Language and Civilization
22 Feb 13 These excellent comments from a friend and academician: “Language serves us, not only by providing an ability to clearly and efficiently communicate, one person to another. It also provides us with an ecumenical ‘vocabulary of concepts.’ For us to integrate bits of raw information and, from that, form concepts and principles, our […]
Sloppy Language
21 Feb 13 In my Instructor Courses, I caution students against using sloppy, non-specific language when lecturing students. Such sloppiness is corrosive to the instructor’s credibility and degrades the value of instruction. An example is the over-use of “Madison Avenue-isms.” Commonly heard in modern advertising, but properly absent from genuine instruction, a “Madison Avenue-ism” is […]
NDs!
19 Feb 13 At a recent Course, one of my students had an ND in his hotel room. It was a single shot from a pistol that hit the floor (ground-floor room). No personal injury and only slight property damage, which my student graciously took care of promptly. The bullet (9mm hardball) demolished itself on […]
Heroes in Action
15 Feb 13 Classic American entrepreneurs, and my friends, Ronnie Barrett and Mark LaRue, both deserve our grateful recognition for taking a courageous stand that will be unpopular with socialist politicians, including mayors, governors, and presidents alike Both have publically declared that they will not sell guns, nor accouterments, to any government agency, nor any […]
Guide to Governance, Good and Bad
14 Feb 13 Benevolent governments enact laws prohibiting “harmful behaviors” on the part of individuals. Enlightened officials, elected and appointed, as a matter of personal honor, chivalrously subject themselves to the same laws they demand everyone else obey. Tyrannical governments enact laws prohibiting “things” that frighten them, like guns. Tyrannical officials, elected and appointed, with […]
Situation Update
11 Feb 13 Situation Update, from a large retailer in the Midwest: “No one in our industry ever thought anything like this current feeding-frenzy was even possible! I’ve watched our entire inventory sell-out over the past few weeks, and our pace of resupply doesn’t come close to keeping up! First, it was all our Stoner-System […]
IBD Story, from a friend and instructor in UT
8 Feb 13 IBD Story, from a friend and instructor in UT: “I work at a residential treatment center. Many of our admits struggle with suicidal ideation and self-harm impulses, like cutting. Our job is to help keep them safe while they participate in a lengthy, therapeutic and academic treatment program. And, since I completed […]
Sign of the times
6 Feb 13 Most big, metro police departments currently do not respond to electronic burglar-alarms on unoccupied property, particularly during high-activity periods like holiday weekends. The PD will eventually send an unsworn “community-service” officer to take a report, but will not dispatch a beat-car to the location when the alarm comes in. Now, cash-strapped Chicago […]
Getting worse!
5 Feb 13 This from a close friend in the industry: “I have been in the firearms/ammunition distribution business since I left my agency in 1988, and I have never seen Americans this desperate to buy anything and everything associated with weapons and effective fighting. The current situation is unprecedented! Not only guns and ammunition, […]
Gas-Adjustable, Military Rifles
1 Feb 13 At an Urban Rifle Course in South Florida earlier this week. I ran my XCR-M in 7.62×51 (308 Win) for two days, and several of my students were using gas-adjustable rifles as well. Some gas-piston rifles, like the ever-popular M1A, are not gas-adjustable, but many others, like the FAL, SIG/556, and the […]
FL Pig Hunt!
29 Jan 13 Late yesterday afternoon, on a ranch down here in south FL, I shot and killed a 125lb wild pig, using my LaRue/Aimpoint (T1) and Surefire (X300)-equipped XCR-M, with 168gr Cor-Bon DPX (308). We were ten minutes into an all-afternoon hunt. I was perched high on a swamp-buggy, along with my guides and […]
7.62×51 (308 Win) DPX
26 Jan 13 Yesterday, I was asked to put-down a crippled bull at a ranch here in FL where I’m currently conducting Courses. The bull was large, upwards of 1500 lbs, and a victim of territorial struggles with rival bulls. He had numerous broken bones, and doubtless, serious internal injuries. He was out in a […]
“Security” in Academia?
22 Jan 13 “A wise man never attempts to warm himself in front of a picture of a fire” “Polish Proverbs” from Thomas Banacek (played by George Peppard) in the 1972-74 NBC television series, “Banacek” “Security” in Academia? From a friend in NM: “I’m a college professor. At a recent ‘faculty-orientation’ I pointedly asked our […]
Circling the Drain?
22 Jan 13 Chicago’s violent crime statistics have taken center-stage recently, but Detroit’s are even worse, as everyone who lives in the area knows. These comments from a friend there: “Our city-center is being, at least somewhat, ‘kept clean’ for the sake of what scant tourism we still have, but only with massive spending and […]
Correction
19 Jan 13 ADSI’s Web Page will be up in a week, or two. During our inaugural meeting, I was shown ADSI’s Web Page, but I neglected to listen when I was told it would not be launched immediately. Sorry for my error! In any event, I’ll advise. It won’t be long! /John
2013 Shot Show, Last Day
18 Jan 13 The 2013 Shot Show is now history. Record attendance, record number of exhibitors, and heavy security, but 2013 (maybe 2014 too!) will go down in history as “The Year of Shortages.” Many makers of guns and ammunition have already stopped taking new orders. They’re doing their best to take care of long-time […]
2013 Shot Show, Third Day
17 Jan 13 At the Springfield Armory booth, I got a chance to handle the XD/S, in 9mm. External dimension are identical to the SD/S in 45ACP, so it is SA’s version of the M&P Shield, the PM9, and several others. Will be popular! Windham Weaponry, makers of excellent ARs, had on display a new […]
2013 SHOT Show, Second Day
16 Jan 13 Surefire is now making a 500-lumen weaponlight! I now have a copy mounted on my XCR-M, and a light that bright adequately illuminates targets sixty meters downrange. Recommended for rifles! Mark LaRue’s famous “Predatobr” AR is called the “suitcase-rifle,” and for good reason. I saw the railed-forend come off, barrel come off, […]
2013 SHOT Show, First Day
15 Jan 13 Mood at the Show is edgy! Everyone is wondering if, and how, their lives will change. No one trusts, nor expects, anyone in government to exhibit good judgment, nor care a whit about citizens. Universal distrust and open suspicion of true motives is on everyone’s lips. Manufacturers of guns, and particularly ammunition […]
2013 SHOT Show, Range Day
14 Jan 13 2013 SHOT Show, Range Day It was cold and windy in Las Vegas, NV today, but Range Day went as planned, and I was able to get my hands on a number of items of interest: Gemtech had on display an FN 240B, which is the 308 version of the SAW (Squad […]
Gun industry legends Dave Spaulding, Massad Ayoob, Mike Boyle, and John Farnam join Fernando Coelho to dive deep into the history of the gun industry, shedding light on how firearms and firearms training have transformed over the decades. They discuss the dramatic shift from traditional print reviews to the digital age of internet forums, social media influencers, and YouTube personalities of the industry.
