Monthly Archives: March 2024

Practice makes ‘better than sucks’

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I’ve been to a couple classes at gun school, many years ago, and I have had forays into competitive shooting also many years ago. But any acquired skill can be easily unacquired by lack of usage or lack of repetition. And as I’ve gotten older, instead of having no money but lotsa time, it’s gone the other way. I can afford the toys, I just don’t have the time to shoot them. Thats gotta change.

A friend of mine reminded me that the difference between an amateur and a professional is that an amateur practices until they get it right, a professional practices until he can’t get it wrong. I have no desire to be a ‘professional’, whatever that means, in terms of pistolero. But what I do want is a heightened/sharpened skillset that will help me when things are in a panic and rational thought has left the room. What’s that expression about how ‘you will default to your level of training’?

The world is not getting to be a brighter, warmer, friendlier place. I would prefer, given my druthers, that if it ever comes down to some brief-but-intense moment where a pistol is what stands between the safety of those I care about and the violent intentions of some whacko, I have the muscle memory and presence of mind to perform up to the task. I don’t need to be the fastest, I don’t need the briefest split times, I don’t need to be Best In Overall finish. I just need to be able to draw my pistol and get bullets on the target in the most expeditious and efficient way possible without shooting myself or anyone else. The only person I need to compete against is me. I do not want to rely on luck.

So, I’m working on adopting the habit of getting out to the range once a week to work on my pistol and carbine skills. Not to plink, not to target shoot, not to screw around, but to actually practice repeatable drills, get metrics on performance, track those metrics, and instill some habits and behaviors that will, ideally, work in my favor if that need ever arises.

How to do that? Well, as Flannel Daddy says “Talk is cheap and ammo is expensive”. First thing is dry fire practice. Drawing a pistol from the holster smoothly, getting a clear sight picture, and keeping the gun on target as the trigger is pulled. That’s an easy enough thing to practice at home…I spent the money for the Mantis laser dry fire and I can’t say enough good things about it. I get to use my carry pistol, the holster I normally wear, the light I normally use, etc, etc. And I can do this sort of practice whenever I want and not have to leave my living room. Can’t recommend it enough.

So, part of my intended practice plan is a healthy dose of dry fire. At some point, it’s time to head to the range and put some actual metal into the air. Still, 9mm isnt as cheap as I’d like it to be, so there’s also a good bit of .22 practice going on. A while back I bought a Glock 44 specifically for this sort of thing. While dry firing absolutely has merit and utility, the feedback of a bullet hitting the metal plate sure gives some nice positive reinforcement. Yeah, there are conversion kits out there for the Glock but I have a bit of experience with them and was never all that impressed with them. I have more confidence in a .22 trainer built by the guys who also built the real thing. Your mileage may vary, of course…and I know there will be posts in the comments about how someone’s conversion kit has functioned flawlessly blah, blah, blah. Great, man, I’m happy for you…Im just telling you what my experience has been and what it’s led me to do. You do you.

And, of course, from there its another step forward and time to shoot actual 9mm. Cheap ball is around $0.25 per round today and if you think you can reload it for less than that, then you havent bought primers lately:

At eight cents per primer, youre still looking at about four or five cents for powder, and at least a dime for a bullet. I’m assuming you’re using scrounged (‘free’) brass. That puts you at around $0.23 per round. Screw that, I’ll pay the extra $20 for 1000 rounds I didnt spend all weekend reloading.

If you have to use a carbine for self-defense, things really have kinda gone off the rails but thats the world we’re living in today. As a result, I have a CMMG .22 conversion kit and I don’t really have a bad thing to say about it. As I type this, Arms Unlimited is selling the CCMG kit and 13 magazines for $205. You’re missing out if you don’t jump on that deal. I’ve bought three of those packages as gifts for friends of mine so they can join me in some casual competition. My experience has been that the Federal bulk box .22 is the preferred ammo. When youre done using the kit, fire a round or two of.223 out of it to clean the .22 gunk outta your gas system.

Next up is a shot timer. Not because I’m interested in being the fastest gun out there, but because I want to measure my own progress. There are apps you can download for your phone that provide very good shot timer functions, but I really don’t want to half-ass any of this process and I can afford a purpose-built shot timer. On Tam‘s recommendation* I purchased a shot timer off Amazon. I must say, last time I did anything that required a shot timer we did not have the fancy Bluetooth connection that you kids have today. And if you go waaaaaay back, Cooper and his gang started this whole trend with just a stopwatch and a fast thumb.

Targets are, for me , the steel plates hanging at the range, so I bring along a can of spraypaint to clean them up. I’ll probably sign up for the Big Sky Practical Pistol Club membership so I can use their stands and plates. But I’ll also swing by Scheels and pick up some target stands and go online and order up a pile of the IPSC/USPSA torso targets to use.

About the only thing left to do, logistics-wise, is research what shooting drills I want to incorporate into a routine and which ones i think will provide me the skills I foresee needing. Obviously I want something that does a draw-from-concealment, some weak-hand stuff, some close-in drill, and then whatever else looks like it may lead to a useful skillset to have tucked away for that Bad Day. The odds of ever needing those sorts of skills are pretty strong against it…but I’ve had the odds thrown out the window before.

But, for now, I’ve got most of the gear details ironed out. Now its time to draw up the schedule and regimen and get to it…which is, as we all know, the toughest part. Talking is easy, doing…not so much.

 

* = I should point out that when I have a question regarding gun schools and competition, Tam has been very generous in taking the time to answer  my dumb questions with patience and promptness. So…h/t.

Article – Yellen Asked to Probe Issues in an Ammunition Maker’s Sale

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Typical government BS….theyl’ll let municipalities and individuals bring huge lawsuits against ammo companies because, well, because…but then when some outside company wants to buy that same ammo company all of a sudden its a national defense issue.

The concerns involve the sale of Vista Outdoor’s ammunition business to the holding company Czechoslovak Group, or CSG, which Higgins said would weaken national security if the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, or Cfius, approves the sale.

The Louisiana Republican said in a letter that the sale of Vista Sporting Products to CSG would result in the firm controlling “nearly 70% of production capacity for primers in the Western world.” Primers are the component of a bullet that ignites the charge, sending the projectile down the barrel of a pistol or rifle.

This started, I think, with Macnamara back in the 60’s/70’s who felt that closing down government owned facilities and farming it out to private industry made more sense. I have boxes of Springfield Armory and Rock Island Armory primers and bullets from the 1940’s. Yes youngsters, there was a time Uncle Sam made his boomtoys himself. Sure, some of it got farmed out too (Rockola M1 Carbines, Winchester 1903’s, etc.) but it used to be the US had government facilites for churning out this sort of thing.

I am extremely opposed to the nationalization of any industrial concern, but I’m not opposed to government building its own production facility to meet its needs. And, really, if Uncle Sam is really that concerned about this issue, they can reach into their bottomless pockets and just buy the whole business lock, stock, and barrel making facility.

I also find it interesting that Janet Yellen, she of ‘temporary inflation’ fame, is sounding the call on this issue.

Oh, Canaduh….

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The solution to the jungle encroaching on civilization is to grab a machete and beat the jungle back, not spread out fertilizer and water.

From the NotSoGreatWhiteNorth:

To protect yourself from a home invasion that is oriented at stealing your vehicle, the Toronto cops say to leave your keys prominently by the front door so the bad guys don’t have to come after you once they kick in your front door. I was going to say “You can’t make this stuff up”, but it’s Canada so it actually seems pretty legit.

Look, I know that Canada is, essentially, an entire country made of Nerf and that whatever national reserve of BFYTW was exhausted long before this weasel minced into power, but this is just plain embarrassing. I have no doubt there are individuals up there in Canuckistan who are aghast at this sort of pandering and are more than happy to light someone up who tries to kick in their front door for a set of car keys…I just wish they got some air time. This isn’t a good look for you, Neville Chamberlain Canada.

Someone comes through your front door like a homicidal KoolAid man, the solution is not appeasement but rather ‘sudden battle … with utter recklessness’, as Heinlein might say. This devolution of society, where things like appeasing illegal aliens, squatters, and home invaders are going from bad ideas to actual policy, continues because we let it. There’ll be a tipping point eventually, and when it happens it won’t stop there. Those will be some interesting times.

Freezer redux

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A few weeks back I received a little ‘cashback bonus’ check from CostCo. I’d been thinking that I would use it to pick up a second freezer for the basement. Of course, thats a pretty simplistic goal because nothing ever goes easy.

I figured I did not want two freezers on the same circuit. If their compressors both came on at the same time, it seemed like that would be a recipe for popping a fuse. The solution, assuming that I was right and that having two frezers on the same circuit was a problem, is to have each freezer on a different circuit. Well…yeah but.

When I moved into the house, it had an electric stove. I threw that thing away, had a gas line run to the kitchen, and put in a gas stove. So, I have a 220 circuit that is completely unused. Could I not have it made to run a 110 freezer? Short answer: with enough money anything is possible.

I asked several people and they all gave me some variation of ‘drop one leg off the 220 outlet and use that’. Look, maybe I could have done it with enough time on YouTube how-to videos, but then when I was done I’d have to call in a pro to unscrew whatever I screwed up. And when you screw up with electricity you either die or your house goes up in smoke. Why not just save a step and go straight to the pro?

So, gal at work has a husband who is an electrician. I shanghai’d him into coming by and looking at my ancient, ancient panel. He remarked it was older than him. And 75 amp service. He said the normal standard these days is 200 amp. But putting in a new panel would require all sortsa contortions to meet the rather annoying codes in this town.

What we wound up doing was running the 220 down into a new itty bitty subpanel and then running the new outlet offa that panel. Whatever, just get it done.

So, finally got my #2 freezer up and running. My plan is to use it as my ‘everyday’ freezer and use #1 as my ‘storage’ freezer. Y’know, rotate stuff outta freezer #1 into freezer #2 for use…that sorta thing. I like having the extra freezer space..not gonna deny it. I’m actually quite excited about getting to have a much better organized freezer space than what I have now.

So..thats the weekend right there. The wiring took a couple hours, cost me a few hundred bucks, but the real PITA was having to move 60 large ammo cans to the other side of the basement to make room for things. THAT was what really wiped me out.

But, hey, I’ve room for lots more bargain meats now.

Training montage

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Lovely days lately here in western Montana. Time to dust off the mountain bike and get ready for warmer-weather activities.

More than anything else, I need to start an actual training regime at the range. I’ve gone through the trouble and expense of acquiring .22 conversion kits for my rifles, and picking up a .22 Glock 44 to practice my pistol handling skills….now I just need to adopt a plan of shooting drills and exercises, to be performed on a regular basis, to make sure I’m staying competent on decay-susceptible skills.

(And, by the way, the Mantis system I purchased a while back is excellent and I highly recommend it for those times when getting to the range just ain’t gonna happen.)

While Im at it, I need to get back to some form of weight and mobility training. Its been too long since I sat on the floor, did stretches, and moves a bunch of weigh around.

With the end of the world (in some fashion) seemingly just around the corner, I’d like to have a headstart on being able to competently place in the top slots in the upcoming Shoot-n-Scoot Olympics.

There is no shortage of gun drills out there….the Mozambique (later renamed to Failure Drill) is probably the best known…but there’s others out there. I’m curious – if you were going to establish, say, a weekly routine of basic shooting skill drills for rifle and pistol, which ones would you do? Please link to a description/video.

And, for fun……..

Buying

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There’s just never a shortage of things to spend money on these days. Usually, based on my previous history, when an election year rolls around I wind up spending a fair amount of coin on things like AR lowers and standard-capacity magazines. Having done this for several election cycles now, I’m reasonably comfortable with what I have in terms of those items that I no longer feel the need to panic-buy more…although I want to.

But, the world is, hands down, a more dangerous place these days. I know that, for myself, my level of concern for my safety and security has been elevated for the last couple years. We see it on the news all the time — stuffs gettin’ weird. That weirdness can be distant, like Russia/Ukraine/Hamas/Israel…or it can be local, like homeless camps, home invasions, and impending layoffs. Pick your apocalypse, there’s plenty to choose from.

So, rather than just picking up the phone and ordering another couple cases of Magpuls, I’m trying to be more targeted and discrete in my approach. Take, for example, my recent purchase of a light-compatible holster… It’s something I’ve been wanting for a while but it was always a case of “someday’. Yeah, well, someday is now because it’s a weird world out there we’re in. So I’m really just filling all sorts of gaps in logistical, tactical, and strategic quarters. What does that look like? Well, I’ve got a dry erase board up on my fridge with a list that reads like this: Glock armorers tools, Glock threaded barrel, Glock night sights, ACOG TA-44, propane bottles, 10mm dies, part #121G, Magpul sights, Beretta G conversion, MP5 mag clamps, (more) .223 ammo, etc, etc.  It’s a bit of a list. But its a plan..and without a plan you wind up throwing resources around in a very inefficient manner.

And, of course, there’s still that little bugaboo that has been dogging me for years – a chunk of dirt. (Still haven’t seen the perfect place within my price range yet…but I’m being patient and adding to the war chest.)

It’s not an economically easy thing, this whole being a survivalist thing… but, I suppose I’d rather have these things (and their related expense) when I need them rather than the alternative.

 

New holster

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My day-to-day carry guns are twofold. When I’m at work, and have to not be obviously armed, I carry a Smith 642 snubbie in an ankle holster under my khakis. Better than  nothing.

When I can wear whatever i want, I usually carry a Glock 17. If I’m running errands, shopping, at the post office, visiting friends, etc, etc, I am going to be, most likely, toting the G17. My holster of choice is a DeSantis that I picked up brand new many years back and have given a tremendous amount of ‘character’ (read:wear and tear). Its a holster that says “I’ve seen things, man.” Its pretty scuffed and battered. But it works fine.

The problem is, about fifty percent of the time it is dark. And while my G17 has a nice set of night sights on it, when lighting is a bit dim its nice to have a weapon-mounted light. However, carrying a pistol with a weapon mounted light is always a bit annoying because you have to get a holster specifically made to accommodate such a protuberance. But, as the world increasingly gets weird, I am taking my personal safety more seriously than before. So…time to get a holster that will accommodate a light.

I like leather, and my two main go-to guys for gunleather are Galco and DeSantis. Finding a holster/light combo compatible holster is dizzying. You have, generally, two sizes of Glock frame – the 9/40 and 10/45. (Discounting the smaller Glocks.) For weapon-mounted lights you’ve got at least…at least…a dozen variations. So, in theory, thats at least 24 possible combinations that may require a unique holster to fit them. But, where there is a will, there is a way.And, like all new leather holsters, it needs a little elbow grease here and there to loosen it up a little. But it seems like a decent enough product.

More importantly, it adds a bit of advantage in my favor, I believe, by giving me the option of having a way to illuminate a target. And, of course, i can also simply not use the light if I don’t feel the need…but at least its there to give me an option I might not otherwise have.

I know that there is a contingent of people who feel that weapon lights are ridiculous because all they do is telegraph your location to the lurking bad guy. I can see the argument, but I can also see arguments in the other direction. As I said, at least this way I have the option as I deem the situation warrants.

The holster, by the way, is a DeSantis “The Tac-Lite” Belt Holster For Glock 9/40 With Streamlight Right Hand Leather Tan 117TAW8Z0 [FC-792695319375]

One more thing to cross off my list….

Article – U.S. ‘prepper’ culture diversifies amid fear of disaster and political unrest

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Hmm..wanting to be safe and secure isn’t just a white guy thing. Who knew?

LONGMONT, Colorado — Brook Morgan surveyed booths at the “Survival & Prepper Show” in Colorado that were stocked with boxes of ammunition, mounds of trauma medical kits, and every type of knife imaginable.

A self-described “30-year-old lesbian from Indiana,” Morgan is one of a new breed of Americans getting ready to survive political upheaval and natural catastrophes, a pursuit that until recently was largely associated with far-right movements such as white nationalists since the 1980s.

No article about POC (preppers of color) would complete without dialing up the wayback machine to this article about NYC survivalists, and a profile of Aton Edwards who was, at the time, promoting himself as a survivalist. As far as I can tell, that might have been the first media representation of a black survivalist.

Over the years, I’ve met a bunch of survivalists…one of my best friends for a number of years was a gay survivalist. I have another acquaintance who is an Asian survivalist. I also know a Jewish survivalist and at least one somewhat lefty survivalist. I’m less concerned about what you are than I am about who you are.

Interestingly, I dont know any black survivalists but thats mostly because I live in a pretty homogenous place. However, if I met one I wouldn’t have any problem being their friend, assuming we got along on stuff. As a wise man once said, “Racism is a silly philosophy. If you take the time to know someone…really get to know them….you can find a much better reason to hate them.”

A cynic might say “Yeah, got a survivalist buddy who is black/Hispanic/Middle Eastern…that way when the balloon goes up you can have an in with whatever ethnic militia winds up running the show.

Somehow, I don’t think it’ll come to that. But…I’ve been wrong.

If someone wants to take responsibility for their well being, and step up to take care of their loved ones without demanding ‘government should do something’, then we’re probably going to be friends..I don’t care what your melanin count is.

I should also mention I have met survivalists of a much more…unfriendly…type. I used to work with a guy who identified as a white nationalist. Nice enough guy but I would probably keep my distance in a world without 911. Met another guy who said that after the bombs dropped it would be open season on atheists because their lack of religion meant they had no morals to keep them from raping and killing and were therefore a threat to everyone. And, of course, we’ve all met the survivalists whose entire plan for rising out the apocalypse is to simply to take by force from other people (cough*GunKid*cough).

I, for one, welcome anyone into the fold of survivalism who wants the same things I want: safety, security, and liberty.

 

Article -‘Built by preppers for preppers’: See this Wisconsin compound built for off-the-grid lifestyles

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Set on a dead-end road with vantage points, a shooting range, gardens, apple trees and plenty of lumber, Allen says it would be well suited for someone who wants to be prepared to go off the grid.

“Obviously it relates- it makes a lot of sense now with the way that some people feel about the current state, you know, that we’re in,” Allen said. “The way that it’s built and constructed, it probably would cater to so called ‘preppers’ nowadays.”

Kinda sweet. Someone spent some good money to put this thing together. I rather like the idea of earth-sheltered homes but I always wonder about the long-term waterproofness of such things. I think I’d be more interested in earth-bermed homes. Kinda like those ammunition bunkers where they bulldoze berms on all sides.

Anyway, places like these are always interesting to look at, unfortunately the attention sales like this receive kinda negates a lot of the advantage of a place like this.

This one gets the Harder Homes & Gardens tag.

H/T to the person who emailed me about this.