Armed self-defense has three main parts: gun-handling (the fine art of bringing your firearm to bear on a threat without shooting yourself or a friend or forgetting how the damn thing works), marksmanship (hitting your target) and strategy (mastering the who, what, when, where and how of the thing). Gun ranges are excellent for the first two-thirds of the skill set. Not so good for the strategy side. Dry firing at home, running around like a pre-teen imitating your favorite cop show cop, is a better bet. Still, needs must. If your gun range is at all accommodating, here’s a few shooting positions to add to your regular repertoire . . .
“Conventional Wisdom.” As unreliable as “Common Sense” is rare.
Did you ever stop to think about why you think what you think? Seriously. Let’s stop a minute and consider one of those “meta” questions, like “why do we believe what we believe.” I started down this path today, after reading an article about Justice Clarence Thomas, and how he works within the Supreme Court. The conclusions of the article are interesting. What I learned from the article, and how I arrived at my conclusions bear discussion.
War is Hell. So is cooking, apparently.
So clearing out a massive amount of email in the ol’ inbox, accumulated as I’ve been dealing with some family issues, I came across today’s Shirt Woot! from the fine folks at Woot!. Sadly, by the time I got to this one, “Kitchen Detail,” it was already sold out. But this looks to me to be the perfect design for either your spouse, or whoever handles the cooking in your house. For all you metrosexuals in the audience, I’ll bet you can identify the profiles of every one of the tools in silhouette. I got some of them, but it took my thirteen-year-old daughter to point out that the trigger assembly is courtesy of one of those gas-powered “matches” that you can use to start a grill. (Shoulda got that one. Ask me about my chili recipe.) I guess the design is kind of McGuyver meets the Iron Chef. Or something.
Because They Think We’re Total Morons, Too
From the Pissing on My Leg and Telling Me it’s Raining department comes this little blurb from almost heaven, West Virginia. “Two Marshall County deputies were shot during an “unfortunate accident” involving their weapons late Monday at the home of one of the deputies. Both received gunshot wounds to their hands and one also sustained a wound to his hip, according to Sheriff John Gruzinskas. The names of the deputies were not released at press time. Preliminary reports indicate that the deputies – two of the sheriff’s department’s armorers – were working on a department-owned firearm when it malfunctioned and discharged, according to Chief Deputy Kevin Cecil.” Armorers. Working on a loaded gun. And they were shot because the darned thing “malfunctioned.” Tell us another one, Deputy Dawg Cecil.
Ohio Paper Outs CCW-Holding Local Politicians
We’ve seen this before, haven’t we? A newspaper or wire service decides to stir the pot by publicly ID’ing concealed carry license holders. They can’t do much about the advance of gun rights, something anathema to the left-leaning editorial boards of ninety percent of the legacy media. So they go with the only weapon they have left. They figure, ‘let’s make it uncomfortable to exercise second amendment rights. We’ll ‘shame’ them by letting everyone know they’re crazy gun-nuts.’ And they do it all under the cloak of the public’s right to know…
Actual Gun Tats. The Next Big Thing?
I don’t get gun engraving. Sure, OK, why not? But then, why? Engraving a perfectly proportioned, well-made firearm (Bulldog, Bulldog, bow wow wow) would be like tattooing a world class beauty like Angelina Jolie. You know; before she wore a necklace dangling a vial of Billy Bob Thornton’s bood. Strike that, then. And hands-up. I recently bought a 1911 engraved with the three initials Sam and I use to remind each other that we’re stuck with each other throughout all eternity—and beyond! Tastefully done, of course. Anyway, if I was going to highlight a U.S. Supreme Court case on the snout of my revolver, it would be Miranda vs. Arizona. Just sayin’. Or, in that case, not.
ATF Death Watch 66: Obama Fires Acting ATF Director Melson
The Obama administration has fired acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (and Really Big Fires). OK, moved him laterally. “Melson shared the news in a conference call at 11:30 a.m. EDT with supervisors at the bureau’s field offices,” chicagotribune.com reports, “Telling them that he will be moving back to the Department of Justice to serve as a senior advisor with the Office of Legal Programs. His resignation will take effect at 5 p.m. EDT. And the new guy is . . .
Are Wilson Combat 1911s Worth $4000?
When TTAG announced the arrival of the new Wilson Combat X-TAC Compact, more than a few members of our Armed Intelligentsia wondered why in the world anyone would pay $2680 for a pistol. (And that, 1911 fans, is a non-customized “entry level” model.) Sid put it succinctly: “The price! My God! The price!” So I asked John May to justify the cost of his employer’s 1911s. Billy Boy’s marketing maven sent the following bullet points explaining “why Wilson Combat Pistols are more highly valued than other makers pistols”:
Gun Review: MAS-49/56 Fusil Semi-Automatique (Modèle 1949 – 1956)
AR guy? Money too tight to mention? Time to go retro. For around $300, you can pick up one of the best ugly-step-sister semi-auto mil-sups on the market: the French MAS 49/56. Here’s a shocker: the French combat rifle isn’t a second-best choice. I’d much rather go into combat with an MAS 49/56 than an M-1 Garand. I know, I know. The rifle that’s never been fired and only dropped once. But before all of you die-hard, corn-fed, flag waving, internet Garand disciples flame me to a crisp for speaking such heresy, hear me out . . .
Self Defense Tip: Make Sure It’s A Real Threat Before Shooting
Almost no one disputes your right to protect yourself, your loved ones or your property when you’re threatened. OK, there are some. But one of the key aspects of this right is that the defender has to have a reasonable fear of death or bodily harm before using deadly force. It’s also a good idea not to warn the police that you’re going to kill the next burglar you catch on your property…
Question of the Day: What’s in YOUR SHTF bag?
Everyone needs a good “holy crap [insert disaster here] is coming we need to be prepared” bag. I know everyone needs one because FEMA told me so. And in the days before Irene hit the East Coast I was glad that my bag had been packed and ready to save my ass since Freshman year at university. So here’s today’s question: Do you guys have a survival bag? If so, what’s in it? Specifically, what guns and ammo? If you don’t have a bag, either head over to SurvivalBlog.com to start getting some ideas or make the jump for FEMA’s list.
A Psychiatrist on The Anti-Gun Mentality (And What You Can Do About It)
© Sarah Thompson, M.D.
[email protected]
www.fearlesslife.com
“You don’t need to have a gun; the police will protect you.” “If people carry guns, there will be murders over parking spaces and neighborhood basketball games.” “I’m a pacifist. Enlightened, spiritually aware people shouldn’t own guns.” “I’d rather be raped than have some redneck militia type try to rescue me.” How often have you heard these statements from misguided advocates of victim disarmament, or even woefully uninformed relatives and neighbors? Why do people cling so tightly to these beliefs, in the face of incontrovertible evidence that they are wrong? Why do they get so furiously angry when gun owners point out that their arguments are factually and logically incorrect? How can you communicate with these people who seem to be out of touch with reality and rational thought?