Another Mall Shooting

Another mall shooting.

Looks like this was an ex-boyfriend killing his ex and her new boyfriend. . . least that is the rumor at this point.  He most definitely was going for them as he went through the mall to a store on the second floor, shot the two of them then himself.  That is a sick person on a mission folks not random gun violence

And again in a gun free area.  Maryland is not exactly gun friendly.  They have plenty of those great gun control laws there. . . and again they did not work.

When are we going to learn that gun control does not work.

When are we going to stop blaming the gun and start looking at what we teach kids these days?  So you got broken up with. . . DEAL WITH IT and move on!  We are raising a generation or maybe two now thanks to the liberals that cannot deal with losing.  We have set ourselves up for this when we teach kids that everyone always wins, we don't keep score, and you are not responsible for anything you do - it is always someone else at fault.  Right from Obama on down this seems to be the Liberal way to think.  No respect for others, no self respect or personal responsibility.

We want to stop kids from doing this CRAP then it is time they learn a few things.  Like respect for others, respect for life, that they won't always win or get their way and that is OK.  How to deal with it when they don't win.

Then we will stop seeing this stuff.

Gun Folks are Good Folks

Went down to the club today to do a one on one class for a friend so he could get his permit in MA. . . . dragged in my boxes of stuff for class and waited. . . and waited. . . . no show.  Meanwhile a number of folks showed up to use the indoor range.

First thing they do is ask if I am giving a class.  I tell them I am but it is only one on one so the range is open.  What do they do next?  Stick out a hand and introduce themselves.  We talk a bit then I get a reply to my text to my student that he lost my number but had a family emergency so would not be there.

I made one trip to the car to pack up stuff and when I came in for my next box the guys waiting to shoot comment "what are we doing just sitting here talking?  Let me help you. . ." and they grab the rest of my stuff and help me take it out saving a few trips.

I didn't have to ask, didn't say anything but THANK YOU.  Sure it only took a minute for them to help me out but they did it.

This is why I continue to have faith in gun folks.  Time and again they have shown themselves to be good folks.  They help out, they have manners, and they are friendly.  All those things we all use to be that seem to have fallen by the wayside as we become more isolated and politically correct these days.

So I will say it again - Gun folks are good folks!  Come join us and find out for yourself.  We are a friendly bunch, we will help you learn to shoot and most will let you try their guns if you show an interest and ask.  A good active club is a great way to meet good folks.

Another Successful Gun Class

Had another great day at the gun club yesterday.

This was my fourth class teaching with the club and we had 23 students, 18 or so of which were new to shooting and going for their first permits.  It was great to see a number of young women in the group learning to shoot.

This was also the first time I had control of the range for one group of students. . . a  bit intimidating to be suddenly running the range.  I got a "Hey John why don't you run this one" and I was off. . . . I wasn't going to say no!  gotta learn some time right?  And with all the other instructors their if I missed anything they would make sure I knew it = )

Anyway it went well as I explained the use of the .22 bolt action rifle, .22 revolver, and the 9mm auto handgun.  Afterwards I was told I did a great job, you wouldn't have known it was my first time! Which I took as quite the complement.

I am getting more and more into the training side of things.  I will be doing my first one on one class next weekend if all goes well.  I have all my PowerPoint's, posters and training stuff in line I think.  I am sure I will be tweaking things as I go but I think my club has given me a great start on this trip.  Now I just need to make up an easy way to transport everything to the range  = )

Talyor Anderson Destroyer Men

Just finished the seventh book in this series. . . "Iron Grey Sea".  You can get info on all the books HERE.

All I can say is if you like military books, and alternate history this is a great series.  I have been hooked from book one.

You follow a old beat up destroyer that is fleeing the Japanese at the start of WWII.  It gets caught up in a storm and transported to an alternate world where humans are not running things, and they are still in the sail age. . .

The characters are great and you really learn to care for them.  They have to learn to fit into this new world, and pick sides in the fight they end up in the middle of there.

The detail in the books of each battle just sucks you in and you can't turn the pages fast enough.  But the story is great too!  You get invested in these characters and what they are trying to do as they build a new life in this new world and deal with all the issues that brings up.  You also get bits and pieces of info on how they got to this world and maybe other have been transported there too.. . .

I don't want to give away the stories but let me say after seven books (I wait for the paperbacks) I can't wait to get book 8 and I hope he keeps it going.  Each book brings a bit more of the big story, but plenty of new stuff to that just keeps me going back for more.

A must read. . . .

Gun Class delayed due to car trouble. .

Well today I was going to do my first one on one class for a friend that wants to get his gun permit here in MA.  I have done three group classes at the club and been working with the kids rifle class but I have yet to do my own class for someone.

I was all set but then his car acted up so things are on hold for now. . . . oh well.

But anyway it gave me a good chance to get my act together for teaching.

• I have got my hands on the training posters from the NRA for pistol and rifles.  
• I have put together a few props to show the proper sight alignment with both standard signs and peep sights
• I have the slides on my computer from the NRA and my gun club on Mass law
• I have figured out how to print out the forms so they look good for his cert and the state paperwork
• I have been messing with a LaserLyte trainer gun as I posted earlier to help

All and all it was a false start but it was a start.  I think I am getting there.  I hope to do the class soon and if it goes well I will be putting my name in at the local Police station as an instructor so I can start working with students in town.

Now if this state will just drop all the crazy laws they are looking at we will all set.  I am still going a bit nuts thinking about the foolish laws they want to pass.  None of which will help stop crime but will further prove gun folks are second class citizens in this state.  Our club still has a full house every month at the club class so folks are going for their permits. . . I just hope they are paying attention and letting their reps know. . . .

Some day I will get out of MA. . . .

Training with LaserLyte

So here we go with another entry in my continuing quest to be a good instructor.  I have purchased a LaserLyte Training Blue Gun and the Laser Trainer and Target that go with it.  Now this was all with my own money, nothing was give to me by LaserLyte so this review is mine and mine alone. . .

You can see more stuff they have at the LaserLyte website.

The goal of all this was to improve my own shooting and to use it as part of my pistol training class I give.  I am an NRA certified pistol instructor in Massachusetts and I am starting to move forward with giving classes per MA law so I can help others get their permits here.  I have not used this with a student yet but here are my findings so far using it myself for dry fire practice. . .

OK, enough about me.  Where are we at so far. . .

The Blue Gun:

This is a LaserLyte LT-TT gun designed to practice dry fire.  The trigger pull is about 5 pounds and cannot be changed.  It would be nice to see the next version of this gun let you set the trigger pull so you could match it to your carry gun but it works.  It also has a "barrel" that you can use to put the LaserLyte laser into for target practice.  This trainer CANNOT be modified to fire a bullet.

The sights are basic black no dots or other marking on them.  They are your standard pistol sites with the notch in back and blade in front.  They work fine as is and are not adjustable.

The trigger pull is ok, but it is long.  The trigger reset is also long and it is at times loud enough to trigger a second shot from the laser when used.  

I do find the grip a bit large for my hands and it would be nice if they made it with a way to change the grip size to fit your hand, maybe a changeable backstrap like Smith & Wesson uses on the M&P line of semi-autos.  If you have small hands this could be an issue.

The Laser:

This is the LaserLyte LT-Pro and is used to generate the laser "shot" when you fire the gun.  It will work in any gun from .38 to .45.  It runs on three small 377 batteries and does not have an on off switch so you need to unscrew the end when not in use.  It will drain the batteries overnight if you don't. . . . I forgot to do this at first.  When not in use you need to unscrew the back part (the left side in the above photo) and flip it around.  The black plastic will fit into the battery compartment and close it off to save the batteries.  It is easy and works.

The laser fits into the barrel of the blue gun (or whatever gun you want to use but make sure it is UNLOADED) and each time you pull the trigger it sense the hammer fall or click and sends out a laser pulse.  This works very well as it pulses long enough for you to see your hit.  For me it was ease to see that instead of a dot I was getting a line as the gun moved during the pulse.  It showed me with ease that I am moving the gun with the trigger pull. 

I think it is nice that you can transfer this to your carry gun for dry fire if you want.  That gives you the ability to get use to the trigger pull on your own gun and fix any issue you have with trigger pull on your actually gun without using up ammo or dealing with recoil.  You can focus just on the trigger pull to fix things. 

I have been told you may need to adjust this in the barrel to get it to shoot where you aim but my experience is that it centered in the barrel very well and fires at point of aim.

The Target:

This is the LaserLyte target that works with their laser system.  It works on three AAA batteries.  It is very simple to use.  You turn it on and set it where you can shoot at it.  You shoot at the target and it records the hits but they do not show up as you shoot.  When you are ready to see where you are hitting you shoot the DISPLAY target and your hits will then glow red on the target.  When you want to clear the hits you shoot the RESET target.

Here is what it looks like with the hits displayed:

You can set this up anywhere in the house, and since it is a blue gun you can use it without the fear of a negligent discharge and all that goes with it.

So far I have used this system with just the laser and blue gun and with the target.  Right now I am working with just laser and gun as I try to improve my trigger pull and get rid of the gun movement I can see in the laser with each shot.  It is very easy to see how inconsistent my trigger pull is right now.  Sometimes I get a nice dot and sometimes I get a line as the gun moves while the laser is on.

Overall Review:

I like the system.  It makes it easy to see what you are doing without the need of going to the range or the expense of shooting live ammo.  It also takes out the recoil and all the bad habits you can acquire from that too.

I have yet to use it with a student but I look forward to doing that too.  It would be a great way to introduce them to the proper sight picture and trigger pull without dealing with the noise and recoil from actually shooting.  This could be a very good first step in teaching a new shooter that is a bit scared of a gun.  I have had them in class and sure you can use live fire with them but I think this would ease them into it so they could focus on aiming and trigger pull without the distraction of the gun going off.

We will see and I will post more as I use this but so far I see it as a great addition to my collection and a good way for me to get some trigger time during the winter so I can fix my trigger pull.

If you have used these I would love to hear your reaction to them in the comments.

News the Massachusetts Way. . . actual gun facts reported. . .

The media today gave me some hope that folks are starting to wake up to the games the gun grabbers play.  They seem to be starting to lose the news folks, at least a bit. . . the cracks are beginning and that is good.

What cracks you ask?  Well here in nice blue MA the news media is pretty good about toeing the party line for the Dems and the gun grabbers.  BUT. . . .

In the news today was a little blurb that I think is really big news if you look at it closely.  The news is reporting only 40 gun deaths in Boston last year, which continued the downward trend.  Now this is good for the folks of Boston and could be mistaken to show the gun control laws worked. . . but they added to the story . . . they admitted that there were the same number of shootings as the year or so before so no reduction in gun crime. . . more folks lived through it due to luck and modern EMS and hospitals so the deaths dropped.

In a nutshell they have admitted that gun control is not reducing gun crime or shootings in Massachusetts, and that the fact that gun deaths have gone down is due to more folks living through the attack because they get better medical care now than in the past.  Same number of shootings as last year, crime is not going down with all these laws.

Now this was just a bit of a quick news bit on the TV but I think it shows that they are starting to face the facts.  More importantly they are starting to report the facts.

We are slowly winning the hearts and minds of people back to our Constitution and our rights including the right to bear arms.  All we need is for the real facts to be reported and we win.  That is slowly starting to happen but it is happening.

Here's to a 2014 where we keep winning  back our rights!