Reading in the latest tactical mag rag about a new knife reminded me of a gathering of shooters in a restaurant after a match. There were some 10-12 of us and a female in the group asked: “Does anybody have a knife?” some 11 arms raised and 11 clicks were heard as folding knives from Kershaw to Cold Steel were presented to the solicitor.

The restaurant got vewy vewy quiet. Next words heard were from the lady: “You a-holes.” After that, we started to comment on what we carry besides our guns and people started to unload on top of the table: knives, multitools, lights, digital cameras, cellphones, cellphones with cameras, pens, pads, PDAs, spare ammo, etc. Nobody carry less than 2 knives besides the one in the multitool. Most carried one light and some two. And I think all of us had some sort of back ailment. No kidding! In the meantime the restaurant remained vewy vewy quiet.

No wonder my wife says we shooters are a weird bunch.

I finished Jim Cirillo’s Tales of the Stakeout Squad last night. I was expecting a book full of tales of heroism and deeds of super humans. What I got was a deep class on the reality of a gun fight. Don’t misunderstand me, you do get great stories and a glimpse in the head and spirit of a great man (He is another character I will miss never meeting like the late Col. Cooper) but I was not expecting the eye opening information Jim Cirillo’s stories would provide. His work with the Stake Out Squad is just amazing: The selection of the personnel, the weapons they chose, the selection of the locales, shot placement, ammunition and the care for innocent bystanders is just amazing.  Of course kudos have to go to Paul Kirchner who interviewed and collected hours of Cirillo’s bon mots and accounts.

So get the book, read it, read it again and then read it once more. The experiences of a gunfighter  and certified good guy can only serve us well and we will honor him by learning from him. There is a quote in the book from Cirillo that says: ” In teaching a student how to shoot, that’s where I shine.” He still does through this book and I could not think of a better memorial to his life.

One is Mike Meyers and the other is Elena Kagan who’s supposedly considered for the Supreme Court by President Obama. SNL writers must be licking their collective chops.

According to the caption on this video, the shooter is handling (badly) a Glock 18 full auto. Full Automatic firearms are cool, but like Linda Blair, they can be possessed by the evils of recoil and bite you.

Anybody somewhat involved with shooting sports must be ready for a possible gunshot wound. I know that Shooting Sports are very very safe but there is nothing 100% safe. The last entry is Austere Provisions Company IC3 Kit (Individual Combat Casualty Care Kit) which comes with a bunch of stuff:

1-Cinchtight H Bandage
1-TK4 Tourniquet
1-Primed Gauze
1-Combat medic reinforcement tape
1-30fr Nasal Airway
1-Packet waterbased lubricant
1-14gax3.25″ decompression needle
1-alcohol wipe
1-Iodine wipe
1-1.5″ blue Cyalume light stick
2-Large safety pins
2-medium nitrile gloves
2-large nitrile gloves

The Austere Provisions Company IC3 Kit (Individual Combat Casualty Care Kit) is designed as a well rounded load out for addressing the major causes of preventable death on the battlefield:  Major bleeding, Occluded airway, and Tension pneumothorax.

I hope I never have to use it and I do need some training for a couple of items in the kit, specially since I hate needles and I have no idea how to detect a tension pneumothorax.

I lived a bit over three years in Nashville. More than living, it was home because of the people who were kind to a darn foreigner who barely spoke enough English to order a burger and ask for the restroom. It was in Nashville where I learned a new language, discovered that Halloween was my favorite bought my first gun (A Beretta .25 tilt-up barrel at the now defunct The Arms Room),  got drunk on white lightning, met Waylon, Jessie, Willy and half Kansas (the band, not the state), savored the best pancakes in the world at The Pancake Pantry and met the woman that has been my wife for almost a quarter of a century.

Nashville taught me to be independent, ornery, and to take things with humor. I still remember a hellish ice storm that kept us indoor for 4 days… or should have. There were some dear rednecks that did go out driving in the streets cum ice rinks with the predictable results and all caught on video. Nothing like seeing an old battered pick up truck going downhill totally out of control and you could hear the driver screaming the rebel yell a top of his lungs till he crashed into another vehicle that already crashed into another. The driver got out and said “Well now that was fun!” and the driver of the target car, standing on the sidewalk agreed with him!

So, even though my dear old city is today recovering from what is called a Thousand Year Flood, I could not help and smile when I saw this picture:

I see they are still headstrong an laughing up there.

PS: I am so craving for Silver Dollar pancakes right now.