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. Gelatin blocks were six inches, by six inches, by twenty inches long, and two were set in tandem, so that bullets could travel through as much as forty inches in gelatin before exiting.

Each bullet was required to penetrate four layers of denim before entering the gelatin. Denim was draped over the entry point.

Frankly, I’m still not sure what any of this proves!

Gelatin is a convenient test medium, because it is relatively easy to produce, homogeneous, and transparent enough so that one can observe from the outside where bullets stop and to what degree they expand.

How this is all related to shooting animated, agitated human beings, who are anything but homogeneous, is a matter for unending debate. But, for better or worse, it represents the current standard, and it does, at least, give us an opportunity to compare bullet designs and loadings.

Data gleaned from gelatin tests is just one thing at which we look in an effort to evaluate overall effectiveness. Target behavior in the moments after impact is far more relevant, but nearly impossible to objectively observe in real time.

With all that said, here is what I saw:

Poor performance from 9mm Hornady Critical Defense, Federal Hydrashok, and WW XST!

Twin factors of (1) relatively low velocity and (2) having to penetrate heavy clothing prior to entering tissue conspired to generate inconsistent, non-symmetrical expansion and over-penetrating, non-expanded bullets. Some expanded perfectly, but many did not expand at all and went through forty inches of gelatin like hardball!

For consistent expansion under these circumstances, velocities in excess of 1050 f/s are required. Less than that, and poor/wavering expansion invariably results. Out of our compact pistols, such sub-threshold velocities were common.

Through all this, Gold-Dot consistently performed well, as did CB/DPX. These two topped the List for consistent penetration and uniform, symmetrical, orotund expansion, over a wide spectrum of velocities.

Inescapable conclusions were:

In order to overcome the unfailingly ruinous effects of having to penetrate heavy clothing prior to entry, handgun bullet velocities must be 1100 f/s and higher. Threshold seems to be 1050 f/s, at least for 9mm rounds. Maybe slightly lower for fatter bullets.

Velocities from compact, carry-pistols will usually be significantly reduced from those gleaned from laboratory test-barrels, from which many “published’ velocities are taken.

Federal, WW, Remington, Cor-Bon, Black Hill, et al are all fine companies, do constant research and evaluation, and all produce quality ammunition. However, none perform miracles!

Therefore, (1) be fully prepared to hit the threat, in vital areas, multiple times.

(2) Adequately test your carry ammunition, in your carry guns. Assure yourself that it feeds and functions normally.

(3) Regardless of what ammunition you’re using, or are being compelled by circumstance to use, hit with consistent, surgical precision!

Finally, (4) keep your expectations sensible! The ammunition we carry in our pistols today represents a quantum leap forward from what we used as little as thirty years ago. But, for all our forward progress, it is still sorely limited. Look, with a jaundiced eye, at all promotional hype.

It’s still just a pistol!

/John

 

6 June 10

2010 NTI:

The 2010 NTI in Harrisburg, PA is now concluded.

As always, Skip G and his Crew presented us all with a series of vexatious challenges, with which all did our best to contend. This is The Test, where we all get to honestly evaluate our entire tactical ensemble. There are no walk-throughs, and no hints. You get to air, without preparation, all your dirty laundry!

I shot the Event on Wednesday. Team/scenario-based exercises were on Saturday. Banquet was Saturday evening. In addition, there were informative lectures on a number of subjects throughout the four days.

This year, I used my SIG P250 in 40S&W, my Kahr PM45 as a backup, and my S&W 340PD as a second backup. I ended up shooting all three! I also carried several Cold Steel blades, Fox OC, and my ASP “Agent” expandable baton. Flashlights were Firstlight and Laser Devices. Belt holsters were Comp-Tac C-Tac/IWB. My revolver was in my Rusty Sherrick shoulder-holster. Concealing it all is my CCW Clothiers leather vest.

During the Event, I fired slightly fewer than ninety rounds of Cor-Bon 140gr DPX/40S&W through my P250, four rounds of 180gr 45ACP DPX through my PM45, and five rounds of 110gr 38Spl+P DPX through my S&W scandium snubby revolver. All rounds cycled and functioned normally.

In ATSA Village, we were exposed to four challenges. There, we were all armed with Simmunitions revolvers, although some elected to go through all Village exercises unarmed:

In the first, I was walking through an alley and confronted two trashy individuals who may have been in the process of conducting a drug sale. They looked sleazy and were talking in hushed voices, but I could not make-out what they were saying. They looked to me as if they were up to no-good!

The object here is to (1) forget the urgent appointment you were trying to make and quickly withdraw, or (2) move past them rapidly with as little engagement as possible. I elected to do the latter, politely ignoring their entreaties to engage me in conversation. I had to gently push past one, but was able to do it so fast that, by the time he turned to confront me, I was long-gone!

Who dither in these circumstances will quickly find themselves cornered. Many participants were!

In the next exercise, I found myself in an IRS office, talking with a female agent about my 2010 tax return. During our conversation, her boyfriend shows up and, ignoring me, strikes-up an animated conversation with her. I indicated to them both that I’d be happy to come back later! But, she told me to sit down, so I did.

Their conversation waxed vehement, and the agent suddenly produced a revolver from her portfolio, pointed it at boyfriend, and demanded that he leave immediately.

He did!

She then turned back to me, briefly apologized, and resumed her questioning, as if nothing had happened!

Deciding that I was in a bad place, I indicated to her that I had to find a bathroom. This, I’ve found, is a universally successful method for accomplishing a hasty exit, without generating inordinate suspicion. As I got up, boyfriend returned and stood in the doorway, but I, again, was able to gently push past him and expeditiously separate and exit.

Next, I was in a busy strip-mall shop, buying wedding presents, when an armed-robbery took place in front of me, involving two robbery suspects, armed with pistols. One found me particularly interesting and started demanding money, watches, cell phones, et al. With pistol in hand, he started going through my pockets, and I knew he would soon discover my holstered revolver. However, when he got too close, I disarmed him, and then, using his pistol, and simultaneously using him as a shield, I shot his partner. Partner also shot at me, and I did get hit once, so my plan didn’t work perfectly.

I thought about drawing my own pistol, but bad-guy’s pistol ended up in my hand, so I went with it. Point here is that, “plans” sometimes have to be tweaked mid-stream! We have to be (1) flexible enough to make difficult decisions without dithering, (2) observant enough to detect opportunities the moment they appear, (3) decisive enough to make our move at the critical moment, and (4) determined enough to see it through.

Final challenge was “The Wedding.” We were all in a wedding chapel, along with a dozen other people we didn’t know. In the middle of the ceremony, lights went out. I got up and headed for the door. I had my Firstlight Tomahawk (flashlight) in hand, but I decided not to call attention to myself by turning it on, as there was enough ambient light to navigate. I was able to locate only one of my teammates, and we both exited together.

Lights came back on, so we started to cautiously go back in, but just then ex-boyfriend of the bride shows up, and a gunfight erupts. I backed out upon hearing verbal threats and thus avoided becoming involved.

The local sheriff shows up and starts asking questions. Some answered way too many before belatedly deciding that their interests were best served by politely declining to answer additional questions and asking that their lawyer be present before any further conversation took place.

Indeed, in view of the recent Berghuis Supreme-Court Decision, which dismantles what little was left of the 1966 Warren-Court, Miranda Decision, this strategy is now more critical than ever!

One other thing we all learned at the “Wedding” is that, when you’re part of a group of attendees at any event, don’t get separated. Arrange to sit together. That way, when you need to exit quickly, you won’t squander critical moments trying to round-up your people!

The first of the life-fire exercises was the “Urgent Care Center.” You enter a clinic in order to pick-up a family member. As you open the door, you hear shots fired and screaming.

So, in you go!

I had to remind myself to keep moving constantly and to quickly move laterally as I brought my pistol up to eye-level. This strategy kept me from getting shot several times, as threats suddenly appeared in windows and doorways.

Targets in all live-fire drills are fully dressed mannequins that fall when hit in an internal, four-inch, central core, which is not visible from the outside. Some need to be hit several times before toppling. Threats are considered neutralized when they either fall or withdraw.

In this exercise, there were many threats, sometimes several at the same time, and I engaged each with at least one, four-round burst. Half-way through my second magazine, I decided to revert to my back-up pistol, rather than risk going to slide-lock. After a single, four-round burst from my Kahr (which is a six-shooter), I transitioned to my snubby revolver and was immediately compelled to hit a close threat five times! I then transitioned back to my Kahr, which I calculated had at least one more round in it, but, happily, no additional shooting was necessary.

Drills like this one make me glad I’m carrying a fourteen-shooter, rather than an eight-shooter!

Another lesson confirmed by this drill is the importance of defaulting to a military reload any time it is possible, so that magazines, and live rounds that may still be in them, are retained on your person and not jettisoned, where they are likely unrecoverable.

Next, I attended yet another wedding, this one at the “Church of the Holy Reload.” This is the “unknown-weapon” stage, where you don’t get to use what your normally have with you, but are compelled instead to use a weapon found at the scene.

As you enter the chapel, you hear loud, verbal threats and screaming. A double-barrel shotgun, that was to be a wedding gift, is the only weapon available. There are also several rounds of birdshot and a dim, clumsy lantern also available

So, in you go!

The shotgun was an long-obsolete model, where, after closing the action, you still have to manually cock both hammers before the gun will fire. It had two triggers, one for each barrel, and the manual safety went “on” automatically every time the shotgun was broken-open.

I loaded the shotgun, cocked both hammers, and pushed the manual safety lever “off,” but there was no place to put extra rounds (no pockets on my tuxedo), so I held the shotgun in my strong hand (high on my shoulder) and grasped several loose rounds in my left hand. I left the lantern behind, something I immediately regretted after I entered the dark building, but there was no time to go back and get it.

I shot two overt threats, but there were several more that I saw, but could not see well enough to determine if they represented a threat or not.

Upon exiting the chapel, I was confronted by bright sunlight and a person with a pistol tucked into his waistband. I verbally challenged him with “Police! Don’t move” He responded by saying he was going to shoot me. He never completed his sentence!

With so many people now who have legitimate, state-issued, concealed-carry permits, not to mention off-duty police and police who are not working in uniform, one cannot regard every person who has a gun shoved in his waistband, in a holster, or even in his hand, as an imminent, explicit threat. It all depends on the context, of course, but successfully confronting such circumstances has become an important discipline in itself!

The next Stage was “Skills Demonstration,” where each participant is required to go through several “square-range” exercises in order to confirm that he can carry and handle guns safely, hit human targets at reasonable ranges, reduce stoppages, and reload, all within a reasonable span of time.

The next two Stages were the “ATSA Courthouse” and “ATSA Mall.”

Both are on 360-degree ranges, where you go in by yourself, in an effort to rescue a family member. Threats must be engaged at every angle, even behind you! These are high-speed drills, where you have to move, communicate, use cover, observe, evaluate, shoot, and keep your gun(s) running, all while maintaining objectivity, that is, keeping in mind your overall goal.

There were, of course, many bystanders, mixed-in with threats. There was also a hostage situation, where I was compelled to shoot the hostage-taker, narrowly missing the hostage.

In the Courthouse Drill, your support-hand is disabled. It goes in a stiff mitt, and your arm goes in a sling. All shooting, reloading, et al is done via the strong-hand only. In the Mall Drill, it is your strong-hand that is disabled, and your have to do all shooting and manipulation support-hand only.

I had to remind myself to keep the pistol close to my chin when not shooting, lest I be disarmed.

This year, there were several non-threats (bystanders), dressed in National Guard uniforms, wearing badges and/or rank-insignia. They had guns in hand, but badges were plainly visible. They got shot more than once, and I was one participant who mistakenly shot them! I found that I was moving so fast, my reflexes outdistanced by ability to evaluate.

Speed and evaluation are always mutually-antagonistic. You can go too slow, making “rescue” a moot point. And, you can go too fast, exposing yourself to suicidal risk and simultaneously denying yourself adequate time to evaluate potential threats. There is no risk-free option, and decision-making is invariably based upon inadequate information. You thus “throw the dice” every time you press the trigger!

The final live-fire exercise was the “ATSA Meditation Retreat,” where I was required to engage several targets a ten meters, and several others at fifty meters!

This is a necessary drill for all of us. Long-range pistol shooting is a lost art in many quarters, but, if we are to successfully engage rifle-wielding terrorists in shopping malls, it is an Art we have to reclaim.

On Saturday, my partner and I participated together in two, scenario-based drills, using Simmunitions-equipped pistols.

In the first, I was unarmed and in a mall bathroom. My armed partner was trying to find and link-up with me, as an armed-robbery took place in the mall.

From inside the bathroom, I could hear shooting, mixed with and angry voices, but could determine little else. When I heard my partner’s voice, I called out to him and started to exit, only to be confronted by a suspect with a pistol pointed at me. I quickly ducked back in, narrowly avoiding being shot.

My partner, having seen me, quickly joined me in the bathroom.

In the next challenge, I was armed, and my partner was not. He was in a courthouse, and I was there to pick him up.

Hearing shooting and screams from inside the courthouse, I drew my pistol and simultaneously donned my DSM “Police” banner. Electing not to go in immediately, I called out to my partner. He said that there were armed men in the building and that he could not come out.

I assured him that help was coming and retreated to the corner of the building. Three men then burst out the door and ran away from the building. They didn’t see me, and I couldn’t tell if they were armed or not. I verbally challenged them when they were at a distance of twenty meters. Their responses were unintelligible, so I, after identifying myself as an LEO, commanded them to run away.

They did!

I elected to go in by myself and rescue my friend. Fortunately, I encountered no threats, as they had already exited and separated.

Lessons learned and confirmed:

When an overt threat is identified and confirmed, you rarely have more than three seconds to react. Shooting, moving to cover, verbally challenging, disarming, going hands-on, OC, Tasers, batons, as well as disengaging and separating may all represent viable options. And, after deciding to execute one of the above, you may still be compelled, by rapidly-evolving circumstances, to change your plan, escalating up or down at the last moment!

However, oftentimes, you can use posturing and verbalizations in an effort to “keep his second-hand stuck on zero,” as your “download” your response. We refer to it as “keeping the potential threat confused and off-balance.” Of course, the tactic won’t work forever, but it may just give you sufficient time to focus/finalize your plan and get it downloaded.

Movement and use-of-cover must be thoroughly integrated into your tactical repitatoire. Otherwise, you’re literally a sitting duck!

Accomplished gun-skills are critical, and must be hard-wired. Anything less, and you’ll be too slow, fail to neutralize threats, hit things you didn’t want to hit, endanger yourself, fail to keep your gun(s) running, become hopelessly befuddled, et al.

Actually, we all experienced a little of the above anyway! But, constant, competent, committed training, as well as honest evaluation, will keep it to a minimum.

The NTI represents an invaluable contribution to the advancement of our Art.

Serious Operators need to be there!

Go to teddytactical.com

/John

 

7 June 10

“… going to guns!”

In any domestic personal-security emergency, where a deadly-force response is clearly indicated, or reasonably anticipated, getting pistols deftly drawn from concealment and aimed, or at least leveled, at the threat(s) requires a finite amount of time, usually exceeding a second, and for many, approaching two.

But, that is the fastest component!

We must add the time it takes us to mentally go from condition “yellow,” through to “black,” so our deadly-force response can download, and ultimately initiate.

It is here that (1) denial, (2) indecision, and (3) dithering represent fatal errors.

You can practice extensively, responding to a whistle or any other signal, drawing and firing. And, as you progressively eliminate unnecessary parts and motions, you can get your times down to about as short as they will ever be. And, beyond doubt, we should all be doing that!

However, without the addition of scenario-based exercises, dithering will still predictably add as many as five seconds to your response time, rendering your lightening-draw, and the balance of your finely-tuned physical skills, all but irrelevant!

Through scenario-based training, we learn what to look for. We also learn how to integrate verbal, postural, movement, observational, and deadly-force skills into a coordinated strategy.

We learn how to disrupt our opponent’s plan, slowing his ability to concentrate, disturbing his focus, dis-coordinating his deception scheme, and delaying/befuddling his physical attack.

These skills are every bit as important as gun-skills, and, like gun-skills, must be hard-wired through extensive practice.

Just because you skillfully operate a toaster, doesn’t necessarily mean you can “make breakfast!” “Making breakfast” calls for a number of integrated skills, of which “operating a toaster” is, for all its grandeur, only one.

By itself, “operating a toaster,” no matter how masterfully done, will not get breakfast served!

/John

 

8 June 10

More on 1911 clearances, from a trainer, colleague, and historian:

“Six-thousand-round evaluations on military pistol candidates, being tested to replace the 38S&W revolver (then standard-issue), were conducted by the US Army, on multiple occasions,
between 1900 and 1910.

Failures occurred in single digits. Accuracy was deemed acceptable for a serious pistol.

Then came the dreaded target-shooters!

Accustomed to shooting revolvers, they immediately concluded that auto-pistols, with sights
affixed to a moving slide (that rattled when shaken), could never be as inherently accurate as a solid-frame revolver. And, as is the case today, they believed fanatically that ‘more accuracy is always better than less accuracy,’ no matter what must be sacrificed to achieve it.

Browning himself pointed out that his auto-pistol barrel was locked into the same relationship, front and rear, with the slide, for each shot. His infallible logic, as is usually the case in Western Civilization, fell on deaf ears!

Descending like vultures on the newly-adopted 1911 Pistol, gunsmiths, then as now, were only too happy to eradicate all offending rattles, for a price.

Price, then as now, was part monetary, part reliability degradation.

Accuracy, then as now, remained largely unchanged!”

Lessons:

Among the naive, “feelings” are always more motivational than evidence! They can be persuaded of nearly anything, no matter how absurd, so long as they can be made to believe that everyone else “feels” the same way.

Conversely, among the wise, “feelings” are not something upon which lives are bet!

/John

 

8 June 10

Last Friday, an off-duty LAPD officer was washing his car in his own driveway. Fortunately, he was armed with his G23 (concealed).

A van pulled up, and the driver exited. He had a pistol in hand as he approached the officer.

He said to the officer, “Where are you from?” This LA street-slang loosely translates to, “With what gang are you affiliated?”

The officer was alert and plainly saw what was happening. He knew that, after asking this question, the interrogator customarily shoots the interrogatee. But, in this case, the suspect wasn’t fast enough!

The officer quickly moved off the “X” as he drew his own pistol and fired at the suspect, striking him multiple times. The astonished suspect fired at least one round, but the officer was not hit.

The badly-injured suspect limped back to his van and drove away, but didn’t get far!

He soon turned up at a local hospital. He, and two additional suspects, were arrested. Suspect’s condition is currently listed as “stable.”

No one else was injured in the incident.

Lesson:

Any place! Any time! Any occasion!

You’re either ready, or you’re not.

These VCAs are not playing games, and you won’t get a second chance!

/John

 

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 that the Kalashnikov is indeed inherently reliable, but its stock, Soviet-style, open-sights are only operable within 150m. At 200m-300m, the typical issue-Kalashnikov lacks sufficient accuracy to be genuinely usable against animated, battlefield targets, said he.

He is mostly correct. Indeed, the AR/223 platform was selected, in large part, because of its inherent accuracy.

The problem is with the 223 (5.56X45) round. It is profoundly effective on animated, human targets within 150m, typically producing substantive de-animation with one, solid hit. However, inherently accurate though it may be, beyond 150m, the 223 bullet is substantially de-energized, and, although the AR is certainly precise at extended ranges, the bullet, at 200m-500m, cannot be depended upon to take enemy combatants out of action quickly, even when solidly struck, nor at these extended ranges, is the bullet capable of even modist penetration.

So, for (1) rear-area defense, (2) domestic policing, and (3) domestic home-defense, the AR/M4 in 223 is close to ideal, since most challenges in these scenarios are within 150m, and the 223’s subdued penetration is of less concern than on the battlefield. Indeed, high-penetration is undesirable in most domestic instances.

Although the M4 will technically deliver accurate fire out to 500m, the bullet’s effectiveness at that range is predictably disappointing, as noted above. Conversely, the Soviet/30 (7.62X39), from an issue-Kalashnikov, is effective, and genuinely penetrative, out to 300m, but its open-sights will make it useable, for all but the eagle-eyed, only to 150m. In order to take full advantage of the Soviet/30’s inherent range, open-sights will have to be replaced with Western-style peep-sights, or optics.

To summarize:

(1) An AR/M4 in 223 is a 150m rifle, with poor penetration. Reasonably reliable, light, and handy, but maintenance-sensitive. Currently $900.00-$1,600.00

(2) An issue-Kalashnikov in Soviet/30 is a 150m rifle, with excellent penetration. Extremely reliable and far less maintenance-sensitive, but heavier and less user-friendly. Currently $600.00-$1,000.00.

(3) A Krebs/Kalashnikov or RA/XCR in Soviet/30 with rail-mounted red-dot is a genuine 300m rifle, with excellent penetration. Both are considerably less maintenance-sensitive than a typical AR. XCR’s ergonomics represent a substantial improvement over the Kalashnikov, and its gas-adjustment greatly increases shooting-comfort. Currently $1,600.00-$1,900.00 for rifle only. Optic is additional.

(4) A DSA/FAL, SA/M1A, or PTR-91 in 308 (7.62X51) is a genuine 500m rifle, with outstanding penetration, but inherent weight and bulk of the ammunition makes it possible to carry only a modist supply, and small-statured people will find them ponderous and a good deal less pleasant to shoot than any 223. Happily, gas-adjustment on the FAL can be used to greatly increase the shooting-comfort factor, a real advantage of the FAL System. Currently $1,700.00-$2,200.00

(5) A Kahr/M1 Carbine is a 100m rifle, with modist penetration. Don’t overlook this option! The M1 Carbine is light, short, slim, and very handy, ideal for the small-statured. Recoil is negligible, and, because of the low-pressure 30/Carbine round, report is greatly subdued, compared with any of the foregoing. Currently $900.00-$1,100.00

(6) A SIG/556, currently available only in 223 caliber, and the RA/XCR in 223 are at the top of the List with regard to reliability for military rifles in this caliber. Both are gas-piston rifles, have excellent ergonomics, and accept AR magazines. Both are handy, but heavier than an AR. Currently $1,600.00-$1,800.00

I know we’ve all hear it before, but, once again, you don’t get everything you want in a single package. No one system is ideal, and, even when you have copies of all of them, you’ll discover great advantages, along with irksome annoyances, in each.

You have to start somewhere, so pick one up and bring it to a Class! Any of the foregoing, and even most I didn’t mention, will work fine. You’ll observe a phenomenal synergy developing between you and your rifle, no matter which one you have, that will endow you with a new, critical, and wonderful repertoire of capabilities.

No American should be without one!

/John

 

10 June 10

On pistol “accuracy,” from a well-known trainer:

“Filling the air with brass casings, and surrounding landscape with pointless bullet-holes, is endorsed by the naive as preferable to surgically-placed, individual shots.

I guess I should not be surprised in our upside-down civilization!

The former is cute, fetching, and produces sexy photos.

The latter requires discipline, work, and has scant drama-appeal.

The reality of successful pistol-fighting has not significantly changed in the last six centuries. Adolescent fantasy has lead the foolish to abandon discipline, devotion, and hard work involved in learning how to use sights, manage triggers, and run pistols, in favor of inaccurate, high-volume fire, for its own sake.

Anyone can sit in front of a piano and pound the keys. It makes noise, but not music. It requires no effort, no discipline, and no commitment to learn how to run a piano. Some fools insist that there is no difference between noise and music, but we all know that only idiots and liars claim not to be able to distinguish between the two.

Production pistols, even relatively inexpensive ones, are all mechanically capable of producing three-inch groups at twenty-twenty-five meters, just as cheap pianos can still produce beautiful music, at the hands of a Master.

Like lowly piano teachers, we pistol-trainers have a duty and a charge to faithfully pass on vital skills, skills that will not fill concert halls with eager listeners, but that will allow good and decent people to be victorious against evil-doers and go home at night to their families, none the worse for ware!”

Comment: Some neglect, even mock, this Duty. They are frauds and charlatans. I don’t know how else to put it!

/John

 

14 June 10

Signs of the Times:

In the Chicago Metro Area, and a number of others, there has been a recent surge in bank robberies. However, police are now referring to them as “bank-raids.” In western Europe, the identical trend is blossoming.

We’ve always has note-passers and individual robbery suspects threatening bank-tellers with everything from knives to bombs.

The current trend is different, in that now entire gangs of armed robbers are “taking over” the commercial banking area, “South-African” style, taking cash and also violently robbing individual bank patrons and employees of wallets, jewelry, etc. Local police, and the FBI, are extremely concerned and are quietly mobilizing to combat this threat.

The media is fully aware of the situation, but is playing it down, as they do all bad news during this current era of “crisis-saturation.” However, in the minds of many, this is yet another subtle and sinister indication of our relentless march toward anarchy.

A collective, crisis mentality is emerging throughout Western Civilization, for good reason!

The wise among us are aware, alert, clear-thinking, and prepared. Things will not improve any time soon!

/John

 

17 June 10

Prepared, or not?

From a friend in LA:

“Last night we had a power outage at my office building.

No one on the 4th floor where I work, except me, had a flashlight!

Elevators were shut down. Corridors were dimly lit. Stairways were pitch-black.

I had my Surefire G2, as always.

I evacuated the building, lighting the way for myself and a gaggle of clueless, unprepared co-workers.

In a real emergency, they most likely would all be dead!”

Comment: It is astonishing to me that, in this “Age of Excitement,” in which we’re all currently living, the vast majority of Americans are still clueless, willfully stupid, and utterly unprepared for even the mildest of inconveniences, much less genuine emergencies.

When “excitement” takes quantum leaps, many will perish. And, they will die in amazement, naively thinking how “unfair” it all is!

/John

 

21 June 10

Novel Rest Area Scam:

Last week, I personally witnessed, for the first time, yet another dangerous hoax that is apparently widely practiced in the Midwest by local scammers, particularly on Illinois Tollways.

We were driving south on 80/90 (Tri-State Tollway) in the Chicago area, on our way to IN. We stopped briefly at a rest area near South Holland.

As we emerged from the building and approached our car, we both saw a woman, carrying a six-month-old baby, come toward us from the truck area. She was waving and yelling, as if she recognized us.

Thinking she was trying to get the attention of someone else, I looked behind me and saw no one.
It then became obvious that I was the target of her attention!

She was surely no one I recognized, but was still hurriedly moving toward us. Her demeanor was frantic. She was slovenly and grimy.

We quickly got in our car and started moving without delay. I had started it remotely, so there was no hesitation. Just as she arrived at the passenger-side, still yelling incoherently, I cracked the window and said, “Sorry, we can’t help you,” as we continued to drive away, leaving her standing there, still screaming!

When I mentioned this incident to LEO friends from the area, they confirmed that this particular rest-area scam is now common.

A woman, carrying a baby, approaches you. In panicked tones, she shoves the baby at you and asks you to hold it. When you take it from her, occupying both your hands, she quickly picks your pockets and then runs away, leaving you holding the baby.

When police arrive, they, of course, take charge of the baby. Shortly thereafter, it is returned to its mother/guardian. Seldom is there any kind of investigation, nor arrest, and the woman is then free to repeat the scam, having little to fear from police, nor victims.

When you refuse to take the baby from her, she simply drops it at your feet, and then accuses you of attempted kidnaping! To her, the baby is nothing more than a prop, and she could not care less what happens to it.

These same female scam-artists, babies in arms, also practice prostitution among truck-drivers. The baby gets to sit in the front seat as it’s mother practices her “profession.”

The best protection is to make it a habit of staying clear of all “truck-parking” areas, truck-stops, and all other places frequented by trucks and truckers.

When approached by a woman, with baby, trying to get your attention, aggressively disengage and separate. Don’t let her get close enough to attempt to hand-off the baby!

When approaching your parked car, start it remotely, but leave it locked until you arrive at the door. Get in, get in motion, and get on your way without delay. Do not sit for more than a few seconds in any stationary vehicle, particularly when in parking lots, rest areas, et al.

As our national economy waxes ever weaker, we will continue to see similar manifestations of personal desperation, ever more barbarous, sleazy, and conniving, on the part of a growing percentage of despairing people.

Some will be violent. Actually, under the right circumstances, all are violent!

Be alert, aware, cynical, armed. Have a plan. Stay in motion.

In this age, the naive, gullible, careless, unobservant, unarmed, and unsophisticated will be selected for victimization with monotonous regularity. All will be cruelly taken advantage of.

Many won’t live through it!

“It’s time to wake up
All dreams must end
Take off your makeup
The party’s over
It’s all over,
My friend”

From the 1956 musical comedy, Bells Are Ringing, originally sung by Judy Holliday

/John

 

23 June 10

“… the flying bullet down the Pass, that whistles clear:

‘All flesh is grass.’”

Kipling

This year, we are not surprised that “Urban Rifle” continues as our most popular Program. The modern military rifle, in multitudinous manifestations, represents real power, and nearly limitless capability, in the hands of a competent Operator. No other personal weapon is a match for it!

Our students come to us, many from border states, with real fears!

Most often seen are ARs, but we also have XCRs, FALs, M1 Carbines, PTRs, 556s (SIG), M1As, Kalashnikovs, and CX4s (Beretta). Most popular calibers are 223 and 7.62×39.

Within the USA, and throughout Western Civilization, there is an often-articulated apprehension that we collectively lack the will to do what is necessary for national/cultural survival, and have so serially failed since the end of the last World War.

Politicians, hand-in-hand with the naive, continuously refuse to even acknowledge, much less confront, the obvious.

Many doubt that anything will change in time to save us. Cruel history is now biting at our heels, and many, even most, see/feel it.

They make good students!

“We have discovered that the scheme of ‘outlawing war’ has made war more like an outlaw without making it less frequent, and that banishing the Knight, does not alleviate suffering of the peasant.”

CS Lewis

/John

 

28 June 10

More “helpful advice,” from the Nanny State:

At a hiking trail near Boulder, CO one is treated to this important advice, via a sign posted at the trailhead:

“When attacked by mountain lions, fight back”

Just below that pearl of wisdom, one reads this:

“Firearms Prohibited”

Once again, this psycho-babble requires translation. Here it is again, in plain English:

“You insignificant peons, whose lives are completely expendable, may take unilateral action to protect yourselves against wild beasts, so long as everything you do is pathetically ineffective.”

We apparently have “rights,” so long as we never exercise them in any meaningful, nor effective manner.

When government provides us with such misanthropic “advice,” they reveal their contempt for us personally, as well as for our safety and well being, and thus simultaneously degrade our respect for any of them. In addition, they cause us to suspect their motives, and them personally, and thus wax distrustful of everything else they try to tell us.

Many public servants have obviously forgotten who is “serving” whom!

/John