Cruel Hand Luke

Just about 4 weeks to go and we have 9 open spots left in this class. Don't miss out on the opportunity to practice your skills in a low light environment !

And a rain suit?....

So you think they'd be better or just as good drivers if there was no driving test to pass? Again, if you don't like the fact that the TN state legislature reserves the right to regulate the wearing of arms then you are gonna need to get the TN STATE constitution changed....

Omega , There are varying degrees of "trained". Who said anything about "hundreds of dollars"? Hell I'm just arguing for the MINIMAL level that is already in the permit classes we already have...not lessening it. While we all (anyone who knows any better) look negatively at the minimal amount of training the current HCP class provides , it is still FAR better than NOTHING. The reason you "always hear this same argument, specially from those that teach these courses " is because we actually see first hand on a daily or weekly basis how abysmally bad the gun handling of many casual gun owners truly is....

That is cute and all but shows a pretty basic misunderstanding of the fact that the state of TN retains in the state constitution the right to regulate the wearing and carrying of arms. So if you want to get the state constitution changed then call your legislators and lets get it started.....

I guess making people pass a driving test to be able to legally drive on public roads is an unreasonable imposition too? If people who have no interest in learning how to properly handle and use a firearm want to "bare arms" on their own property they are not really a danger to anyone but their own family (and maybe their next door neighbors). But if they then decide to carry out in the world then they now will potentially effect everyone out in public "down range" from them. If they don't know how to safely handle a gun on a "one way square range" is it really a great idea for them to try to learn it on the fly on a 360 degree "hot range" which is what the outside real world is. Fortunately we do not see many instances of accidental discharges reported (but how many people actually report that though?) but I do know of one in Chattanooga where a young woman was killed when a negligently discharged bullet came through the wall of her apartment and hit her. And before anyone thinks they are going to "question my commitment to the cause" I have carried a gun on my person on a daily basis an average of about 360 days a year for the last 26 years (before some people on this forum were even born). If I'm awake I'm armed unless I have to go through a metal detector or unless I am outside the US in a country where I can not take my gun. I have actually used a gun to defend myself in public. I'm a founding member of my church's security team. I've spent 20 years working in the firearms industry. I am an NRA member, I'm an NRA instructor. I am a TN Handgun Carry Permit Instructor who started teaching the class in 1999. I have voted against anti gun candidates in EVERY single election since I turned 18 in 1990 and I not only shoot competitively as a hobby but also teach people to shoot and to defend themselves with firearms while working for a nationally recognized training company for the last 15 years. And before you even say it ...no... "profit motive".... is not the reason I suggest people actually learn how to safely and effectively handle firearms before they carry them in public. It is simply what conscientious adult humans do. They do not potentially willfully, arrogantly and ignorantly endanger themselves and others out in public. I get it. We all want the 2A to be an absolute written on stone tablets handed down from on high never to be infringed with law of the land. But the other side of that is the old "with power comes responsibility" thing. IF you are going to carry loaded guns in public you really should also be civically minded enough to learn how to use and safely handle them. Not just so that you are far more likely to actually effectively hit the bad guy in a lethal force incident but also so that you are far less likely to hit anyone OTHER than the bad guys.... or not hit yourself or others accidentally from a negligent discharge while handling the gun. (We saw something a while back where some guy shot and killed himself holstering his pistol while sitting in his car. ) I come down on this side of the argument. People have an absolute GOD GIVEN natural law of nature right to defend themselves. Period. On the other hand if they are using projectile weapons that can kill or wound people outside their physical reach they REALLY need to learn the safe handling of the weapon and proper use of it. On their own property they are far less likely to endanger others. Out in public now everyone within range of the weapon is potentially in danger if the carrier does not know how to safely handle the gun they are carrying. Part of being an adult is recognizing the world does not revolve around us and that other people are effected by our decisions and actions. As such it is imperative that we (as defenders of the 2A and frankly just as conscientious adults) learn to safely handle objects that can cause crippling injury and death if we are going to carry them and possibly use them out in public. What I'd rather see than this watered down sad attempt at "pro gun legislation" is a 2 tiered system where a minimal amount of safe gun handling is covered and a minimal accuracy standard is required for the "basic permit" and that might be only $25-$50 ....or heck maybe even free ? (not sure how that unfunded mandate would be carried out). Then have a REAL enhanced permit that requires a bit more training that really is actually ENHANCED where you can carry ANYWHERE (signs or not) and go about your daily life without having to worry about whether it is OK to carry here or there or in this business or that business or in this park or that. At a bare minimum they should remove any legal penalty for carrying past signage for people with a permit. The signs have never stopped the bad guys from carrying so why should the good guys be disarmed if the bad guys are not and if the location is not providing armed security and limited access? If businesses don't like it they can still "trespass" you if they ask you to leave and you don't. THAT would be an actual PRO 2A piece of legislation.

TN / GA / AL Suarez Training Group! On Saturday June 29 we will hold a meeting for the TN/GA/AL Regional Suarez Int Training Group! Subject: ARE YOU REALLY QUALIFIED? Instructor: Tier 1 Suarez Int Staff Instructor Randy Harris Location: Hiawassee Land Company Lake (off Mill Creek Rd) , Rocky Face GA 30740 (contact me for directions. It is about 25 minutes South of Chattanooga off of I-75) Time: 9AM EASTERN time - 3PM EASTERN time Price: $80 - pay at class cash or check. What you need to bring: Pistol, pistol magazines and at least 250 rounds of pistol ammo. Revolvers are welcome if you want to party like it is 1899. This will be a pistol day and we will be shooting some devilish new drills I have acquired and some I have devised and then shooting some federal, state and maybe even some intergalactic LE Qualification drills. Just kidding.... all the drills are from THIS galaxy. We will be shooting some challenging warm up drills and then the Air Marshal , LAPD SWAT, FBI qualification courses and several 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 courses. 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) is 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. Looking forward to seeing you there!

TWO weeks to go ! Whether you bring your Stormtrooper blaster , your Pistol Caliber Carbine, your rifle caliber Carbine, your rifle caliber Pistol or whatever, bring it and yourself out to The Ridge in Dayton on May 4th for a fun and educational day working on rifle skills !

Just a little over a month to go on this one! The skills we cover in this class are skills that are almost never actually practiced by most gun carriers yet they are the exact skills that are used in dealing with some of the most likely street crime. So take this opportunity to come out and actually practice shooting in reduced light and using a flashlight in conjunction with your firearm and learn how to effectively use it as a deescalation tool or distraction device when you do not need to shoot or do not have a gun with you. Hope to see you there!

Only THREE weeks to go on this !!!!!!!!!!

Reminder that this is coming up in about 2 months. Don't miss out, this is something few people ever get to actually practice......

We are at 8 weeks to go on this one !

Just over a WEEK to go on this one !

Well ....that is your right , you can remain silent. And everyone I know (and know of) in the "expert witness business" and attorneys who actually have experience defending innocent people all give the same advice.... give a limited statement to make sure you are on record as being the victim. Again...ask Larry Hickey how remaining silent did not help him . For those who don't know Larry's story ......https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/images/stories/Hickey_Booklet.pdf He was an instructor for Tactical Response and took the " STFU" advice that they gave...... if he'd just told the cops what happened instead of clamming up he'd have probably slept in his own bed that night and not spent 71 days in jail.... And on traffic stops...I guess I have just been lucky. I have yet to be set upon by the jack booted thugs of the state. In the last 30 years I have been pulled over probably a good 10 times for things ranging from running a stop sign (dismissed in court with help of the officer who I did not know) speeding (went to court and spent a day in DD school) and several times where I should have gotten a ticket but got a warning instead. And then there was one time that the cop didn't want to write me an expensive ticket for speeding so he asked me to take my seat belt off while he turned around and looked away so he could then write it for a seat belt violation instead of for speeding. So I'm not sure which exact jurisdiction all the "out to get you" street cops are in but apparently it is not in any of the ones I've been pulled over in (ranging from TN to GA, and AL) I have yet to have my rights violated, and far more times than not I have been let go with just a warning. But then again I don't get adversarial with them and I show them the same respect I show preachers and little old ladies.

OK I think we are having 2 separate discussions. I am talking about giving a limited statement if you SHOOT SOMEONE . I have said NOTHING about traffic stops or whether to let them search your car or whether to answer questions AT A TRAFFIC STOP. If you want to be adversarial at a traffic stop rock on. If you want to go all "Sovereign Citizen" on them at a road block then have fun. If you want to continuously ask "What crime are you suspecting I have committed? Am I free to go" over and over and over and over at a traffic stop then have a ball. I have been talking about something else entirely. If you want to assert your rights and make the officer's next 20 minutes the worst 20 minutes of his week by being completely (but respectfully ) non cooperative then go right ahead. If you KNOW your rights and assert them at a traffic stop and prefer to not be cooperative you are not going to be going to jail for suspicion of murder, manslaughter or at a minimum aggravated assault..... like you most likely will if you play "deaf and dumb" at the scene of a defensive shooting. I am trying to keep people from getting stuffed in the back of the patrol car and charged with MURDER because they took "guilty man's attorney " advice when you could just as easily have gone home that night by instead getting it on record that YOU are the VICTIM and that YOU were defending yourself. Absent that declaration from you, you look just like all the other murderers they arrest..... but hey whatever.... we are all adults and make our own informed (hopefully?) decisions.

Link is not working for me. Regardless...if you want to play "silent treatment" to the responding cops after you shot someone in legitimate self defense then good luck to you. You are going to make things a lot harder on yourself than they need to be. I know of people who have shot someone in self defense and not even been arrested. How? They asserted that they were the victim, gave a limited statement that was a narrative that matched the physical evidence and it was determined at the scene that they were more likely than not telling the truth. I actually have a student who shot and killed an armed robber and did not spend 1 minute in jail nor was he charged with anything. A big part of that is because he TOLD THEM WHAT HAPPENED at the scene. If he'd kept quite and said NOTHING then he'd have gone to jail while they looked at the evidence at the scene and figured out what happened. And keep in mind that you may spend SEVERAL days in jail before they even bring you in front of a magistrate for even a bond hearing. If it happens on Friday you are in for the weekend. And depending on WHERE it took place and how that particular judicial circuit runs it COULD take almost a month (YES a MONTH) to get a bond hearing. Suddenly "keep your mouth shut" doesn't sound like such good advice...unless what you DO have to say will get you convicted which is why attorneys who are used to only defending guilty people tell everyone to "say nothing". I'm NOT saying the cops are your friends. They are there to process information not to make sure justice is done. I'm saying if you don't assert that YOU ARE THE VICTIM (that limited statement I mention) then you are going to be viewed (and most likely charged) as the perpetrator.

The advice to say NOTHING is the advice that is given by attorneys who have a lot of experience defending guilty people. Ask Larry Hickey how that turned out for him. While he was invoking his right to remain silent evidence disappeared , was missed at the scene , and he was assumed to have been the aggressor when he was not. Fortunately for him after spending 71 days in jail and the better part of a couple of years in and out of court resulting in 2 hung juries the "victims" (the aggressors who outnumbered him ) who started the fight made a play for a payout from Larry's homeowners insurance and finally had to admit that the shooting took place ON LARRY'S PROPERTY and not in the street as they had claimed and testified to in court. If Larry had mentioned that at the scene then that would have been in the record to begin with and there's a good chance he would not have looked like the guilty party.....but by taking the "I ain't sayin' nothin' without my attorney" stance he got put in the suspect column instead of the victim column. Do what you want. If you are guilty of a crime then the best thing for you to do is DON'T SAY ANYTHING but if you have just legitimately defended yourself or others and you don't give at least a limited statement (limited statement and THEN be quiet) you are making a mistake. You need to make sure that exculpatory evidence and witnesses get put on the record. Also, 911 not only records everything but it STARTS recording as soon as the number is dialed. So keep that in mind as well.

On Saturday May 4 we will hold our May meeting for the TN/GA/AL Regional Suarez Int Training Group for 2019! Subject : May The Fourth (and your Blaster Rifle) Be With You !!! Instructor: Tier 1 Suarez Int Staff Instructor Randy Harris Location: The Ridge Shooting Range Dayton TN 11534 Rhea County Hwy, Hwy 27 Dayton, TN 37321 423-605-4242 http://www.theridgeshooting.com/ Time: 9AM EASTERN time - 3PM EASTERN time Price: $80 - pay at class cash or check. What you need to bring: Your Rifle, or Rifle Caliber Pistol or Pistol Caliber Carbine, at least 3 magazines and at least 200 rounds of ammo. Your Pistol and 30 Rounds of Pistol Ammo should be enough. Any ancillary gear to carry mags (chest rig, battle belt, belt mounted mag pouches, bag to carry mags, or just your pockets) Some of us have long desired a training day where we can do some RIFLE work out past 50 yards....Well we are doing just that on May 4 in Dayton TN at The Ridge. We will be rocking with rifles for a day and we can shoot out to a couple of hundred yards there..... We will be doing individual drills and then a "team competition" . This one is going to be a boat load of fun. Bill at the Ridge has graciously allowed us use of the rifle range and I'm going to pay it forward by keeping the price the same as usual ($80) and I'll cover the range fees out of my end as appreciation for you guys coming out to play. Some of you have been there before for classes but for those that have not it is EASILY found LITERALLY with a driveway right off of a major hwy with a classroom and all the modern amenities (like indoor plumbing) and many local places to eat....they even have a Mexican joint close by....(you knew I couldn't do training day anywhere without a Mexican joint close by).... So I hope to see you all out there and please tell your friends and acquaintances and even people you don't even know! MAY 4th in DAYTON TN !!

If you don't have any penalty for false reporting then this will simply be used as harassment of legal gun owners. Implement a $100 fee for filing the report that is refunded to the filer if the person is found to be a danger but a $1,000 penalty (or even better DOUBLE the accused person's legal fees) and a month in jail to the filer if the person is found to NOT be a danger. That will most likely limit false reporting. If there is no penalty for false filing then why not go ahead and file on the people who vote for the law right off the bat? If there is no penalty for it you might as well go ahead and show them what the rest of us will live in fear of having happen when someone looks to settle a grudge by doing this and saying you are a "danger"..... If THEY have to deal with the horrible unintended consequences of the law then they might realize that it is not a good law. Take a look at the ludicrous stuff that the Colorado "Red Flag" law allows and you'll see why IF this is going to happen it needs to be CAREFULLY crafted and require more than just a word from someone who "knows you" saying you are a danger and need your gun confiscated.

Just a reminder that June 1 is getting closer! 12 spots left as of today.

We complain about more pro 2A legislation not getting passed (and often for good reason what good is a pro gun majority if you don't pass any pro gun bills?) .....but keep in mind that it could be far worse. We could put the OTHER guys in charge and have to be constantly fighting to keep ANTI 2A from getting passed. So I'll take the underachieving pro gun majority over ANY kind of anti gun majority.... Having said that...the signage law needs to go away .....It only penalizes people who are likely to follow the law anyway. Of course they could make the poster of the property civilly liable if a violent crime happens and people are injured. If you don't let me carry my legally owned and carried gun in your establishment and your establishment gets shot up then I and everyone else should be able to sue you for disarming us and not providing protection. Pretty simple.

Two different discussions here.... 1. Close distance sims rounds hurt. I've done a fair amount of work in the 0-5 foot distance envelope with both airsoft and sims and have been shot with them at contact distance numerous times. It is not fun. But the object of the exercise was not to have fun it was to work on surviving close distance lethal force problems. Should the teachers have been shot with sims rounds ? I can make an argument for it and against it. 2. As to it causing them PTSD? You know part of the problem is that you have liberal teachers and school administrators who have never been in a fist fight trying to have a say in how to STOP KILLERS. "Conflict resolution" only works if there is a "conflict" that can be mediated....an active shooter is not there to negotiate or come to a settlement...he is there to kill. Victory for him is not getting a concession from the other side...it is stacking up corpses. So it might not be a bad idea for those teachers and administrators to be exposed (in a training environment where they will not be actually killed for real) to this level of violence so they will get their minds right as what REALLY will limit body counts in a school shooting event. Capitulation and negotiation and "feeling the misunderstood youth's pain" is not going to stop someone whose goal is to stack up corpses. Only an overwhelming application of lawful moral lethal violence will.

Elections have consequences........ The days of "they really aren't going to try to ban that" are over.....too many socialist/communist/ statists have been elected to office in that party to the point that now in 2019 Nancy Pelosi (the historic left wing standard bearer) seems more like a moderate democrat (or liberal republican) than a liberal democrat now compared to how far left many in her party are rushing. They DO mean what they say... they ARE absolutely opposed to the 2A and they WILL ban everything they can the next time they control all 3 branches. I fear we have come to the proverbial end of the line. The gloves are off and they don't care who knows what they really think. At this point if you believe in the 2nd Amendment and support it then an entire political party's leadership has become militantly opposed to you and your way of life. Vote accordingly if that is important to you.

You CAN pay at class if you must but that’s not really the preferred method for this class. The preferred method is to pay through the Suarez site (link is in original post) . That way they will have you on the roster and I will have a certificate for you at class. If you absolutely need to pay at class we can do that it I will just have to do all the paperwork there and then have to send you a certificate the next week after they do the revised accounting.

TWO WEEKS to go on this one !