I… wow…

By | June 7, 2017
3 Comments

So, one of my seriously left leaning friends that is anti-gun posted the following picture with the comment “Not what I like to see at work……”

Me, being the smartass that I am, commented “The fact that both the definition for rifle and shotgun are wrong?”

To which she replied:

“Well, I wouldn’t know, I just see guns like that and all I can think is, “how many children could that gun kill before the police could arrive?” I just want there to be fewer of them around people who don’t play well with guns.”

So… apparently, she gets upset merely seeing pictures of guns on a page in the more sterile environment possible.

I knew that this level of hoplophobia existed, it’s just jarring to actually see it in action.

Well… that went differently than expected

By | May 29, 2017
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Dennis at Dragon Leatherworks hosted the Second Annual East Tennessee Blogger Shoot this past weekend.  I’ll try to do a proper write-up of it soon, but I wanted to make sure to mention a couple things.

I actually went with the desire to shoot a little .32acp derringer and a Ruger LCR in .357mag.  Both of which I knew were going to be there.

My desire was to fire them and get the desire to buy them out of my system.  “The more you know about guns, the less you want a derringer,” and “no, you really don’t want a .357 snubby, just get the .38 and save some money” are statements I’ve heard many, many times.

Actually firing them has not done this.

Shooting the derringer just made me giggle and have a desire to keep feeding it.

The LCR with full power .357mag?  “I cast FIREBALL!”

I probably need help.

Whoop-de-freakin-do

By | May 17, 2017
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So, apparently, everyone is talking about TN’s governor signing a bill into law that would make silencers legal here.

You’d think I’d be excited over this, but… meh.

The thing is that silencers were already legal here.

The previous state law stated that silencers were illegal, unless you were in compliance with the NFA.  Yes, it was an affirmative defense instead of “yup, it’s legal,” so, in theory, a cop could arrest you for owning a silencer, book you, and then you get to show a judge the paperwork, and he then lets you free.  To the best of my knowledge, this has never happened.  Pretty sure that just about all interactions have basically been “you got paperwork for that?” “Yup, right here!” “cool, thanks.”

The only positive I see is that, if the Fed actually passes the Hearing Protection Act, there will be no ambiguity over how TN would handle possession of silencers.  Of course, that’s a bill that hasn’t actually seen movement in the Senate since before Trump actually took office…

By the way, some news reports have stated that machine guns and short barreled rifles are illegal here.  Same thing applies to them.  If you have proof that you have your tax stamp, you’re cool.

Elio’s having problems. This is my shocked face.

By | May 4, 2017
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Recently, I read that Elio was saying that it needed more money to make some prototypes, do testing, and actually start producing their nifty little car.

A lot more money.

Somewhere around the lines of $376 million.

For those of you that haven’t heard of Elio, they’re a company that was created in 2009 to produce a reverse trike car with a 55hp engine that should be able to reach a top speed of “over 100mph,” and a fuel efficiency of 84mpg highway (according to their site).  Currently, the base price is $7450.  They started taking pre-orders in 2013, with projected production in 2014… and then 2015… or was that 2016?  Maybe 2017… nope, 2018, and this time we mean it!

Oh, and the Louisiana parish that has helped secure them an old GM plant to produce these things is now starting to ask some very pointed questions.  Apparently, this company has been holding onto this plant for 3 years, and, after promising to add 1500 jobs to the area, there are currently 28 on the payroll.

I might have written this off as another start-up company that simply bit off more than it could chew, except it’s remarkably similar to another company in the 1970’s.  That company was the 20th Century Motor Company and the Dale.

If you’re not familiar with the Dale, Jalopnik has done a wonderful job of chronicling it here, as has Car & Driver here.  The quick description is that 20th Century Motor Company was setup to produce the Dale, which was supposed to be a reverse trike car that had a 40hp engine.  It would reach 85mph, see 70mpg, and cost $2k (a bit over $9k in today’s money).  The media at the time lapped it up, and even the Price is Right had it as a possible prize.

Of course, the entire thing was a scam.  The vehicle that was pushed onto the display floor on the Price is Right wasn’t a functioning vehicle, and it was discovered that the prototype that they used in many of their promos didn’t have a steering wheel, or a gas peddle, and the engine was actually from a lawn mower and wasn’t hooked up to the transmission.

The owner of the company fled with the money she had stolen from the company, and was eventually caught years later.  Oh, I think I forgot to mention that she was actually using a false name at the time, and was wanted on several money laundry charges.  It really is a fascinating story.

So… let’s check off similarities between the Elio and the Dale:

Both are three wheel cars in a trike configuration

Both claim to be able to squeeze great performance out of small engines (“>100mph”/85mpg/55hp vs 85mph/70mpg/40hp)

They’re not far from the same price, adjusted for inflation (starting at $7450 vs $9k)

Both started business during a gas crisis.  The Dale had the 70’s gas crises, and Elio was started when $4/gallon prices were not unusual.

Both set production deadlines that they weren’t able to meet.  The Dale saw many “delays,” and Elio has consistently pushed their production time back since 2014.

Both have taken in millions in both investment money and pre-orders with no working vehicles produced.  Yes, there are YouTube vids of people driving Elios, but you’ll notice that they all state that that prototype doesn’t have the engine that will be in the production vehicle.

Both are claiming to use parts from vehicles from other manufactures, but aren’t actually connected to those manufacturers (as far as I know).

I’m not saying that the Elio is absolutely a scam, and they will never produce anything, but that’s the way I’m leaning until they actually come out with something.

Quick observation of NRAAM 2017

By | May 2, 2017
2 Comments

The theme to NRAAM this year was definitely “Suppress All the Things!”

When Ruger is showing off an integrated suppressor barrel, and half of the stuff Brownell’s has displayed has cans on them, you know that the industry is banking on the Hearing Protection Act passing.

I hope they’re right.

Why I Don’t Carry a Dedicated Defense Knife

By | April 5, 2017
3 Comments

I think we’ve all seen or heard people advise folks that you should always carry a defensive knife that’s razor sharp and never use it as your EDC knife for opening boxes, etc.  I just don’t buy it.

First off, there’s a simple issue of carrying one more thing.  I already carry my gun, keys, phone, and multi-tool on my belt.  Add to that all the crap I carry in my pockets, and I really don’t have much space for another knife.  Of course, this is personal preference, and I’m currently carrying 5 knives between the lock blades, multi-tools, etc that I normally carry.

The major argument for a dedicated defensive knife is that you need to keep it as sharp as possible.  First off, this suggests that it’s ok to let your EDC knife become dull.  It’s easy enough to keep your EDC knife sharp.  Most of the time, all it really needs is an occasional session with a leather strop to stay damn sharp.

There’s also the fact a knife just doesn’t need to be that sharp to cut you.  Sure, a razor sharp knife is easier to cut flesh, but humans have been chopping each other up for millennia.  It was fairly common for soldiers to use whatever rock they found to vaguely sharpen their weapons back in the sword and shield days.  And that was with iron and steel, much less bronze or chipped stone.

Heck, I’ve seen folks argue that it’s actually better to use a duller knife as a weapon.  If you’ve ever been cut with a really sharp knife, you may remember never feeling the cut.  The idea is that a duller knife with tear at the skin more and make your attacker really feel it.  I know some folks that advocate the use of a serrated knife for this reason over a straight edge.

My last big thing is that you should know your knife.  One thing that’s hammered into your head in any martial art is that your weapon should be an extension of you.  It would make sense that the knife that you use every day for common tasks would become that way.  This isn’t necessarily true with a dedicated defensive knife.  Especially if the blade profile is significantly different for that EDC.  Something like a karambit requires serious training to become proficient in for that reason.

Am I saying that you shouldn’t carry a dedicated defensive blade and you’re stupid if you do?  No.  What I am saying is that, if you do, you might want to re-evaluate why you’re carrying it.  Maybe you’ll decide that you really don’t need to.  If you do decide to continue to do so, find someplace to get training.

Repairs and thoughts on an AlienGear holster

By | April 3, 2017
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For the past couple years, my go to IWB holster has been an AlienGear CloakTuck 2.0 holster.  It’s a rather affordable hybrid holster that has a plastic shell attached to more flexible backing.  The most common material used for this kind of backing is leather (and that is what the original AlienGear holster uses), but AlienGear decided that it could make a more comfortable holster by using multiple materials.

The 2.0’s backing actually uses 3 different materials.  The gun rests against a thin leather layer, which lays on top of a sheet of plastic for rigidity, and then a layer of neoprene against your body.  These three layers are sewn together, with nuts embedded in the backing to mount the shell and belt clips.

This backing worked fairly well, until the plastic broke.  By the nature of the holster, there are two flex points on the holster, and the plastic appears to have cracked on those lines.  You can clearly see the crease on the left side at the logo in the picture below.  There is a similar crease on the right side.

As I found out the hard way, the leather and neoprene layers are strong enough that the holster still functioned.  Honestly, if it wasn’t for some close inspection of the holster after noticing a considerable amount of flopping while attached to pants I wasn’t currently wearing, I’m not sure when I would have noticed.  The cracks did not affect the retention of the pistol, but I was concerned about the long term strength of the holster after those two cracks appeared.

Remembering that AlienGear has a lifetime warranty, I contacted them about my options.  They quickly informed me that they would replace the backing with another 2.0 backing for free, or, for $12, they would send me a 3.0 backing.  Given that I had already experienced this issue with the 2.0 holster, and they no longer make that holster, I decided to go with the newer design.  They informed me that they should be able to shipped the backing in two or three days.  I actually received notification that the backing had been shipped later that day.

Fast forward a couple days, and the new backing plus extra hardware arrived in the mail.  As you can see, they’ve made a few modifications with the new version.

Forgive the cat hair. That stuff gets everywhere.

They have replaced the leather layer with a rubber material.  They also chose to go with removable propeller nuts to mount the belt clips.  The rubber may be more durable, but I’m not sure.  I do like the change in the mounting hardware, as random posts sticking up and not being used annoys me.

Oh, they also changed the backing where the neoprene covers the permanently fixed hardware.  My 2.0 backing did show some rust where it was exposed to my sweat.  I know that some folks have complained about this.

rust on the old 2.0 backing

The new backing did come with all new hardware, but all the old hardware can be used on the new backing.  The only difference is the requirement of the included propeller nuts that I mentioned earlier.

Good as new!

So… here are my thoughts so far.

It is, as advertised, a very comfortable holster out of the box.  The neoprene helps in two ways.  First is the obvious sweat shield that it provides.  The second is the fact that neoprene grips your shirt/body.  I’ve had issues with leather IWB holsters causing my pants to fall down because they’re slick on the body side.

Retention is good.  With the screws, you can adjust the retention to your liking.  The screws can back out over time, but a dab of blue Locktite will solve that.  I prefer this over rivets that I’ve seen in other holsters of this type.

I’ve worn the holster with the 3.0 backing for a couple days, and I can tell that it is stiffer than the previous version.  Still comfortable, but I can tell that that steel insert is there.  As for its durability compared to the 2.0 backing?  We’ll see.

In Defense of “Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast”

By | February 23, 2017
3 Comments

Lately, I’ve seen a lot of criticism over “slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”  I think part of it is that a lot of folks have seen, heard, or possibly even said that line without actually knowing what it meant.

While I’m not an IDPA grandmaster, ever even been in an IPSC match, or some high speed low drag firearms instructor, I am a martial arts instructor.  As such, I’ve used the term, and I’ve heard many other instructor state similar.

The real message behind the that mantra is to focus on technique.  When we try to go as fast as we possibly can, our technique tends to go out the window.  I’ve seen folks jump straight into trying kicks or hand techniques at full speed, and their technique was generously described as “flailing.”  Lots of movement that doesn’t do anything but waste energy and throws them off balance, no force actually landing on target, and, while their limbs my be going at high speed, the entire action is slow.

The solution to this is to slow down and focus on what you’re actually doing.  If you’re doing something in the middle of your action that doesn’t directly help that action, why?  There might be a good reason (like keeping your hands up), at which point, keep doing that.  If there’s not, maybe you shouldn’t.  Slowing down allows you and your instructor to make sure you’re not only moving efficiently, but that the maximum amount of the energy you’re expending ends up on target.  Once a student’s technique is good, then we move to actually speeding things up.

There’s two ways to “be faster.”  One is obviously to have your muscles respond faster.  While you can definitely train to increase muscle speed and decrease reaction time, that’s only part of the equation.  Sadly, it’s also the part that will go south as we grow older.

The other reason is to improve technique.  The fastest way between two points is a straight line.  The closest your technique is to that straight line, the faster it is.  You will also get to point B faster if you don’t make a stop for gas or food at point C, D, and E first.  Sometimes it’s necessary to hit those points (example: it’s pretty much impossible to go straight from the gun in your holster to a proper firing position), but it doesn’t mean you have to dwell at those middle points.  That’s where the “smooth” part comes in.  The smoother you can flow from “holstered” to “drawn by your side” to “forward and ready to fire,” the less time you will take overall.

You will see just about any traditional martial artist work on techniques slowly as they work things out.  It’s common for Muay Thai practitioners to do so.  BJJ folks definitely work on techniques slowly while training.  I’ve seen boxers take a minute on a heavy bag to make sure their jab or their cross had exactly the right form.  If you ever have a chance to play with a Tai Chi master that knows the practical application, they’re almost magical because they’ve spent years focusing single mindedly on technique and balance.

I even believe that this is what Wyatt Earp was talking about when he said that the key to winning a gun fight was to “take your time in a hurry.”  Yes, speed is very much an important factor, but if that’s all you’re focusing on, you’ll end up being slower over all and have a larger chance of missing in the first place.  The trick is to run the ragged edge of going as fast as you can while maintaining good form.