One thing I recall from USMC and White House Detail . .when the goop hits the fan you will do what you've trained to do. I never WANT to stall an airplane but practice stalls over and over. I want my reaction, at 2am in a thunderstorm, to be ingrained.
The "opening the door at night" is a sore point with me. People are creatures of habit . . a knock or a doorbell and we are TRAINED to open the door. I always xdddill into family members do NOT open a door without knowing who and what is on the other side and that they are not in peril.
I agree with practicing for bad scenarios. That's why I always try and convince new riders to get a dirt bike and learn how to fall down! Being used to not having traction in a corner comes in handy on the street when you hit some diesel fuel in the middle of a turn! Same goes for defense situations. Well said.
In other news I found that some cheap ammo I've acquired won't run in my Springfield Armory 9mm 1911. The chamber is too tight. It's some off brand stuff. It runs in everything else I've tried. It's a defunct company, so the chances of coming across it again are pretty slim. It's the first ammo I can remember having a problem with in any handgun...other than crappy steel cased 357 Magnum.
I deeply regret not having a lot of dirt bike time, but I went from mini-bikes to street bikes with a multi year time gap. Some dirt time, but not enough to be good at it.
Dare you analyze this concealed carrier's behavior? I'm not a fan of the guy. Was pointed to his video from a cop friend.
The link starts the video near the incident of interest. Before that he's just talking about the CHAZ/CHOP situation, describing what he sees and the shooting the night before. I was appalled at how he handled the confrontation. He escalated rather than de-escalated, which is the duty of every concealed carrier. At the end, when the video briefly returns, you can see the antifa thug clearly has his hand in pocket wrapped around a pistol, ready to draw.
That black kid who kicked his camera wears black hoodie with Root-Africa logo. This kid definitely needs to be send to Africa in Liberia where he will be happy.
"All the guy had to do was calmly ignore, or reply "no, it's an animal shelter pin" and keep walking."
What's wrong with police pin? They asked him about it and he just approached to them to answer their question and discuss with them. Nobody expected that the black person will suddenly attack him. And you are saying he should ignore them and keep walking? Nobody expected that this black guy will start acting like this. This is just normal people interaction to stop and answer question. And if you are saying this was wrong way to respond for an answer for a person who is concealed carrier then this person probably should avoid this CHAZ/CHOP zone at all in the first place because of just being there is already puts him at higher risk of necessity of using his gun.
The writing was on the wall. Communist thugs. That was just the beginning. Later he's daring the guy to take a swing at him. Go ahead and argue. Wisdom comes with experience.
Most importantly, I'm not so rich I can play vigilante and expect to stay out of jail.
Then there's the whole armored suit and gadget belt. Don't have either.
And despite years of martial arts practice, I never got to "bada$$ enough to take on multiple armed criminals" and my prime was last century. Being fairly proficient in melee weapons forms, even multiple attackers level, also is pretty futile bare handed. There's a REASON why decent martial arts teacher emphasizes bare hands. You can't count on being armed.
And don't bother with "you have to carry a weapon habitually" , when in the Real World it's illegal in spots on your daily routine. Plus it's a guarantee I'd be stopped by the police if I strolled down main street with a naginata over my shoulder or had a spatha on my hip.
And finally, in the "I'm not Batman" category, you simply can't hit people hard enough to stop them from hurting you or knock them out, without doing serious, probably crippling, highly probably fatal, harm. Comics, tv, & movies are fictional.
And in real life, against a mob, I technically could defend myself effectively with medieval weaponry, but the result would literally be carnage. Blood running down the street. Splatter all over. There's nothing non lethal about swords or guns. "Shoot to wound" is fantasy. Just hit them in the shoulder, like tv cop shows? IRL that's permanently crippled, a sure lawsuit, and criminal charges.
Just imagine the reaction of a jury to pictures of the aftermath of someone stopping half a dozen thugs. Old school. ( think the season 1 climax of Spartacus, Blood & Sand, ) or with modern ( The last century ) firearms. Jackson Pollack, anyone?
I have a brother that was once tough enough to take on four guys...one of whom had a baseball bat. He got socked in the eye pretty good, but the other guys got hospitalized. They actually pressed charges. Thankfully the judge presiding over the case threw it out and gave the wanna be thugs a good chiding. They were all rich suburban white guys trying to act tough, and picked the wrong guy on that day.
There is the reason for the 4 1/5 inch screws in the hardware holding my steel doors on. When someone knocks at night everyone vacates the living room and I pick up an AR. My usual position allows me a brick wall for a back stop with cover and concealment.
Good news . . . . If you happen to be doing a major renovation . . . You can use 2” x 2” angle iron+ concealed ...and have Anderson custom make the perimeter latching system. The door essentially has locking lugs, like a bank vault, that embed in the steel reinforcement.
Turns out to be about a $10,000 door . . . But, it’s a door, not a tent flap.
Key ...pardon the pun.... is getting family members to lock.
Part of a comprehensive home security plan is breaking into your own home.
Can you do it?
No one should know the potential weaknesses better than you.
Also, if doing a renovation. . . Don’t miss the chance to construct a set of swing out closet shelves with a 4’x4’ room for 2 constructed of 1/2” high grade steel with a remote ventilator. Both Panasonic and Fantech make great ventilator fans. I like Fantech for the ability to put the fan ... and any (it’s very low) noise on the opposite end of the house. Remember to provide for a “wave port” so you don’t effectively lock yourself in a Faraday cage and have no communication.
And great thoughts to consider. In my budget, I allow for some weaknesses. One is my escape means.
Court, The safe room should have air freshener, 5 gallon bucket, TP, energy bars, water, extra water, battery, fan, light, pencil, paper, and most important; "some books".
Key ...pardon the pun.... is getting family members to lock.
You can get inexpensive time-based locks. Auto-lock at 9pm, for example. Can be its own deadbolt, doesn't have to be the doorknob.
Do NOT get "smart" locks - anything with wifi/internet connection can be monitored and hacked. Standalone stuff only for me (well...I have a smart thermostat, but what're they going to do - freeze me out of my house? I'll catch on fast enough...I was born at night, but it wasn't LAST night!)
My EDC is a Springfield XDs 9mm semiauto. I prefer, naturally, to practice with it more than anything else because...it's my EDC.
But...ammo is scarce.
I also have my .38 revolver. Totally different animal...but also a totally different ammo supply that I don't mind (as much) running through. It is, truly, a Heritage piece, full of sentimental value that I would never carry daily because of its history and value (to me).
Practice is practice, right?
Or...would practicing with a revolver actually hinder my skillset with the XDs?
They shoot COMPLETELY differently...but I hatehateHATE not practicing at all. But, I don't want to go "backwards", either...and, I do "stack the deck" on my XDs since it's outfitted with an instant-on laser. Place dot, pull trigger, make hole.
But I hate not practicing.
And, I love shooting.
But, if I shoot a 70 year old revolver, would it hinder/change my abilities with the modern semiauto?
Thought it is. Joe, Get some snap caps for the XDs. Dry fire at home. Practice like you are shooting a bow. Slow deliberate trigger pull without upsetting the platform. I have a LaserLyte that fits in the barrel. It flashes when the gun is dry fired. I can see where it was pointed when the hammer hit.
If it's a double action revolver...that tends to help when it comes to pulling the trigger of any firearm. I've found that anyone that can master a DA trigger to the point that they can shoot just as accurately as in SA mode, they can run any trigger well.
At the same time, an older gun with a lot of sentimental value should be fired minimally, as wear and tear can make repairs troublesome if parts are obsolete/unavailable. That's why I sold all my older Smith's and replaced them with their modern counterparts.
A lot of people have been ordering Russian steel case in bulk. The stuff is okay in most guns...except for Magnum revolver calibers and blowback semi automatics.
Even Tula is .25/round these days...and I can't use steel cases at my local range. But I may grab some just for the backyard...
Most of my normal mail-order places are dry. I typically buy 1,000 at a time - any suggestions?
The revolver is a 1951 Colt OP 4", SA/DA. I'm not worried about breakage per se, I can always rebuild internals (springs are easy to source), I just don't want to mess with the cosmetics. Near-perfect bluing, and hand-carved/monogrammed Ivory grips. THOSE, are irreplacable. I've actually thought about mounting and framing it for display...but I do enjoy shooting it once in a while, in Dad's memory.
I love the story of your Colt, or your dad's Colt! I too have several of my dad's firearms. In your case I would look for a 22 auto that has a similar grip angle to your Springfield. It wouldn't even need to be a high end pistol since it's just for practice. Your life would not be depending on it! Maintaining muscle memory and hand eye coordination would be your goal. You could even set it up with the same type laser sight.