Reuters.

A federal judge has blocked New York from restricting the carrying of guns on private property under a Democratic-backed law adopted following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling that struck down the state’s strict gun permitting regime.

Tuesday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge John Sinatra in Buffalo struck down a provision in the law that made it a felony for a licensed gun owner to possess a firearm on any private property unless the property owner allowed it with a sign or by giving express consent.

From the decision.

Property owners indeed have the right to exclude.  But the state may not unilaterally exercise that that right …

We believe in property rights, even against the state.  That certainly includes property owners who do not wish for you to bear arms on their property.  But you see what NY did there, yes?  They exercised that right on behalf of property owners.  In other words, they didn’t respect the rights of property owners to make the decision on their own property.

What NY did runs exactly counter to the notion of property rights, and thus the judge reached the right decision.

It always happens.  When the small Green Beret team was ambushed in Niger, Maj. General Bob Scales escalated his whining about the M4, demanding that it be replaced with a piston AR (a point completely irrelevant to anything that happened in the engagement).  The engagement was poorly planned, ill-conceived, and undermanned.  There was no QRF anywhere near them, the team was too small, they had no light or medium MGs (and certainly no heavy MGs), and I could go on with the failures.

But it’s the gun.  It’s always the gun.  It’s never the stupid Colonels and Generals who plan the missions.  It’s always the gun.  True to form, the reason they fielded the Sig XM5 was to bring battlefield superiority against – wait for it – the PKM.  It’s never the planners who put FOBs in the valleys between mountains and waste time even doing that, allowing the enemy to mass forces and field fighters that outnumber our troops by ten to one.  It’s the gun.  It’s always the gun.

No battle rifle can compete with a crew-served, belt-fed medium MG.  There are always answers to medium MGs, such as: taking the high ground, overwatch, QRF, CAS, using our own medium and heavy MGs, and maybe re-introducing a role for the long-forgotten grenadier (the M203 is not a sufficient replacement for the M79 in terms of range).  These things mean rethinking doctrine, weapons systems, TTPs, and training.  But they don’t want to do that – it’s always the gun.

If you want somewhat increased penetration and distance with the AR platform, I’ve already told you what to do.  Switch uppers to the 6mm ARC.  It’s a simple change, and would be the cheapest and most effective remedy for what is currently really a very small problem.  And in-between remedy for this would be to return the 20″ barrel Eugene Stoner originally designed.

But for whatever reason I cannot fathom, the U.S. Army has some sort of sordid love affair with Sig.  And for whatever reason I cannot understand (unless someone has pictures on active generals in the DoD complex), they always need a new rifle.  So here it is, all 13 lb of it.

Legion-X Drone Swarm For The Urban Battlefield

Autonomous Urban Quadcopter Brings ‘Search & Attack In One’

Manufacturers Webpage: Elbit Systems

CQC on the Move,  Ken Hackathorn

Ammunition required: 50 rounds, Target: IDPA silhouette, Time Limits: Basic time limits as noted. As shooter skill increases, either shorten the time limits or increase the distance to the target.

Stage 1 — 3 yards/Close Combat Shooting is done from a close combat/weapon retention position, with the weapon already drawn. Fire 2 rounds in 2 seconds. 3X total of 6 rounds.

Stage 2 — 3 yards/Retreating from the target On signal, begin backing away from the target. Draw and engage the target with at least 3 rounds while moving backwards. You should end the movement at the 10 yard line. 2X. Total of 6 rounds. Your goal is to rapidly gain distance from the threat while you are drawing and engaging the target. The greater the distance you are from the threat, the greater your chances of survival.

Stage 3 — 5 yards/Strong Hand Only On signal, draw and engage the target with 2 rounds in 4 seconds STONG HAND ONLY. 3X. Total of 6 rounds.

Stage 4 — 7 yards/Double Taps On signal, draw and engage the target with 2 rounds in 4 seconds. 4X. Total of 8 rounds.

Stage 5 — 7 yards/Lateral Movement How to perform this drill depends on the configuration of your range facility. The goal is to draw, begin lateral movement, and engage the target with three rounds. This should be accomplished moving to your strong side, and also to your weak side. 2X. Total of 6 rounds. This exercise increases your skills at placing your shots effectively while moving to cover or if your only path of escape is moving laterally. Go slowly at first, and then pick up your speed of movement only as fast as you can get good hits.

Stage 6 — 7 or 10 yards/Multiple Targets Facing three targets. On signal, draw and engage each target with two rounds, perform a mandatory reload, and re-engage each target with two rounds. Total of 12 rounds fired. Par time is 15 seconds for auto pistols and 18 seconds for revolvers.

Stage 7 — 15 yards/Single Target for accuracy On signal, draw and engage the target with 1 round in 3 seconds. 6X. Total of 12 rounds.

[Via handgunlaw us]

Source:

Wyoming dentist, Dr. Lee Francis, 65 years old, was hunting elk with his 40-year-old son, in the area near Rock Creek, in the Sawtooth Mountains, east of Bondurant, Wyoming.

In this video from KSAL-TV, he gives an interview and explains what happened. Dr. Francis is an avid hunter and outdoorsman. He successfully collected a large grizzly bear with a bow and arrow in 2013. Several attempts to contact Dr. Francis have been unsuccessful.

Dr. Francis had separated from his son when he unintentionally stepped in front of the entrance to a bear den. He saw the fresh dirt, had drawn his Glock 10mm, chambered a round, and was backing away when the bear charged at him out of the den from 10 feet away.

The best interview about the encounter appears to have been in an article at cowboystatedaily.com.  The article says Dr. Francis used 130-grain hardcast bullets in his 10mm Glock.

“He came right at me, and he came on full blast,” the elder Francis said. 

Counting the cartridge already in the chamber, he had 14 rounds loaded with 130 grain hard cast bullets in his Glock. 

“I just remember shooting three or for times, right before he hit me,” he said. “Then I went down on my back.”…

Hard cast bullets will punch through a bruin’s body, instead of rapidly expanding and expending their energy in massive, shallow wounds
the way that hollow point bullets do, he said. 

“Hollow points are meant for stopping people, not bears,” he said, adding that it was also fortunate for him that his weapon was loaded
with hard cast bullets. 

“A hit from a hollow point would have probably just exploded my whole foot,” he said. 

He also said he favors the high-capacity, semi-automatic Glock over magnum revolvers.

130-grain hardcast bullets for a 10mm would be unusual. Perhaps it is a typo or misreading of notes, where another weight of bullet was intended.  Buffalo Bore has a 220-grain hardcast bullets loaded for bear in the 10mm.

More at the link and the CowboyDaily link has good details as well.

“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.” – Revelation 7:9-12

The point of Thanksgiving is to give thanks unto the Lord our God. The angels do it, and so do all creatures that know Him.

There’s plenty for which to be thankful. Be grateful foremost that your eternal station is set, your name written in the Lamb’s book of life, Christ having died for your sins and risen again indeed; being kept by the power of God through faith, no man is able to pluck you out of the Father’s hand. Faithful and True is His name. Doubtless, there is no more precious act of forgiveness than the mercy our Lord has granted; give all blessing and glory in praise of thanksgiving to our God.

You have been forgiven of your sin and saved from hell, have you not? There’s no better day than today, Thanksgiving 2022, to seek Jesus Christ, asking forgiveness and the mercy of His grace: “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” – Matthew 7:14

Though judgment lies at the door and hard times may yet prevail, for all we know, His hand of mercy is stretched out still. In all that’s coming, a great upheaval, do not charge God foolishly. He is trustworthy. His judgments are true and amen; He does not err. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes; blessed be the name of the Lord.

Be thankful you’re not a communist, for miserable is he. Government is his king, and a mean little lout is his duty, eternal flames his final station. Communists hate Christians; indeed, the primary reason for this hatred is the war of the spirits that rages in the unseen, for theirs knows we win in the end. But the communist is most pathetic and hateful full of jealousy and envy, desiring to drive all into misery; that is the true equality they seek, their meager and tormented spirit pulling you, clawing at you, drawing you down to a pitiful state with them. Communism is the idea writ large that misery loves company.

The Christian has quite the opposite outlook of the communist; for this, too, be most thankful to God Almighty by Christ Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit of God is in us, love and joy, gentleness and goodness, peace and longsuffering with a sound mind in faith, knowing heaven awaits for the resurrected to new life in Christ Jesus. All these things the devil and his agents seek to remove, but they can’t: and for this, be thankful to our God through Jesus Christ all the more.

“The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.” – Exodus 15:2-3

Trust in the arm of the Lord, for He is a man of war. Prepare your hearts a fit habitation for His Spirit in praise and worship. Pray for victory; the battles of men are won first in the counsels of heaven; His power in honor upon the throne declares it.

And at the last, what better day ahead than before the seat of the Almighty singing praises of thanksgiving, for ours is the only wise God. It is Christ, our King and Saviour, who is able to keep you from falling to present you with a gracious heart to God; in Christ exists all acclaim, power and wisdom and majesty are His. Amen.

“And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” – Revelation 5:13

The below also applies to four-legged predators. Seems like common sense; head up, pay attention, move with purpose, and try not to look like such a sissy: i.e., situational awareness.

Source:

In 1981, a study was conducted which tested [Ted] Bundy’s claim that victims display characteristic body language, specifically in their walking style (Grayson & Stein, 1981). Essentially, inmates who were convicted of violent offences and incarcerated in Ontario Canada, were asked to look at video of people walking. Individuals scoring higher on the interpersonal/affective aspects of psychopathy (Factor 1) were more accurate at judging victim vulnerability simply from viewing targets walking than a sampling of people drawn from the general public.  To put psychopathy in perspective, a 1992 FBI study found that 44 percent of offenders who killed a police officer were psychopaths. Psychopaths compose 15% to 25% of a typical prison population and are responsible for 50% of violent crime.

PSYCHOPATHS EVALUATE VICTIM POTENTIAL BY ANALYZING GAIT

This study has been repeated numerous times with varying methodologies and these studies have all come to a similar conclusion. Violent individuals evaluate victims by the way they move, specifically by the way they walk.

So, specifically what are violent predators looking for? Submissiveness. A criminal wants an easy day. They want to get paid and they don’t want to get hurt or caught. “Paid” could mean many things from your cell phone to your injury or death.

Let’s focus on the fact criminals don’t want to get caught or hurt. If a criminal got hurt every time they “worked” they would have a pretty short criminal run. They want an easy score. They use surprise, violence of action, multiples, and weapons to overwhelm their victim. Criminals don’t want a fight, so they look for victims who they evaluate to as “soft” targets.

Soft targets display vulnerable body language: head down, smaller or constricted movement of limbs, jerky or uncoordinated movement, hunched shoulders, and shorter strides are all body language which indicates submissiveness.

People who display vulnerable body language were more likely to have been victimized in the past. Lack of confidence is displayed in body language. Victims are targeted due to perceived lack of confidence. Victimization causes lack of confidence and that lack of confidence is displayed in the past victims movement. This becomes a horrible cycle causing innocents to be re-victimized due to

Task fixation, such as texting or talking on a cell phone, mimic the body language of submissiveness, thus attracting violent predator attention. Victims of prior abuse also may display submissive body language due to lack of confidence.

A simple but temporary fix to attracting predators attention would be to avoid task fixation in public areas. Specifically, areas which crimes are more likely to happen. Stay off of cell phones, don’t listen to music, and don’t read when moving through a potentially dangerous area.

Next, get training and carry pressure tested equipment. There are only two things you bring to a conflict, your tools (weapons, lights, medical gear and the method of carry) and your training. You do not pick the time, place, or nature of the conflict, you could only control your software and your hardware!

Having pressure tested hardware and appropriate training to deal with violent encounters will give you confidence. Confidence and training will show in your gate, making you less likely to be targeted by a violent criminal predator.

Source:

At SSRN. He finds that, despite 24 states having gone to permit-less concealed carry, the number of CCW licenses continues to expand.(He doesn’t count Alabama, since it will only go permit-less on January 1).

Outside of California and New York, 10% of the adult population now has a permit. Even 4.5% of Illinois has one.

Lott’s data is the most complete and accurate out there. The abstract is one short page; read it all. These numbers and trends are going to matter, both pro and con, and enemies within will use them in an attempt to control gun owners. Hopefully, the NRA will be gone soon; that’ll help, but there will be other “friends” gun owners don’t need.

Reading through this draft copy of a free chapter from the upcoming book Preparedness Pays, we noticed some remarkable things. The willingness to have a sense of humor and also go slow in prepping is essential. Fear drives errors, causing waste monetarily and time in do-overs. Worse yet, nobody wants to find a mistake to be evident when finally needing preps.

It’s good to read material that challenges our present assertions. This is what mature adults do in order to hone themselves by adjusting to new information. That last sentence seems weird to have to say, but here we are in 2022. It’s only a sample chapter, and possibly later, more is discussed along the lines of Solutions Based Prepping, but we found object-based prepping to be less adaptable and flexible.

A couple of examples of Solutions Based Prepping are in order. A person needs hand tools. An electric screwgun, however, can drive screws. The object only has one purpose. But when looking for solutions, it can drive screws into wood or metal. It can also remove screws. It’s usable not only on living structures but other structures, vehicles, heavy equipment, and light machines. When pressed by circumstances, humans with practical knowledge and learning in the use of rotating hand tools of all types will find solutions-based usages never before thought of for devices. This is the value of head knowledge to expand practical use applications when a result is needed. Humans are clever with their hands; this is why.

A second example is growing food. Where the author thinks of people and food, we think of solutions; food growing. Farming is not only about feeding people. Some are canned/preserved for later, and some can be used to feed protein animals. Some can be given in goodwill to neighbors for their rabbits in hopes of establishing a relationship. If things go well, that relationship may revolve around prepping and could even grow to mutual aid or security support. Perhaps you’ll come up with a barter exchange? But even if a relationship doesn’t bud, they’ll hesitate to shoot you, but most importantly, God will see the gift and bless you in abundance returning the benefit. Worse comes to worst; throw extra food on a compost heap or leave the corners of your garden not gleening in full all of the bounty; allowing some seed to return to the ground will be blessed by God. Those are just a few solutions-based things you can do with a garden.

So instead of thinking about feeding a cow, a pig, rabbits, 12 chickens, and six people with separate food sources, you can start doing arithmetic for items of dietary overlap. We know you engineering types are out there, doing preps by math; you’re not fooling us! Heh.

Like the screwgun, having a garden in abundance gives you solutions for problems you may not yet perceive. A person needs tools and food. Tools and food solve a myriad of possible problems and those yet unseen while opening many potential doors.

The sample chapter also got us thinking about proximity to disaster, natural or man-made—the proximity of distance and time matters. Take Ukraine’s inability to grow food right now. Food inflation is spreading globally due to supply-demand dislocations in the market. Ukraine is far away geographically from the US, so the effects are growing more slowly here than in Europe, and the closer to the war, the bigger the problem of cost to supply. But there’s also a time factor. In a free market, we in the US wouldn’t worry much about the lack of foodstuffs grown in Ukraine, but we don’t have a free market. Farmers would crank out food to profit from these higher prices, but the US agriculture industry is so heavily regulated by multiple agencies that current markets don’t work to fill supply for growing demand. Even if regulation was much lower, time to fill gaps in supply at higher prices is still a factor. Some disasters are very long in the making.

Waiting for “somebody” to “solve” Ukraine and US regulatory problems is a terrible plan; having local food sources, teams, friends, neighbors, barter, co-ops, etc., is much needed.

Instead of buying things, start building and making things! This will prepare your mind and hands for leaner times to come. The closer your sources for all necessities in both time needed to produce and geographic distance, the more control you’ll have over resolutions for your immediate area and family.

None of this is a knock on the chapter; it got our mental juices flowing, which is a good thing; we look forward to the book. You can approach your preparations as solutions based using the book’s eight objects. That might help to find weaknesses that need addressing, further adjusting to what works while rounding out approaches so as to not miss critical sources and needs.

One thing we don’t like is scenario-driven prepping. Though examples and illustrations are important, planning for certain contingencies is even more spending and stockpiling-intensive than object-based prepping alone. Having said that, we’ll again offer this very simple Risk Matrix to help get started or find solutions when getting stuck about how to proceed. But also consider the geographical distance from source problems and time factors to tribulation development in your risk assessments.

Note about food and debt: US grocery stores are still throwing away tons (actual) of fruits and vegetables daily. The restaurants, at least in this area, are still packed even at these higher prices. It’s shocking the lack of foresight and acceptance about what’s happening, and therefore it’s no wonder credit card debt is rising sharply. We’re blessed with abundance, but debt is not abundance; it’s a liability. Do yourself a long-term favor, trust your gut about what’s happening, cut out the extras and avoid debt.

“If a bird’s nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.” – Deuteronomy 22:6-7

Don’t overtax the land that you’ve been blessed with; it’s God’s, not yours. Prolong your days that it may go well with thee.

Somebody will object and say; we’re under grace and not under the law. Well, just keep industrial farming, relying on chemical fertilizers, gleaning one hundred percent of every field every season, never rotating crops, and not leaving some ground fallow for a year on a rotating basis. It’ll be apparent one day soon: God will rest His land if modernity won’t.

We wonder if Herschel has made the pilgrimage to Stoner’s gravesite. OTOH, we probably shouldn’t joke about this; avoiding a pay cut from Herschel seems prudent right now.