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Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.13.11/191 - Release Date: 12/2/2005 Tenth Anniversary Of North Carolina CCW: A recording is available of a December 1 NPR broadcast discussing the outcome of ten years of licensed CCW in North Carolina (second item on page). http://www.ibiblio.org/wunc_archives/sot/ --- Conflict Of Interest For Cage?: Nicholas Cage credits his role in Lord of War for prompting him to join Amnesty International but it appears that he cannot become a poster boy for the international firearm-prohibition movement because he remains a member of the National Rifle Association. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1657335,00.html --- US Troops May Have Lost Right Of Self-Defense: A change in the Standing Rules of Engagement may have robbed US troops of the option to fire upon an enemy when they are faced with an imminent threat of death or serious injury. http://jewishworldreview.com/kathleen/parker113005.php3 --- From John Farnam: 28 Nov 05 Comments on readiness: "I can attest to this. I have been deployed four times since 9/11. The first time was in Egypt, and we were told that we would receive ammunition upon arriving in Country. They lied! When we arrived, due to confused political protocol, no ammo was issued, even though we were informed by J-2 that we had been targeted by local terrorists. I suddenly got that 'cannon-fodder-feeling!' Marines down the road were a different story. Every Marine was hot and good-to-go at a moment's notice. Their commander wasn't worried about a 'career-ending-faux-pas.' He only cared about his guys. It was refreshing indeed to see his attitude! We borrowed ammunition from them, but I promised myself that I would never deploy again without my own ammunition. I got the chance to test my theory one year later. I was commanding a detachment in Afghanistan and procured rounds for all my guys BEFORE we left CONUS. Packed in our A&B bags, we arrived in Country with weapons AND ammunition. Once off the plane, we were all carrying hot within ten minutes! We didn't say anything, and no one asked. I'll never be caught short again!" >From a friend in the Philippines: "I find this puzzling. Over here, everyone on base is armed, and all personal weapons, rifles and pistols, are loaded all the time- on post, off post, in the chow line, or sitting on the toilet. NDs are unheard of. You might find it curious that this mode of thinking was imparted to us by American trainers when your Foreign Military Assistance Program had your GIs training our troops during the Cold War. Those GIs were always packing hot pistols, and to be caught without one, or even an unloaded one, was cause for disciplinary action!" This was only two decades ago. What happened to you guys during the last twenty years?" /John 28 Nov 05 Comments from a master, military riflesmith on the subject of lead, sometimes called "freebore," and its function in military rifles: "Freebore specifications vary. Most often, it's not the length of freebore but the angle of the throat. Most military chambers have an eighth-of-an-inch of freebore and then a slow taper into the rifling. This allows the bullet to pop out of the case quickly but then softly enter the rifling, which keeps chamber pressures from spiking, but maintains consistent bullet alignment for the sake of accuracy. The most extreme case of freebore was actually found in the old Norma Magnums. They had an entire inch of freebore. It allowed the bullet to completely exit the case mouth before engaging the rifling. Chamber pressures were low, but accuracy suffered. Loose chambers, also found in military rifles, surely enhance functional reliability, particularly when rifles get hot and dirty. However, commercial ammunition has thin brass, compared with military counterparts. Loose chambers, combined with thin brass, can lead to case-head separations. With regard to your JLD/PTR (H&K-91), keep the bolt head clean. Rifles with fluted chambers share the "crap-in-the-receiver" problem with AR-15s. Fluted chambers eject soot and unburned powder back into the receiver, and it accumulates on the bolt. Even when using clean ammunition, H&Ks (CETMEs and JLDs) will start choking at one thousand rounds. Bolt, chamber, and locking-roller recesses thus need cleaning every five-hundred rounds." Comment: Most main-stream, utility-grade, military rifles currently produced domestically work just fine. Manufacturers adjust chamber dimensions and freebore so that the rifle can safely fire just about anything that will fit into the chamber. Accuracy is acceptable, but not anal. Chamber pressures are reasonable. A problem arises when manufacturers, catering to the anal/target crowd, produce tight-chambered rifles with no freebore. It would not be a problem if they just painted such rifles pink, so we could all tell what we were shooting! Ostensibly "military" rifles, with labels like "Match" or "Target" should thus be avoided! /John 30 Nov 05 On preparing for the widest possible spectrum of eventualities, from one of our Instructors who works security at an upscale nightclub: "In July of this year, the ring finger on my right hand was badly mangled as a result of a dog bite. Fractured in several places, my entire hand was in a cast for several months. I am right handed. I continued to work the floor of our nightclub during this time, and the jealous boyfriends and assorted drunken idiots with whom we deal regularly cut me no slack because of my injury! For the first time, I realized why you emphasize being able to handle guns and knives with either hand! I was suddenly glad that we had practiced so many support-hand-only techniques during training. I'm still not sure I'm an expert, but I didn't have to learn it all on the job! It is falsely comforting to think that we can ever rely upon the all-inclusive availability of favorite weapons, favored hands, and favored tactics. This episode showed me that it is delusional to naively believe such things will always exist and be conveniently available when critically needed! We never know what fate has planned for us, but we can pretty much count on it being a 'come-as-you-are war.' What we can do to prepare is to be well practiced with both hands, both eyes, all kinds of weapons (not just our 'favorite' ones), in all kinds of lighting, footing, and states of exhaustion. To spend all our training time practicing only those things at which we're already adept, is to kid ourselves, dangerously. Ask me how I know this!" Comment: Critical skills, such as one-handed shooting, reloading, and gun handling, that are, by their nature, awkward and clumsy, are important and need to be learned and drilled regularly. The purpose of training is not to make us look good. Indeed, when you "look good" during training, it means you're not challenging yourself adequately! As Attila the Hun put it, "If victory is always easily gained, you are simply striving toward the insignificant." /John 30 Nov 05 Sage Comments form friend and colleague, Mas Ayoob: "Tell your bouncer buddy that next time, he should ask the doc to dye the cast 'tactical black' and install some chrome knuckle studs facing outward. Better to be feared than mocked (at least in the bar at closing time)..." Comment: Mas' depth of knowledge constantly amazes me. You rule, Mas! /John (While I have come to question several of the things I learned from Mas, I would never question his judgment in matters relating to alcohol and bars.) 1 Dec 05 Great training thought, from one of our instructors in OH: "In order to address this important area of training, we've instituted 'WEAK HAND/ONE HAND' days. Designate a single day, and do everything (except driving and other activities where there is a safety issue) one-handed. Get dressed, eat, shower, read a book, brush your teeth, work on your laptop, dry-fire practice, et al with only the opposite hand. Stick with it for the whole day! It is a quick and inexpensive way to maintain and increase important skills. It compels body and mind work together to overcome unfamiliar obstacles. IMPROVISE, ADAPT, OVERCOME- FIND A WAY TO WIN. DON'T WASTE VALUABLE TIME DOING NOTHING MORE THAN LOOKING FOR AN EXCUSE TO LOSE. It is a character-defining attitude that none of us exercise nearly enough!" Comment: We all need to be doing this! /John (One point, which I believe I learned from Mas Ayoob, is to avoid the term "weak hand." If we're training for success, it's foolish to clutter our minds with concepts such as weakness. We have dominant and non-dominant hands, feet and eyes. If you don't like this term, think of them as primary and secondary.) -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .