http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/ en Copyright 2007 Sat, 22 Dec 2007 23:40:04 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Happy holidays from Grappling with Guns. This year I got two early presents, a Ruger MKIII678 for target practice (and maybe some rabbit hunting in the future) and a gun case from Cabella's. My wife got me the case and I got myself the gun. I took the Ruger out to the range along with my S&W M&P compact chambered in .40 S&W. It's nice to have a .22, although don't delude yourself that getting a .22 will reduce your ammo cost. I shot the same amount of .40 caliber ammo as I did the last time I went to the range. I just added a couple hundred rounds of .22 to the bill! I hope you all have a great holiday, and I hope you find something nice under your tree.]]> http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/12/xmas_ruger.html http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/12/xmas_ruger.html Sat, 22 Dec 2007 23:40:04 +0000 http://www.katu.com/news/10193211.html]]> http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/10/teacher_comes_out.html http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/10/teacher_comes_out.html Sat, 06 Oct 2007 03:22:24 +0000 http://www.portfolio.com/careers/features/2007/09/17/Unification-Church]]> http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/09/kahr_in_portfolio_magazine.html http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/09/kahr_in_portfolio_magazine.html Sat, 29 Sep 2007 15:01:57 +0000 Oregon Live website. It is worth a look. On page three several officials indicate that the state carry law seemingly trumps individual rules. My gym, for example, has a "no weapons on site" rule, and while I don't carry at the gym out of respect for this rule and because I signed the contract agreeing to it, I would prefer to carry. I usually go to work out with my wife about 4 or 4:30 in the morning, and we have stumbled across drug deals and other unsavory folks. The "no weapons" means neither my wife or I can carry mace, a taser, a handgun or any other means of protection to or from the gym. I am interested to hear how the lawsuit by the instructor plays out in the Oregon school district, and I wonder whether or not this would impact the right of businesses to require “no weapons” policies in contracts with licensed individuals. ]]> http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/09/oregon_teachers_carry_rights.html http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/09/oregon_teachers_carry_rights.html Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:32:31 +0000 http://www.rpi.edu/dept/llc/webclass/web/project1/group4/ ]]> http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/ethos_logos_and_pathos.html http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/ethos_logos_and_pathos.html Sun, 29 Jul 2007 21:12:15 +0000 When I bought my compact M&P in .40 caliber I didn't know Smith & Wesson was offering free clips with the purchase of a new M&P or Sigma. I got home on June 2nd from picking up the pistol from The Place to Shoot, the indoor range where I'm a member, and logged in to the S&W website to see if there were any downloads or additional information about my new gun. On the front page I saw the offer. I was elated. Not only had they designed a top contender in contemporary pistol design, but their pricing and rewards beat any deal in town. When the clips arrived I appreciated that both clips had the pinky grip base plate included. In the photo the last clip with a flat base plate was the backup clip that came when the gun shipped. For concealed carry I can wear the gun with the flat base plate, and use the other three as backups. Thanks Smith and Wesson! Unfortunately, the offer just ended. Maybe they'll create an even better fall offer, just to make me jealous... ]]> http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/mp40c_free_clips.html http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/mp40c_free_clips.html Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:53:22 +0000 For the past week I've been off doing "other" non-blog related things - hitting the gym at 4 in the morning (not exactly sure how that happened, but it did) and getting ready for the start of my MBA program. (So, that means, get up when my wife gets me up, [maybe that's how the 4am trip to the gym started] toss my M&P in the hip pouch [not really toss, but place safely and carefully] go to the gym for an hour or two, come home, shower, read for school, leave the gun with my wife, go to work, come home, spend time with my dear spouse, read, go to bed, repeat). On gun bloggers websites it sure seems that guns and personal defense are this big massive thing that is always there looming in the foreground, but in most ways it really isn't. Personal defense is part of the mundane everyday. I was thinking the other day about one of the things I do each day before I carry. I check in with my mental and physical state. Am I tired? Am I frustrated? Do I have a crick in my neck that will keep me from blocking an attack with a blunt object? Does my knee hurt in a way that will keep me from dodging out of traffic should a car cut around a corner too sharply? Safety is a lot more than just about having a tool like a gun or can of mace. It's about being peaceful, self aware, and willing to defend yourself. http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/off_on_a_tangent.html http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/off_on_a_tangent.html Sat, 14 Jul 2007 01:43:14 +0000 When I joined the Ames Police Explorers in eighth grade I had several reasons. First, after my parent’s divorced my mother wanted me to have strong male role models. This meant the Boy Scouts, where the play of Cub Scouts turned to discipline and discipline turned to manhood. I hated the repetition and mental bluntness of the Boy Scouts. Reciting, marching, standing in neat rows and saluting, sitting through boring meetings in the stagnant air of the Kiwanis’s club and working for merit badges alone with no father to guide, only increased my awareness of the separation Mother wanted the activities to fix.. The Explorers was different. Here was an opportunity, I thought, to really help people. I could learn to be a stabilizing force in an unstable world. I could walk the line between the good guys and the bad guys, and not only that, but I could do it with a gun at my side, itself a symbol of security and enforcement to those whose flaws didn’t contain the taint of criminality. It was an easy solution in my mind, and it gave me an out with my mother. I could quit the Boy Scouts. http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/explorers_vs_boy_scouts.html http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/explorers_vs_boy_scouts.html myth vs. reality Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:21:38 +0000 Spade addressed Gutman: "I hope you're not letting yourself be influenced by the guns these pocket-edition desperadoes are waving." Gutman opened his eyes. Cairo stopped whispering and stood erect behing the fat man's chair. Spade said: "I've practiced taking them away from both of them, so there'll be no trouble there." Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon]]> http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/grappling_with_guns_1.html http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/grappling_with_guns_1.html myth vs. reality Sun, 08 Jul 2007 16:12:18 +0000 not to carry. “If you somehow get stopped uh by a security person as an example and you’ve got a weapon, immediately there is the implication that there is something wrong. The one time in Beruit (referring to an earlier operation) that we had weapons with us, they were silent weapons, ironically… uh, we pulled them. And uh fortunately it was an instance where we didn’t have to use them, but it just highlighted once again that if you have a weapon what you might do in a normal situation if it gets dicey and you don’t have a weapon you think of a way to get out and if you do have a weapon you’ll pull your weapon and uh right away you’ve raised your profile.”* Here's to creativity over lowest common denominators. *From Silent Warriors: 2 Escape from Saddam on the Discovery Channel http://shopping.discovery.com/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10000&catalogId=10000&langId=-1&productId=30403&partnumber=672808]]> http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/kowens_team_decides_to_go_unar.html http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/kowens_team_decides_to_go_unar.html myth vs. reality Sun, 08 Jul 2007 01:56:21 +0000 http://www.guntards.net/breaking-news-at-this-hour]]> http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/great_post_at_guntards.html http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/great_post_at_guntards.html Blog news Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:09:15 +0000 Michael Moore’s new movie, SiCKO has been just released. I like Michael Moore. Bowling for Columbine really made me think hard about guns. As my reader’s know, I walked away from shooting at the age of 16 after a friend was coerced by a parent into committing a gun crime. As I watched Bowling, I felt that in terms of logic, Charlton Heston won the day. In the scene where Moore interviews Heston, Moore confronts Heston with the fact that the NRA held a rally in Moore’s hometown just after an elementary school girl had been shot by a fellow student who had brought his dad’s gun to school. The emotion Michael Moore felt and expressed at the tragedy of a child being shot by another child didn’t seem to have a lot to do with whether or not guns should be regulated, but more about how parents teach their children how to be safe, or how parents take safety precautions with their dangerous tools. The entire film was filled with the same logical flaws. Moore indicates that Canada is loaded with guns, but has less gun violence, then wonders what the difference is, surmising that we in the US should illegalize guns. The missing link – culture – is obvious to most of us. Illegalizing things won’t help if violent cultures cannot be changed. So, like I said, I like Michael. It's thanks to him and his film in part that I feel safe in owning, maintaining and carrying loaded firearms. I've got the missing link - a peaceful culture. I’m worried that after watching SiCKO that I’m going to see more of Moore’s bad logic. I’m in support of a strong social net and government mediation of medical costs, and I’ll be damned if a good/bad movie by Mr. Moore is going to muck that up! ]]> http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/sicko.html http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/07/sicko.html Wed, 04 Jul 2007 19:42:28 +0000 useful defensive training. Rich Daniel over at FFKG has three DVDs out that detail his live fire/airsoft training approach. He has people practice drill-based exercises on a live fire range has them practice simulations against live attackers using airsoft. Everything is at contact distance in the airsoft exercises, and the emphasis is placed on footwork, using punches, strikes and grappling where needed, and getting distance from your attacker so that your firearm can actually be an effective tool to end the fight. Yes, I have to admit he's a friend of mine - I started going to their rental range, The Place to Shoot in 2002, but I've watched the videos and done the exercises, and I'm willing to bet my life on them. Now, if only I can convince him to give me THOUSANDS of dollars worth of free training I might be on par with all the other gun bloggers out there :) ]]> http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/06/since_everyones_posting_links.html http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/06/since_everyones_posting_links.html Sat, 30 Jun 2007 20:43:28 +0000 Koin and at Oregon Live. Just yesterday I saw Katu running a story at 4:30 on the laws about defense with a firearm in the home. I missed the report, but I wonder if they will recap it today.]]> http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/06/portland_man_defends_home.html http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/06/portland_man_defends_home.html Sat, 30 Jun 2007 14:40:30 +0000 When I joined the Ames Police Explorers in eighth grade I had several reasons. First, after my parent’s divorced my mother wanted me to have strong male role models. This meant the Boy Scouts where the play of Cub Scouts turned to discipline and discipline turned to manhood. I hated the repetition and mental bluntness of the Boy Scouts. Nationalistically reciting the pledge of allegiance, standing in neat rows and saluting, sitting through boring meetings in the stagnant air of the Kiwanis’s club and working for merit badges alone with no father to guide, only increased my awareness of the separation the activities were supposed to fix. The Police Explorers were different. Here was an opportunity, I thought, to really help people. I could learn to be a stabilizing force in an unstable world. I could walk the line between the good guys and the bad guys, and not only that, but I could do it with a gun at my side, itself a symbol of security and enforcement to those who didn’t have the flaw of criminality tainting their person. It was an easy solution in my mind, and it gave me an out with my mother. I could quit the Boy Scouts. http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/06/joining.html http://www.grapplingwithguns.com/archives/2007/06/joining.html Police Explorers Sat, 30 Jun 2007 13:25:16 +0000