessarily the best. I used a Rock River Arms Lower Parts Kit that included their 2 stage trigger group. By buying the upgraded trigger as part of the parts kit I avoided paying for parts that I was going to just replace immediately anyway. I also replaced the standard grip with a Magpul MIAD grip. However, if I had it to do over again, I'd use Magpul's new MOE grip since it is configured just the way I liked it and is much cheaper. I also bought the AA battery core for the grip so I could store batteries for a light or red dot sight. I upgraded the safety selector to RRA's star safety selector. I already had it installed on another AR and just really like the feel of it. I also replaced the standard trigger guard with the Magpul Enhanced Trigger Guard. This gives you the ability to shoot with gloves on without having to modify the gun. The last modification I made to the lower parts kit is that I replaced the standard trigger and hammer pin with KNS Gen 2 Mod 2 anti-rotation pins. There have been cases of AR's with heavy use wearing out the lower from the rotation of the pins during use. These pins prevent that situation and they look cool too.

The next thing you will need to decide on is the stock. If you plan to shoot High Power rifle matches, you will want to stick with a standard A2 stock. If this will be a self defense gun I recommend either the Magpul CTR or UBR depending on your budget. The new Magpul ACS might be a great option, but is has not started shipping yet. For a long range target rifle, the Magpul PRS stock is great. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a big fan of Magpul stuff. However, if they aren't for you, LMT and Vltor make excellent stocks as well. If you do go with a collapsible stock, do some research on how to properly stake the castle nut so that the stock stays where you put it during heavy firing.

Once the stock is attached, the lower half of the AR is complete. Picking an AR upper can be pretty tricky. This part is very much personal preference, but I'll give you some personal opinions that you can use as a guide.

1. Get a flat top receiver. Even if you plan to put a removable carry handle on it and never use optics, get the flat top. You never know when you might change your mind and that is a hard thing to change after the fact.

2. If you plan to use this gun for precision target work, get a stainless steel barrel. Otherwise, stick with chrome lined barrels.

3. Stick with a quality manufacturer. Good ones for uppers are BCM, LMT, Noveske, CMMG and Sabre Defense. Rock River Arms, Stag and Bushmaster also make pretty good uppers but some consider them a step below the ones I listed first. I'm sure there are others but those are the ones I feel confident in recommending.

4. Get a good quality Bolt Carrier Group from either BCM or LMT, but do not waste your money on the Enhanced version. Do get the Full Auto bolt carrier though. It has a bit more mass and is more reliable. Buying this part will NOT make your gun fuction full auto and it is not illegal to use.

5. Don't go cheap on the sights. There are a lot of cheap, airsoft quality sights out there. Don't use them. They will fail you.

6. If you decide you need a quad rail, don't go cheap on that either. I would say that YHM is the bare minimum, but you'd be better off with MI, GG&G, Troy or Daniel Defense. Larue Tactical also makes great stuff. If you don't need a quad rail, don't buy a quad rail. It is a lot of money for something that you don't actually have a need for. This same tip can be used for red dot sights. EOTech, Aimpoint and Trijicon make good stuff. Most of the rest is not worth messing with.

7. Avoid hanging too much "stuff" off your AR. It is meant to be a high speed, low drag fighting rifle. It is very easy to start buying red dots and magnifiers and lights and lasers and vertical foreward grips and backup sights and coffee makers and DVD players and turn a 7 pound battle rifle into a 15 pound boat anchor. If you don't NEED it, don't attach it.

8. Unless this will be for target use ONLY, make sure it has a 5.56mm chamber and not a .223 chamber. You can shoot .223 in a 5.56 chamber but you cannot shoot 5.56 ammo in a .223 chamber. With ammo as difficult as it is to find right now, don't limit yourself.

I hope this helped at least some. If you do some research on some of the forums I have linked on the right you can get a lot more specific info and ar15.com has some great instructions on how to actually put it all together. Good luck with your build. Your biggest challenge will be just finding the parts in the current market.

Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

2009 may be remembered as the year of the .22

If you've had your head in the sand for the last 6 months, you may not have noticed that the price of ammo is going sky high and that is IF you can find ammo at all. Some calibers have become flat out impossible to find. This trend will really hurt the firearms training industry because people can't find or can't afford enough ammo to complete the courses they'd like to take. At the same time, concealed carry classes are booked solid. The shop I used to work in is now putting 75 people per week through the class and said they could easily do 100 if they had another instructor. That is just in one single shop.

For all those reasons, more and more shooters are turning to the .22 Long Rifle cartridge. It is cheap and at least for the moment it is still fairly easy to find. You can shoot all day for $20 worth of ammo. In comparison, I spent 1 hour at the range this past weekend and used up $90 worth of ammo shooting mostly 9mm and a little 12 gauge. If I had been shooting .45ACP I can't even imagine how much I would have spent.

There is a lot of value out of a day at the range with a good .22. Without the recoil and without the limited quantity of ammo, you can spend your time working on proper sight alignment, trigger control or drawing from a holster. I truly think you can improve your shooting just as much shooting a .22 as you can shooting your chosen self defense caliber. Now, of course you need to practice some with the caliber and gun you will use for self defense, but I think if you put 200 rounds of .22 down range in an afternoon (about $8 worth of ammo) and then a single box of your chosen self defense caliber, you'd be just fine.

Save some money, shoot more often and have more fun. If you've forgotten your .22 pistol or rifle in the back of the safe for a while, pull it out and give it some use. If this ammo shortage continues, that .22 might be your new best friend.

Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

My wife is a keeper

Well, I already knew that, but it got confirmed again last week. April 4th was our 5th wedding anniversary and my wife gave me the gift every gun nut wants. A shiny new gun. Last month, I had put a $100 deposit down on a Glock 19 to start a lay away. My plan was to slowly pay it off after our anniversary because my extra cash until then was going to buy my wife's gift. For my anniversary gift, my wife paid off my lay away! We went this past Saturday to the gun shop to pick it up. It was just a plain jane Glock 19 like millions of others that have been made but I really like that model. Then, I look in the case and notice they have a new one with the OD frame (that is Glock's Olive Drab frame for those that don't know). Other than the color of the polymer frame, it is identical to any other Glock, but they make a very low percentage (I don't know the exact number, but I've heard about 5%) with the OD frame. I decided that since this gun would be sentimental to me and would never get sold, I'd like it to be a little more unique. So, I swapped out the standard black Glock 19 that was on lay away for the OD one. I like it a lot and have not regrets. I'll be heading to the range this weekend to break her in. I'm just hoping that between now and then I can find some extra ammo.

I'm sorry for the short post, but things have been busy. I'll try to write something with more meat next week. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

"2 is 1 and 1 is none" - Clint Smith

That saying is a famous "Clintism" from Clint Smith at Thunder Ranch. Clint Smith is considered by many to be the top firearms instructor in the country. This particular "Clintism" though has always made a great deal of sense to me. Basically, what he is saying is that any tool you use (be it a gun, knife, flashlight, etc...) is a man made thing and can fail. If you don't have a backup, you having nothing when it fails.

This is one of many reasons I believe anyone who owns a gun for self defense should own more than one gun for self defense. Many years ago, I worked part-time in a very large gun shop. I was talking to one of the other sales staff during a slow period. This guy also worked there part time and his full time job was as a law enforcement officer. He told me a story he had heard from a fellow officer he had met in NYC.

For those of you that don't know, the gun laws in NYC are ridiculously strict. It is very difficult to get a permit to own a handgun, and the process can take many months even if you are finally approved. There was an owner of a small jewelry shop who apparently had been robbed by some gang members on several occasions. He got fed up and applied for a permit to buy a handgun. After about 6 months of red tape, he finally got his permit and bought a handgun. Not long after, a couple of gang bangers tried to rob him again, but this time they got lead instead of gold. It was a perfectly legal, self defense shooting. The gang bangers had him at gun point and he prevailed by pure luck. When the police took his statment, they took the gun as evidence. He pleaded with them that those gang bangers had friends and that was his only gun. It would take months to get another permit and he'd never survive that long. The police had no choice but to take the gun until the DA ruled that it was a self defense shooting. Sure enough, a couple of weeks later, friends of the original robbers showed up and killed ths shop keeper in his store. Think how much different that story would have ended if he had owned more than one gun.

You don't just need a second gun though for an unlikely event like that. What if it is something much less dramatic like one of them breaks. What if one is stolen? What if you find yourself in a fight and your primary gun is wrestled away from you? If you don't have a backup gun, I hope you have your affairs in order.

Here's another scenario to consider... You buy a gun for home protection. You have practiced with it and you feel confident you know how to use it. One night you and your wife and sleeping the sleep of the righteous when you are awoke by the sound of broken glass. You do what most people would do. You tell your wife to dial 911, you grab your gun and you go see where the noise came from. Now, if it was just a limb breaking a window in a storm, you will be fine. If it is a bad guy who flees when he sees you, you will be fine. If it is a bad guy that you manage to defeat in a gun fight, you will be less fine but you will be fine. However, what if you lose? What if the bad guy is faster than you and he kills you or at least injures you badly enough to take you out of the fight? What about your wife now? What about your kids now? If you had the only gun, you just left her unarmed with a pissed off bad guy in the house. If you had two guns, you could have left one with her. Better yet, you shouldn't go clearing a house anyway unless you are going to retrieve a kid, but that is another article.

The point of all this is... there are many many scenarios where one gun is not enough. Since none of us can know what circumstance we will be faced with, we have to prepare for as many of them as we can. You will be much better prepared with at least two guns in your arsenal than you were with one. Remember, 2 is 1 and 1 is none. Thanks for your wisdom Clint.

Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

How many mags?

I see this question all the time on different gun forums. How many mags should I own for each gun? Well, there is no right answer to this question to be honest. However, that has never stopped me from answering it. The honest answer is that it depends on the gun, how often you shoot and how much you can afford to spend. However, I do think that there are some good guidelines to follow.

First, I think if you ask someone who lived through the 10 dark years of the '94 Assault Weapons Ban this question you will get a VERY different answer than if you ask someone who was either too young to remember or wasn't into firearms at the time. Those of us that remember having our rights stripped away are much more wary of it happening again. Those of us that remember gun show vendors charging $100 for a Glock magazine will think we need more than someone who did not go through that. As of right now, the momentum toward passing a new AWB seems to have dwindled, but that does not mean we should let our guard down. Personally, I prefer to have too many mags so that if that day ever comes again, I won't have to pay the gouger prices as my old mags wear out.

Ok, now to the original question. Let's break it down into types of guns.

Type 1 - Plinkers and Range Toys. By this, I mean a gun that was bought just for the fun of shooting it. It is not intended to be used in a self defense role. It won't be lying on your nightsand ready to defend the home and it won't be carried concealed. For most people, this would include a lot of .22's.

For these guns, it is not as important in my opinion to have a lot of mags. If you shoot the gun often, get more mags since it will make range sessions more fun. If it sits in the safe and looks good, get a few and be done. For me, it depends on how often I shoot the gun, how hard it is to reload and how expensive the mags are for it. I always like to have at least a couple of spares so I'd say minimum of 3, but more if you shoot the gun often.

Type 2 - Self Defense Handguns. My hard and fast rule is a bare minimum of 5 mags for any gun that could be used for self defense. My one exception to that is my Ruger LCP. The reason is that the gun is unpleasant to shoot often and is not built to be shot a lot. I have 4 mags for that gun and I doubt I'll ever put more than that through the gun in a single range session now that the gun is broken in. For all others, at least 5 but I prefer 8.

Type 3 - Self Defense Rifles. This would be a gun like an AR-15 that could be used for home defense or to hold of the hoardes of zombies. I like to have a minimum of 15 mags per rifle. More is always better. If you have an AR-15, more is definitely better. There are a lot of other semi-auto rifles out there than use AR-15 mags so having a good supply of those is a definite plus. I know of people that have 400 or more AR-15 mags. I don't go that far, but I like to have a good supply of them. They do wear out and you never know if you will be able to replace them.

To summarize, the important thing to remember is that you never know when legislation or supply will make it difficult or impossible to replace mags as they wear out. Without them, your guns are single shot devices or paper weights if the have a mag safety. Buy as many as you think you are likely to ever need, now.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

The joy of a new toy

For me, and I think for most gun enthusiasts there are few things that bring us as much joy as the purchase of a new gun. It's like Christmas came early for us. I got the extreme pleasure of having this feeling last week. However, this one comes with an interesting story as a bonus.

Back in 2001 - 2002, I took a part time job at a very large gun shop in Charlotte, NC. I ended up spending far more money than I earned, but it was a fun job. One of the guns that came in while I was there was a Fabarm FP6 imported by HK. This is a pump action, tactical/LE style shotgun with a carbon fiber finish. I liked it a lot but it was $700 for a pump and I just could not justify that.

Fast forward to present day. I had my XD-40 up for sale in the classifieds of a regional gun forum. I had decided to sell it to reduce the number of handgun calibers I had in my collection. After bumping the ad for the night, I sat down and watched an episode of Best Defense (great show on Outdoor Channel hosted by Michael Bane) on my DVR. Rob Pincus was showing a tactic for taking corners in your house with a shotgun and I noticed that the shotgun he was using was a carbon fiber HK/Fabarm FP6. I recognized it immediately because of the unique look. I had been wanting to get a good home defense shotgun for a while and that made me start thinking that the HK would be a good choice. However, HK stopped importing for Fabarm in late 2002 so finding one would be near impossible.

The next day, I got an offer on my XD for cash and arranged to meet they buyer the following afternoon. I collected the cash ($440) and decided to head down to Charlotte to browse the shelves of the gun shop I used to work at for a new shotgun. When I arrived, I talked to a buddy of mine that is the manager there. I told him I wanted a new shotgun and had he ever ran across one of those cool carbon fiber shotguns that HK used to import. He laughed and said he ran across one just the other day and it was still on the wall. He looked up the inventory number and it turns out is the SAME shotgun I saw when I worked there. Somehow, it had been there all that time and had never been sold. As large as their inventory is, it probably got rotated to the back to make room for something else and forgot about for a long time.

I talked to the owner and ended up getting the shotgun for $440 OTD. My buddy says he can't be sure after all this time, but he thinks I probably got it for less than they paid for it.

Anyway, I just thought it was rather weird that I got reminded of a gun I wanted all those years ago by a TV show and then happened to find that VERY shotgun on the shelf and haggled the price down to the exact amount I had just received for my XD. It's a strange strange world and apparently I was just meant to have this shotgun. I ordered a magazine extension tube for it which arrived today. Installing it was a pain, but I got it on eventually. Now I just need to find some ammo and me and my new gun can head to the range.

Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Never pick out a gun for your spouse!

I can't count how many times I've seen this post on one of the gun forums I spend time on. "What gun should I buy for my wife to conceal carry?". First some disclaimers... I am a guy and I am writing this from a guy's perspective, but this could just as easily be about a wife not picking out a gun for her husband. Also, in this post I'm going to voice MY OPINION about some brands of guns. This is my opinion and should not be interpreted as a fact. Ok, hopefully I just avoided a libel suit when I get around to calling a Hi-Point a pile of steaming poo.

There are a lot of guys out there that love to shoot, but have wives that just aren't into it. Those guys usually end up trying at some point to get their wife into shooting. This is done out of love and a desire to keep their wife safe. It is an admirable goal, but guys usually go about it wrong.

First of all, you will hear all the time about what is the right gun for a woman to shoot. This is B.S. There is nothing that makes one gun better than another for a particular gender. There are guns that are better for people with smaller hands and there are guns that are better for people that are more recoil sensitive. In general, a higher percentage of women probably fit that bill, but you can't make that assumption about someone you don't know. When these questions get asked on a forum, we have no idea what the poster looks like. For all we know, his wife could be the starting linebacker on a semi-pro football team and he could be so small and dainty he makes a male figure skater look macho.

Second, no one can choose a gun for someone else. There are a few features that are universal. Yes, you want a gun that is reliable. Yes, you want a gun in a caliber that will do the job. However, you also want a gun that fits the shooter's hand and the only way to determine that is to take the shooter with you and let her try a variety of guns and decide what fits her the best. We may think that a Glock 19 (just using that one as an example) is the greatest gun that was ever made and that Gaston Glock was feeling the inspiration of the lord almighty when he designed it. That doesn't mean it will fit your wife's hand.

I'm not saying you sit back and let your wife pick out that pink and gold Raven .25 as a carry gun. If you are an experienced shooter that knows about which gun companies make good stuff and which guns aren't worthy of being tossed in a dumpster you should impart your knowledge on your wife so she can make an educated decision. Certainly steer her away from the Hi-Point / Jennings case and down to the Glock / Sig / HK / S&W / Colt / Ruger / Taurus / Browning / FN /etc... cases. However, if she chooses a quality brand that fits her it does not matter if you like that gun or not. It's NOT FOR YOU! If you want her to get into your hobby then let her pick her gun.

Also, don't try to force her to go with a caliber larger than she is comfortable with. If she doesn't feel that she can control a .45 and likes a 9mm, I don't care where you fall in the caliber debate. Let her get the 9mm! If you force her to get the .45 she won't enjoy shooting it so she won't shoot it and all the time and money is wasted. There does need to be some balance here. Feel free to strongly discourage her from a .22 or .25 for concealed carry. You've got to use some logic here and find that balance.

Also, while we are on the subject... husbands should not teach their wives to shoot. Get a friend that is an experienced shooter to help or spring for a professional class. I have seen a lot of husbands try to teach a lot of wives to shoot and it almost never works. In fact, I see a husband that attempted that every time I look in the mirror. It just doesn't work. I was lucky that I have a friend that is a much more patient teacher than I am that helped my wife break some bad habits and clean up her technique when we all went shooting together. Ego gets in the way when you are teaching your wife. Also, most of us aren't qualified to teach regardless of what we THINK we know.

Ok, my rant is over. I hope you took it to heart because it will save you a lot of grief and will make the likelihood that your wife will enjoy shooting a lot greater. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Mouse guns

You will hear many people in the firearms industry say "Friends don't let friends carry mouse guns." Before I go into the argument about whether or not a mouse gun is an acceptable choice for self defense, let me define it for those of you that don't know what it means.

Generally speaking, a mouse gun is any gun chambered in a caliber smaller than a 9mm Parabellum for pistols or a .38 Special for revolvers. The most common calibers would be .22LR, .25 ACP, .32 ACP & .380 ACP. In the last couple of years, as concealed carry has become more popular, there has been an explosion of small, light, concealable guns in .380 ACP. Now that there are several quality options in .380, I see no reason to consider going to any smaller caliber. If you can't conceal a Kel-Tec P3AT or a Ruger LCP with what you are wearing, you can't conceal any gun.

When you carry a gun for self defense, you are doing so knowing that if you have to use it, it will mean that your life or the life of your loved ones is in immediate danger. This means that you should want the gun that is the most powerful gun you can shoot comfortably and control that is reliable and has sufficient capacity for the job. So, if you can get away with carrying a full size combat handgun, do it. However, there are times when that just isn't possible. There are times when due to how you have to dress for an event or the weather, you just can't conceal a gun that big. For those times, I'd rather have a mouse gun than no gun.

On a daily basis, I carry a J-frame revolver loaded with .38 Special +P. I know I can hit what I'm aiming at within a reasonable distance and it will be powerful enough to end the fight with proper shot placement. As a side note, I plan to start carrying a Glock 19 when my mode of dress will allow it once I get the money saved to buy one and a quality holster for it. However, there are times (especially in the summer) when I can't conceal a gun that big. That is when my Ruger LCP comes out of the safe and into my pocket. I could conceal an LCP wearing a pair of swimming trunks and nothing else with no problem. It is so small and so light that it just disappears in a pocket.

Mouse guns also have another excellent feature. They are small enough and light enough that when you are carrying that big, full power pistol, you can carry a mouse gun in your pocket as a backup. Remember what the all wise Clint Smith said... "2 is 1 and 1 is none."

One last point... I mentioned a couple of times in this article about carrying in a pocket. If not done properly, that can be dangerous. There are two things you should ALWAYS remember when carrying in a pocket. First, do not put anything else in that pocket. That pocket is for the gun and the gun alone. All you need is to draw the gun after a pen or a pocket knife slipped through the trigger guard and you end up shooting yourself in the leg (or worse). Second, do not carry without a holster. There are tons of options for pocket holsters out there. A pocket holster will insure that the gun is in the same position you left it in when you have to draw it in a hurry. It also covers the trigger which helps prevent anything touching the trigger that shouldn't.

So remember, friends don't let friends carry mouse guns when they can carry something better. Also remember that when the proverbial fecal matter hits the oselating air displacement device, any gun is better than no gun. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Don't modify your carry guns

Before I begin... I am not a law enforcement officer or an attorney. All of the below advice is from my own personal knowledge and I guarentee none of it for accuracy. This advice is free and worth exactly what you are paying for it. Before you make the choice to go armed, you should seek legal counsel and professional training. Don't base anything on what I write other than that it is "food for thought".

This topic was inspired by a thread on one of the forums I frequent. The person starting the thread stated he had purchased a new S&W 642. This is a J-Frame, snubby .38 Special. The normal production model of this gun comes with an internal lock. This is not a safety. It is a key controlled lock to allow you to make the gun a paper weight when storing it, in order to make it more "child proof". There was a limited run of 642's last year that did not have the lock, and in fact I bought one and it is what I carry most days. The original poster of this thread bought the gun with the lock because he could not find one without the lock. The next day, he found one. He was mostly posting just to vent.

However, several people starting posting ways to disable the internal lock. The main reason you would do this is that there have been quite a few cases where someone fired a gun with an internal lock and the recoil turned the lock just enough to activate it. That means if you were defending your life at the moment, you better pray that first shot hit the mark because you won't be making another one. What I tried to explain in that thread and what I will pontificate about here is why that is such a horrible idea.

There are three phases to defending yourself and your loved ones. Rob Pincus from Valhalla Training Facility calls it the 3 fights. The first fight is the choices we all make in every day life. The choice of whether or not to carry a gun. The choice of what side of town we visit. The choice of how aware we are of our surroundings. We are in the first fight every day whether we realize it or not. The second fight is the one that most people think about. This is the actually act of defending yourself against an attacker. It is the one we were preparing for during the first fight. The third fight is the one everyone forgets. It begins the moment the last shot is fired and the bad guy falls. It's the fight to make sure that you are seen as the good guy and the fight to keep you out of jail. We can call it the aftermath.

The first thing to remember is that the first person to call 911 is seen as the victim. Since the other person is the perpetrator, if you don't call 911 immediately, guess which role you get to play. You MUST call 911 as soon as the fight is over and you are sure that the danger has passed. You should identify yourself, make sure they know you were attacked and you defended yourself. Don't get to chatty at this point. Adrenaline is still flowing. You can give all the details 24 hours later after consulting an attorney. Just make sure they understand you were the good guy, you shot the bad guy and you need the cavalry to come.

Now, hopefully you escaped the fight unharmed. In most areas of the country, there is a decent shot the DA will choose to prosecute you for the shooting. You do not want to give them ANY extra ammo to use against you. That is why you don't use reloaded ammo for your carry ammo and you don't modify your carry gun.

Now, let me back up and clarify here. I'm not saying you can't get a nice custom 1911 and carry it. When I talk about modifications, I'm talking about modifying anything safety related. For instance, if you want a gunsmith to smooth out the trigger on your 1911, go for it. However, I would not have him lighten it and I definitely would not have him disable the grip safety. Either of those things can be protrayed to the jury (which is probably not gun people) that you intentionally made your gun unsafe. Forget the fact that it didn't fire until you were ready. They will paint it in a way to make you look like the bad guy. If you want a super tricked out gun with a 2 pound trigger, get one. Just don't carry it. Use it at the range. Use it in an IDPA match, but it shouldn't be your carry gun.

The same is true of the internal locks. Do you really want to hear a DA tell that jury how you disabled a factory installed safety on your gun? Why risk it? There are tons of guns out there without an internal safety lock. Buy one of those. I could understand if there was some new gun out that had a major advantage no other gun had, and it had an internal lock... MAYBE. That just isn't the case. There are plenty of guns out there to choose from that will do a great job of protecting you that don't have in internal lock. As an example, the 642 with a lock that was bought by the original poster in that thread that started this rant will not do any better of a job defending him in a fight than the 642 with no lock that I carry daily. In fact, since there is a small chance of the lock failing, you could argue his will do a worse job. Why in the world would anyone choose to buy the one with the lock? I can hear your argument now... it's to make it child proof. That is what your gun safe is for!

Ok, I'm done ranting. I apologize that my posts this week were a bit heavy handed. I just feel this is a real serious issue that people don't spend nearly enough time thinking about. Do what you have to do to protect yourself and your family, but you won't do your family any good serving time for a righteous, self defense shooting. Think about the gear... think about the fight... but think about the aftermath too. It is just as important as the other stuff. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

First, some politics

Before I get to my main topic for this week, I want to bring a few items to your attention. Currently, there are two pro-gun bills going through the NC Legislature. When I started this blog, I intended for it to be mostly about gear. That is the fun stuff. However, the politics to protect our rights is very important too. Indulge me while I speak about those topics first.

House Bill 257 is the "No Seizure of Lawful Firearms in Emergency Act". Basically this bill clarifies the state law and specifically says that law enforcement cannot seize your guns in a state of emergency. This is of course in reaction to what the thugs that call themselves cops in New Orleans did during Katrina.

http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2009%20%20&BillID=h257

Senate Bill 235 / House Bill 270 is the "Personal Protection in Restaurants Act". This would remove the restriction from holders of concealed handgun licenses from being able to carry in restaurants that serve alcohol. Of course, you still could not drink while carrying (nor should you be able to), but at least you could protect yourself while having dinner in a Chili's or Applebee's or similar.

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2009&BillID=s235&submitButton=Go

Lastly, there is a online petition going around trying to get the legislature to strengthen our Castle Doctrine. NC does have a weak Castle Doctrine now that gives us the right to defend ourselves in our homes. However, it does not guarantee we will not be prosecuted and it does not protect us from civil litigation from the family of the person who broke into our home. This needs to be fixed so that good people, defending their home and family don't have to go bankrupt from legal fees because the mother of some crack head sues you for shooting her poor, misguided son who was just turning his life around when he broke into your home and came at you with a machete. In case, you couldn't tell, I have strong feelings about this one.

http://www.petitiononline.com/law4nc/petition-sign.html

Please sign the petition, and if you live in NC, contact your State Representative and State Senator to ask them to support strengthening the Castle Doctrine and to support the other pro-gun legislation I linked. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Have you heard the one about the $1,000,000 FOID insurance?

A good friend of mine brought this to my attention and I thought it was worthy of posting here. The below is copied from the Illinois State Rifle Association's website.

**

Have you heard the one about the $1,000,000 FOID insurance?
No. It's not a joke. It's Illinois House Bill 687

ISRA tracks state legislation and has lobbyists on the ground in Springfield.

One bill that is getting a lot of attention is HB 687, which would be a $1,000,000 insurance policy required of FOID card holders. Outrageous? You bet. One can only wonder at the motivations for introducing legislation like that.

**

Here's the link for more information...

http://www.isra.org/

Thursday, February 19, 2009

My first shot

This week, you get 2 for the price of 1. The story below, I have posted before on some of the gun forums I frequent, but I wanted to put it here as well. It is the story of how this all began. It is how I found my love for shooting and started a life-long hobby that I dearly love.

**

It was the spring of 1985 and I was 13 years old. My parents had been divorced for just 2 years. My mom and I had moved back home to SC, but my dad was still living in FL. He came up to visit and took me to his sister's house. She lived WAY out in the country with her husband who was a severe gun nut. They were trying to have "adult conversation" but I kept trying to participate. They decided to distract me.

My uncle goes into his office and comes out with an old, single shot bolt action rifle. He tells me to grab 2 empty cans out of the trash and fill one with water and meet him outside on the deck. When I went out there, he was setting the rifle and a brick of .22's on the table and told me to carry both cans out to the tree line and set them down. When I came back, he carefully showed me how to operate the rifle. It was an old Winchester 67 with a scope on it. He went over how to load it and unload it... how to line up the cross hairs in the scope and how to use the safety. Then he instructed me to shoot each of the two cans once.

I fired two shots and miraculously hit both cans on the first try each. He then set the rifle down and sent me to fetch the cans. I ran out and got them and brought them back and handed them to him. He took one can and showed me the small entry hole and the small exit hole in the back. He said "That is what a .22 will do to an empty can." He then showed me the other can that had a small hole in the front and a large rip in the back that went from top to bottom. He said "And that is what a .22 will do to a human. Don't ever forget that, boy."

He then told me to grab all the cans I wanted and to shoot until I ran out of ammo or lost light. I had never had so much fun in my life. They sat in the kitchen and kept an eye on me through the window and I shot all day long. It was an afternoon that would change my life forever. A few days later my dad headed back home to FL and I thought about that rifle every day.

That summer, my dad came for another visit and we headed out to his sister's house again. My uncle handed me the same rifle, a brick of ammo and said to be careful. They had to run into town and they'd be back soon. I don't know how much time went by because I was just having so much fun shooting, but a while later I hear my uncle holler from the side of the house to hold my fire. I unloaded the rifle and set it down beside me.

He came around the corner looking a little angry and yelled "Give me back my rifle! You can't shoot it anymore!" I wasn't sure what I had done wrong, but I handed over the rifle as instructed. Just then, my dad walked around the corner holding what looked like the rifle's twin minus the scope and said "Shoot your own." I damn near fell over. My mother was mad as hell of course, and my pride and joy had to live at my uncle's house for the next 5 years. She finally let me bring it home when my aunt and uncle moved to FL.

I still have that rifle to this day and I will never sell it. Financially, it's near worthless. I've seen the same guns in pawn shops for under $100, but to me it is priceless. I have another .22 rifle now as well as plenty of other guns, but that one still gets its fair share of trips to the range.

**

I hope each of you can find a young person that you can bring into our sport. We are only here for a little while and we don't want our love of shooting to die with us. Pass it along to the next generation so that when we are gone, they can stand in our place and defend the second amendment from those that would rob us of our greatest freedom.

An organization has been started called "First shots" by the NSSF to help bring people into our sport. If you know someone who wants to learn, take the time to teach them or refer them to this group. These are dark days for lovers of freedom and we need all the allies we can get.

http://www.firstshots.org/

Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Be safe. Buy a safe.

Anyone that watches the news, reads news websites, listens to the radio or generally doesn't have their head in the sand knows that the economy is in the toilet and it isn't getting any better. As more and more people lose their jobs, have their hours cut or their pay rate cut, people are getting desperate to make ends meet. Some of those people will turn to crime. History shows that as the economy declines, crime rates rise. It is sad, but it's true.

There are 3 things that are at the top of the list for criminals... cash, guns and jewelry. It is more important than ever to carry a gun daily to protect yourself (see my last post) but to also protect your valuables in your home.

There are many layers to home protection. Think of it like layers of an onion.

1. Live in a low crime area.
2. A fence with a locked gate to keep people out of your yard.
3. A dog that will bark when someone approaches the house. Early warning can save your life.
4. Good, strong locks on your doors... and USE them.
5. A monitored alarm system... and USE it.
6. A quality gun safe for your guns that aren't loaded at the ready next to your bedside or on your person.

Since this is a gun blog, I'll be focusing on the gun safe. Like a gun, any safe is better than no safe but this is really not something you should be cheap on. Fire protection is nice, but security should be your first concern. Cheap safes from big box stores like Gander Mtn, Dick's Sporting Goods, Sam's Club, etc... are usually Chinese made and easily defeated. Just go to youtube and do a search. You'll see these types of safes easily defeated in minutes with hand tools. They will probably keep your guns out of the hands of your kids, but won't stop any determined theif.

Now, for the size of the safe... no matter how small or large your gun collection gets, you will need more room than you think. First of all, in most cases you can't really fit as many long guns as the safe maker claims. Secondly, your collection will grow over time. Lastly, once you get the safe in your home, you will think of other things you want to store in there like important paperwork, jewelry, family heirlooms, etc... Get as large of a safe as you can afford that doesn't compromise quality.

I will add a section on the right with links to some reputable gun safe makers shortly. If you don't have a safe, get one. Don't face living with the guilt of knowing you put the gun in a bad guy's hands that was used to kill someone because you were to cheap to secure your belongings. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Friday, February 13, 2009

EDC - Don't Leave Home Without It

Ok, I just couldn't let the new blog sit here without any actual articles on it. So, for my first article, I'll discuss EDC. For those that don't know, EDC stands for Every Day Carry. In other words, when you are getting dressed in the morning and heading out the door, the stuff you grab and stick in your pocket (or purse for the female readers). Now, I will assume for the sake of this article that you all carry a wallet, keys, mobile phone and maybe a watch. I'll also assume you know why you carry these things and I don't need to waste bandwidth telling you. What I want to talk about is the other stuff.

Many of us get caught up in a routine. It is easy to do. You get up at the same time every morning. You get dressed in the same style clothes (hopefully not the same clothes or you will have some serious B.O. issues). You get in the same car and drive the same boring commute to the same job. What could go wrong? Well, most of the time... nothing. And for those days, your wallet, keys and cell phone are more than what you need to survive the big bad world. The problem is that sometimes, things do go wrong and since we can't tell the future we have to be prepared for those things every day. If we knew ahead of time that next Thursday we would be run off the road and attacked by a mad man with a tire iron suffering road rage, we wouldn't need to be prepared. We'd just call in sick and not be there. Since we don't have a crystal ball, what can we do to be prepared?

Here are the things I try never to leave home without...

1. A pen. What?! What the hell is a pen going to do for you in an emergency? Well, not all things we run into are emergencies, but it is still nice to be prepared. Say your car runs out of gas and you need to leave a note for the highway patrol before you walk to the nearest gas station. Say it's something as simple as you are paying for a soda with your debit card and the cashier lost his pen. It can be anything minor or major but they always come in handy. Personally, I love the Fisher Space Pen just because it is small, writes well and can write upside down.

2. A flashlight. Now, I'm not suggesting that everyone walk around with a 4 D Cell Mag-Lite strapped to their hip. However, a small flashlight that fits in your pocket can come in handy. Just think... half the hours in a day are spent in darkness. Ever had to look under your seat for something you dropped? Ever had to read a map in the passenger seat while someone else drove? I never realized how useful they were until I started carrying one. Then, I realized I used it at least once per week. You can get some very small ones. I carry a Streamlight Microstream. It runs off a single AAA battery and is barely bigger than my Space Pen. Also, it costs less than $20.

3. A good knife. Now, check your local laws before you choose a carry knife. Some states, counties or cities have stricter laws than others and the type and size knife you can carry may vary. However, almost everywhere will allow some type of knife carry (in the U.S. anyway) and they come in handy for all sorts of things. I have quite a few I rotate between. I have a small Spyderco Ladybug 3 that I keep on my keychain so I always have some type of knife even if I forget my bigger one. For a larger knife, I alternate between a Kershaw Blur, Benchmade Griptilian and a Spyderco Rookie. Just be sure to get a good, quality folder that you can operate one handed. Then, put it in your weak hand pocket (front or back is your choice). This way, if you find yourself in a defensive situation and your strong hand (which was probably holding your gun) gets injured or disabled, you can grab the knife with your weak hand and hopefully create enough seperation to escape.

4. A reliable gun that you have practiced with and you know you can shoot well. This is the Watch Your Six blog after all. You didn't think I was going to go through all this and not mention a gun did you? Again, like the knife, know your local laws. In NC you can carry a handgun concealed if you have a concealed handgun license, but there are certain buildings and events that still prohibit it. Know where you can go and where you can't. That being said, carry as much as you legally can. Not only is it a good idea that could save your life, but it is a right and if you don't exercise your rights, you will lose them. I have a Ruger LCP (.380 ACP pocket pistol) that I carry when I can't carry anything else. Most of the time, I carry a S&W 642 which is a snub-nosed .38 Special +P revolver. I do plan down the road to buy something a bit larger for when I am dressed in a way that I can conceal larger guns. I'm leaning toward either a Glock 26 or a Kahr P9.

5. Cash. I keep at least $20 in cash on me at all times. More is better. You just never know when an unforseen event will happen and you don't want to get stuck in a situation where you can't use your debit card or credit card and you have no cash. I keep this "emergency money" folded up and hidden, not with my normal cash so that it won't get spent.

6. A credit card with at least a few hundred dollars of available credit. Why? Because that hidden $20 might not always be enough to bail you out of what ever mess you found yourself in.

I have yet to come up with an emergency situation that one of these six items, combined with a mobile phone couldn't bail me out of. If you can't carry a gun where you live carry pepper foam, but don't be a vicitim. I don't claim that my knife and my gun are the best choice for everyone. Guns and knives are like golf putters. They are a very individual choice. Find what works for you and get some training with it.

Just remember that 90% of the people you meet are sheep, 5% are wolves and the rest of us are sheep dogs. When the wolves come calling, do you want to be a sheep or a sheep dog? Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Links

I went through my bookmarks and added all the links I think my readers would find useful. I hope it helps. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

My first post

Welcome to the Watch Your Six blog. I have been wanting to do a gun website for some time now, but other projects kept getting in the way. I have finally decided that even though doing a blog is not as robust as I would have liked, it will at least actually get done.

Let me first introduce myself. My real name is Sean, but I go by frogger on most of the gun forums around the 'net. I'm 36 years old, married and live in NC. I have been shooting since I was 13 and have been shooting competitively off and on for the last 9 years. I've mostly competed in IDPA, but I have shot PPC matches as well. I've attended High Power Rifle matches and Cowboy Action matches to see if I'd like to try those, but just haven't had the funds to buy the right gear for them yet.

I will do my best to post at least once per week and try to come up with a new, gun related topic for each post. My interest in guns is mostly for self defense so most of the posts will probably involve self defense style guns.

I get a lot of my information on guns from multiple sources...
- Gun podcasts like Gun Talk, Down Range Radio, Handgun Podcast, Pro Arms, and the Gun Dudes.
- Gun forums like 1911forum, AR15, CarolinaShootersForum, GlockTalk, M4Carbine, RugerForum, S&WForum, SigForum and XDTalk.
- Gun magazines like American Rifleman and Guns & Ammo.
- Shooting TV shows like Best Defense, Shooting Gallery and Personal Defense TV.

I'll try to post links as soon as I get a chance for some of these. Anyway, I hope you will check back occasionally and see my latest articles. I'll try to have something a little more informative for next time. Thanks for stopping by. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.