ZenDog

I have taken classes at both Rangemaster and RangeUSA in Memphis- I would not hesitate to recommend either facility. However, if you are easily offended by dramatic profanity, you might have an unpleasant experience with Tom Givens at Rangemaster. Tom is a great instructor and I am not personally offended by his language at all, having been instructed for several years in the US Army. But I think Miss Manners or Church Lady might blush a lot in Tom's classes.

I was visiting his website and read this- I personally have no experience, no opinion on the Serpa From Suarez's website--- We do not allow the BlackHawk CQC SERPA Holster - Active Retention design because it requires the trigger finger to be doing something other than indexing along the frame of the pistol during the draw stroke. Simply put...the Serpa is a poorly designed but brilliantly marketed holster that causes a user to press in with the finger tip as they draw their pistol. In many cases it ends up with the trigger finger right on the trigger (and pressing inward) prematurely. In other words...long before it would be safe to do so. I am aware of five situations at other schools where this has caused an AD on the range. Twice where it led so a self-inflicted gunshot. And these guys were either highly experienced shooters of seasoned operators. Twice I have personally seen it in force on force. If I allow a holster like that in class, having seen the problems and knowing the problems, and a student shoots themselves...it really would be my fault. As I understand it several other schools disallow these holsters.

Are those one hour motels still open on Summer Avenue? I think it was something like $20 an hour, which included fresh sheets, but "room service" was extra. But, seriously, Poplar/240, Park Avenue/Ridgeway/St. Francis area- all are safer than most of the stuff closer to Rangemaster. And they are more expensive, too. Don't leave anything visible in your car-- even the better motel parking areas are plagued by smash-and-grab thieves.

+1 on the safepacker - really comfortable and versatile for long car trips. Good if you are in a NPE or a tourist/shopping area as well. Looks like a little camera bag or a weird fanny pack

The Tueller Drill illustrates that waiting too long because of trying to be totally obviously legal can get you killed. The aggressive threatening BG wielding a screwdriver or a crowbar can rapidly close the space between you and strike a fatal blow even after being shot- unless you use an RPG or something. My wife and I have made our decision- if they get in and advance, we will shoot them as much as needed until they stop advancing into our home. Then we'll retain Leslie Ballin if a defense is needed.

Welcome Glocker - I have a G26, G19, and a few other firearms.

If you haven't spent time on their website-- here's CERT. There is some decent basic training stuff available for downloads. https://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/index.shtm

Welcome, neighbor - I live in E. Memphis near the U of M.

We are blessed (at the moment, at least) with adequate rain in my part of TN. My plans for the coming year include building a rain water collection system that utilizes run-off from the roof, through the gutters, into a linked series of food-grade barrels. There are some good books on this. In drier climes, locals are encouraged to build such systems by tax breaks, etc. Rainwater harvesting is really big in some parts of Texas. I figure I'll collect enough to at least not have to worry about watering the vegetable garden and the fruit trees. And if there ever is a Katrina-type situation, I'll have a few hundred gallons to draw upon.

We actually box food up (wine-liquor boxes) and label the outside with the inventory and general expiration dates-- We stack it up. When we need that sort of food, we open a box instead of going to the grocery. When we go to the grocery, we are buying 1-2 years ahead on items that store well. The wife waits for big sales at Costco/Sam's etc and buys a lot- she says she gets some strange looks- like the day she found our favorite ready-made pasta sauce for $2.00 off a jar, she bought something like 3 dozen jars. But now we have great pasta sauce at a great price for the next couple of years. Food insurance, I heard it called. We have fire insurance, auto insurance, and I see our guns and training as a sort of "violence prevention insurance", so, why not have food insurance?

Then I saw this! Perfect add-on for the coming Zombie Apocalypse. I think I'll need at least a few extra batteries- got lotsa zombies here in Memphis. The original post has a link to a youtube video- you can see it in action! Bayonets are so 2007 The modern Soldier of Fortune prefers the “full auto†chainsaw rail attachment over the old fashioned single stab “blade†or “spike†bayonet. It makes the bayonet pistol look impotent! Pictured on an AR-15 Now available for the Saiga-12 shotgun (note the 20 round drum mag)

Any opinions about a class like this? It sounds good to me, but I do not have the expertise to know. Techniques in first aid have probably progressed since I got my sucking chest wound training at Ft Leonard Wood in 1979.... February 26, 2009 Tactical Combat Casualty Care Course Houston, TX This course is based upon the military Tactical Combat Casualty Care promoted by United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). It is taught by an actual Combat Medic with recent deployment experience. It is designed to teach non-medical personnel to provide immediate lifesaving measures during the Golden Hour beyond the level of self-aid or buddy-aid to wounded personnel. Students will also learn: Care under fire Control Bleeding Open and Manage a Casualty's Airway Treat Penetrating Chest Trauma and Decompress and Tension Pneumothroax Evacuate a Casualty Duration: 1 Days 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Prerequisites: None Ammunition: None Equipment: Provided

You answered 30 out of 33 correctly — 90.91 % Not bad for someone with a minor in political science-- most of them score a lot lower!

I love band of brothers- My father was one of Patton's troops who 'relieved' the men of the 502nd, so it has a lot of meaning for me. And, BlackHawk Down is currently my favorite movie. Gun movies with fun/entertaining twists I like Boondock Saints Desperado / El Mariachi The Professional The Way of the Gun

Words are inadequate. My sincere condolences. Lots of Love and prayers for y'all.

HOW BIG IS WAL-MART?? 1 . At Wal-Mart, Americans spend $36,000,000 every hour of every day. 2 . This works out to $20,928 profit every minute! 3. Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St. Patrick's Day (March 17th) than Target sells all year. 4. Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger + Target + Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined. 5. Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people and is the largest private employer. And most can't speak English 6. Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the World. 7. Wal-Mart now sells more food than Kroger & Safeway combined, and keep in mind they did this in only 15 years. 8. During this same period, 31 Supermarket chains sought bankruptcy (including Winn-Dixie). 9. Wal-Mart now sells more food than any other store in the world. 10. Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores in the USA of which 1,906 are SuperCenters; this is 1,000 more than it had 5 years ago. 11. This year, 7.2 billion different purchasing experiences will occur at a Wal-Mart store. (Earth's population is pproximately 6.5 billion.) 12. 90% of all Americans live within 15 miles of a Wal-Mart 13. Let Wal-Mart bail out Wall Street

Ran across this in the November Rangemaster newsletter- written by a fellow who survived hurricane Ike in Houston - this is his first aid advice after surviving that experience. (he has a lot of other advice- I just pasted this medical part because it was pertinent to this post) Trauma Kits: Learn how to treat traumatic injuries and have the appropriate equipment on hand. I had to suture my wife's foot with four stitches. I had no pain killer, but I still had to do it. We had no access to hospitals, or ambulances, or medical care of any kind. We had to treat our own injuries. Have plenty of battle dressings, alcohol, medical scissors, wide-spectrum, oral antibiotics, decongestants, and band-aids. You're going to need it all! from http://rangemaster.com/newsletter/2008-11_RM-Newsletter.pdf

There's a nice basic article with photos about defensive shotgun use posted at ar15.com here's the link http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=789542

My wife says "Glock 19". Easy to shoot.

I was off of this board for a few months- stuff happens. I got back on yesterday-- wondered where Mars was. Found this thread. RIP Soldier. A toast, and a hooah or two, and another toast. And maybe another toast... we are only 4 years apart in years. I wonder if I will make a similar decision at some point... Next magazine through my Glock is dedicated to you. Maybe I'll have a Kaboom in your honor.

If there is a natural disaster it is often hard to figure out what is going on locally because normal radio and TV are often down. I'll get my Ham license in the near future so that will help. In the meantime, I am trying to figure out what sort of radio scanner to get. Does anyone have any recommendations for radio scanners for local services? I am interested in being able to monitor fire, police, and other local radio communications, CB, etc. I don't know anything about scanners available to the public. Any help is appreciated.

I like bug out bags. I have always been a fan of backpacks for some reason, so I enjoy thinking and tinkering, trying to come up with "the perfect" bug out bag. It is like the perfect carry weapon-- it cannot be done, but I like the challenge. Living where I do (Memphis), I thought it would be prudent for the family members to all have individual bug out bags. We have seen the Katrina people and the Ike people evacuate to Memphis- many had only the clothes on their back, others were quite well prepared. I prefer to be one of the prepared if it happens to my family. There are real risks for us living here in tornado alley and in the most dangerous earthquake zone in North America. In Memphis we are subject to home damage and power loss due to storms (tornadoes, ice storms), the Big One (earthquake), and toxic chemical spills that might include evacuation (We live .5 mile from a major rail line with lots of traffic- we have had derailments and spills nearby before). A few years ago we had a big storm- some parts of town were without power for several weeks. Trees fell and smashed houses, making some of them unlivable, and the occupants had to evacuate. Many ATM's and gas stations were not working because power was out. Not a good scene for the unprepared. My wife and I have personal bags at the ready-- they are individual backpacks that live in closets. If storms are imminent, we get the bags out and "top them off" with our everyday carry stuff and just keep the bags at arms length, ready to go. We have some other things (long guns, heirlooms etc) ready to grab and load up in case we need to hop in the vehicle and go live elsewhere for a few days. And we have an emergency 10 gallon supply of gasoline- My little car gets almost 40 mpg, so that extra 10 gallons can get us almost 400 miles away from Memphis. With some ammo, some cash, photocopies of our important papers, food, first aid, carry weapons, etc., we can make it just fine for a few days if we have to. My recent efforts have been at uploading all the health records/insurance info to the web so if we end up elsewhere without it someone can download it for us.

Some psychologists (like me) and other mental health folks are 'sensitive' to things like security clearances, HCP status, FAA regs, etc. I used to have a TS/SCI clearance when I worked for Uncle Sam-- I know it it can really inhibit seeking help if you think you will be shut out of your classified job when they find out you have sought counseling. That sux. Too bad there is not a directory of health care folks who have the HCP. There are literally several hundred things you can diagnose someone with when they come onto your office. A professional who is sensitive to the issues can do the right thing for someone in need of help. If I trust them and feel good about where they are at regading their safety and the safety of others, they will get a diagnosis that sounds very normal and un-threatening, something sort of like like "stress" or "family problems". This works for cops and pilots, too, folks I deal with now and then in my office. On the other hand, sometimes, unfortunately, the right thing for the professional is to call 911. Depends on who is in my office and where they are at. Public safety trumps an insane individual's right to carry.

To repel a couple of dogs I might use 22 snake shot in a revolver. To kill one of them-- any decent carry ammo should eventually work. To kill a pack attacking me- well, either an AK or an AR with at least a 30 round magazine, bowie knife, hockey stick, body armor, and a helmet with a face shield would be good-- that's how I usually ride my bike through the park. Pepper Spray-Pitt Bull Report - kinda goes with this doggy thread I used pepper spray on a Pitt Bull last week that was trying to get into my house- He was lost, loose, and my wife was yelling at him to get out of her garden- she was protecting her plants and I was protecting my wife- he was woofy but not in full blown attack mode, but when I opened the screen door to go out to help her get rid of him, he charged at the open door strongly- his goal was to enter my house. I guess it looked like home. I had already picked up the spray and had it in my hand 'cuz I thought I might need it to help my wife repel the dog so I instinctively gave him a brief spray when he tried to enter the house- caught him on the side of his face, none got in his mouth, nose, eyes, or ears. He stopped dead in his tracks, walked away kinda slow and goofy, and then started pawing at his face, trying to get it off, which immediately got it all over his paw. I saw him about an hour later running his face across a lawn over and over, trying to get rid of the burn. Haven't seen him since. Hope he made it home, and I hope his owners figured out what that nasty burning stuff was that was on their doggy. I like dogs, but we've had a couple of local folks killed or maimed by loose Pitts in just the past few months.

So yeah, it is clear now- Glock all the way. Austria is closer to where Jesus lived than America is, so it has to be a Glock instead of some 'merican gun. Uzis don't count because it is too hard to buy them legally, and Jesus would not do anything illegal, unless the Romans were in charge. So, Glock. Or maybe one of those Czech things, closer to Jesusville. And, you figure if the Holy Dude can turn water into wine, he could probably turn a derringer into an AK-47 if needed. Watch out for those Holy Dudes on horses with concealed swords in their mouths. Do you have to have a permit for that??