I will not bore you mentioning the many instances where SWAT teams have been used for totally stupid cases, but I do want to say that there is a dangerous mindset going on that will result in one final raid-that-should-not-have-happened with dangerous consequences.

Several steps should be taken in order to avoid there silly-dangerous raids. Nothing much in order of money expenditure, but it will require a considerable usage of frigging common sense.

1. Whomever issues the bad warrant must be liable both criminally and monetarily. By shifting the liability from the County/City to the individual, we eliminate the sense of invincibility associated with the “Good Luck Suing City Hall” mentality.
2. Just because your have a SWAT team, does not mean you have to use it every day. I know police forces must justify their budgets with action, but lawsuits and bad press will cost more at the end. Sending SWAT to arrest somebody for a stupid transgression just to show the politicos you are doing something with the team is asinine. and that brings us to
3. SWAT leaders have the right and the responsibility to reject serving a warrant if they think it is an overkill. Overdue library books or having the music too loud do not require a dynamic entry, flashbangs and battering rams.
4. Use better Intelligence to allocate resources appropriately. We had a case in South Florida where a SWAT team executed a warrant on a house where allegedly a bad hombre, major drug dealer lived. The tip was given by an informant and very quick check showed that the person of interest had a Concealed Weapons Permit. The SWAT team was called, the raid was done, the alleged criminal heard the commotion, went for his sidearm and ended up dead. When air cleared and the followup investigation proceeded, it was found that the super-dangerous criminal was a kid in his 20’s who worked as a bartender, lived with his mom and had to take public transportation to work because he sold his car to help his Mother with the mortgage. The subject did have pot in the house, but what it amounted to a couple of joints. This was hardly the ruthless killer living in an armed compound that demanded the use of a SWAT team but nobody took the time to actually do a bit of research on the subject and finding out that he was just a regular Joe.

Suspicious minds make the point that the misuse of SWAT teams is just a reflection of our way into a Militarized Dictatorial society. I believe that mostly is a heavy case of Heinlein’s Razor: “You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity.” However I do anticipate one nasty conflagration where things will go utterly bad for everybody involved with a high casualty number and right after that, the politicians will descend on the remains to make political hay out of the situation.

When the darlings of your “Anti Gun Violence” movement are a coward:

Colin Goddard

and a Muslim Terrorist:

Adam Gadahn

Seriously Ladd, take a vacation.

Via the Weapon-Blog the reposting Ammoland Aaron Zelman’s letter to Ted Nugent creeps out again. Mr. Zelman ticks out a series of points which he said would have help/convinced him to join the NRA. They are the salient points and foundations of the Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, the group he founded.

So Basically Mr. Zelman wanted the NRA to become the JPFO. So why do we need a JPFO after all?

The NRA does not fight in the realm of Hollywood blockbusters where the All-Or-Nothing guy wins at the end. In real life that person loses much more than he ever dreams of winning. In this fight, we barely cannot to lose that big, it is hard enough when we lose little.

If anybody disagrees with what the NRA has achieved, please stand up and reject every single pro-gun law that it has achieved to pass. And then start from Zero. Yes, Big Fat Zero, have Congress take us back to 1968. Don’t be a frigging hypocrite and enjoy the goodies provided by the NRA while bad mouthing it. Put your guns away and don’t dare pulling them out until all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico-Guam-Virgin Islands-etc are under the banner of Constitutional Carry thanks to your efforts and not one single solitary contribution from the NRA and its members.

Otherwise shut the hell up and direct your “pissiness” against Brady, VPC, CSGV and the rest. Stop attacking your fellow Gun Owners.

Paul Helmke throws a major hissy fit and gets picked up by the Orlando Sentinel.

“Given that Florida has some of the highest violent crimes rates in the nation, some of the weakest gun laws, and a gun death rate higher than the national average, Gov. Rick Scott and the legislators cowered by the gun lobby should know better than to support any measure that makes Floridians more vulnerable to guns.”

Of course, things are not so well in Mr. Helmke’s neighborhood. Washington DC where Mr. Helmke lives and has strict gun control laws has a murder rate of 22 per 100,000 in 2010. (Data: District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department & Census Bureau). Florida has “some of the weakest gun laws” according to Mr. Helmke, yet it  had a murder rate of 5.3 per 100,000 in 2010. (Data Florida Department of Law Enforcement & Census Bureau) and the US Murder Rate for 2009: 5 per 100,000. (Data: FBI Uniform Crime Report). That means that Mr. Hemkle is somewhat right but only if you account for hyperbole: Florida’s crime rate is 0.3 percent higher than the Nation’s average but DC’s is actually 400%+ higher that the country or Florida.

Overall, violent crimes across the board in the Gunshine State have dropped according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

If their cause is so noble, why do they resort to lies? Why must they resort to hyperbole? Because their cause is not so noble after all.

“Give me one perfect shot.”
Irv, my first serious firearms instructor is fond of saying that. But the catch is that he demands that perfect shot cold bore, your ass not just adjusted that you are about to shoot and your mind still somewhere but in the range. But the beauty of that command is that you promptly realize it applies to the real world with uncanny realism: you may only have that one chance for one perfect shot that might save a life.

At IDPA matches I am usually behind a laptop setting up and doing scores. When everybody is finally registered and with at least one stage fired, I get to go shoot. There is a good chance I have not heard the Course of Fire description or seen the good shooters raze through the CoF I am about to shoot so basically I go cold bore both of gun and mind. Add to it that I will consider that every target has the capability of actually shooting back and that makes me treat cover very seriously which precludes any temptation I may have of gaming.

By the end of last year I was all over the damn place accuracy-wise and at the Florida State IDPA Championship where I truly sucked in points down, I decided to slow the hell down and go back to improve accuracy. I started the year with a terrible 56 points down in the first match to a low of 15 at my last match.

What have I done differently? First, I slowed the hell down. I have never been fast or agile so, why try to go as fast as the Master Shooters? I am the one to beat, not them. Second: Front Sight, Front Sight and Front Sight.  If that front sight is not covering what I want to shoot, the bullet is not going to change its flight path to please me. Third: Make sure the target is down. The CoF may require only two shots, but I will shoot whatever number of rounds are necessary to make sure it is down or slow even more. Although it might be considered spray-and-pray I find myself needing less shots as I apply less speed and more Front Sight and it shows on those Limited Vickers CoFs . But since I am not shooting for competition but for life practice, making sure that I place rounds where they are effective take precedent over shaving seconds in competition. Funny thing also happened when the accuracy improved: my time has gotten a smidgen better since I do not have to go back and reshoot a previously engaged target.

One last comment. Competition shooting will always beat static range as practice and as a gauge of your shooting accuracy. In these first five months I have shot on the move slow, on the move fast, shooting from the ground on my back, on my face and on my sides. I shot kneeling and sitting or transitioning to or from any combination of positions. Since most ranges will not allow shooters to do nothing more than static practice, I must recommend that you find yourself an action shooting club and join. It does not matter if it is IDPA, IPSC, Cowboy, Polite Society, etc. Get yourself involved in a discipline that challenges that imposed legal paralysis found at ranges. Also pay no heed to the crowd that bitches about action shooting is not real life practice and the only way is by taking classes: THERE IS NOTHING OUT THERE THAT CAN DUPLICATE A REAL LIFE SITUATION. Anybody telling you that Pistol Ninja Tactical Handgun Class 402 with Mr Joe Instructor DuJour  does that is 100% bullshitting you and he is either an idiot or trolling for customers. Do take classes with good instructors because you will learn to do things right, but the responsibility of practice is all yours and competition is the best way to practice…unless you have mongo moola to take Pistol Ninja Tactical Handgun Class 402 every weekend.

It began with this ABC News report on a video by California-born AlQaeda spoke-dunce Adam Gadahn telling fellow terrorists to:

“go down to a gun show at the local convention center and come away with a fully automatic assault rifle, without a background check, and most likely without having to show an identification card. So what are you waiting for?”

The Twitter Feeds from Gun Enthusiasts were ablaze with laughter and the same for Facebook and other social media hubs. Apparently Mr. Gadhan is unaware on how difficult and how controlled and complicated is the acquisition of a full auto firearm. It is not just like going to your local supermarket and by a loaf of bread.

But, of course, there is a group that has no qualms siding with idiocy and the enemies of our country if it serves their purposes.

And they had the cojones to accuse us of insurrection and treason?