Tactical Talk

Gun safety isn't anything new. I recently saw a cartoon from a 1935 newspaper that addressed the issue. The three major NRA rules are: 1) Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction 2) Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot. 3) Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use And the zeroth order rule: All guns are always loaded until you personally check them. These rules were codified by Col. Jeff Cooper in the 1970's. When my wife and I used to teach, she taught the rules in reverse order. 3) Keep your gun unloaded until you need it. But if it's already loaded, 2) Always keep your finger off the trigger until it's time to shoot. But if your finger is on the trigger, what ultimately saves us is, 1) Always keep your gun pointed in a safe direction. The Zeroth order rule is the basis for a safe and functioning gun ...

AR Maintenance Class

I’ve been waiting for this class for some time. Dave Laubert of Defensive Creations ran a one-day armorer’s class on the AR15/M16 rifle. The class was hosted by Joe Weyer of Weyer Tactical. It was great! Did you know there is a difference between a commercial and military collapsible stock? I didn’t , but I do now. Dave showing students part of the AR lower. The ability to see the part and ask questions was invaluable . Dave is a very knowledge and well-respected gunsmith. Over an eight-hour day, Dave helped us tear down our lower, removing every pin, spring and detent. Yes, all thirteen of us brought our ARs and disassembled our guns. I have to admit that there was some hesitation on my part. I had this vision that I would end up with a single pin that nobody knew where it belonged. But I also had no doubt that Dave would help me to get my rifle reassembled. We field-stripp...

But Your Honor! Part 2

I'm not one to ignore the potential of other people's ideas. Terry Pitman's list of the five elements needed to survive the self-defense legal challenges is interesting. Imminent danger, agree? They are: 1) Innocent: not the initial aggressor, 2) Imminence: the threats must be happening now or immediately about to happen , 3) Proportionality: the force you use must not be greater than the force used against you, 4) Avoidance: do you live in a stand your ground state or a duty to retreat state, 5) Reasonable: your actions and decisions must be both subjectively and objectively reasonable. Number 1, Innocence, was covered in a previous posting. Let's talk about number 2, Imminence. I find it interesting that imminence and avoidance are linked. Avoidance is a great option and I'll have some ideas later. I...

But Your Honor! Part 4

Number 4) Avoidance: Do you live in a stand your ground state or a duty to retreat state? Not every retreat has to be as disastrous as Napoleon's from Moscow Let me suggest, that avoidance starts with some folksy wisdom. Don't go stupid places. Don't associate with stupid people, and don't play stupid games. Avoiding these situations will go a long way to preventing serious life changing events. Don't let ego involve you with things you don't need to be. Anytime you can avoid violence, you are ahead of the game. Your family will not see you as their champion if you shoot someone. Your co-worker will not rally around you. You yourself, assuming you’re a normal, moral person, will have issues. Tactically, the battle you don't have to fight is a battle won. Duty to retreat. Some states have that restriction. But most of us forget the conditional phrase that goes with it: if you ca...

The Cardboard Whisperer

Stay....Stay.....Easy boy!...

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