Thursday : June 25 : 2009
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Fitting virtually all Mossberg, Remington and Winchester shotguns, the unit easily inserts into the breech and locks in place with the easy-to-use key-lock system, making the firearm inoperable and virtually impossible to pry with hand tools.
On July 4, 2009 The Firearms Coalition will celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of its founding with the release of Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War. The book is a compilation of columns, articles and essays by The Firearms Coalition's late founder Neal Knox.
End of Watch
We have a pair of stories that have come to us during the past week.
In the first, an assistant chief of police in a three-officer department in Arkansas was shot to death during a car stop - only a few weeks before his planned retirement. This was reported through the Conway AR Log Cabin Democrat newspaper.
Plumerville Assistant Police Chief Joey Cannon stopped Shane Lonix and a passenger last Friday morning. He didn't know that Lonix was wanted for probation revocation on a felony check charge, that he was driving a stolen pickup truck and that there was a stolen High Standard .22 revolver that had been stolen from a residence inside the truck. Cannon stopped the vehicle for erratic driving, had run the tag and gotten a hit in NCIC. He and a partner approached and Cannon was shot. He returned fire.
The suspect was later taken into custody and allegedly admitted to the shooting and the auto theft.
The Houston Chronicle reported that an undercover Houston TX police officer was killed in a shooting that occurred after 9PM, Tuesday June 23. The officer, 42 year old Henry Canales, a member of service since 1993, was part of a unit investigating sales of stolen televisions when he was shot to death.
Another officer returned fire, resulting in the death of a suspect. Officer Canales had worked patrol before transferring to auto theft. He leaves behind a wife and two teenage children.
RIP Chief Cannon and Officer Canales.
In the first, an assistant chief of police in a three-officer department in Arkansas was shot to death during a car stop - only a few weeks before his planned retirement. This was reported through the Conway AR Log Cabin Democrat newspaper.
Plumerville Assistant Police Chief Joey Cannon stopped Shane Lonix and a passenger last Friday morning. He didn't know that Lonix was wanted for probation revocation on a felony check charge, that he was driving a stolen pickup truck and that there was a stolen High Standard .22 revolver that had been stolen from a residence inside the truck. Cannon stopped the vehicle for erratic driving, had run the tag and gotten a hit in NCIC. He and a partner approached and Cannon was shot. He returned fire.
The suspect was later taken into custody and allegedly admitted to the shooting and the auto theft.
The Houston Chronicle reported that an undercover Houston TX police officer was killed in a shooting that occurred after 9PM, Tuesday June 23. The officer, 42 year old Henry Canales, a member of service since 1993, was part of a unit investigating sales of stolen televisions when he was shot to death.
Another officer returned fire, resulting in the death of a suspect. Officer Canales had worked patrol before transferring to auto theft. He leaves behind a wife and two teenage children.
RIP Chief Cannon and Officer Canales.
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Unless of course the shooter in question is captain of the Glock shooting team, Dave Sevigny.
BLACKHAWK! Products Group announces its first Master Distributor agreement in the outdoor and shooting sports market with AcuSport of Bellefontaine, Ohio.
Sportsman Channel announced today the launch of an exclusive new series-Tactical Arms-to debut Tuesday, June 30, as part of more than 65 original series episodes being supplied to the network by parent company InterMedia Outdoors (IMO). Tactical Arms, which offers a unique exploration of modern weapons, from machine guns to battle rifles to combat pistols, will have its primary airing on Thursday nights at 9:30 pm ET during the network's "Thursday Night Shooting" lineup presented by Midway USA. Each episode is devoted exclusively to one tactical firearm platform, and the expert hosts reveal each gun's true anatomy and performance DNA.
Editor's Notebook: Old and Slow
By Rich Grassi
I find, as I age, that minor aches and pains are order of the day. What with this or that medical issue - all happily minor - carrying as I used to just hasn't been happening.
During the time of minor infirmity, I found myself carrying only one handgun, a light one at that. Bad move. Guns quit working for one reason or another and they demand to be fed at the worst possible time - like during a fight. Knowing I had to carry another gun, I pulled a small white box out of the safe and got the Kel Tec PF9.
A single stack, trigger-cocking pistol, the PF9 is the "large" Kel Tec. This means it's diminutive. The box magazine holds seven rounds of 9x19mm (9mm Parabellum), a decent cartridge in a number of loadings. The gun weighs in at around 18 ounces or so loaded and it's only about an inch thick.
Not bad for a 9mm.
The gun is never cocked unless the trigger is being pulled. Some people call that "double action only." It's okay with me if you call it that. The trigger isn't a target trigger but this is a self defense gun. If you need it, the adrenalin will help you pull the trigger.
The polymer grip frame is grooved front and back and has a pattern or raised rectangles separated by deep valleys. It makes for a positive grip on the gun. The PF9 is a "hood locker;" it's a locked breech design that locks at the barrel hood and ejection port. This means that any of us can rack the slide - something difficult with a straight blowback design that would have to be more heavily sprung. There is an accessory rail up front if you want to hang stuff on the little gun. I didn't.
This gun has been around a while, having come in for T&E and staying for an extended test. It's been 100% reliable thus far. It hasn't been shot as much as a gun meant for competition nor have I attended any shooting schools with it. It and I have qualified and it's been around for some knock about shooting. I don't run +P ammo in the little gun as a rule. I know that it will shoot +P but the laws of physics have yet to be repealed and I think nothing good would come from it. The load in it right now is the Hornady 124 grain XTP. It's accurate and reliable.
Such a flyweight gun can be carried in deep cover, something handy this time of year. I've been carrying it as first up ahead of the S&W M&P340 - which is my everywhere-all-the-time gun. As the M&P was pocket borne, the PF9 resided in my waistband inside the Tucker Gunleather "Cover Up" IWB. The two guns have seen me through my feeble times and now I can carry something bigger that holds more ammo. But the PF9 and Tucker holster are close by if needed.
Like all of William T. Tucker's IWB holsters, the Cover Up can serve as a "tuckable" - a holster that fits inside gun and shirt for cover-garment-free concealment. I found myself carrying the PF9 in the Tucker Cover Up every day along with the M&P340 in a Safariland pocket holster.
I found the Cover Up and the PF9 to be great deep concealment wear. The Cover Up was my introduction to Tucker Gunleather. Based on my experience with it, I think you should take a look if you are up for a new concealment holster. His field holsters and Kydex look good too.
To find out more about the PF9, check Kel Tec at www.kel-tec-cnc.com/. To see more of Tucker's Gunleather, see http://rlcompanyusa.stores.yahoo.net/index.html.
I find, as I age, that minor aches and pains are order of the day. What with this or that medical issue - all happily minor - carrying as I used to just hasn't been happening.
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A single stack, trigger-cocking pistol, the PF9 is the "large" Kel Tec. This means it's diminutive. The box magazine holds seven rounds of 9x19mm (9mm Parabellum), a decent cartridge in a number of loadings. The gun weighs in at around 18 ounces or so loaded and it's only about an inch thick.
Not bad for a 9mm.
The gun is never cocked unless the trigger is being pulled. Some people call that "double action only." It's okay with me if you call it that. The trigger isn't a target trigger but this is a self defense gun. If you need it, the adrenalin will help you pull the trigger.
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This gun has been around a while, having come in for T&E and staying for an extended test. It's been 100% reliable thus far. It hasn't been shot as much as a gun meant for competition nor have I attended any shooting schools with it. It and I have qualified and it's been around for some knock about shooting. I don't run +P ammo in the little gun as a rule. I know that it will shoot +P but the laws of physics have yet to be repealed and I think nothing good would come from it. The load in it right now is the Hornady 124 grain XTP. It's accurate and reliable.
Such a flyweight gun can be carried in deep cover, something handy this time of year. I've been carrying it as first up ahead of the S&W M&P340 - which is my everywhere-all-the-time gun. As the M&P was pocket borne, the PF9 resided in my waistband inside the Tucker Gunleather "Cover Up" IWB. The two guns have seen me through my feeble times and now I can carry something bigger that holds more ammo. But the PF9 and Tucker holster are close by if needed.
Like all of William T. Tucker's IWB holsters, the Cover Up can serve as a "tuckable" - a holster that fits inside gun and shirt for cover-garment-free concealment. I found myself carrying the PF9 in the Tucker Cover Up every day along with the M&P340 in a Safariland pocket holster.
I found the Cover Up and the PF9 to be great deep concealment wear. The Cover Up was my introduction to Tucker Gunleather. Based on my experience with it, I think you should take a look if you are up for a new concealment holster. His field holsters and Kydex look good too.
To find out more about the PF9, check Kel Tec at www.kel-tec-cnc.com/. To see more of Tucker's Gunleather, see http://rlcompanyusa.stores.yahoo.net/index.html.
Skill Set: Close Combat Rules of Life
As Tiger wasn't available to provide today's "Skill Set" column, Editor Rich Grassi steps in with some "rules of life" for close combat.
The controversy over "point shooting versus aimed fire" has consumed many pages and made publishers a little pocket change. There was at times a great deal of heat generated with little light.
Usually, we don't accept rules in a fight. The job is to win. But to win in close combat, there are some rules. Understanding them lets us make our own decisions as to where on the continuum between pointing and precision we should be.
Rule #1: Bullets don't work!
At the risk of alienating ammo manufacturers, the fact remains that even if we do make hits, the fight may not be over. It often isn't. I first heard it put that way by ace gunfight trainer Gene Zink when he was with HK's International Training Division. His statement was confirmed by Jim Cirillo who, for part of his career, had to shoot people for a living. He'd seen them shot with about everything. Relying on a few hits to put an assailant out is akin to buying a lottery ticket: you might get lucky, but probably not.
Rule #2: The offender has the upper hand.
He knows (1) if he's going to fight, (2) if so, when he's going to fight, (3) what he's going to fight with, (4) and his avenue of escape.
They often control the distance of the encounter and have the element of surprise. Of what import is this rule? Read on:
Rule #3: FBI "Law Enforcement Officers Killed" summaries do not mean that we waste time learning to shoot at distance.
Look at the data: we lose the overwhelming number of officers up close. There is no time to see the threat let alone counteract it. Besides if we're close they can't miss! When we're "in the hole," the fight is over before we know there is a fight.
Rule #4: Guns are "remote control" weapons.
Superb police trainer Vince O'Neill noted that guns are pretty crappy tools up close. Sure, it's easier to hit but it's easier to be hit too. Getting the gun out when you are belly-to-belly is an invitation to a gun grab. Don't be there. If you have to close with someone, (a) have a plan before you go and (b) work the plan quickly and efficiently. Set your opponent up for handcuffing before you approach using voice directions. If he's reluctant to be handcuffed, ask yourself "why?" And don't go.
Rule #5: Up close, guns can be more trouble than they are worth. Keep it locked in as you approach. Know that, if you have time at all, you'll only have time to use the tools that are already deployed - your hands. A trainer once proposed that we know how to clear (the oncoming threat), adjust (to the line of the assault) and trace (the assault path and implement). This lets you use your hands to sweep, trap and control the weapon.
Assume it's going to be a fight and look for it. Spar and grapple with training partners. Learn to look and see instead of to "look without seeing."
Rule #6: In the words of another police trainer, know that you can get injured and accept it. You don't have to accept defeat but accept that winning entails a price. Clive Shepherd, Royal Marine and gunfight trainer, put it this way: "Just get on with it and get the damn job done!"
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Usually, we don't accept rules in a fight. The job is to win. But to win in close combat, there are some rules. Understanding them lets us make our own decisions as to where on the continuum between pointing and precision we should be.
Rule #1: Bullets don't work!
At the risk of alienating ammo manufacturers, the fact remains that even if we do make hits, the fight may not be over. It often isn't. I first heard it put that way by ace gunfight trainer Gene Zink when he was with HK's International Training Division. His statement was confirmed by Jim Cirillo who, for part of his career, had to shoot people for a living. He'd seen them shot with about everything. Relying on a few hits to put an assailant out is akin to buying a lottery ticket: you might get lucky, but probably not.
Rule #2: The offender has the upper hand.
He knows (1) if he's going to fight, (2) if so, when he's going to fight, (3) what he's going to fight with, (4) and his avenue of escape.
They often control the distance of the encounter and have the element of surprise. Of what import is this rule? Read on:
Rule #3: FBI "Law Enforcement Officers Killed" summaries do not mean that we waste time learning to shoot at distance.
Look at the data: we lose the overwhelming number of officers up close. There is no time to see the threat let alone counteract it. Besides if we're close they can't miss! When we're "in the hole," the fight is over before we know there is a fight.
Rule #4: Guns are "remote control" weapons.
Superb police trainer Vince O'Neill noted that guns are pretty crappy tools up close. Sure, it's easier to hit but it's easier to be hit too. Getting the gun out when you are belly-to-belly is an invitation to a gun grab. Don't be there. If you have to close with someone, (a) have a plan before you go and (b) work the plan quickly and efficiently. Set your opponent up for handcuffing before you approach using voice directions. If he's reluctant to be handcuffed, ask yourself "why?" And don't go.
Rule #5: Up close, guns can be more trouble than they are worth. Keep it locked in as you approach. Know that, if you have time at all, you'll only have time to use the tools that are already deployed - your hands. A trainer once proposed that we know how to clear (the oncoming threat), adjust (to the line of the assault) and trace (the assault path and implement). This lets you use your hands to sweep, trap and control the weapon.
Assume it's going to be a fight and look for it. Spar and grapple with training partners. Learn to look and see instead of to "look without seeing."
Rule #6: In the words of another police trainer, know that you can get injured and accept it. You don't have to accept defeat but accept that winning entails a price. Clive Shepherd, Royal Marine and gunfight trainer, put it this way: "Just get on with it and get the damn job done!"
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