Another Prowler

If you don't have dogs, go buy some now. Last night about 9pm I was playing some games on the computer and watching my beloved Patriots whup Denver's ass when my dogs went bonkers outside. Now for those of you who don't own dogs, they make different barks for different occasions. I know of four different patterns of barking depending on what's going on. There is your "ZOMG a Squirrel" bark, the "OMG there is another dog" bark, the "Someone's jogging by the house" bark, and finally the "I'm going to eat your balls for breakfast" bark.

Hearing the latter, I grabbed my Sig, tucked it in my pants in the small of my back, grabbed a flashlight and went outside. Sure enough, my dogs were eyeballing a pile of forsythia bushes. It's 1/4 on my property and 3/4 on the neighbors. (The neighbor is cool, and his wife likes it a lot, so I just trim back my side, instead of killing it.) I talked the dogs into calming down, when I heard the distinctive snap of something big breaking a stick in the brush. Something bigger than a dog, raccoon, skunk or squirrel.

I shined the flashlight in there, and didn't see anything. Although I was armed, there was no sense in drawing and scaring some kid who was running through the neighborhood. There is no way any adult would fit in there without making a huge dent in it, which is what I was looking for when shining my light in there.

So I backed up so they wouldn't see the Sig, and went back in the house. Whoever was in there hauled ass, because the dogs didn't bark any more. The thought of someone crawling through that mess of thick brush makes me laugh. Oh, I forgot to mention there is an assload of bull briars in the middle, the real nasty ones.

Practicing with my firearm with an empty clip was very helpful. I grabbed the gun and mag from the safe, and had it loaded and ready to go in seconds without looking at it, while moving rapidly through the house. It's easy to practice, put a empty clip in your front off hand pocket, another in your off hand butt pocket, and the empty firearm in the other. draw the weapon with your primary hand and the clip with the off hand. As you bring the weapon up, slap the mag in and cycle the action. At the end of the motion you should be in a two handed stance, ready to shoot. I drop the clip with the release, and grab and slap a second empty mag in the weapon, thumbing the release. I then drop the second mag, check to make sure the weapon is empty(can never be too safe), and reset for the next exercises.

I've done this at least 1000 times. Now I practice in my hallway kneeling or prone. I practice drawing from my pocket, my holster or from the small of my back. I practice one handed as if one arm is injured, and the same with the off hand. I practice reloading while moving.

It's cheap, and I usually do it while cooking dinner. 10-15 minutes a night is all it takes. It is no replacement for formal training, but it's better than standing there in a incident fiddle-fucking with your magazine. It's all about muscle memory, knowing in your mind what to do is one thing, pre-programming your muscles so you don't have to think about it is a million times better.