Category: Safety

Joining the Club

On By Tom LindsayIn DQ, Range Officer, Safety, USPSA

I’ve heard it said that there are two classes of competitive shooters – those who have been disqualified, and those who will be disqualified at some point in there shooting career.

I am somewhat embarrassed to report that on Saturday, I moved from the latter group to the former, and joined the DQ Club.

The good news – no one was hurt and I was not in danger of hurting anyone. As a matter of record, as I was moving from point 4 to point 5, I “broke the 180” while moving laterally, and no one was in the area where I pointed my gun.

As God’s sense of humor would have it, it was on my last stage of the day, as I was moving to shoot the last 3 targets. And I was the next to last shooter in my group, so rather than pack up, as is the tradition, I helped break down and all, before going home.

Now, in retrospect, I see what happened. In my planning, I was going to shoot from spot 4, some feet back from there the number is, where I actually shot. Had I gone east-west from 3, shot the two targets and moved to 5, all would be good. But I moved up to make the shots on the other targets closer, and then I didn’t keep my gun pointed down range as I moved to 5.

All in all I am pleased to report my fellow competitors were very consoling, and shared their first DQs with me. One shooter, who I have been competing with since 2002 when I moved back to the Atlanta area, did a ND after falling. He said he’s had 5 more DQs since, no one hurt, and no two the same.

Lesson learned. Now, let’s keep this the only one.

Note, if you want to share your DQ stories with me, you can comment, or email me at FillYerHands at Gmail, and I will sterilize them if you wish, and share at some time in the future.

Rule 5-3/4 – Don’t Put Your Gun in the Oven

On By Tom LindsayIn Just For Fun, Safety, Sarcasm

Well.

Apparently someone put a gun in the oven, and it went off.

So this leads to

So we have. . . .

Rule 0. Eyes and Ears – Always wear eye protection, and hearing protection where warranted.

Rule 1. All guns are always loaded

Rule 2. Never point your gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.

Rule 3. Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.

Rule 4. Know your target and what’s beyond it.

Rule 5. Never try to catch a dropped gun.

Rule 5-3/4.  Don’t put your gun in the oven.

 

EDC as a Lifestyle

On By Tom LindsayIn Be Prepared, Concealed Carry, Flashlights, Knife, Planning, Safety

I was reviewing my blog, and as it turns out, in the years I’ve been writing this, I’ve never done a post on my everyday carry. This seems strange to me, since most of it hasn’t changed in a long time.

To start with, I’ve carried a pocket knife for as long as I can remember. Starting in about the 7th grade, I carried a Boy Scout version Swiss Army knife, up until about the time I graduated from high school. Yes, in those days we could carry a knife with no comment from anyone at school. I even had a teacher borrow mine once or twice.

I changed knives in college, and then went back to the Swiss Army knife you see above, in 1992.

I added the Leatherman tool a few years ago after I received it as a gift. I particularly like it because it’s got tools I can use, like pliers and a file. But the thing I like best is that it doesn’t have a blade, so the TSA lets me take it on an airplane, and so when I travel without checking bags, I’ve got something, at least.

In the same vein, I’ve carried a flashlight for my whole career. As a chemical engineer, there are many times every day when I needed to be able to see something in a shadow or in the dark, and I started carrying an explosion proof flashlight. I still do, only this one is 200 lumens, and uses AA batteries. I keep about 6 rechargeable batteries in rotation, and when the last charged set of 2 go in, the other 4 go in the charger overnight. When I travel, I always carry a spare set of batteries, and I keep a set of 4 in the Get Home Bag.

Next is my wallet. All I carry in there is my various ID – driver’s license, Weapons Carry License, insurance cards, and the like – and my credit cards, and a few business cards. I haven’t carried cash in my wallet since I was in college, and when I do I carry it in a different pocket than the wallet. This has to do with avoiding pickpockets.

In fact, I always carry these things in certain pockets, for a reason. Here’s where:

Right front: cell phone, knives, car keys, cash, and a pen.

Left front: wallet, flashlight.

Left rear: a handkerchief.

Note I don’t carry my wallet in a back pocket, so I can avoid pickpockets. I also carry my wallet on the left side, so if I’m asked by a policeman for my ID, I’m not reaching on the same as my pistol.

I also carry my flashlight in my left pocket, so I can draw it and go to a Harries or other flashlight hold.

On a similar note, in my car I keep my insurance card and registration in a folder on the back of the driver’s side sun visor, since I can’t promise that I haven’t just been to the post office, which would mean my pistol is in the glove box. Again, no sense drawing attention to anything I don’t have to.

Now we get to the most recent addition – a pistol. In the summer I carry Liberty, my G19, IWB at 3 o’clock.

In the winter I mostly carry Bruce, my G17, on my belt OWB at 3 o’clock, with an open shirt or jacket or fleece vest over it.

Year round I carry a G17 magazine with a plus-2 extender on my left side at 3 o’clock.

So there you have it. Nothing that isn’t part of my life, for quite a while.

Having said that . . .

I will likely add a medical pack in the near future, now that Linoge has shown how to put it all in a cell phone case. Stay tuned.

Gun Free Victim Zones Win Again in Sydney

On By Tom LindsayIn Gun Free Zones, RKBA, Safety2 Comments

Sydney

The recent siege of a cafe in Sydney, Australia, just underscored once again the failure of Gun Free Victim Zones.

And, once again, we are faced by the anti-gun faction who bemoan another gun-related crime, and claim that the presence of an armed person in the cafe would have done nothing to stop this, as a gunfight would have been worse.

I agree. A gunfight might have led to more deaths.

But remember, it’s not the possible gunfight that is the argument for carry of arms by law abiding persons; it is the uncertainty that it puts in the mind of the potential criminal. When he knows that someone in the target zone may be armed, he is likely to move on to another target.

Of course, we cannot measure this directly, except to note that the assailant in the theater shootings in Aurora, Colorado, intentionally passed by other theaters that allowed guns, before arriving at his final target.

So consider that when choosing which businesses to visit. I avoid those that don’t allow guns, not for political reasons, but because I am not longer protected by the real value of an armed public – uncertainty in the eyes of the criminals.