TOP TEN REASONS MEN PREFER GUNS OVER WOMEN!

#10 – You can trade an old 44 for a new 22.

#9 – You can keep one gun at home and have another for when you’re on the road.

#8 – If you admire a friend’s gun and tell him so, he will probably let you try it out a few times.

#7 – Your primary gun doesn’t mind if you keep another gun for a backup.

#6 – Your gun will stay with you even if you run out of ammo.

#5 – A gun doesn’t take up a lot of closet space.

#4 – Guns function normally every day of the month.

#3 – A gun doesn’t ask, "Do these new grips make me look fat?"

#2 – A gun doesn’t mind if you go to sleep after you use it.

And the number one reason why men prefer guns over women…

#1 – You can buy a silencer for a gun.

H/T Chicks On The Right

Heading over to Gun Nuts Media we have Shelley Rae talking about Women and the Shooting Sports and how we men should be careful not to dispense condescending head pats but instead show support and provide constructive criticism. I’m pretty sure I’ve done both over the years and while I prefer to be supportive and provide constructive remarks where possible I’m sure I’ll unintentionally dish out a condescending head pat or two along the way. However, I’ll try my best to be supporting so I hope that my efforts are taken that way.

In closing I would like to mention National Take Your Daughters to the Range Day.  The date is set for June 9 2012, while I don’t have a daughter to take to the range I hope parents that do participate in this. If I get asked to tag along so a daughter has a gun to shoot, I’ll definitely go.

When I was a bit younger I was working my way through college at the retail sales counter for a Firearms Importer/Distributor in the Los Angeles area. While we stopped a lot of sales at the counter I was still able to get a feel for what the criminal element favored in long gun technology. Anything Com-bloc in 7.62×39 was preferred, with the SKS carbine topping the list because one could buy two or three for the price of one AK variant. As I spent my weekends in the Mojave Desert either participating in shooting matches or exploring in four wheel drive vehicles I knew all too well that I could encounter the business end of one of those firearms in the hands of someone running a drug lab in the remote areas we went. I used to have a tent with two patches on it that proved my concerns were not unfounded, but that is another story.

Looking at my defensive options one lesson stood out. In a defensive encounter range is your friend. A battle rifle like the M1 shoots farther, flatter and harder than anything in the carbine class. Besides having range the 30-06 is capable of turning a lot of cover into concealment. The bad guys don’t like to stick around when the heavy stuff starts coming their way.

Fast forward to today and the Garand has been given an update of sorts that the Texas Ranchers are sure to appreciate. First up there are replacement handguards that allow you to mount either the very fast Aimpoint Micro t1 or a regular Scout scope if magnification is desired. For the alleged shortcomings of the Garand en bloc clip one can install a Holbrook Device that eliminates the distinctive ping as the empty clip ejects, helps prevent M1 thumb, and allows you to top off without ejecting a clip or dumping your remaining rounds. Once I get the new bolt installed in my Garand I plan to pick one of these up so stay tuned. Finally to avoid issues with ammunition there are now adjustable gas plugs that allow you to tune the gas to fit the ammunition you are using.

Improving further on the Tacticool M1 one could add an offset mount for a light and have day/night capability. Though like the T1 I would use a QD mount from the good folks at LaRue Tactical so I don’t have to lug around the light on the gun when I don’t need it.  To this load add a number of fully loaded en bloc clips along with a serviceable handgun and any rancher would be good to go if they needed to defend themselves or their loved ones.

As is standard procedure her firearm was taken for evidence this left her with just a pistol and probably feeling a little defenseless. Unlike the victim disarmament crowd populated by the likes of the Joyce Foundation, Joan Peterson, CSGV etc. who would just tell her to light a candle. The fine people at gunssavelife.com got together along with the local police department and acted to give this courageous young woman the means to keep protecting herself and her baby. After a few donations and a “passing of the hat” GSL managed to put together a custom Remington 870 with money to spare. See the full story here (.pdf) on page 5.

A tip of the hat to everyone who donated to help young Sarah. If you would still like to help there is a trust account set up to help Sarah and her baby. The contact information is; Sarah McKinley Trust Fund, Chickasa Bank & Trust 405 485-2300 (ask for Leah). Here’s hoping that 2012 is better for her.

You, you who hate guns, you gave me nothing. 
No hope. 
No tools. 
All that was offered me was a life of fear, of resentment, of bitterness, of dependance…
The gun community has offered me hope and strength, and courage. 
They have taught me to have belief in myself.
They have asked nothing of me in return and, yet, I would give them my life.
Funny thing is, they would never ask me to.
This is where I belong.
These are my people.

There’s more at the link, read it learn from it. A Girl’s experiences with the gun community are why we win.

A Girl wasn’t done there. She then went toe to toe with “Guns are bad” Joan Peterson and after a very brief exchange had this to say:

…I do find it interesting that for a group that claims to care so much about people, you didn’t offer me one bit of concern. You didn’t say, gee that must have been hard or I am sorry for your daughter. You just said I missed the point. I think I got it. Loud and clear. Me, the person, the victim, doesn’t matter at all to you.

A Girl’s story is indeed a sad one. That she has chosen to turn it into something positive speaks volumes for her strength of character. She and her daughter experienced something no one should ever have to. She still refers to herself as a victim of violence and at one time she was. I do hope she understands when I say I feel she is no longer a victim but a survivor. A survivor with the will and courage to face the evils of the world and say “I will do everything I can to make the world a better place for myself and my daughter.”

The anti-gunners’ candles have long been extinguished. Their feeble light all but forgotten. Our light still burns not because we got bigger candles, but because every day through the way we live and interact with our fellow man we show that candle light doesn’t change the world, only the burning fire we have inside of us that wants everyone to feel the warmth of hope strength and courage can do that.

Am I a gunnie? You betcha.

My tool of choice is a first generation Colt CCO carried in a Blade-Tech holster and filled with 230gr Federal Hydra-Shocks. In States and locations where I can carry it you will find it by my side, quietly ready should the need arise but hoping it will never be called into action.

While we’re her I’d like to point you to both A girl and her gun and Home on the Range. Both have made excellent posts on their thoughts over the ridiculousness of the victim disarmament crowd.

“Never ask someone to do something that you would not do yourself.”

Now, I always took this a bit further. Not only would I avoid asking someone to do something I wouldn’t do myself, if I had the time I would help them do it. When I think back, I know the people I considered leaders followed this philosophy as well. It’s one thing to say “go and do this” it is entirely another to say “this needs to be done, I’ll help.” Now sometimes a leader will have to say “go and do this” because of circumstances beyond is control, but if his people know that he would be right there with them if he could they will work just as hard as if he was.

Anyway while trying to figure out where I learned that quote from I came across this blog post about Major Dick Winter’s War Memoirs. Now Major Winters was considered a leader’s leader in a lot of ways and the principles he lays out in his book are so important I would like to place them here as well. They are:

1. Strive to be a leader of character, competence, and courage.
2. Lead from the front. Say, “Follow me!” and then lead the way.
3. Stay in top physical shape—physical stamina is the root of mental toughness.
4. Develop your team. If you know your people, are fair in setting realistic goals and expectations, and lead by example, you will develop teamwork.
5. Delegate responsibility to your subordinates and let them do their jobs. You can’t do a good job if you don’t have a chance to use your imagination or your creativity.
6. Anticipate problems and prepare to overcome obstacles. Don’t wait until you get to the top of the ridge and then make up your mind.
7. Remain humble. Don’t worry about who receives the credit. Never let power or authority go to your head.
8. Take a moment of self-reflection. Look at yourself in the mirror every night and ask yourself if you did your best.
9. True satisfaction comes from getting the job done. The key to a successful leader is to earn respect—not because of rank or position, but because you are a leader of character.
10. Hang Tough!—Never, ever, give up.

Now there are other worthwhile gems at the blog post and even more in Major Winter’s book.  I plan to pick up Major Winter’s book as soon as I can and add it to my stack o’ stuff to read.

With my busy schedule and lack of a decent range readily accessible there won’t be very much live fire practice this year, but I intend to supplement what I do get with dry-fire. I plan to research drills, try a lot of them and let you know what works for me and why. Believe it or not there will even be some dry-fire gear reviews too.

I think we aren’t going to see too many ground breaking innovations this year. There may be a few interesting products and I think most of those will center either on the Tactical Rifle or Concealed Carry Market. I see interest in these increasing due in part to the expansion of concealed carry to all but one state (at least on paper) and as people find out more and more people are taking responsibility for themselves they too will seek out the proper tools accessories and training to use them. Tactical Rifles have become all the rage both for sport and personal protection especially now that the AR-15 has replaced the shotgun in most Police Cruisers in the US. If the Occupy movement and/or its supporters hangers on continues with its escalation of violence, and there is every indication that they may, I expect to see interest in Concealed Carry and defensive long arms to skyrocket.

In the political arena we have come a long way towards regaining our civil rights. However, those gains have already experienced some back lash as anti-civil rights groups have already tried attacking pro-rights bloggers on a personal level by outing their personal information (TWITTER ATTACKS) for their fringe nut jobs to begin their nefarious activities. With this in mind we need to be doubly watchful both for dirty tricks and outright attacks. Remember, a beast is at its most dangerous when it knows it’s dying.

Overall I think 2012 will be a decent year for the Industry, I hope it is for me personally as well. A little cautious optimism never hurts, though it does pay to have contingencies. Until my next post, stay safe.

I have had the honor of knowing many veterans from the war that the attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into. Men who stormed the beaches of Okinawa, Iwo Jima, Normandy, who flew dive bombers off of carriers at the battle of the Coral Sea and Midway. Men who marched at Bataan, and flew B-17s over Western Europe over places like Brest, Berlin and Frankfurt,  Men who faced Field Marshal Rommel in the Deserts of Africa. But there is one man who I remember above all others. He was a quiet unassuming man who lived with his wife in a single-wide trailer in a park near the base he worked at when he retired. On his wall was a non-descript document, the only memento he ever displayed that marked his service. The documents were orders transferring him from the USS Arizona (BB-39) to the aerial reconnaissance shop on land. The date marked on the orders was December 6, 1941.

In the pre-dawn hours of that fateful Sunday morning he climbed one of the mountains overlooking the harbor. His plan was to film the sunrise to familiarize himself with the equipment. Instead of the sunrise he wound up filming the attack. Including the deaths of his former shipmates who died onboard the Arizona as a bomb detonated in her forward magazine. He never saw anyone he had worked with on that ship again. He spent the rest of the war flying in reconnaissance in the Pacific. That’s all I learned about what he did for the rest of the war.

He passed away several years ago and in keeping of the traditions of many survivors of Pearl Harbor his ashes were placed with the Arizona. When I see footage of the attack I wonder which scenes are ones he shot. I wonder what he may have felt as he watched the horrors unleashed by the attack from his mountain perch. I wonder if he would be pleased or horrified at how we have handled the legacy he and so many others of his generation put their lives on the line to pass on to us.