Tacticool is Not

*** For some reason my picture of a KSG shotgun is not showing up. I'll update soon. In the meantime you can follow this link to see what I'm talking about. KSG Shotgun

This is a prime example of something tactical and cool, when mashed together, just becomes tacticool. Which is actually a bad thing.  On the tactical side of this you have a 13 round short shotgun. Because of its size you can maneuver it easily in and through doorways and other tight spaces.  You could fill this thing with buck shot or heavy bird shot and have one heck of a nice home defense weapon. All of this is assuming of course that KelTec makes a reliable weapon system.  The verdict is still out on that one for me.  Yup I just went there.

On the cool side of things you have mostly aesthetics. This gun looks mean that's for sure! Sometimes that's half the battle am I right? It has an Eotech optic which makes it totally tactical right? Well maybe, but what's going on with the backup iron sights? Honestly does anyone need sights on a close range shotgun? It's clearly not the tool of choice for taking that precise head shot at any distance. Again, short gun, short barrel, ammo that spreads; this equals close range weapon. With buckshot or birdshot in a shotgun, the human weapon system has the intuitive ability to just point and shoot. I'm not even sure what the Eotech is there for.  It looks cool and maybe that's all it's intended to do.

I would personally own this gun if someone could prove to me that KelTec is a reliable brand, but I would not be putting sights of any kind on it.  As I'm saying that it just came to mind that a laser would make a great aiming tool for this kind of setup. And before anyone comments, I'll point out that lasers make a lot of sense.  Without getting into too much science; our bodies tend to tunnel vision on the threat, and our ability to do fine motor skills such as aligning tiny iron sights are made extremely difficult. A laser allows you to focus on your threat and, Oh would you look at that, there's my laser dot easily visible on bandits chest! So i'd use one of these for home defense with birdshot and a laser. The laser to get me roughly on target, and the birdshot to spread out and eliminate my margin of error.

Your comments are always welcome...

-ME

Gun Disarm Yes or No?

Take a look at this short 1 minute video from Victor Marx and then comment with your thoughts on attempting to disarm an attacker.  

My personal take on this is to just simply give the attacker whatever they want. Usually they are just after your valuables and don't really want to risk jail time for murder.
However, should you decide to fight back there a few things happening here strategically. Number one, Mr. Marx is moving his head and shoulders "off the X" laterally as he reaches for the pistol. This is key! Chances are, you aren't going to be as fast as he is and the bandit will likely get at least one shot off. Obviously you don't want your head in line with that barrel if a shot goes off.
Second is that he's starting the gun grab from a "hands up" posture. Not only does it signify a defensive and submissive attitude, but it allows his hands to have to move a shorter distance. This is important to remember as action will always be faster than reaction. The faster he can get his hands on the gun, the less likely it is for the bandit to out-flinch him. There are a few other tactical tidbits here that I will forgo for now.

From a common sense approach, I'd like to point out a few things. First, this guy has practiced this gun disarm over and over for years. Literally making it the most often practiced drill in his arsenal.  I don't know that for certain, but you don't get this good at something without time and sacrifice. He's put a lot of time into it and has sacrificed practicing other skills in order to acquire the time to practice this one. Second, I would offer that the bandit could turn this gun grab into a wrestling match.  A close quarters retention fight for your sidearm is never a good plan, so if your disarm is successful, I recommend creating some serious distance as fast as you possibly can.

Again I just think it's a poor decision to attempt a disarm like this, but what are your thoughts? Let's discuss.

- Me

New Year. New Direction.

This year my blog will become an outlet for opinions on tactics, training and gear as they relate to the firearms industry.  I resolve to post three new articles every single week, typically on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  I will be interviewing other shooters in the industry, and will be attending events where my goal will be to report on the positives of that culture.
As a man, I am as common sense as they come, (read unintelligent if you wish) and I hope to discuss these categories in a way that everyone can appreciate.  Hopefully offering a different angle on many of the established norms in our industry.

Let's kick this off right -
I've noticed a disturbing trend over the past few years that has got me asking some unique questions about our gun culture.  In particular it seems like we've got four different camps of shooters in the U.S.  Please watch Colion Noir's video. It so accurately pinpoints the differences of these four groups, and is darn funny to boot.

I find myself somewhere between the tactical and hunting guys represented in that video. I've been a lifelong hunter and have a law enforcement background. So on my tactical side I would argue that pistols are defensive tools period. There is no other purpose for them than to protect people. On my hunting side I would say that all firearms are useful for the purposes of taking animals for food and sport. I have wandered into the realm of competition shooting various times over the years.  First with IDPA, then with 3-Gun, and now I'm getting into precision rifle competition.  My problem with competition is that it's a game. Which is totally the point for many shooters, but my tactical side screams out, "it's not realistic to know what threats are going to pop up and be able to plan for it!" Therefore I can't label myself a competition shooter in any way.  As far as the "gun collector" goes - I own a collection of guns, but to me, they are all tools.  I don't idolize my tools, I use them. I could care less if my guns have dings and scratches.

My beef with all this is the growing "in fighting" between the different camps. Like on Mr. Noir's video, the tactical guy says "you're useless" to all the other guys and sets his mind to believe there's no point to their particular view of gun culture.
Folks this is wrong! We have go to stop fighting each other and unite behind our common goal, which is to maintain our firearms related freedoms.  It's like trying to support multiple conservative presidential candidates at the same time. Your support for one hurts the other, and at the end just insures that several good guys end up going home broke and defeated. Why don't all conservatives rally behind one candidate early on, and unite for the common purpose of defeating the liberals?
The different camps within the gun culture are acting no differently, and it's disgraceful.  It's actually just tearing us apart.

Tactical guys, you could learn a thing or two about having fun from the Competition guys.
Collectors, you might really enjoy taking down an elk from 800 yards with that $7000 rifle. The Hunters will gladly teach you how.

Wake up and realize that Tactical Tim's overly prideful opinions are just as worthy as your particular perspective on the gun culture. How about you prove your devotion to our cause by trying something outside of your comfort zone this year?  For me that's precision rifle competition...oh and I promise to stop harping on the worthlessness of the 1911 platform...

- Me

As Any Good Leader Will Do - Part 3

In the first two installments of this article I told you about a person on one of my volunteer teams who was having trouble committing to the responsibilities of the service position. At the end of part 2 I left you with the thought that I would probably "fire" this person. Well, sometimes things change.

Interestingly enough I never had to confront the man. He actually came to me. I think he realized he was falling short, and felt convicted to apologize. This was perfect because I actually like the guy and was seriously dreading that conversation. Due to his honesty and self awareness of the situation I decided to keep him on the team and give him another chance. He stepped it up and hasn't been a problem for me or the team going forward.

As any good leader will do I am constantly on the lookout for changing situations concerning our volunteer teams. Seems like there is always something that is completely out of my control. Typically they manifest themselves in some negative way, i.e. a missing child, a domestic dispute, or a medical emergency. But every now and then an uncontrollable situation turns out for the best. In the curious case of the irresponsible volunteer, he just informed me that he's taking a new job out of state and will be moving. He has resigned from the team.

The twists and turns of life are never dull are they?

As any good leader will do - part 2

There comes a time in every leader's life when you have to decide whether to forgive and forget or forgive, forget, and fire a volunteer.  It's truly unfortunate when this happens. No one likes confrontation. The potential for ruined interpersonal relationships abounds. Sometimes however, it just has to be done for the benefit of the entire group.

The scenario I gave you in part 1 of this article is a real situation that I am currently involved in. I have had to let people go before so i'm dreading what comes next. Couldn't I just leave him on the team and encourage him and hope he gets better? Yes I could, but why? How many times do you let your children disobey before you spank them? The last line of part 1 asks, what would Jesus do? I know from personal experience that he disciplines those he loves. It's always for the better. Yes always. This is a grown man who should know better and be responsible and reliable. I can not let this go.

How to handle this kind of situation is the point of this article. So how will I handle it? In a loving and respectful way with the intention of building up and training this man. I will not call him out in front of others. I will not voice my disappointment about him with others behind his back. I will meet with him personally and explain my position. I will show him our volunteer agreement and gently point out the ways he has fallen short. I will give him time to voice his opinions on the matter. I will genuinely listen.

Lastly, I will ask him to step down from the team. I will encourage him to not talk negatively about me or the team to anyone else. The Bible warns us not to stir up dissention in the body of believers.

What about his position on the team? Do I have someone to replace him? Yes I do. He's been shadow training for over a month now. He will be able to jump right in and serve in a timely fashion. As any good leader will do I try to look ahead and strategize my movements.

In part 3 I will let you all know how my conversation with him went. My hope is that this personal experience I'm sharing will be a training tool of sorts for you.  More to come...

An article

Here's the link to an article I wrote for the Baptist Convention of Iowa on the need for church safety teams.  enjoy.
http://bciowa.org/danger-close/

As any good leader will do. Part 1

As any good leader will do.  Dealing with uncommitted volunteers. Part 1

If you are the leader of a team of volunteers then you will immediately relate to this story.

For the sake of our story let's call our main character John.  John comes to me and says, "I'd love to serve on your safety team ministry".  It could be any ministry you oversee.  My particular bent is church safety and security teams.  I respond as many of you would, "excellent.  Let's meet this week and talk some more about it."  So I meet with John over coffee (I hate coffee - I'm the minority I know) and I lay out the responsibilities and expectations of being a part of this important ministry.  John has all the right answers.  Other members of the team may even vouch for him.  By the time we are done talking I'm convinced that he will be a committed and loyal member of the team.

Things start out great.  John attends his first training meeting and shows interest.  He makes his way through our "job shadow" process and I put him on the schedule to serve on his own.  He performs well and I'm convinced that I've found a great new member of the team.  Perhaps a few weeks or months go bye with no issues to speak of.  But then I show up at church and I check in with my team to make sure everyone is squared away and ready to serve.  I'm told that no one has seen John.  I confidently say, "I bet he's just running late."  We wait and we wait and we...well by now I'm concerned and I decide to text him.  I say to myself "he just forgot to check the schedule".  No reply to my text.  Well as any good leader will do, I jumped in and covered his position for him.

Curious to know why John didn't show up for his scheduled position on Sunday I pursue him with an email and a personal phone call during the week.  I finally get ahold of him and he tells me he just wasn't feeling well Sunday morning and he's very sorry for not showing up.  Well as any good leader will do, I give him the benefit of the doubt.  Everyone wants to be given a second chance right?  "Don't sweat it John, but if that happens again, could you please work hard to find a replacement for yourself?"  He assures me he will. 

The next weekend that John is scheduled to serve I get a text on Saturday night saying he can't serve in the morning.  I suppress my frustration and reply with "ok, who's filling in for you?"  He responds with "I'm not sure I can find anyone on such short notice."  I'm thinking, well TRY!  I don't say this of course.  I mercifully respond by asking him to let me know who he finds to replace him.  Sunday is here.  John is not.  John's replacement is not.  "Hey guys, did John call any of you last night about filling in for him?"  "Nope"  "No"  "Negative" (there’s always one military guy in the group). 

Well as any good leader will do I jump in and cover his position... you are beginning to notice the pattern here or you haven't been paying attention.  So what do we do as leaders of volunteer ministry teams to mitigate this kind of behavior?  Mercy and understanding are always the right answer, right?  After all that's what Jesus would do.     …. To Be Continued