In this video, we see security footage from 3 convenience store robberies. In each case, the robber didn't even bother to seek compliance, but simply shot the clerks. While none of these clerks were carrying a firearm, you have to consider that if you were openly carrying, a potential robber may do the same to you--i.e., just shoot you without warning--because they spotted the weapon.
- "Getting a Grip on Things"--Scott Wagner at Vance Outdoors. Wagner notes that "[t]he handgun is technically a 'one hand gun' originally designed to be fired only from the shooting hand," and we should take that into account both with our grip and selection of a weapon in the first place. Or, as the author puts it:
But this article isn't about shooting technique per se-it's about making sure that the handgun you purchase is first and foremost a one hand gun. Because whether you realize it or not, any shooting conflict you might be involved in comes with little time to prepare for the fight. This means you will likely fight by with one hand only-particularly if lateral movement or advancing movements are needed. One-handed shooting is something that isn't practiced enough.
Wagner relates:
Lt. Robison told me that in order to be a great shot you literally had to get a "death grip" (also known as a "crush grip") on the gun during the draw and back off just a hair before shooting, otherwise your hand will start to tremble as you hold it, which is why he said to back off a hair until the trembling stopped. It was essential for me to practice this grip acquisition with an empty gun before I engaged in live fire.
But:
The problem is, if a handguns grip is too large for your hand, you will not be able to get a crush grip on it. Revolvers are the easiest type of handgun to grip in this fashion as their grip does not double as the ammunition storage compartment. This means that selecting a semi-automatic will require greater care with an eye towards proper grip especially if you have medium sized hands. If you have small hands careful selection is even more critical.
When you select a handgun for defensive use, concentrate on how it fits in one hand, not two. Ideally when you grip the handgun, the tip of the middle finger of your shooting hand should be within an inch or so of touching where the base of your thumb joins the palm. With nearly any double action revolver, -even with larger aftermarket grips-my fingertip is within a half inch or less of touching my thumbs base. The same is true for Walther PPKs .380 whose grip design is superb. With a 1911 pistol, which is sized for nearly everyone, my fingertip is within an inch of touching. With a large circumference pistol like my Beretta 92, the gap increases to about 1 1/2 inches, which is at the maximum distance for me.
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But the crush grip isn't just about accuracy-it's about getting the first shot on the threat. If your handgun grip is too large, and you find yourself having to re-adjust your hand into a proper shooting position after you draw, then you have a problem. Also, if you are constantly readjusting your grip to gain control as you fire, then your handgun grip is too large. Using the correctly sized handgun and keeping a crush grip on it with the shooting hand is also important in terms of retaining control of that handgun if someone should attempt to grab it and wrest it from your control. If there is too much gap between your middle fingertip and palm, it will be easier for them to gain control as that area of your hand as your ability to grip is weakened.
This ties in with what I've said before about selecting a handgun based on what I termed "pointability"--i.e., that when you push it out, the trigger finger extended along the side of the weapon, the sights should be on target or close to it. The more you have to adjust the gun when you present it, the slower you will be.
- "Gear Review: The Laplander Folding Saw"--Tim Gamble. He calls it one of the most useful tools he owns, and describes it as "[v]ery sharp and tough, this folding saw's blade is 7½ inches long. I've used it to easily handle branches up to 3 inches in diameter, and am sure it could handle bigger with a little effort. It is designed to cut wood, plastic, and bone. The teeth are arranged so that the saw cuts both ways - on the push and the pull."
- "Overview of the Holosun 403C Red Dot Sight"--Charles Yor at The Survivalist Blog. Yor likes the idea of the Holosun sight--a red dot sight powered by a solar cell--but did not have a good experience. Of the two sights that he tested, the first stopped working after several hundred rounds through the rifle he was using as a platform, while the second had something go wrong where he couldn't adjust the brightness. I have a Holosun 515CM, which is their "military grade" sight and have not had any issues with the sight or its base (although the lens caps keep popping open). The reviews I see of the Holosun products are mixed, and it seems that you either get a keeper or its quickly apparent that something is wrong.
- "The Hobo Hieroglyphs: Their Secret Symbols, Explained"--Popular Mechanics.
- "Prepping Tips for the Chronically Ill and Disabled"--Backdoor Survival. The author has some good tips, but also warns:
Let me say right up front that not every disability or limitation will be covered in this article. That task is nigh impossible in a short paper. There are such diverse limitations and as many types of scenarios to prepare for. Some folks are not going to make it, although if people with disabilities prepare well they can have a better chance of making it than those who are healthy and totally unprepared and clueless. My point is to do what you can to make yourself as ready as you possibly can. Please accept that this article is limited in scope, but I hope that some of these prepping tips for the chronically ill and disabled will be helpful to you and the situations you face.
"Top 5 Natural Threats to Global Civilization"--Suspicious Observers (6 min.)
Note that reduced solar activity, such as is anticipated for this next solar cycle, makes us more susceptible to several of these threats.
- The invading horde at our southern border, euphemistically called the "caravan" by the MSM, tried to storm the border and attacked border patrol agents, including throwing large stones, but were mostly driven back by tear gas and rubber bullets. Those that made it across were arrested. Of course, we are now being fed photographs of crying women and children so we disregard the seriousness of this matter. But, as one commentator noted, "Don't want your kids to get tear-gassed? Leave them at home when you riot." The left is outraged, of course, although they didn't seem to care when, during the Obama Administration, Border Patrol had to use pepper spray to drive off an attacking mob of invaders.
- Meanwhile, Ragnarok (what I've been calling the Russian-Ukraine conflict) is heating up: "Russia-Ukraine tensions rise after Kerch Strait ship capture"--BBC. Ukraine is considering martial law after the capture of three of its naval vessels and 23 crew members by Russia on Sunday.
- Magic Dirt Theory! "Across the tracks: Where a child lives in America – often down to the block – offers stark predictions for whether they will grow up to be rich, poor or even land in prison"--Daily Mail. From the article:
For some children, America is failing to live up to its reputation as the land of opportunity – and often, the neighborhood where they grew up is the single biggest predictor of what their future will hold.
Some of the most upwardly mobile communities in the country are just a few miles away from those where children are most likely to grow up to perpetuate a multi-generational cycle of poverty, according to The Opportunity Atlas, an interactive map that uses more than three decades of government data to predict childhood outcomes.
The Atlas bases its projections on U.S. Census data and federal tax information gathered over time (through 2015) on people born from 1978-1983 – now age 34-40. The project, conducted in partnership by the U.S. Census and Harvard University's Opportunity Insights group, illustrates the average actual outcomes of children who grew up in every community in America.
The maps reveal some national trends on poverty and wealth – for example, the American South has the greatest concentration in the nation of children who grow up without ever escaping poverty, while the Northeast leads in outcomes of upward mobility.
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While the U.S. is considered the land of opportunity – a nation where everyone is supposed to have a chance to pursue happiness – the Atlas offers evidence that for some children that ideal is an unfulfilled promise. In some cases simply merely because of where they were raised. [Underline added]
Part of the issue is that, like it or not, we do not live in a meritocracy. As the article notes, "[r]ich children of average intelligence are more likely to succeed in life than brilliant people born into poor families, according to a new study that focuses on the intersection of genes and economics." I've noted before that meritocracy only lasts for one generation. The key to success is often what colleges you attend, and the Ive League schools are loath to admit students from middle America. But behind this study are cultural dysfunction in certain groups as well as lower overall IQs.
- "The Woke Corporate Glass Ceiling"--Rod Dreher at The American Conservative. One of Dreher's readers relates that, as a straight, white male, he is insufficiently "diverse" for his employer, and warns that in corporate America, advancement is increasingly going to require that you publicly proclaim your "wokeness". Just like John warns in Revelation, those that won't take upon them the sign of the Beast will not be allowed to buy or sell.
- Like Father, like Son: "Archbishop of Canterbury Declares God Gender Neutral"--Breitbart. From the article:
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has said that God is “not male nor female,” after female bishops demanded the Church of England stop referring to God solely as “he.”
The head of the worldwide Anglican communion told attendees at a lecture at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square: “All human language about God is inadequate and to some degree metaphorical.
“God is not a father in exactly the same way as a human being is a father. God is not male or female. God is not definable.
“It is extraordinarily important as Christians that we remember that the definitive revelation of who God is was not in words, but in the word of God who we call Jesus Christ. We can’t pin God down.”
Apparently, no one told Jesus:
Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
(John 14:8-9).
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