6 Sept 02
This is the latest from Sough Africa. How much longer will it be before we start hearing the same comments here?
“Most South African gun owners should be disarmed, because they are irresponsible”
So said the chairperson of our National Assembly’s Safety and Security Committee, Mluleki George, on Wednesday.
/John
8 Sept 02
Shooting incident details from a friend on the East Coast:
“Our sheriff’s department had its first shooting last week. It involved a dog, not a person.
Two of our deputies were executing an order of eviction on a residence. When no one responded to their knocks and calls, they had a local locksmith open the door. As the deputies entered the house, a 160 lb German Shepherd (which had remained silent) ran at the first deputy and leaped at his throat. Our deputy yanked his head aside in the nick of time. The dog’s teeth closed on his shoulder instead of his throat. Our deputy performed a classic ‘shove/shoot’ (which we train). He drew his G22 and fired a total of five shots (40 S&W 180-grain Gold Dot). All five bullets struck the dog’s torso. None of the bullets exited the dog. All transverse penetrated and stopped, fully expanded, just under the dog’s skin on the opposite side of its body. Because of his position, the second deputy was unable to shoot.
After being struck, the dog let go and ran outside, where he promptly attacked the locksmith’s car! After running another hundred meters, the dog finally collapsed. He was DRT.
Our deputy’s injuries were not serious, and, fully recovered, he is back on duty.”
Lessons: Even the best pistols and ammunition provide only marginal protection against a determined attack by a person or an animal. We must all be fully prepared to strike the target multiple times in rapid succession when required.
In an emergency, you will do what you’ve been trained to do. If you haven’t been trained at all, you’ll likely panic and subsequently die in amazement.
Don’t dither! You needn’t apologize for taking immediate, aggressive, and violent action when your life is threatened. We are men, not sheep.
/John
8 Sept 02
I called Alex Robinson of Robinson Armament in Salt Lake City to tell him that I managed to break the roll pin connecting the gas pistol with the oprod on my RA-96. He fixed and returned it to me the same day! It’s back up and running and with me as I drive from program to program.
Well done, Alex. Excellent product. Excellent service!
/John
12 Sept 02
During a presentation to a LEO group in Minnesota yesterday, we had the opportunity to meet with good friends, Paul Braun and Greg Sullivan, from DPMS.
They brought with them a copy of their new “STS” rifle stock. It is three inches shorter than a standard-legnth stock, and the underside is scalloped our. Vicki found it perfect for someone her size. In fact, she liked it so much that she made arrangements to get one for hereself.
This is an excellent and long-overdue development in the rifle business. We are delighted that DPMS is going forward with this.
/John
13 Sept 02
On short rifle stocks from a friend in the Philippines:
“I think the ‘STS’ stock you mentioned is a much better arrangement than a multi-position, collapsible stock. Multi-position, collapsible AR-15 stocks may not be readily available in the USA, but my countrymen are flocking to them like mad.
However, once one finds the ‘ideal’ notch position, how does he quickly and unerringly deploy to that particular notch in an emergency? Most people will store the rifle with the stock fully collapsed. It then unnecessarily complicates matters if they are rudely awoken in the middle of the night and then have to immediately use the rifle to defend their home. Fumbling for the ‘right’ notch about then would not be my idea of a good time!
I believe a short, nonadjustable stock (such as you described) is a superior solution.”
Amen!
/John
13 Sept 02
Flashlight/forend mounts:
The three-dollar Weaver #36 base works perfectly as a mount for the M3 flashlight. It is vastly superior to the twenty-dollar mount sold by Streamlight, the thirty-dollar aluminum base sold by GG&G, and the bulky and obtrusive Surefire forend. By positioning the Weaver Base on different longarms, the same M3 light ($125) may be used on them all.
Friend Chris Dwiggins from Gunsite recommends the two o’clock position, where the flashlight is conveniently manipulated by the support hand’s second or their fingers.
The beauty of the Weaver Base/M3 combination is that the only thing on our longarm during the day is the small, unobtrusive base. The M3 may stay on our belt in a carrier until needed. It then may be attached to our longarm in seconds. There is no real downside to this system. Highly recommended!
/John
14 Sept 02
For photo of M3 mounted on AR:
http://www.gggaz.com/products/M3IllumRifle.php
/John
14 Sept 02
“Unintentional Consequences” of Gun Control Legislation:
From an LEO friend in Capetown:
“Two of our officers responded to a domestic violence call last week. At the scene, they effected an arrest. As the suspect was being loaded into our van, an onlooker dashed out of the crowd and opened fire with a Kalashnikov rifle, hitting one officer in the head. As the officer dropped to the ground, and accomplice of the shooter rushed forward and stole the downed officer’s duty weapon (G17). Both the shooter and the accomplice disappeared into the crowd. No arrests have been made. Our officer was DOA. This is the most recent in a series of similar episodes.
Antigun legislation here has severely restricted the number of guns a person can own. The government has openly stated that their ultimate goal is to eliminate the private ownership of guns altogether, so we fully expect additional restrictions to follow.
The monetary exchange rate here makes anything imported from a foreign country with a strong currency (USA, Germany) prohibitively expensive. To make matters worse, our domestic gun industry is all but dead. Thus, rich people own Glocks. Everyone else owns cheap junk imported from Eastern Europe and South America. In fact, Glocks in particular have become extremely valuable since the latest round of legislation went into effect.
An ‘unintended consequence’ is that our police, as we see above, are now being hunted down and murdered solely in an effort to acquire their Glock pistols. The murders steal nothing else. They don’t even take the officers’ wallets. To address this troubling issue, it is now being suggested by politicians that police Glocks be replaced with cheaper pistols!”
This is what happens when preposterous gun restrictions have the effect of making guns far more valuable than they were when they were more easily obtained. It is a lesson we all need to take to heart. It is happening in South Africa right now, and my friends there are having to deal with it. American police should note this well when they are told the only they should have guns.
/John
16 Sept 02
From a friend in upscale hotel management:
“There is a South American gang currently breaking into upscale hotel/motel rooms up and down the East Coast. They are slowly making their way to the Midwest. They are well dressed and smooth. The item most often stolen from guest rooms is laptop computers (they go for good bucks on e-bay). Gang members typically watch guests check in, then wait until they go to dinner. Breaking into their room is relatively easy.
They generally call the room first, then knock. If there is no answer, they then look through the peep hole. Darkened rooms are seldom broken into, because there is a chance the resident is sleeping therein.
Burglary suspects often claim to be hotel employees delivering towels, telephones, pizza, etc.
Breaking in is no problem. It requires two screw drivers and ten seconds. Those with less imagination just kick the door. Most will fly open with even a mild kick. The dead bolt, when used, will delay entry up to a minute or so.”
Lessons:
When staying in hotel/motel rooms, ALWAYS be armed.
When in your room, put out the “Do Not Disturb” sign and pull the curtains in order to darken the room.
When possible, don’t stay on the first floor, but don’t stay above the second floor. Second floor is best. Second-floor rooms are seldom burglarized from the outside, but the room is still close enough to the ground, so that an exit from the window (in case of fire) can still be accomplished quickly with little chance of injury.
When in your guest room, ALWAYS engage the dead bolt and chain.
If someone unexpectedly knocks on your hotel room door claiming to be delivering something, don’t let them in. Instruct them to leave whatever item they have at the hotel desk. Be suspicious if your hotel room phone rings, but, when you answer, the calling party immediately hangs up.
Don’t leave anything valuable (particularly your laptop) in your guest room when you’re not there.
Understand that a hotel/motel room, even in an upscale establishment, is NOT as secure as is commonly thought. It’s not like your home. Hotel rooms are routinely burglarized. You don’t hear about it, because the hotel industry keeps it quiet, but make no mistake. It’s a growth industry!
/John
18 Sept 02
Vicki and I are here at the 2002 IALEFI Conference.
Lots of Feds here this year, particularly a large contingent from the BATF. All Federal agencies are short of staff. The FAM (Federal Air Martial) Program has cannibalized them all. Border Patrol is so short of people, they recently discovered (halfway through his training) they had hired an illegal alien. Sound like a contradiction of terms?
Attendance is down, because chiefs want to keep all staff close at hand.
LAPD is reporting a 25% turnover in officers every year. They’re hiring a new chief, and his first priority is improving sagging department morale.
Lots of talk this year about civil, and sometime criminal, liability. Many officers are now extremely hesitant to draw their guns, simply because they don’t want to deal with all the resultant paperwork. Hot issue in many departments. Some departments are even going from 40S&W back to 9mm, just to get the fatality percentage down!
More tomorrow!
/John
25 Sept 02
Gun situation in the Philippines similar to that in South Africa. From a friend there:
“American and European gun manufacturers are having great difficulty keeping up with orders from our local dealers, despite high prices. I have had several Colts and Glocks on order for nearly a year. They’re still not here at all or are bottled up in customs and may never be released.
As a result, we’re stuck with less popular brands from Israel, Brazil and the Czech Republic, which, curiously, seem to have no problem getting into the country. Few people are willing to let go of their 1911s and Hi Powers. Even the Beretta 92F is a rare find. Glocks and SIGs, even used ones, are commanding scalper’s prices. As you might expect, CZs (still relatively cheap) are enjoying brisk sales.
It is clear the government here (like the one everywhere else) wants citizens to be unarmed. Making guns illegal is a problem for them, because it requires unpopular legislation to be voted on by politicians who want to be reelected. However, making guns ‘unavailable’ requires no legislation at all, and it can be done by simply screwing around with import regulations, which are largely ambiguous and incompressible to begin with. That is obviously what is taking place here.”
/John
26 Sept 02
On domestic air travel from an LEO friend:
“I flew recently (a week ago) from California to Ohio on Southwest Airlines. I had two checked bags. In one I had a Glock frame and the barrel of an RA-96. In the other, I had the Glock slide, barrel, etc and the rest of the RA-96 (folding stock). Of course, I also had packed the usual assortment of clothing, underwear, and toiletries that any traveling person would have.
Upon arriving at the airport at curbside check in, I was informed that I had been ‘selected’ to have my checked bags searched. ‘Fine,’ I said. In we went to the desk where two non-English-speaking ‘inspectors ‘ were on hand to check the bags. When they reached the RA-96, and asked me (in broken English) what it was, I produced my badge and told them that it was ‘parts.’ Someone who could speak English soon arrived from the airlines, and he also asked me what it was. I again told him it was just parts. I then told him that I would like to see a uniformed officer.
Two unformed officers showed up, and I explained to them that there were no functional weapons in either bag. They asked me if I had declared the ammunition (in several magazines), and I replied, ‘Of course.’
The airline guy said the unbarreled RA-96 ‘looks like a rifle to me.’ I politely explained to him that he was mistaking the oprod tube for a barrel. I then showed him that there was no barrel and that, without it, the rest of the whole thing was functionless. The officers immediately agreed with me and then said to the airline guy that there was no problem. Whereupon the airline guy said, ‘Okay, check them through,’ and I was on my way. The whole thing took twenty minutes. My two bags arrived, in tact, in Ohio.
When I returned from Ohio, I was again ‘selected’ for a bag search. This time, it was even faster. The airline guy there was a competitive shooter. We connected immediately. He instantly recognized that there was not anything in any one bag that could be made to shoot. He said, ‘Of course, you declared the ammunition.’ I nodded in agreement. He told the inspectors to close up the bags and send them on. Again, everything arrived at my destination in tact.
I don’t know if any of this is typical, but it was my experience. I believe the secret is not to fail the attitude test. I was calm and polite but didn’t answer any questions that weren’t asked. They ultimately found me boring and profoundly uninteresting.”
I don’t know what to advise people in this regard, but this is one LEO’s experience. None of us like being unarmed, and I’m sure all of us will find a way!
/John
