Ughhh
Steve at the Firearm Blog posted a link to the “Statue of Liberty” Glock being auctioned for the 2012 SHOT show:
Now, Glocks are many things. Pretty is not one of them. I appreciate good engraving as much as the next guy, but I would have chosen a different canvas!
Quote of the Day
Today’s quote of the day is from JayG, in regards to the latest .Gov silliness that thinks it can legislate away danger.
Is life. Is not safe.
I’m going to have a t-shirt made with that.
Quote of the day
…comes to us from Larry Correia at MHI:
Newt Gingrich once said that FDR was his favorite president of the twentieth century, and perhaps of all American history. Newt says he is conservative, so that be would like somebody saying they are Christian, but their favorite angel is Lucifer.
Larry’s error is that FDR was, in fact, Lucifer.
As an aside, if you don’t read Larry’s books, you suck and no one loves you.
More on midset
I wanted to spend a little more time on mindset and reactions, as a follow on to my earlier post, from a slightly different angle.
I reached my personal epiphany some years ago that there were threats in this world that could not be reasoned with. It began on 9/11, and solidified when I became a dad. I realized that I was responsible for this little girl, and that I needed to protect her. Part of protecting her is keeping her safe from physical threats, but part of protecting her means making sure that she has a dad in her life. So, I have an obligation to keep myself safe. Knowing that there are some threats that cannot be scared, cannot be deterred, cannot be reasoned with, it follows that I have to have the means to stop the threat right now. And I choose the tool that is best able to do that, the firearm.
I’ve spent a bit of time researching what happens psychologically to people who are involved in critical situations. I’ve read Lt. Col. Dave Grossman’s work, Mas Ayoob’s work, John Boyd’s work, and a host of others. I’ve spent a lot of time learning how the brain reacts to stress. For example, did you know that lots of people who drown scuba diving in caves pull out their own regulators? It seems that we have a hard wired panic response to clear our airways, even if that will kill us.
I bring all this up to point out the following: there is a hell of a lot of ink and pixels spilled in the gunnieverse spilled over rational self-defense decisions. The 9mm vs .45 caliber wars are the Platonic ideal of this. Which gun, which caliber, which holster, isosceles or Weaver…we spend a lot of time on these decisions, partly because its fun, and partly because its something we can control in what we all know is going to be an out of control situation. There is also a fair bit of what I’ll call “tactical bullshit”: shallow thinking by people who don’t understand the problem.
The problem with all of these decisions and thinking is that it biases us to think that a gunfight is going to be like we talk about it on the Internet. Namely: I recognize the threat, and I do this, and he does this, and then I do this, and then he does this, and then something happens, and then I do this again, and then the bad guy is down and victory lap. This mental model is broken because it ignores the velocity of the event. You aren’t going to have time to think, or to plan. The right mental model is a car accident. You will hopefully see it coming, and have time to maybe take one action to save your life. (As an aside, if you have ever taken Defensive Driving, it’s nothing more than Col. Coopers awareness scale applied to driving.)
I’ve never been in a gunfight, and God willing I never will be, but I’ve gone through force on force training, and I’ve observed this effect in myself. During Gunsite 350, we did a force on force drill with Simunition guns. I’ve written about the experience here. What was interesting to me is how surprising the whole thing was. Now, keep in mind, I was at a gun school. I had just suited up in protective gear, had a safety briefing, and was being led into a shoot house, were I had been told that something was going to happen. And yet, when the scenario started, I stood there surprised, not knowing what to do. And while I did an OK job, I made a bunch of mistakes. That’s ok…that’s why we train. But I got an insight into how the brain reacts.
Whatever your self defense strategy is, make sure you are realistic about how you are going to be able to react. Don’t over think the problem.
Welcome, Citizen!
Ian Harrison, the winner of Top Shot season one, has become a US citizen, and has written a very thoughtful article about how and why.
Go wish Ian well. We need more like him.
H/T to JayG
We don’t carry guns to scare people
Joe points to this article about a man that was busted with a firearm in a TSA line, and the TSA agent who shot himself trying to clear the gun. I’m not going to comment about the stupidity of the TSA, which you might expect, but on the stupidity of the passenger. Not for bringing the gun. I have to methodically search every pocket of my bags when I fly, on the off chance that I stuck a mag somewhere and forgot about it, so I can see how this might happen. But for this gem:
He told police that he “travels to Florida often on business and keeps the weapon on him for protection, not to kill anyone but in an attempt to scare people off,” the report said.
Folks, you know the old gun banner canard “they will just take it and use it against you?” That is true in only one circumstance: when you are foolish enough to carry a gun without the intent to use it. We don’t carry guns to scare people. And we certainly don’t draw a gun to scare people. We draw a gun because we need to use that tool to save our life, or the life of someone else.
If you aren’t at the point, mentally and emotionally, that you could shoot someone to stop them from killing or maiming yourself or a loved one, then no harm, no foul. But don’t bring a firearm to the situation without the will to use it.
One final note: carrying a gun to frighten attackers assumes that all attackers can be frightened. What if you encounter someone who isn’t afraid of you and your gun?
Good News!
So I just found out that my company is planning their 2012 kickoff meeting in Las Vegas during the week of the 01/16. Lets see, what is going on in Vegas during the week of the 16th…?
I’ve already registered my credentials. I’ll be bouncing back and forth between *REDACTED* and NSSF events. I know that JayG is going to be out there…any other gunnies going to be in attendance?
GENIUS!!!!
I love this story.
I especially love the guy at the end who is the “opposition.” And the disapproval of the news chick, who despite her disapproval manages to put a round downrange.
H/T to Robb.
Shun knives
As my regular readers know (Hi, mom!), in addition to putting holes in things from a distance, my second hobby is cooking. I was out shopping in the mall last weekend, and they had this knife on sale, way below normal pricing. It’s a simple 6″ chef’s knife, but it is easily the sharpest knife that I have ever used. I can cut perfect matchstick julienned vegetables.
It’s still pricey, but I’m sold on the quality of Shun.
More Cowbell!
Sean is setting up another TigerSwan class. I’ll be there, and you should be too. Your shooting will improve more in 8 hours than you thought possible.
I’m looking at the 2012 training budget now, and this class is definitely on there.
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Do your part!
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