15Aug06

LA Shooting Incident, from a friend with the LAPD:

"Saturday evening, one of my two-officer, patrol units made a traffi c stop. Ageing, shabby vehicle with a headlight out. Two, male occupants. Dealer 's plates. Middle-class, residential neighborhood. My officers planned on treating it as a high-risk stop, because of the likelihood of it being a st olen car. However, before the suspect vehicle even came to a stop, the front-se at passenger jumped out, holding a stockless (wood stock had been sawed off) Kalashnikov (7.62X39) and started firing at our patrol vehicle.

Our passenger officer already had his door open and was calling in the stop

when two rounds hit him, one in the left wrist and in the left forearm. Bo th were through and through. He, of course, dropped the microphone, but he wa s able to draw his G23 with his other hand and immediately return fire.

The suspect started walking toward our patrol vehicle, shooting as he moved . He put a whole bunch of rounds through the windshield. Some rounds struck the passenger-side door, but were stopped by a ballistic panel, standard no w in all our cars. Glad we had them!

The suspect then ran past our unit's passenger side, firing continuously. B y this time, the driver officer was out and firing at the suspect (SW 4506) as he ran passed the unit. One of his rounds hit the suspect in the right thigh. The suspect abruptly dropped his rifle and hobbled away. Driver of ficer was in slide lock and in the process of reloading.

The suspect turned a nearby corner and ran through several back yards. He went to ground under a carport. When confronted a few minutes later, he surrendered meekly. The driver, who fled the scene when the shooting start ed, was also arrested a short distance away, at about the same time. He also surrendered without incident, claiming to know nothing.

I was the second sergeant at the scene. Both our officers are going to be okay. One was hit directly, as noted above, but both were hit multiple tim es by glass shards and other secondary, flying debris. My officer who took the

direct hits (three months left on probation) got right back in the fight! He never lost consciousness. His vest saved him from a nasty, secondary wound

to his lower, right side. My other officer (twenty-plus years) went on the attack without hesitation. He kept shooting until he was forced to reload. He then, clearly and calmly, made all of the necessary broadcasts for suspect description, directions and perimeter set-up. A professional all the way!

Both suspects are mid-thirties, local, two-bit losers. Chronically unemployed. Long rap sheets. But, neither are gang members, as far as we can tell. That was surprising."

Lessons:

I know it is a sore subject, but two-officer, beat cars really make sense.

Had the patrol vehicle been occupied by only one officer, he would have bee n lucky to live through it.

Fifteen-shooters are better than eight-shooters! The driver officer commented that he ran out of ammunition just as the fight was starting! Ye s, I know accuracy is the factor, but just being able to keep coming, without having the necessity of a momentum-depleting reload rearing its ugly head at an inconvenient time is desirable indeed.

An immediate, explosive counterattack is always the right answer to unexpected, unlawful violence. Deadly, return fire will stop the attack fa ster than most other things I can think of.

Never give up. Never give in!

/John

15Aug06 At an Urban Rifle/Shotgun course in MI last weekend, a student brought a Garand and shot the entire Course with it. His build and height are above average, but even he admitted that, after carrying it (and forty rounds of ammunition) for two, long days, he can surely see the advantage of short, light, compact rifles, with large, detachable magazines. He lives in Chicago, where one may not a legally own any species of handgun, but may have a Garand and a pump shotgun. No other autoloading, military rifle is allowed (not even M1 Carbines), and autoloading shotguns are limited to four rounds. Even then, all firearms are registered with the City, so the mayor can, at any time, and on any flimsy pretext, kick in the doors of gunowners' homes and snatch them out of their hands, leaving them defenseless in the face of (private sector) criminals (the "Nagen Method"). If I lived in Chicago, I'm sure I'd own several Garands! This student is making due, as best he can, given his circumstances. That is what I admire. Instead of spending all his time cursing liberal, anti-gun politicians, he has found a way to arm himself formidably, working around restrictive rules. After an arduous and exhausting, two-day workout, few, with any kind of rifle, would be a match for him! /John

15Aug06

This from a friend in the retail gun business:

"Yesterday I received an updated DOI/GSA price schedule from Winches ter. It contained the following message:

'Due to the military's growing demand for 223 ammunition, Winchester is left with a decreased capacity to service all other customers... as a result... we will discontinue quoting prices on all 223 ammunition... attached, you w ill find a revised price list which no longer includes 223... we will, once again, provide 223... when this product can be reliably supplied' "

Conclusion: It is anyone's guess how long this situation will contin ue or how much more critical it will get. Those of us on the bottom of the food chain need to realized that everyone will be supplied ahead of us. We need to find a way to individually stock up, while we still can.

Readiness is a personal responsibility!

/John

15Aug06

Important lessons learned at last weekend's Urban Rifle/Shotgun Cour se, from an observant student:

"CONFIRM SERVICEABILITY OF GUNS AFTER ANY MODIFICATION. Even when 'just replacing a recoil spring,' you can unknowingly render your weapon inoperative. We saw this with a Garand. A replacement recoil spring was too long, and it thus prevented the rifle from being loaded. The clip could not be inser ted properly. The owner was astonished, to say the least!

'CUSTOM GUNSMITHING' DOESN'T INSURE FUNCTIONALITY. In fact, exactly the opposite is the usual case. We had one Kalashnikov with a bad case of hammer-follow. It had just been 'accurized.' It had to be taken off the line as unserviceable. With service/utility rifles, four-inch groups at 100m is ju st fine!

ENLARGED/EXTENDED SELECTORS, CHARGING HANDLES, AND OTHER CONTROLS ARE A CAN

OF WORMS! Most of these after-market accessories and flimsy, precariously attached, and create more problems than they solve. One AR-15 had an enlar ged selector lever that was both flimsy and not attached securely, which caused

the operator to be unsure of its position. Keep your serious equipment clo se to stock. Stock guns work best!

RUN YOUR GUN, HARD AND OFTEN! Beat it up. The place to discover and replace poor equipment is the range. The operator is more important than t he equipment. Trust in your individual competence is always our goal.=80

Comment: Every rifle has issues. None are perfect. When you are familiar with your rifle's strengths and weaknesses, you will be able to keep it running under a wide spectrum of circumstances.

Field-strip it often. Learn it inside and out. Clean it regularly. Keep it handy. Train with it every chance you get. It is not merely a vehicle for ego-massage, although the shallow and self-centered treat it that way. It is the savior of your life!

/John