Slick Shooting Saturday

Trick Shooting-
By Pudge

Hey there everyone. Both Mack and I are still kicking, just a little slower but still here. This new year should provide us with plenty to write about so hang with us and we'll see what the year brings. So lets start it off right with a new build that I put together and then decided to do a little "trick shooting" with. It was a great way to test the new Nomad Defense Nomad 9 frame while also not blasting through all of my ammo. Hope everyone has an amazing year and enjoy the quick videos.

This thing shoots beautifully and feels amazing in the hand.

Shooting at a shotshell.

Getting a little smaller with some 9mm brass.

Tactical Tuesday

 The forward assist is bad, okay? And here is a story as to why:

Georgia Southern University, 2009

As punishment for my sins, as a prior service enlisted cadet, I found myself helping to run a rifle range, On a Saturday. For nursing program cadets. Yeah, about that.

So, anyway, we were shooting for score at our little 25 yard range. Which for ROTC cadets, was a test score.

And I'm walking up and down the range, nursing a hangover and a Gatorade.

BOOM!

I may or may not have hit the dirt, rolled off the line, and started ripping towards my thigh for my non existent sidearm. 

A cease fire is called and I collect my senses. One of the junior girls is huddled over, crying; the tattered remnants of a M-16A2 at her feet. 

Wrapping her in a bear hug and easing her away from what was left of her rifle; I knelt down to see just what in the hell had happened. 

So, our nursing cadet, defaulting to her level of training, had used the forward assist to close the bolt after a misfeed. 

And in the process, lodged a live round behind the bullet of a previous malfunction that she thought she had cleared. The extractor ripped off I'd say around the bottom half to 3/4s of the round that failed to fire, leaving the actual bullet in the chamber.  Which was preventing the next round from chambering. 

Which she rectified by mashing the forward assist until the weapon went into battery, 

A matter of inches stood between her missing a hand and not. It was gut wrenching.

For the record, a number two pencil makes the same size hole as M855A1 in a 25 meter zero target. 

Everyone qualified and we all went home, with all fingers and hands intact. 

God, the forward assist is dumb. 

Thanks fo stopping buy.

Weapon Light Wednesday

Weapon Mounted Lights on Handguns-
By Pudge

How much of our life is spent during darkness? Is it ever dark inside a house, hallway, or building you frequent? Even during daytime is it possible to find darkness? Because of these questions and the answers that they elicit I’d like to discuss weapon mounted lights or WMLs on handguns today.

There are so many options out there that it is hard to know where to start, yet, at the same time it also means there is almost no reason not to add a light to your daily blaster. Brand and size are up to you. However, I will caveat the last statement with this; make sure the light is from a reputable brand and will not fail you when you need it to work. As far as brands go, I have had very good luck with both Surefire and Streamlight and am currently in the process of testing some Olights and it is looking good. I am using each brands’ full-size handgun weapon lights but each makes multiple compact versions that I have heard good things from as well. I prefer the full-size handgun lights as I tend to carry a slightly larger gun and want all the lumens that I can get. The biggest decision is what type of button/switch operation you prefer as all three of these brands are similar, yet different. I’m partial to the Surefire system but that is more than likely due to the fact that I use Surefire lights for work and have more time with them.

Full-size lights for full-size blasters.

Now that brands and sizes have been ever so slightly touched on, why do I carry a light and why you should as well. I carry a light on my handgun because you really never know when you’ll encounter a threat during periods or areas of darkness. So, what is wrong with just a pocket light? Nothing…but I never know when I may have to manipulate my handgun one handed. I may only have one hand because of injury, grabbing/holding my son, opening doors or a variety of other reasons. Having a weapon mounted light means I can still have light on the threat and my gun ready even if the other hand is busy. Depending on the holster it can still be easily concealed without adding any discomfort so why not. All of that said, a weapon mounted light does not mean you shouldn’t carry a handheld in your pocket. I know myself and Mack use our handheld lights everyday for a whole range of tasks where it would not be acceptable to pull out our handguns and point them at whatever we may be needing light for.

Weapon mounted lights on handguns definitely take some extra training to get proficient with but the cost is easily worth the reward gained. Find a light that fits your gun and lifestyle and get busy with those reps necessary for proficiency.

Slinging Lead Saturday

It's been a wild last few weeks for both Mack and myself but we are both still kicking no matter what the world has tried to throw at us. I wanted to make sure everyone knows we are still alive so I thought I'd post a few short video clips for everyone's viewing pleasure.

The Eleanor +1 Drill I discussed the other day.

Low-light Eleanor Drill

NVG handgun

A stage at a recent handgun match.

Tuesday Talking Points/Book Review

Hello all. We have a book review for today that I will get to in just a minute. But first a quick in real life update.  

So three weeks ago, this happened:

Dumbass in a mid size import decided the turning lane was a good place to try and merge into the travel lane. Grrrr. Finally got that all wrapped up just yesterday. Progressive can choke on a bag full of dicks. 

But hey, I got a set of new tires and enough loss of use money to finish my Gucci AR. So there is that.

And then two weeks, ago Jackie started feeling kinda cruddy. After two days, she took a test and came back positive for Covid. As did I. She's still a little under the weather but not too bad. I'm completely asymptomatic. 

Alrighty and now to our regularly scheduled Tsundoku Tuesday.

So, for some reason, in the Navy aviators historically wear brown shoes. And surface officers wear black shoes. And SEALs wear flippers. (pause for laughter)

Generally Carrier Task Groups, and by law Carriers, are commanded by aviators. But, in the early days of World War Two, Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, a black shoe, commanded a carrier task force in the first three carrier versus carrier engagements of the war. 

And did remarkably well, in my opinion. Which is also the opinion of John Lundstrom in his terrific work about the Admiral. Cool fun fact: Admiral Fletcher received the Medal of Honor at Veracruz, while fighting with the Marines. So I guess it makes sense that the destroyer skipper might wind up fighting carrier battles.

Coral Sea was strategic victory but minor tactical defeat. Midway might be the greatest Naval battle of all time. And The Battle of Eastern Solomons...is murky. Baby Marines are ed a steady diet of how the Navy carriers left them and that has entered the commonly accepted pop history of the battle. And Admiral Fletcher is generally regarded as the guy who ran.

All of which is damn near false. The Admiral got a bum rap. John Lundstrom makes quite he case for Admiral Fletcher. And does it in a way that almost reads like a Barrett Tillman novel. 

Five out Five longnecks. 

First Aid Friday

Tourniquets-
By Pudge

The other day I did some informal tourniquet testing and wanted to share my findings. (If I practice making holes in someone I should be ready to stop those holes from bleeding too.) One of my medics (these guys are extremely well trained and who I want working on me in a bad situation) and I did some comparison testing between CAT, SOF-T, and RATS tourniquets. We conducted the following timed tests: self-application on arm, partner application on leg, and application with surgical lubricant. (The surgical lube was used to replicate blood. The lube was more slippery than large amounts of blood.)

Test results in seconds listed in the chart below. Times are averages between myself and my medic's application times.

	Self-application on arm	Buddy application on leg
CAT	20.05	17.955
SOF-T	53.225	17.49
RATS	19.725	22.705

Below are some pros and cons that we found for each type of tourniquet.

CAT-
Pros- easiest to apply both 1 and 2 handed

Cons- if dirt/debris gets in the velcro it can slip, easiest to accidentally catch the strap during movement and release tension

SOF-T-
Pros- you don't lose the initial bite if it slips, best option for long movements of casualty, once locked in it is the most secure, and it is the most durable because of the metal windlass

Cons- hardest to employ one handed due to the windlass holder (this is also what makes it the most secure) This is why the self-application time is much higher than the others. The blood had stopped flowing much sooner but it took considerable extra time to get the windlass locked in place.

RATS-
Pros- quick application, great for small children and animals (the other tourniquets don't allow you to tighten as far on small limbs) This is the main reason I would recommend a couple of RATS tourniquets for anyone with children or animals. It is also very low profile in comparison and is a good option for your everyday carry kit. For adults one of the other 2 are probably better options but the RATS is still very much usable.

Cons- if it slips you have to start all over with wrapping it and it is the hardest to use when slippery (harder to hang on to when soaked in blood but can still be used)

RATs applied on leg as medic checks to make sure blood flow is stopped.

I am continuing to test all of these tourniquets and will post updates when I am able to conduct more formal testing. Each one has its benefits as well as negatives so it is up to each person to decide which fits their application best.

Talking Tuesday

Over, on the book of faces, Tam shared a post poking fun at the old timer behind the gun counter. I felt inspired to turn that on it's head. Please find below a little quiz to take to determine if you're "that" customer: 

1) You are standing in line waiting for the clerk to assist you. He is busy showing a young lady a Glock   19. What should you do? 

    A. Wait patiently and think about baseball 

    B. Interject and say she needs a Judge 

    C. Interject and say those tupperware guns are useless 

    D. Interject and say she needs something small and pink 

2) You are looking for the newest rifle from Remchester. The clerk hands you said rifle. It has a reasonable price on it. What should you do? 

    A. Say "Great, I'll take it." 

    B. Bore him with a story about a deer you shot in 1975 with a Marlin from 200 yards. 

    C. Complain that "they don't make them like they use to." 

    D. Ask if you buy the gun do you get free "shells" 

3) You are looking at high end sporting shotguns while your wife shops next door at Kohl's. The clerk is showing a young man different types of 9mm Hollow Points. What do you do? 

    A. Say nothing and continue about your day 

    B. Interject how 9mm is worthless and you need to carry a gun in a caliber that starts with "4" 

    C. Interject how hollow point ammunition will get you prosecuted 

    D. Interject about how you alternate ball and hollow points in your carry mag 

4) It is the day before deer season. You NEED a box of .25-06 soft points. The store is very busy. What do you do? 

    A. Wait patiently and think about football 

    B. Call the clerk "Boy" real loud to asert dominance 

    C. Skip the line and interrupt the clerk filling out a 4473 

    D. Loudly complain about all these folks buying "space guns" 

5) The clerk is showing a petite young lady a Troy Industries AR pistol with a brace. He is talking about Speer gold dots and active hearing protection for inside the home. What should you do?

    A. Wait patiently and think about bowling

    B. Say that all you need for home defense is a pump shotgun

    C. Loudly state that them braces illegal

    D. Tell a story about how you carried a M-14 for two years in West Germany

6) A well dressed young man is looking at a high end piece of glass for his new F-Class rifle. What should you do?

    A. Wait patiently and think about basketball

    B. Let out a whistle and remark about the price tag

    C. Say that the Barska you bought at Wal-Mart is just as good

    D. Mutter about iron sights and how things use to be

If you had more than two answers other than "A", maybe you should take a long look in the mirror before going to the gun shop on Saturday to "look around". 

Hope y'all enjoyed today's lesson. And if any feathers were ruffled, let me know in the comments. But all of this was in good fun.

Housekeeping note: The new blogger layout sucks. But I'm getting use to it.