You Don't Know Jack

I realized today that it has been 3 weeks since my last blog post, and figured it was way overdue. First let me wish everyone a Merry Christmas/Happy Kwanzaa/Joyous Hanukkah/ A wonderful what-ever-other-holiday-you might-celebrate.  I hope your holidays were filled with lots of fun firearm related items. I know for us, my dad bought himself a Keltec PF9, I got my sister a gift card so she could take her CCW training class, and my wife got me lower receiver to start my first AR15 build (more on that here). For me, however, this time of year also means a time for personal improvement.

For the last 2 years I have been making this thing called an "Apocalypse List." Its like a New Year's resolution mixed with a bucket list with a twist. If you recall, back in 2012, supposedly the Mayans had predicted the world was going to end on December 21st (I think it's safe to assume they were wrong). Starting that year I decided to start making a list of things I wanted to do that year before 12/21 in the event the world ended. The Apocalypse list is very specific though. It has to be done within that year. So no crazy ideas that I couldn't physically or financially pull off in the course of the year. It also must be something that is worthy of a story.  No ever says "I wish I worked more" Or " I should have gotten that PHD" while dying. Don't get me wrong I have my own work and education related goals, but that's not what this is for. This is for life experiences. So on my 2014 Apocalypse list, one of the thing I have put on there is professional defensive pistol training.

My wife shooting my Beretta 92A1

 

This year I will take Defensive Handgun I with Range Time Tactical (RTT). So why take handgun training? Its certainly not because its cheap. This particular class is $300, plus 1000rd of ammo, travel and food expenses. After it's all said and done, that's the price of a new Glock. But I have a CCW already.  I have watched videos on trigger control, reset, recoil management, etc. I go to the range once a month. I can drill holes in paper like no ones business. But that's just it, its a very controlled environment with a stationary target and no stress. These types of classes will teach you not only the basic fundamentals, but also proper draw technique, one handed maneuvers, drawing while on your back, shooting from cover, shooting while moving and the like, all while trying to induce a modicum of stress. To give you and idea here is a video from Range Time Tactical on their Defensive Handgun I class.

Training like this is extremely important. Too many times do I see someone who goes out and buys a gun, completes their CCW requirement and they think they are good to go. This couldn't be farther form the truth! Be honest with yourself. watching YouTube videos or being a member of an online forum does not make you prepared for any real world situation. These people don't know jack, and neither do I, which is why I am taking this class. Shooting at paper and putting a lot of ammo down range does not replace proper training. Can you effectively clear a type 2 malfunction while moving? How about rapid magazine changes? What if your primary hand become injured and you can't hold your weapon, can you draw, rack the slide and reload with your opposite hand solely? Unless you have had real training with your carry weapon, you probably can't.

Good friend and CCW holder shooting S&W SD9VE

So I encourage you to look into furthering your firearm education and taking these types of classes. Especially if you carry. A gun and a card do not make a good gunfighter. Training, practice and knowledge do. Train for the worst case scenario but hope for the best. There are a ton of these companies that do training this and I bet there is one near you. As with anything, there are better training companies than others, so do your research. I settled on RTT after watching several of their YouTube videos as well as reading reviews from industry professionals and regular people alike.

So what does 2014 have in store for you?

Building the Right Hand of Freedom - Part 1

This is the first of a multi-part series where I will build an AR-15 from scratch. I want to document the process as I go through for not only personal reflection but also help any one who may be considering taking this on. My goal is to build this without the help of a professional gunsmith and to do it with no completed assemblies. So I will be assembling my lower and upper assemblies myself, not buying completed versions and snapping them together. God help me....

Let me clarify that I am not a gunsmith. I have never done any "smithing" on any gun ever. I've never built any kind of gun before. Heck, I have never even fired an AR15 before. So this will be an COMPLETELY new experience for me. The reason I have decided to do this is two part. One, I wanted to be able to have a custom AR15 the exact way I want. Normally you would buy an off the shelf model then spend extra money to swap out parts for the ones you really want. That leaves you with a whole bunch of parts you didn't want to begin with. Building you own will actually save money by reducing the extra unneeded parts as well as you aren't paying someone else to assemble it. The other part of it is i want to be able to completely understand how it operates and fix any problems my rifle may have. My goal is to be completely self sufficient with the rifle's assembly, dis-assembly, use and maintenance.     

The type of AR15 that I will be building is a 16" Direct Gas Impingement Hybrid M4 style AR15. If all of that sounds like gibberish, don't worry, I plan to get more in depth with what all of this is an more as I go through the build. It is, after all, a learning experience for me as well. I chose the AR as my first rifle because it is the standard issue rifle of the US Military (dubbed M16) and is the most popular rifle of the American people. It is the modern day M1 Garand. To start my build, and the basis for all AR15 builds is a lower receiver. My wonderful wife got me this Spike's Tactical Stripped Lower as a Christmas gift. The one she got has the spider logo with bullet markings (versus saying safe/fire) and has the engravings color filled (cause its cool). I had been hinting for her to get that specific one for months and she did good! This particular lower is forged and is completely stripped meaning no internal parts.In my research, I have seen several builds start with this particular lower with no complaints.

In the coming articles we will building this bad boy piece by piece. The next article will showcase adding the Lower Parts Kit (LPK) which includes trigger, mag release, trigger guard, pistol grip, safety selector etc. to make a functional lower. Just so you know, the lower receiver is considered the "gun" and is the only part you have to complete paperwork for (Form 4473). The rest of the parts can be shipped directly to your home. Obviously when you are building a rifle like this you have to be aware of your own federal and local laws. If you build a rifle that falls under the National Firearms Act then you must contact the ATF and complete their required paperwork and pay the $200 fee. If you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to comment to this blog.

Cops are Too Heavy

If you own a firearm for self defense (or several in many cases), you have been probably asked "why." Why do you have so many guns? Are you paranoid? Do you think someone is going to come take them away? Do you really think there is going to be some kind of "revolution?"

Quite frankly, I own and carry a gun because cops are too heavy. Cops aren't easy to conceal. They don't fit in my gun safe or my glove box. For the life of me, I can't find a holster that will fit one. So the problem is, they are never there when I need one. Some of you have heard the saying "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away." That statement is 100% true. Even if your next door neighbor was a cop and he personally heard the door be kicked in, it would still take him at least a minute or two to grab whatever he needed and proceed to your house. By then your struggle could already be over... hopefully in your favor.

Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for what the police do and if the event ever arose, you should always call 911... back up never hurts. But, just statistically they can't be there the very second some crazed, cracked out psycho comes through your front door. So what are you going to do? Cower in the corner and hope they don't hurt you? Pssh, screw that. If I am going to die, I'm going down swinging. I would rather have the option of defending myself and my family rather than hoping someone will get there in time. The same idea applies to concealed carry.  If I am attacked on the street, in a mall, movie theater or even my office; there is no cop within arms reach to protect me. 99% of the time however (sans at work) my pistol is. So while I am waiting for the professionals to show up, I will do my best to protect myself and those around me.

You'll often hear the opposition say " Having a gun just gives the attacker access to a gun." First off, that's ridiculous. That's like saying him attacking you with a gun gives you access to one. Yes, if you were extremely talented you could, in theory, take the gun from them. But this isn't the movies, and you're not Jet Lee. Having a gun (especially carrying) requires a fair bit of training and your CCW class does not count. With any amount of training, you should understand how to keep and use your firearm in a defensive measure. I have told my wife before, "If an intruder is going to kill me with my own gun, he will have to beat me with it because it will be empty."

So think of gun ownership as first aid. You, the one on the scene at the time of incident, will have to make the first actions before the professionals can get there. Your actions can greatly improve the chances of someone living. I am sure many of you have had CPR training before, the exact same concept is in play here. If you waited for the paramedics to show up, that person would have died of asphyxiation long before they arrived.

So, if you are a gun owner - Get training and practice often. If you aren't, seriously think about what I've said here. Like I said earlier, use 911, rely on the cops but understand that your safety falls into your hands. They can't be everywhere at once.

Oh, and if you find a holster for a cop, please let me know.

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, and Your Guns

You may or may not have seen this letter circulating the web. This letter is inciting a lot of controversy. Please read it, but the jist is that this person has received this letter because he owns rifles that hold more than 5 rounds of ammunition at a time in the New York City limit.Since firearm owners in NYC must register their firearms, of course they have record of every gun you legally own. If the guns you own do not abide by their specific rules (in his case 5 round max) they force you to sell it, move it or surrender it. This ladies and gent's in gun confiscation 101.

Being from the good ole' South, I had to look into this. I've never heard of a local government telling its people to hand over their guns. Now, from my research, the rules inside NYC are more stringent than those of the state (the NY SAFE Act is a whole other topic). From what I read, this regulation has been on the books for some time now. Here is what I have a problem with. If you live or move to NYC with a legal firearm in the rest of the country, you must permanently modify the weapon to comply, sell it or literally give it to the local police. Wait a cotton-pickin' minute... I can buy, say a Ruger 10/22 with a 10 rd magazine in New Jersey, then move into the City and suddenly it becomes illegal? How does geographical location make a gun any more or less dangerous? Aside from the the magazine capacity, the city also bans features like collapsing stocks, pistol grip, fore grip, bayonet mounts, flash suppressors or a thumb hole stock. Explain to me how these features make a gun more lethal. Seriously, someone tell me how, when I had my telescoping stock to my Ruger 10/22, it somehow becomes evil and hellbent on destruction?

So here we are in NYC where 80% of firearms are not legal to own, who is going to enforce the rules? Well the local law enforcement of course. Oh, but did I mention that current and retired law enforcement are exempt from these rules? So they are allowed to have them but you aren't? Ya, that seems fair.I'm fairly certain that's how dictatorships and mass murder/genocides start (See Stalin and Hitler).

Now, as far as I know, it's not like the local police are going door to door in riot gear demanding people give up their guns. But I'm not saying it couldn't lead up to that either. This is why the idea of universal background checks do not sit well with many gun owning citizens. Its not that we all own illegal black fully auto silenced firearms once owned by the KGB and frequently trade them in a dark alley some where. Don't get me wrong, on the surface it sounds like a good idea to keeps firearms out of the hands that have proven themselves unworthy to own them. But, if you follow the bouncing ball, for universal background checks to work, everyone must register their guns. Obviously if they weren't registered, how would we know they changed hands. Once they are registered, new laws can and would get passed changing what you are legally allowed to own. Then letters like the one above start getting sent to everyone stating you must modify your firearm or give it up. Then, since you didn't comply due to cost or disagreement with the law, you have a bunch of people with firearms coming to your door telling you to give up yours. Sounds like Utopia doesn't it?

It's states like New York, California or Massachusetts that are the breeding ground for this level of gun confiscation, and dare I say it, tyranny. I believe that a government that preemptively bans firearms to its citizens is one that does not trust its citizens to make informed decisions. A quote from Benjamin Franklin states "Never trust a government that doesn't trust its own citizens with guns." Its places like New York who have attempted to pass laws banning soda size, salt and smoking outdoors. Really? Does the NY government think its people are too stupid to handle these items on an individual basis and must legislatively dictated? I will drink my Big Gulp, eat my sodium drenched fries and have a cigar if I damn well please!

So when did the idea of personal responsibility go out the window? When did the government suddenly know what is best for everyone? Last time I checked, this was the land of the free, not the heavily regulated.

Would you like Freedom with that?

 

This weekend while out and about with my family I had a unique experience. We were out shopping and had stopped at a well known fast food restaurant to have a quick and cheap bite to eat. Well, as the good father I am, I bought my son a kid's meal which of course came with a toy. As we were walking out of the restaurant, he dropped his brand new toy and rolled right under a car. Of course, this was a disaster. Well, with my bad luck, it rolls squarely in the middle of the car in between the front wheels and I am left to belly crawl under this SUV to get it...

At this point you are probably like "Where the hell is he going with this?" Patience my young Padawan. So as I am under this stranger's SUV, army crawling to retrieve a 10¢ toy made in China, one of the employees comes out to ask if he could help by getting me a broom. At this point, I was already under the car, so I politely declined. As I emerged from the underside of the SUV, toy in hand my son gleamed in joy. Turning to the nice employee to thank him, he motioned at his shirt and stated "you might want to pull your shirt down." Apparently while retrieving my sons toy, my firearm that is carried IWB on my hip had come exposed. Dang it. So I promptly pulled my shirt over my gun and readjusted myself as to not expose the world to it. Then the nice employee leaned over to me and said "Don't worry, you're not the only one" as he lifts up his shirt exposing a firearm underneath his uniform.

Needless to say, I was a little taken aback by this! Here I am, all paranoid that some anti-gunner would have seen me and called the cops for "violently brandishing" my firearm. Then the next second, I'm being flashed a revolver tucked in the waistband of a fast food employee's pants!. What a Saturday! But this goes to show you, more people concealed carry then you realize. In the great state of Florida, as of October 31, 2013 there are 1,186,457 active CCW permits issued. To put that into perspective there is 19.32 million people in the entire state. That's over 6% of the entire population that is a concealed carry holder and that number is growing rapidly everyday. And that's only those who carry a firearm with them, not those who own firearms strictly for home protection use. So we aren't a small fraction of paranoid people who live in bunkers under ground and wear aluminum foil hats. We are fathers, mothers, neighbors, church goers, blue collar, white collar and everything in between. We believe in right of self preservation and self reliance for your own safety. We do not want our right to protect ourselves stripped away and we will be heard.

So next time you take a trip to your favorite McTuckey Taco Burger Shack, remember the fast food guy I met this weekend. He may be the guy that saves your life.

Zoned for Disaster

If you hadn't figured it out already, I carry a firearm everyday. It goes as follows: Watch, cell phone wallets, keys, knife, gun. These things offer consistency and security to my day-to-day life. So you can image I was a little perturbed today as I went about my errands, I had to disarm myself twice. Once at the local college, as I was attempting to register for classes. The other at the IRS building downtown. Both of these places fall under what is called "gun-free zones." Don't get me wrong, I semi-understand why each of these establishments are banned from list of places you can carry. Traditionally schools are meant for children and, at one point in time, this was a safe place. The IRS is a federal building, so carry is off limits there as well. Actually, I don't really understand why I can't carry in the IRS building, its not like its the FBI. It was just a bunch of paper pushers who looked like they hated life. But I digress. However, these gun free zones are part of the gun problem here in America. Sounds weird, right? No guns means we are safer... Right? Wrong.

First, a little back story. Guns have not always been banned in/or around schools as some people believe. In 1990 a federal law was passed called the Gun-Free School Zones Act. This made it illegal for any individual from knowingly possessing a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a "school zone." Ask your parents if they ever saw a firearm in their school. I bet they did. There was actually a time where firearm safety was taught in schools. So this is a relatively new type of restriction on firearms. Now I want you to take a minute and think about were a lot of these active shooter (aka mass shootings) scenarios happen. Schools (Columbine, Va Tech, Sandy Hook, etc) are at the top of the list. So let me ask you,  do you feel it's working?

Other places are also sought after for active shooters. Recently  the Navy Yard shooting, which as you know, is federal property. Public places like malls and movie theaters have also seen active shooters incidents. What's the common theme? Path of least resistance. These places allow for the largest amount of carnage with the least amount of interference. With that in mind, did you know that in the 2012 Clackamas Mall shooting, a concealed carry weapons holder drew his weapon against the shooter which forced him to retreat and commit suicide? So in these zones, where law abiding citizens aren't allowed to carry firearms, who is going to be there to defend against the people who don't care about those laws and are hell bent on destruction? Go ahead, I'll wait...

Now, don't take this as me saying I think every man, woman and child should be armed and every teacher should be strapped. I am not. But I do think that gun free zones are part of the problem. I think licensed, law abiding CCW holders should be allowed to carry into schools and the like. I also think schools should also have armed security and/or police officers. Imagine how many lives could have been saved if someone inside of Sandy Hook Elementary had been trained and carrying a firearm. Wayne LaPierre once said "“The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” I really believe guns DO save lives.

What we need now ladies and gentlemen, is more good guys with guns.

Converts

Guns get a bad rap. We all know this. However within this last year the number of guns purchased and the number of gun owners has grown significantly. More interesting, is the number of people getting their CCW or Concealed Carry Weapons permit. Personally, several of my friends and family  have gotten theirs withing the last six months. These are people who didn't even own a gun a year go. Today I even went with a friend to pick out his new carry gun. 

I purchased my first firearm in the beginning of 2011. We were having a rash of break-ins at the apartments we were living in a decided to be safe than sorry . None of the break-ins were violent, but you just never know. Being a spur of the moment buy, funds were limited and so was my experience. My father owned a gun my whole life but I never once saw it. It was a .22 revolver stashed in the closet and the ammo was in a different place in the same closet. I had only fired a couple pistols before in my lifetime, my first being the Beretta M9 I fired in basic training. I wanted something cheap and not intimidating if my wife had to use it. So, for the bargain price of $240 I bought a Taurus TCP from my local gun shop. And for about 2 years it stayed in its case in closet, however at least mine stayed loaded.

On December 14, 2012, the TCP came out of the closet and hasn't gone back since. The shooting at Sandy Hook affirmed for me that society has hit a low point. The killing of innocent children, having 2 small children of my own, hit too close to home. I decided at that point I would not stand for this type of violence. I was going to carry gun to protect me and my family. The first week of January I took my required training course, did all of the paperwork, paid all of the fees and around March of this year I was officially licensed to carry a firearm. At this time I was the only person I knew in my circle who carried a firearm.   My TCP has become my Everyday Carry (EDC). It goes where I go. Soon to follow suit was my father. He obtained his ccw and carries a Taurus revolver.

For a lot of people, the idea of carrying a gun around is weird. They think I'm paranoid. Or crazy. One of my close friends, upon discussing carrying a gun, stated " I have lived 27 years without needing one, I don't think I need one now." My response was "We don't live in the same world we did 27 years ago." That must have struck a chord with him, as he is now a CCW permit holder too. My wife is also a recent CCW holder. At first, she just went along with me carrying it but as she began to see the way I see the world, she wanted to carry as well. Most recently, another close friend, who never owned a pistol before has purchased two in the past month and completed his CCW requirements.

So why are all of these people starting to buy and carry weapons? I think a lot of reasons. I think with shootings happening at schools, malls, and movie theaters the sense of security has been lost. Some people are concerned with the current state of our government and their constant attempt to ban, register or confiscate guns from the people. Remember our Second Amendment is there as a last resort against tyranny. The reason I carry, the reason I wear my pistol day in and day out: I carry to save a life. "Wait,"you say, "save a life? But guns are for killing not saving" I carry a gun to protect people from the evils of this world. I don't carry to just protect me or my family, but anyone who may need it. I will not turn a blind eye. I don't care if you think that concealed carry is stupid or if you think the Second Amendment is outdated. I will use those rights given unto me to save your life if you ever needed it. So, I believe the populous is beginning to see firearm ownership in this way.
People who were once sheep are now becoming sheepdogs to protect against the wolves of the world.


I am a sheepdog.

Keep Calm and Carry On

This is a new adventure for me, blogging. I've rarely even read a blog, let alone made one. I have been inspired however to create this blog partly due to my wife's blog and partly to my views on everyday life. For a little shameless plugging here: If you like cake (and who doesn't) check out my wife's blog  boldcityconfections.blogspot.com. On to the other half of my inspiration. I am husband, father, student and full time employee. I grew up in the suburbs of Jacksonville, Fl. I have a 9 to 5 job and enjoy my weekends off. Pretty normal guy right? What sets me aside from my fellow man, at least most, is my full and complete belief in the right to keep and bear arms.
I believe in the Second Amendment. I believe in Stand your Ground. I believe in the Castle Doctrine. I believe owning and carrying guns actually makes us safer. The only type gun control I believe in is keeping my finger off the trigger until I am prepared to shoot. I hope to express my views on this here. The things I like, I don't like and some fun in between.

Until then, Keep Calm and Carry On