Gun Free Zone

Here in South Florida we have the chance of shooting IDPA at least three times a month with Florida Keys Shooting Club in Key Largo (cutest little range you’ll ever seen and they hate me when I say that) and with Tropical Sport Shooting Association which is the club I belong. I am tasked with the score keeping duties for the club and that gives me an unique perspective on how the shooters are doing.

We have shooters of all levels. From the ones that just picked up a gun for the first time to some really amazing practitioners that will leave you scratching your head in amazement.  Even though the local ranges run the physical gamut from crappy to downright useless for action shooting, Roger the mentally twisted Course Of Fire Designer manages to come up with challenging set ups that will include shooting from every conceivable position and none of them comfortable. About the only time we shoot behind a Bianchi Barricade is while we shoot the Classifier, other than that we get to shoot from non-standard cover that include leaning walls, sidewalks, vehicles, etc. plus lots of shooting on the move.

What I have been noticing while scoring is the low amount of points down our shootings are getting. For those not in the sport, IDPA is scored not only on the basis of speed but also accuracy. Making cute little holes in the wrong areas penalizes you by adding seconds to your total time. Also shooting the wrong target or a designated No-Shoot will increase the penalties.  I am pleased to see that our shooters of all levels are doing a great job keeping the rounds on the appropriate areas of the target while moving, kneeling, walking and laying prone.

I wanted to make a point because I had Tivoe’d a new series with a famous Hollywood action actor that is also a deputy sheriff in the South. One of the episodes has him training a fellow deputy for his upcoming firearm qualification. The deputy qualifies on a static range by the skin of his teeth and the target looked like it was used to catch shotgun pellets shot by somebody with a caffeine overdose 40 yards away.  Unfortunately most police officers do not shoot their firearm but in two events: the day of their quals or the unfortunate day they are forced to use it in the line of fire.  The former is not practice enough and the latter is too late to do something about it.

If you are in Law Enforcement, you know that your sidearm is a life-saving device. You have the personal responsibility to be trained and “practiced” to a level that will give you a fighting chance in case you need to use it and also in the safest most accurate way so bystander lives are not threatened by your actions. It is imperative that you do good practice with it and as much as possible. About 10 years ago when I got somewhat serious about firearms and started with IDPA, there was an institutional mindset among LEOs that they did not need to practice or to engage in silly competitive games because, By God! they are trained Cops with Guns and will out-shoot any darn civilian out there. More than one LEO who dared to come shoot a match, left the range humbled and furious when they could not even begin to compare themselves with the lowest scoring of the darn civilians. Many never returned and the lesson was lost on them and us. Fortunately the mindset changed and we see more LEOs coming to shoot and improving greatly on their craft. Many have brought others to practice and as eye opening moment to make them see that quals every six months or every year are not the solution.  They also learned that those civilians with guns are not “the enemy” and “Right Wing Fanatics” or “Domestic Terrorists” that White Shirts or politicians kept mentioning but just regular folks that competed with guns and are Law Abiding and respectful of the Constitution not that different than themselves.

So, if you are a LEO take a chance and join any shooting discipline you think you may like. There is actually no downside to it. Trigger time is always well spent even if it is just shooting the bull with like-minded people.

So Lary Correia gets wind that there is somebody out there with a video game based on his book Monster Hunter International and is charging for it which makes it more than just plain fan appreciation. Larry I am guessing gets a tad upset and posts on his blog and Facebook about it. Next thing we know, MHI fans have already identified the culprit, got email and home addresses, phone numbers, DNA sample, bring down the website, call PayPal to have the account shut down and offer the miscreant all kinds of pain and suffering starting with rabid porcupines inserted in certain body orifice to a convoy of MHI followers with intentions of using his residence as target practice. Suffice to say the misguided miscreant cried Uncle at the top of his lungs and removed his game from sale. Larry being the gentleman he is, spoke to the perp and it seems that all is now under control.

Before anybody else goes wild no, we were not going to use the greedy imagination-less imbecile as Zombie target but then again, I am sure he was not sure. Cooler heads did recommend the use of a much scary weapon: Lawyers but that was not necessary either. I guess that is what happens when you have a book that crosses over to both the Fantasy Fans and the Firearm Enthusiasts: you are bound to have a geeky idiot face the wrath of people that have the means and character to do something somewhat “impolite” even though we are a Polite Society.

I just know Larry will gloat big time at the next ComicCon or any gathering of writers & fans. How many authors can say that his or her fans will take up arms against copyright violations? I am sure he will rub it just a little. Fans of other authors may show up dressed up as their favorite character but Larry’s won’t dress up as shooters, we are Shooters and we look normal… and that has to be scary for some people out there.

Civilian Self-Defense Code of Conduct: To keep my equipment in good condition.

It is amazing how far and how reliable the shooting tools have become.  Guns can take an amazing amount of abuse, left without cleaning after thousands of rounds and still perform reliably. About a year I was at a range with a couple of fellow shooters and one of them, a fanatical IDPA shooter,  was using a Glock that sounded like somebody was applying a grinder to a piece of rebar. The movement of the slide was less than gracious too so I suspected that such gun was lacking a tad of lubrication. I asked the shooter when was the last time he cleaned his gun and he could not give me an answer other than in the last three months.  The weapon as disassembled and to say that it was dry as a bone and dirty as my thoughts would be generous. After a quick cleaning and lubrication (I keep an Otis kit in my range bag that rarely sees action) the gun once again sounded and behaved like it was supposed to. The shooter confirmed that the gun was performing better, but had never thought about it because you know, Glocks are so reliable. And indeed, Glocks, XDs, M&Ps, FN-Ps and the whole gamut of guns that have come out in the last 30 years are perhaps one of the most relaible we will ever see, but that does not mean they are perfect or maintenance free. They are man-made machines that will fail eventually and even more so if the proper care is not exercised. So keep your gun clean and lubricated.

Also, your ancillary equipment must be in good condition. Holster, mag pouches, belts, speed loaders, etc need to be in working order and you must make sure they are. Never assume that because they do not have the same complexity of parts as a gun they will not fail. A simple turn of a screw (or lack of it) may mean the difference between a life-saving moment or an Oh Crap! situation. This also include your range bag and the items in it. Is your eye and ear protection in good working condition? If something is to malfunction, Do you have spares? Cleaning kits? Spare ammo? A first aid kit? Anything that will keep you practicing is necessary because it is practice what keeps you efficient as a shooter. I know this sounds like a shooter’s silly version of For Want of a Nail but it takes just something that stupid to turn a possible situation from just scary and survivable to a visit to the local morgue by your loved ones in order to identify your remains.

Now this is fun. Here are several of the key searches that landed people in this blog.

Number one with a bullet for a single item is robin of berkeley. It comes from the entry Why do liberals bleed? and I am still trying to figure out who is behind this Nom de Guerre.

With the terrorist attack in Ft. Hood, Gun Free Zone and its variants make for the biggest bulk of the entries.  And yes, I am still trying to figure out why something being so obvious can be so elusive to some alleged “smart” people and I am not alone when the query is why did an army base have a gun free zone?.

I am glad to see several queries on securing weapon cars and securing handgun in small car. I like personal responsibility and this gives me a lot of warm fuzzy. Same for locked box for weapons for air travel and center of mass make the secure it handgun safe.

The wasr 7.62 left handed thread pattern and variants seems to appear at least a couple of times a month. I am guessing there is more than one WASR owner cussing Century Arms up and down the coast. Welcome to the club!

This one is worrisome: make your house a gun free zone. Why?

Good news. No kinky stuff or weird Canadian pharmacy sales.

A Miami Police Officer trainee was injured by an instructor today. The Trainee took a shotgun load to his shoulder and I do hope he makes a full recovery. But the last part of this article is a tad worrisome.

Police have not said whether a live round hit the trainee or whether it was shrapnel that injured him, but live rounds are not usually used during training sessions.

Shrapnel? What the hell were they using? Grenades? And how can you train with a firearm without live ammunition? Do Miami PD train its officers by using an unloaded weapon and go “bang-bang-bang”?

I know the price of ammunition has gone sky high, but please people!

And just to be certain and in case that anybody does not know or forgot:

Jeff Cooper’s Rules of Gun Safety

RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED

RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY

RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET

RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET AND WHAT’S BEHIND IT

Hundreds if not thousands of AlQaeda operatives sneaking through the US-Mexico border. They get relocated in differents towns and cities across the USA. They do not bother with weapons or high grade explosives, just a 5 gallon can of gas and some matches. The Jihadist proceed to initiate “Man-Made Disasters” (the Administration’s politically correct catchphrase for terrorist acts) in the form of arson all over the country and…. they let themselves be caught. They promptly admit that they are terrorists while providing plenty of evidence. Next they immediately demand to be interviewed by the FBI and once in federal custody they demand a lawyer and plea innocent. If travel to the US cannot be arranged, they will just do their jihadist thing in the sandbox but making sure they get arrested by our troops and demand the same constitutional protection as Khalid Sheik Mohammed or accuse the US Government of being racist and selective in its prosecution.

Imagine thousands of “Criminals” flooding the fedearl court system. Say goodbye to Federal Courts for the next 10 years. Thank you Mr. Attorney General Attorney General Eric Holder. And we thought Janet Reno was a dangerous moron.

MARINE CORPS ORDERS
No. 47 (Series 1921)
HEADQUARTERS U.S. MARINE CORPS
Washington, November 1, 1921

759. The following will be read to the command on the 10th of November, 1921, and hereafter on the
10th of November of every year. Should the order not be received by the 10th of November, 1921, it
will be read upon receipt.

(1) On November 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of Continental
Congress. Since that date many thousand men have borne the name “Marine”. In memory of them it is
fitting that we who are Marines should commemorate the birthday of our corps by calling to mind the
glories of its long and illustrious history.

(2) The record of our corps is one which will bear comparison with that of the most famous
military organizations in the world’s history. During 90 of the 146 years of its existence the
Marine Corps has been in action against the Nation’s foes. From the Battle of Trenton to the
Argonne, Marines have won foremost honors in war, and in the long eras of tranquility at home,
generation after generation of Marines have grown gray in war in both hemispheres and in every
corner of the seven seas, that our country and its citizens might enjoy peace and security.

(3) In every battle and skirmish since the birth of our corps, Marines have acquitted themselves
with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term “Marine” has come
to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue.

(4) This high name of distinction and soldierly repute we who are Marines today have received
from those who preceded us in the corps. With it we have also received from them the eternal spirit
which has animated our corps from generation to generation and has been the distinguishing mark of
the Marines in every age. So long as that spirit continues to flourish Marines will be found equal
to every emergency in the future as they have been in the past, and the men of our Nation will
regard us as worthy successors to the long line of illustrious men who have served as “Soldiers of
the Sea” since the founding of the Corps.

JOHN A. LEJEUNE,
Major General Commandant
75705—21

Happy Birthday U.S.M.C.