(May 2011 Quips)
1 May 11 We donât need enemies! Last Wednesday, âbehind-the-wireâ in a building near the Kabul Airport in Afghanistan, eight American officers, plus an American contractor, were murdered, execution style, buy a single Afghan trainee, armed with a Beretta M9 Pistol, issued to him by (you guessed it!) the US Air Force. This is the […]
(April 2011 Quips)
1 Apr 11 DTI Instructorâs Course: We generally run only one DTI Instructorâs Course per year. This year, it is in Rochester, IN on the weekend of 21-22 May 11. Students are trained in our instructional techniques, and we do a lot of shooting (Handgun, Rifle, Shotgun) as we review and exercise principles of effective […]
(March 2011 Quips)
2 Mar 11 Lubrication of serious rifles during serious use: The current generation of high-tech lubricants available to us for gun maintenance are vastly superior to what was available just a few decades ago. Superior, both in terms of their ability to efficaciously lubricate moving parts and in their ability to continue to lubricate adequately […]
(February 2011 Quips)
2 Feb 11 Bears as Predators This is paraphrased from a group of guard-dog owners with regard to bears. Bears are not much different from most others predators. They know they need to eat, and they know how to get food. Humans, in the eyes of most bears, are a soft and chewy mixture of […]
(January 2011 Quips)
1 Jan 11 Your life will depend upon your gear! This important lesson from a patrol officer and colleague: âIn our department, we all have our own beat-cars, set up to our individual liking. Two days ago, another officer, a recent hire, had to use my vehicle, as heavy snow prevented her from getting to […]
(December 2010 Quips)
1 Dec 10 Ned Christiansonâs famous 5.56 Chamber Reamer: From a local riflesmith: âI have one of Ned’s reamers, and also a copy of his 5.56×45 drop-gauge (when it drops all the way into the chamber, it passes the â5.56 testâ) Of ten, factory/AR carbon-steel barrels I regularly test, only Coltâs and BCMâs (Bravo Arms) […]
(November 2010 Quips)
2 Nov 10 American Bison Today, for the first time in my life, I went bison hunting! We were at a private hunting preserve in OH. When I got my opportunity, I had a broadside shot at fifty meters, but I had no tree upon which to rest my rifle, so I opted to seize […]
(October 2010 Quips)
1 Oct 10 This sage advice to women, from a female LEO and instructor, with many years of practical experience: âPurses/handbags are issues unto themselves! I am a woman, and I do not carry a purse. I did as a young girl, but even shoulder-bags were a hassle. I always carry a wallet. My keys […]
(September 2010 Quips)
1 Sept 10 Of Cops and Rifles… For as long as most can remember, American police have been armed with pistols. Pistols, both exposed and concealed, have gone hand-in-hand with American policing for at least the past one-hundred years. Shotguns, and more recently, rifles, have always been perfunctorily referred to as âsecondary,â âback-up,â and âsupplementalâ […]
(August 2010 Quips)
2 Aug 10 Interesting comments from a friend in the Phillippines with regard to looming changes in the law and potential work-arounds: âEven âpracticeâ ammunition here in 357SIG is expensive, and not nearly as available as is the case with other calibers. High-performance ammunition in 357SIG is really hard to find and preposterously expensive when […]
(July 2010 Quips)
4 July 10 We celebrated Independence Day in the most appropriate manner: A day at the Range! One of my Urban Rifle students used a SIG/556. The rifle ran fine for the duration, as they always do. But it was equipped with a forward-mounted vertical forend, an accessory supplied by SIG. Integral with the vertical […]
(June 2010 Quips)
3 June 10 Gelatin Tests: Last weekend in PA, I was witness to a series of gelatin tests of various pistol rounds. We shot assorted brands of factory ammunition from pistols we were actually carrying at the time, and most were concealed and thus compact. All ammunition was chronographed first, then shot into gelatin blocks. […]
(May 2010 Quips)
4 May 10 Additional on batteries, from friends at Aimpoint: âAA Lithium batteries, at low temperatures, render performance superior to all others. I recommend to all military units deploying to cold climates, to include those operating at altitude in Afghanistan, to purchase USA-manufactured AA Lithiums. Our Aimpoint CompM4 and CompM4S will operate for ten years […]
(April 2010 Quips)
1 Apr 10 Additional on rifle magazines: As silly as it sounds, during rapid reloading, it is easy to partially insert an upside-down magazine into a rifleâs magazine-well! I occasionally see the phenomenon in training, with ARs, XCRs, SIG/556s, M1 Carbines, and M1As. In fact, a newspaper photo of a uniformed officer holding her AR, […]
(March 2010 Quips)
1 Mar 10 Lost Flower Children? âWashington Ceasefire,â another dreary anti-gun group, has stated publically that allowing guns (open carry) in coffeehouses robs local residents of âsocietal-sanctuaries.â âPeople go to Starbucks for an escape, so they can get peace, but people walk in with openly-carried guns, and tranquility is destroyed,â say them. I wonder if […]
(February 2010 Quips)
2 Feb 10 âIn banking, when youâre right one-hundred percent of the time, youâll make money. Right ninety-nine percent of the time, youâll break even. Right ninety-eight percent of the time, youâll lose money. Right ninety-seven percent of the time, youâll go to jail!â Bankerâs Axiom In our Art, as in banking, boldness and caution […]
(January 2010 Quips)
4 Jan 10 On pocket-pistols, from a friend in WA: âI picked-up a used Kahr PM9 late last year. Its prior owner was frustrated with its occasional hiccups, but I know many Kahr-owners who say all Kahr pistols require a âbreak-inâ of between two-hundred and five-hundred rounds. Theyâre right! After spending a day at Marty […]
(December 2009 Quips)
1 Dec 09 WA Incident: The motive of the suspect who murdered four police officer in WA last Sunday morning is unclear. It is also unclear whether or not the perpetrator targeted police officers in general, or these officers in particular. Nor am I speculating that this incident necessarily represents a new trend. And, as […]
(November 2009 Quips)
2 Nov 09 SIG Academy We just completed an Urban Rifle Program at the SIG Academy in Epping, NH. Itâs been several years since Iâve been there, and I need to say that SIG deserves a great deal of credit for maintaining and continually improving this superlative facility, along with its first-rate Staff, capably headed […]
(October 2009 Quips)
2 Oct 09 Battle Rifles: I received this morning a note from a subscriber with regard to rifles with which he would equip his unit. This person puts together teams who do security work in exciting places. He indicated that, for his money, the AR/M4 (in 223) tops the heap of currently-available battle-rifles. He agrees […]
