Close your eyes to improve your draw

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I spend about 10-15 minutes every day dry firing. Some days I solely work on trigger control and other days I only work on my draw without even pulling the trigger.

Today, I’d like to share with you a way to improve your draw so that when your gun comes out of the holster it has a lot better chance of coming up on the target. First off, get in your shooting stance. I prefer the modified-isosceles stance where my feet are about shoulder width apart and my right leg (gun leg) is dropped back about six inches.

Next…

With a safe and empty weapon, practice your draw and bring your gun up on target. (It can be a mark on a wall, or I use a target that is taped to the bulletproof panel on my wall.)

Practice your draw several times until your gun seems to come right up on target every time. What I mean by this is that when the draw is complete your sights are aligned and you can pull the trigger and hit what you’re aiming at without any adjustment.

Once you’re comfortable with your draw, close your eyes.

Then practice your draw again and if all goes well you should have perfect sight alignment on the target when you open your eyes. However, the chances are you’ll be a little off. The reason for this is because when your eyes are open you likely force the gun on target at the last second. In other words, if you’re doing the correct draw with your eyes closed, you know your body is naturally aligning the sites.  

And if it isn’t, this is when you need to adjust your feet, adjust your grip, and move your body if necessary. After you’ve made a few adjustments then draw with your eyes closed again and see if you’re on target this time. Obviously, it may take a few adjustments before you achieve proper sight alignment, but this is time well spent.

The fact is, once you repeat this new draw over and over it will be ingrained in your mind and almost become automatic. And this is clearly a good thing because if the day ever comes where you have to draw your gun to defend your life, you’re newly perfected draw will come right out on the target you’re looking at.

I realize practicing your draw is not as fun as shooting and isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, but if the stuff ever hits the fan, you’ll be more than thankful to have a quick draw that leads to correct sight alignment. Just remember to triple check that you’re being safe when it comes time to close your eyes.

Is the Government Still Racist?

Over the years, the United States government has done some despicable things to people. We have the murder and relocation of the Native Americans. We have slavery, the Japanese internment camps, and the persecution of numerous religious groups.

And with yesterday being Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and with the current gun control legislation, I was thinking about the roots of gun control laws, which most Americans aren’t aware of.

The fact is, gun control laws were born out of racism. White people were afraid that blacks would “overthrow them” so the government (controlled by white people) passed a series of laws to keep guns out of the hands of blacks.

For instance, after Nat Turner’s rebellion in 1831, the Tennessee Constitution was changed to read, “That the free white men of this State have a right to keep and to bear arms for their common defence.”

And the judiciary of North Carolina stated…

“That if any free negro, mulatto, or free person of color, shall wear or carry about his or her person, or keep in his or her house, any shot gun, musket, rifle, pistol, sword, dagger or bowie-knife, unless he or she shall have obtained a licence therefor from the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of his or her county, within one year preceding the wearing, keeping or carrying therefor, he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and may be indicted therefor.”

Now, I don’t have to tell you that most blacks weren’t granted a license back then (whites didn’t have to apply for any type of license.) The thing is, it’s scary to realize that not much has changed over the years in certain states. For example, it’s extremely difficult to get a concealed carry permit from a “may issue” state, such as California. In California, the local police chief grants the concealed carry permits.

And guess what?

In California, the majority of concealed carry permits are granted to white people. Now, I’m not saying that all police chiefs in California are racist. However, because it’s a “may issue” state, the police chief gets to look over and approve the application. You ever think a chief gets an application and he denies it because he doesn’t like the way a person looks or that maybe they have tattoos and that rubs them the wrong way?

In “shall issue” states, such as Virginia, the state must grant the permit if you pass the qualifications and background check. This means there is nothing influencing a police chief or sheriff’s decision to issue someone a permit.

The bottom line is, gun control is just plain evil. Whether it’s whites in the government trying to keep guns out of the hands of minorities or it’s Hitler trying to disarm a nation, to which he said, “The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms.”

Caching the snubby revolver

I recently finished reading the book, Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People. It’s not a gun book, but a very entertaining read about the life of a gambler. In the book, he mentions that throughout his gambling days he always carried a .38 Special snub-nosed revolver in his pocket. I imagine there are still plenty of gamblers you can find in seedy bars who have this gun in their pocket today.

But then again, so do a lot of Americans, myself included. The particular snubby I have is a Smith & Wesson model 642 Centennial Airweight. The fact is, the .38 Special snubby revolver has been around since the late 1800’s and is still one of the most popular firearms in the world.

This particular gun happens to be on my mind…

Because it’s one of many I have stored throughout my house (in a quick opening safe.) And just the other day when I was near the safe containing this gun, I heard a knock at my back door. Now, nobody ever comes to my backdoor, let alone my front door, because most people don’t know where I live.

So when I heard the knock, I quickly opened the gun safe and slid the snubby revolver into my pants pocket. I then stared out one of the windows and didn’t see a criminal or anything requiring my gun, but simply my neighbor. She was having trouble getting into her house and needed my help.

Besides the ability to easily carry it around in a pants pocket, another reason I love the snubby revolver is because it’s an easy gun to cache. It can fit in the smallest of containers and can quickly be buried in a place you find appropriate.

Plus, the snubby revolver is a (relatively) cheap gun that you can get for around $300-$350 so I don’t mind caching one and having it get a little beat up or weathered. (Even though I recommend mylar bags for caching guns and ammo.)

What’s more…

There are plenty of used snubbies that you can get for even better prices if you look around. Also, speaking of caches and snubbies, here’s a little food for thought: With all that’s going on with guns and politics just imagine if the government came and tried to take your guns right now. (I know many people believe it’s very far fetched, but just humor me.)

If the government knocked on your door this afternoon, are all of your guns in your house… are all of your eggs in one basket? Again, just food for thought, but maybe you should consider getting a snubby revolver and caching it in a safe place.

With that being said, if I were going to add to my snubby revolver collection today (donations are always welcome), I would stick with Smith & Wesson and Ruger as in my eyes they make the best. And as far as ammunition, the ammo that I’m using right now is Winchester’s PDX1 (130 grain, jacketed hollow point.)

What if the newspaper exposed your address?

Last week I was interviewed by the Huffington Post about marriage and guns. The interview was about how spouses handle it when one spouse is into guns and the other is against guns.

I’m not going to go into the interview here because awhile back I wrote an article about “How to Convince Your Spouse to Like Guns” and I’m sure you can find that article if you do a quick Google search for it.

But the reason I mention the Huffington Post is because yesterday at the very top of their website was the headline, “Targeted Anger: Staff at paper that pinpointed gun owners threatened, intimidated.” 

If you’ve been following the news lately…

Then you know that a New York newspaper, called The Journal News, released the names and addresses of over 30,000 people who were gun owners and who had their concealed carry permits. Among the names released were judges, police officers, and people in hiding from an abusive ex-spouse.

Obviously, I strongly disagree with what the newspaper did and the irony is that they’ve received so many threats they’ve had to hire armed guards for the building. The lesson to be learned from all of this is something I’ve been preaching about and doing myself for years.

Put simply, do not have the address on your driver’s license or any other mailing addresses be your home address. I know in the state of Virginia you can have a P.O. Box on your driver’s license (I used to have that) and in the state of Utah it just has to be a physical address. In other words, you can’t have a P.O. Box, but you can have a UPS Store or Mailboxes Etc. store.  

What I personally have now…

Is a UPS store on my driver’s license and then I have a series of P.O. Boxes and UPS stores for where I receive my mail. (Some are on the east coast and some are on the west coast since I do training in both locations.)

As I gun owner I think it is so important to never have your residential address revealed. This is because not only do the anti-gun people now know the address of these New York gun owners but now so do the criminals.

In fact, one of my contacts is a former Hells Angels gang member and his particular gang specialized in gun running. He told me that one of the ways they got guns was to break into people’s houses that they knew had guns.

I do realize you may have had your residential address on your license and other documents for years now, but slowly move things over to a UPS store or P.O. Box. Simply make a few calls a day to your magazine subscriptions or mortgage holder and give them the new address to start sending your mail.

This is a simple act to do and may keep you out of the public eye if your personal information should ever be released.

Top 8 New Year’s Resolutions

I hope you’re having a wonderful New Year’s Day. In a minute I’m heading out to the range to try out some of my Christmas gifts, but I wanted to send you this first. 

Like many people, I sit down at the beginning of the year and make resolutions and goals for the year ahead. I thought I’d share with you a few resolutions/goals that every gun owner may want to consider for 2013.

1. Go to the shooting range more. I realize we all have busy schedules, but pick a specific time and day you’ll go to the range and put it on your calendar. For instance, if you’re going to go once a month then go on the third Tuesday of each month at 10am. If you can go weekly, then go every Friday at 6pm. It doesn’t matter who you are, all of us can use more practice.

2. Invite someone to go to the range with you. Maybe you have a liberal friend who doesn’t like guns, or perhaps someone who’s interested in guns but still scared of them. I have found no better way to show someone how enjoyable shooting is than by inviting them to the range, which often creates a life long shooter.

3. Go to at least one training class this year. My friend Massad Ayoob likes to say that instead of spending money on multiple guns, why not use some of that money for training instead. So this year make it your goal to attend at least one pistol or rifle or shotgun class. Plan ahead and schedule that class soon that way you actually make the time to attend it.

4. Find the right gear for you. If you have a gun that you don’t carry around often because you find it uncomfortable, then take the time to find the right one for you this year. Luckily, this is easy to do by going to the range, renting a bunch of guns and finding the one you like best. In addition to getting the right gun, take the time to find the right holster too.

5. Dry fire more. If you’re not happy with your draw stroke, or trigger press then spend a few minutes each week safely dry firing. I spend about 10-15 minutes each day dry firing and the secret to sticking to this is to dry fire at the exact same time each day. (Just remember to have a safe backstop, such as the bulletproof panel that I’ve tacked up on my own wall.)

 6. Think more. Most people don’t think at all these days and simply go through their daily motions like drones. So what should you think about? Well, obviously, I’m biased to thinking about safety. For instance, think about your home security. Is there anything you know you should do to make your home more “intruder proof?” Also, think while you’re going about your daily routine. If you go to the same coffee shop each morning and sit in the same place, how would you react if one day someone suddenly stormed in and started shooting? And think more about gun safety in general. Are all of your guns locked up in your house in quick-access safes? And when you clean your guns do you do it in a room where no live ammunition is present? Think, think, think.

7. Join the NRA or renew your membership. I recently saw a statistic that said there are 100 million Americans who own guns, yet only 4 million members of the NRA. The truth is, I don’t always agree with everything the NRA does, but they are the 800-pound gorilla and they are fighting for our 2^nd Amendment rights. That’s why I’m happy to be a member and to contribute my dues to them each year. So for 2013, please join or renew your NRA membership, you can even do it right here.

  

8.  Figure out a way to convince your spouse that you need more guns and that they’re more important than shoes, clothes, and all of those baby items that I know my baby doesn’t need. Case in point: Why does my kid need 15 different pairs of shoes to match her every outfit? She can’t even walk and they pretty much fall off every time we go out and then when I lose the one shoe we have to buy another pair that she will outgrow in about 2.5 seconds. (I have a feeling #8 will be a New Year’s resolution I will be working on for life.)

I hope you have a wonderful New Year and that 2013 is safe and full of prosperity for you.