Cruel Hand Luke

I was there when it happened and will post something later. Ronnie was a good friend and a mentor over the years. It is hard to imagine this happening. You just never know from one moment to the next what may take place. We always plan for medical emergencies like heat injuries, slip and falls or accidental shootings in shooting classes but we rarely think about something like an ATV rollover happening at the range. I'm sad beyond words. RIP Brother Dodd.

This is coming up THIS SUNDAY !!!

But the way the case law seems to have played out is that you may have to actually SHOOT someone for that to apply. There was the guy that was threatened at a high school baseball game by a guy with a bat. So he got into his car and pulled a pistol to warn off the bat wielder but still got arrested and convicted for the gun possession (because it occurred at a school function) essentially because he didn't shoot. The judge said something to the effect that since you didn't actually shoot you weren't really using it to defend yourself..... Hopefully someone here remembers this case. I think it was in Clarksville maybe? (Or Crossville...or Cross Plains..or ????) We talked about it here after it happened but I cannot remember where it was or what the defendant's name was.

The August meeting of the TN/GA/AL training group will be Sunday August 15th at The Ridge in Dayton TN ! "Close or Far Rifles Are the Best " Subject: Close or Far Rifles are the Best Instructor: Randy Harris Randy's Bio Location: The Ridge 11534 Rhea County HWY , HWY 27 Dayton TN 37321 Time: 9AM EASTERN time - 3:30PM EASTERN time Price: $80 - pay at class by cash or check or Electronic payment by paypal or venmo. Paypal - cruelhandluke2000@yahoo.com Venmo - www.venmo.com/Randy-Harris-47 What you need to bring: A Rifle and 150 rounds of rifle ammo. At least 2 rifle mags and a way to carry them. Pistol and at least 25 rounds of pistol ammo. We will be working on both close range get off the X type shooting and longer range (100 +) shooting. And just a final reminder EVERYONE is welcome ! The TN/GA/AL Training Group started as a way for alumni of classes taught by Randy Harris to get together and stay current on skills and get some coaching in a one day format at a discounted price from what a normal class would cost. As it continued to grow we opened it up to ANYONE who is interested in coming out and learning some skills and just seeing what it is that we do and meet some new people with the same interests. So even if you are not an alum of one of my classes you are welcome to come join us!

https://www.foxnews.com/us/would-be-robbers-los-angeles-gun-defend Would-be robbers shot by armed shoppers in Los Angeles Victim was standing on a parking lot holding a shopping bag when the would-be robbers rolled in A man armed with a handgun defended himself during an attempted robbery in Los Angeles, and left two suspects with bullet wounds to the legs, police say. "Words were apparently exchanged, and the victim ultimately produces a handgun, apparently to defend himself and others in his group from the would-be robbery suspects. The victim fired his weapon towards the suspects and then all parties immediately fled the location," the Los Angeles Police Department recounted in a press release Tuesday. The attempted robbery unfolded Monday on Melrose Ave. when two men exited an idling Dodge Avenger, with one of the men producing a handgun. Video footage shows the men confronting a man with a shopping bag and two women who were standing on the parking lot. The male victim, who was reportedly the target of the robbery, produced his own handgun and sent the two suspects running as he opened fire. Police arrested and identified the two suspects as Nicholas Brown and Markeil Hayes, both of Los Angeles, and said they were both booked on attempted robbery and are currently on parole. PHILADELPHIA RECORDS MORE THAN 300 HOMICIDES SO FAR THIS YEAR, BREAKING DECADE RECORD Brown sustained a gunshot to the upper left thigh while Hayes was shot in the right calf. Police are still searching for the third suspect and asking the public for help tracking him down. "The Los Angeles Police Department is aggressively addressing a rise in violent crime in the Melrose area over the past year and is pursuing all leads involved in this and other crimes," police added in the press release. Police did not immediately return Fox News's request for additional comment on the crime. VENICE BEACH VIOLENCE REACHES BOILING POINT IN L.A. AS NEW VIRAL VIDEO EMERGES Homicides in Los Angeles are up 25% this year, with South Los Angeles seeing a 50% increase in killings. Violent crimes have also been increasing in cities across the nation, including in Philadelphia where gun crimes have ticked up significantly.

And then I used an MDT ACC Chassis with Bighorn Origin action in 6.5 Creedmoor to hit a buffalo target at 1 mile . Yes 1 MILE. I'm as surprised as you guys are..... I've been trying to get video to load but it is just apparently not working yet so if you want to see the MDT ACC gun it is one being fired on the table to the left of me in the pics above.

Its a BIGFOOT...not a Yeti... That is the view you have at the bench on the tablet from the Longshot Camera. It is pretty cool. You don't have to repaint targets or hang up new paper targets. You just shoot and it keeps track of groups. This pic was taken right before I hit the Yeti in the heart. The green dots are previous shooters' hits.

The downrange view.... From this station I fired 5 shots. I hit a Mountain Lion in the vital zone at 725 yards, a Bigfoot / Yeti in the heart at 865 yards (there are no Yetis in middle TN...it is too hot) and all 3 rounds on a buffalo at 1000 yards. Five shots 5 first round hits...did I mention that was a NICE setup?

Taking aim at a buffalo target at 1000 yards.

Proof Conviction Carbon Fiber Barrel in 6.5 Creedmor with Nightforce ATACR scope . This is a NICE rifle.

On Thursday 7/15/21 I attended an industry event at the Buffalo Ridge Wildlife Reserve in Waverly TN put on by Weatherby, Nightforce, Proof Rifles, and Longshot cameras.

And the old Federal Air Marshal Qualification ..... 150 / 150 Score and all the total times well under the par times allowed.

The Rangemaster Core Skills Test Target points 187 / 200 total time 22.52 seconds for a total Final Score of 166

5x5 Drill 5 rounds at 5 yards in 5 seconds or less on the playing card. We shot the left card from low ready and the right card from the holster from concealment. I had a bad trigger press on the one from ready but I was solid on the one from the holster.

From the TN/GA/AL Training Group meeting Saturday 7/17/21 Rastoff's Challenge . The course of fire is ... 4 rounds at 3 yards 6 rounds at 5 yards 6 rounds at 7 yards 4 rounds at 10 yards All rounds must be inside the X ring for a perfect score. The X is about 2" by 3" . Breaking the line does NOT go to the higher score. No time limit. Pure accuracy test. This was the first pistol drill we shot.

Agreed.

So if you wouldn't bring a rifle into the hotel then you'd leave it in the vehicle unattended in the parking lot? It's coming into the hotel with me (and everything else I don't want stolen) and getting taken with me when I leave the room. I don't even like leaving my clothes in a hotel room unattended.... Now the biggest problem here is that it was in Chicago with their draconian gun laws. If this were Jackson MS, or Memphis Tn, or Savannah GA, or Fort Walton FL, or Harrisburg PA, or Shepherdsville KY, or Little Rock AR or Prescott AZ, or Ann Arbor MI, or any number of other cities I have traveled to either taking or teaching classes or just simply vacationing (with a long gun and loaded mags each time) then this would not be an issue. But the fact that it was A in Illinois and B in Chicago is where this becomes a problem and C if you are going to have to leave it in the room you are going to need to put the do not disturb sign up and hide it somewhere like behind the fridge or somewhere that the casual observer does not see without having to put forth some effort.

We get calls everyday from people that got "just the leads" or "bullet heads" when they were expecting AMMO when they ordered something listed as BULLETS .

Nice !

Here is an article about NYPD and their shooting prowess.... https://citylimits.org/2016/11/29/nypd-gets-pressure-from-the-right-on-guns/ Pay attention to this passage.... According to the NYPD’s annual firearms discharge report, individual officers fired fewer than 15 rounds in 89 percent of the combat incidents in which the NYPD was involved last year. Sixty-five percent of officers involved in what the PD calls “adversarial” shootings in 2015 fired five or fewer bullets. What that just said is that in 35% of the incidents they fired more than 5 and in 11% they fired 15 or MORE .

The problem is that the less it will penetrate drywall the less it will penetrate the bad guys.... There are no legit "bumper sticker sized" answers to this. Things are complex. If you want a round that will not penetrate things you need either a light weight thing (ping pong balls are notoriously bad at penetrating things) or something designed to break apart that is moving extremely fast. Some people recommend birdshot for shotguns. In my opinion that's a suboptimal idea. The tiny little pellets make penetration through multiple layers of drywall less likely but at the same time they also make penetration deep enough to hit vital organs less likely on the guy or guys you are trying to stop. Birdshot wounds tend to be nasty looking surface wounds with little penetration unless you shoot them from 3 feet away (or closer) . I'm frankly more concerned with making that guy who is trying to kill me stop what he is doing immediately when I hit him than I am about what happens in an uninhabited room IF I miss him. And in fact my HD shotgun is loaded with full power 000 buck because semi autos run more reliably with full power shells and 000 patterns tighter than full power 00 loads due to the way the pellets are stacked (8 vs 9 ) in the shell. Tighter pattern is less likely to have a "flier" that misses. If you run a pump I'd roll with the Federal Low Recoil Flight Control 00 or Flight control #1 buck. Flight control delivers extremely tight patterns ...especially at across the room distance. Bird shot is for birds...not people , some of whom are the size of black bears. On .223 things are complicated by barrel twist. If you want the least penetration and a round that will still probably perform well enough to stop someone reliably then the 40 grain Blitzking or Hornady V-Max round at about 3600 - 3700fps will break up when it hits something but still ruin the bad guy's day when he gets hit with it. IIRC Phoenix PD had good results with it out of their Steyr Augs in the 1990s. The down side is that a 1/7 twist barrel can spin the jackets off of 40 grain bullets in flight because of the extreme speed. But then again how far will they be flying in your house? Maybe 7 or 8 yards? If you are running a 1/7 twist I might go with a 50 or 55 gr V-max . The 55gr V-max is what I have loaded in my AUG (1/9 twist) for indoors and 55 gr gold dots for outdoor use. It seems odd that we never seem to really devote much time to worrying about our Gold Dots or HST or DPX rounds in our CCW pistols penetrating too much on a miss in the streets where there is a whole world of people out there to potentially be hit but we are terrified of what a miss will do inside a house.... This seems kind of ironic when we are shooting a shoulder fired weapon which is far easier to hit with than a pistol and the longest shot you are taking in most houses is overwhelmingly likely to be less than 10 yards and generally at someone who is closing distance with you.... I think if we just spent more time actually becoming better shooters the other stuff takes care of itself.

THIS ONE IS COMING UP THIS SATURDAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JULY 10 we will be at the Windrock Shooting Range for a meeting of the TN/GA/AL training group. "How Qualified Are You?" Training Day at Windrock Shooting Range 720 Windrock Rd, Oliver Springs, TN 37840 (https://windrockshootingrange.com/) Time is 12:30PM to 4:30PM EASTERN TIME. Price is $80 and you will need 120 rounds of pistol ammo and 50 rds of rifle ammo. This one will take place right after the monthly Back Up Gun Match at Windrock . If you want to REALLY test your skills come shoot the BUG match and then shoot the Training Day qualifications with your backup gun ! So again the time on this is 12:30PM to 4:30PM Subject: HOW QUALIFIED ARE YOU ? Instructor: Randy Harris Randy's Bio Location: Windrock 720 Windrock Rd, Oliver Springs, TN 37840 DATE : Saturday July 10 Time: 12:30 PM EASTERN time - 4:30PM EASTERN time Price: $80 - pay at class by cash or check or Electronic payment by paypal or venmo (friends and family option) Paypal - cruelhandluke2000@yahoo.com Venmo - www.venmo.com/Randy-Harris-47 What you need to bring: Pistol, at least 2 pistol magazines and at least 100 rounds of pistol ammo. Revolvers are welcome if you want to party like it is 1899. A Rifle and 50 rounds of rifle ammo. I will try to have ammo available for those who want to replenish what they shoot. We will be shooting some challenging warm up drills and then the Federal Air Marshal pistol qualification, FBI pistol AND RIFLE qualification courses and a few others. I will also keep records of these (if you are happy with your scores) for future reference and use . This will serve to get your shooting prowess on record by a third party in case it is ever needed in the future in some legal matter. This is also something your church might like to have for their records if you are a member of a church security team. As far as the courts are concerned if it isn't documented it didn't happen so this is an opportunity to get some official scores on paper in case you ever need them . Not only that but it will be a good day of shooting some somewhat challenging and well known courses of fire. This is an EXCELLENT chance to bring someone you know who might need a "reality check" on where their skills actually are. We all know people who are gun owners who keep threatening to get some training. The training days (especially the pistol qual day) are a great way to get them into that and show them what is possible with some directed practice and see where they REALLY are at their present skill level. And it is a good chance to get to meet people with the same interests that don't think you are "crazy".

And THAT is part of the problem, the fact that there is a lot of confusing stuff and that essentially everything in TN is illegal , there are just "exceptions" to the law . These laws were largely written to allow for discretion in certain circumstances and not in others but that is a discussion for another time and place.

From 1996 until 2018(?) if you wanted to legally carry a pistol on your person either concealed or openly out in public you got a HCP (Handgun Carry Permit). Then they created a CCP (Concealed Carry Permit) that requires concealed carry and has further restrictions than the standard HCP had and no reciprocity with other states. So the governor and legislature allegedly want to pass "Constitutional Carry" so instead of eliminating the one sentence in TCA that would make it possible they end up creating a new permit with less benefits and an ambiguous and confusing change to the law that now allows people over 21 who can legally own a pistol to carry them (most places but not public parks or greenways) but with further restrictions and it is all just a mess. Here's an idea that would not take a lot of legal or political gymnastics to accomplish. Make the ECP a TRUE "enhanced" permit. If you choose to take the class you can carry ANYWHERE not forbidden by Federal Law. ANYWHERE . Signs have no force of law anymore. You have reciprocity with other states. (I'd also suggest changing the "no alcohol" to simply "as long as you are under the legal limit to drive" like Pennsylvania and several other states but I also know that is very unlikely to happen) If you cannot afford the +/- $70 for the class plus the $100 for the Enhanced Permit or you just don't want to fool with getting it and you are a resident of TN (and you can legally own a pistol) then you would have the right to carry inside the borders of TN but with no reciprocity (not because I believe you shouldn't but because we cannot force other states to allow people from our state with no permit to carry there) but all other features and restrictions would be same as the current HCP is now. Pretty simple.

It is not a perfect world. People don't all respect other people, or their rights . Some people commit crime. Some people don't like guns. Some people don't like people carrying guns. Some people don't like being around people carrying guns - even if they are uniformed police. Some people don't like it that some people choose to not helpless and some people (and businesses) are more worried about perceived liability and the bottom line than anything else. And while we should all be able to do pretty much whatever we want as long as it does not harm others we all know that that is just not reality. So having said all of that , Since apparently the legislature is not going to implement "Constitutional Carry" by simply removing from TCA 39-17-1307 "A person commits an offense who carries, with the intent to go armed, a firearm or a club." then we are operating under the hodgepodge of rules as currently written. And until they decide what exactly they are trying to accomplish with making it kind a sorta legal to carry without a permit in some places but not others then what I'd like to see is the signage have no power of law. They can ask you to leave at which point if you refuse you can be arrested for trespassing but the carrying past the sign would have no legal consequences. In fact I think a good way to get that ball rolling is to eliminate the restrictions on where you can carry if you have an "enhanced permit" or whatever they are calling the "standard" permit now.