No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.15/223 - Release Date: 1/6/2006 Oklahoma Bill Would Authorize CCW For School Administrators: The measure, by Rep. Glen Bud Smithson, would allow top school officials to carry firearms on school property if they have a gun permit and approval of the school board. http://www.alphecca.com/mt_alphecca_archives/001934.html --- Mexico Joins Canada In Blaming US: Article about the criminal use of US-purchased firearms by Mexican drug gangs includes an interesting fact: In all of Mexico there are fewer than 2,500 registered gun owners. (As to Mexico not manufacturing firearms, that's news to me. When I last visited Mexico, in 1986, they were manufacturing HK G3's under license, not to mention a limited number of hunting and sporting firearms.) http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-guns8jan08,1,2397618,full.story?coll=la-headlines-world --- From John Farnam: 1 Jan 06 On pistol choices, from an instructor: "An interesting aspect of current, retail pistol sales is that the people in our favorite gunshop tell me that sales of 1911s have dropped off since the ban lifted. "Not enough capacity" is the reason generally given. Actually that is a good trend, because for those with too little training, which is nearly everybody, certainly all grasseaters, the 1911 pistol is a poor choice. In the past two months, I have encountered two military guys, both good men, a Marine from Vietnam and an Army kid, just back from the Gulf. Both had 1911s and shot them well. However, neither had ever taken his weapon entirely apart. Neither knew how. Both were used to depending on armorers to do that for them. Men in the presence of the enemy surely have a lot to do, but a 1911 is no more difficult than that finicky, temperamental M-16/M-4, and it must be taken apart incessantly if it is going to work at all. Interesting dilemma!" Comment: Glad to see at least some of our military guys are gravitating back to the 1911. Eight solid hits from a 45ACP, regardless of the brand of ammunition, will stop most fights I can imagine. Incompetence is the real problem, and more rounds won't solve it! /John (I can fully disassemble and reassemble an older S&W revolver, albeit with a few swear words uttered in the reassembly process, but I don't consider that a criterion to carry one. My concerns with the 1911 platform are based on my perception that it's an obsolescent design that may not tolerate some of the modern enhancements.) 2 Jan 06 Fatal shooting overseas, from a friend currently deployed in the Mideast: "I had just stepped out of the latrine, when a local thug put a pistol in my back and ordered me to go into a small office building nearby. I had no idea whom the guy was. I was carrying an M9, concealed in an IWB, loaded with issue, 9mm hardball. The thug stated, in broken English, that he wanted access to some papers. I answered that the papers he wanted were in a desk in a corner of the room. We went over there, and, as he reached for the desktop, I saw an opportunity and drew my M9, immediately firing multiple rounds into the thug's upper torso. Range was only a few feet. The astonished thug stumbled backward and fell, but not before he fired at me, hitting me in the chest, at least once. The thug was DRT. I was not wearing body armor, but the thug's pistol was a mousegun, 22 caliber, and bullet that hit me struck several pens and assorted other paraphernalia in my pocket. I got a good bruise from it, but little penetration. The next day, I was back at work!" Lesson: Never give up! Never give in! Stay in control. Find a way to win. Be prepared! As long as you have weapons with you, there is no such thing as a "hopeless situation." Good show, my friend! /John (Yet there are those who opt to carry .22's for self-defense or to provide them to wives and girlfriends for that purpose.) 2 Jan 06 Mission of the Pistol, from my friend Dave Kahn: "There is nothing wrong with the dictum 'Get the biggest pistol you can, with the highest capacity, and carry the biggest caliber you can handle, at least as far as it goes. But, it doesn't go as far as it sometimes appears. There is more: While we all agree that pistols are for UNEXPECTED threats and are thus, at once, (1) defensive and (2) reactive, there are, in addition, the seldom-discussed, twin issues of MISSION and SETTING. While missions are similar, settings vary. The first is MILITARY. For Marines and soldiers, the pistol is an emergency tool, defaulted to only when shoulder arms fail or cannot be carried. Soldiers who carry pistols are seldom constrained by bulk and weight. Concealability is a non-issue, except when visible weapons are ostensibly prohibited. High capacity is handy, but, as you've pointed out, eight shots should solve most problems when carefully disposed. Rifles are the PRIMARY weapon. Pistols fill the role of emergency backup. The second is uniformed POLICE. Many conflate civil police and military usages, but that is shortsighted. Police officers are afforded a wider latitude of independent action than are soldiers. Police officers go, usually alone, looking for trouble, from which they are not privileged to retire. While they are allowed, indeed expected, to protect themselves, their job is to solve the problem at the lowest force level practicable. Usually, they must work alone and solely with what is on their belts. Pistols are their PRIMARY, lethal weapon. Rifles and shotguns are backup weapons and are not normally available in the short term. A large-capacity pistol makes sense, as concealment is, once again, a non-issue. Double-column pistols in 45ACP or 45GAP are well suited to the job, but high-capacity pistols in 40S&W, 357SIG, or even 9mm work just fine too. The last is ARMED CITIZENS, and, to some extent, detectives. Citizens are neither licensed nor tasked to enforce laws. In fact, they go 'looking for trouble' at their peril! For armed citizens, the best personal policy with regard to violence is (1) on attendance, (2) invisibility, (3) deselection, (4) disengagement, and (5) escape. Thus, a prudent armed citizen is vastly less likely than is a police officer to become involved in a gunfight, wherein the discharge of large numbers of rounds becomes necessary. Indeed, even when the pistol is brandished, firing is still a less likely outcome than it is for police and military personnel. Thus, reasonable effectiveness is still requisite, but ease of carriage and concealment, as well as a forgiving trigger and retainability, are big criteria for selection. Large capacity is less of a factor. I am straining at distinctions, because I think they're useful. A 'general tool' is good enough for any number of applications, doing all adequately, but none well. However, with a little specialization, one doesn't narrow the application unreasonably, while utility is greatly enhanced. An armed citizen, for example, doesn't necessarily need a police officer's tools. They may be useful, but they shouldn't be selected simply because they work well for cops. Ditto with military personnel. The 1911 pistol is a wonderful FIGHTING tool, when fighting is all that needs doing. But, in domestic defensive applications, where response is defined and often graduated, the risk of unintended discharge, implicit as ease of shooting increases, can be more of a liability than an asset, particularly for the unpracticed. As you've pointed out when you recommend Glock's NY connector and SIG's DAK Trigger, for domestic defense, one usually benefits more from a CONTROLLABLE trigger than from an EASY one. The foregoing may be an example of straining at gnats, but my clientele is exclusively citizen and non-police, many recovering grasseaters. My recommendations to them are colored by the thinking enumerated above. I recommend neither the 1911, nor the M9, nor the G21 to most. Slim, short, single-stack, self-decocking autoloaders top the list, as they are likely to be actually carried concealed, on a regular basis, rather than spending their lives in dresser drawers, in the box they came in, because they are too bulky, heavy, and difficult to control for the average user." Comment: Dave makes some good points. With all the choices we have, there is no reason to carry a defensive pistol that is an obvious mismatch with your body and your mission/setting. However, regardless of your selection, willful incompetence is still foolish and deadly. /John Jan 06 The Wisdom of James Butler ("Wild Bill') Hickok: Hickok is quoted as saying to a friend, Charlie Gross, in 1871: "Charlie, I hope you never have to shoot any man, but, when you do, shoot him in the guts, near the navel. You may not make a fatal shot, but he will get a shock that will paralyze his brain and arm so much that the fight will be all over." He added, "... be sure not to shoot too quick. Shoot carefully. I've known many a feller to slip up for shooting too fast!" Comment: Hickok died five years later. He never saw his fortieth birthday. When he died, shot in the back of the head during a poker game by a local miscreant, he was a dilapidated alcoholic. But, in his prime, Wild Bill had no equal. He understood fighting with guns at a higher level than most of his peers. Even Wyatt Earp conceded that. We're still learning from him today, as we see! /John (The intentional gut shot has been favored by many, including Fairbairn and Sykes and Bill Jordan. More recent American law-enforcement experience has not borne this out consistently, perhaps because some of the more spectacular failures have involved suspects under the influence of drugs. My own recommendation of placing the initial shot in the pelvis, so long as one is firing at least a +P .38, is based on the primary intent to hit bone, not shock the nervous system.) 4 Jan 06 Glock "Pittsburgh" Trigger: I was informed about a new, even heavier, NY Trigger for Glocks, called the "Pittsburgh Trigger." Here is the straight information, directly from my friends at Glock: "Pittsburgh now has the "NY2 (formerly NY+) trigger," originally developed for the NYPD. It's orange in color and is designed to operate in conjunction with a standard connector. Several PDs (in addition to Pittsburgh), mostly in the Northeast, use it. It is heavy!" Comment: I recommend for all Glocks used for serious purposes, the standard (gray) NY Trigger. It makes the trigger crisp and the reset distinct. I have one installed on all my personal Glocks and find my speed essentially unaffected. However, I do not recommend the heavier (orange) version, mentioned above. It makes the trigger needlessly heavy, and, although useable, it gratuitously slows response time. /John (The one Glock that I own is fitted with the original New York trigger, along with the "competition" 3.5-pound connector. I do not advise the use of the 3.5-pound connector with the standard trigger-return spring but have no qualms about using it in conjunction with the New York trigger substitute.) 4 Jan 06 Sage comments on "trigger control" from my friends at ASTA: "On the issue of trigger-cocking pistols, ASTA conducted an experiment not long ago. We constructed a darkened alley. At the end we put a group of actors, posing as of noisy, obnoxious, drunken miscreants. They were loud and verbally threatening at times but clumsy and disorganized, and none produced a weapon. All kept their distance. Each practitioner tried to make his way past the reprobates to the end of the alley, and an exit. During the exercise, most practitioners found it necessary to draw a snubby revolver (loaded with Simmunitions cartridges) and engage perceived threats with verbal challenges. The revolver, issued to each practitioner, had a long trigger pull of fourteen pounds. The inexperienced had their fingers on the trigger immediately and kept it there through the entire confrontation. The sage, of course, kept their fingers in register. Our cadre of actors was instructed to conduct themselves in a way that made it unnecessary for practitioners to actually fire at them, and, in fact, no practitioner ever fired intentionally. Leaning against a wall was a semi-conscious drunk, wrapped in a tarp, complete with a bottle in his hand. He periodically mumbled to himself but presented no verbal threat and did not make eye contact with practitioners. Our resident 'bum' was scarcely noticed by most practitioners, as they were far more interested in what they perceived as active threats. When each practitioner passed the 'bum,' without a word, he reached out and grabbed them by the ankle! During the 'grabbing' phase, most practitioners already had the pistol in their hands. Our survey quickly noted that nearly all practitioners who had fingers inside the trigger guard at the moment they were grabbed fired a shot unintentionally as a result. Practitioners who kept their finger in register almost never experienced an ND when grabbed. What we were trying to evaluate was the premise that long, heavy trigger pulls were, or were not, useful in preventing NDs during pernicious confrontations. The inescapable conclusion to which we all came was that THE ONLY RELIABLE PREVENTOR OF SUCH NDs IS THE PERSONAL DISCIPLINE TO ADHERE TO CORRECT PROCEDURES OF PRIMARY COMPETENCY IN GUN HANDLING. Obviously, triggers that are long and heavy were of little use therein, in and of themselves. Our dispute with the mistaken premise that long, heavy trigger pull weights meaningfully contributing to the reduction of NDs is that there is little credible evidence to support it. In fact, what believable evidence there is suggests exactly the opposite! It is a false assumption, promoted by big-city police executives and mayors who are motivated neither by officer welfare nor public safety but are desperately motivated by the fearful specter of seeing their own names prominently displayed on case captions! This situation is likened to the current dispute within the police community over the 'design flaw' in the Glock system that does not permit take-down of the pistol without first dry-firing. This 'flaw,' so goes the trumped-up argument, results in NDs. Removed from this curious equitation is the conspicuous violation, by the operator who experienced the ND, of primary competency skills, basic gun-handling rules one learns on his first day at the range! Modern pistols are designed and manufactured so that they are as 'safe' as they can be and still reasonably function in the role into which they are cast. As with all 'nanny-state' ideology, THE MORE WE EXCUSE BANEFUL, STUPID BEHAVIOR, AND INDEED FUNCTION AS FACILITATORS BY FABRICATING DELUSIONAL, ILLOGICAL 'CURES,' THE FASTER WE, AS A CIVILIZATION, DESCEND INTO CHAOS!" Comment: Any gun that can be made to fire at all can be made to fire (1) at the wrong time, (2) in the wrong place, (3) in the wrong direction, and (4) for the wrong reasons. The fool's errand of attempting to manufacture 'safe' guns invariably results in the creation of impotent guns. It is akin to attempting the manufacture of 'safe' rat poison! So long as it is genuinely functional as rat poison, it cannot be made inherently safe. Guns are currently as safe as they're ever going to be! Issuing guns that are unusable, because they are nearly unfireable, may make some police chiefs sleep soundly, but it does nothing to promote officer or public safety. So long as good people have operative guns, bad/stupid people will have them too. Welcome to Planet Earth! /John (Longer, more palpable trigger strokes are not a substitute for Rule Three, keeping the finger out of the trigger guard, up on the frame, until the sights are on the target and the user is prepared to fire. However, research shows us that even well-trained operators tend to seek "trigger affirmation," particularly in high-stress, low-light environments. The longer, heavier double-action stroke may provide a little more margin of error for the user who realizes that his finger has strayed into the trigger guard.) 4 Jan 06 On concealment, from a friend and holster maker: "Your friend's comments bring to mind Walt R's remark about people who 'talk 45s, shoot 9s, and carry Snubbies.' The essential choice for an armed citizen is whether he will wear a holster or not. If one decides on a holster at all, I don't think gun size makes a great deal of difference, within the 1.5 to 4 pound range, loaded, including holster. Pocket guns can be carried more easily, without a holster. The choice here is between the reliable Airweight, or an itty-bitty autoloader with its tiny controls. In jeans and a parka, you can comfortably carry nearly anything you want. However, many of your students are business professionals who typically wear two-thousand dollar suits. Appearance is important to such people, and gun lumps won't do. Neither will sagging pants, torn jacket linings, oil stains, etc. I make custom holsters, but they cannot make size and weight go away. A mutual friend of ours took this challenge to a tailor in Hong Kong, whose solution worked, but the extra material did not allow the display of our friend's manly form. I took the same problem to the owner of a quality shop in Denver, which specializes in expensive suits for short, athletic men. He fits attorneys and others who are rich and who want to carry, but, not surprisingly his best solutions are built around the smallest, lightest guns. Bottom line is that I can't find a way to carry a full-sized autoloader in a belt holster under urban, professional clothes, especially in summer. My solution is to go casual most of the time. When I must dress up, I'm limited to an ankle holster, shoulder holster, or briefcase. However, in the end I always find a way to be armed, wherever I go!" Comment: Carrying regularly is, at best, a confounded nuisance! When you go armed, you're not going to be able to wear form-fitting clothing. In fact, even when your garments are "generous," dare I say "slapdash," when an observer looks close enough, he'll still be able to see a lump somewhere. The commitment to go armed will require uncomfortable compromises in gun/caliber size, clothing type and size, and overall lifestyle. The important step is to think about it, make a choice, and go forward, never looking back. Your ensemble won't be perfect, and you may change your mind later, but making that firm, irrevocable decision is always the first and most important step. Everything after that is just commentary. /John (I don't recommend carrying handguns in pockets without holsters - one of the primary functions of a pocket holster is to maintain a consistent position of the gun, optimally a position that facilitates a smooth draw. I also prefer to carry the same guns in the same mode, day in and day out, even if it means that I am not carrying the most potent cartridge that I could handle. Emergency operation of the handgun must be reflexive and your trained reflexes will betray you the day that you need your handgun and it is not in its usual position on your body.) 5 Jan 06 Comments on Concealment "The root of the problem is self-image. The adolescent look upon concealed pistols as add-ons. This incorrect attitude betrays itself when they naively indicate they only carry when they are 'operational.' For the sage, transport and concealment systems are (1) continuous, and (2) subservient to the weapons platform. Concealment systems, in the form of clothing, are built AROUND the weapon(s). In the case of custom suits, there can be no mixed signals sent to the tailor. He cannot be told, 'fit me according to my ego-driven fashion requisite, and, oh yeah, cover my equipment too.' He must be told plainly that he is to fit everything AROUND the equipment." "This is a challenge I've faced for years in the real estate business. While it is relatively simple to conceal a pistol when in casual contact, concealing when you work with the same people day in and day out is a far more vexing challenge. I chose the snubby route and have never been made in fourteen years in my non-permissive environment. However, I recognize the snub's limitations and work diligently to assure myself that I can access its full potential." "When I want something bigger than an Airweight, my solution is off-body (briefcase) carry. I am programmed to keep the briefcase in physical contact with my body, including putting my shoe through the strap when the case is on the floor at a conference table or in the restroom. Nobody should consider off-body carry unless he is persuaded that his personal discipline duplicates the moral equivalent of a belt holster." "When you anticipate running fast or kicking someone, an ankle holster is a non-starter. Of course, by the same token, when you anticipate hanging upside down, a shoulder holster is a non-started too!" "Gentlemen who dress in formal, business attire have to choose full cut, preferably ventless suit jackets. A good tailor can leave the jacket sufficiently full at the waist to drape properly over a hip-worn pistol. Telltale will be the pants leg on the holster side. Invariably, the weight of the firearm will pull down that pant leg by an inch, and it is noticeable. Again, a fitter can compensate for this by adjusting the leg length with the pistol in place. Cuffs are recommended, because they allow the pants leg to drape inconspicuously. If the gentlemen is armed some days and not others, he will have to have two sets of suits. Cost of doing business. With the oxford-shirt-and-chino 'business casual' crowd, off-the-rack pants that are an inch too long will do. Frankly, most men wear poorly fitted chinos, so that an armed man should not look much different from the rest of the crowd. This business casual mode has been my standard dress at NTI for years." "Out West, concealed guns are more accepted than is the case in gun-hostile states, such as MD, RI, and MA. In anti-gun states, even permit holders need to be extremely circumspect. However, as Mas Ayoob is fond of saying "Cell phones make bulges legal!'" /John (I have not been troubled with the issues of pants legs extending to different heights or asymmetrical bulges for approximately ten years, ever since I started carrying a J-frame S&W revolver behind each hip. More importantly, this gives me the option of drawing and firing with either hand, as circumstances may dictate. Other advantages include the option of arming a companion who may know how to shoot but may not be carrying.) 7 Jan 06 Another concealed-carry option, and one that deserves consideration, from a friend with the Feds: "A concealed pistol that is slow into action is all but useless. Likewise, a 'concealed' pistol that is visible to the casual observer is also of little value. Like you, I need to carry concealed, but, unlike you, I need to do it in a number of different outfits. One day, I'll have to blend in with regiment of stodgy business executives. The next, I'll be mixed in with a rambling hoard of half-naked tourists flocking to a beach resort! Many of my colleagues work around this by adopting a different rig, depending upon the outfit they wear. What concerns me about this strategy is that one may reach for his pistol in a panic, only to discover it is not in the place he has trained himself to find it. I've used most combinations of rigs, from belt holster, to shoulder holster, to ankle holster, to the Cramer Confidante shirt. The solution upon which I have settled is a belly-band, concealed under the shirt, with my pistol (SIG 229/DAK) carried in inguinal channel, between the hip and groin. I wear an undershirt between the rig and my skin and blouse my shirt out from my pants, just enough to camouflage the pistol butt's outline. The pistol is sandwiched between my T-shirt and dress shirt. I generally get my waist size at least one increment bigger than normal. One can look 'normal' and still effectively carry in this manner. The pistol is readily accessible and yet fully concealed. I can wear it with nearly any outfit, so long as my waist isn't too tight, and I have a shirt on. A belt is not required. My belly-band has a side slit on the opposing side in which I carry a spare magazine and handcuffs. There are downsides: (1) Reloading is relatively slow, no doubt. (2) The draw requires both hands, one to lift the shirt and the other to draw the gun. I practice one-handed drawing, of course, but it is still slow and involved. (3) Reholstering is also slow, involved, and requires both hands. When I have the pistol in my hand and have to suddenly do something that requires both hands, like crawl through a hatch, the pistol has to quickly go in a pocket, rather than back into the holster. (4) No arguing that this carry method is not as firm and secure as a pistol in a hard holster, affixed to a heavy gunbelt. However, even with those weak points, I have come to like this carry option. It is an acceptable compromise for me, superior to most others I've tried." Comment: The inguinal-channel carry is an option that is probably not considered as much as it should be. Many of our students, and not just females, use and prefer it, both with the belly-band and with belt holsters. /John (The one time I have had to draw on an assailant, my left hand was occupied, ensuring that he could not deploy his knife. As the situation developed, it was comforting to know that, if I needed to draw, I would be able to draw with either hand because I had a revolver behind each hip. Naturally, it was also comforting to know that I could also hit firing from either hand because my range time was split equally between both hands.) -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .