Fill Yer Hands

you son of a

10 Apr 2013
1 Comment

What Do Police Think Of Gun Control?

Here is an interesting poll from PoliceOne.com.

Virtually all respondents (95 percent) say that a federal ban on manufacture and sale of ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds would not reduce violent crime.

The majority of respondents — 71 percent — say a federal ban on the manufacture and sale of some semi-automatics would have no effect on reducing violent crime. However, more than 20 percent say any ban would actually have a negative effect on reducing violent crime.

The overwhelming majority (almost 90 percent) of officers believe that casualties would be decreased if armed citizens were present at the onset of an active-shooter incident.

An interesting read.

 

Posted in Self Defense
10 Apr 2013
1 Comment

Range Report

O’l Painless.

First Shot 2

On Saturday, I got up before the rest of the family and stole away to the WMA shooting range, to fire my new AR, Ol’ Painless.

It was a great morning, and I was at the range in about an hour. I joined a couple of pistol shooters, and a father and two sons who were shooting muzzle loaders.

I didn’t try to do anything very rigorous, but I did want to be observant. First, I set up my video on a tripod, and loaded a single round into Mag 01, and fired it off free handed. A still of the first shot is shown above.

I then loaded Mag 01 with 10 more rounds and fired them in 5 shot groups at the 50 yard target, resting the rifle on my range bag.

VID00004The resulting groups weren’t Olympic caliber, but they were okay to me, probably 3 inch groups.

First Target

The target has two 5 shot groups, plus the first shot. For the first group I held on the red center dot, and for the second I held a little below the top of the target.

My point wasn’t to produce an Appleseed group but to put rounds on target, which I did.

Subsequent targets turned out about the same. I also shot a 100 yard target and put all 30 rounds on the target, which was my goal.

Last, I shot a target standing, handheld, at 50 yards, including the last 10 rounds fired pretty much as fast as I felt comfortable shooting. I found 28 holes on that target, which makes Ol’ Painless a threat in my eyes.

In all I was very pleased with the trigger, and I soon got used to shooting from reset like I do with my Glocks. The single stage military trigger broke crisply, and I felt it was just what I need at this time.

Magazines were PMAGS and were perfect.

I shot a mix of brass GI ball ammo, and TULA steel cased ammo. I can’t honestly tell you anything about accuracy, except to say they both hit the target. It’s interesting to note that all the brass casings flew to one spot aft of me, while the steel cases all ended up about 5 feet in front of the brass.

The brass cases all ended up with a slightly dented flat spot on the case mouth, which was in line with a small indentation about half way down the case. I;m sure this is an artifact of the ejection process. I sure wish I had a high speed camera to see how they were being dented and dinged.

All in all it was a great range trip. I even got to shoot a box of 9mm, using some of my usual range drills.

Now, to save up for reloading equipment . . .

Posted in AR, Ol' Painless, Vera
09 Apr 2013
1 Comment

And The Winner Is

Ol’ Painless.

Predator-M134

The winning name for my new AR, as selected by readers, was submitted by Mike Basden, “in honor of Jesse Ventura’s mini-gun in Predator.”

The vote was close, I won’t kid you. Final voting was as follows:

  • Ol’ Painless – 5
  • Freedom – 4
  • Justice – 3
  • Eugene – 2
  • Vera – 2
  • Tanto – 2

Others, which got one each, were Steve Nash, Priscilla, Orcrist, Reason, and High Speed Low Drag Uber Delta.

Thanks to all who voted and who submitted names.

As promised, Mike will receive a signed eye patch.

Posted in Self Defense
05 Apr 2013
2 Comments

Operation Red Cell

Actual break-in evidence photo from the Queensland Police, Australia. The criminals used the owner's ladder to enter the upstairs.

Actual break-in evidence photo from the Queensland Police, Australia. The criminals used the owner’s ladder to enter the upstairs.

For those who don’t know, the original Red Cell was a project started by Richard Marcinko, founder of Seal Team Six. Basically, the Red Cell’s job was to attack US bases and test their preparation for terrorist attack. He found them wanting, and was court martialed for his efforts.

What I want us to do today is to use this concept against our own homes and businesses. Look at them through the eyes of a criminal. Where can I break in? Where am I vulnerable? Where can I improve?

Of course, we have to be brutally honest with ourselves if we are going to get benefit from this. After all, we would love to think everything is just fine. But the truth is there is room for improvement in everything.

Next, take a look at the situation record what you find. Be thorough. Photographs or sketches can be a great tool, as it will help you see if the changes you’ve made are sufficient.

Then, sit down and assess what you find. Here, you will need to make a judgment call on what level of security you are willing to accept.

Look for places where an intruder can hide from sight. Light them.

Look for doors or windows that can be easily defeated. Fix or replace them.

Finally, commit to a plan and make changes. You don’t have to do them all at once, just prioritize them and make the changes with the biggest return first. If money is no issue, maybe you do them all at once.

I recently did this, and I found some areas that I could improve. One thing to consider is whether you have things lying around that can be used to break in. I found I was just leaning my 24 foot ladder against the fence, where it could be used to access the upstairs. Now, it’s mounted on the fence, and secured by a steel cable bicycle lock.

Now, I have a plan, and I’ve made headway. I’m not done. Heck, I will never be done. But my home is better off today that when I started.

Posted in Planning, Safety, Self Defense

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