In light of AmmoLand’s lawyers pitching a fit over linked articles here at TCJ, we’ve been working on getting permissions from quality sources that don’t mind sharing praxis while driving traffic back to them. Quality training, ideas, and techniques you may not have considered, and specific instruction to get better with our tools is the goal. We’ve already posted several Handgun Training exercises. We’ll tag those and all upcoming training posts with ‘Tactical Drills and Training,’ so we’ll have one tag to use as a reference resource.

Many of the readers here will find some of these to be entry-level. However, there are some with less experience who don’t comment much. The idea is that we all teach and share, encouraging one another. We’ll have higher experience/skill level posts soon.

The first article we’ll link is handgun training from Shooty McBeardface. If you’ve never heard of him, he’s at the usual online places.

From a defensive standpoint, habitually shooting with both eyes open is vastly superior to just using the one. Here I’ll explain a simple method that works; one you can use starting today.

When any of us first starts shooting we make a point to close our off eye so that we can have a clear sight picture. That clear, unambiguous sight picture is vital at this stage because we typically have no trained mechanics or muscle memory to assist with our effort to shoot accurately. What’s more, most of us are unaccustomed to directing our focus into one eye while the other eye remains open.

All of this is to say, there’s a bit of a learning curve to proper defensive firearm technique (of which the eyes are just one component).

I say defensive firearm technique because there is little benefit in target shooting with both eyes open. This doesn’t mean one shouldn’t target shoot with both eyes open, but the point of having both open is so that your field of vision remains as wide as possible so that you don’t miss something important or deadly in a fight for life; yours or someone else’s. However, since humans are creatures of habit, it is best to make a habit of shooting with both eyes open.

Picture: Shooty McBeardface

He continues with some basics and explanatory photos, including finding your dominant eye, aiming, and encouraging you to get out there and practice your new shooting technique to build lifelong skills. Please give him a click.

How I teach folks to check for their dominant eye is to extend both hands out straight in front of the face with the back of the hands facing you, forming a triangle (pictured below). Then focus on an object 20 feet away—close first one eye, then the other. You should be able to see the object with your dominant eye and not the other. I happen to be opposite-eye dominant, which means my dominant eye is not on the side of my dominant hand.

From a comment at this video.  I have not checked each statement or date.  I’ll leave that to some enterprising Candian reader.  But assuming it’s all true, remember, the controllers in parliament are there because they are elected.  There’s a solution for this.

And by the way, if you’re a man living in Canada and have done nothing compared to this woman to protect and defend gun rights in Canada, you should be ashamed of forcing women to take the leadership role you should have had to protect and provide for your families.

Shame.  Abject shame.

A history of gun control in Canada.

• In 1913, you required us to have a permit to carry a handgun. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 1920, you required us to have a permit to possess any firearm, regardless of where it was stored. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 1932, you required us to provide a reason (only two were permissible) for having a handgun. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 1934, you required us to locally register our handguns. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 1938, you required us to renew our registration every five years. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 1951, you required us to centrally register our handguns. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 1969, you designed the classification system so certain firearms could be prohibited on a whim. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 1977, you prohibited automatic firearms. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 1979, you introduced screening and safety courses. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• By 1994, you required a photo and two references to apply for a Firearms Acquisition Certificate, imposed a mandatory 28 day waiting period, made safety courses mandatory, expanded the background check and screening, reclassified certain firearms, introduced regulations for storage, transportation, and use, and prohibited standard capacity magazines. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 1995, you introduced licensing to have and buy firearms, and to buy ammunition. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 1996, you required us to get your Authorization to Transport certain firearms, and authorizations to carry certain firearms in very limited conditions. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 1997, you regulated shooting clubs, shooting ranges, and gun shows. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 2001, licensing became mandatory. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 2003, you required all firearms to be registered. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 2015, you introduced firearms prohibitions for those convicted of domestic violence. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 2019, you passed C-71, which would pave the way for circumventing parliament, and to ignore the experts’ analyses (law enforcement, firearms functional experts, community groups, etc.) which you claimed to base policies on, in any further restrictions. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 2020, you prohibited some 1500 models of firearms for absolutely no reason than political pandering and cowardice in addressing escalating violent crime. We complied. There was no discernible reduction in violent crime.

• In 2021, you reduced judicial consequences for those illegally using their illegally acquired and already prohibited firearms. It didn’t affect us, as it didn’t apply to us, and violent crime rates continued to climb at an alarming rate.

• In 2022, you banned the sale, purchase, and transfer of handguns. We complied. Violent crime rates continued to climb.

• Also in 2022, you proposed this latest piece of absolutely useless, enormously costly, and completely counter-productive measure of prohibiting even hunting rifles and shotguns, even though the statistical significance of them or their owners being involved in violent crime registered at the extreme right of the decimal place. And yet violent crime continues to escalate. So, what compromises or concessions are we willing to make at this point in what has been over a hundred years of faulty logic, intentionally deceptive public messaging, malicious and misdirected prosecution, and bad faith negotiations, while completely ignoring the contributing factors and root causes of those most at risk of violent behavioural trajectories, AND increasing your leniency for those who actually commit horrifically violent crimes? Absolutely none.

But remember.  This isn’t about public safety.  You never really believed that, did you?

Ian does a very good job of explaining head space and the potential risks of having it wrong.

Source.

TALLAHASSEE (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida House Speaker Paul Renner said Florida will pass constitutional carry legislation.

DeSantis was asked at a press conference if his administration will be able to pass constitutional carry.

The governor responded and said “I’ll let Paul [Renner] answer that because I’m ready, so you guys gonna do it?”

“Yes,” Renner responded.

NEW: Florida House Speaker @Paul_Renner and Gov. Ron DeSantis say state will pass constitutional carry

Question: "Are you gonna be able to pass constitutional carry?"
DeSantis: "I'm ready, so are you guys gonna do it?"
Renner: "Yes." pic.twitter.com/KFAXDQw3Uj

— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) December 15, 2022

Let’s hope it happens this time, but another delay is highly possible given the weak state of legislative leadership in Florida.

I’m especially interested in seeing open carry legalized in Florida, as I know The Armed Fisherman is.  If we can get open carry, it won’t be necessary any longer to do stuff like this.

It’s my understanding that constitutional carry includes open carry, but if they don’t formulate the law this way, that is, if they formulate a bill that only removes the permitting scheme, this fight will have to continue.

Reason.

From U.S. v. Reyna, decided yesterday by Judge Robert Miller, Jr. (N.D. Ind.) (for a case reaching the opposite result, see this post):

[ … ]

Guns with obliterated serial numbers belong to “those weapons not typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes” so possession of such guns isn’t within the Second Amendment’s scope. Heller. Guns with obliterated serial numbers are useful for criminal activity because identifying who possessed a firearm is more difficult when the serial number is destroyed. By using a gun without a serial number, a criminal ensures he has a greater higher likelihood of evading justice.

Mr. Reyna might be right that a deserialized gun is just as useful for self-defense as a gun with its serial number intact, but that doesn’t suggest that deserialized guns are typically used by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes.

Nice try.  Now do Bruen.

Do like Judge Benitez ordered and go find me laws written at the time of the 2A requiring serialization of firearms.  I dare you.  Supply us with a complete catalog of said laws.

We all know how you want the 2A to read: “Given that intermediate scrutiny allows us to prioritize our view of public safety, the right of law enforcement to know at all times what you’re building in your basement shall not be infringed.”

But the 2A isn’t really about the rights of law enforcement is it, and Bruen did away with the idiotic notion of scrutiny, didn’t it?

Field & Stream.

There is a 150-grain hunting bullet that at 100 yards will penetrate at least 23 inches and expand as much or more than either with similar bullets. Not only that, but it will do so while producing just 13 foot-pounds of recoil energy when fired from a 7-pound rifle. That’s 6 and 11 foot-pounds less than the .308 and .30/06, respectively. So, what is miracle cartridge? It’s the .30/30 Winchester.

How could the ancient .30/30 possibly outperform two 30-caliber cartridges that are considered by many to be the best big-game cartridges of all time? The answer is simpler than you might think. With conventional bullets, the higher velocities of the .308 and .30/06 cause more bullet erosion, which reduces weight, and in turn, penetration.

You might argue that the higher impact velocities of the latter tend to create more tissue damage. That’s true, and if sufficient penetration is reached by all three of these, the ones fired from the .308 and .30/06 might in fact put an animal down faster. But not any deader, and none of that is quantifiable. What really counts is penetration …

In his 1970s book, The Hunting Rifle, Jack O’Connor talked about an old hand he’d encountered who’d hunted Wyoming, Montana, and the Yukon, and typically took 17 or 18 elk with a single box (20 rounds) of .30/30 ammo. He told O’Connor that a moose, lung shot with a .30/30, would run about 75 to 100 yards and die. Well before that, African professional hunter Wally Johnson took a .30/30 Winchester to Africa and used it to kill lions. The effectiveness of the .30/30 Winchester on big game should never be questioned; it has more than a century of proof sanctioning it.

Given the untold numbers of deer taken with Winchester Model 94s and Marlin 336s over the last century, it should come as a bit of a shock that some of today’s younger hunters will ask: Is the .30/30 good for deer hunting? Um, yes. For decades and decades, it was consider the deer cartridge.

Right on.  Preach it!

The normally reliable Ron Spomer did a recent video favorably comparing the 300 Blackout to the 30-30.  It’s so wrong in my opinion that I’m not even linking it.

The 300 BO has a 125 grain bullet travelling at 2215 FPS.  The box of 30-30 I’m looking at now shows a 150 grain bullet travelling at 2390 FPS.  25 grains and 175 FPS is enough difference to make a difference.  Remember, the energy computation squares the velocity.

Source.

A small Iowa town of 800 residents likely has no need for a police force armed with 90 machine guns to keep the peace.

That, at least, is the view of federal prosecutors, who on Wednesday announced the indictment of Adair Chief of Police Bradley Wendt on charges of making false statements to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to obtain numerous machine guns over a four-year period on behalf of the Adair Police Department, which during Wendt’s tenure has never had more than three officers.

Instead, according to prosecutors, weapons were resold for profit through Wendt’s private gun store or another store owned by a friend who also is facing charges.

According to court filings and a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Wendt used his position as police chief to obtain 10 machine guns for the official use of the police department, but later resold at least six of those weapons for “significant profit.”

In addition, Wendt obtained 13 guns for his Dennison- and Anita-based gun store, BW Outfitters, under the pretense they were to be used as demonstration models for potential future purchases by the department. Another 10 weapons were obtained in the same manner for Williams Contracting, a business Williams owned that is federally licensed as a firearms dealer.

Prosecutors say Wendt sought to purchase or demonstrate approximately 90 machine guns between July 2018 and August 2022. Some of the weapons were used for public machine gun shoots, where Wendt and Williams charged customers money to be able to fire the weapons.

The indictment describes the firearms as fully automatic weapons not legally available to the public, including an M60 machine gun, a belt-fed weapon widely used by the U.S. military since the Vietnam war that was purportedly obtained for official use by the Adair Police Department.

Wendt also sought repeatedly to obtain for the department a rotary M134 minigun capable of firing 50 rounds per second, usually mounted on military helicopters. The ATF denied the requested transfer.

“The Adair Police Department does not own a helicopter,” the indictment notes.

Wendt is charged with 18 counts of making a false statement to the ATF and one for unlawfully possessing a machine gun. Williams is charged with three counts of false statements and with aiding and abetting. Prosecutors are also seeking forfeiture of at least 35 machine guns involved in the case.

“Brad Wendt is charged with exploiting his position as chief of police to unlawfully obtain and sell guns for his own personal profit,” Eugene Kowel, a senior FBI agent based in Omaha, said in a statement. “The FBI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to investigate and hold accountable those who violate their oath of office to enrich themselves.”

Well, that last part is a pregnant bit of prose, yes?

So no doubt he wanted to enrich himself.  He’s corrupt like so many other LEOs.  But if the FBI is so committed to hold those accountable who violate their oath of office, how about those ATF agents who violate the 2A?

For whatever reason, Matthew 7:3-5 comes to mind.

There is a solution to all of this, of course.  Undo the infringement of the NFA, GCA and Hughes Amendment.  Then no one will be able to enrich themselves this way by selling machine guns.

“22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” – Matthew 6:22-23

Keeping one’s gaze steadily on one fixed object it becomes easier to maintain balance. The eye is the light of the body; if you have a single purpose, and that purpose is good in the sight of God, your whole being will be full of light. There’s something to be said for having one purpose. The goal we focus on is what we become, or what we persevere to attain is what gets done.

People who are very focused on a goal don’t play defense, and they don’t get involved in whack-a-mole. Some spend all day going from one thing to another, only to accomplish very little. Multitasking is overrated.

But these verses really aren’t about self-help; they are about righteousness and evil: your eye narrowly set toward holy God that you may be light and love for those around you. Or, sadly, choosing the evil, seeking to serve the masters of this world, even yourself.

If your light is darkness, it’s no light at all. People whose light is out, devoid of the love of God, attract all manner of evil men. The darkness of the soul gathers with other darkness; no good will ever attain from a congregation of the wicked.

The ability to discern both good and evil, the spirit of truth or the lies that permeate everything, comes from reading the Holy Bible. (Hebrews 5:14). Holy God sets the standard of right and wrong. Men who don’t read the Bible live in half darkness, relying upon only the conscience to guide them. All men are sinners; the conscience is faulty, so corrupt that you’ll even end up lying to yourself, making excuses for right and wrong.

Your country is being destroyed; the foundational standard that God has set in His word is ignored and removed. The light of God is being extinguished in civil society. And it’s no accident; the rulers of darkness hate God and the Bible; seeking to justify their evil deeds, they hate the truth of right and wrong.

God is the Light of the world; His word is the foundation of truth for the knowledge of sin and righteousness. Fill your eye with the light of God, separate yourself from the evil, and seek the good. A man controls only one thing; his own choices. Everybody wants to point out the sins of others, but reviving your nation starts with your own heart first.

I wonder if she knows how stupid she sounds?  I also wonder if soy-boy to her left knows how idiotic he looks with that silly grin?

It should be noted once again that these jerks are in charge because people vote for them.

American Hunter.

This is the primary reason hunters pull the cord on all-day sits. It’s tough to sit in a tree or ground blind all day, but it’s almost impossible to do so if you’re too cold, too warm or soaking wet. That’s why high-quality clothing is worth the price.

Hunters have learned that layering is the key to regulating temperature. The widely accepted three-layer system, which consists of a base layer, mid layer and outer layer, works well, but you must understand why this system works—and what may cause it to fail.

The base layer should be made of thin, wicking fabric. Cotton is out because it holds moisture, which robs the body of heat. The mid layer is an insulating layer that is designed to hold heat while still wicking away moisture. The outer layer is your protection against wind and rain, and it provides an additional insulating layer. Moisture is your enemy, so don’t pile on all your layers then hike a mile to your stand. Instead, shed your top layer and allow the perspiration to evaporate. Any exposed skin will lose heat, so a face mask, beanie and gloves that extend above the cuff of your jacket will help retain heat. Mittens are warmer than gloves, but in recent years I’ve come to prefer a hand-warmer muff with heat packs inside, and I always carry extra hand and foot warmers. In extreme cold, a sleeping bag or body suit will help keep you warm.

While I can’t say I live in the coldest of climates (certainly not compared to some of my readers), I can say that I have never gotten cold during a sit.  Boredom is my biggest enemy.

I wear a short sleeve sports shirt, wicking and non-cotton, with a long sleeve Merino wool shirt over that, the next layer is fleece, and the final layer is a Simms GorTex Parka.  It’s pricey, but fishing companies make the best rain gear.

I use Mechanix camo Impact gloves for mild days, and if it’s really cold I have Swany brand ski gloves.  I might invest in another brand (Hestra Guide Gloves), but they’re very pricey.

One trick I’ve known all of my life is that you lose a lot of warm air up through your neck coming from your whole body.  Using the hood of your parka prevents most of that.  Also, if you’re prone to your face getting cold, wear a balaclava.

Finally, a really enjoyed wearing a neck gaiter for the first time last season.  There is nothing like it.