I was thinking of ways the US could revitalize interest in using the dollar as a shelter from uncertainty. The solution that I see as a near certainty is the US wants to start another war. Iran is the most likely target as the leader is batshit crazy, and no one wants Iran with WMD.
Just like the three wars in the gulf, when there is war, people turn to gold, oil (if they buy before it goes up), and US treasury bills. We are having such trouble with bond auctions that the administration might see this as the only solution to bolster confidence in the dollar. The obvious choice, cut spending and reduce taxes, wouldn't be considered for a nanosecond.
We have plenty of military assets in-theater, and Israel has a raging chubby to go after Iran right now. Let's face it, the apocalyptic death-cult that runs Iran right now would launch a nuke as soon as they had one built.
This week I have been cycling through my stored gas. I'm disappointed with the containers I bought, so if anyone knows of good metal ones cheap, please let me know. I fully expect gas to go up, and I want to stock up on the winter blend.
I'm still working on the new website. Work's been keeping me real busy, and let's be honest, it's hard as hell to sit in front of a computer when it's the first few days of spring. I did get out to the range yesterday, and practiced with my .22 pistol. I should have snapped a picture, all of the first 20 rounds were in the black at 25 yards :) needless to say, I was pleased as punch.
Get out there and practice. with a target pistol you should be able to put all your rounds into a soft-ball sized circle at 25 yards with carefully aimed shots at about 1 round per 2 seconds.
That reminds me, I never talked about cadence and shooting. It's one thing to blaze away, but another to have accurate aimed shots going downrange. Let's take pistol shooting for example. When the target is 25 yards away, you need to put the post on the target, line up the rear sight and squeeze the trigger. But the shooting cycle does not end there! You need to follow through on your shot, absorbing the recoil, and begin the process of putting the front post back onto the target.
This cadence of shooting is not a hard number. You don not need to fire exactly 1 shot every 2 seconds. In fact, your cadence needs to be adjustable depending on the accuracy you need. If I have a 18" silhouette at 21 feet, my rate of fire will be a heck of a lot faster than if I'm shooting at a 25 yard target keeping it in the black. Likewise the rate of fire would be different if I was shooting a silhouette at 25 yards, rather than the NRA pistol target at 25 yards.
Next time you go to the range take a sheet of regular paper with you and put it at 100 yards. practice pumping as many rounds into it as fast as you can, build up that knowledge of what rate of fire it takes you to hit that 90% of the time. Then take another and fold it into 1/4 the size and do it again. Your rate of fire will have to be different, if not speed up on the larger target.
For a scoped rifle, run this exercise at 200 or 300 yards. Another good exercise is to have targets at 50, 100, 200, and 300 yards and have a spotter randomly call out ranges for you to shoot at. Practice this from each firing position too.
Well I hope I gave you a few ideas on how to better train for the zombies. Please share any other ideas you have in the comments.
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Friday, March 19, 2010
Monday, November 10, 2008
Busy Weekend
First off, let me admit to being a damn nitwit. I went to pick up some long term supplies of grains, and they were out of Hard Red Winter wheat, and they were not going to get any in for a long time. Dammit! I should have bought it when they had it. Granted it would have been sitting there for 3 months, but now I got to scramble to get some. Now I have to spend time tracking it down.
So I bought 100# of corn for $25. They did have winter rye, but I knew jack shit about it and passed. Cornmeal is good. Cornbread and johnnie cakes. Yummy.
On Saturday, I had my own three-gun shoot. Pistol, rifle, and shotgun shooting. I'm very happy with my progression in all three weapons. Not that I'm the best shot around, but I would say I'm good enough to get by. Any training from here on in would need to be tactics training on how to clear rooms, handle prisoners, etc.
I am somewhat disappointed with the reloader I bought. Turns out the re-sizer is a separate ring, and I wasn't using it for many of shells, and it bit me in the ass on Sunday. From now on, I need to check all my hulls and separate them into piles that need to be re-sized and those that do not. I figure if I take the barrel off of my shotgun, and use a wooden dowel to pop them out, I can quickly go through the shells. The cheapest MEC reloader with the re-sizing die
I was shooting in a league on Sunday, and missed four or five shells because of jams. These hulls were the oldest ones I had, so I was an idiot for using them in the competition. Live and learn. Pretty much any shell I load buck into and store, I will re-size. By the time I use it, who knows what shotgun (or barrel) I'll be using it out of.
I bid on a replacement barrel for my 870 on gunbroker.com but the bidding went too high for me for a snap purchase. I do want to get a longer barrel for my 870, this will help with Skeet, as well as duck and goose hunting, which I might like to do next year.
A friend I made at the club is going piggy hunting down south soon. evidently there is a big feral pig problem in NC,SC, and TN. I like to eat piggies. Bacon tastes good, pork chops taste good. Roast tenderloin done rotisserie style in my grill is wicked pissah. I just might have to go and get me a pig.
I've never been into hunting, but with the financial crisis we are in it will be a damn handy skill to have. I also don't like the idea of feral species damaging the environment. If I ever get to go to Australia, I always said I book a cat hunting safari. Plus, did I mention I like to eat piggies? Looks like you can stock a freezer for short money, especially if you drive down with others so you can split gas. Worth looking into.
Well that's it for now, So much crap going on I cannot keep it straight. There was a picture up on CNN with obammy standing at a podium with "PRESIDENT-ELECT" on it. I thought that was a little full of himself, proving to me he's a narcissist. CNN pulled the picture down before I could get back up here and grab a copy.
The economy is still fucked. Had a great conversation with a guy who ran a DJ business on the side. He's had 50 or so major companies cancel thier holiday parties. That's not good.
So I bought 100# of corn for $25. They did have winter rye, but I knew jack shit about it and passed. Cornmeal is good. Cornbread and johnnie cakes. Yummy.
On Saturday, I had my own three-gun shoot. Pistol, rifle, and shotgun shooting. I'm very happy with my progression in all three weapons. Not that I'm the best shot around, but I would say I'm good enough to get by. Any training from here on in would need to be tactics training on how to clear rooms, handle prisoners, etc.
I am somewhat disappointed with the reloader I bought. Turns out the re-sizer is a separate ring, and I wasn't using it for many of shells, and it bit me in the ass on Sunday. From now on, I need to check all my hulls and separate them into piles that need to be re-sized and those that do not. I figure if I take the barrel off of my shotgun, and use a wooden dowel to pop them out, I can quickly go through the shells. The cheapest MEC reloader with the re-sizing die
I was shooting in a league on Sunday, and missed four or five shells because of jams. These hulls were the oldest ones I had, so I was an idiot for using them in the competition. Live and learn. Pretty much any shell I load buck into and store, I will re-size. By the time I use it, who knows what shotgun (or barrel) I'll be using it out of.
I bid on a replacement barrel for my 870 on gunbroker.com but the bidding went too high for me for a snap purchase. I do want to get a longer barrel for my 870, this will help with Skeet, as well as duck and goose hunting, which I might like to do next year.
A friend I made at the club is going piggy hunting down south soon. evidently there is a big feral pig problem in NC,SC, and TN. I like to eat piggies. Bacon tastes good, pork chops taste good. Roast tenderloin done rotisserie style in my grill is wicked pissah. I just might have to go and get me a pig.
I've never been into hunting, but with the financial crisis we are in it will be a damn handy skill to have. I also don't like the idea of feral species damaging the environment. If I ever get to go to Australia, I always said I book a cat hunting safari. Plus, did I mention I like to eat piggies? Looks like you can stock a freezer for short money, especially if you drive down with others so you can split gas. Worth looking into.
Well that's it for now, So much crap going on I cannot keep it straight. There was a picture up on CNN with obammy standing at a podium with "PRESIDENT-ELECT" on it. I thought that was a little full of himself, proving to me he's a narcissist. CNN pulled the picture down before I could get back up here and grab a copy.
The economy is still fucked. Had a great conversation with a guy who ran a DJ business on the side. He's had 50 or so major companies cancel thier holiday parties. That's not good.
Good Pistol Drill
I saw a link to Commander zero's blog on Rawles survivalblog.
It's a pistol drill I wasn't aware of but doing it anyway. At my range you are only allowed to shoot at 25 or 50 yards. So I was blazing away at the standard NRA pistol targets. I even bought some replacement centers. Turns out the replacement centers are exactly the size of a average man's chest. So I can shoot at a silhouette without breaking the clubs rules about no silhouette shooting.
Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to move while shooting, but when no one else is around I'll practice shooting while kneeling or while using a post or bench as support. I only do this once in a blue moon as I am so accurate when supported, I don't need the practice and it's not worth getting talked to by a range officer when it's perfectly safe, just not what the club wants.
Anyway, I shot this weekend and I am keeping it in the 7 ring at 25 yards, which is about 8 inches across. Not too shabby for someone who started this summer.
Now go out there buy a good pistol and practice. Get a .45 unless you cannot handle the recoil, then get as big a caliber as you can handle. Then practice your ass off!
It's a pistol drill I wasn't aware of but doing it anyway. At my range you are only allowed to shoot at 25 or 50 yards. So I was blazing away at the standard NRA pistol targets. I even bought some replacement centers. Turns out the replacement centers are exactly the size of a average man's chest. So I can shoot at a silhouette without breaking the clubs rules about no silhouette shooting.
Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to move while shooting, but when no one else is around I'll practice shooting while kneeling or while using a post or bench as support. I only do this once in a blue moon as I am so accurate when supported, I don't need the practice and it's not worth getting talked to by a range officer when it's perfectly safe, just not what the club wants.
Anyway, I shot this weekend and I am keeping it in the 7 ring at 25 yards, which is about 8 inches across. Not too shabby for someone who started this summer.
Now go out there buy a good pistol and practice. Get a .45 unless you cannot handle the recoil, then get as big a caliber as you can handle. Then practice your ass off!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Americanus Marketus Ninjasarous
Although a strange title for a survival post, I'll be talking about a tactical shoot I took part in at a gun club recently. All but 2 of the 10 participants meet the criteria of the American Mall Ninja.
Well what's a Mall Ninja? Well let's just say generally their weapons look more like erector sets than firearms. Lasers, holographic sights, front grips and door breech muzzle accessories. In their opinion, Iron sights aren't good enough for 100 yards, they have 9x40mm scopes on their brand-new AR-15's with folding bipods.
I was using my WWII soviet bolt-action Mosin Nagant rifle. There was no way I could compete time-wise, and using iron sights I'd have trouble with the head shots at 100 yards ( the Mosin's shoot about 5-7" high at 100 yards) The "a" shot in the head was the size of a playing card. Surprisingly, they didn't give me crap about my rifle. I figure this is because they thought there was no way that I'd be a factor. I knew going in I wouldn't be able to keep up in time, as I had to reload 3 times in the course, and I don't have stripper clips for the rifle yet. They assumed I wouldn't be able to keep up accuracy wise either, as I was using iron sights.
Needless to say they were wrong on both accounts. The time it took for these guys to switch targets and re-aquire them with a scope, where I had open sights and just needed to put the back sight then bring the blade up where I wanted it made all the difference in the world. Until I had a jam, I was neck and neck time-wise with a gas-powered battle carbine, with a bolt-action rifle! I had to go to my car and laugh my ass off!
So what makes a Mall Ninja?
1) Inferior weapon selection
2) Unfamiliarity with combat situations
3) Reliance on technology - to a fault
4) Poor marksmanship
5) Rigid thought processes
Let me go a bit into what I mean by these. Most Mall Ninjas use battle carbines, not rifles. The AR-15 and clones make excellent varmit and target rifles. They make poor killers, but excellent wounders. In other words, they lack stopping power. I'll do a post on why I hate the .223 cartridge another time.
These Mall ninjas fancy themselves "operators" or equivalent in marksmanship to our special forces. Any idiot can slap a scope on a weapon and call "head shots" at 100 yards. Care to do that with iron sights? The time it takes to acquire a target, line up the optics, get a clear picture in the scope, line up the crosshairs and fire is about 3x what it takes for iron sights. The holographic sights are great for this at close range, but 100yards was pushing it for the guys that had them that day. Every one had trouble shooting freehand, without anything supporting the weapon. About 1/3 of the shots on the course were to be taken without any support, no bipods, no rests. I had no trouble, but most of the other shooters did. Like a Mutant Zombie is going to let you get set up, put your bipod down and allow you to get prone without chewing on what little brains you have?
I cringe at most of the firearms a Mall Ninja uses. They have flashlights, laser sights, scopes, add on bipods, magazine holders, bayonet lugs... I mean what's the freaking point? I mean it's one thing if your kicking in doors in Iraq, but here in America, pre-SHTF? And what's the point of having a flashlight on a rifle in the first place? use a shotgun or pistol fer crying out loud. If I need to drive in a nail, I don't reach for a screwdriver!
Technology is handy, but it is no replacement for skill. Useless technology on a firearm is more of a hindrance than a benefit. Picanny rails are nice, but I don't feel a burning need to fill them with gadgets. There is NO EXCUSE for not being able to hit a military silhouette at 100 yards while standing, with factory iron sights. Once you get to that level of skill, then work on 200 yards, then 300... When the barrels of the Mall Ninjas were swaying 3-4" while they were trying to shoot at a 25 yard target, I had to look away for fear of pissing myself with a bout of laughter.
While there, I was talking with one fellow, and he stated that he's hoping for TEOTW so he could "rack up some kills" on looters. I laughed out loud. He gave me a dirty look, and said "What?" I stated that his AR15 would be more lethal if it used as a club. He started spouting off about velocities, and accuracy and blah blah blah. I took him downrange, and showed him the proof in the pudding. One of the targets was behind a wall, and I hit the 2x4 with one of my rounds. A Mall Ninja had also hit the 2x4 with a .223 in another location. The .223 had a tiny entrance and exit hole, less than a quarter of an inch. My round had a quarter inch hole in the front, and a 2" hole in the back! And it turns out that my round was traveling about the same speed... He didn't have much to say after that.
All in all it was a great learning lesson. I recommend everyone take their rifles down to a tactical shoot and give it a shot. Even if there is no way to win, you can learn how do deal with the adrenaline rush, and using your weapon in an effective manner. Formal training at Thunder Ranch or Front Sight would be ideal, but the enterance fee was $5, and well worth the money. Plus, it was a fun time. And you never know if you'll bump into a wise-ass with an old bolt-action rifle.
Well what's a Mall Ninja? Well let's just say generally their weapons look more like erector sets than firearms. Lasers, holographic sights, front grips and door breech muzzle accessories. In their opinion, Iron sights aren't good enough for 100 yards, they have 9x40mm scopes on their brand-new AR-15's with folding bipods.
I was using my WWII soviet bolt-action Mosin Nagant rifle. There was no way I could compete time-wise, and using iron sights I'd have trouble with the head shots at 100 yards ( the Mosin's shoot about 5-7" high at 100 yards) The "a" shot in the head was the size of a playing card. Surprisingly, they didn't give me crap about my rifle. I figure this is because they thought there was no way that I'd be a factor. I knew going in I wouldn't be able to keep up in time, as I had to reload 3 times in the course, and I don't have stripper clips for the rifle yet. They assumed I wouldn't be able to keep up accuracy wise either, as I was using iron sights.
Needless to say they were wrong on both accounts. The time it took for these guys to switch targets and re-aquire them with a scope, where I had open sights and just needed to put the back sight then bring the blade up where I wanted it made all the difference in the world. Until I had a jam, I was neck and neck time-wise with a gas-powered battle carbine, with a bolt-action rifle! I had to go to my car and laugh my ass off!
So what makes a Mall Ninja?
1) Inferior weapon selection
2) Unfamiliarity with combat situations
3) Reliance on technology - to a fault
4) Poor marksmanship
5) Rigid thought processes
Let me go a bit into what I mean by these. Most Mall Ninjas use battle carbines, not rifles. The AR-15 and clones make excellent varmit and target rifles. They make poor killers, but excellent wounders. In other words, they lack stopping power. I'll do a post on why I hate the .223 cartridge another time.
These Mall ninjas fancy themselves "operators" or equivalent in marksmanship to our special forces. Any idiot can slap a scope on a weapon and call "head shots" at 100 yards. Care to do that with iron sights? The time it takes to acquire a target, line up the optics, get a clear picture in the scope, line up the crosshairs and fire is about 3x what it takes for iron sights. The holographic sights are great for this at close range, but 100yards was pushing it for the guys that had them that day. Every one had trouble shooting freehand, without anything supporting the weapon. About 1/3 of the shots on the course were to be taken without any support, no bipods, no rests. I had no trouble, but most of the other shooters did. Like a Mutant Zombie is going to let you get set up, put your bipod down and allow you to get prone without chewing on what little brains you have?
I cringe at most of the firearms a Mall Ninja uses. They have flashlights, laser sights, scopes, add on bipods, magazine holders, bayonet lugs... I mean what's the freaking point? I mean it's one thing if your kicking in doors in Iraq, but here in America, pre-SHTF? And what's the point of having a flashlight on a rifle in the first place? use a shotgun or pistol fer crying out loud. If I need to drive in a nail, I don't reach for a screwdriver!
Technology is handy, but it is no replacement for skill. Useless technology on a firearm is more of a hindrance than a benefit. Picanny rails are nice, but I don't feel a burning need to fill them with gadgets. There is NO EXCUSE for not being able to hit a military silhouette at 100 yards while standing, with factory iron sights. Once you get to that level of skill, then work on 200 yards, then 300... When the barrels of the Mall Ninjas were swaying 3-4" while they were trying to shoot at a 25 yard target, I had to look away for fear of pissing myself with a bout of laughter.
While there, I was talking with one fellow, and he stated that he's hoping for TEOTW so he could "rack up some kills" on looters. I laughed out loud. He gave me a dirty look, and said "What?" I stated that his AR15 would be more lethal if it used as a club. He started spouting off about velocities, and accuracy and blah blah blah. I took him downrange, and showed him the proof in the pudding. One of the targets was behind a wall, and I hit the 2x4 with one of my rounds. A Mall Ninja had also hit the 2x4 with a .223 in another location. The .223 had a tiny entrance and exit hole, less than a quarter of an inch. My round had a quarter inch hole in the front, and a 2" hole in the back! And it turns out that my round was traveling about the same speed... He didn't have much to say after that.
All in all it was a great learning lesson. I recommend everyone take their rifles down to a tactical shoot and give it a shot. Even if there is no way to win, you can learn how do deal with the adrenaline rush, and using your weapon in an effective manner. Formal training at Thunder Ranch or Front Sight would be ideal, but the enterance fee was $5, and well worth the money. Plus, it was a fun time. And you never know if you'll bump into a wise-ass with an old bolt-action rifle.
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