Words for a Rough Weekeend

Last night was a pretty tough night….the surgeon warned me I'd have some, but last night was special, I thought the drugs would never kick in, and I'd have to gnaw my leg off like a trapped coyote.

I found myself in the middle of the night taking deep breaths and reading assorted literary stuff. I came across this, and I though it was worth posting.

"There is no neutral ground in the universe; every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counter-claimed by Satan.”

 – C. S. Lewis

The good news for today is I found pieces of a Glock, thanks to my friends at Lipsey's, to build my ultimate carry G19 with SI parts. Am very excited! I also asked IWI to get me a 9mm X95 ASAP…you're going to see it in 2017 SHOOTING GALLERY!!!

What the Hell's Wrong with Petzal?

God, I get tired of this crap:

Range Day is the Monday prior to the Show’s opening when manufacturers demonstrate their wares. People like me are bussed out to handle the goodies. This year, Range Day sounded like the Battle of Dak To, or perhaps Fallujah, with the distinctive pop-pop-pop of full-auto fire, which was extremely popular amongst all the SEAL wannabes. Indeed, this was symbolic of the whole show, which has now become so heavily militarized that you have to look fairly hard for something designed to kill animals instead of people.

Maybe it's time Dave Petzal popped out his buttplug and quit whining about the 21st Century. One of my dream trips is taking a Colorado elk with my .458 SOCOM Wilson Combat AR, one of the finest rifles I own. At the same time, I had a long conversation with the owners of some of the finest classic riflemakers in the world about building me a classic bolt action hunting rifle in, say .300 Win Mag, God's own caliber.

THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE. Except in the mind of aging, atrophied gun writers who dreamed of becoming Elmer Keith and who, quite honestly, fell far short.

I love my pre-'64 Winchester 30-30 every much as I love my AAC .300 Blackout pistol. I routinely carry a .44 Special Vaquero single action on my ranch and a Glock 26 with an RMR when I "go to town." If you want to wear 5.11s and a tactical vest, so what? You want to wear jeans and a flannel shirt, I'm good with that, too.

I pull the trigger, and if you pull the trigger, I stand with you…pretty simple, huh?

And Dave, you might want to take note…guns are guns. Simple.

Podcast LATE!!!!!

...probably late Wednesday or early Thursday...just got home from hospital, and they doped me up for the long ride home...could do a podcast, but it would be...odd...probably focusing on the Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver and the implications of it's use by Custer at the Little Big Horn.

Besides, my music choice would be...terrifying!

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YES! SHOT Has Done Passed!

And we done survived again!

As usual, my time on the SHOT floor was limited to minutes, not hours. The list of people I wanted to see and didn't get to is long and varied…so first off, my apologies. The 2-hour DRTV Live Stream chewed up a huge part of each day. It did, however, go great…better than Marshal's and my best expectations!

Marshal is putting up each specific segment on DRTV, so check them out. There are a couple of "must watches" — Chris Cox from the NRA-ILA and I explaining Election 2016; the great Ivan Carter on his new series, CARTER'S WAR and the realities of hunting and conversation in Africa, the OUTDOOR WIRE's Jim Shepherd and I on current trends and future predictions, Gabe Suarez on the emerging threat and the implications for self defense, plus some pretty amazing products. I'll get you a complete list of links when I catch up with Marshal.

I'll be going through SHOT in detail over the next few weeks, but I wanted to take a moment to comment on National Review Online's petulant anti-Trump issue they spewed out just abut the time Trump was appearing at out Outdoor Sportsmen Awards. All these "real" conservatives, stamped their little feet, spat their binkies on the floor and whined dismally that Donald Trump isn't "Our Sort, Muffy."

These are the same ass-clowns who labored mightily and produced both John McCain and Mitt Romney as candidates, guaranteeing us instead 8 years of Barack Obama. McCain alone has done almost as much damage to America as Barack Obama. And Mitt Romney, supporter of antigun laws and socialized medicine but billed as a fighter, refused to fight. Mainstream Republicans could  have chosen better candidates from AMERICAN IDOL rejects. Or choosing at random from any average Friends of the NRA dinner.

The Boys in the Beltway wanted Chris Christie as their champion. I pointed out to them more than a year ago that Gov. Christie, as the governor of the most antigun state in the union and who himself originally ran on an anti-assault weapon platform, had as much chance of bringing out the gun vote as Michael Bloomberg, not to mention the fact that Christie's fawning embrace of BHo after Super Storm Sandy went a long way to guaranteeing BHo's re-election (and the poor storm victims BHo and Christie vowed to help never got jack-crap). Their response to me was, in essence, "Suck it up, buttercup. You'll support this jackass the same way you ultimately supported the other 2 jackasses we shoved down your throat in the last 2 election cycles."

Choice number 2, waiting in the wings, was Jeb Bush, who anyone with one eye and half a grain of sense knew had about as much chance as getting elected as Ice Cube. America — me in particular — is sick to death of political dynasties. We don't want another Bush, another Clinton, another Kennedy, another smug, overeducated rich bastard who thinks he or she knows whats best for us poor benighted  peons who wouldn't know a polo pony from a zebra.

It's no secret that my choice was Gov. Rick Perry who would have been a fine President and who had both the grace and the honor to step aside when it was obvious he couldn't win. I would prefer to see Ted Cruz as the nominee, but, and let me make this perfectly clear, as the Clown-In-Chief presently says, I WILL UNCONDITIONALLY SUPPORT DONALD TRUMP IF HE IS THE NOMINEE.

Today Glenn Beck, a man I respect, said he would vote for Bernie Sanders, an avowed socialist, before he would vote for Trump. Think about that. The Children's Crusade at NRO has done everything but announce they will be staying home on Election Day, stamping their tiny little feet and holding their breath, if Trump is nominated, because Trump is not a member of their cozy little club. Neither was Reagan until he was good and dead.

Here's my take, which you are free to take or leave. The mainstream Republicans and many of what we might call the "social issue conservatives" never actually gave a damn about the Second Amendment and certainly could care less about it today.. Come election time, they spout the necessary words to get the "crazy aunts and uncles in the closet" — that would be us — to the polls, but underneath the words is sheer contempt for our commitment to personal responsibility, our willingness to defend ourselves and those in our care and the very core concept of being armed every day without fail. After all, they live in places where neither they nor any of the other elites they know carry a gun every day, so the very process seems quaint, and distant, like Margaret Mead pondering adolescent Samoan women. Owwwwwwww, I went to the SHOT Show and saw the natives, and it was fun and a little scary…

I saw Donald Trump at SHOT…I didn't see any other Presidential contender (Rick Perry was there, BTW, but, of course, he is one of us).

I have read Donald Trump's statement on the Second Amendment, and I could have written it. I have heard his criticism of gun free zones and the fact that he has a CCW. Here's what I know that you guys don't. Yes, I've seen his earlier statements about assault weapons, etc. But at the NRA Show last year I talked to his son, Don Jr., who told me that yes, his father had views that Don Jr. and Erik didn't agree with. So the sons sat their father down and talked guns, the Second Amendment, the importance of sport hunting, etc. Trump has said repeatedly that his most trusted advisors are his children. It makes perfect sense to me that Don Jr. and Erik, committed hunters and shooters, had a profound effect on their father's views.

Don Jr. and Erik struck me as 2 guys I'd like to spend some time with around a campfire, sipping gin and tonics and talking about a day in the bush.

Is Trump a blowhard and a bully? Most certainly, but so was Teddy Roosevelt, whom we revere. And Trump is the only candidate to spit in the face of political correctness, the disease that is methodically destroying everything we hold dear and will, if not checked, be the death of this Republic.

I said this when I was talking with Chris Cox...this election, at least for us, comes down to a simple, single point — the masks are off. The Democrats, all the Democrats, have essentially called for door-to-door confiscation of firearms and the destruction of our industry and our culture and the destruction of the Second Amendment.

If you choose to stay home on election day…because the candidate isn't "pure" enough for you…because the candidate doesn't check off the carefully constructed boxes created by a bunch smug elitists inside the Beltway…because you just don't like the wave of his hair or the "cut of his jib"…YOU ARE VOTING FOR THE CONFISCATION YOUR GUNS AND THE END OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT.

Oka, that's about enough of a political rant for today.

What Have I Been Saying?

This from Gabe Suarez:

4) Finally, the reality of today shows that the adversary might be a Jihadist, or other terrorist, and not just the uneducated urban sloth seeking to take your watch at point of stolen pistol. At the time of this writing, ISIS is exhorting its followers around the world to carry the jihad to every western shore. As well, any cursory study of Active Shooter events around the nation reveals that in a great percentage, there are explosives on or near the terrorist, ready to be detonated when capture or defeat is at hand. 

Group all of those elements and the only valid conclusion and solution is to get really good at proactive head shots.

As always, read the whole thing. Gabe is controversial, but he has been out there in front of the changing threat analysis. I see more trainers coming around to the idea that the precision shot, maybe even the longer precision shot, may be a reality in today's changing world. And that has rippling implications through gear, strategy and training.

From Caleb at Gun Nuts Media:

It’s sort of like the zombie apocalypse joke: if you’re prepared to survive a plague of the undead sweeping across the land, a tornado is just an inconvenience. I’m not saying that everyone should immediately run out and take a carbine operator course, rather that people should take an honest look at the self-defense skills you have, identify weak areas, and then train to make those weaknesses go away. The mere act of carrying a gun for self-defense means that you acknowledge the possibility, however unlikely, that you may need to actually use that gun for self-defense. If you’re mentally capable of realizing that, it then follows that it’s in your best interests, and the interests of those around you, to be prepared for the most extreme situation in which you could use that gun. Because if you’re training to make 25 yard head shots on moving partials, you’re going to be able to make the easy shots.

I also strongly urge you to read this article in American Handgunner by Ralph Mroz. Not only is Ralph a good friend, but his writings and thoughts in our conversations have had a profound effect on my own thinking about self-defense and shooting. I would list him as one of my chief influences.

All of this has caused a change in my approach to training. I now place much more emphasis on traditional shooting technique at the traditional distances of five to ten yards. That’s good news for most people, because it’s the way they’ve probably been trained. However, I still believe very close-quarter shooting skills, which integrate empty-hands skills with the handgun, are necessary for a truly well-trained fighter. I also like the fact these very close-in shooting skills demand a true fighting attitude to practice. It’s all too easy, in your mind, to merely shoot, and not fight, at traditional distances.

Accuracy Counts Too 

I also subscribe to the notion expressed by most trainers as well as most top competitive shooters, the neglected skill of shooting for accuracy at 25 yards may in fact be necessary — think active shooter — and helps to build skill at closer distances.

I tend to go back to something Bill Rogers told me so many years ago. He was reflecting on his own profound change in training philosophies when he founded the Rogers Shooting School. Bill had been teaching high speed low drag stuff for a long time, but more and more he found himself focusing on the ability to hit a small target quickly at close in to mid distances. Thus the Rogers shooting system was born…I have said before the Roger Shooting School is the toughest shooting class I have ever taken, and I'll stand on that!

The threat is changing, and training needs to keep pace.

Absolutely the Best Article on Mob Violence I've Ever Read

From Marcus Wynne, who's been there, done that, and come back in one piece:

Random thoughts on principles:

• Don’t be there if at all possible. Avoid crowds, especially crowds of young men, and especially of young drunken men.

• If you’re in a crowd by choice, pay attention to your intuition and your feelings (the atmospherics or situational awareness) of the energy/mood of the crowd. When I was young and getting my first professional fighting chops as a doorman, I could literally feel the energy in the bar shift when things were about to go bad. Everyone feels it; and most can recall it after the fact if they survive. This presupposes, of course, that you are sober enough to notice.

• If you’re in a crowd by choice, have a partner or several friends. Don’t be alone and don’t allow yourself to be isolated in the crowd, especially as a woman surrounded by men. Look for other women or men who will stand with you or stand up for you and ask for help.

• If the crowd gets ugly, get out as fast as you can. The earlier you sense the change and the faster you move, the less likely you are to get caught up in it.

• If you become a target, keep moving. Move away, don’t stop and don’t let yourself be stopped.

• If you are grabbed, you must have previously made a decision about what to do and act instantly on it. A fast decisive attack may dissuade, distract, or delay others for you to get away…or it may incite even more violence. If you are fighting bare handed against a mob focused on beating and or raping you, it’s like fighting a tidal wave. Look at those videos above.

* The greatest challenge(s) are:

a. Knowing the spectrum of violence and recognizing when attention turns into the intention to harm you – the earlier you sense that the more effective any pre-emptive action (escape or preemptive strikes) will be.

b. Being violent enough early enough to stop the first key individuals moving on you to create space to escape.

c. Being able to ride out the panic of being overwhelmed by a crowd bent on hurting you, which is one of the most terrifying experiences any human can feel, and work a plan or improvise one. Which presupposes that you have a plan for such an event, which presupposes you’ve thought about it, and that you can improvise a different plan if your first one fails contact.

Definitely read the whole thing and watch the vids, especially the 60 Minutes piece with Lara Logan. That is "taharrush gamea," the rape game that probably originated in Egypt and spread across the Middle East, and you saw it played out all over Europe New Year's Eve, with the most virulent attacks in Cologne.

I was lucky enough in my impetuous youth to have been a "riot reporter," the journalist guy who got sent to major demonstrations that turned violent, riots, etc. I got gassed ( a lot), beaten, hauled off to jail once, only to be cut loose when I presented my media credentials. I got various and sundry lethal weapons pointed at my head. However, I say lucky because what I learned was invaluable -- how crowds became mobs, and mobs become raging animals. You can feel it, if you're paying attention! I learned about having a bail-out plan. I learned how to hide behind big heavy objects. Mostly, I learned to KEEP MY BUTT OUT OF CROWDS! It's a lesson I carry with me still. I don't go to grand openings and big public events. The idea of eating in a food court in a mall makes me cringe. If I have to be in a crowd, I wanna be on the edges, close to the exit/best escape route.

I suggest you follow a similar plan!

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A Giant Saturday Sigh...

The last couple of weeks have been totally occupied by 1) the minutiae of getting ready for the SHOT Show, 2) the minutiae of getting ready for knee replacement surgery on the Monday after SHOT, 3) working on finishing up the stems and seeds, as we say here in Colorado, of this season of SHOOTING GALLERY and, 4) getting the "bones" of a new project I can't announce yet in place before SHOT.

Plus, I wouldn't be me if I didn't self-inflict at least one wound.

First, here's the current hot SHOT Show "tease" making the rounds, from Kimber:

My guess is that it is an updated version of a 37mm Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon scaled down to 9mm and available in both FDE and Burnt Bronze, but I could be wrong. I guess I'll see Monday at Range Day. I'm very interested in my old friend Gary Ramey's "Honor Guard" 9mm single stack that came out of a conversation between me, Rob Pincus and Gary at an NRA Show a few years back. Ruger has a couple of surprises, including at least one I'm going to buy. And I will sift through an ocean of ARs. I am looking forward to shooting the Daniel Defense 7.62, however, especially since I shot my aging DDM4 in 3-Gun last year.

In addition to the Tactical Solutions signing (see previous post), we'll be doing a DRTV Live Stream from the main SHOT lobby (next to the big RAM Trucks display) Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 1-3PM with me hosting…a lot of the frenetic activity in the last couple of weeks has been lining up the ducks for the Live Stream. Ed Head will be joining me, along with the Solid Gold Dancers and a pony. My suggestion for bringing people onto the set in a conga line appears to have fallen by the wayside.

Thursday night will be the big Outdoor Sportsman Awards Powered by RAM gala. My shows are up for 8 awards this year, SHOOTING GALLERY, GUN STORIES WITH JOE MANTEGNA and THE BEST DEFENSE, last year's winner, all up for Best Shooting Show. SHOOTOUT LANE is up for Best New Series. I am personally nominated in the Non-Sporting Group, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to get smoked by the Bichon Frise bitch.

Everyone is also going to get their first look at AMERICAN MARKSMAN, our new national competition series that will culminate in a spectacular televised finale. I'm very excited about this…we already have a huge amount of work in it…Brian Tatum is doing yeoman's work on the hugely complex organization, with my pal Mark Passamaneck heading up the competition end. Tentative plans call for me, John Carter from SHOOTING GALLERY and Tim Cremin from GUN STORIES WITH JOE MANTEGNA to handle the television end of it. I'm also serving as a consultant as we work through the competition details. Our goal is to take shooting competition to the next level, and the Outdoor Sportsman Group — OUTDOOR CHANNEL, SPORTSMAN CHANNEL, the magazines and websites — has the juice to pull it off!

I feel pretty good about my knee getting through the Show. My meeting with the surgeon this week went really well…he was surprised and impressed with how much I've been able to build up the knee and said the replacement surgery should go smoothly, although he did note that he could replace either the right or the left, since they both sucked. Knee #2 get swapped out in November. My friend Sheryl Gallup, who reps Kahr Arms, said I should get one of those motorized carts with a really loud horn to get around the SHOT floor. I, of course, wanted a Segway done up all Road Warrior: Fury Road style, with two long rusty iron spikes sticking out front long enough so I could skewer those people pulling plastic boxes full of promotional materials in the calf, since I figured a sedan chair was out of the question.

I did actually get to shoot this week! While we were finished up SHOOTING GALLERY stuff, we wanted to do a little piece on AR pistols.  This prompted me to finally finish building up the .300 Blackout based on an old AAC upper. I mounted it on a DoubleStar pistol lower we actually built up on AMERICA'S RIFLE, added a Burris Fast Fire that I had on my desk and a Streamlight TLR-2 with a green laser. I brought both subsonic 220-gr Rem open-tip match and Gorilla 125-grainers at 2160fps. The little gun ran perfectly with both loads, despite the absence of a suppressor (in the works).

The pistol lower had an A2 buffer tune on it because we had one handy when we were building up the pistol. I just got a cheek weld on the tube and fired away. Loved it…heck of a car gun, especially with the 220s. Everyone who shot it loved it. Down the road, I may change lowers…I'ver been converting over my Spike's 9mm pistol to a lower that will run with Glock magazines (the bolt is out being machined for that as we speak), leaving me with a super Spike's pistol lower pinned for Colt 9mm mags with a great padded buffer tube, a super trigger and my name on it (it's also marked "multi-caliber."  I'm thinking of popping the pin, bringing it back to standard 5.56 config and trying it with the AAC upper.

Mix and match is fun to do; what Ken and Barbie wear is up to you...

MICHAEL BANE SIGNING AT SHOT — FREE TRAIL SAFES!!!!

C'mon...don't leave me there all alone!!!!!!!

Tactical Solutions
 Booth #20409

11AM-Noon

Thursday

Free autographed copies of TRAIL SAFE until supplies run out!!!

TRIGGER WARNING!!! SHOT 2016

Andy Langlois asked on FaceBook, quite reasonably, what we can expect at SHOT 2016. Here is my response:

I understand there will be many new AR handguards…some will be made out of spider silk spun with the wings of those slutty Eastern European fairies whose tiny little outfits are always slipping slipping slipping away….others will be made of bronze and feature air horns that play programable tunes that you can choose from your iPhone…finally, the full Martha Stewart Living color palette will be available to custom AR makers…there will be carbon fiber, advanced ceramics, cleaning kits with advanced lubrication fluids distilled from the still warm tears of Barack Obama, transexual guns, unisex bathrooms, 1911s made of depleted uranium with grips carved from house siding recovered from Chernobyl, new triggers for every firearm made in the last 50 years, and some will be available in red…there will be new eclectic guns from countries whose names we can't pronounce and whose location we can't readily ascertain…in keeping with their expansion plans, [REDACTED…I signed the NDA] will introduce a driverless car and a "[REDACTED] Signature" exclusive tonic water…there will be new camo patterns for lava fields, New Jersey and fans of Robert Frost's poetry…new calibers will be introduced that work twice as well as anything you presently own, cost twice as much and will feed from a 9mm magazine with sight tweaking from a mallet…flashlights so powerful that heads will actually explode when hit with the beam and that can double as a disco ball…My Little Pony body armor…it's going to be wonderful!

BTW, "Je Suis Charlie"

As always, I do this to honor my old friend Doug Marlette, the late, Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, who drew this cartoon and was shocked when a fatwa calling for his death was declared by Islamic fanatics and his cowardly liberal "friends" deserted him in droves.

You were never afraid, brother, whether you were lampooning the Florida State University administration or the monsters who would shape our future. Rest easy, knowing that we carry on the fight…

"The weepy passive candlelight vigils - the maudlin faux tears and the Smug Moral Preening overdose - aren't enough. If you don't want to put out the fire, it will burn your world to the ground."

— Mark Steyn

Special DOWN RANGE Radio Ep on Friday AM!

I will be doing a special DOWN RANGE Radio podcast on BHo's Executive Orders that should be available Friday AM. Sorry it's taken so long!

HAPPY NEW YEAR…and CT Makes It a Little Happier!

LOL!

The big gun news you're going to be reading about next week when all the usual suspects manage to clear their heads after the New Year's libations will be Crimson Trace's revolutionary wireless light/laser platform for the AR. The LiNQ system is a way of porting the "instinctive activation" found in Crimson Trace LaserGrips to ARs through an innovative wireless link between the pistol grip and the forward mounted light/laser.

From the presser:

The LiNQ’s (LNQ-100) leading feature is a replaceable AR/MSR style compatible pistol grip that houses the system’s control panel and operating battery. That grip communicates with the rail-mounted, or remotely located, module without the use of wires or difficult-to-find sensor pads. This industry-first innovation follows other ground-breaking products manufactured and released across the past two decades by Wilsonville, Oregon based Crimson Trace.

When the LiNQ module and grip are actively communicating—and linked—via a secure Crimson Trace developed interfacing wireless network, a solid green light on the grip’s side panel constantly illuminates. If the grip is searching for the partner light/laser module, the user will see a flashing green light. If the control grip has lost connectivity with the laser/light module, there will be a constant red light on the grip’s side panel. These indicators are easy to see, and the operation buttons are easy to feel. The grip is designed for easy operation without having to stop and look downward.

The output light/laser module is similar to Crimson Trace’s popular Rail Master Pro units. Adding to the innovation features are an activation button located on the back of the remote module that permits use of the laser and lights without the control grip installed on the firearm—or located within communication range. This laser/light module provides these operation options: 

*Light and laser together
*Laser only (red and green laser models will be available)
*Light only (the innovative LED light has a 300-lumen output)
*Laser and strobe/pulsing light

I went to CT's Wilsonville, OR's offices in mid-December to work with the prototype units, and it is an extremely impressive set-up. Finally, an end to lost pressure switches, torn wires or awkward switches!

We filmed extensively for SHOOTING GALLERY, and you'll see it this season.

LiNQ works exactly as billed, with no training transition for shooters used to LaserGrips or the other CT "instinctive activation" laser or white light modules. One of the things I found on the range with the LiNQ on a superb JR Rifles GMR-13 9mm (with both CT and JP logos…cool) was the ability to use the AR more easily in "broken" or awkward positions, because you don't have to use your off-side hand to turn on/off the light or laser. 

I'll be writing more and, of course, you'll see the comprehensive report in a few weeks on SG. Here's some more from the presser:

The control grip and modules have been rigorously laboratory- and field-tested for possible interruptions and communication challenges. The LiNQ system easily and quickly fits onto nearly any standard AR/MSR platform rifle commercially sold today. The operating grip attachment process requires removing the old long gun grip, installing the new Crimson Trace LiNQ grip in its place, and then inserting the securing screw. It’s that simple. All necessary wrenches are provided. The units have also passed numerous drop, dust and moisture tests. 

The forward light/laser module will attach securely to standard M-1913 Picatinny Rails and Weaver style rails. This unit can also be activated and operated with the easy-to-operate Crimson Trace Instant Activation button.

I'm going to call this a must-have AR accessory, and the house AR will have one as soon as they become available (probably mid-year). Here's the really amazing thing…$549 MSRP.