Beware the Tacticool Mall Ninja

When I first got into shooting the AR-15 family of firearms I was really excited to have finally purchased an evil black rifle. I was in awe of all the really cool accessories that I saw on the different message boards that I visited. In my exhuberence and inexperience I wanted all of them because they all looked so cool.

If I would have been smart, I would have listened to the folks that told me to slow down and spend that money on ammo for range time. Ammo and range time, they told me, would actually
make me into a proficient marksman as oppossed to all the tacticool accessories which were just things stuck to my rifle that made it heavier. There are some accessories that I feel are pretty useful such as the Aimpoint Comp M2/M68 CCO or the EoTech 512 or 517. Another accessory that I feel is a necessity for every AR-15 owner, especially with the price of centerfire ammo being what it is, is a .22 LR caliber rimfire adapter or a dedicated .22LR upper receiver. These conversion kits or dedicated uppers allow for the firing of the much less expensive .22 Long Rifle Caliber ammunition which translates into more range time. More range time means better marksmanship skills.

Rimfire adapters are available from Olympic Arms, CMMG, as well as several other manufacturers. Dedicated .22LR upper receivers are manufactured by Olympic Arms, Spike's Tactical, as well as a number of others. For these conversion kits I recommend using magazines from Black Dog Machine.

Finally, to prove that I am not "more tactical than thou" and that I speak from experience when I warn my readers about purchasing unnecessary accessories. I present the first incarnation of my first AR-15. An Olympic Arms K3B-M4-TC (M-4 copy) that I had to go overboard on and make tacticool with a big scope and bipod.

If You Have a CCW Permit, You Need Use Of Force Training

The story below from Neshoba, Mississippi is a good example of why every concealed carry permit holder MUST obtain some sort of firearms and use of force training whether their State requires it or not. In all likelihood this gentleman is going to be sentenced to jail time and lose his right to carry concealed as well as possibly lose his right to possess firearms.

Laws vary from State to State and sometimes region to region, but generally a person must be able to articulate that they felt that they or a third person we under imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury before they may use force against an aggressor. Under no circumstances should a "warning shot" ever be fired. A firearm should only be discharged in a defensive situation in an aimed manner with the intent of stopping an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the person legally possessing the firearm or another person. That warning shot might end up hitting an innocent bystander.

Man Shoots At Shoplifter In Parking Lot
12/30/2009 6:00:00 PM
By STEVEN THOMAS
Staff Reporter

A disabled man wearing a neck brace is charged with discharging a firearm in the city limits after trying to "take the law into his own hands" and stop an alleged shoplifter on Christmas Eve, the authorities said.

James D. Russell, 52, of 14420 Road 450, Union, was arrested at 2:20 p.m. Thursday and charged with discharging a firearm in the city limits and with disturbance of the peace.

Police initially received a report of a shoplifter at Wal-Mart and almost immediately afterwards a second caller reported shots being fired in the parking lot.

When police arrived at Wal-Mart they found Russell in the parking lot.

He told police that he saw a man put several boxes of bullets in a bag and then proceeded to leave Wal-Mart, said Chief of Police Dickie Sistrunk.

Russell told authorities that he followed the man to the parking lot where there was a confrontation.

When the man ran across the parking lot, Russell followed and later admitted to firing one shot into the ground as a warning sign for him to stop, Sistrunk said.

The alleged shoplifter then dropped the bag and ran off, he said.

When police arrived they found Russell in possession of a Glock .40 caliber handgun, which he had a permit to carry.

"Just because he has a permit does not give him the right to fire at shoplifters," said Sistrunk said. "My officers do not even have this right over shoplifters."

While no one was harmed in the incident, Sistrunk said it could have resulted in a more serious situation. If Russell had fired into another direction someone may have been hit by the bullet, he said.

Russell claimed that he only wanted to help the police, the chief said.

If convicted, Russell could face jail time and/or a fine.

Police took his handgun and are seeking to have his permit pulled and the weapon destroyed, Sistrunk said.

"You don't take the law into your own hands," he said.

The alleged shoplifter remains at-large.

This use of force wheel above is a good tool for visualizing the proper use of force. Start with a particular situation. What is the situation, what are the actions of the aggressor? Is he trying to escape and you are preventing him from leaving or is he actively offering physical violence? Maybe it's somewhere in between.

Draw a straight line from the aggressors actions through the outside ring of the force wheel and that will give you an idea of the level of force that is authorized for a given situation. This should not be construed as giving you carte blanch to use force as every situation is different. But you get an idea of why as a concealed carry permit holder, it is your duty to obtain training in the proper use of force.

You must also be aware that just as situations can quickly escalate, they can also quickly de-escalate and you must change you force posture with those changes in the threat environment. Once, when I was working as an armed security officer at the Seattle Field Division of the FBI, a mentally ill individual entered the lobby and began to damage the property in the lobby. As I made contact with him he attacked me with a flagpole that he had ripped off the wall. I backed up, trying to put distance between myself and the suspect while drawing my service firearm. I was yelling at him to drop the weapon the whole time, but he didn't comply until my back was literally against the wall and I was just clearing the holster. At that point he dropped his weapon and ran to the other side of the lobby.

The confrontation wasn't over, but because he had dropped his weapon the situation had de-escalated and a lethal force response was no longer authorized. I reholstered and took my pepper foam out of my duty belt. My partner and I were ordering the suspect to the ground so that we could handcuff him when he charged my partner. This escalated the situation again, but not to the previous level of deadly force. I applied a shot of pepper foam to his face all the while verbally commanding him to stop attacking us and to get on the ground. After two more application of pepper foam he was subdued and arrested when the police finally arrived.

This is a good example of how the proper use of force can rise and fall within one incident. You can be authorized to shoot at one moment and not at the next and then be using force again the next minute.

The two most important things that you can remember in a use of force situation are to:

1. Use only that force which is NECESSARY to overcome the aggressive act of the suspect.
2. VERBALIZE, VERBALIZE, VERBALIZE!

My Big Box of Holsters

One of the things that I stress in my Utah Concealed Firearm Permit classes is that if you are going to seriously carry a concealed firearm on a regular basis you should be prepared to invest in a number of holsters to suit a variety of situations. Taking this into account, there are two features that any concealed carry holster should possess. they should have some sort of retention device and they should cover the trigger.

These holsters don't have to be expensive, I have a couple of Uncle Mikes Super Belt Slide holsters that I have used on a regular basis for the last 15 or so years. While these holsters are nylon, they have held up every bit as well as the more expensive Galco leather holsters that I have.

Holster selection is always a compromise between security and concealment. I have a Safariland Level III police duty holster that I carried as a Reserve Police Officer that only allows the wearer to remove the firearm due to it's redundant retention mechanisms. But, that isn't practical because even with heavy winter garb there is no way that I could realistically conceal it.
Patrick Sweeney, noted author for Guns & Ammo magazine just wrote an excellent article on this very subject in the December 2009 titled RIGGED FOR WEAR.

Here are a few of my favorite holsters and the situation to which I find them appropriate.

Uncle Mike's Super Belt Slide & Side Bet Holsters
$12 - $20
This is my all around utility holster. I wear them if I am going to be in a situation where I might scuff a leather holster, but that I need a bit more concealment than the Blasckhawk SERPA.

Some of the nice things about these holsters are that they are inexpensive, hold up well, are very light and will work with a variety of firearms. One of the downsides is that when the firearms is drawn they collapse making reholstering a bit more difficult than if they maintained their shape as a plastic or leather holster does. Sometimes the ability to quickly and safely reholster is just as important as the ability to quickly present the firearm from the holster.

Bianchi Accumold Belt Slide Holster
$30 - $35

This holster fills essentially the same niche as the Uncle Mike's nylon holsters, but, is of higher quality and has a couple of neat features that the Uncle Mike's does not.

Most notable is that the belt loops are held together with snaps. This means that if you are carrying and find yourself in a situation where you must quickly remove you holster, such as needing to go into a Federal Building or Courthouse, you can just unsnap the holster and secure it in your vehicle. No need for the uncomfortable danceof trying to remove a holster from your belt all the while hoping that no one sees you.

It also stays open when the pistol is drawn, making reholstering with one hand much easier.

Uncle Mike's Inside the Pants Holster
$12 - $15

This holster breaks on of my rules for a concealed carry holster in that it doesn't feature some sort of retention device, but as I stated before, any holster is a compromise between concealability and security.

I use this holster primarily in the summer during shorts and t-shirt weather. It's hard to conceal a firearm using one of the other holsters when wearing a t-shirt because the end of the stock tends to print on the shirt. I wear this holster in a bit of an unconventional fashion. Instead of clipping it to my strong side hip in typical fashion, I position it in the small of my back. This means that I have to be even more situationally aware due to the lack of a retention device, but holds the Glock 27 close to my back which prevents printing and allows the t-shirt to conceal the pistol.



Galco F.L.E.T.C.H. High Ride Belt Holster
$85
What is there to say? The F.L.E.T.C.H. is a classic leather high ride holster. It serves about the same function as the Uncle Mike's Super Belt Slide and Side Bet holsters, just a little fancier. The rigid leather construction means that it maintains it's shape once the firearms is drawn, allowing for easy reholstering.

Blackhawk SERPA Concealment Holster
$50 - $60

I like the SERPA because of it's integral locking mechanism and the fact that the lock release is in an ergonomic position. Everyone should be practiced in indexing their trigger finger along the slide in order to keep your finger off the trigger until on target and ready to fire. This holster uses that instinctive position to unlock to mechanism.

Another thing that I like about the SERPA is that it comes with both a belt loop attachment and a paddle attachment. These screw onto the backside of the holster and the paddle allows for easy removal of the holster without removing the belt.

It isn't the easiest holster to conceal, but once again we get into that concealment vs security issue. It easily conceals under a light wind breaker, but you might have a hard time hiding it under a t-shirt.

These are just a few of the holsters that I like, your experience may vary. Go out and try a few different types because just like clothes, different holsters fit different people differently. A good gun shop will let you try a few out before you buy it.

Students resist Colorado State gun ban

It's good to see that people are finally starting to stand up and demand that their rights be preserved. When I was going to college at a small university in Eastern Washington I worked as a part-time Police Officer. I was living in university housing at the time and while campus policies prohibited firearms possession in the dorms, I had worked out an agreement with the Campus Police Chief that let me have my service sidearm in my room just prior to going on duty and just after ending my shift so that I wouldn't have to be unarmed while in uniform as I went to the Campus Police office to pick up my firearm. One day a member of the dorm staff saw me in uniform and armed in the dorm. They actually wrote me up and I was called into the office of the Dean of Housing. Luckily the Campus Police Chief set everything straight, but it goes to show how messed up the ideals of the anti-gun folks are.

I never understood the idea of a "Gun Free Zone", it seems to me that they should just call them what they are, "Victimization Zones". Active Shooters want to kill as many people in the shortest amount of time possible. They do not want to face the opposition that may be presented by a legally armed citizen. Which is why we will continue to see mass casuality shootings at facilities that insist on posting the silly "Weapons Free Zone" signs. Have we not learned the lessons of Pioneer High School in Moses Lake, WA, Columbine High School Littleton, CO, Virginia Tech, Tacoma Mall in Tacoma, WA, Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City, UT, Ft. Hood Texas, etc., etc., etc.

Students resist Colorado State gun ban
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-guns-campus28-2009dec28,0,44959.story
Activists at the Fort Collins campus say a ban will make them more vulnerable to a Virginia Tech-style attack.

Reporting from Denver - After a gun-wielding student killed 32 at Virginia Tech, faculty at Colorado State University in Fort Collins found, to their alarm, that theirs was one of the few public schools in the
country with no policy banning firearms. Anyone with a concealed weapons permit could legally carry on campus.

Students, however, were alarmed when the faculty moved to change that.

Among other arguments, students contended that permitting people to carry concealed weapons was the campus' best defense against another tragedy.

"Let's say you have another Columbine or Virginia Tech," said Dan Gearhart, the student government president. "People want the ability to protect themselves."

Still, Colorado State's Board of Governors unanimously directed the presidents of the 22,000-student Fort Collins campus and the system's smaller campus in Pueblo to draw up weapon restriction policies. (The system also maintains what it calls its Global Campus online.) It cited a study by an association of campus police chiefs that concluded private firearms didn't help protect schools.

Fortis Courses:

NRA FIRST Steps Pistol $75

http://www.nrainstructors.org/CourseCatalog.aspx

Description

FIRST stands for “Firearm Instruction, Responsibility, and Safety Training”, a program the NRA developed to meet the need for a firearms orientation program for new gun purchasers. This FIRST Steps program is a basic courses abbreviated to the most fundamental shooting skills, and the specifics of a particular model of pistol.

This course, because of its narrow focus, can be completed as quickly as three hours. Students will get the NRA's THE BASICS OF PISTOL SHOOTING handbook and quick practical lessons on the safe use, cleaning, and storage of their pistol. The practical exercise covers a single pistol shooting position. As the number of participants or pistol types present increases, the course will take proportionally longer.

Course Goal

“To provide beginning shooters with an introduction to the knowledge, skills, and attitude necessary to own and use a specific pistol model safely.”

Contact us for course schedules & availability.

509-393-3652

smahood@fortissecuritytech.com

NRA Basic Pistol $140
http://www.nrainstructors.org/CourseCatalog.aspx

Description

A pistol, or handgun, is a firearm designed to be fired while being held in one hand. While such firearms are small and compact, they can be the hardest to learn.

The Basic Pistol course can be as short as eight hours. In it students will get the NRA's THE BASICS OF PISTOL SHOOTING handbook and intensive lessons in safety, gun handling, the various types of pistols, the fundamentals of pistol marksmanship, various pistol firing positions, several practical exercises on the firing range, cleaning, storage, and a summary of pistol sports and activities.

Course Goal

“To teach the basic knowledge, skills, and attitude for owning and using a pistol safely.”

Next Course - January 16, 2010 NCW Gun Club East Wenatchee, WA

Contact us for course schedules & availability.

509-393-3652

smahood@fortissecuritytech.com

Utah Concealed Firearm Permit Training $150
http://publicsafety.utah.gov/bci/concealedfirearms.html

Legally Carry a Concealed Firearm in 29 States!

Non-residents of Utah, 21 years of age and older, who complete this 4 hour course, taught by Shawn Mahood, a Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification Certified Concealed Firearms Instructor, are eligible to apply for a Utah Concealed Firearm Permit which is recognized in the following states:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virgina, Wyoming, Washington State

Current cost of the permit (paid directly to Utah after the course) is $65.25 and is valid for 5 years. Renewal is $10.00 every 5 years thereafter.

You do not have to possess a Washington License to Carry a Handgun in order to attend this course.

Course curriculum includes:

• Handgun Safety Rules
• Areas Where Utah Permit Holders Cannot Carry a Firearm
• How to Handle Encounters with the Police
• Civil Liability
• Escalation of Force
• Handgun Nomenclature
• Ammunition Fundamentals of Shooting
• Holsters, Federal, State (Utah), and Local (Utah) Laws, Codes, Rules & Regulations.

You will need to have a set of fingerprints (approx. $5 at your local law enforcement agency) & a passport photograph taken (approx. $4.99 at Costco). Bring the photograph & finger prints to class with you for inclusion in your Utah application packet.

Issuance of the Utah non-resident Concealed Firearm Permit is contingent upon successful completion of the 4 hour firearms familiarization course and a criminal history check by the Utah Department of Public Safety.

Courses Available Throughout Washington State Through High Mountain Hunting Supply & Wholesale Sports.

Available courses:

January 9, 2010 - High Mountain Hunting Supply Wenatchee, WA 888-730-3006

January 17, 2010 - Wholesale Sports Burlington, WA 360-755-0500

January 23, 2010 - Wholesale Sports Federal Way, WA 253-835-4100

January 24, 2010 - Wholesale Sports Lacey, WA 360-459-5800

January 31, 2010 - Wholesale Sports Kennewick, WA 509-736-2200

Contact us for course schedules & availability.

509-393-3652

smahood@fortissecuritytech.com

NRA Basic Personal Protection in the Home $295
http://www.nrainstructors.org/CourseCatalog.aspx

Description

Unlike the other basic courses, the Personal Protection course covers defensive shooting. Self-defense is a topic somewhat distinct from the regular diet of shooting fundamentals, it can cover mindset, legal issues, decision-making under pressure, and planning for the worst. The Basic Personal Protection in the Home course is designed around the use of the defensive pistol.

Although the course can be completed as quickly as eight hours, the amount of information presented, and the probability of intensive question and answer sessions on the included topics, makes it likely that the course will take longer.

Students will receive the NRA GUIDE TO THE BASICS OF PERSONAL PROTECTION IN THE HOME handbook and intensive lessons on basics of defensive shooting, issues of self-defense, and other strategies for protecting the home and family.

Course Goal

“To develop in the students the basic knowledge, skills, and attitude essential to the safe and efficient use of a handgun for protection of self and family, and to provide information on the law-abiding citizen's right to self-defense.”

Contact us for course schedules & availability.

509-393-3652

smahood@fortissecuritytech.com

Coming Soon:

Washington Concealed Carry Basics

Defensive Pistol I

Defensive Pistol II

Care & Feeding of the AR-15

Contact us for course schedules & availability.

509-393-3652

smahood@fortissecuritytech.com

Great Editorial in Today's Everett, WA Herald

I found this one kind of surprising. Great editorial in the Everett Herald, I wish more in the media had the nerve to stand up and speak the truth.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20091228/OPINION04/712289995

He makes a great point about enforcing the laws which are already on the books. New legislation banning certain types of firearms will certainly fail as he illustrated with the National Institute of Justice study of the 1994 - 2004 Assault Weapon Ban. Weapons bans do not effect crime because criminals by definition do not abide the laws by which the rest of us live.

We are at a pivotal point in our nation's history. If we don't assure our Second Amendment rights for our children we are certain to slowly lose all the others as well.

Contact Fortis Security Tech for your Firearms Training needs. We offer Utah Concealed Firearm Permit Classes, which allow legal concealed carry in 29 States, throughout Washington State.

509-393-3652

smahood@fortissecuritytech.com

Fortis Security Technology's Cadre of Professional Firearms Instructors each possess many years of military, law enforcement and federal government contract armed security experience. Fortis Instructors are all NRA Certified, adhering to the highest standards of professional conduct. Fortis Security Technology is a Service Disabled Veteran owned business based in East Wenatchee, WA with training teams ready to provide the firearms safety training that you need as a shooting sports enthusiast.

Our training teams are available to provide firearms training tailored to your needs. Ask us about our mobile training teams which are available to provide firearms safety training throughout the Continental United States to Military and Law Enforcement organizations, civic groups, shooting clubs and even Corporate Executive Retreats.