16 Oct 00

>From a friend in the Philippines:

"Late last night, a friend called to say that she heard noises in her back yard as well as on the roof of her house. She sounded really scared. I went over to her house. Happily, no intruders were found.

Over here, meth is a popular fix and the crimes committed by its users are neither pretty nor petty.

Curiously, everyone in that house looks at armed civilians as paranoid and trigger happy. Isn't it interesting therefore that they called me and not the cops. It's easy to be a grass eater until some misfits decide you're on the lunch menu. A lesson we continue to see ignored by the majority of the world."

Lesson: Grass eaters are, of necessity, hypocrites.

/John

18 Oct 00

This from a friend and student who just attended a video-simulator training session with a federal LE agency. It was the first time he had been exposed to video simulators:

"I noted a tendency to shoot high, when I did not pay enough attention to my sights. When I acquired a correct sight picture, focused on the front sight, and unfailingly reset the trigger, centered, cloverleaf multiple impacts, exactly where I wanted them, were produced with monotonous regularity. Where have I heard that before? It can't be overemphasized: correctly resetting the trigger produced significant improvements in speed and accuracy, when I disciplined myself to do it consistently.

In one notable video scenario, I was behind a robbery suspect who was backing out of a storeroom and had a revolver in one hand and a flashlight in the other. I already had my sidearm drawn. I pointed it in his direction, and verbally challenged him. The startled suspect slowly turned around with flashlight and revolver held up. Then, he turned to his strong side as if to place the gun down. I moved and repeated the verbal command. He persisted and continued to turn, so that his gun was blocked from my view. I fired at that moment, and he went down in a hale of bullets.

LAPD wrote the script, and it was considered a ‘no-shoot,' as the suspect was ostensibly complying. However, I disagreed and contended that he was not complying to my command to stop. I thus concluded that I was in grave danger and responded appropriately. I'd do it again, with no apology. After consultation, my instructors agreed.

I especially liked the shotgun. I was getting multiple hits in the same times given for multiple hits with the handgun. I love shotguns!"

Lesson: An enthusiastic application of basic defensive skills is the ticket to victory. A precision, disciplined, lethal response will take attackers down and out of the fight faster than anything else.

However, none of that is particularly helpful if a person is confused about his or her own right to life. An unapologetic determination to protect one's life in all circumstances is at the core of competent firearms training.

/John