MAG-80 Lessons Learned, Pt. 3

Lesson Learned #3: Sometimes the little things mean a lot. 

MAG-80 includes training on weapons retention. This is hands-on training in the strictest sense of the term, I try to grab your gun, you keep me from doing so, and vice-versa. Instructions called for a training simulator (i.e. Rings Blue Gun) and a "sturdy pair of leather gloves" for this part of the class, which was 2-3 hours every day.

My yard work gloves are in good enough shape for yard work, but getting raggedy enough I went and bought a new pair of leather work gloves, to be precise, Wells  Lamont Cowhide Full Leather Adjustable Work Gloves model #1132. Good gloves, you can get them at pretty much any chain or big box hardware store. If you look at the photo you'll see that they have the common strap across the back to adjust size; I bought a size large, which fit snugly enough I paid little attention to it...

Wells  Lamont Cowhide Full Leather Adjustable Work Gloves model #1132

...until during the retention training I was experiencing sharp pains in my hands. I thought my training partners were applying some Vulcan nerve pinch I had missed in the descriptions. I thought my hand was broken. I thought... I don't know what I thought. 

But if you take another look at the photo of the glove again you'll what it was. That little bead at the end of the tension strap? Enough pressure exerted straight down on the back of the hand wearing it in just the right place is very distracting...

Great if your actual assailant is wearing the gloves, bad if it's a classmate... 

EDIT To add: In at least one of the videos on the subject Mas showed us one of the assistant instructors was wearing these same gloves, and did not seem to have any problems. So the gloves are fine.

MAG-80 Lessons Learned, Pt. 2

 Still on the shotgun, but without the fancy language this time.

Lessons Learned Part 2:

2A. If circumstances require you to fire your shotgun one handed, you should do so from cover, using said cover to brace said shotgun.
2B. If, when doing so the slide opens upon firing, do not assume that it has opened far enough to pick up the next shell, even if it has ejected the fired one.

Mas had said that the slide opening was a possibility, for Remington 870s, and  seemed surprised that it happened on a Mossberg. I guess that spray-can gun lube is better than I thought, or the action on my Mossy is smoother than usual. Or, I suppose it could have something to do with having replaced the stock fore-end with the Surefire replacement, with light. 

Anyway, the slide opened, ejected the spent shell, I slammed it shut, not realizing that it had not picked up the next shell, and the bolt was closed on an empty chamber. Since the chamber was empty I had to depress the Action Lock to chamber a shell. On the range doing a drill, this merely slows me (and potentially everyone else) down a second or two, but when the excrement hits the rotary air circulation device...

BTW, if anyone has been following these drivelings for years, I can say that the Surefire fore-end gave me no problem this time around, so possibly the issues I had during the FAS Defensive Shotgun class back in 2015 were due to the Magpul sling adapter.

I was also able to acquire a supply of Federal Low Recoil Tactical slugs, and Low Recoil 8 Pellet 00 Buckshot with the Flite Control wad, which may have also led to a less-punishing experience. 

The other issue I ran into with the 'scattergun was due to having the "Persuader" version of a Mossberg 500, with the 20" barrel and full length magazine. The barricade/cover positions for shotgun call for bracing the front of the mag' tube against the vertical or horizontal cover as a rest -- thus Part B of Lesson 2 above -- but that full length tube puts the muzzle right there, which is less than optimal. Fortunately I had added an after market clamp-on forward sling adapter which served OK as a brace. 

MAG-80 Lessons Learned, Pt. 1

Thou shalt take care when firing slugs from thy Shotgonne with rapidity, lest thy thumb slippeth out of position and ye giveth thyself a Fatte Lippe...

MAG-80 next week

 Yes, I'm stoked, balanced by not wanting to be "that guy".

Again...

(Actually, I don't think we had "that guy" in MAG-40.) (Uh-oh, we all know what that means...)

I'm glad that week is over. EDITS

At least, I sure hope it is...

A rare glimpse into Why Drang Drinks.

M-F, 0800-1200, FEMA Instructor Development Workshop via Zoom, two presentations evaluated by other students and instructors. Followed on Monday and Thursday by an additional 8 hour shift, starting at noon. (Fortunately, I was authorized to telework...)

And Mrs. Drang had an online class Tuesday and today. Except she didn't know that it was a two-parter when she signed up for it. Remember this, it will be significant...

Monday morning she discovered that the compressor had gone out on the fridge. So while I was slaving away over a hot internet connection, she was searching for dry ice and on the phone trying to get a repair technician to come out.

He did, finally, at 6 PM. And the replacement part he had didn't work. 

Expecting him to come out Tuesday morning, she got a text that he had been rescheduled to Thursday. A couple of angry phone calls later, she got hold of them and him and he showed up shortly after her class was done, and had the fridge running right away. It had finally cooled off to the point we could take food out of coolers nd put them in the freezer and fridge compartments at about 9 PM.

Somewhere in there I was informed that a package had been delivered to the office for me, and from the return address I deduced that it was course material. I managed OK with .pdfs, but I decided that rather than have it take up space on a (shared) desk, I would pop in quickly and pick it up...

...and discovered upon arrival that the the personnel scheduled to be in-office had 1) requested and been approved to telework due to illness  -- OK -- and 2) overslept and decided to telework to avoid being late. Without running it by anyone. Resulting on me making several phone calls, tracking down my boss -- who was speaking to the director -- and suggesting we needed to talk, being told to spit it out, and, of course, embarrassing my boss...

Also, one employee from first shift doing an hour of overtime, and me sitting in the office working the phones, in jeans and a t-shirt, when I was supposed to be off...

Then, last night (after I had gone to bed), the intert00bz died. 

I had already planned to get up early and put some finishing touches on my final presentation, but spent most of that time trying to get connected. My laptop with LTE connectivity wasn't getting a strong enough signal to connect, so I finally used my brand new (less than a week old!) cell phone as a mobile hotspot...

Which was about the time I learned about Part 2 of Mrs. Drang's class. So I told her how I had gotten online, thinking that would work for her...

And then she told me she needed my laptop AND hers to have two screens... 

(Fortunately I was using the desktop, with dual monitors. Which, BTW, can lead to odd behavior from Zoom...)

...And just as I was about to start my presentation she informed me (by screaming) that she was unable to connect...

I finished and talked the rest of the small group to give me a five minute break so I could try and get her online.

Which I did, by logging her into MY cell phone. So for the rest of the mornings Samsung's finest was providing internet for THREE computers. I am told that my audio signal garbled a couple of times, but was readable. 

So with that over with we called customer service to see if they could trouble shoot the "Home WiFi Gateway", the results of which effort was to suggest we take it to the local store and exchange it, "Or we can ship you one for delivery next week."  

Went to store, store said they couldn't just swap it after we had been in possession for over 30 days, but they can have one delivered to us "Next Day", which, this being Friday, probably means Monday. Which means she should be back online in time for Tuesday's class.

But I need a drink or three...

Edit 1, originally a comment: First World Problems all, of course, but the cumulative effect of multiple First World Problems within a short period can be just as detrimental.

Edit 2: Yep, Mrs. Drang picked it up Monday while I was at work, Mrs. Drang realized that we had left the old box and its power supply in my car, so we plugged it in when I got home. Connected to it, and... Nothing.

She had ANOTHER online class yesterday morning, which I didn't want to interrupt by calling customer service. She got done about the time I was leaving for work, so she called CS. She and the tech went back and forth, wound up Mrs. Drang reading stuff off the label, while the tech looked stuff up in "the manual". Eventually Mrs. Drang got to "SIM" and the tech says "A-ha!! What's the number?" and then "OK, don't hang up or mess with the box, I'll be back in ten minutes."

Apparently the sim card listed on our account had to be reset by them, before we could use it. Which was fine, but it should have been mentioned on some documentation in the box...

Stop The Bleed Month

May is Stop the Bleed Month. And May 23rd is National STOP THE BLEED Day.

(Yes, those seem to be "rival" web sites...)

Perhaps with that in mind, Tamara had a post yesterday (The largest window for error...) in which she linked to an article about gun safety vis à vis administrative gun handling, and said that, if you're going to carry a gun, you should have a "blow out kit" with you. (SayUncle linked, and, this being the Internet, predictably, derp ensured in comments.)

I've written about first aid and (especially) trauma care and training before, and on this very topic in The Clue Meter: Tourniquets Save Lives.

In that post I included some videos of how to apply a tourniquet, including one I reproduce here, how to apply a field expedient tourniquet:


As to which tourniquet to carry, the two standards seem to be the CAT (Gen 7+) and the SOF-T (Gen 4+); the advantages of one over the other seem be minor and due as much to personal preference of the professional you are speaking to, as well as to incremental improvements in one or the other. Similar tourniquets are likely to mimic the style or design, but use cheaper materials.

There is at least one "bargain" tourniquet that is essentially a long rubber band; in formal testing it was rated as better than nothing -- barely. (The sales pitch is cool, "Tighten until the diamonds are squares and the ovals are circles"; just doesn't seem to work as well in real application.)

Research:

• Efficacy of Pre-hospital Application of Tourniquets and Hemostatic Dressings to Control Traumatic External Hemorrhage. Opens a .pdf document from EMS.gov, a site at the National Institutes of Health.

GET TRAINING!

You need to take classes; even if you master applying a tourniquet by watching YouTube videos, there are other things you'll need to know. So where do you find such training? After all, you might not know a handy Ambulance Driver who happens to be conducting a class on the subject.

• BleedingControl.org has a Find A Class page.
• The Stop the Bleed Monthweb site does too: Find Training.
• As does the National STOP THE BLEED Day web site: Get Trained.
• FEMA also has some suggestions: Stop the Bleed | Homeland Security
• The Firearms Training Hub has a page listing Medical classes; among others, Dark Angel Medical has classes nationwide. Including one local to me next week...

If you're not comfortable buying  emergency medical/trauma care supplies off of Amazon -- and stories of counterfeit merchandise abound -- some reputable sources include:

• Chinook Medical Gear, Inc.
• Tactical Medical Solutions for Military and First Responders
• First Aid Kits | First Aid Supplies | MyMedic
• Adventure® Medical Kits

This is another item in the "Better to have it (and know how to use it!) but never need it, than to need it and not have it and/or not know how to use it" category.

A Review Which Should Not Be Necessary

I hear Ted Cruz has introduced a bill to impose term limits on congresscritters.

Must be the beard.

Meanwhile, the ignorance on display daily among voters (or non-voters, if they make that choice) is bad enough, but the media should know better, and anyone in government, whether hired, appointed, or elected...!

Anyway.

So Nancy Pelosi claims that according to the Constitution, she is the equal of the President.



Meanwhile, I keep being told it's the President's fault that a Democratic senator filibustered the budget bill the House sent there, or that the house has since failed to send a clean bill to the Senate, so that body can send it to the President...



While we're at it...

Oral Rehydration -- a PSA

Hopefully, news you can't, and never will need, to use.

So while we were at the emergency communications team meeting the other night discussing Go Kits and Bug Out Bags, one of the members offered some real world observations about first aid kits, to wit, based on the "historical re-enactment" his church did for the youth group -- he's LDS, so I'm assuming he was talking about a Pioneer Trek. (The reason I know about it is that I recalled Howard "Schlock Mercenary" Taylor commented once that he was told not to call it Oregon Trail LARPing...) He was observing that the first aid kit needed blister care supplies, because kids today will get blisters if they have to walk more than a mile, since they are not used to that, and they probably have stylish, not functional, socks. (And their shoes are probably suspect, too.)

Then he made an offhand remark about how simply drinking water is not enough, you need to replace electrolytes, as well.

And that made me remember reading in one of P.J. O'Rourke's books -- All The Trouble In The World, I think -- where he was talking to some American aid official (or maybe non- or semi-official) about famine and pestilence, and the guy reaches into his desk and says that the death rate in whichever part of Africa they were in could be slashed dramatically with "this" -- "this" being a 25 cent packet of oral re-hydration salts.

Oral rehydration therapy - Wikipedia

Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) is a type of fluid replacement used to prevent and treat dehydration, especially that due to diarrhea.^[1] It involves drinking water with modest amounts of sugar and salts, specifically sodium and potassium.^[1] Oral rehydration therapy can also be given by a nasogastric tube.^[1] Therapy should routinely include the use of zinc supplements.^[1] Use of oral rehydration therapy decreases the risk of death from diarrhea by about 93%.^[2]
...
The formula for the current WHO oral rehydration solution (also known as low-osmolar ORS or reduced-osmolarity ORS) is 2.6 grams (0.092 oz) salt (NaCl), 2.9 grams (0.10 oz) trisodium citrate dihydrate (C 6H 5Na 3O 7⋅2H 2O), 1.5 grams (0.053 oz) potassium chloride (KCl), 13.5 grams (0.48 oz) anhydrous glucose (C 6H 12O 6) per litre of fluid.

A basic oral rehydration therapy solution can also be prepared when packets of oral rehydration salts are not available. It can be made using 6 level teaspoons (25.2 grams) of sugar and 0.5 teaspoon (2.9 grams) of salt in 1 litre of water. The molar ratio of sugar to salt should be 1:1 and the solution should not be hyperosmolar. The Rehydration Project states, "Making the mixture a little diluted (with more than 1 litre of clean water) is not harmful."

The optimal fluid for preparing oral rehydration solution is clean water. However, if this is not available the usually available water should be used. Oral rehydration solution should not be withheld simply because the available water is potentially unsafe; rehydration takes precedence.

...Sports drinks are not optimal oral rehydration solutions, but they can be used if optimal choices are not available.

Not gonna lie, I don't know what all the ten dollar words in there mean. But, really, in the documentation or inventory of your first aid kit, or even just a 3"x5" index card in there, write down "6 tsp (2 Tbl) sugar and 0.5 tsp salt 1 quart water."

Or, you can get fancy. Found this one researching the subject:

• 1 quart water
• half tsp sea salt
• half tsp baking soda
• quarter tsp salt substitute (potassium chloride; can use cream of tartar instead)
• 8 tsp sugar

That supposedly replicates the WHO formulation, described in the Wikipedia quote above.

Or, you can buy them: Amazon.com: oral re-hydration packets. Some of these are flavored.

Now, Oral Re-Hydration Therapy such as Wikipedia is talking about is an in extremis thing, not "Been mowing the lawn in the hot sun, I need a glass of iced tea" (or whatever) in someone who is more or less healthy and well nourished. It's usually applied in cases of extreme life threatening illness, the sort that results in diarrhea, like cholera. But some folks just won't admit they're not Superman, in the course of my military career I saw more than a few people rushed to the hospital for what turned out to be dehydration.

And especially in a first aid kit that is expected to be used in true, disaster-type emergency, throwing a ten pack of these in, as well as making sure you have the recipes to make some if you need it, seems like a Good Idea.

"So, how did that class go, Drang?"

Well, I'm glad you asked... sort of.

So, two weeks ago I posted Training returns to WAC Shows!

So I secured the weekend off, since I work graveyard shift these days and being able to teach a class Sunday morning would require two days... fortunately, I have leave to burn (as in, "use it or lose it.") and no one else was requesting the days.

Unfortunately, while we had training materials, and a venue, and instructors, we had no students sign up.

Well, it was pretty short notice, too short to fully advertise. 

There's a show this weekend at the Puyallup Fairgrounds, but this is the month when it is bumped from the usual "Showplex" facility to the "Pavilion"--and that raises a critical question...

The NRA Home Firearms Safety class involves teaching people safe gun handling, including how to "unload and make safe" the major types of hand- and long guns.

This, obviously, requires manipulating firearms.

Therefore, one of the requirements to conduct the class is that you have a "safe direction", per Rule 1 (NRA Version). This means that the classroom must have at least one wall that is constructed of a material that will stop a bullet.

(Yes, NRA bans all live ammo from classroom training, even classes like Refuse To Be A Victim that do not involve actual firearms.

(So?)

We were unable to ascertain whether the Pavilion has a classroom facility that meets the requirement for a safe direction, therefore, no class this weekend.

March's Puyallup show is in the "Agriplex" which is barely big enough for the usual table-holders, does not have room for a separate class, and does not have a safe direction. (There is no show in March at the fairgrounds in Monroe.)

So it looks like the next class will probably be at Puyallup in April. Well, should be plenty of time to advertise, kinda wonder if we'll need to do one class both days...

Again:

• Cost:
• Admission to WAC Gunshows is free for WAC members
• $10.00 for non-members. (Refundable if you join at the show.)

• Target audience: 
• Those wishing to learn or review the basics of safe gun handling. 
• No minimum or maximum age, but the "final exam" involves safely demonstrating "unloading and showing clear"
• Depending on turnout, students who do not have the strength or dexterity to demonstrate safe gun handling may be allowed to "audit" the class, but no certificate will be issued. (I.e., those too young, arthritis or hand injuries, etc.)

WAC's Event Rules are at the link.

By the way: Part of dues, and of the non-members entry fee for the show, goes to the Building Fund, which is earmarked to be used to purchase a permanent home for the WAC offices and shows. There have been issues with finding a large enough piece of property that wasn't zoned against firearm-related activities.

I ass-you-me that, if we ever find a suitable property, that the gun shows at alternate facilities will not cease. (That is, if it's in the south end there will still be several shows a year at the Monroe fairgrounds.

(The idea of having a couple of shows a year in Eastern Washington has also been mooted, but I don't know how far those plans have gone, or even if they got to the planing stage. I think maybe one a quarter or so, in, say, Spokane, Pasco, and Ellensberg, might be beneficial. But I'm just blue-skying here.)

Training returns to WAC Shows!

This coming weekend, NRA Home Firearms Safety Classes return to the Washington Arms Collectors gunshows.

These had ceased due to the fallout of I594, about which I had a thing or two to say.  Current interpretation is that, as long the firearm does not leave the training venue, a "transfer" has not taken place, so it has been decided to start classes again.

• Date: Sunday, February 11^th
• Time: 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
• Location: Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, WA, in the "Log Cabin".
• Cost: 
• Admission to WAC Gunshows is free for WAC members
• $10.00 for non-members. (Refundable if you join at the show.)
• Target audience: 
• Those wishing to learn, or review the basics of safe gun handling. 
• No minimum or maximum age, but the "final exam" involves safely demonstrating "unloading and showing clear", so if the student does not have the strength and dexterity to do so, no certificate will be issued.

WAC's Event Rules are at the link.

Current plan is to have at least one HFS class a quarter; we'll probably start doing Refuse To Be A Victim classes, too.

GOAL Post 2018-5

Another Friday, another GOAL Post.

I have just about enough time to post this before leaving for work, I think I made all the edits I need to for formatting for the blog, but I might have missed a few...  (Having written that I found a couple more.)

Note that today was the cut off for most bills, good and bad. But "no man's security or wealth are safe..."

In other news, we have gotten a new interpretation of the changes imposed by I594 that allows us to start conducting Home Firearms Safety classes at WAC shows again, so I'll be taking next weekend off to help.

It's in Monroe, at the fairgrounds, class is free, admission to the show is, too, if you're a WAC member.

****

FROM: GOAL WA <goalwa@cox.net> (Joe Waldron)

TO: undisclosed recipients

SENT: Fri 2/2/2018 5:22 PM

SUBJECT: GOAL Post 2018-5

Legislative Update from Olympia 2 February 2018

CHAMBER POLICY COMMITTEE CUT-OFF TODAY – GUN BILLS DIE

FISCAL COMMITTEE CUT-OFF NEXT TUESDAY

ONE NEW GUN BILL INTRODUCED

ACTION ON BILLS

PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED

Today, 2 February, is the first chamber policy committee cut-off date. All bills that have not passed out of their original policy committee this session (for most gun bills Senate Law & Justice, House Judiciary and Public Safety) are considered dead for the remainder of the session. Theoretically – exceptions can be made -- but those exceptions are rare.

Next Tuesday, 6 February, is the cut-off for bills that require major appropriations for the year. At this point, SB 5444 (a/w regulation) was sent to Senate Ways & Means because the original version of the bill had significant fiscal impact. The current version does not.I expect it will move right out of W&M to Senate Rules. The chamber cut-off – House bills out of the House, Senate bills out of the Senate – occurs on Wednesday, 14 February. “Normal procedures” aside, nothing is safe until the legislature adjourns in March.

SB 6476, by Sen. Wagoner (R-39), a bill that would exempt background checks for transfers between two CPL holders was introduced and sent to Senate Law & Justice. Too late for consideration in this session, unfortunately.

The version of SB 5444 that passed out of committee this week is significantly different from the original. Essentially, the amended version treats “assault weapons” like handguns, limiting sale to those

21 and over, and requiring the same dealer paperwork as handguns. The requirement for an “:assault weapon license” is deleted, as are fees associated with the license. As watered down as it is, it is still unacceptable, as it adds so-called “assault weapons” to the state pistol registry.

Now that the policy committee deadline has passed, only a few of the 40+ gun bills introduced this year and last remain under consideration. I’ll change the status of the ”dead” bills at chamber cut-off. The bills that are in their chamber Rules Committee are awaiting a floor vote. The following bills are still officially in play:

HB 1122Safe storage (Kagi), in House Rules awaiting a House floor vote

HB 1270Encouraging use of trigger locks (Harmsworth), likely frozen in House Fiscal

HB 1483Destruction of forfeited firearms (Lovick), awaiting a House floor vote

HB 2363Drone delivery of firearms (Pellicotti), in Senate Law & Justice

HB 2519Return of seized CPLs (Lovick), in House Rules awaiting a floor vote

SB 5073Use of force (McCoy), in Senate Ways & Means, likely stalled

SB 5441Involuntary freeze on firearm possession (Kuderer), in Senate Rules

SB 5444B/g check on “assault weapons” (Frockt), in Senate Ways & Means

SB 5553Potential suicide, waiver of rights (Pedersen), in House Judiciary

SB 5992Trigger device ban (Van de Wege), in House Judiciaryj

SB 6297Firearm possession/history ofviolence (Dhingra), in Senate Rules

SB 6298DV harassment firearm ban (Dhingra), in Senate Rules

On Wednesday, Senate Law & Justice will hold a public hearing on HB 2363 (delivery of contraband by drone).The hearing is scheduled for 10:00 a.m..On Friday, 9 February, the House Judiciary Committee will hold public hearings on two gun bills that passed out of the Senate already.The bills are Substitute Senate Bill 5553 (suicide prevention/voluntary waiver of firearm rights) and Engrossed Senate Bill

5992 (bump stock ban).“Substitute” means a bill was amended in committee, Engrossed means it was amended on the chamber floor.

BILL STATUS/GOAL POSITION:

"The Really Big One", explained

Rangemaster Combative Pistol, Take Two

See also: Rangemaster Combatives Pistol, Take One, which was posted a few weeks ago, when I really thought it would take me a day or two to finish this.

Here is the description of the course curriculum from the Rangemaster Web Site:

This is an intensive weekend course that covers all of the essential skills involved in fighting with a handgun. There is an all day session Saturday and Sunday, 9:00am to 6:00pm.  Topics covered in this course will include:

• Rapid presentation from concealed carry
• Effective gun handling techniques, designed to work under stress
• Rapid reloading techniques
• High speed accuracy at close ranges
• Precision shooting at mid-ranges
• Shooting effectively with one hand, with either hand
• Fixing malfunctions rapidly and reliably
• Proper defensive mindset, personal tactics, and more.

Expect to fire about 800-1,000 rounds of ammunition. This course is designed expressly for the armed citizen who carries a concealed handgun, or the plain clothes or off duty police officer.  You will need a good handgun, holster, belt, and magazine pouch, at least three magazines, a ball cap and concealment garment (vest, jacket, windbreaker, etc), eye and ear protection, and rain gear (we train rain or shine). A cooler with soft drinks and snacks is a very good idea.
You will need a quality handgun and gear. It is a good idea to bring a second gun just like your primary, in case something breaks on your primary gun. Please bring good quality ammunition. You will shoot better, your gun will function better, and you will learn faster. Leather or kydex holsters are fine—PLEASE NO flimsy nylon or cloth holsters.  Your primary instructor will be Tom Givens.

The class started out in the classroom, with the obligatory review of the facilities and of safety rules.

Tom gave a brief introduction to his experiences as a police officer in Memphis, Tennessee; generally ignored by the media is the fact that Memphis has, and has had for decades, a violent crime rate that rivals or exceeds those of Chicago and Detroit.

Tom says that, "not counting active duty military", he has trained over 40,000 people, and that of them he has confirmed that 66 of them have been in gunfights. Of those 66, three have lost the fight.

Tom gives the stats as "63-0-and 3", explaining that all three losses were actually forfeits, since all three violated what has become known as "Rule 1 of Gunfighting: Have a Gun."

We also reviewed the basics of "Defensive Shooting Technique".

Rangemaster Combatives Pistol, Take One

This weekend I took Tom Givens' Rangemaster Combative Pistol class, at West Coast Armory North

• The way you know it was a good class is you walk away from it not sure if you can digest all the learning that occurred.
• AAR/Comments on actual learning that occurred will follow in a day or two three. {edit: OOPS! Sorry, DWD}
• We spent more time on the range than in the classroom, about a 3 to 1 ratio or higher, but the classroom time was well-spent. 
• I've heard some say "If I spend money for a shooting class, I want to shoot, not hear a lecture."
• While some topics lend themselves best to demonstrate/drill on the range, others are really best addressed sitting at a desk, taking notes.
• West Coast Armory North is a nice facility. Three bays with 6 lanes each, well-ventilated, and clean and well-lit. John (owner, who was in the class) mentioned that they are changing out the backstop material later this summer.
• My complaints are two:
  
  1. It's too far north for me, and
  2. After most of the day on my feet, I was wishing John had put in an elevator.
• Seriously, returning to the (upstairs) classroom I felt like I'd just finished a 20 mile ruck march.
• Also, John, I was wrong about no mention on the blog about dancing: There is a reference to The Hot Brass Dance.
• The Detroit Holster Hastings worked well, within its design parameters. 
• I went with the Tek-Lok belt attachment.
• This meant that the holster stuck a quarter inch or so out from my body.
• This meant that there was a little more leverage for the holstered pistol to sag a bit.
• When I got home Saturday night I figured out how to move the spacers -- the Tek-Lok can work with up to a 1.75" belt, and comes with spaces for 1.5" belts -- to take up the slack. 
• I also switched to the Wilderness Frequent Flyer belt, which is a tad stiffer than the 5.11 Double Duty belt I had been wearing.
• Bottom Line: Good holster, not ideal for concealed carry for me. (Maybe the Metro, for concealed carry.)

Fight the derp!

I have a t-shirt, black with red lettering saying "D.A.R.E"! It looks familiar, except in small letters it says "Derp Abuse Resistance Education". It was a limited edition at SKD Tactical, a Todd L Green memorial of sorts, raising money for Tod's Rampage For The Cure. I wore it at MAG40 last summer, and at the Langdon Tactical class.

Holster Derp

You still see people using Serpa holsters, or imitations. I have a couple myself. I bought them because they're reasonably priced, and retention seemed like a Good Idea.

Then I learned that there were reports of the locking mechanism getting jammed. "Well", I says to myself says I, "I've heard Internet rumors about this problem but not met anyone who saw it happen, and I'm not planning on wearing these things on a deployment or rolling around in the dirt while wearing them..."

Well, apparently it doesn't take rolling around in a bear pit to jam the mechanism, and I've now read too many eye-witness accounts of having to retrieve a gun from one of these with a pair of tin snips to want to risk it.

Plus, there's the whole "Using your trigger finger to activate the release" thing.

Now, when I first heard these particular concerns raised I did some "dry practice" draws, and concluded that the Serpa locking mechanism positioned my trigger finger along the frame of my Combat Commander where it belongs.

Trouble is, well, here's a video:

Note that Mr. "Only a fool can't use a Serpa safely" has his trigger finger inside the trigger guard pretty much during the whole draw stroke.

So in last week's Weekend Knowledge Dump Greg Ellifritz linked to a post Why NOT SERPA | Stuff From Hsoi which included a video of a Serpa jamming up hard during a self-defense training session. (Which also links to a Facebook post that includes the video I just embedded.)

Holster Non-Derp

Last week I found myself trying to explain why you really do need to expect to spend more than a Jackson* on a holster. All too often we see someone dropping five hundred or more on a pistol, just to carry it in what Tamara calls a "sausage sack"; a soft nylon holster that collapses on the draw and that might, even if it covers the trigger guard, might not do a good job of protecting it.

Fortunately, Kathy Jackson (smooth segue, huh?) has just completed a six-part series on holsters:

• Holster Conversations | Cornered Cat
• A Better Holster, Part One | Cornered Cat
• A Better Holster, Part Two | Cornered Cat
• A Better Holster, Part Three | Cornered Cat
• A Better Holster, Part Four | Cornered Cat
• A Better Holster, Part Five | Cornered Cat
• A Better Holster, Part Six | Cornered Cat

Her Bottom Line: A good holster

1. Protects the trigger, 
2. Holds the gun securely, and 
3. Allows the user to access the gun when they need it. 

Ammo Derp

Speaking of Greg Ellifritz, in the same Knowledge Dump I referenced above he links to a poll of the Best Self-Defense Ammo...

The Best Self-Defense Ammo, Voted by You, and One Takes Home 45% of the Vote

Contemplate this. (Did you say that in James Earl Jones' voice, and continue with "...on the Tree of Woe?" 'Cuz I did while typing it...)

Anyway. They crowd sourced what everyone thinks is the best self-defense ammo!

There are decent loads on this list.There are loads on this list that have been off the market for over two decades. There are loads on this list that were hot stuff three decades ago but are now, shall we say, passé. And there are loads on this list that are pure derp.

If one has questions about what round to carry, the standard advice is to carry whatever the local constabulary carries. If one still has questions, the best bet is to start your research with the "sticky" threads on this page: Ammunition -- Pistol-Forum.com. Note that a couple of those stickied threads have to do with ballistic gelatin testing and wound ballistics. Minimal research will tell you that one does not simply walk into one's local Safeway and buy ballistics gelatin (do we need a Boromir meme for that...?) so when that YouTube celebrity says he was using clear Knox gelatin for his test, well...

Guns

You get what you pay for. The $500 (new) gun is better than the $300 (new) gun, and the $1000 (new) gun is better than the $500 (new) gun. (Granted, there may be exceptions, including lucking into a Steal of a Deal.)

Mind you, the qualitative difference between the three Franklin gun and the five Franklin gun may be greater than between the five and the ten. All other things being equal, an all-metal gun is almost certainly going to cost more than a polymer gun of equivalent size and quality. Do your research, and determine what you are giving up by going with, say, the Kel-Tec P3AT versus the Ruger LCP, S&W Bodyguard, or Glock 42.

Ideally, read those ammunition threads I just linked to and buy a 9mm instead of a .380...

Training

"Derp Abuse Resistance Education"...

Since I mentioned Pistol-Forum.com, one of the members has put together what is shaping up to be a pretty useful tool, which he calls the Firearms Training Hub. Looking for a specific type of class? Or classes in a specific area? Here you go. Mind you, the trainers have to let him know that they're available to include, so it is not necessarily 100% as to what is scheduled where, but it's certainly a good place to start.

Archives

I've written a few posts on the subject of derp, using the tag Derpitude

And a few tagged Training as well.

***

*AKA an "Irony". If that puzzles you, research Andrew Jackson's relationship with the US Bank, and extrapolate to the concept of the Federal Reserve. One must assume that Andy J would be fine with having someone else's face on the $20, although how he would feel about being replaced by Harriet Tubman I refuse to speculate.

GOAL Alert 2017-2

Another one.

Sounds like things are moving fast in Olympia. 

Hopefully, only the "good" bills will move...

***

 FROM: GOAL-WA goalwa@cox.net (Joe Wladron)

TO: undisclosed recipients

SENT: Tue 1/24/2017 12:47 PM

SUBJECT: GOAL Alert 2017-2, 24 January 2017

GOAL Alert 2017-2, 24 January 2017

Another short-fused heads-up.This was sent to me by an activist in Oly, calling on gunnies who are available to attend a public hearing in Olympia on Thursday, 26 January in the House Education Committee.

The hearing is on HB 1174 (among other bills) requiring the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop and offer an elective gun safety and/or hunter education course at the high school level.

Our children are being brainwashed to fear guns and stay away from them. These are the next generations’ anti-gun voters. Proper and safe firearms education will go along way to refuting the propaganda they hear on a nearly daily basis from “the establishment.”

Our youth are our future.And the future of the Second Amendment.

If you can attend, please do. If you can’t, please contact your legislators and ask them to support the bill.


Joe Waldron, Chairman, GOAL

I just received this information earlier today.  I recognize that this is short notice.  See other information below.

As noted, this hearing is scheduled for 8 AM, on Thursday, 26 Jan 2017, location as follows:

*Subject:*FW: Sponsor Notification of Education Meeting.

*Good news. HB 1174 is scheduled for a public hearing on Jan. 26 at 8AM in HHR A.*

**

*Education*
House Full Committee
House Hearing Rm A
January 26, 2017
John L. O'Brien Building
8:00 a.m.
Olympia, WA

*Public Hearing: *

 1. HB 1115 - Concerning para-educators. (Bergquist/Megan Wargacki)
 2. HB 1174 - Requiring the superintendent of public instruction to develop an elective firearms safety and hunter education course for high school students. (Muri/Ethan Moreno)
 3. HB 1208 - Concerning charter school students participating in inter-school athletics and extracurricular activities. (Johnson/Ethan Moreno)
 4. HB 1235 - Assessing physical education practices in public schools. (Riccelli/Ethan Moreno)

Also, here is great information on giving public testimony:
http://leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/Testify.aspx. Parking information is on the right hand side of the page, too.

------------------------------------
Posted by: GOAL WA <goalwa@cox.net>

Gun Skool (Pugetopolis Edition) Update

Realized a few days ago that, when I listed local shooting schools in the area (in post The Clue Meter: Gun Skool Thoughts, Part I -- Pugetopolis), I left one out.

Norpoint Shooting Center is far enough north that I forgot about it, but one of the owners was one of my instructors in the FAS Defensive Shotgun Class I took last year. Some co-workers (who have a simply insane commute) have taken multiple classes there and give it two trigger fingers up.

Looking at the course catalog, I may be enticed to make the trek up that way myself...

Gun Skool Thoughts, Part II

So, when talking to folks who have never been to formal training that did not involve everyone wearing the same clothes and addressing others as "Sergeant" or "Sir", I've found some... odd ideas.

When you are reading the course description, make sure you read the part that says what to being with you.

Yes, they expect you to provide your own ammunition.

• Some schools will provide it for you -- read "sell it to you" -- if you make prior arrangements, but usually the only ones that provide ammo are also providing guns. 
• Check the expected round count and take extra. 
• Try to figure out what works best on your gun(s), don't just go for the cheapest bulk pack. 
• Ask me how I know that last...

One colleague at work was outraged at the thought that he was paying all this money for a class and had to provide his own ammo. Of course, usually Uncle Sam had been providing his ammo...

There are several reasons for this:

Gun Skool Thoughts, Part I -- Pugetopolis

As word got out at work that I had attended MAG40, I started being queried about going to a shooting school. Not surprising, I guess.

One of the things I was asked (including online) was "Where can I go for classes?"

I have personal experience with two sources of instruction:

• The Firearms Academy of Seattle, Inc.. This is where I attended MAG40, and the Defensive Shotgun Course I took last October. Training here is excellent. If you are taking a multi-day class, unless you live very close you might want to stay in town. (They do have provisions for camping: "Set up camp over in that flat area under the trees.")
• Classes at  Federal Way Discount Guns. I took several classes here (Basic, "Progressive" or Intermediate, and "Urban Defensive Tactics"). At this time they only show two courses in the "catalog", Basic Handgun and "AR-15 Rifle Tactics." They also do private instruction by arrangement. 

I just received an email from Janice, the lady who was running training at FWDG which announced that her operation, Women and Guns, is now teaching in Olympia. Classes shown on that site are for women only.

Another local source of training which is  highly reputable but which I personally have no experience with is InSights Training Center, which conducts it's classes locally at West Coast Armory and West Coast Armory North.

A training operation which markets itself heavily (they have a booth at the state fair!!!) but whose instruction I have no experience with is Friday Harbor Gun Runners.
(Not gonna lie: I hate the name, and I hate the pirate logo. But if their marketing is successful, I guess my personal taste counts for nothing.)
(OTOH, their training operation is actually and formally Northwest Safety First with an Eagle-and-Flag logo, which is nice and responsible sounding, but I had to research this post to learn it...)

Most or all of the local indoor ranges and clubs have classes of some sort. Other than my "local" noted above, I cannot speak to the nature of the training.
Indoor Ranges:

• The Marksman, Puyallup, WA
• Champion Arms, Kent, Washington

Clubs usually have members who are NRA Certified Instructors and teach the NRA classes.
Listed in no particular order:

• Paul Bunyan Rifle and Sportsman's Club Home Page
• Tacoma Rifle and Revolver Club
• Tacoma Sportsmen's Club
• Renton Fish and Game Club (Only lists Hunter's Education; they have a heavy match schedule.)
• Snoqualmie Valley Rifle Club. No classes currently scheduled, which is a shame, I helped run a couple of classes there.
• Kenmore Shooting Range. 
• Cascade Shooting Facilities (FKA Cascade Rifle & Pistol Club.) Currently only lists a woman's handgun course. Pretty extensive range facility, out in the country far enough that they should have a few years before they feel urban sprawls encroachments, unlike most of the other clubs listed.

Generally speaking, the NRA courses could be considered to be of the "Guns 101" types of thing; they have more advanced classes, but Personal Protection In The Home needs two days, and Personal Protection Outside The Home requires PPITH as a prerequisite, and another two (or more) days. And no one is willing to pay much for an NRA class; which is fine from most instructors points of view, we don't teach these to make money, but if it ties up range facilities for days....

By the way, Microsoft and Boeing both have active gun clubs for employees; Boeing used to have a corporate indoor pistol range, the backstop of which it gave to the club ("Get this out of our storage or we'll sell it for scrap!") , which donated it to a new indoor range in exchange for membership privileges.

Since I had at least one query for "My brother lives in the Puget Sound region and he wants to know where to go for training", I welcome any additions to this list that others may have. Leave a comment or shoot me an email at the address over there on the left side of your screen and I'll add it. Thanks!

EDIT TO ADD: I suspect the paucity of classes listed at the clubs is due to the effects of Initiative I-594 a couple of years ago, which made it illegal to hand a gun  to someone not your relative without a background check. The training exemption makes it legal to do so if the gun remains at the range full-time. Not a lot of help...
Note this well, you who live in states considering similar "common sense regulations."

I was too busy lernin' to take pichures...

...'cuz I was takin' a class from Mas at FAS. 

But I got a couple.

Me and Mas.
Note to self: Take the hat off. This is after adjusting lighting...

The bandanna came out of the pocket and was applied to the back of my neck after the hot brass issue mentioned in the previous post.
Come to think of it, it's as old as the Colt and Pachmeyr magazines mentioned in the previous post.

Marty Hayes and I.
Marty (in case you didn't know) is the Chief Executive of FAS, and of the
Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network