Between race baiters fanning the flames regarding a shooting in Florida, people like Van Jones encouraging the Occupy protestors to step it up and get violent this summer, etc I thought it was time to write down a few thoughts on staying safe in unsettled times.
These are mainly my thoughts on Joe Civilian and riots (seeing as how I've never been in a riot, just done lots of reading, you can take or leave the advice as you see fit).
Seems that most civil unrest/violence in the US occurs in commercial or very low income/rent residential neighborhoods. That being said, how to react in order to keep yourself safe from an angry mob is going to be wildly different depending on which area you are in, commercial or residential (or more simply....are you at work or home when things happen).
Some things you should do regardless of location:
1) Be Aware
Look outside occasionally, check the local tv/radio news for reports of "crowds forming" or "unrest". Be aware of any national news that could incite violence (for example...Zimmerman goes to trial. Once the jury is deliberating, I'd keep a very close ear to the ground waiting for an announcement of guilty/not guilty). If you don't realize a riot is going on until the mob is breaking into your business or setting your car on fire in the driveway, you're already way behind the curve.
2) Have a Plan
You should always have a plan. If a riot is in or heading to your area, what are you going to do? When would you try to get the heck out? What situation would necessitate you holding your position? What would you need to do either one? What supplies would be good to have in the event of a riot?
A lot of those questions don't have universal answers, but will depend on your specific situation. A few things that I think are universal:
Have gas in the car. If you can only drive 30 miles before you run out of gas, it makes it a lot harder to flee from a bad situation.
Have at least a weeks worth of food/water. If you can't get to the store because they're closed or the mobs in the way, can you feed yourself something?
Have fire extinguishers. Even if its not the mob setting your property on fire, your local PD/FD will be busy with the mob...so if something happens at your home/business being able to take care of it yourself is important. Their response times to non riot related calls will likely be VERY long, if they're able to respond at all.
3) Be armed.
More than that, be armed enough to face multiple assailants. I know people love their 5 shot J frame, or their pocket .380. Would you care to face a crowd with them? Try to carry the largest capacity gun in a service caliber (9/40/45) that you can. And carry reloads. Make sure you have a rifle or shotgun and reloads handy. Fairly self explanatory why.
Now, regarding commercial/residential.
In a commercial/business setting:
If at all possible, get the heck out! Insurance will cover any damage done to the business. Whether you own the place or work for someone else, your life isn't worth defending those computers, or twinkies, or whatever random item the rioters decide to steal. Your life is more important. Make sure your coworkers are able to get out, and leave! If you are not able to leave, retreat to a warehouse/backroom that has at least 2 exits, lock the doors and dim the lights. Hopefully anyone who breaks in will only be interested in grabbing what looks good out front and leaving, not exploring thoroughly.
Leaving a commercial location
Okay, so you've decided to flee. Smart call. Since you're being smart, you probably can grab that long gun from the trunk and throw a towel over it to keep it up front with you, right? Good. That being said, you're driving a 3000 lbs weapon. Simply put...if you can avoid the riot at all, do so. If you somehow manage to take a wrong turn/come across it unexpectedly....Doors locked. Do NOT stop moving. Mobs are dangerous. If they get you out of the car, you could be beaten, crippled or killed. Do not let them get you out. DRIVE.
In a residential setting:
Most people have a problem with this, because we're talking about our homes as opposed to where we work. But again, the safest thing to do (if you can do so without going through the mob) is to get out of dodge. Yes, you may lose some "stuff"....but thats why we have everything documented for insurance, right? My neighborhood does only have 1 entrance/exit, so I've had to consider the possibility that fleeing isn't an option. So in that case..
Defending the home
Generally, as CHL holders we are trained to stay inside the house (and its tactically sound advice). While this is normally a good idea, mobs like fire, and burning things. So if one thug breaks down the door and is met with gunfire, they won't try to storm the house....but they might go ahead and set fire to your roof before they move on. In the LA riots, Korean shopkeepers on their roofs kept the mob moving on to other targets. In a mob/riot situation, the roof is a decent idea. Its not great cover, but pretty good concealment. It gives you a great view of the neighborhood, and you'll be able to see anyone trying to start fires, etc. Again in this situation a rifle or shotgun wins over a pistol.
For the TL,DR crowd.......My riot advice: Be aware of your surroundings, have a plan to get out or defend, be armed, and if you can at all...get the heck out of the area.
Feel free to chime in if you feel I missed anything important or am just flat out wrong.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Garden Visitor
Went out to check on the garden the other day and found this little guy, a red footed tortoise. They're apparently native to South America, but have been exported as pets in the past. Its possible this guy got out from somewhere I suppose.
Either way, after a few pictures he ran off. I guess he's camera shy.
Either way, after a few pictures he ran off. I guess he's camera shy.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Becoming an NRA Instructor
As I posted before, I spent some time recently in class to become an NRA Certified Instructor (and got these shiny patches that I'm going to show off one more time)
The NRA offers certifications in a lot of different areas, from the seemingly obvious like pistol, rifle and shotgun, to the more advanced/obscure like reloading metallic cartridges, range safety officer, and muzzle loading pistol, rifle or shotgun. I am now certified to teach (as if you couldn't tell from the patches) home firearm safety, personal protection in the home, and basic pistol.
Before you can become certified to teach any of the specific disciplines, you must attend Basic Instructor Training (or BIT), which basically makes sure that you're capable of getting up and speaking in front of others...something only moderately important for a teacher, right?
Day 1 of class consisted of mostly BIT, though we started covering some of the pistol course information as well. I really enjoyed the fact that our BIT training consisted not only of making sure we had a good grasp of basic firearms knowledge, but also covered topics such as advertising, writing a press release, checklists of "things to do" before hosting a class, etc. For someone with no prior paid teaching under their belt, this is a helpful way for you to dip your toes into the pool, and figure out how to swim before you swan dive off the 10 foot board in that first class.
Day 2 was the meat of our pistol course and a trip to the range which made sitting in a classroom all day worth it. The information is pretty basic, which is good considering the pistol course is designed to introduce new shooters to pistol shooting in a safe way.
We begin discussing the various types of pistols and actions, breaking down and explaining the components of a pistol and even a cartridge. From there, the fundamentals of pistol shooting such as sight alignment/sight picture, proper grip, trigger pull and follow through is all discussed. This class can take someone who is a complete novice, and turn them into a knowledgeable shooter.
On the range we mainly were tasked with making sure we were familiar with all the various action types that may be in class, from semi autos to double and single action revolvers. The single action revolvers were new to me, and I have to admit I prefer modern designs in both revolver and semi auto. The grip on an old school single action revolver were a little hard to get used to for me. They're fun to shoot and have nice triggers, but they just feel weird in my hands. (Though I do want to get a SAA clone in .357 to pair with my lever gun just because they go together like peanut butter and jelly.)
Day 3 was the most fun day to me because it was more advanced, dealing with home security, personal awareness, and the importance of having a plan for a home invasion. Personal protection in the home is considered a more advanced class, so the teaching is directed towards those who already know how to shoot or may even be CHL holders, that would like to improve their in home safety knowledge and skills.
The range session was also a lot of fun, as we got to practice shooting from different positions and behind barriers, not to mention emphasizing defensive shooting as opposed to bulls eye shooting. Don't get me wrong, its fun to tear a tiny hole in the paper to show what a great shot you are, but knowing that you're able to bring the pistol into action quickly and be accurate enough to stop a threat is a very comforting thing and the perfect range session for a class on in home defense.
In summary, I felt the classes were very helpful, and absolutely worth the price of admission. Now that I am certified, I plan on teaching both NRA classes and my own classes, specializing mainly in helping introduce new shooters to pistol shooting. I don't plan on making "quit your day job" type money, but as long as I can cover my costs regarding ammo/insurance/other expenses, I will be happy.
I'm mainly doing this because I love shooting and enjoy teaching people about things. If I can infect others with my enthusiasm for the shooting sports, then that is X number of people who are now informed about their 2nd Amendment rights and are therefore less likely to buy the utter drivel that passes for "thinking" regarding guns from the media, the brady bunch, and the statists. As well, they will possess the knowledge and skill to safely use their gun and enjoy shooting. That's a win in my book any day!
The NRA offers certifications in a lot of different areas, from the seemingly obvious like pistol, rifle and shotgun, to the more advanced/obscure like reloading metallic cartridges, range safety officer, and muzzle loading pistol, rifle or shotgun. I am now certified to teach (as if you couldn't tell from the patches) home firearm safety, personal protection in the home, and basic pistol.
Before you can become certified to teach any of the specific disciplines, you must attend Basic Instructor Training (or BIT), which basically makes sure that you're capable of getting up and speaking in front of others...something only moderately important for a teacher, right?
Day 1 of class consisted of mostly BIT, though we started covering some of the pistol course information as well. I really enjoyed the fact that our BIT training consisted not only of making sure we had a good grasp of basic firearms knowledge, but also covered topics such as advertising, writing a press release, checklists of "things to do" before hosting a class, etc. For someone with no prior paid teaching under their belt, this is a helpful way for you to dip your toes into the pool, and figure out how to swim before you swan dive off the 10 foot board in that first class.
Day 2 was the meat of our pistol course and a trip to the range which made sitting in a classroom all day worth it. The information is pretty basic, which is good considering the pistol course is designed to introduce new shooters to pistol shooting in a safe way.
We begin discussing the various types of pistols and actions, breaking down and explaining the components of a pistol and even a cartridge. From there, the fundamentals of pistol shooting such as sight alignment/sight picture, proper grip, trigger pull and follow through is all discussed. This class can take someone who is a complete novice, and turn them into a knowledgeable shooter.
On the range we mainly were tasked with making sure we were familiar with all the various action types that may be in class, from semi autos to double and single action revolvers. The single action revolvers were new to me, and I have to admit I prefer modern designs in both revolver and semi auto. The grip on an old school single action revolver were a little hard to get used to for me. They're fun to shoot and have nice triggers, but they just feel weird in my hands. (Though I do want to get a SAA clone in .357 to pair with my lever gun just because they go together like peanut butter and jelly.)
Day 3 was the most fun day to me because it was more advanced, dealing with home security, personal awareness, and the importance of having a plan for a home invasion. Personal protection in the home is considered a more advanced class, so the teaching is directed towards those who already know how to shoot or may even be CHL holders, that would like to improve their in home safety knowledge and skills.
The range session was also a lot of fun, as we got to practice shooting from different positions and behind barriers, not to mention emphasizing defensive shooting as opposed to bulls eye shooting. Don't get me wrong, its fun to tear a tiny hole in the paper to show what a great shot you are, but knowing that you're able to bring the pistol into action quickly and be accurate enough to stop a threat is a very comforting thing and the perfect range session for a class on in home defense.
In summary, I felt the classes were very helpful, and absolutely worth the price of admission. Now that I am certified, I plan on teaching both NRA classes and my own classes, specializing mainly in helping introduce new shooters to pistol shooting. I don't plan on making "quit your day job" type money, but as long as I can cover my costs regarding ammo/insurance/other expenses, I will be happy.
I'm mainly doing this because I love shooting and enjoy teaching people about things. If I can infect others with my enthusiasm for the shooting sports, then that is X number of people who are now informed about their 2nd Amendment rights and are therefore less likely to buy the utter drivel that passes for "thinking" regarding guns from the media, the brady bunch, and the statists. As well, they will possess the knowledge and skill to safely use their gun and enjoy shooting. That's a win in my book any day!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Garden Update(3)
Well, I'll get around next week to writing about class. A combination of being in class/on the range from 8am-6pm for 3 days, sleeping on an unfamiliar couch, driving to dallas and back, getting a cold, and coming home to pollen counts that have quadrupled in the past week have me feeling pretty lousy still.
In the meantime, I do have a garden update! We have officially picked our first produce...a single strawberry. It had a lot of flavor for a little guy though.
The garden has been overrun with grass/weeds, and we had 2 pepper plants that looked fairly dead, so we did some weeding/replanting today. Here's hoping our new pepper plants make it longer than the others did. We also have a cherry tomato plant that is looking stunted, but it also looks healthy so I'm going to give it another week or so. To help it along, we went ahead and fertilized today as well.
Alright, enough yaking..picture time!
Our pepper/squash bed still over run with weeds
Cleaned up
Strawberries
In the meantime, I do have a garden update! We have officially picked our first produce...a single strawberry. It had a lot of flavor for a little guy though.
The garden has been overrun with grass/weeds, and we had 2 pepper plants that looked fairly dead, so we did some weeding/replanting today. Here's hoping our new pepper plants make it longer than the others did. We also have a cherry tomato plant that is looking stunted, but it also looks healthy so I'm going to give it another week or so. To help it along, we went ahead and fertilized today as well.
Alright, enough yaking..picture time!
Our pepper/squash bed still over run with weeds
Cleaned up
Strawberries
Thursday, April 19, 2012
So how was your week?
I had a great week in Dallas getting my NRA Instructor certifications. I slept pretty poorly on a couch for 3 days and came down with the start of a cold, so I'll blog at length about the class and what I did later because I am worn down today.
But I did say I'd blog when I came back, so here's a quick preview of at least one cool thing...my patches. I know its kind of childish to get excited about such things, but I was very very happy to get these.
But I did say I'd blog when I came back, so here's a quick preview of at least one cool thing...my patches. I know its kind of childish to get excited about such things, but I was very very happy to get these.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Weekly Garden update (2)
No pictures, because its raining and I don't feel like getting out in it.
Tomatoes are all still looking strong. 2 of my pepper plants I'll probably wind up replanting next week. They just never grew any and have been a sickly yellow color since they went into the ground. Both strawberry plants are already producing fruit, so that's exciting. Basil is coming on strong, but my other herbs have failed to grow. 3 out of 4 watermelon plants are doing alright, and I have plenty of good looking squash popping up.
Hope everyone elses gardens are doing well. As I said with my last post, I will be in Dallas to become an NRA certified pistol instructor next week. Leaving tonight, and won't be posting again until at least Thursday. Expect my thoughts on the class, and an actual garden update with pictures later next week.
Until then.....
Tomatoes are all still looking strong. 2 of my pepper plants I'll probably wind up replanting next week. They just never grew any and have been a sickly yellow color since they went into the ground. Both strawberry plants are already producing fruit, so that's exciting. Basil is coming on strong, but my other herbs have failed to grow. 3 out of 4 watermelon plants are doing alright, and I have plenty of good looking squash popping up.
Hope everyone elses gardens are doing well. As I said with my last post, I will be in Dallas to become an NRA certified pistol instructor next week. Leaving tonight, and won't be posting again until at least Thursday. Expect my thoughts on the class, and an actual garden update with pictures later next week.
Until then.....
Friday, April 13, 2012
Time for a rant
I went to the range today, to get a little more practice in before I head up to Dallas next week to certify as an NRA pistol instructor. (I'll post more about that next week after I'm back, but don't expect a blog from Sunday-Thursday next week.). Now, anyone who's used a public range has seen the fun variety of people you have the privilege of interacting with in such settings. Heck, even as a firm and staunch supporter of the 2nd Amendment, some of the stuff I see at public ranges makes me feel just the tiniest of a "twinge" of understanding for the Brady nutjobs, which I then purge quickly by doing a mag dump into center mass of the target with whatever pistol/rifle I'm shooting that day.
I may have to blog later about some of the absolute winners I've seen at the range, but I'm going to try to stay on a single topic today:
A Bersa Thunder .380: NOT a good "first pistol" for Granny
Now, nothing against Bersa, or .380s, or Granny. In fact, I'm mentioning the Bersa because I saw not 1, but 2 women at the range today escorted by their proud husbands who picked out this great gun for their gal, only to watch them have a pretty dang hard time shooting it. I think that a light .38 revolver, .380 pocket pistol of any variety, or a Desert Eagle in .50AE are about on par as far as "really bad choices for granny" go.
I know there are people out there who's wives love their little .380 Bersa, or LCP, or .38 revolver. That's fine, and I understand why people would like these guns. I also think a small, snappy .380 pistol is a freaking awful choice to learn to shoot with whether you're a man, woman or child. In my mind, a .22 semi auto rifle, followed by a .22 pistol, are the only acceptable "first guns" to teach anyone to shoot well. Their cheap cost and minimal recoil make them excellent candidates for learning how to shoot with. That last part in bold? Yeah it's actually far more important than the cheap cost part.
The Bersa Thunder is a straight blowback gun, built on apolymer aluminum (hat tip to A-R of texaschlforum.com for correcting this for me) frame. They made this thing light, with a double action first trigger pull so its an ok concealed carry choice. Unfortunately, its lighter weight, long trigger pull and snappy recoil make it a TERRIBLE first pistol choice, especially for older women who don't have great hand strength.
In fact, I would argue that allowing people to think granny HAS to have a pocket sized pistol, even when she's only planning on keeping it around the house, is turning people off of guns, and preventing some women from being able to effectively protect themselves. For a woman with minimal shooting experience, I personally prefer a pistol caliber carbine, which I've blogged about before, but any rifle/shotgun is more than adequate, and easier to use than a pocket pistol for home defense, especially for people with weak hand strength and an aversion to practicing at the range.
Save your granny the sore hand and bad experience, and don't make a bad choice. In fact, we as men shouldn't be choosing guns for the women in our lives anyway. Try to get them interested, let them shoot a .22, offer to sign them up for a class......
but when our female loved ones are getting dressed, do we run into the closet and start telling them what they should wear? If we're smart, the answer is a resounding NO. The gun they choose to protect themselves should be their choice as well (though preferably in a reliable caliber/gun).
/rant off for the day.
I may have to blog later about some of the absolute winners I've seen at the range, but I'm going to try to stay on a single topic today:
A Bersa Thunder .380: NOT a good "first pistol" for Granny
Now, nothing against Bersa, or .380s, or Granny. In fact, I'm mentioning the Bersa because I saw not 1, but 2 women at the range today escorted by their proud husbands who picked out this great gun for their gal, only to watch them have a pretty dang hard time shooting it. I think that a light .38 revolver, .380 pocket pistol of any variety, or a Desert Eagle in .50AE are about on par as far as "really bad choices for granny" go.
I know there are people out there who's wives love their little .380 Bersa, or LCP, or .38 revolver. That's fine, and I understand why people would like these guns. I also think a small, snappy .380 pistol is a freaking awful choice to learn to shoot with whether you're a man, woman or child. In my mind, a .22 semi auto rifle, followed by a .22 pistol, are the only acceptable "first guns" to teach anyone to shoot well. Their cheap cost and minimal recoil make them excellent candidates for learning how to shoot with. That last part in bold? Yeah it's actually far more important than the cheap cost part.
The Bersa Thunder is a straight blowback gun, built on a
In fact, I would argue that allowing people to think granny HAS to have a pocket sized pistol, even when she's only planning on keeping it around the house, is turning people off of guns, and preventing some women from being able to effectively protect themselves. For a woman with minimal shooting experience, I personally prefer a pistol caliber carbine, which I've blogged about before, but any rifle/shotgun is more than adequate, and easier to use than a pocket pistol for home defense, especially for people with weak hand strength and an aversion to practicing at the range.
Save your granny the sore hand and bad experience, and don't make a bad choice. In fact, we as men shouldn't be choosing guns for the women in our lives anyway. Try to get them interested, let them shoot a .22, offer to sign them up for a class......
but when our female loved ones are getting dressed, do we run into the closet and start telling them what they should wear? If we're smart, the answer is a resounding NO. The gun they choose to protect themselves should be their choice as well (though preferably in a reliable caliber/gun).
/rant off for the day.
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