Blue dog Democrats should know better than to cuddle up to Obama on guns. Brian Schweitzer, Governor of Montana, is one of those Democrats who should know better, but he doesn’t.
Geography Challenged
Most Americans aren’t very good at geography, but I would expect that when you’re Governor of Virginia, you’d know which states Virginia does and doesn’t border.
Gun Nut Radio
I will be appearing on Bonnie and Caleb’s show tonight to talk about the ParaUSA Blackwater experience. Tune in at 11:00PM, or you can download the show tomorrow.
Great Idea With a Bad Packaging
I was very interested to read Breda’s coverage of her Appleseed experience here, here and here. Bitter and I have collectively introduced quite a number of people into the shooting world, so I think have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn’t. The good thing about Appleseed is that they are trying to recruit people into shooting, and teaching marksmanship. Both are very worthwhile endeavors. The bad part about Appleseed is they are selling shooting in a way that is more than likely going to scare of newbie shooters:
We were told to go downrange, put up our target and load up our magazines. The first target of an Appleseed shoot is highly symbolic – the initial 13 rounds serve as a reminder of the original American colonies and the red (as in redcoat) silhouettes allude to how riflemen won our freedom during the Revolutionary War.
Are they learning to shoot, or being indoctrinated into a cult? I mean, yeah, I understand what they are trying to do here, which is connect the history of this country to the rifleman. That’s understandable. But thirteen shots at the lobsterbacks? Eh… that’s a hard sell for someone just starting out. I generally frown on the use of silhouette targets for newbie shooters. Newbie shooters should be learning two things — first is that shooting is a lot of fun, and second is the fundamentals of competently and safely shooting a firearm. We can save the history lessons for later.
With a few kind words, I had been given a glimmer of hope – but an Appleseed is like that. The instructors are encouraging, knowledgeable and remarkably patient. Their love for rifleshooting translates into hours of consistent positivity and tireless assistance, even for someone as inexperienced as me.
It seems like the folks involved in this Appleseed event were good instructors, and it sounds like it was good instruction. But why follow with this:
The instructors at an Appleseed attempt to teach you to shoot accurately enough to score “expert” on the Army Qualification Course. Until you can do that, you’re considered a “Cook,” unprepared and unqualified to carry a rifle on the firing line of freedom.
Way to encourage new shooters guy! Keep practicing, or you’re just a lowly cook? If you teach people that shooting is a lot of fun, they will keep practicing, and they will get better. You’re only job is to teach the fundamentals, correct mistakes, and send the shooter off with a feeling that if they practice those, they’ll have a lot of fun, and will turn themselves into better shooters. Appleseed is a great idea, but I’m not sure I like the packaging. I would concentrate more on having a good time, and encouraging new shooters. We can connect them to the history of our shooting culture once we actually get them into it.
Plot to Assassinate Obama?
After they arrested a hunter, color me skeptical on this story:
One of the suspects told authorities they were “going to shoot Obama from a high vantage point using a … rifle … sighted at 750 yards,†according to the KUSA report.
The station said police found two high-powered, scoped rifles in the car along with camouflage clothing, walkie-talkies, a bulletproof vest, a spotting scope, licenses in the names of other people and methamphetamines.
A public affairs official with the attorney’s office in Denver said they would provide no other information on the news conference.
Great, just what we need. I hope this turns out to be hype. There are a lot of whack jobs out there still who are probably losing their shit over the idea of a black man being president. If there is indeed a plot, good work on the part of the Secret Service for busting it up before they could carry it out.
Law Abiding Gun Owner
Another law abiding gun owner and concealed carry permit holder has to go stopping an armed robber again:
In the first incident, the 14-year-old and two other suspects were trying to rob the ex-officer at gunpoint while he was delivering a pizza about 1:15 a.m. on Lesher Street near Bridge, police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore said.
The boy pointed the gun at the former cop while his cohorts – also believed to be teenagers – attempted to go through the victim’s pockets, Vanore said.
But the deliveryman – whose name was withheld by police – was able to reach into a pocket and pull out a semiautomatic Glock, which he had a permit to carry, Vanore said.
Of course, now you have two more children added to the Brady Campaign list of kids killed by gunfire every year. Seems to me the proper thing to be concerned about is that we have 14 year old kids robbing people at gunpoint in our city.
Just as an aside: pocket carrying a Glock? I hope he used a pocket holster. A Glock should not be pocked carried. It needs to be in a holster.
More on Para USA LDA 1911
SayUncle liked the Para LDA 1911 too. In fact, all of the Glock guys did. Joe reported there’s a way to get the gun locked up, to the point where you have to “reboot” (rack the slide). I agree that this should be fixed by Para, either by removing the manual safety entirely (it’s superfulous on a DAO gun) or re-engineering the trigger to remove the bug.
Since I am not used to having to deal with manual safeties, as with SayUncle, I did not use it. I did experience a failure where I ended up flicking the safety on while shooting, but that was because I wasn’t used to gripping a 1911. Quick adjustment in my grip solved that problem. I’ve found myself a few steel plate matches and an IPSC club in my area (sadly, it’s in New Jersey, which complicates things) and once I buy the gun I used from ParaUSA, I plan to start shooting competitively with it.
UPDATE: Ahab offers a pretty good review of the Para LTC 9mm 1911. I might see if Kerby has any extras of those they are looking to get rid of too, and buy that for Bitter.
Video Finale
Not much commentary, just a compilation of video I took at Blackwater:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPKW9T3qGQs[/youtube]
That’s pretty much all of the video I have that’s worth sharing, except for the one where Robb showed up on the range with no pants.
The Shoot House
Now that I am home, I might just have to price out how much it would cost to buy a bit of land, and construct my own 360 degree shoot house. Sure, it’ll cost a good bit, but that’s the most fun I’ve had with a gun. Here’s a video of Dave Hardy getting his run started:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yya-yiSoHho[/youtube]
Dave had a big shit eating grin on his face when he came out of the house, and said “That was fun!” On my first run through it, I got that adrenaline going and ended up popping a hostage. Second run I went through, shot it well, except for missing a target Todd had placed off to the side. The more experienced USPSA shooters managed to get it find it, and so did people that had to do a reload in that room. Caleb and I darted right by it.
Me Shooting With Todd Jarrett
Thanks to Kevin Baker for taking this video of me shooting one of our stages along with Dave Hardy. Todd Jarrett is the guy coaching me through, and Dan Smith of ICC is the guy coaching Dave.
This was a tough stage. You can to shoot three shots at the steel plate directly in front, then move toward the plates on the side, then six shots in the last plate. If the movers came into view, you had to double tap them.