9 June 99

This from a friend who is with a police department on the West Coast:

“I know a Sheriff who is always playing ‘musical guns,’ looking for one that ‘shoots good’ (whatever that means). He can never quite seem to find a handgun that he ‘likes’ (read that: ‘can handle without looking like a confused, dithering buffoon’). Guys like this are good to know, because you can always get a great deal from them on a like-new gun that has just a few hundred rounds through it, enough for the guy, like Goldy Locks, to discover that he has found yet another gun that ‘isn’t quite right.’

One of his deputies (another friend) is a real warrior, who seems to hit consistently with any weapon he gets his hands on

Back at the office (after a training exercise) my deputy friend displayed an obvious lack of political acumen when his boss (the Sheriff) asked, ‘So, what do you think of these great, new pistols I just bought for the department?’

My buddy shrugged and answered, ‘It’s just another pistol.’

If you know your art, just about any functional tool will do. Some are nicer or slicker than others, but, if you have good tradecraft, you can get the job done in any event. On the other hand, if your skills are not adequate, then a ‘new’ gun just magnifies your incompetence and makes you look even more inept, because you can’t blame it all on the tool.”

/John