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Ever Try 3 Gun? You SHOULD!
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Jason, Gary, Gregg Garrett and I had the pleasure of shooting in the 3rd annual Texas Association of First Responders 3 gun match today. TAFR is a 501c3, non profit. Founded in 2007, TAFR was created to benefit law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and emergency medical personnel injured in the line of duty. It was an honor to donate to them today, I hope you will consider it, too. You can learn more about this noble cause at www.Tafr.org.
We could not have hand picked a better day to be outside shooting. The skies were lightly overcast and the HCSO range was all a shooter could ask for. Spacious, clean, and plenty of available berm space. This is a first class facility staffed by first rate people. I was honored to pop my 3 gun cherry at this place. I’ve never really considered 3 gun before because, In spite of spending half of my life at a shooting range, I have never been eager to really get to know how to really use a shotgun. Hell, I shot trap 6 months ago. That’s the extent of my shotgun shooting over the last 5 years. And I know, it’s my own damn fault. I should’ve used these last couple of weeks to get some work in, but I’m hard headed and I didn’t. I just kept plugging away with my pistol, telling myself “I’ll train on the 870 tomorrow”, and just never did it. And I had bad dreams all night last night. Repeatedly trying to quickly reload a shotgun and failing miserably. It would be a sign of things to come…
As I waited to shoot the first course of fire, my heart was pumping pretty good. Like I said, this is my first 3 gun match. I’m shooting with my friends and a whole bunch of people I don’t know, all watching. And predictably, shotgun is in the mix. Great. Even worse, as I shouldered my rifle and stared through my Trijicon SRS, my butt instantly puckered as I couldn’t get the dot to pop up in my glass. The same red dot that was perfectly functional just 8 hours before during my function check routine. I’m guessing the solar panel atop the optic will do you no good on a cloudy day. But luckily, I travel with spare batteries and was able to get my optic in the game. I stepped up to the course and plotted my strategy. I tried to plan my course of fire. I scanned the targets and looked for my best route through the scenario. I had a plan, and I knew what I had to do. But then the buzzer went off…
THE FIRST STAGE:
As I settled in the front seat of what used to be a small SUV, I scanned the field and the targets. I was confident in my ability to jump from the seat and knock out 6 quick pistol shots. I was good with picking up my rifle and firing off another 8 from the rear window. From there, it’s off to the races to the other side of the berm for 12 more rifle rounds from a kneeling position, through a barrier window. Next, safety the rifle and drop it muzzle first into a 55 gallon drum. Lastly, pick up the shotgun and whack some steel. No reloading on this stage if you hit ’em all. Whew. I gripped the steering wheel and heard the obligatory “Shooter ready?” As I nodded, my nerves settled and I relaxed. The buzzer sounded, and I whipped out of the door, spun, got my master grip, and attempted to draw my gun. Two or three good tugs later, I realized I was NOT wearing my trusty Comp-Tac Flatline holster. I WAS wearing a Safariland ALS, a level two retention holster. I drew my gun and all I got was a wedgie. The ALS has a hook on the paddle that grips on the bottom of the users belt. No matter how hard you tug on that sucker, it isn’t coming off your hip. I told myself to slow it down and refocus, and I did. I took my time and I hit all my shots. I moved to rifle and hit all of those, too. I fumbled with the shotgun for a bit before getting it into service. I hit 5 of 6, had to shuck one more shell in the chamber, fumbled it, racked it, and polished off the last target. It felt like a clean run and I figured on a decent score, even though I knew I took my time. Well, I didn’t realize how much time I took. So slow I might have been passed by an old lady on a rascal cart. I only beat two others in the group. A young teenager shooting with his dad’s team, and Gary:) I knew I had to kick it up a couple of gears.
I’d love to go into detail about matches 2-4, but all I need to say is, for me, “going faster” means my brain gets way dumber. I made 3 critical errors that added somewhere between 30 seconds and 3 days on my total time. It was brutally stupid. I completely skipped past one target and left it free of bullet holes, earning not one, but two procedural violations. Also, not engaging my safety on the rifle before dropping it in the barrel. No telling how much time that one cost our team and myself. Thanks to a fine showing by Jason and Gregg, and a big time rally after a rough start by Gary, we were able to eek out “not last place”. 5th out of 7. I learned more today than I have in a long time on the range. Both about myself and my equipment. I’ve got a lot of work to do, and damnit, I’m going to redeem myself. That’s right, in spite of some really crappy shooting, I’m coming back. I had a BLAST. Running around like your hair is on fire and ripping away with 3 different guns is an incredible adventure. And great training, too. I also was able to learn from watching others with a higher skill set than my own. 3 gun competition is rapidly growing in popularity. Gear up, put your holster on and support shooting sports. Like me, you’ll be surprised just how much fun it is!
In closing, Gary and I both learned to “use what ya brung” and know your equipment. But his is a whole other story. I should’ve been working the draw out of my ALS (being a LE match, they allegedly required duty gear, but there was a lot of suspect “duty gear” being used) this past week instead of my Flatline. Training with it would’ve certainly improved my tug-the-hell-outta-the-gun-before-you-remember-it’s-in-retention draw. Thanks again to the good folks at TAFR and at the HCSO for hosting this shoot. And thanks to Dodge City Cookers for grilling up a ton of fine, Texas BBQ for all involved. Train, practice, and most of all, HAVE FUN. Shoot straight!
Jeff
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As Holder Resigns, one has to wonder…Why? Now what?
“I hope I’ve done a good job,” he said. “I’ve certainly tried to do as good a job as I can. There are sacrifices that I’ve had to make, that my family has had to make.”
Eric Holder’s resignation seems sudden to those of us who don’t mingle in political circles, myself included. But in the days leading up to this announcement, I did notice one headline that spins the rusty little hamster wheel in my head. We’re all familiar with the Fast and Furious controversy. Well, it seems that Holder had sought to delay documents required by a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by JudicialWatch.org. He wanted to delay the release until just days before the upcoming mid-term elections. That request was just denied on Tuesday, September 23. Just two days later, Holder has announced his resignation.
Now, it is entirely possible this is just a coincidence. There were rumors that Holder would leave just after the 2012 election. But the Fast and Furious documents are thought by many to prove Holder’s knowledge and direction of the events of that case, including the illegal transfer of firearms that were ultimately used to kill Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Holder has long denied any knowledge of the specifics of Fast and Furious and the Obama Administration has tried its best to hang the entire operation on the Bush Administration by saying the program started under Bush. While true in the most basic sense, it was under the Obama Administration that the program expanded and became the Fast and Furious hot potato we all know today, With this seemingly sudden and coincidental resignation, one has to wonder if there’s something in those documents that really does tie Holder to something so egregious that it was impossible to stay in that post.
Holder’s departure is certainly welcome news to the firearms community but, it means we are going from the known to the unknown for the remainder of the current administration. If you were thinking it couldn’t possibly get worse than Holder, you’re wrong. It’s somewhat telling no one seems to know who might replace Holder. Rest assured though, anyone nominated by the Obama administration is unlikely to be friendly to gun owners or have any respect for the 2nd Amendment as an individual right. I’d put money on Kamala Harris, Attorney General of California, or possibly James Cole, currently Holder’s right-hand-man at the Department of Justice. I’m sure there are others but, the people that jump to mind without thinking too hard. Either way, there will be a fight for Congressional approval. It seems doubtful the conflict would endure through the end of Obama’s presidency but, time will tell.
-GM
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Trooper charged after shooting man in traffic stop
I watched this video after a friend posted it. Sadly, I could almost see this coming. I’ve heard (and it is just hearsay) this is not this officer’s first rodeo. And it seems his agency may recognize a pattern of behavior…so they are cutting him lose. Victim is alive by luck alone.
When you ask why places why Sanford and Ferguson erupt the way they did, it is because, right or wrong, there is a perception that incidents like this are the rule rather than the exception. I know that perception well because some part of me has it. I grew up hearing of officer involved shootings on a nearly daily basis and being warned to walk the straight and narrow to avoid the same fate. Only problem was, sometimes straight and narrow isn’t good enough to avoid contact. Without passing judgment, the fact is good people still occasionally get shot because they innocently made the wrong move at the wrong time.
The words “furtive movement” were all but drilled into my head. I learned to move only as directed and, in the kindest terms, demand that the officer tell me what he expects. If something requires me to reach into my pocket or into my vehicle, I tell the officer but, I often wear my ID in a wallet around my neck to avoid the need. I’ve gotten into the habit of having my ID handy BEFORE the officer can ask for it. Again, trying to avoid being a “furtive movement” victim.
In this case, I’m sure the issue is partly a training issue with respect to the officer. The guy was doing as told by the officer but didn’t react or move in a manner the officer expected. In turn, the officer has a pavlovian response influenced in no small part by hundreds of training videos officers see every year that start the same way but, end with a dead cop. The result, cop operates as trained because he wants to go home at the end of his shift.
-GM
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Maybe Shaneen Allen will get justice after all
After a review by the state attorney general, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday that it would allow a Philadelphia woman charged last year with illegally bringing into New Jersey a gun that was legally registered in Pennsylvania to enter a pretrial-intervention program and avoid jail time.
The prosecutor’s previous stance in the case involving Shaneen Allen, 27, was to make the case a “deterrent,” either forcing a plea or bringing it to trial. The mother of two could have faced up to five years in prison.
via A.C. to allow Phila. woman carrying gun to avoid jail.
If you’re not familiar with the case of Shaneen Allen, you should be. We’ve mentioned her before. Until now, her case has been a complete miscarriage of justice. An example of the courts and prosecutors putting politics ahead of public safety and the interests of justice. Now, it looks like maybe, just maybe, justice will be served.
Shaneen Allen is a single mom who, after being robbed previously, applied for and was issued a license to carry a concealed handgun in her home state of Pennsylvania. She wanted to protect her family and, in accordance with the law, had no criminal history. The only “crime” she has ever committed was making the mistake of driving into New Jersey and an otherwise trivial traffic violation that ultimately led to her arrest when she elected to be honest with the officer who pulled her over about her possession of a handgun.
The prosecutor, Jim McClain, initially had no interest in allowing Allen to enter a pre-trial intervention program like the one he allowed for Ray Rice. McClain said the charges against Allen were, “too serious to warrant divergence.” Shocking given that Allen’s procedural error is merely a “crime of location” in which no one was injured or in anyway inconvenienced other than Allen herself. By comparison, Rice knocking a his fiancée unconscious and then dragging her limp body out of the elevator like a piece of trash can only be described as a crime of violence and one that most people would think should be prosecuted. McClain’s priorities seemed to be 180 degree out of phase with the rest of the world.
But last week, McClain motioned to push the trial back. We worried this might just be McClain looking for another angle to stick the knife in but, as it turns out, the state attorney general stepped in. Shaneen Allen now has an opportunity for a pre-trial diversion McClain and Superior Court Judge Michael Donio had originally denied to Allen but, granted for Rice. Hopefully, Ms. Allen can walk away from this and somehow retain her right to own and carry a firearm so long as she stays out of New Jersey.
-GM