Sunday, February 12, 2012
So – when exactly do I draw my gun???
I’m looking at a gentleman a few years older than I and in his first weapons class. In fact he had only run a couple magazines through his new handgun – a Springfield XDM 9mm. We were discussing various scenarios for encounters where an individual could feel threatened. And that’s when the question came up:
So – when exactly do I draw my gun??
Just to be clear – I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV. I am not in law enforcement. I have no legal training. I have done my best to truly understand all the laws pertaining to carrying a weapon in Iowa and believe I have a firm understanding of them. Finally, I have taken live fire with a clear intention that I was not supposed to walk away from the encounter. Yet, those experiences were during my military days with Rules of Engagement that bear no resemblance to the US legal system. That said, here was my explanation, I welcome any/all feedback and thoughts.
In an earlier post – You Are A TARGET! – I approached parts of this topic from a situational awareness point-of-view. How you evaluate your ever changing environment as you move through the streets of modern day society. However, I want to address the actual drawing of your weapon in your own defense and some broader issues that arise around that.
As a CCW permit you will be held to a much higher standard of behavior in the event you have your weapon on you and you get into a situation that deteriorates to the point where you need to defend yourself. The best way to avoid a gunfight is to leave and not have one. There are particular actions that you will be evaluated by in the aftermath of a shooting.
Incitement: to move to action: stir up : spur on : urge on
You’re walking down the street with your girlfriend. A fellow standing on the corner does a wolf whistle and makes some comment you feel is inappropriate. You’re carrying – feeling a little extra tough because of it – so you confront the fellow and tell him what an ass he is. At that instant YOU have incited an escalation of the encounter. That little extra bit of testosterone you’re carrying has seriously clouded your judgment. If things progress from this point on where you take that fellow’s life – even to defend yourself – things will not go well for you.
Escalation: to increase in extent, volume, number, amount, intensity, or scope
You find yourself in an argument with an individual. Words are flying back and forth and you find yourself becoming more and more angry. Suddenly, you cross a boundary where – right or wrong – you are going to win this argument. When the smart thing to do would be to simply say something like: “Hey, ya know what, this is simply not worth arguing about, I’m going to just let it go and leave” – you double down. Again, that chunk of steel under your clothing makes you feel that you can ultimately win this argument – so you push your point . . . build the anger . . . push your point . . . build the anger . . . . . until there is a body on the ground and a gun in your hand. Things are not going to go well for you.
Under the influence: you’re drunk
You’re at a bar, you are carrying (BTW – this is profoundly stupid – do not carry a weapon into a bar – EVER) and you have let three or four too many drinks slide through your lips. During a game of pool your opponent cheats (at least in your drunken state he cheated) an argument ensues and suddenly you feel threatened. Maybe he lifts a pool queue to take a swing at you – and again there is a dead body at your feet and a smoking gun in your hand. Things are not going to go well for you.
Brandishing: to shake or wave (as a weapon) menacingly
True story from our region – names and places purposely left out. A lady is in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant. She is getting out of her car and a person accidentally backs into her car. She asks them to stay while she calls the police and they decide it’s a good time to boogie. Her solution? She whips out her brand new revolver from her purse and holds them at gunpoint until the police arrive. Things did not go well for her.
Another example – you’re in a store, in an impossibly long line and the person in front of you is being an ass. Stupidly, you ask them to just relax, you tell them things will eventually work their way through the incredibly long line. The person truly is an ass and threatens to pound your butt into the ground. Rather than leaving you make an equally stupid remark like: “Careful bud, I got a gun!” as you sweep back the corner of your concealment garment just to prove your point. You have now “Brandished” your weapon and made a direct threat on the person. Things will not go well for you.
OK, OK, OK – so when do I draw my weapon then?? When I’m bleeding on the floor??
The way I explain it (again – not a lawyer, not a LEO) is that if you feel like you are in “mortal danger” you are (again – in MY opinion) justified in drawing your weapon, announcing to your threat that you will shoot them if they continue to advance on you and then – and only then – if they continue their advance, engage them to “stop the threat”. Obviously that does not include the “existential threat” that appears virtually instantly (from around a corner, behind a door, between a car) where you simply have time to react. In that case, react – defend yourself – and then call the police and wait for them.
What is “mortal danger”? It is that feeling that tells you that if you don’t stop this person you will be going home to your Maker and not your family. You will die. You will be dead. Pine box city.
The after action reality?? The courts will more than likely make the final decision on whether you acted appropriately. You should expect to be arrested. You should expect to have your weapon confiscated. You should expect to be questioned about the event, the steps leading up to the event, the amount of training you have had, the length of time you have carried a weapon . . . and dozens of other questions about the specifics of the event. Your answer – “I thought I was going to die!!!”
My advice for once you are past that statement? Tell them who you are, offer to answer their questions, but only in the presence of your attorney. This is your constitutional right, exercise it. I carry a card in my wallet with my attorney’s personal cell phone number on it. We have discussed the possibility of a shooting event happening and we have agreed upon a plan of action. That is what I will follow – then I will answer any questions the police may have with my attorney sitting by my side.
So, bottom line – when do you draw your weapon? When you feel like you are going to die!
Otherwise, use your head and remove yourself from the situation.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Just the Basics – the Double Action Revolver
The double action revolver is the most common type of revolver used for personal defense. You will undoubtedly see the many common components shared between the double action revolver and other handguns that we will discuss. The weapon shown here is a Taurus 865 .38 Special in Magnesium. Let’s take a walk through the different parts first, and then we will discuss what makes this handgun a “double action” revolver.
The chassis, the primary component that holds all the parts together is the Frame
The Barrel is the component that allows the bullet to exit the handgun after it is fired and adds a spin to the bullet to increase its accuracy.
The Muzzle is the region immediately at the end of the Barrel where the bullet exits.
The Front Sight, used in conjunction with the Rear Sight is used to acquire an accurate sight picture prior to engaging a threat.
The Hammer is cocked during the process of pulling the Trigger to prepare it to strike the primer in the .38 Special cartridge. As the Trigger press continues, it “breaks”, releasing the Trigger, firing the cartridge.
The Cylinder contains the cartridges to be fired and rotates a new cartridge into position each time the Trigger is pulled or the Hammer is thumbed back.
The Cylinder Release is pushed forward to release the cylinder and allows it to be pushed out of the Frame for easy unloading and reloading.
The Ejection Rod is used to eject all spent casings with a single, firm push of the rod.
The Grip is the portion of the revolver that is actually “gripped” by the shooter.
The Back Strap fits into the shooter’s palm and the Front Strap provides a purchase for the shooter’s fingers.
The Trigger is the component that is pressed to the rear rotating the Cylinder, cocking the Hammer and releasing the Hammer, firing the cartridge.
The Trigger Guard provides protection against an accidental discharge from rubbing the Trigger against clothing or a holster.
The name “Double Action” comes from the fact that the trigger is used to both cock the hammer as well as to release a cocked Hammer to fire the cartridge. Hence, this is a “Double Action” revolver. An additional function is to also rotate the Cylinder to present a full cylinder chamber in front of the Barrel prior to the Hammer being released.
While small revolvers like this lend themselves nicely to being concealed, they do have a tendency to have a fairly sharp recoil. Also, keep in mind that to facilitate a speed reload, it’s smart to have a couple fully loaded speed loaders tucked away as backup.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Just the Basics – the Single Action Revolver
The Single Action revolver is a great place to begin learning about handguns. The individual parts you see labeled in the photo of this Cimarron Model “P” – Evil Roy signature .45 Long Colt cowboy action pistol are shared by many different types of handguns. Let’s take a walk through the different parts first, and then we will discuss what makes this handgun a “single action” revolver.
The chassis, the primary component that holds all the parts together is the Frame.
The Barrel is the component that allows the bullet to exit the handgun after it is fired and adds a spin to the bullet to increase its accuracy.
The Muzzle is the region immediately at the end of the Barrel where the bullet exits.
The Front Sight, used in conjunction with the Rear Sight Groove is used to acquire an accurate sight picture prior to engaging a threat.
The Hammer is manually thumbed back to prepare it to strike the primer in the .45 Long Colt cartridge.
The Cylinder contains the cartridges to be fired and rotates a new cartridge into position each time the Hammer is thumbed back.
The Grip is the portion of the revolver that is actually “gripped” by the shooter. The Back Strap fits into the shooter’s palm and the Front Strap provides a purchase for the shooter’s fingers.
The Trigger is the component that is pressed to the rear releasing the Hammer and firing the cartridge.
The Trigger Guard provides protection against an accidental discharge from rubbing the Trigger against clothing or a holster.
The revolver is loaded by opening the Loading Gate, pulling the hammer back a single “click” to free the cylinder and inserting a fresh cartridge, rotating the Cylinder and repeating this step until the Cylinder is fully loaded.
Unloading can be done by holding the Barrel vertical, opening the Loading Gate, pulling the hammer back a single “click” and slowly rotating the Cylinder allowing each expended round’s case to drop out. In the event the case does not drop out, an Ejector Rod is provided to assist in this process.
The name “Single Action” comes from the fact that the trigger performs a “single” function, to release a cocked Hammer to fire the cartridge. Hence, this is a “Single Action” revolver.
This particular weapon is a lot of fun to shoot. I plan to dedicate some time this summer to work on a cowboy quick draw (using wax bullets). I’ll post some photos of my progress.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
The “Boogie Bag” . . . . . for when it’s time to leave!
(My apologies in advance, an impossibly long post – but there simply were no options to make it shorter.)
An earlier post dealt with the initial moments – essentially the first 3 hours – of a survival event. When something unexpected happens, these first few hours will determine whether you have a future or not – they are life critical.
The typical “72-hour” bags are meant to get you through the next 3 days. However, as I have explained, as long as you are not going to die of exposure, it takes little to survive 72 hours other that a personal commitment that you will live to see another day. These systems are mostly meant to “get you home” – where safety and security can be found.
So let’s take it to the next level – the “Boggie” level. You are cut off from home, you are flushed out of your home by either a natural disaster or the “rule of law” has evaporated and your home is no longer safe. Perhaps you are on an extended trip and you can not physically reach home, you need to pick up from where you currently are and survive. The duration for this type of event could be from a week to months. What do you take, how do you prepare, where do you start.
Well, you start here and now – you have all the time you need. The easiest way to approach this is to view it as an extended wilderness trip. If I head out for a week or two, there are certain “basics” that I need in my system to make sure I survive comfortably. While I have no problem with the rigors of the wilderness, and I have taken short weekend trips with minimalist equipment just to flush out the kinks in some of my thinking, it is never my intent to be uncomfortable during one of these excursions. I intend on being warm, dry and comfortable whether it’s 20 below, 100 above, snow or rain. The only thing that determines the length of time on a trip is the “trip plan” and the amount of food I have brought or can scavenge. The gear I take to make this possible can easily be used for a “72-hour” bag as well, just with less food. Then, should the situation deteriorate, your window can be extended by simply adding food. So, let’s look at what goes into my “Boogie Bag”.
Over the past 30 years or so I have refined my “GearList”. I am currently on version 4 due to this particular post. I have added hyper-links to Amazon to specific
products that are either exactly what I have or are so similar that there is no practical difference. I use everything on the list on one trip or another. You will note two separate lists – a Standard Backpack and a Lightweight List. They are exactly that – the Standard is my typical load-out. The Lightweight is me playing with the edges of comfort vs. weight. First, some rules of thumb. Your “base weight” – the weight of your pack (including the pack itself) should be between 25-30 pounds. Remember, you are going to carry everything you need with you so high quality, lightweight equipment is essential.
Water weights 2 pounds per Nalgene, you’ll want to carry 3. Food typically costs you 2 pounds per day per day. Finally, clothing. These items will drive up your weight quickly.
Another “typical” guideline is that your final pack weight should be about 25% of your body weight. This will never happen. Shoot for something under 60 pounds, that is much more realistic and will help you to realize just what your true situation is should you ever truly need to grab your “boogie bag” and hit the road.
Let me talk about the different sections in my GearList first, and then I’ll delve into the specifics of each section.
Camp
This can generally be considered what you need to make a “home” – a tent, sleeping bag, mattress, a tarp, saw, walking sticks, etc.
Personal Hygiene
Keeping clean in the wilderness is much more important than during your typical day. Small injuries can become seriously infected. A simple cut can take you out of the ball game completely. Keep clean, take it serious.
Repair Kit
These are simple items that can be used to repair gear.
Camp Bag
These are items that are needed around your camp – ropes, fire starting tools, stakes, etc.
Kitchen
What ever you need to cook, flavor and eat a meal.
Navigation / Signaling / Communications
Equipment to get you where you are going, tell you where you are, communicate with the rest of your party or, in the event of the world actually coming to an end, the ability to communicate with others outside of your immediate area.
Knife / Tools
They are simply a required basic of any trip. These two particular items are part of my EDC system.
Clothing
Clothing should be build for wilderness travel; quick dry pants, wicking shirts – undershirts – and underwear. I would encourage you to stay away from cotton.
Dry Clothing
A dry clothing bag is always kept in reserve; never touch or used unless you have encountered an event where all other clothing is unusable.
Trip Clothing
The clothing you actually wear. Two sets – a travel set that is worn to travel then washed and hung to dry overnight. And a camp set that is worn after camp is setup and you are ready to wind down for the day.
Food Kit
I have provided links to various kinds of foods that I typically use for wilderness trips. I have little patience for the energy bar approach that many 72-hour bags use. With a little forethought, you can easily put good tasting food in your bag. Remember to double portions because of the energy you’re burning in your travels. And don’t forget comfort food – candy and snacks.
Normal Survival Kit
This is the kit my students build during their wilderness survival course. I use a square aluminum tin to store it that can double as a cooking pot. The kit should be self explanatory, I don’t plan on spending time on it in this post.
Pocket Survival Kit
This is a pocket kit my students also build and fit in an Altoids can. Again, it should be self explanatory and I’m not going to spend much time on it either.
So let’s delve into each section in more detail.
Camp
This area’s main purpose is to provide you some place dry, comfortable and it give you the ability to get out of the weather if need be. My components consist of a tent, tarp and sleep system with a sleeping bag and Thermarest mattress.
I’ve given you 3 tents I use. One is a Kelty single-person tent. This thing is s
imply b omb proof. I have stayed warm and dry through the worst the rains of the Rockies could throw at me and woke up smiling. It’s advantage is size and weight. But, it is a single-person tent. The MSR “Missing Link” (now with some new spiffy name I have already forgotten”) is a “single-wall” tent, meaning that there is no rain fly, it has only a single waterproof wall. The advantage here is less weight and more space (this is a 2-person tent albeit a bit tight) but it also keeps water in so the
moisture you exhale throughout the night accumulates on the inside of the tent. Keep the vents open as much as you can and set it up early so it can try again before you climb in for the night. Finally, the Eureka 4-person “A” frame, this is one of the best tents ever built. If it’s at all possible, this is the tent I will take. The down side – weight, as simple as that. Plus side – ROOM. It’s is fairly
easy to distribute the weight into two bundles, one for you and one for your hiking partner. As for sleeping systems, I always start with a summer bag and build from there. By adding a fleece liner/blanket you can add another 10 degrees. And by adding a down comforter can reach 0F easily. Below that takes a bit more special attention. With this system while winter camping, I usually forgo the tent and opt just for a tarp to keep new snow off, or find a nice pine to sleep under.
I believe a tarp is a must, during a long rainy period it’s impossible to just stay in
your tent. A tarp gives you flexibility to sit, read, cook – to just enjoy the day, even if it’s rain filled. I wouldn’t travel without walking sticks anymore. One, they become the tent polls for my MSR shelter. Or they can be the polls to set up the tarp. And, they can keep you from taking a header while on the trail.
Kitchen
I have provided links to everything from a Fuel Tab stove to a MSR Whisperlite International. Lots of choices – that depend on the
length of the trip and availability of fuel. My preference is the MSR stove. And the International version allows you to burn standard gasoline as well. A Large and Small fuel bottle will easily get you through a week of meals. I always pour from the large to the small bottle and use that on the stove. There are tons of kitchen kits – I have linked to those similar to mine. Remember, every ounce
counts. I also have the coffee pot double as a carrier for the stove just to help protect it. And, use the wind screen for the stove, it radically cuts the amount of fuel needed to cook a meal. Navigation / Signaling / Communications
A good compass and a solid knowledge of how to use it is one of the most important basic skills everyone should know. The one linked to is the one I put around my neck when I head out. It never comes off, even at night. If I make a potty stop in the middle of the night and get turned around, I’m not going to be able to go back to my tent and pick it up to find out which way I’m headed – it’s already too late.
I love the Garmin GPS. This is the current version of the one I use. It can hold every map Garmin Mapquest offers – you simply need to buy this and throw it in your bag.
The Motorola radios are similar to the 10 year old ones I currently have. These can be indispensable in keeping a group together. However, their ranges are vastly inflated. You can dependably expect a couple miles, anything more is just gravy.
The Yeasu 857 and the BuddiPole is your “holy crap – it really hit the fan” c
communications system. I have the desktop version of this radio and it is very reliable. And I love the antenna system. It runs off 12 volts, so you can
use a car battery to power it. It also has a low-power setting to extend battery life. This system will require you to acquire a new skill set and become a licensed Amateur Radio Operator (Ham). But, I believe it’s worth your time. Just a couple cautions about communications in general. Everyone can listen in – be careful what you say. If you are in a survival situation, don’t reveal your location, don’t say how many are in your party, don’t reveal your defensive capabilities or how much food you have or what kind of shelter you have. Limit the length of your conversations to less than 30 seconds if possible – it’s not hard to triangulate your position. Just remember – every bad guy that’s out there is listening.
Knife / Tools
The Kershaw and the Juice are part of my EDC. Buy them; put them in your pocket tomorrow! Nuff said.
Clothing
Going home clothes: If you are out on a practice run or an actual practice trek – throw a complete set of clean clothes in the car, put your stinky, smelly clothes in the trunk and enjoy the drive home.
For travel there are three sets of clothes.
Your “Dry Bag” – these are clothes you have put in a 2-gallon ziplock that you NEVER TOUCH. These are your emergency clothes – you rolled you canoe and everything’s wet – I just came through the rainstorm from hell and everything’s wet – I just fell through the ice and everything’s wet – clothes. Don’t touch’em.
Your travel clothes are those you wear throughout the day. They should be quick dry, wicking and NOT COTTON!!! Lot’s of good options out there. At the end of the day, shuck them, hang them to “air wash” (or if you are near plentiful water – wash them and hang them to dry) and change into your camp clothes. These you will only wear around camp – at night strip them off and sleep in your undies. Then, in the morning, pack these (again in a 2-gallon ziplock just in case) and put your trail clothes back on.
Finally – The Food
Plan a menu, put each day (all three meals) in a 2-gallon ziplock and load up 7 days food in your pack. Each ziplock will weigh around 2 pounds so 7 days is 14 pounds. Another option is to have a separate food pack that attached to your backpack or you can carry on your front. These can be easily hung at night to keep them away from animals. Plan for 2 weeks. You already have a good solid “home” on your back. All you will need to do is resupply food and replace clothing going forward should things remain in the crapper for more than 2 weeks.
You should use your food as well. Either use in on practice treks (otherwise known as vacations) or eat it at home and rotate in new food.
Final thoughts
You have all the time you need today to put a system together – start. You need practice at using it. Just as you go to the range to hone your weapon skills, you need to go to the wilderness to hone your survival skills – plan a trip. Start with an overnight, then a weekend, then a “long weekend’, then a week and finally, take a 2-week trek to really wring things out. Make notes, learn, adjust – you have all the time in the world today.
Remember: Help is NOT COMING. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN SURVIVAL. Get Started!!
Weapons
Reader Steph
en pointed out that weapons needed to be part of the package as well. Something about the word “ASSUME” comes to mind, my mistake . . . . .
My load-out would consist of my Glock 17 and all the magazines I have fully topped off (I believe I’m up to a dozen right now). My holster of choice is a strong side Blackhawk Serpa. However, a thigh rig would probably work better with a pack that has a large waist belt. A couple hundred extra rounds would also find their way in the pack keeping in mind they are close to a pound a brick. Added to this would be my LC9 as a Back Up Gun, concealed a bit deeper than the Glock.
I would never leave home without one of my trusty Ruger .22/45s. They are small, accurate and can shoot .22 ammo all day long. I am currently fond of the new CCI Tactical .22 round, they seem to jam less frequently than “standard” .22 ammo. 500+ rounds could easily be carried without much of a weight penalty.
As for a long gun, I currently have a Panther Arms .308. Downside – weight, weight, weight . . . Plus side – a lot of fire power. Sometime this spring I will be adding an AR in .223 – that would probably replace the .308. Of course, depending on how the whole boogie process played out, I would take as many of my weapons as I could.
My gear list as a starting point . . .
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Notes: Updated with Photos and Weapons 2/5/2012
Some great advice for the new CCW permit holder
I ran across a link to an instructor who’s a writer for a paper in Michigan. He published two articles that are full of great advice – thought I would pass them on.
Advice to new concealed carry permit holders
Advice to new CCW holders: Part 2 - Carry like a pro
Rob Reed
Michigan Firearms Examiner
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