February 19, 2010
I want to begin by thanking everyone for participating in the “letter to the editor” section, and the “ask & answer” section.
I’m a firm believer that the communities we live in are ONLY as safe as the armed citizens within them- and this armed community of readers is only as useful as those who participate.
Well, by the overwhelming response of excellent answers to people’s questions each week, I can tell that the Armed American Report is absolutely doing a lot of good, and helping a lot of people. If you haven’t been following this section, it’s at the very end of the of the Report.
Each week I take a question from the growing database, and open it up for people to answer using a separate database. So the question for this week will be answered next week- and you can see a ton of answers this week from last week’s question.
Do you have a question about concealed carry? If so, use the form at the bottom of the page this week, and just shoot it off to me in an email. You don’t have to leave your name if you don’t want to, and sure- I probably won’t get to it for a few weeks, but if your question could help a lot of people, I’ll definitely post it in due time.
I mean it- go down there and post your question, then come back up to keep on reading; The first half of the Armed American Report isn’t going anywhere 
Are YOU truly Prepared to Handle Whatever Comes Your Way?
“…I know as a reporter I’m supposed to remain objective, but sometimes you just can’t remain objective, when you see people hurt, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
by the USCCA
by the USCCA
There’s something very, very powerful about carrying a concealed weapon…
It’s that feeling you get knowing that you are able to protect yourself and your loved ones should trouble occur.
It’s a powerful feeling.
To know deep in your gut that you are trained and prepared to act in the face of danger.
And to know that you are contributing to the security of your community.
Friends, I’m writing to you today to warn you.
That feeling you get when you carry can be great… but it can also be deadly.
Here’s the reason:
Your Concealed Weapon Can’t Protect You
Against the Threats You Aren’t Trained to See
Carrying a concealed weapon can make you feel pretty safe and well protected.
And that’s the problem. Because “believing you’re safe” is the first step to missing potential threats that are all around you.
No, I’m not talking about a large masked thug rushing at you on the street. That’s a pretty easy threat to spot, and one that almost never happens.
I’m talking about threats that are much more subtle and far more likely. And because of that, much more dangerous.
Senior and Handicapped Attack Mode
“…My purpose is to point out how trying to defend life within the parameters of good society may result in catastrophic failure of the endeavor. That is . . .YOU DIE!….”
by Cody S. Alderson
The Advantage of a Criminal and the Disadvantages of Being the Defender
When it comes to protecting yourself, the defender has to consider the law in addition to the act of defending. The criminal who is doing the attacking is under no such compunction. What does a sociopath care about breaking any laws? The defender has to have the additional burden of not breaking the law during their act of defense so that surviving the aftermath, if they happen to be the victor, is bearable. This puts a defender at a disadvantage from the beginning.
A defender is further disadvantaged by not having the mindset of a sociopath. We don’t want to hurt anyone. I remember being physically attacked and having a thought in the back of my mind, wondering why is a fellow human being trying to do this to me. I wouldn’t be trying to hurt them, so why would they want to hurt me? That kind of stuff has to do with warrior psychology, but it is very important for purposes of this article geared toward seniors and the handicapped as well.
As I go on with this, I want it clear that I am not advocating anyone to break any laws for any reason. My purpose is to point out how trying to defend life within the parameters of good society may result in catastrophic failure of the endeavor. That is . . .YOU DIE! Also to show that under the law we should vehemently defend our own lives when threatened with death or grave bodily harm.
In a war zone the opposing forces don’t shake hands and then take up positions waiting for the bell to sound the first round. Engagement of enemy forces is quick, brutal, and bloody. Modern weapons rend flesh, crush bone, and spill blood. Soldiers wet their pants and soil their shorts on both sides. Friends die in the blink of an eye. Your buddy can be dead in an instant with his unfinished MRE right next to him, and with that photo he was showing you of his wife and children still in his hands. Worse yet, you could be the dead buddy!
Our forces are hampered more now in their theaters of operation than ever before. Urban warfare with an enemy who doesn’t wear a uniform is the norm today. In wars past the enemy wore a uniform, and most everyone in the area of the fight was considered a hostile. The same problems facing our Armed Forces today are similar to what a civilian defensive operator will face in an attack scenario where life and limb are in danger.
Criminals don’t wear a uniform clearly establishing themselves as the enemy. That dude with his hat on sideways and his pants slung low walking toward you could be the kindest young man you’d ever care to meet while the guy in the expensive clothes could be a serial killer. We take mental cues based on where we are, what time it is, and basic behaviors, but it is not cut-and-dried as to who is a criminal and who is an innocent bystander until that moment of attack.
Being attacked in public with innocent bystanders within feet, maybe even inches, of what is happening is no concern for the criminal doing the attacking, but needs to be of great concern for the defender. Then there is the concern of a uniformed peacekeeper (law enforcement) being present and not knowing who is attacking whom, and a defender being killed by so-called friendly fire. The criminal will just attack you, law enforcement, civilians, and whoever else gets in the way.
Okay, so being attacked puts the defender at a disadvantage for several reasons, with number one being that the defender is the one being attacked and not initiating the attack. Clearly the first aggressor always has the advantage. But that’s how it goes in the real world. People die every single day because of a relatively few sociopath’s who choose not to conform to the rules of our polite society. Now add in the facts of being a senior citizen, handicapped, or possibly both, and then it is even worse for the defender.
Criminals Look For Easy Prey
Some parts of the rest of this article assume that the defender is under an immediate attack where the defender is one-hundred percent convinced that there is the certain threat of death or grave bodily harm that the attacker intends to commit to him or her. I am under Pennsylvania law of self-defense. The laws in your socio-political region may indeed vary.
How can I keep all of this stuff in my head when I can’t even remember at times if I took my prescription medication today? Is that close to what you, the reader, are wondering? Okay so I’m breaking all of the conventional rules of writing and speaking directly from me to you in this paragraph. Don’t have a brain fart, I’m just trying to get your brain ready to absorb a few things. Bear with me because we are going to have a conversation!
So what is it? Are you old, fat, bad knees, bad back, lousy lungs, toting an oxygen tank or have a rescue inhaler in your pocket? Maybe it is brittle bones, a missing limb, an arm or leg that just won’t move right? Can’t run up or down a flight of stairs? Can’t run at all period? Maybe you can’t see an elephant in the room without your glasses on? So do you just give up and die when a thug wants to cut your throat? Let me give you an unequivocal NO as an answer.
I asked some questions of a young man in his early twenties who is my friend and in a very fit condition physically. At work he vaults over a four-foot railing like he is stepping over a crack in the sidewalk. He’s fast and strong. I could have a five minute head start and he could probably run me down without getting out of breath. In conversation we got brutally honest about attack and defense. I put him in the position of being the attacker and me the defender.
I asked him what he would do to try and disable me so that he could completely defeat me in an attack. He thought about it for a moment and said that he would push me over. Instinct let him know that having me on the ground would be an advantage to him, but a disadvantage to me. He knows that I’m not going to be able to just jump right up like the action hero does in the movies. He knows that if I’m on the ground that he can work me over to his satisfaction. That would be his primary goal to accomplish if he was robbing me, and just wanted the money. That would be what he would try to accomplish if he wanted me disabled but not dead yet.
Unbeknownst to him, I have considered this handicap and have made preparations for some defenses. Though I may not be able to jump right up in a split second, I am more than capable of rolling and twisting, and turning while on the ground. I can get the gun out while on the ground just as fast as when I am standing. The Crimson Trace LaserGrip on my primary gun is my backup to getting a good sight picture in such situations. Plus I have an impact weapon, a blade, and some pepper spray that can be deployed as fast as the primary gun can be. Oh, and I’m not going to give all of my little secrets away just in case.
The Mind of the Defender Makes All the Difference
Does the above mean that I would absolutely be the winner if my friend ever tried to kill me? Absolutely not. Though we run through all kinds of scenarios in our heads to help us with the “what-ifs”, a real fight is a dynamic that WILL NOT conform to the way we played it out in our heads. However, it is vitally important to imagine scenarios. The mechanics of thought actually prepare the body for something to happen. It has been proven that athletes who imagine succeeding actually perform better.
Our imaginations, if we are intelligent enough to really apply the simple laws of physics like gravity for instance, will make scenario imaginings more productive. Instead of thinking of yourself as Jackie Chan, or Bruce Willis’ Die Hard character, think of being the real you. Are you terrified of being in a life and death situation? Imagine how that would play out in a real encounter. Do you only have one working arm? Imagine how you would get your gun out if you are on the ground with someone on top of you. Thinking through things may get you to make a real world change of something, such as the holster and where you carry the gun.
Now don’t be obsessive about such thoughts. Make it part of your training. Do it when there is some down time. It’s not a cure-all-fix-all. It’s just a segment of becoming a bit better at the defense of self. We are not engaged in life and death situations daily. A whole life can pass without the need to ever resort to violence to defend the self. But if there is that one time that violent action is needed to defend, you certainly want to be able to hold your own! This is another advantage of criminals—they usually have much more experience with life and death violence than the defender.
Watch Their Hands
WATCH THEIR HANDS! Hands kill. In the reality cop shows the loudest yell from the officers is, “Lemme see your hands!” Hands can stab with a knife, pull the trigger of a gun, swing a club, punch, choke, and anything else to cause death or grave bodily harm. A trained fighter will be able to take in visual cues of attack intent from the eyes, body movement, and other behaviors from their attacker. A fighter knows that feet can kill too so they will be watching for cues that a kick is coming. I would recommend starting your awareness training by watching hands.
As an exercise that doesn’t require any new equipment purchase, unless you need new glasses, just start paying attention to peoples hands. Try to watch out of your peripheral vision. Focusing like a laser beam on hands isn’t the intent, but you certainly want to know where those hands are moving to and what is in them. Try watching people interact. At a convenience store cash register when a person is paying for their items, take a look at what the cashier’s eyes are looking at while the person paying is reaching for their money. A cashier that has been robbed recently will be watching those hands. Someone who is lackadaisical about self-defense will be looking like they aren’t really even there.
Watching hands will automatically get you looking at what most refer to as body language. Listen to victims of violent crime talk about their encounters. Almost always you will hear a victim say, “I had a feeling . . .” Those “feelings” are honed over a lifetime of experience of our minds recording what happened just prior to a bad experience. Many people today have zero experience with any animals so they have no points of reference for predator type behavior. They’ve never seen the family cat go after something in the yard. They have lived sheltered lives of videogames and operating under freedom to move in their environment without any fear of predatory attack. Well . . . Until it comes to them eventually. Then there is the sudden realization, if they survive, that no one is “free” to move about in any environment without at least a little concern of becoming prey to a predator.
Criminals Take Advantage of the Naive
When the late movie lets out on a Friday night, it’s not a good idea to go to the 24-hour diner where the drunks hang out. It’s not a good idea to take an evening stroll through the rundown neighborhood of crack houses just to see how other folks live. That’s obvious. But it’s also not a good idea for twenty-two year-old Monica to be wearing a short skirt with that blouse that showcases the effect her push-up bra has on her cleavage while out at the nightclub. Monica is certain that everything will be okay because it always has been. And it is not a good idea for grandma to be carrying her Gucci purse and wearing her big diamonds out at that new restaurant tonight to celebrate fifty years of wedded bliss.
Some things are just not a good idea but people do them anyway. We make ourselves targets for predators. Criminals want something, and they want to get it with the least amount of risk to themselves. That is natural predatory behavior. If you are advertising M O N E Y or S E X, then it pushes you up on the list of likely targets. Does that make it your fault? Absolutely not! The fault is the cause of an attack, and that rests solely with the sociopath who initiates an attack. Your goal is to lower the probability of an attack being initiated on your person.
I can hear it now, “I’m not changing my lifestyle just because there is crime in this world.” Fine. I’m not talking to those folks. I’m talking to those who recognize that this world can be an extremely violent place, and those who want to minimize their chances of ever having to face such violence. I’m not telling anyone to become anthropophobic (fear of people), but all of us can make a few small changes that will push us lower on the list of becoming potential targets of criminals.
So all that stuff is all well and good, but what should we do when violence happens to us? What can you do when there is no recourse other than to be violent in order to defend yourself from death or grave bodily harm? If you are a senior or handicapped (or both), the brutality of your defense will be a factor in whether or not you survive. Once again this assumes that your attacker is intent upon killing or maiming you. If there are avenues that will assure no violence occurs simply by handing over the Gucci purse, then avoid the violence.
Patterns of Violent Crime
Most of the crimes we read about or see on the evening news involving seniors or disabled have young strong criminals initiating the attack. It’s not too often, but it does occur, that grandma is out busting heads. Surveillance footage usually shows one or two thugs initiating a brutal physical attack on an older person with an obvious disparity of physical capabilities. And unfortunately the old folks never saw it coming, or they ignored the “feeling” they had just prior to the attack.
Watching video footage for the first time and not knowing exactly what will occur, I have been growing in the ability to know what is going to happen next. I’m rarely surprised now. The criminals repeat the same patterns over and over. They pick a target, act like they aren’t up to anything bad so they can get close enough to attack, then they attack. It’s all over in a few seconds. I can’t recall how many times I have seen video footage of a crime, and thought to myself how I would have just went the other way right there. I can pick the video frame where the point-of-no-return is.
I’m no super duper crime detector. I’ve been attacked a couple of times, and have been thrust into a couple of situations where I still get shivers thinking about how I even survived after all I did wrong. But I took an interest in learning if there is some secret to self-defense that I could share with the world to make all of polite society safe. I found out that there really is a secret, and it is contained within the act itself. S E L F – Defense. I can’t do it all for you because it is up to your SELF to learn as much as you want in order to become more proficient in the defense of your SELF. Get it? Good.
For the time when there is no other choice, those who are disabled to one degree or another need to meet the force against them with a great enough force to either stop the attacker from physically being able to continue or make the continuation of the attack not worth the perceived gain. Though there are all kinds of laws about brandishing a weapon, it is a simple fact that there have been huge amounts of criminals stopped in their tracks just because the victim showed them they had a gun. I’m not going to delve into the wisdom of when, where, and if it should be done in this article, but guns stop crime many times simply because the criminal becomes aware that their potential victim has one.
Force Multiplication
A little .38 snub nose is a force multiplier. Ninety-eight pound grandma can’t throw a punch hard enough to take out her nineteen year-old assailant, but the 110 grain jacketed hollow point traveling at 980 feet per second with an energy of 235 foot pounds from that little .38 Special can do her punching for her. The little .38 Special has ended the careers of many a sociopath over the years and is still protecting grandmas everywhere.
My first combat shooting instructor told me to “shoot to kill because you’ll probably end up just wounding them anyway.” Of course he meant when the lawful moment to use a gun has occurred. He said that when the perpetual question asked by at least one student of every class asks, “Should I just try to shoot them in the leg?” This one was in the eighties so we were learning to double-tap (two rounds fired in quick succession) the center mass of the target.
It needs to be understood by defenders that guns can kill. Oh we hear it all of the time from antigunners when they shout their mantra, “Guns Kill. Guns Kill.” But we may not think about it much depending on where we are in the learning curve of the defensive use of firearms. There is NO shooting to wound. Shooting someone in the leg like they do in the movies can kill as fast as some heart shots. Hitting the femoral artery in a leg would only be a “flesh wound” for the movie hero, but it would be a quick bleeding death for the real world victim.
Knowing what we just went over it is important to understand the brutality of defending yourself from death or grave bodily harm. Though there are instances every day where simply showing a gun stops the crime from being carried out, it is not the norm. The dynamics of violent crime are usually quick and violent to the extreme.
When it comes time to use your gun you need to have it out and putting bullets on target in less than two seconds. Can you draw from your concealment position that fast? The primary gun needs to be in a holster on the body in a position that one can successfully learn to draw and fire from as fast as his body will allow. Don’t further handicap a handicap by carrying your primary gun in a manner that takes too long to deploy it.
Here is the final word on manner of dress. If you decide to carry a gun, your wardrobe needs to adapt to the carrying of the gun, not the gun adapting to your wardrobe. Of course we compromise all of the time, but at what cost? What good is it to carry a pocket gun as a primary weapon just so you can wear shorts and a tee shirt if you can’t successfully deploy that weapon quickly from your pocket? Better than nothing? Of course. Optimal? No. You decide. I’m just letting you know the facts.
If you can’t run. If you can’t “step off the X” as they instruct in classes. If you can’t use the Secret Squirrel Ninja Death Move. Simply if you can’t do all those fancy self-defense things (and truth be told even if you can) the gun will be your lifesaving tool. If a criminal is in the act of trying to maim you or end your life, you need to put bullets into him (where legal of course) fast. Not only fast, but several of them. And not only several of them, but ones of a sufficient mass and velocity to STOP his attack.
Though my instructor in the eighties said to “shoot to kill” the truth is that we are not soldiers, we are not assassins, we are shooting to save our lives, and that means shooting to STOP the attack. That’s it. No more, no less. But in the real world it takes one of a few things to happen in order to stop a determined attacker. The attack is either stopped because the attacker fears getting shot or is in fear because they have been shot. It can be stopped by pain the attacker might be experiencing (unlikely due to adrenaline rush). And the attack can be stopped because the attacker has been physically disabled from continuing due to damage from the bullets. That is unconsciousness or death.
Now that we have some preliminary stuff out of the way I can delve further into specifics in my next article. What to carry, where to carry, comfort versus real comfort, improvising, avoidance, how to initiate brutal self-defense, and weapons other than firearms. Sorry that a lifetime of experience can’t be said on a thousand words or less, but I do hope that you walk away with some things to think about.
USCCA Toon of the Week
CA Police Officer Suggests Shooting Open Carry Advocates
Gun Rights Roundup
by Buckeye Firearms Association
If you haven’t heard about this story, get ready to be both angry and afraid.
Because if the reports from MercuryNews.com are correct, a California police officer recently posted comments on Facebook to advocate shooting citizens who open carry.
You read that correctly. A duly-sworn law enforcement officer has actually suggested that citizens who carry openly should be shot on sight.
Here is part of the story from Mercury News:
Detective Rod Tuason apparently made the remarks in response to a friend’s status update, which joked that gun advocates who carry unloaded weapons in plain view as a political statement should start doing so in places such as Oakland, Richmond and East Palo Alto “and not limit themselves to hoity toity cities.”
“Haha, we had one guy last week try to do it!” Tuason replied, referring to a Redwood City man who strolled into the Mi Pueblo Food Center in East Palo Alto on Jan. 27 with a gun on his hip. “He got proned out and reminded where he was at and that turds will jack him for his gun in a heartbeat!”
After several more comments in the thread, Tuason apparently joked that officers should shoot the advocates, who have made recent headlines throughout the Bay Area for sipping coffee at cafes and performing other everyday acts with visible weapons.
“Sounds like you had someone practicing their 2nd amendment rights last night!” Tuason wrote. “Should’ve pulled the AR out and prone them all out! And if one of them makes a furtive movement … 2 weeks off!!!”
These comments are dangerous and inexcusable. And we strongly urge you to voice your opinion to this officer’s superiors to demand his immediate dismissal from the force.
Click here for details and contact information.
Gun Rights Roundup is a joint venture of Buckeye Firearms Association and USCCA. We will keep fighting until every American enjoys their natural right to carry and self-defense. For more news on pro-gun law, politics, and events, click here to subscribe to Buckeye Firearms Association’s FREE Newsletter.
Coming Up On Armed American Radio
The Official Voice of the USCCA
by Mark Walters
***THIS JUST IN!***
Coming THIS SUNDAY to AAR listeners in northern California. KMPH 840 AM THE PATRIOT, Modesto CA covering a HUGE chunk of the San Francisco area, Oakland, Stockton, Merced, San Jose, Sacramento, Fairfield, Concord and ALL POINTS IN BETWEEN. YOU are on the ARMED AMERICAN RADIO NETWORK beginning THIS Sunday, 2-21-2010! PLUS, we’ll be focusing on the East Palo Alto Ca detective who made the incendiary Open Carry comments on a Facebook page last week! WELCOME TO AAR!
FOR COVERAGE MAP PLEASE VIEW THIS LINK!
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KMPH&service=AM&status=L&hours=N#nite
Programming now resuming as normal…
Before we get started with this week’s AAR adventure, I would be remiss if I didn’t talk a bit about last weekends show. My in -studio guest “David” was a victim of an attempted armed robbery and because he himself was armed, the robber didn’t get very far. His story was followed up with analysis by Massad Ayoob and attorney John Monroe. The show was incredibly compelling and if you have already made the decision to carry a gun or are even thinking about it, please visit last weeks program at www.armedamericanradio.org, it truly is “must listen” to radio.
California is heating up and I mean like a wildfire. Seems a detective in East Palo Alto made some pretty incendiary comments on a Facebook page about law-abding residents who choose to lawfully open carry and his descriptive’s of what would happen to them by police was nothing short of….well, YOU decide. I’ll be talking to Mr. John Taylor, who immediately started his own Facebook page calling for the detective to be fired. Also, joining me will be representatives of OpenCarry.org. These guys make no bones about where they fall in the open carry debate and they’ll weigh in on the E. Palo Alto situation.
Also, I’ll be continuing the Grassroots discussions with guests from Nevada Gun Owners and Ohioans for Concealed Carry. Folks, it’s the local grassroots groups in your neck of the woods that are responsible for so many of the freedoms you have. I’ve talked to groups from Iowa, Oregon, Ohio, Virginia, Georgia, and now Nevada and we’ll get to every state that airs AAR in the near future.! During the Roundtable in hour 3 I’ll be joined by Morgan Boatman, George Hill-The Mad Ogre, and Ms. Kathy Jackson!
Speaking of states that air Armed American Radio, I’ll be welcoming a new one this Sunday, California joins the ever growing list! Modesto will be listening this weekend for the first time LIVE so welcome!
Please visit me at www.armedamericanradio.org for all of the latest info on one of America’s fastest growing radio shows! You can also pick up a signed copy of my book,Lessons from Armed America co-written with Kathy Jackson and foreword by Massad Ayoob by clicking on “Lessons from Armed America” over in the links section. Tom Gresham has it listed as one of the TOP 5 all time MUST READ books for personal defense!
Don’t forget to join Armed American Radio on Facebook, too! Look us up and become a fan!
Thanks for listening and I’ll see YOU on the radio!
Mark
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ATTENTION USCCA MEMBERS!
How would you like to have your gun or gear review published in this Armed American Report?
To have your review considered for publishing, simply email your word document with photos as separate attachments to gearreview@usconcealedcarry.com
Reviews should be between 800 and 1600 words long. Photos are encouraged and should be in .jpg format and less than 500 kb in size (each).
I look forward to reading your submission.
P.S. -Be sure to include your full name and email address so I can email you with questions or comments.
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Quote of the Week
“One bleeding-heart type asked me in a recent interview if I did not agree that ‘violence begets violence.’ I told him that it is my earnest endeavor to see that it does. I would like very much to ensure — and in some cases I have — that any man who offers violence to his fellow citizen begets a whole lot more in return than he can enjoy.”
—Jeff Cooper
Letter to the Editor
Have something you want to get off your chest? Post it here, and share it with the Armed American community.
Tim, I drive a 84 Chevy pickup and also have a 65 Ford Falcon as a family car. Now I know a lot of the newer vehicle don’t allow you to use a ankle holster on the steering colum but I found this as a great place to attach one. It is always available if I need it in a safe place and unless you are really looking for it why you won’t spot it is there. I just use the velcro strap to attach it to the column. I have used this method for several years now and have never had the unit come loose and fall to the floor, My pickup has a tilt steering wheel and the holster still allows it to work. Just another way of having your weapon available so thought I would share it with you and the rest of the members if you feel it is worth passing on.
George
Sorry to disagree with you Tim, regarding your statement that the job of the police is not to predict where the next armed robbery will occur. Sadly, that statement just reinforces the reactive nature of police work as the public sees it. Only the larger departments have “Intelligence Units” that believe it or not can be proactive by developing strategic (long range) intelligence through the analysis of previous committed crimes, the use of informants, and other techniques such as “profiling” when allowed to do.
Tactical deployment of police can then prevent or interrupt the criminal activity before or as it happens. Being allowed to do so, isn’t politically correct. So as I said, sadly, most police action is reactive and after the fact. In some cases serious bodily injury, loss of valuable property or fatality to the victim occurs. Then only through extensive investigation is it possible, some of the time, to arrest and prosecute those responsible for the crime.
Prediction of certain crimes by certain persons, groups or gangs is possible, certainly not with 100 % accuracy, but the citizenry and the politicians have to allow such proactive conduct by the police for that to occur. I doubt I’ll see such a change in my lifetime, and so I chose to be as best prepared as I can, to protect myself, family and my property. Best Regards,
Russ, NC
Dear Tim, I know that people cannot believe that the National Guard would deny people of their rights. In NC when martial law is declared the average person loses some of their rights. I have not checked out other states but, I would guess that the rights would also be taken during times like Katrina, in other states. If you are on your property they cannot take the weapons, I know that if you leave they can. “5. Areas of Emergency and Riot It is also a misdemeanor under North Carolina law for a person to transport or possess, off his or her own premises, a dangerous weapon in an area during a declared state of emergency, or in the vicinity of a riot. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-288.7 A concealed handgun permit does not allow a permittee to carry a weapon in these areas. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-415.11(c)”
http://www.jus.state.nc.us/NCJA/ncfirearmslaws.pdf
Thanks for all of the great stuff. Sincerely,
Gordon S. Dempsey II
. Submit your letter to the editor HERE, and I’ll share it next week!
USCCA Forum Highlights
Every paying website member has complete access to the USCCA forum, which is constantly being accessed by members sharing information, knowledge, insight, and fun. With well over sixty-thousand posts and growing by the hour, this is one heck of a valuable resource!
If you have never logged in but are a member, visit THIS location to watch help videos, including how to find out your username and/or password!
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Self Defense Shooting First Hand Report.
Here is a personal account posted on another forum
The actual incident took place in Jefferson City, MO on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 around 10:22 pm.
It’s a long read, but there are a lot of things to take away from this man’s encounter.
Two Dumb Question From A Newbie
Please forgive my ignorance, but ask questions and a person can learn no matter how dumb the question seems. So here goes:
I just received my new Hornady Lock-N-Load AP. I have never reloaded before, so I have been doing a lot of reading on the subject. This system will remove the old primer and insert the new Primer without removing the casing. The information I have read says I need to clean the Primer Pocket before I put in a new Primer. This now defeats the Auto Loader as it adds an extra step. I will have to remove that Casing to clean it. Does anyone have any input on this subject?
I have another dumb question.
Steel Targets.
I own a Machine Shop and Cutting Tool Manufacturing business and can make my own steel targets at a fraction of the cost other suppliers want. Has anyone made these and gotten bad results such a ricochet or bad splattering. Any recommendations on this subject?
Surprisingly, I don’t see too much discussion on this subject even though I imagine that the majority of us here have a gun partly or mainly for defensive purposes.
So, I tried to fill the gap a bit with an article I wrote on the subject.
(USCCA members can find the link to the article by clicking the link above)
I know it would probably be better if it was just pasted in right here, but it contains a number of graphics that wouldn’t work out too well here.
Hope it helps…
Video of the Week
Check out the video at the following link. These troubled times are an opportunity to make things better. The Great Depression didn’t destroy us, it made us stronger. Get inspired and do something toward making positive change.
http://www.bornagainamerican.org/index.html
USCCA Photo of the Week
All Photos of the Week are taken from Mr. Oleg Volk’s website:
http://www.a-human-right.com/.
It is a fantastic site. Please check it out!
USCCA Self Defense Story
Every day, thousands of Armed Americans use their firearms to preserve human life. Let this section of my newsletter serve as a record of this fact!
January 28, 2010
Cincinnati, Ohio
From: WKRC Channel 12
Emergency rooms around the Tri-State are on alert, waiting for a suspect police believe was shot by a 77 year old Avondale man in self-defense.
“I shot because he was going to shoot me. I could have shot him two or three times.”
Clyde Tucker says two men broke down his door at the Hale Apartments on Tuesday. Tucker says lately, residents of his building have been victims of the same kind of crime-thugs who break down doors and rob them. So Tucker says, he was ready. “The guy was knocking on my door and I didn’t respond so I got my pistol out.”
Tucker fired, and the men ran out of the building. A witness, Eric Hamilton, saw the men run out and says it was clear one of the suspects had been hit by a bullet. He was holding his torso. Police found a trail of blood coming out of the apartment building. “I could have shot him if I wanted to kill the guy or something but I don’t want to do nothing like that. They’ll get their lesson though.”
Police say the suspect will likely show up for treatment of his wound and when he does, they’ll be ready to arrest him.
USCCA Q&A
Last Week’s Question: ANSWERED.
“As a new CCW I found myself in a situation which turned out to be mild. But my emotions turned on the adrenaline. I found this dangerous under the situation. I am 49 years old, and I served 8 years in the army with no combat experience. What are the community’s recommendations on mental and physical training in order to help control the effects of adrenaline? “
Anonymous:
I am a fan of IDPA and other competitions. They introduce some amount of stress and adrenaline and help you meet other people to learn from and shoot with.
Anonymous:
Any kind of competition will develop a level of excitement and adrenaline which exceeds what you will experience with solo practice. Try ISPC or IPDA. Both have “realistic” scenarios (moving targets, hostage situations, etc.) which impart a degree of realism to a practice situation. Shooting against the clock helps, as well as the sound of firing from other competitors.
Daniel T. Higgins:
The issue you describe is more complex than a simple adrenaline dump; it is in fact the activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System or SNS and is the result of Survival Stress. Survival stress is a condition that results from the perception of substantial imbalance between environmental demand and response capability, under conditions where the demand has important consequences. A deadly force threat perception, within close proximity where the time to control the threat is minimal and we are not confident in our abilities or have never experienced this type of threat will often stimulate survival stress reactions.
The best way to verify activation of the SNS is by noting your heart rate. The activation of SNS will dump an enormous amount of stress hormones, including adrenaline, into the body and drive the hear rate from its normal range of 60-80 BPM to over 200 BPM within seconds. This will cause the negative effect on motor skills and performance you noted in the incident you experienced. In addition to a rapid heart rate you quickly loose your ability to use fine motor skill and complex motor skills.
At a heart rate above 175 gross motor skills are the only physical actions that can be performed well so you will want to train to push/pull strength events for less than lethal responses and simple motor skills such as the point shoot binocular vision driven shooting stance for armed response.
Among the best techniques for controlling the effects of survival stress are; technique confidence, (which actually lowers heart rate and creates a positive mindset which leads to performance enhancement). Neural programming including static, fluid and dynamic drills as well as visualization will be very helpful. The development of personal values and a solid faith system will be very helpful in a crisis. When the bad men are pointing a canon at you, (they always look like canons when they are pointed at you), is not the time to ponder your eternal destiny.
And always remember that “Practice makes perfect” is only true when you practice perfectly. Always start with the basics and move at your rate to higher levels of proficiency. Tim has several very helpful training tools that you can use in a variety of environments. I particularly like, “How To Improve Your Shooting Accuracy in One Evening” USCCA October 2009. And, as much as humanly possible embrace reality based training scenarios because you will ALWAYS do in the field what you do in training. Good luck and God’s speed.
Bruce Luedeman of www.safeshoot.com:
Here are two ideas for overcoming the effects of the adrenaline rush. The first is Force on Force training using air soft type pistols. A good instructor will have you act through various scenarios using both physical and decision making skills. Secondly visualize your defensive reaction in the various environments you will find your self in during a average day (your drive way, grocery store parking lot, bank ATM ect). Replay those scenarios each time you visit those environments until your defensive response becomes ingrained in your subconscious. When something awful happens you will react as you have trained and from what has imbedded your subconscious. People who have reacted properly in emergency situations have said afterward, “I felt as if I was standing there watching someone else,” or “I reacted like I was on autopilot”. If you have not taken a CCW class, take it from an instructor who has significant law enforcement experience. You will get the depth and scenarios you need to assist in forming appropriate defensive responses and visualizations.
Anonymous Combat Veteran:
“Combat Breathing” will help: Breath through your nose; count of 4; Hold breath; count of 4; Exhale; count of 4; Hold breath; count of 4; Restart cycle! Breath deeply filling & emptying your lungs completely with each cycle, breathing in this manner will lower your blood pressure, arousal, stress level & minimize the overwhelming side effects of adrenaline dump. Hardest part is practicing this breathing to memory so you can implement it when you need it!You might want to take a course in Tai Chi, it does help teach you how to breath and stay calm,keeping as calm as you can during stress is key. Good Luck.
This week’s question. Have an answer? Use the “Ask Tim” form below to give an answer- I’ll share them here next week!
I am left handed and carry a ‘double-action-only’ handgun. The safety is on the left side, and can’t be changed. Is it safe to leave the safety off when carrying? The gun is a Taurus PT 140 Rockwall.
Do you have a pressing concern? Use the ‘Ask Tim’ contact form found at this page to let me hear your advice. Just use the graphic below!
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Tim Schmidt
Founder - U.S. Concealed Carry
http://www.usconcealedcarry.com
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