26Sept06

Gun Auction by the Park Co Sheriff's Dept, Fairplay, CO:

Next weekend, the PCSO is hosting an auction, open to the public, of guns and other goods impounded by the SO during the course of the past few years . Making it possible for good and decent citizens to legally acquire firearms

that would otherwise be wholesaled or destroyed is extraordinary indeed, an d the PCSO deserves much credit for this courageous and enlightened policy.

Who are interested in attending need to contact Undersheriff Monty Gore:

Undersheriff Monty Gore Park Co Sheriff's Office PO Bx 27 Fairplay, CO 80440 719 836 2494

/John

26Sept06

On DAKs and Kydex holsters, from a friend in the Philippines:

"I had the opportunity to shoot a SIG 226/DAK over the weekend. I love that trigger! SIG's "short" (actually =80=9Cthin=E2 =9D) trigger works well in our small, Asian hands, and the DAK pull is the smoothest I've encountered in a factor y pistol. Glock still leads the market here, but I think this player offers an excellent alternative.

I gave away several Comp-Tac C-Tac holsters to friends, some over a year ago. Gregg's products have stood the test, and even my fears of leather connectors rotting in our climate were unfounded. No one I've given a Comp -Tac to has had to replace it."

Comment: Where you stand depends on where you sit!

/John

26Sept06

9mm hardball "performance," from an LEO friend on the East C oast:

"Victim, a large, athletic, muscular male, was shot three times at c lose range with 9mm, 115gr FMJ. The lethal round went in through his sternum, pierced his heart and one lung, exited under his shoulder blade, and went ou t through the back of his heavy, leather coat. Second round went in through the front of his leather coat, through the center of his muscular thigh, just missing the bone, exited just below the buttocks, and, like the other, out through the rear of his leather coat. Third round went through and through his righ t hand.

All three bullets were recovered! One plowed into dirt fifty yards away. One buried itself nearly two inches into a wooden plank. The third hit (an d substantially deformed) a metal stair railing, then bounced back into a hallway floor where it was recovered.

Upon sustaining these three hits, over a period of a few seconds, the victi m walked fifteen feet, then down a flight of stairs, traversed the stair landing, and had started down the next flight of stairs when he collapsed an d fell the rest of the way. He was DRT, but he remained completely conscious and fully capable of fighting for at least twenty seconds, all after being =9Cfatally " wounded.

Let us remind ourselves:

(1) Bullet placement is important, to be sure, but even perfect placement cannot overcome ballistic inadequacy and poor terminal performance. Contro lled expansion bullets, in heavy calibers, will always be superior, for personal

defensive purposes, than hardball, particularly in light calibers.

(2) Multiple hits need to be inflicted, as rapidly as accuracy will permit. Your opponent must be overwhelmed to the point where his will to fight rapidly disintegrates.

(3) Impacts into extremities, arms and legs, are seldom beneficial. Impact s to the body midline are the only ones that count.

(4) Most important is you own mind. You cannot allow yourself to be surprised (and thus stalled into inaction) when your opponent doesn't immed iately give in, even in spite of repeated, well-centered, heavy-caliber hits from high-performance ammunition. It's still just a pistol!

(5) In my experience, FMJ ammunition, particularly in 9mm and .45ACP (and, by interpolation, 40S&W) will through-and-through penetrate the human torso

more often than not, usually with enough retained velocity to seriously inju re bystanders. High-performance, controlled-expansion bullets, on the other hand, rarely exit a human torso. Accordingly, not carrying high-performanc e ammunition, when it is available, carries with it great (and pointless) ris k."

/John

26Sept06

Interesting development in NY, from a friend there:

"After several, recent shootings involving NYSP (New York State Poli ce) troopers and their G17 pistols, the decision has been made to change caliber for the entire agency! G17s have functioned just fine, but troopers are no longer satisfied with the performance of any brand of 9mm.

CCI/Speer has been asked to develop a round specifically for NYSP, in 45GAP ! Testing is nearly complete, and the entire agency will be transitioning to

Glocks (G37, G38) in 45GAP caliber shortly."

Comment: The trend among state police troopers has heretofore been in the direction of 357SIG. This is the first to go with 45GAP.

/John

26Sept06

Comments on training for nuclear plant guards, from a friend in the industr y:

"Our team recently engaged in a competition among other teams from a number of nuclear plants from around the Country. Courses of fire were simple, ye t challenging, testing weapons skills and individual and team tactics. It wa s a good drill, and most guards displayed at least some acumen.

The unhappy part was gun handling. It was abysmal! Cavalier disregard for

muzzle consciousness was standard procedure for some teams. I grew so wear y of having rifles carelessly pointed at me that I left the area. I didn't want to get hurt, and I surely didn't want to be a witness!"

Comment: This is the depressing (and always covered up) legacy of cold ranges. Gun accidents that are merely postponed are not thus "prev ented!" The routine handling of sterile guns engenders and perpetuates all manner of ba d habits, habits that will inevitably cause accidents long after participants

depart the "safe" range. Who are unwilling to adopt hot ra nges as the standard mode of training do their students no good service, as we see!

/John