Oops: List members may have noticed yesterday a discrepancy in figures in the two articles on the rise firearm-related crime in England and London in particular. In my haste to assemble and get out a mailing before yesterday's students arrived, I failed to notice that the link to one of the articles shared by a list member actually was for a 2003 article. --- The Beat Goes On?: It's been nearly one year since a record run on gun and ammunition sales took hold in the U.S., a wave that coincided with the election of President Barack Obama. In its wake, local gun retailers are taking account of a year like none before it, all the while wondering what a new year and political landscape might bring. "I've never seen anything like this - not in my lifetime - and it won't happen again," said J.R. Coursey, manager at Gibsons Discount Center in Kerrville [TX]. "There has not been a run on guns since the Revolutionary War that was like this." ...As Americans continue to purchase record-setting stockpiles of ammunition, manufacturers are being forced to work around the clock to keep up with demand, but even this isn't enough to avoid shortages, according to the Associated Press. The pinch has been felt here in the Hill Country as well, with retailers scrambling to get their hands on whatever becomes available. But for the first time in a year, Kierce says they finally may be getting a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel... (That's a very interesting historical parallel - Democrats, take note.) http://dailytimes.com/story.lasso?ewcd=066474a13d8e55d1 --- Wisconsin Woman Sentenced in Straw Purchase: Badger Guns sold a .38-caliber revolver to a 55-year-old woman, despite warning signs that she was buying the gun for her felon boyfriend, according to court records. Sherrill Worthy went to Badger in November 2008 to buy a gun for James Funches, a convicted drug dealer who was wanted on a weapons charge in Arkansas, records show. The clerk at Badger stood behind the counter and asked Worthy which gun she wanted, she said. "(Funches) picked it out. He told me which one he wanted," said Worthy, of Milwaukee. She told authorities all she knew about the gun was its caliber and that it was "pretty." Worthy said Friday after her sentencing in federal court that she was not sure if a Badger employee heard Funches pick out the gun, but prosecutors, law enforcement and other gun store owners have said the scenario of a woman buying a gun with a man standing by silently should warrant tough questions... (Let me get this straight - a woman who decides to purchase her first handgun brings a male friend along, to advise her on the selection. That should "warrant tough questions" from the dealer? I think there's a difference between a companion telling a buyer, "I want that one" and the companion saying something such as, "Go ahead and buy that one.") http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/65884647.html --- Oops, Wrong Gas Station: Brief video clip shows a clerk in the market section of a gas station disarming a robber of a shotgun and chasing the robber and his partner out the door. (It's worth noting that I typically share several incidents a year of intended victims disarming their assailants but very rarely do I find an incident in which a criminal disarms an armed victim, contrary to the "warnings" of many prohibitionists, some of whom wear badges.) http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8906719 --- Meanwhile, In Florida...: Josh Rutner said he was just doing his job as a Wal-Mart "asset protection officer" earlier this month when he chased a knife-wielding theft suspect across the store parking lot. The man, later identified as Marc Ash, was arrested by Ocala police and the merchandise was recovered. The next day, Wal-Mart fired Rutner. Rutner said it boiled down to doing what was right or following policy. For him, it was an easy choice. "I couldn't let him get away," Rutner said. "That's wrong." But Michelle Bradford, a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman, said the store's no-chase policy is clear... http://www.ocala.com/article/20091021/ARTICLES/910211015/0/news --- Who Is the Victim?: Vacaville [CA] police and fire department personnel rushed to a popular gun store and shooting range Friday afternoon after a report of a shooting. Just after 5 p.m., Vacaville police dispatch got the call that a person at Guns Fishing & Other Stuff on Butcher Road had been shot. Police arrived to find a Vallejo male in his early 20s suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Officer Mark Donaldson. According to police, the victim walked in, showed identification and rented a small-caliber handgun prior to the shooting, which took place in the business' underground shooting range. The victim was airlifted by CALSTAR air ambulance to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. His condition was unavailable at press time. (The ability to rent a firearm at a range has long been a great opportunity for prospective purchasers to test fire those models they are considering purchasing. From time to time, a suicidal person will also avail himself of the opportunity. This happened twice at an indoor range I used to patronize in California. Miraculously, California has not sought to ban or highly restrict the practice. On the other hand, I believe that Massachusetts now requires a pistol permit to rent a handgun, as the result of a range suicide.) http://www.thereporter.com/news/ci_13633493 --- Mouseguns Revisited: OK, let's undertake an expedition into the Mousegun Zone. Yes, we're all adults, and given the choice we'd carry something big. Given the choice, I'd rather have a 12 gauge or .308 than any handgun extant. But the smoothbore or my FAL have many drawbacks, bulk being just one they share. And all the big handguns have drawbacks as well. Sometimes only a small gun will do. And sometimes the "small" in question is not bulk, but caliber... Not all of us are large, young, strong and highly accomplished shooters. And yet many of us still need protection. Sweeney's Rule No. 7: There is no such thing as "one gun that does it all." If there were, there would be only one gun, and gun magazines would be sooo boring. To tell a retiree that "real calibers start with the number four" and other such "advice" is to miss the point: They need something, and anything is better than nothing. My wife is an example. A career in the printing industry has left her with less than full hand strength. She simply can't use a double-action revolver. Many bigbore pistols require too much hand strength for her to get the slide back. If she can't load it by herself, it really isn't much use now, is it? In her case, having someone who can supply dozens of samples until we find the right one, the one that works for her, is great. Not everyone has that option... (I have long advocated a minimum caliber of .38 special, preferably +P. This past year I have had a couple of students in their 70's who, despite the wide variety of tricks in my bag, were still challenged by handguns chambered in .38 Special or 9x19mm. While I'm not ready to become a poster boy for the .32 ACP, I am now re-evaluating the .380 options for the minority of students who continue to struggle with the more desirable chamberings. And frankly, my dear, I could care less if gun magazines get boring. The genre suffers from a great deal of fantasy and misinformation, printed to keep them "interesting" and to satisfy their advertisers.) http://gunsandammomag.com/cs/Satellite/IMO_GA/Story_C/A+Handier+Hammer --- From John Farnam: 19 Oct 09 Good information from an OIS (Officer-Involved Shooting) in the Midwest, from a friend and student: "One of our patrolmen was involved in a fatal OIS last night (16 Oct 09). He observed a person throw a small bag from a vehicle. He subsequently attempted to pull the suspect vehicle over, and a high-speed chase followed. It didn't last long! The suspect driver lost control and piled-up, crashing into a parked car. As is always the case with such crashes, there was a big dust cloud kicked up, and, when our officer's beat-car came to a stop, he realized that both cars were nearly side by side. A passenger exited the suspect vehicle holding a pool cue. Simultaneously, the suspect driver pulled forward, then shifted into reverse and did his best to run our officer down as he was trying to exit his vehicle. While dodging the suspect vehicle, our officer drew his G22 and fired a total of seven shots at the suspect driver (Remington Bonded 165 Gr Golden Saber). All seven bullets had to penetrate auto-glass or car-door before striking the offender. All seven did penetrate and subsequently struck the offender (driver), who, as a result, was DRT at the scene. Two in the chest. Three in hip. Two in the legs. There were two passengers in the suspect vehicle, including the one with the pool cue. Neither were injured, nor was our officer. One passenger was subsequently apprehended, still in the vehicle. The one with the pool cue was picked up a short distance away, without incident. Our officer reported that the driver was obviously incapacitated within seconds of being struck." Comment: Officers need to fully expect explosive, violent resistance when attempting any arrest. The suspect (driver) in this case had an outstanding warrant, but it was for a misdemeanor. Nothing serious. Yet, he was more than willing to take what turned out to be fatal risks in order to avoid apprehension. Desperate men do not think clearly! When threatened, Fight First! Forget about everything else on your check-list. Remember pilots' advice when in trouble in the air: (1) Aviate (2) Navigate (3) Communicate, in that order. /John (A few months ago someone pointed out a perceived weakness in my book. While the book seeks to make the point that mental awareness and mental preparedness are of higher priority than the other material, those chapters are shorter. It is difficult to write on those topics, short of presenting case studies, which is why I share material of this sort, knowing that most list members are not employed in law enforcement. Mental awareness is largely a matter of pattern recognition. In the last week, I have taken students into the local forest for training and have picked up clues about unsafe or potentially unsafe behavior on the part of local hunters, sighting in rifles. In one case, it was a target in a location where I have never seen one before, with no shooters on that side of the trail; they were on the other side, shooting across the trail. In the other case, I observed a vehicle turning into the brush, where I have never seen anyone shoot before. In the latter case, I confirmed visually that the shooters were using an adequate backstop, without firing across a road. In the former case, my discussion with the offenders was of such nature that I actually ended up chambering a round in my M1 Carbine as soon as I arrived in my own shooting area. Fortuitously, they elected to leave the area, rather than to risk subsequent discussion with deputy sheriffs or forest rangers. "DRT" is Farnamese for "Dead Right There.") 21 Oct 09 Victims, by Choice: This from a friend, retired Naval Officer, and one of our Instructors: "Last weekend, I had a long and solemn conversation with the parents of my seventeen-year-old daughter's closest friend. They ritually retire for two weeks to their time-share apartment near Cancun, Mexico every spring, and had extended an invitation for my daughter to join them this time. I reviewed current State Department, as well as Stratfor, advice with regard to foreign travel, specifically in Mexico. News is not good! Mexico's economy relies expectantly on tourist dollars, and therefore Mexico's government heavily influences local media to downplay dangers to tourists. However, the depressing truth is that vicious drug-gangs operate freely everywhere in Mexico and are successfully challenging the 'legitimate' government for control in large areas. Widespread, endemic corruption within police and local governments adds to risks for foreigners. In addition to illegal drugs, kidnapping is a growth industry, as is white-slavery! Friends at the State Department inform me that, in view of the foregoing, none would ever go to any part of Mexico right now, for any reason, nor would they allow family members to do so, not even a short sojourn in a border-town! I relayed the foregoing to my daughter's friend's parents. They essentially laughed it off, insisting that danger I described is exaggerated. We've known them for a long time. They are pleasant people, but they are willfully, indeed belligerently, naive, and apparently have no more concern for my daughter's life than they do for their own! They are likeable, but I cannot respect them. Indeed, I don't respect any VBC. Some day, likely sooner than later, they will be savagely murdered. They'll die in amazement, as hapless victims. The last thought to go through their callow minds will be how "unfair" it is. However, it will be the direct result of choices they willingly made, naively, selfishly, and vaingloriously. In short, they'll get what they deserve. I just don't want any of my family near them when it happens. I unceremoniously informed them that my daughter would not be joining them in Mexico, nor anywhere else. I regret having to be so blunt, but we live in undiplomatic times. Friends I can replace. I have only one daughter!" Comment: Never apologize for taking a direct role in looking after your own best interests and those of your family. "Prepared" is present tense. "Victim" is past tense. "Justice," is also present tense. Justice can never be reconstructed. It does not exist in past tense. Never has! World history is taking a frightening and sinister turn. It's not only worse than we imagine. It's worse than we can imagine! /John (A little over fourteen years ago I spent somewhere on the order of $3,000 to attend the first LFI-IV course [with Massad Ayoob's Lethal Force Institute]; $1,500 of that was the course tuition. For all that, the greatest lesson I learned was from a classmate who completely short-circuited one of the role-play scenarios when he walked out after another role-player made a snide remark to him as he entered the venue. When he was debriefed, he was asked why he had left as quickly as he had. He replied, "I don't go where I'm not wanted." I have made it a point to follow that rule since then, which is why, despite the fact that I lived on the border with Mexico for the three and a half years I spent in Douglas, I not only never visited the neighboring city of Agua Prieta, I also never walked half a block to the Mexican consulate to register for "Mexican nationality," a legal status I could have claimed as a result of having been born in Mexico, to American parents.) 23 Oct 09 Lubricated Rifles! This from a friend and gun manufacturer: "At a recent Law-Enforcement Tactical Carbine Course, several students decided that their AR-15s needed lubrication. Mistaking an aerosol can of target adhesive for a can of gun-oil, they 'sprayed-down' ten rifles! What happened next is interesting: Of the ten 'treated' rifles, seven stopped functioning immediately and completely, which is surely not unexpected. However, three rifles had their bolt and bolt carriers treated with Robbie Barrkman's (ROBAR) NP3 metallic/teflon coating. Those three continued to function normally, albeit sluggishly! They did not run well, but they ran. The other seven were altogether out of action." Comment: I am a great fan of NP3, even more so now. Recommended! /John (Rule Six - Always be sure of your lubricant? Several years ago, a list member, from whom I have learned many invaluable lessons, showed me a pistol that had just come back from Robar with the NP3 application. I found the outer surfaces of the pistol to be too slick for my taste but was impressed with the ease with which the magazines, which had also received the NP3 treatment, slid in and out of the magazine well. I do not know if they would have done so as easily if the inside of the magazine well had not also received the treatment. A long gun is normally handled by its attached "furniture," including butt stock, fore end and, if so equipped, pistol grip. Thus, my concerns with NP3 making the firearm too slick to handle ought not apply to long guns. For those who may not be prepared to invest in the NP3 process [http://www.robarguns.com/np3.htm], it is worth noting that Militec-1 [http://www.militec1.com/], which many might view as a gun oil, is actually marketed as a metal treatment that continues to provide a dry lubrication after the suspending liquied is evaporated or wiped away. Whether it would be sufficient to counter the aerosol application of an adhesive I do not know but it is the preferred lubricant for military firearms in Iraq, where there is usually a constant wind-borne deposition of extremely fine sand. Since Uncle Sam will not purchase this crucial product for our troops, Militec-1 provides it to them at no charge. As John says, "Recommended!") -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .