Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Concealed Carry Permits.
Well the Sheriff of Stanislaus County has opened the door, maybe just a crack, for citizens of good moral character and a clean background check to obtain a CCW permit. Not an easy thing to come by here in the Peoples Democratic Republik of Kalifornia. The media made a big deal out of it questioning if it was just a "political" move based on the upcoming election. The Sheriff, Adam Christansen, who in my opinion is a good guy, then took some heat about possibly "flip flopping" as the Moscow Bee (I mean Modesto Bee) said in a follow up article. Political? Somewhat, as other Sheriff's and Police Chief's have done the same due to having to lay off officers and deputies due to buget shortfalls in our present economy. It's a shame that it takes something like this to make permits easier to come by in the first place. The chief of Turlock said that crime was down by 20% in his city so he didn't really feel CCW permits were all that important. Having been a cop for over 30 years I know that the saying "When seconds count the police are only minutes away" is a very true statement. We have enough laws on the books to hang someone out to dry for a very long time if they are not suppose to have a firearm. But in the seconds when something is going from bad to Oh My God, those seconds are precious. Why is it that those in political power situations believe that government will be there to help you when your getting mugged in some dark alley or raped in a parking lot? Taking responsibility for one's own safety is not only important it's absoloutly necessary to guarantee your safety. Only time will tell how this is going to turn out in the mix, but I know an awful lot of CCW applications are flying out the door at the Sheriff's Department this week and I don't think it's going to slow down anytime soon. I mean, lets face it. The government is doing a good job with everything else. Why not trust them with your life? Yeah...enough said there.
Friday, December 18, 2009
You can't pick your battlefields. I've said this to countless students over the years and stressed the importance of situational awareness when talking with others. We just finished an ALERT class in the Turlock classroom the other day, and I found myself running through pretty much the whole list as I strolled through the Sherwood Mall in Stockton, CA yesterday. What a zoo!
My bride had requested (insert the word "sent") me to the Macy's store in Stockton to pick up a couple of Christmas plates for her collection as we were about to have the entire Gray Clan and numerous other inlaws and outlaws at our house for Christmas eve dinner. Her, being short of plates and me, being long on time, were sent to pick up the items. I left the house with my fairly standard load out of Glock Model 23, spare magazine, (both highcaps) ASP OC keyring, and a desire to "get there and get out" as fairly rapidly as possible. I'm just not a big fan of traffic and anytime you get around a shopping mall at this time of the year it begins to resemble the bar scene from Star Wars more and more.
Having accomplished my mission in Macy's, I decided to stroll through the mall and see if I could find anything else that would generate a Christmas gift idea. What I got instead was a lesson and practice exercise in situational awareness and a healthy dose of "When It to Win It" practice and training. Asian gangsters, Black gangsters, Hispanic Gangsters, or at least a large number of these people dressed in the usual fashion that says, "If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck", were being loud, throwing handsigns at other groups, and generally mad dogging each other. I found myself picking out posts that would provide cover, possible exit points into stores, head on a swivel, moving around objects to keep barriers between street urchins and myself, and trying not to look like a target of oppurtunity. I was wearing my beloved Sharks Hockey sweatshirt so I had already formed my drawstroke plan, keeping my primary weapon hand free of the bag I was carrying with the coveted Christmas dishes. I knew that if anything happened I would be launching those as a distraction strike to start a Hackathorn Rip draw and to get inside the OODA Loop of anyone who wanted to attack. (sorry about the dishes honey)
As I was moving through the mall and deciding that maybe this stroll through what was starting to look like gang central wasn't such a great idea, I was aware of my surroundings, ready, and yet still in Condition Yellow. It may sound like I was paranoid as I moved through the mall, but it was really just being aware. As I walked out of the mall and in the general direction of my truck I found myself following along behind a lady who was, likewise, moving towards her vehicle. I was amazed that her body language told me that she was very uncomfortable about having me directly behind her as we zigged and zagged through the cars apparently heading in the same direction. (Turned out she was parked right next to me) But not once did she alter her course, look back at me, or attempt to change direction. I was only about four to five paces behind her and could have entered her personal space for an attack with only about two large steps. It appeared she knew this, and YET, she went into ostritch mode with her head firmly planted in the sand (or somewhere else) and would not do anything to shake me off her tail. I could almost hear her saying "I hope, I hope, I hope," the whole time I was behind her. I truly should have been nicer and backed off, changed my line of approach to my truck, or done something to put her at ease, but found myself using her like a lab rat. When she reached her car and she saw me getting into my truck right next to her, I swear you could hear her exhale with a sigh of relief.
I thought about giving her a business card and offering her a free class to ALERT, because the poor thing needed it badly. However before I could let that thought jell, she was off in a cloud of exhaust. Oh well. At least I got a lot of practice in that day. And the plates were still intact.
Maybe I should run fieldtrips with students up to the Sherwood Mall. Like the city motto says;
Stockton. Someplace Special.
Dan
My bride had requested (insert the word "sent") me to the Macy's store in Stockton to pick up a couple of Christmas plates for her collection as we were about to have the entire Gray Clan and numerous other inlaws and outlaws at our house for Christmas eve dinner. Her, being short of plates and me, being long on time, were sent to pick up the items. I left the house with my fairly standard load out of Glock Model 23, spare magazine, (both highcaps) ASP OC keyring, and a desire to "get there and get out" as fairly rapidly as possible. I'm just not a big fan of traffic and anytime you get around a shopping mall at this time of the year it begins to resemble the bar scene from Star Wars more and more.
Having accomplished my mission in Macy's, I decided to stroll through the mall and see if I could find anything else that would generate a Christmas gift idea. What I got instead was a lesson and practice exercise in situational awareness and a healthy dose of "When It to Win It" practice and training. Asian gangsters, Black gangsters, Hispanic Gangsters, or at least a large number of these people dressed in the usual fashion that says, "If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck", were being loud, throwing handsigns at other groups, and generally mad dogging each other. I found myself picking out posts that would provide cover, possible exit points into stores, head on a swivel, moving around objects to keep barriers between street urchins and myself, and trying not to look like a target of oppurtunity. I was wearing my beloved Sharks Hockey sweatshirt so I had already formed my drawstroke plan, keeping my primary weapon hand free of the bag I was carrying with the coveted Christmas dishes. I knew that if anything happened I would be launching those as a distraction strike to start a Hackathorn Rip draw and to get inside the OODA Loop of anyone who wanted to attack. (sorry about the dishes honey)
As I was moving through the mall and deciding that maybe this stroll through what was starting to look like gang central wasn't such a great idea, I was aware of my surroundings, ready, and yet still in Condition Yellow. It may sound like I was paranoid as I moved through the mall, but it was really just being aware. As I walked out of the mall and in the general direction of my truck I found myself following along behind a lady who was, likewise, moving towards her vehicle. I was amazed that her body language told me that she was very uncomfortable about having me directly behind her as we zigged and zagged through the cars apparently heading in the same direction. (Turned out she was parked right next to me) But not once did she alter her course, look back at me, or attempt to change direction. I was only about four to five paces behind her and could have entered her personal space for an attack with only about two large steps. It appeared she knew this, and YET, she went into ostritch mode with her head firmly planted in the sand (or somewhere else) and would not do anything to shake me off her tail. I could almost hear her saying "I hope, I hope, I hope," the whole time I was behind her. I truly should have been nicer and backed off, changed my line of approach to my truck, or done something to put her at ease, but found myself using her like a lab rat. When she reached her car and she saw me getting into my truck right next to her, I swear you could hear her exhale with a sigh of relief.
I thought about giving her a business card and offering her a free class to ALERT, because the poor thing needed it badly. However before I could let that thought jell, she was off in a cloud of exhaust. Oh well. At least I got a lot of practice in that day. And the plates were still intact.
Maybe I should run fieldtrips with students up to the Sherwood Mall. Like the city motto says;
Stockton. Someplace Special.
Dan
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Okay, I've got to sound off now. I'm in the bank yesterday and all the tellers know me by name. I walk in the place and it's like Norm at Cheers. So after saying howdy to everyone I start transacting my business at the window. The guy at the teller window next to me asks the teller if he heard about the Modesto PD shooting at the school yesterday. The teller, a friend of mine who went to school with my girls, says yes he did. Then this guy says, "That cop is going to be in a lot of trouble." "They can't shoot people in the head, that's execution!" The teller looks over at me and I respond with (No I didn't scream bullshit) that is not true, police can shoot people in the head. Then this guy wants to argue the point. Silly me. 30 years of being a cop, I think I know what I'm talking about here but HEY, what do I know right? So when he gets done saying his piece again (No, I still didn't yell bullshit yet) I just said to him, "Well you should do some research on that."
Lets make this point loud and clear. YES, the cops can shoot you in the head to stop you from whatever your doing that puts them or someone else in jeopardy. It's the fastest way to end a fight "IF" you can hit the ocular zone in the head, getting the bullet into the midbrain area, and turn off the lights. The head is a well armored, moving target that is not that easy to hit particuarly when the adrenilin is doing the backstroke in your blood stream. The officer who made that shot is to be congratulated for his marksmanship, keeping his cool, and making sure this chick who went cuckoo for coco puffs didn't get an oppurtunity to hurt him or anyone else. I see MPD has stated publicly that they think it may be a suicide by cop event. If thats the case, then the only victim in this situation is the officer who had to take the shot. If you decide suicide is the only option for you then take pills, jump off a cliff, or whatever, but don't make the police (or anyone else for that matter) the instrumentality of your own destruction. Hopefully the officer is handling the event okay, but there is always going to be that second guessing and "What if I'd a done this" going on for awhile. You can bet though that if the officers had allowed her to get past them and sprint down the hall into the school that somebody would be screaming about why they didn't shoot. I don't know who the officer is yet that was involved in the shooting but my prayer for them is that he/she realizes they did what they had to do and they are okay with it. I know that if I had a kid still in elementary school today, and especially at that school, I would be calling the MPD and saying THANK YOU OFFICER!
You know, when I was in grade school back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, we learned Duck and Cover for a whole other reason. It was for when the Commies dropped an A-Bomb on us. Yeah, that little wooden desk was sure going to keep me safe! I think it would just make it easier for someone to figure out who the little crispy critter corpse belonged to under the charred desk. Pretty sad that Duck and Cover has a completely different meaning in todays world. I recently saw a training site where their telling kids to think of their school backpacks as a bullet resistent vest in the event of a school shooting. "If your running from the gunman throw it on your back to protect yourself." "Or you can hold it in front of you as you run past them using it as a shield." Damn sorry state of affairs our world is coming too. And before some idiot reads this and says to get rid of all guns to prevent that, yeah, that'll work! How about one CCW carrier in any of these school shootings might have been able to stop some of these. As for MPD's shooting yesterday with the woman with a knife, you guys did good! Kudo's to the school personnel who saw this unfolding, yelled for a lock down and made sure the kids were safe. Nice Job all!
Lets make this point loud and clear. YES, the cops can shoot you in the head to stop you from whatever your doing that puts them or someone else in jeopardy. It's the fastest way to end a fight "IF" you can hit the ocular zone in the head, getting the bullet into the midbrain area, and turn off the lights. The head is a well armored, moving target that is not that easy to hit particuarly when the adrenilin is doing the backstroke in your blood stream. The officer who made that shot is to be congratulated for his marksmanship, keeping his cool, and making sure this chick who went cuckoo for coco puffs didn't get an oppurtunity to hurt him or anyone else. I see MPD has stated publicly that they think it may be a suicide by cop event. If thats the case, then the only victim in this situation is the officer who had to take the shot. If you decide suicide is the only option for you then take pills, jump off a cliff, or whatever, but don't make the police (or anyone else for that matter) the instrumentality of your own destruction. Hopefully the officer is handling the event okay, but there is always going to be that second guessing and "What if I'd a done this" going on for awhile. You can bet though that if the officers had allowed her to get past them and sprint down the hall into the school that somebody would be screaming about why they didn't shoot. I don't know who the officer is yet that was involved in the shooting but my prayer for them is that he/she realizes they did what they had to do and they are okay with it. I know that if I had a kid still in elementary school today, and especially at that school, I would be calling the MPD and saying THANK YOU OFFICER!
You know, when I was in grade school back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, we learned Duck and Cover for a whole other reason. It was for when the Commies dropped an A-Bomb on us. Yeah, that little wooden desk was sure going to keep me safe! I think it would just make it easier for someone to figure out who the little crispy critter corpse belonged to under the charred desk. Pretty sad that Duck and Cover has a completely different meaning in todays world. I recently saw a training site where their telling kids to think of their school backpacks as a bullet resistent vest in the event of a school shooting. "If your running from the gunman throw it on your back to protect yourself." "Or you can hold it in front of you as you run past them using it as a shield." Damn sorry state of affairs our world is coming too. And before some idiot reads this and says to get rid of all guns to prevent that, yeah, that'll work! How about one CCW carrier in any of these school shootings might have been able to stop some of these. As for MPD's shooting yesterday with the woman with a knife, you guys did good! Kudo's to the school personnel who saw this unfolding, yelled for a lock down and made sure the kids were safe. Nice Job all!
New Comer
Welcome to The Gray Zone.
My name is Dan Gray. My friend and business partner Gene Whisenand and I own and operate Trident Firearms Academy LLC in the greater San Joaquin valley. I'm a retired police sergeant from the area and have been teaching firearms to law enforcement, military, and civilian's for over 30 years. That being said, I hate the word expert. I consider myself a student of firearms and I believe that if you quit learning you quit breathing! We believe that there is a lot of BS out there about gun ownership, training, and tactical knowledge, so we like to take everyone from the novice first time shooter through the experienced operator and explore options, tactics, and knowledge that has proven itself in actual conflicts. I always teach techniques from a three prong approach. Is it safe, economy of motion, and does it work on the street. So much is taught that is "square range" mentality that works great in that environment but will get you killed in an actual lethal force encounter. For that reason, we try and teach from a practical and tactical mindset. So if your looking for the most whazoo techniques that have been published as the end all to be all, that you read about in Guns N Sandwiches magazine this ain't the place. We teach what works when things go from bad to holy shit!
Drop your opinions here, tell me what you think about a piece of training you saw or heard about and lets kick it around and compare notes. If your interested in real world, street to the range mentality, and knowing what works, check us out at www.tridentfirearms.com and lets talk training. Until then, remember...Hope Is Not a Strategy!
Drop your opinions here, tell me what you think about a piece of training you saw or heard about and lets kick it around and compare notes. If your interested in real world, street to the range mentality, and knowing what works, check us out at www.tridentfirearms.com and lets talk training. Until then, remember...Hope Is Not a Strategy!
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