7 Sept 01

>From a friend with the Capetown Traffic Police:

"A gang of fourteen, heavily armed (AK-47 rifles) men attacked an armored bank vehicle in one of our local suburbs last week. The armored vehicle was rammed from the side, causing it to overturn, a common tactic here. As gang members swarmed over the overturned vehicle in an attempt to break into it, two of our local police patrol officers arrived. There were two officers in two separate vehicles. They arrived simultaneously.

The gang immediately opened fire on them. Most if it was full auto. Our officers (your students- you know who they are), armed only with their issue, nine-millimeter, CZ pistols, loaded with wimpy hardball, took cover, fearlessly held their ground, and returned fire.

Their pistol fire was so accurate that the gang members abandoned the truck and fled. We hit several, but I don't have the exact body count yet. Both of our officers were unharmed.

Outgunned and outnumbered, our guys saw their duty and, a great personal risk, did not shrink from it. They deserve medals, but, over here, it's all in a day's work!"

Lesson: Cowards, no matter how well armed, are no match for well-trained heroes. These magnificent warriors deserve medals indeed. When I see them again next year, I'll proudly congratulate them in person!

/John

7 Sept 01

During a Defensive Shotgun Course in Ohio the past two days, a student (state agent) was using a personally-owned 1201 Beretta riot shotgun. I have two of the same model, and they have always been reliable, with very little maintenance required on either over the last several year that I have owned them.

This student's shotgun was brand new. She was shooting it for the first time. We got a half dozen round through it, and it stopped working. She was pressing the trigger and getting no discharge. I picked up an ejected round, and found no dent on the primer.

A subsequent examination of the weapon revealed that the bracket near the muzzle which connects the barrel to the magazine tube had separated from the barrel. It was attached via silver-solder, and the whole thing broke off. Once the barrel was detached, it moved forward an inch or so, causing the firing pit to fail to reach the primer.

While all this was going on, the factory-installed, ghost-ring, rear sight broke off, fell in the grass, and was never recovered.

I could discover nothing actually broken, and the gun can probably be repaired, but it was out of action in the short term.

My student was livid, as you might imagine. I was embarrassed, as it was me who had recommended the weapon to her. Beretta will be getting an earful from her shortly!

This is the first 1201 disaster I've seen. With any luck, it will be the last.

/John