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Florida’s legislature is sending gun control to the desk of the governor. But it’s a mixed bag. Depending upon which news outlet you use to read the news of the bill’s contents you could see “Gun Control Passes the Florida Legislature” right next to “Florida Senate and House Approve MORE GUNS in Schools!”
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act does both.
A summary of The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act is below.
Mental Health
In the area of mental health the legislation makes significant changes to keep firearms out of the hands of those suffering from mental illness:
Firearm Safety
The legislation also provides new provisions to ensure full and complete background checks when a firearm is purchased:
The bill addresses two of the most frequent requests Senators heard from the families of victims simply to raise the age for purchasing a firearm and ban devices that turn a legal firearm into an illegal weapon.
School Safety
The bill improves school safety through the following provisions:
The legislation also:
Funding
The legislation appropriates $400 million to implement the bill provisions, including the following:
The Bill, if signed into law, has a great many moving parts and in all analytical honesty a great many of those are positive steps. The analytics of the failure in law enforcement that led to not flagging the shooter. The programs establishing armed response and security initiatives at the schools and analysis of school vulnerabilities.
Where Florida has lost ground in on gun control.
Florida is set to declare the 2nd Amendment does not apply to adults 18-20 with a couple exceptions if you comply with certain requirements, making the right a privilege. Florida is set to establish a three day waiting period minimum on all purchases. Florida is ready to completely ban the bumpstock.
If Rick Scott, Governor of Florida, signs this law he will have infringed on the rights of his citizens for security theater. None of the measures have a snowball’s chance in hell of preventing a massacre. It’s fluff and window dressing and it did not need to be in this bill.
If the bill would not have passed without these empty provisions then those opponents are either not actually concerned about the safety of the public schools or unfathomably stupid.
Warning: Excessive use of the word ‘and’ and a singular use of adult language below.
The following release (italicized ) was published by the public schools of Lansing MI and are echoed in the majority of arguments around the country that focus solely on firearms.
It is special.
Whereas, there was yet another mass killing in a high school in our country on February 14, 2018 at
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida where 17 people were killed and thousands
were seriously injured both physically and emotionally;
Yes, another tragedy stuck the nation’s children largely due to the failure of its federal and county law enforcement, including those on site at the school for the express purpose of protecting the school. Oh? Oh, we’re skipping the fact. Ok.
The official number of injured was 14. Extending the ‘wounded’ statistic to thousands is aggrandizing and you might as well say billions at that point.
and
Whereas, this was one of 34 mass shootings in our country from January 1 through February 18 of this
current year; 1 http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting
The United States’ Congressional Research Service acknowledges that there is not a broadly accepted definition, and defines a “public mass shooting”[2] as one in which four or more people selected indiscriminately, not including the perpetrator, are killed.
The FBI concurs with this definition and the list cited in the letter has multiple incidents that do not meet this definition.
and
Whereas, there is absolutely no reason why children in this nation and this state should not be able to
go to school every day without being afraid for their lives;
This is entirely subjective. I agree I that do not wish for any child to attend school in fear but there are a myriad reasons children and their parents should always hold concern for their lives. How many will die of drunk or distracted driving? How many from gang or domestic violence? How about abduction by a trafficker? How many will drown? A mass shooter is not the sole threat in a child’s world and inferring that through this letter is asinine.
and
Whereas, the most sacred responsibility of all school boards is to do everything in our collective powers
to assure that our students are safe each and every day in our schools, so that they can learn; and
Whereas, students cannot be safe unless and until all guns – other than those carried by trained law
enforcement officers – are banned from our schools;
The trained law enforcement failed Parkland.
You aren’t doing everything in your collective powers. I see no credence being given to those who want to harden schools as a target. The only proposition on the table is ban guns. This is called a subjective agenda. This is not an objective plan for making schools safer.
Michigan Schools are Gun Free Zones, the only exemptions are LEO’s and a current series of statutes that allow persons with valid CPL’s (background checked, certified) to open carry. This open carry is rarely used as it causes panic. The concealed carrying public has offered multiple variations on legal closes of the “open carry loophole” and all have been rejected.
and
Whereas, no civilian should ever be allowed to purchase, possess or use a weapon of mass destruction,
including but not limited to automatic and semi-automatic guns, nor be allowed to purchase, possess or
use any magazine, clip or other tool designed to deliver rapid-fire ammunition without the need to reload;
Subjective. Nonsensical. Asinine.
Weapons of mass destruction include the CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) but it’s apparently acceptable that as public educators they can hijack that definition to include small arms. Automatics and semi-automatics have been available (to the public) for well over a century. Automatics are highly regulated (now) and the legally owned in the country have been used in zero acts of violence in decades.
Semi-automatic is has been the most common for many years. The AR-15 itself was designed in the 50’s yet is only now a problem. There are severe flaws in the logic and it is being bulwarked with emotion to fill the gaps.
What the fuck is “rapid-fire ammunition.” Someone get the chemistry and physics teachers.
and
Whereas, this East Lansing, Michigan School Board has adopted a resolution opposing proposed
Michigan legislation to allow concealed carry in schools and prohibit school boards from taking action to
disallow such activity in our schools (SB 584 and 586);
These would actually close the open carry loophole. These would add public school boards to the list of preemption so they could not enact rules counter to state law, as is befitting of public institutions.
and
Whereas, the East Lansing school board opposes so-called “open carry” in our schools;
So called? What else would you call it? Those bills get rid of it. Why are the licensed and background checked parents, teachers, and faculty of the school who have CPL’s such a threat? Is there any evidence that random concealed carriers will suddenly flock to schools just because it is legal? No? It will just be the people who are there every day already. Doing what they do at the school already. Legally able to be armed like they are at nearly every other public venue already, without random gunfights.
and
Whereas the East Lansing School Board values our teachers too much to expect them to be armed to
protect their students;
There is no language on the table in any form saying it is an expectation. But those teachers who are already legally armed being offered additional training to defend their classrooms taken on a voluntary basis seems like one of the “everything within our collective powers” items. Unarmed teachers should have the option of training too. They should be able to voluntarily seek better ways to protect themselves and their students. They should not be shoveled into a pile of single narrative bias with their opinions on personal defense silenced and ridiculed unless it fully aligns with this posted illogical narrative.
and
Whereas, the Michigan Board of Education is elected statewide to establish school policy on the state
level;
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the East Lansing Board of Education calls upon the Michigan State
Board of Education and the Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction to oppose all guns in all
Michigan schools other than those carried by trained law enforcement;
Again, the unwavering belief that the problem is solely the presence of firearms and that their written prohibition will actually improve physical security. Asinine.
and
Be it further resolved the East Lansing Board of Education calls upon the Michigan State Board of
Education to take a position to actively oppose SB 584 and 586 which would authorize concealed carry
of guns in schools while prohibiting school boards from taking local action to prohibit concealed carry in
their schools;
Let’s forget that the schools are public property and that the tax paying public who pay for the students and faculty, including those carrying firearms for personal protection, have rights to public property. Preemption.
and
Be it further resolved the East Lansing Board of Education calls upon the Michigan State Board of
Education to take a position to actively oppose open carry in Michigan schools;
Oppose all you wish. It is currently the law and it has been vehemently opposed, by these very people, to being changed.
and
Be it further resolved that the East Lansing Board of Education supports any appropriate actions taken
by East Lansing students, teachers, school administrators, parents and allies in support of the intent of
the East Lansing Walk-out “…calling for students, teachers, school administrators, parents and allies to
take part in a National School Walkout for 17 minutes at 10am across every time zone on March 14,
2018 to protest Congress’ inaction to do more than tweet thoughts and prayers in response to the gun
violence plaguing our schools and neighborhoods….”2 by recognizing and supporting any action our
school community members might take to support these 17 minutes on March 14;
Why not use these 17 minutes to run ANY drill that could actively save lives of students and faculty?
The 1st Amendment and its exercise are sacrosanct however the effectiveness of the time spent exercising can be judged on several metrics including how efficiently the stated message and attached policy recommendations accomplish the final goal. On that metric, this is a colossal failure.
and
Be it further resolved that copies of this resolution be sent to Michigan Superintendent of Public
Instruction, Brian Whiston, the individual members of the Michigan State Board of Education, Governor
Rick Snyder, the district’s State Representatives and Senators and the district’s U.S. Senators and
Congressional Representative.
Yes. Let’s have this group read and respond to this taking valuable time from talking with local and county LE organizations about the up to date nature of their reports on any possible persons who could be flagged as a threat. Let’s take them away from grading and if necessary updating the accessibility, observation, and surveillance of school buildings and making certain policies are fresh and ready between the faculty and responding authorities. Let’s divert from any proven hard target security measures that are employed across the nation to help secure and defend other sites.
Let’s, as a board of publicly elected officials, ignore the part of the public we do not like or agree with and disregard the efficacy of any proposed solution from them…
Because Guns.
Alpacka Raft Launches the Caribou, the Lightest Full-Size Packraft Available
The new ultralight bikeraft and wilderness adventure boat features Alpacka’s innovative and exclusive Late Rise Design.
MANCOS, Colo. (March 5, 2018) – Alpacka Raft, the industry leader in research and development of modern packrafting, today announced the launch of its new Caribou packraft, a front-end loading and ultralight packraft that offers a modern take on an original classic.
The Caribou is the lightest and most packable full-size packraft on the market. A new and innovative bow design at the front of the boat means the boat is built to carry bikes, full-sized packs, big game, and other heavy loads, while keeping the boat balanced on and off water. The Caribou weighs in at only four pounds and 12 ounces.
“By bringing the Caribou to market, we wanted to provide a better boat for specific uses,” said Thor Tingey, Apacka Raft CEO. “The Caribou, coupled with our new Late Rise Bow, is the ideal packraft for ultralight solo hunting, backpacking, and bikerafting. We’re excited to see what adventures our customers choose to take the Caribou on in the coming months and years.”
Additional features of the Caribou include:
The Caribou packraft is available for purchase at select international retailers and on the Alpacka Raft website. Available in Persimmon and Mallard Green colors, the Caribou retails for $795 without the Cargo Fly and $945 with.
About Alpacka Raft
Alpacka Raft started in the fall of 2000 as a collaboration between Sheri Tingey, the designer behind the products, and her son Thor, who had just completed a 600-mile packrafting traverse of Alaska’s Brooks Range and had some ideas for how to make a better performing packraft.
Alpacka Raft seeks to design and hand craft the most innovative, premium packrafts available. They strive for a legacy of leadership, stewardship, and support that allows their community of diverse boaters a lifetime of use and adventure-driven fun. Every Alpacka Raft, from cutting the fabric to putting the final touches on a spray deck, is made by hand and shipped to customers from the Alpacka factory in Mancos, Colorado, under the Made in USA standard. Alpacka Raft is one of the largest employers in town.
For more, visit www.alpackaraft.com.
-From Team Hollis
Recently, the wife has attained her concealed pistol license and attended a few local IDPA matches; all which led to her going shopping for her own pistol. At least that was the plan.
As it turned out, I have been using the HK VP9 for the last year or so. I love this gun’s grip, function, reputation, and the fact that I didn’t spend an arm and a leg on the coveted HK product. Turns out the wife also liked this… so the choice was simple, share (hell no) or get her one as well. She is more than capable of purchasing her own, but there is just something epic about getting a deal on a solid piece of hardware. So, a few months ago there was a matching HK VP9 in the gun bag.
This caused a chain reaction of events that I am sure you will discover. As you get married, or have that solid range buddy that doesn’t have his own gear… One range bag is not enough. The Mrs now has her own bag. Electronic ear pro. Ammo carriers, cleaning gear.. And so the dominoes start to fall…. Soon holsters were an issue.
When you get married… it’s not just “yours” it’s “ours”. This is how I lost a solid G-code holster that I loved. Note, this is not a downside at all. You can now shop at the gun store, online, whatever; with no repercussions. This $124.99 shopping cart.. could be for her… could be for you…. Who knows!
Now, she has night sights on her VP9.. mine came standard. I have always been a fan of lights where possible and so I now rock an inforce APL on my HK.. which has led to a whole set of new hosters…. This leads to the first valid argument for matching pistols: “The right tool for the job”.
I have always posed that you need a solid rifle, pistol and shotgun. The same could be said for multiple AR platforms for the avid hunter. Multiple pistols/Revolvers for the competitive shooter. Likewise, I have a “day” gun. And a “night gun”.. Sounds super solid as an argument right? Perhaps if one setup was in .22 and was used for practice… I would have a stronger position.
A stronger argument for two of the same pistol make/manufacturer/caliber is the magazine argument.
The strongest reason I can see for having two of the same guns is really the ability to have one stashed somewhere, use one as the EDC (Every Day Carry) and all the while, have the same spare magazines. All that act the same, reload the same, interchange, store., etc.
There are probably six to eight HK vp9 magazines rolling around in gun bags or stashed in glove compartments around here. And it does not matter is my wife is slaying muggers or we are headed off to a pistol match and need just one more magazine, it all works the same.
Magazine carriers can be worn at a match, but my wife can load mags for me, or vice versa, while the other is on the line about to shoot. We always have a set ready to go. It’s like having a whole set of spares available… as long as you flushed the toilet, or put the seat down… or whatever odd requests may pop up when you need a spare mag and can’t find one. More on this later as I investigate.
It is true. My best friend and his wife actually have matching pistols as well. This was the prompting for this article, when we were at the range last week… and I saw that we had 4 pistols, but only two makes/models. They have matching Smith and Wesson M&P’s in 9mm. They have full size pistols, one is the pro version with the upgraded trigger that Tim carries while Hannah, his wife, carries the standard 9mm with the built in Crimson Trace laser grip which I must admit is totally sweet.
As it turns out, we may have the same pistols as our spouses, but they are all unique in their sight selection, grip size, and the addition of lights, lasers, and triggers.
You just want to dual wield. We all know it is what you are thinking. It sounds all good, the matching magazines. The tactical accessories applications. The “tool for the job” arguments. In all reality, you just want to have the ability to…. In the rare event that you get to… go all Bad Boys 1 and 2, for about 3 seconds of dual pistol action Wyatt Erp glory….
Until you realize…
You don’t own a left handed holster,
Yet.
——-
Chris / TeamHollis
The title image was sent to me from Southwick’s of Plainwell, MI. My friends down there usually have a healthy stock of AR-15’s and similar rifles and they have been slow business in the year since Trump was elected.
They still have a few left but the supply and demand have certainly inverted.
Other stores are cleaned out completely.
President Trump’s vocal support for various gun control measures has reignited the panic buy market. It’s given a welcome influx of cash assets to the stores heretofore struggling due to the market’s sudden shift. When Trump was elected the plateauing market suddenly went full stop. Gun purchases became entirely about want and hunting the best deal became the name of the game. You could wait and get the gun you wanted now because no one was coming for your guns.
Trump changed that by voicing publicly that due process was on the chopping block along with the guns themselves.
Overnight the AR market shifted to need again.
H.R. 5087 introduced last week drove the motivation further. All those people who weren’t coming for the guns were now coming for the guns.
The loud, emotionally passionate, and fairly articulate voices of the teenagers victimized in Parkland were immediately put center stage by the anti-gun organizations and handed talking points that sounded great. They could garner the sympathy of being children and be given a false credence of expertise and authority for sounding like adults and being child victims.
The unique combination of national sympathy for children and the clear voiced nature of the victims gave a momentum to the agenda that Garland, Texas and Las Vegas, Nevada did not.
The President responded on the “we must do something” line of dialogue. That dialogue is the same proposing gun bans and 2nd Amendment repeal. The man who promised the assault on our 2nd Amendment rights was over gave the greatest fuel to the renewed attack and subsequent fear of the loss of constitutional rights.
What to do today?
Keep an eye on the bills making there way through congress and let your voice be heard.
Continue too, to vote with your wallet and support those businesses that support your rights.
Check you local gun store. (If it’s Dick’s or Field and Stream don’t bother, go to the next one) or hit up the guys online. Operation Parts still has a few and Southwick’s did too if you’re in the area.
But more importantly go to the digital halls of congress and let them know where certain bills need to end up.
This week, Matt Owen goes over is EDC Bag for his SBR. He does into detail on the Oakley Chamber Range Bag – Enjoy!
This bus station is always the busiest, and you stand with your back to a wall watching the crowds gather and disperse. You try to passively take in everyone and see if anything stands out, and sure enough – there’s one. You know, that guy. An otherwise innocuous tennis bag is slung over his shoulder, which would be anything but noteworthy except that he’s also wearing 5.11 tactical pants, a pair of Salomons, a Grunt Style t-shirt, and a pre-tattered cap with a Spartan helmet on it. That bag isn’t fooling many people; that’s no tennis racket, and he’s no Federer.
Fortunately for you, carrying covertly comes easy, and as the bus doors swing open for your route, you confidently step on board knowing your bag draws as much attention as a second-hand “Vouis Litton” from the flea market. It may not wow the guys at the range – at least, not until you open it – but then again, that’s not what being low profile is all about, is it?
When I built my SBR, I wanted to have a way to carry it to and from work (I worked at a firearms retail store for a long time) without making it obvious what I was doing. I realized that my options were pretty limited; not necessarily because of what was available, but because what I was wanting clashed with what was possible. When you have a 10.5” upper, even with a nifty collapsing stock like the Troy Tomahawk, you’re still looking at a lengthy piece. A regular old backpack won’t fit it, so you’re going to have to get that ugly tennis bag and look ridiculous, a tactical bag that advertises your intentions, or a big Eberlestock-style “hiking” bag that would look utterly insane as you ride around on the Metro.
It wasn’t until working the Orlando Gun Show one day that I spotted a potential solution, and after haggling it down to a fair price I took it home and gave it a go. Almost three years later, I haven’t looked back! Since the precedent was set in an earlier article, let’s start with the cons first and finish on a high note, and you can see if the Oakley Range Bag is something you want to add to your tool kit. *Note: While Oakley has discontinued selling it on their website, it’s still available through multiple online retailers.
Cons
Officially dubbed the “Black Chamber Range Bag”, this pack is a normal-size backpack offering a large amount of space. However, I don’t like the internal layout. There are no dedicated mag pouches, be it pistol or AR, and the pouches that are there leave mags flopping around or zipped away. Adding those in or even providing internal PALS webbing to allow the user to add their own would be a nice plus.
Perhaps it’s nitpicking, but the detachable mini-bag on the front is also a complaint for me. While it’s nice to be able to have a “to go” portion, if I don’t want to leave it on there, the buckles flop around like four small tentacles. Strangely enough, the pack boasts the ability to remove this and clip it over your chest via the main straps; not only does that completely negate your low-pro appearance, but it also means they knew the buckles would be unused and still didn’t add a solution.
Another issue I had was how wide it opened or didn’t open really. If all you had in here were a couple textbooks for class and a small laptop, you’d be golden, but trying to pull out a typical range kit (or, for me, an SBR) would prove difficult. The zippers barely made it to being vertical, so the opening was always a little tight, and folding the bag over was a half-ass solution that often-made things more frustrating.
My last gripe is purely superficial, and that’s the color options. It’s available in Nothing Special Black, Look At Me Olive Drab, and Please “Stare At Me Multicam”. Throw in a couple gray-man-ready color schemes, like a navy-and-white or gray-and-blue, so people using this as an EDC for all things tactical feel more assured they aren’t drawing weird looks.
Pros
The biggest thing for me is the biggest thing – the main compartment. I used to carry my SBR broken down and it fit perfectly with plenty of room to spare. There’s a Velcro bar across the back near the top that comes with a retention loop; add a second one on there and the SBR was snug but easily accessible. Despite the varying sizes and needs for SBRs and pistol-types, the Chamber Range Bag was able to meet a few different models I tried in the shop, including a Draco pistol, and leave me the space to drop in extras.
The two pouches on the side also came into play for me. Though seemingly small, they have ample room as well, and I fit my Ms. Clean First Aid Kit, fire-starter kit, LifeStraw, Clif Bar, and compass into one, leaving the other for my battery backup, emergency blanket, chemlights, flashlight, and larger-than-pocket knife. By playing with the spread, I was able to balance the weight perfectly and not create fatigue on one side or the other while still having everything I felt I needed in an EDC.
The back sleeve also came into play during some road trips and training seminars for my next job. It has ample room for even a bulky Alienware, so those of you with the newest Macbook Air or XPS 13 will find it perfect, and it offers two divided sections for your Top Secret dossier and latest edition of Recoil magazine to slip into. Those of you worried about impact should fear not, as the pack sports a solid backboard and has a cushioned liner between the SBR section and the laptop section.
Definitely worth noting is the fact that after almost three years of use, the only wear that is visible is some discoloration (my fault for leaving it in the car, then in the workshop, then under the dog) and some wrinkles in the shoulder straps (but don’t we all wrinkle with age?). The interior has yet to rip anywhere, all zippers function as they did on day one, and the buckles still snap like a bolt going home.
Lastly, and maybe even more important than the interior size, is the appearance. I didn’t want to look like “Andre Agassi meets Taran Butler”, I didn’t want to wear an olive drab billboard, and I certainly didn’t want to be that crazy guy with a 4-foot tall hiking backpack in the middle of Orlando. Oakley’s solution, be it intentional or not, has been the perfect balance of tactical readiness with gray-man blend-ability.
For an average of $150, it’s hard to go wrong, and if it means you’re not looking like a strange mix of Rafael Nadal and The Punisher, then pick one up and disappear into the crowds.
Source: http://www.thegearlocker.net/2018/02/oakley-chamber-range-bag/
–From Team Hollis
The world of competitive shooting can be extremely intimidating, let alone being a female in a male dominated sport. I was exposed to my first IDPA match in June of 2017. My husband practically dragged me there. I hadn’t had much practice with my HK VP9. I knew the basic fundamentals but not nearly enough in my eyes. I, like most females that take up this sport, are stubborn, independent, type A, “we don’t want anyone’s help” kinda women.
After sitting through the beginner safety course, I knew right away that it was going be a very long day. I wanted to fall back into the comfort zone of my M4. Where I knew I could perform well. However, the boss-man refused to let me have my way and insisted I stepped out the my comfort zone.
I set my standards extremely high and more often than not, I put extreme amounts of pressure on myself to do just as well as the men. Needless to say, with my inexperience, low confidence and competitive spirit, my first few stages of the match went horribly wrong. Slow draws, missed targets and running out of time were begging to become a habit.
By the time we reached lunch, I was ready to crawl into a hole and never shoot pistol again. I had failed “in my eyes” at obtaining my objective. My husband did very well, and was supportive as he always is, but I am my own worst critic. Words didn’t mean a whole lot at that time, as I knew I hadn’t performed well.
After sulking for about a week, I had a “come to jesus moment” with myself and decided to “let” someone help out. As usual my husband came to the rescue and was standing by, waiting for me to ask for help. After dropping some stubborn walls, I started to understand the concepts and fundamentals further. I figured out what I was doing wrong and started fixing those mistakes. I learned alot from my first match. Although it did not go as I had planned or wanted, I was also naive to believe I could do phenomenally well with very little experience. “Beginners luck” doesn’t beat experience through talent.
If I could give you any advice it would be-
1) Listen to those who have been shooting longer
2) You probably aren’t going to start winning matches right from the start
3) Good results will take a lot of time and effort
4) Your self confidence will grow with time
5) If you think you’ve got something down, do it again.. And again
6) Enjoy yourself, keep the fundamentals
7) Don’t give up
I am happy to report through hours of hard work spent at the range, and listening to others, my pistol shooting is getting better. It isn’t world class competitive level, but it’s a hell of alot better than where it was. And, as comfortable as you may be with a different weapon, use the one you suck at the most!
Candace
Welcome to the We Like Shooting show, Episode 235 – tonight we’ll talk about Rent a reticle, F4 Defense, Aaron’s 9mm AR, Sig Sauer P365, Tactical AR, guns, shooting, firearms, nra, 2ndamendment and more!
I’m not a Grand Master, it’s true. So why did I write a book about how to get better at shooting, and why should anyone read it?
Let’s start at the beginning, with the area of shooting I focused on – dry fire, also known as dry practice.
Dry fire is a hot idea among gun owners who want to become more proficient with their firearms. It’s recommended in many training classes and you can find articles and books about it all over the internet.
Since dry fire allows you to work on your shooting skills without firing a single round of ammunition, the advantages seem obvious. You don’t need to spend time and money going to the range, making it easier to fit into both your schedule and your budget.
The idea, at its most basic, is that you can take an unloaded gun and practice pulling the trigger while aimed at some sort of target. A common variation is to balance a coin on the front sight, with the goal being to be able to press the trigger without letting the coin drop.
At the other end of the spectrum, folks are practicing entire competition stages or defensive scenarios with empty guns. They’re running around, reloading, and sometimes using gadgets like SIRT pistols.
Both extremes are dry fire, and so is an awful lot of stuff in between. The question isn’t so much what dry fire is, but how much it can include and how it can be used best to help someone become a better shooter.
To answer that, I wrote The Dry Fire Primer. It’s a distillation of lessons I’ve learned on my journey from rather mediocre shooter to where I’m at today. While I continue to have a lot of room for improvement, I’ve become a consistently strong performer on the range even when I haven’t been able to get in much live fire practice.
In the process, I’ve had a lot of opportunity to think about what it takes to get from Point A to Point B. I’ve also picked the brains of experts across disciplines from simply dry fire to technical shooting performance to the all-important mental game. I haven’t limited myself to the firearms world either, looking at learning and practice techniques from other sports as well as areas like musical performance.
The culmination is a slim volume that talks about the whys and hows of dry fire. Rather than give you a series of drills that, frankly, wouldn’t be up to the standards of the excellent books already on the market, The Dry Fire Primer shows you what you need to know to get the most out of that material.
It tells you why you need dry fire in your life, and how you can fit it into your busy schedule. It explains how to set up, safely and effectively, for your practice sessions. It talks about the mysterious concept of par time, and how you can use it to make you a faster, more efficient shooter under pressure. It helps you understand what you should be paying attention to so that your dry fire is an effective learning tool. It points out what dry fire can accomplish – and what it can’t.
The Dry Fire Primer is aimed not only at newer shooters who are trying to establish their dry fire routines, but at more experienced shooters who are looking to revitalize their practice. Maybe you don’t know where or how to get started. Or maybe you’ve hit a plateau in your improvement, or you’re bored with dry fire. I include suggestions on all of these, drawn not just from my research, but also from my own experiences and that of my students.
Want to learn more? The electronic version of the book is available for Amazon Kindle, and printed copies are available both direct and from an increasing number of your favorite retailers.
The GAT Publishing Network is always looking to pull from a diverse group of industry experts to give our readers the most thorough coverage we can accomplish on a wide variety of topics. We have veterans, doctors, instructors, and a variety of specialized technical experts who have shared their time, talents, and valuable information with our audience.
Continuing that mission we are pleased to announce Annette Evans of Beauty Behind the Blast, as our newest contributing author.
Annette brings a wealth of technical and competitive knowledge to our talent pool in addition to a greater female perspective.
Look for her reviews, opinions, training tips, and technical discussions here starting today with her first piece on her new book.
The Dry Fire Primer.
The article and link to the book will be up shortly.
Annette, thank you and welcome to the team.
Edelweiss Arms specializes in the import and resale of collectible and antique firearms
March 1, 2018 – Chesapeake, Virginia, USA – Today KRISS USA, manufacturers and developers of the KRISS® Vector family of firearms, launch Edelweiss Arms, a new division focused on the import and sale of C&R (curios and relics) and antique firearms, with a specialty on Swiss firearms, to collectors in the United States. Edelweiss Arms is a direct to consumer e-commerce business that leverages strategic partnerships in Switzerland, and throughout Europe, to source only the highest grade and historically significant collector’s firearms.
“This is an exciting new venture for our business, and we’re looking forward to providing some value to the collector’s market in the United States,” states KRISS USA Marketing Manager, Tim Seargeant. “Edelweiss Arms is positioned to provide the discerning collector in the United States unprecedented access to some of the most pristine condition antique and C&R firearms from Europe. Additionally, our Edelweiss Arms website is designed to streamline the decision making and ordering process, to reduce the guess work that is traditionally associated with shopping for collector’s pieces.”
Edelweiss Arms’ initial offerings include a wide variety of Schmidt-Rubin rifles. In addition to long arms, Edelweiss Arms also boasts a selection of Lugers in different variations from Waffenfabrik Bern (W+F Bern) and Deutsche Waffen Munitions Fabriken (DWM). Other handguns include several SIG P210 semi-automatic pistols as well as the P49, the Swiss military version of the P210. Edelweiss Arms also specializes in antique firearms, as defined by 27 CFR 478.11, which can be transferred in the United States without a Federal Firearms License (FFL).
For more information about Edelweiss Arms, or to view the current inventory, visit: www.edelweissarms.com.
Welcome to We Like Shooting’s Double Tap, Episode 51, Tonight we talk about gun tech, we’ll answer your questions on Dear WLS, we’ll talk about NOT GUNS, and revisit past gear
From Dr. LateBloomer
It seems that after every high-profile shooting, amidst the inevitable calls for more gun control, there are always the voices which chime in saying “I’m an NRA member, BUT”, or “I shoot [fill in the blank] BUT”, or “I grew up around guns, BUT”.
We have all seen them. They might even be friends or relatives. Let’s call these people “But”-heads, shall we? I have yet to hear one of these “But”-type arguments use enough logic or fact, only ignorance and emotion, to merit consideration. These people are willing to sacrifice to the gods of gun control whatever doesn’t fit into their particular life experience. As long as “their” chosen activity isn’t impacted, they are fine with throwing everyone else’s rights under the bus. At its core this is virtue-signaling, ignorance, and betrayal.
An example from a few years ago would be when Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) famously touted his NRA membership in a 2010 campaign ad.
But then he came out against “high capacity magazines”, saying that he’d “never had more than 3 rounds in a clip”, and “Didn’t know anyone who goes out [hunting] with an assault rifle”. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pro-gun-sen-joe-manchin-calls-for-action-on-gun-violence/
A more recent example of a But-head is professional baseball player and bowhunter Chipper Jones, who in the wake of the Parkland shooting denounced “assault rifles” as “belong[ing] in the hands of soldiers”. https://www.myajc.com/blog/jeff-schultz/chipper-jones-avid-hunter-denounces-assault-weapons/65HvYylsfsLgAq7FePpvFJ/
The CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods recently showed himself to be a But-head as well.
“We’re staunch supporters of the 2nd Amendment. I’m a gun owner myself,” Stack said. “We’ve just decided that based on what’s happened with these guns, we don’t want to be a part of this story and we’ve eliminated these guns permanently.” http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/dicks-sporting-goods-ceo-company-longer-sell-assault/story?id=53403284
It’s even possible to be “former military” and still be a But-head. Take a look at this video from CNN, featuring a retired general, who helped give us the term “fully semi-automatic” https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2018/02/27/ar-15s-up-close-tuchman-dnt-ac.cnn
Another term for these sorts is “Fudd”. As in the cartoon character with the speech impediment, Elmer Fudd.
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Fudd
But-heads, (or Fudds) are people who truly do not understand the Second Amendment or the reason it exists. They cannot process that it’s not about hunting. It’s not even truly about self-defense except in the broadest possible terms. It’s about defense against government run amok.
“The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.” – Attributed to Thomas Jefferson
These people don’t even understand how semi-automatic firearms operate or what the “scary parts” of an AR-15 are for. If they did we wouldn’t be hearing all the nonsense we do about “weapons of war”. I’d wager that if you showed any of these people a photo of an M1 Garand and asked if it was a “weapon of war” they would tell you no. Which is nonsense because the M1, being the WWII icon that it is, is a true weapon of war. It is even semi-automatic. But the M1 Garand is made of comforting wood and doesn’t have scary looking plastic accessories so it elicits no emotional knee-jerk response.
For those who would argue that the Founders never intended for “military style” arms like AR-15’s to be held in private hands I would like to point out that the Founders very much intended private hands to hold “military style” arms of many varieties. Not only did citizens use whatever arms they had on hand to fight the British (thus making almost any weapon a “military” one) the Founders even provided for the government to authorize letters of marque, which allowed private ships (armed with CANNONS) to operate as privateers. That’s correct private warships, Elon Musk and Joe the Plumber with an aircraft carrier. I think cannons could be safely called “military arms”, no matter how you choose to slice it. The Founders knew exactly what they were doing and trusted their own citizens far more than anyone gives them credit for.
The But-heads divide us. They seek to draw lines of virtue between themselves and other firearms owners. They seek to paint themselves as “reasonable” to those who would trample our constitutional freedoms. But what they don’t understand is that there is no such thing as “reasonable” when it comes to gun-grabbers. They are playing the long game. They seek to peel us off from one another, one group at a time. If they are successful in a grab for semi-autos, they won’t stop there and simply leave the But-heads in peace with their nice “reasonable” bird guns and bolt-action rifles. The grabbers won’t rest until all firearms are gone from citizen’s hands. Except for the criminals of course. Additionally the “criminals” who have been artificially created by noncompliance with unconstitutional laws. (See the whopping 96% noncompliance rate with the SAFE act.) https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2016/07/07/massive-noncompliance-with-safe-act/
The Second Amendment is about single-shot chipmunk .22’s and AR’s with 30, 40, or more round magazines. It is about pump shotguns and semi-autos with magazine tubes longer than the barrel. It is about revolvers and AR-pistols. It’s about wing shooters and 3-Gunners, hunters and concealed carriers, plinkers and competitors, muzzleloaders and the tacticool. The 2A is for ALL of us, and for all of our protection.
There is no “BUT” in the Second Amendment.
The President of the United States spoke those words in response to Vice President, Mike Pence.
“Allow due process so no one’s rights are trampled, but the ability to go to court, obtain an order and then collect not only the firearms but any weapons,” Pence said.
“Or, Mike, take the firearms first, and then go to court,” Trump responded.
The President’s bipartisan meeting on gun control revealed several opinions the President holds that should cause concern.
The most troubling is the outright denial of due process with the “promise” that it will be taken care of second. Powers and procedures like that have never been abused in our history though, at least our recent history. Talk to any older American of Japanese heritage, they will tell you.
The President is known for his comments and it may just be talk… it may not.
We will see what actually hits the legislative forms and gains support.
