14Dec04

From one of our students who is a high-school teacher:

"I recently resorted to using the integral lock on my S&W snubby revolver while additionally locking it in my vehicle, out of sight, when on school grounds. Grass-eating administrators want to be sure we're all helpless and defenseless. To them, being a 'good victim' is our ultimate civic duty and 'living in fear' is the natural state.

Yesterday, when I left school grounds, I slipped the snubby into my pocket. On this one occasion where I used the integral lock, I realized halfway home, to my horror, that I had forgotten to unlock it! I said to myself, out loud, 'This stupid lock is going to get me killed!'

The very places (schools and hospitals) where innocent people are most vulnerable, I continually struggle to invent creative ways to go about in an appropriate state of readiness, despite cumbersome and foolish restrictions. But, integral locks on guns? Never again!"

Lesson: "Safe gun" is a contradiction of terms. Trying to make guns "safe" is delusional and a dangerous exercise in self-deception. Those who want "safe" guns shouldn't have guns at all. Anyone who thinks some kind of mechanical "safety" device on a gun substitutes for correct gun handling and storage is a fool and needs to get guns out of his life altogether. The only ones made "safe" by such devices are violent criminals.

Gallant, fearless men and women boldly confront and accept all risks inherent with life. They proudly claim their own magnificence and confidently step into the arena every day. Such personal daring is incomprehensible to grasseaters, for whom perpetual fear and self-doubt is a way of life. They invariably die is wretchedly as they live. We owe them no apology! /John

14Dec04

Africa today!

I've just returned from South Africa from a two-week trip. I flew on SA Airlines, and they are excellent. You actually get to eat dinner with a metal knife! My Cold Steel City Stick flew on board with me, both ways. Not a word was said!

In Pretoria, it was my honor and privilege to train a group of "Scorpions," SA's version of the FBI. The agency is headed by John Welch, a good friend and a man with an iron will and a heart of gold. He is determined to get the best equipment and training for his crew. As the stand-up guy he is, he was there personally assisting with the instruction. Mike Nickerson, a local cop and longtime friend, and Joe DaSilva, another longtime friend, also helped with the instruction. Our class of twenty was made up of all races, and all readily helped each other. There is no segregation on the range. On our level, race relations are just fine. It is only politicians who ferment racial animosity for their own political purposes.

The outdoor range we used is near Bronkhorst Sprit, the place where the first Anglo-Boer War started in 1880. Lots of history there.

Scorpions use G22s, G23s, and G27s in Fobus holsters. Some now have Comp-Tac IWB (C-Tac) holsters. John is trying to get high-performance ammunition for his guys, but none is available locally. I suggested Cor-Bon 135gr Powerball. They now have some for testing. I carried a borrowed G19 in an C-Tac, loaded w/Powerball. In addition I had my usual complement of Cold Steel knives. Cold Steel knives are highly prized in Africa as they are hard to get. My friends all have them. I also carried Fox OC. I had it in my hand a number of times!

We used LM4 rifles (R4), SA's version of the Galil, in 223. They all worked flawlessly, as Kalashnikovs usually do. Excellent guns. Iron sights ruled

the day. Their shotgun is, unfortunately, the locally-made R12, manufactured by Republic Arms. Ammunition is locally-manufactured #4Bk and Brennecki slugs. Awkward, poorly designed, user-hostile, the R12 is an abomination! It is basically a Beretta 1201 in pump action. All had a bead front sight only. The slide-release button is also the shell release, so pushing it at the wrong time manufactures a double feed! We struggled with these clunks for most of an afternoon. They are in the system because they are inexpensive. I suggested junking them all and converting over to the Mossberg 590 or Remington 870.

Scorpions were created three years ago specifically to investigate and prosecute official corruption and other major crimes. Most in the current government are sorry they did, as many are themselves now under investigati on! Not surprisingly, there is an ongoing campaign among politicians to disband the agency. John has his hands full!

I went hunting after the course and shot two excellent zebras and a record-book kudu. My old friend, and the best PH in all of Africa, Joe DaS ilva, guided me. I used a borrowed Winchester M70 in 300H&H with a Leupold 4X12 scope. Perfect caliber for this kind of hunting. Shots were 50m to 200m. All shots were broadside. One bullet exited. The other two did not.

It is indeed thrilling to sit and watch herds of impala, wildebeest, hartebeest, giraffe, zebra, and springbuck running free. I can watch them for hours!

On the last day I had a chance to shoot a warthog. They bolt quickly, so one customarily has only a three-second window. I got on him nimbly at 75m. He was in my crosshairs, and I initiated the ignition sequence, as I knew he would bolt any second. Then, I said to myself, "If you shoot him, we'll be up half the night." My finger returned to register, and I let him go. He ran away a second later. I decided to save him for next time!

Dung beetles are everywhere, and they are huge. They don't fly well, but one is amazed they fly at all! Centipedes over six inches long and nearly a inch in diameter were spotted several times. Happily, I didn't see any snakes.

SA's current government had just passed a set of Draconian gun laws, the purpose of which is to eliminate private gun ownership in SA within five years. If you own a gun now, you might keep it for the next five years. If you don't own a gun now, the is no chance that you'll be able to acquire one legally. New purchase applications are rapidly accumulating in warehouses. Most just gather dust. Backup is over a year now. If you're turned down, there is supposed to be an "appeals board," but members have not bee n appointed and the board has never convened, and never will. In five years, or sooner, all privately-owned guns will be forcibly confiscated. Promised compensation for turned-in guns is not happening either. They seem to have no regard even for the hunting industry. PHs are trying to make an exception for themselves as are professional trainers. Gun dealers are all going out of business. SA's new gun laws are on the Canadian model. The Canadian experiment is such a colossal failure, one wonders why anyone in SA would think their version would be any different, but politician never care about anything but staying in power.

South Africa is still one of the friendliest countries in the world, despite all the violent crime. I am concerned for my friends there, but they're fighting the system as best they can. I find myself strangely drawn back to Africa. It is, after all, probably where we all came from. Going to Africa is, to me, going home.

/John