Massad Ayoob's Blog, page 91

TOXIN-ANTI-TOXIN: A HERO’S STORY

In medicine, grave circumstances sometimes require toxin-anti-toxin therapy: poison against poison.  Chemotherapy may make a cancer patient feel sick in different ways, but it can save the patient’s life; therapeutic radiation may have ugly side-effects and therapeutic amputation literally costs you a part of your body, but if it takes the cancer away and saves your life, it’s an acceptable price.  Having to kill another human being is a traumatic experience, but if it saves your life and/or that of another good person, it was worth the ordeal.

That’s something well understood by Dr. Richard Carmona.  Under President George W. Bush, he served four years as Surgeon General of the United States.  Prior to that, though, he had overcome being born poor by joining the Army, becoming a Green Beret medic and gaining combat experience in Vietnam, and thereafter working his way through medical school.  He went on to become a pioneer of the SWAT physician concept: a doctor capable of performing emergency surgery if necessary right there at “the sharp end” to save a life when someone took a bullet.  Dr. Carmona performed that function for the Pima County Sheriff’s Office, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona.

It was in that city when, in 1999, he was off-duty and came upon a vicious psycho with a gun who was about to murder a woman he was carjacking. Unknown to Dr. Carmona, that man had earlier murdered his own father.  Carmona instantly drew his department issue Colt .45 auto, and saved the innocent woman’s life. In the course of that gunfight, he was wounded by the killer, but his own accurate gunfire killed the gunman.

I met Dr. Carmona early in this century, when he was Surgeon General and a guest speaker at an annual conference of ASLET, the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers. Many years later, I was able to sit down with him in Tucson and interview him.

That interview is now available for you to download for free at the ProArms Podcast.

I respectfully submit that what he has to say is very much worth the time it will take you to listen to it, and I herewith publicly thank Dr. Carmona yet again for making it available to you.

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THOUGHT-PROVOKING READ

I thought I’d share this interesting read, courtesy of regular correspondent Ted –

Comments welcome, as always.

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UH, OH…

Layoffs at Remington, a huge arms/ammo manufacturing entity and something of a bellwether for the industry.

Layoffs at Colt, too – including Brent Turchi, head of the Custom Shop, who has long been one of Colt’s great ambassadors.  American industry has an unfortunate habit of trying to lose weight by cutting away brain tissue instead of fat.  Rumor is that Mark Redl will be adding Brent’s duties to his own.  Mark is another of Colt’s great assets.

NRA seems to see some light at the end of the tunnel for Colt, and I hope they’re right.

Discussion of same here.

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George Zimmerman and Don West Speak on the Trayvon Martin incident.

You all remember the death of Trayvon Martin at the hands of George Zimmerman.  The fifth anniversary of that incident has just passed.  You may have read my 20-part take on the trial, archived here at the blog beginning the day of Zimmerman’s acquittal, July 13, 2013.

A year ago, George and Don West, one of the two attorneys who managed his brilliant and successful court defense, were kind enough to talk to one of my MAG-40 classes about it.  The result is now posted at ProArms Podcast.

Budget yourself a couple of hours to hear it.  There is much to learn that never hit the papers or the airwaves.

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COMBAT SHOOTING: ISRAELI STYLE

Several weeks ago, I was signed up to take Mikey Hartman’s instructor course in IDF (Israeli Defense Force) style combat shooting with rifle and handgun.  Unfortunately, a member of my extended family came down seriously ill, and I had to bow out to be of assistance on that. Fortunately, our loved one recovered and is now OK, but I hated missing Hartman’s class.

Mikey Hartman is often described as the guru of IDF shooting techniques.  I talking with him at length over the phone after missing the class, and it became clear that TODAY’S combat doctrine for IDF is not what it was years ago, though some on the gun-related Internet might have you believe otherwise.

For instance, except for the closest of close combat, Mikey tells me that the doctrine of Israeli combat shooting is definitely “aiming,” not “pointing.”

Below are links where you can read about the class that I (dammit!) had to miss:

The CAA Micro Roni Review By Jim Grant – http://b3e.org/the-caa-micro-roni-review-by-jim-grant/
TLP 182 Training The IDF Way – http://www.talkinglead.com/2016/12/23/tlp-182-training-israel-defense-forces-way/
CAA MicroRONI Glock SBR – https://youtu.be/nh1vI8cbIng
CAA Micro Roni – The Ultimate Glock Upgrade? – https://youtu.be/4Yf605_41sg
AR-15 Accessories from CAA – https://youtu.be/O3qXv5bTDHo
TLP 182 Training The Israel Defense Forces Way (Podcast) – https://youtu.be/bs8TIkMCyVM
TLP 181 Things To Consider When Registering Short Barreled Rifles – https://youtu.be/IKOkWh7WC1Y
TRAIN THE TRAINER – “THE IDF WAY” SHOOTING HIGHLIGHTS – https://youtu.be/egEVCT-pFXE
TRAIN THE TRAINER – THE IDF WAY – AFTER ACTION REPORT – Gun News Weekly – https://youtu.be/hJjKTWJr6zM
Training Course & Product Test Event Report on CAA / Hartman Optics – http://www.gunsandtech.com/reviews/jpeterson/training-course-product-test-event-report-caa-hartman-optics/
Michael Bane blog – http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2016/12/im-back-im-back.html

 

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THE VERMONT MODEL SPREADS

In New Hampshire, the “Live Free or Die” state, Governor Sununu just signed permitless concealed carry into law. That appears to make NH the fifteenth of the fifty states to allow law- abiding citizens to carry loaded, concealed handguns in public without a permit. Professor John Lott lists eleven states in addition to New Hampshire which have what he calls “‘full” constitutional carry without any notable restrictions.” Tracking roughly from east to west, they are: Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Wyoming, Arizona, Idaho, and Alaska. Dr. Lott also points out that there are three states he describes as having “‘limited’ constitutional carry – i.e., with a few restrictions or kinks included.” He lists as such Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Montana.

“Permitless carry” is probably the most semantically correct descriptor. I realize that “Constitutional Carry” has a ring to it, but I’ve been in enough debates that I try to avoid terms which can be interpreted in multiple ways. “Constitutional” technically means deriving from the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It is understood all the way back to Civics 101 that Constitutional issues are arbitrated by the Supreme Court of the United States. In SCOTUS’ two landmark cases on individual Second Amendment rights, both Heller v. District of Columbia and McDonald, et. al. v. City of Chicago, the majority opinions specifically said that the right to carry was still open to regulation at the lower levels of government. Thus, it could be argued that the Constitution itself really doesn’t guarantee the right to carry loaded and concealed in public without a permit.

A term I much prefer is simply Vermont Model. For most of my life and probably yours unless you’re very young, Vermont was the ONLY state that did not require a permit to carry, and merely forbade the practice to those who were convicted felons, adjudicated mentally incompetent, or had malice in their hearts. Perhaps not coincidentally, there have been many years when Vermont had the lowest rate of violent crime of all fifty states.

It is good to see the Vermont Model spreading, with more states expected to get on board. Your take on it is, as always, welcome here.

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WALKING DEAD

Evil Princess and I just got home from a long trip in time to catch the latest episode of “The Walking Dead.”  If I was to take this test question …

 

“’The Walking Dead’ is:

“A: A television fantasy.

“B: A documentary.

“C: A training film.”

 

…My answer would still be “A.”

 

But it’s always fun to look at it as “C.”  If a plague of zombies overtook society, what would we arm ourselves with?  I can tell you that the Darrel character, who tackles it for the most part with a crossbow, is a better man than me.  Something like a Ruger 10/22 semiautomatic rifle would have been my first thought: if you need brain shots to do the job anyway, the .22 seems logical: you can get reliable 25 to 50 round magazines for it and still have something light and handy for constant carry, and LOTS of those teeny little cartridges on your person.  But then you start thinking about how often .22 Long Rifle rounds have been known to ricochet off human skulls that haven’t been rotted soft, and the .22’s well known impotence against living bad guys…

We had several handguns with us in the vehicle, and because we had just shot a Glock match that finished up our two-class tour, a good bit left of the thousand-plus 9mm rounds and assorted .45 ACP, 10mm, and .380 ammo we’d started out with.  Would have been a good start.

But, just for the hell of it, if “Walking Dead” became “B: A documentary,” what would YOU arm yourself with?

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END OF AN ERA …BUT STAY TUNED

Dave Duffy, founder and publisher of Backwoods Home magazine, has announced that the periodical will cease publishing its print version this year.  Its sister publication, Self-Reliance, will remain as a hard copy magazine.  The electronic version of Backwoods Home will continue, at least for now, online.  So will this blog, and Jackie Clay’s.  Stay tuned for further updates.  Dave’s own statement on the matter is here.

Now, Backwoods Home ain’t done yet by a long shot.  Print edition production is scheduled to run through the November-December issue, and January-February is what’s current now.  Stay tuned for further announcements.

Having been Firearms Editor for Backwoods Home for some twenty years and blogging here for almost nine, I’m going to miss leafing through those dead tree pages and absorbing lots of useful knowledge from the many contributors who’ve been there and done that.  The anthologies that grew from that have proven to be precious resources, and I believe there will be more to come.

Dave’s magazine lasted a helluva lot longer than Benjamin Franklin’s.

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ETYMOTIC EAR PLUGS

Etymotic (high definition) active ear plugs ain’t your daddy’s ear plugs.  I finally got around to testing GunSport Pro GSP-15 plugs from Etymotic Reseasrch, Inc. of Elk Grove Village, IL. Each fitted with a teeny battery, the set comes with an assortment of Accu-Fit ™ shapes so you can find the one that best fits your own ears.  For me, the LRG gave a superb fit, as if custom made for me.

 

I have been told by audiologists that a significant amount of the damaging sound waves that cause the cumulative high-range hearing loss known colloquially as “shooter’s ear” come in the form of vibrations through surrounding bone, which plugs alone can’t stop. Muffs are better in that regard, but the stems of requisite protective eyewear can break the seal of the muffs, and plugs are a very good fallback.  Most of us “in the business” will “double up” and use plugs and muffs simultaneously when shooting high powered rifles or particularly loud handguns.

 

Active hearing protection isn’t just a luxury, it’s a safety thing. As an expert witness in weapons related court cases since 1979, I’ve run across a number of fatal or injury-producing accidents that could have been prevented if the instructor or range officer on the firing line could have heard, over the gunfire, the sounds of someone struggling with a jammed gun, or cursing under his breath, or something similar.

So, I tried the Etymotic plugs with muffs. Ordinary passive muffs – “dead muffs,” if you will – didn’t allow enough sound to get through for my already-somewhat-impaired ears to hear conversations on the firing line.  I tried them next under active muffs from Walker, and got pretty much the same comforting attenuation of loud sounds but amplification of small ones that we buy active hearing protection for in the first place. No feedback was noticed by me or those around me when I shot with both Etymotic plugs and active muffs turned on simultaneously.

I appreciate the active hearing protection of this product with the convenience of tiny size and pocket carry. They’re also good for those who just can’t bear to wear muffs, or find that muffs interfere with their rifle or shotgun stock.  Price is $299 MSRP.  I can see a future for these as part of my personal shooting kit.  Info at etymotic.com.

The product:

Etymotic wisely sells the plugs with a selection of buds to fit different ears. These are the ones that worked best for Mas.

The amplified plugs are adjustable for “HI” and “LO.”

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I started with a .22, a Smith & Wesson Model 18 with the classic old Pro-Point red dot sight.

“Hey! These plugs work pretty darn well!”

 

Short barrel .38s like this J-frame S&W can be loud, but the Etymotics handled it well.

Tried them in tandem with muffs, too.

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Muffs don’t fit in your shirt pocket. Etymotic plugs do.

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WELL, WHADDAYA KNOW…

Some folks inside the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives seem to think the way a lot of us do.

Please take the time to read this…

… and share your thoughts on it here.

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