Cruel Hand Luke

Suarez International CLOSE RANGE GUNFIGHTING June 27-28, 2015 Lewisburg, Tennessee Price $350 Instructor: Randy Harris     This is our flagship course and goes as far as you can safely go on a square range with live-fire pistols. The dynamic curriculum surpasses the traditional handgun methods commonly taught in most institutions and focuses of the use of the pistol in aggressive close range applications likely in individual civilian street encounters.   The class begins with a tune-up of the fundamentals, then we progress quickly to new skills such as Proactive and Reactive Manipulations, Shooting While Moving Off The X, Reality-Based Multiple Hostiles Engagement, 360 degree CQB Movement, Danger-Close Fighting, Bilateral Shooting, 360 degree After Action Assessment Methods, and Integrating the Flashlight and Other Tools into the Firing Platform. This is the life-saving material that is often ignored in many other programs. In two days, you will receive more information than most armed professionals ever get!   We must point out that THIS COURSE IS NOT FOR THE NOVICE SHOOTER. If you have not received basic instruction, or have a question about your skill level, please call us first.   DURATION: 2 days   TIME: 9:00AM to 5:00PM   AMMUNITION: Approximately 500 rounds (Minimum)   YOU NEED TO BRING: Spare clothing appropriate to the weather. Lunch, snacks and water (minimum of 1 gallon per person) for the entire day. Baseball or other style hat, sun screen, bug repellent, allergy medication (if needed), chair (if you have a problem with sitting on the ground, note taking paper/pen/pencil and a boo boo kit (band aids, gauze pads, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment and tape). REQUIREMENTS: Modern defensive pistol and a holster specifically made for that pistol and designed to be worn on the belt. Three (3) magazines and magazine pouch, a belt of the same width as the belt loops for the holster and magazine pouches, and range safety gear (eye protection, and ear protection).   NOTES: Range information, directions, local hotels, and contact information will be Emailed after purchase, contact the office if you haven't received information for your class.   Fro more info and to register.......http://www.suarezinternationalstore.com/150627-close-range-gunfighting-lewisburg-tn.aspx#.VNtlTfnF8as

This one is just a couple of weeks away....still time to get signed up !!! 

Awesome. And there are some people who DO but they are a minority of HCP holders...not the majority. 

I'm not surprised at all.    I think an even more interesting number would be " how many of those people with HCP actually carry on a regular basis?" Those numbers would be depressingly low.....   I'm going to guess that is 10% or less of the total number of permit holders that carry regularly.So it would be less than 10% of those "less than 20%" with a permit.  Most people out in the world, even in TN, and even in the "gun community",  really don't like carrying a gun around or making the lifestyle adjustments and sacrifices to be constantly armed. It is cumbersome to them, and deep down they really do not think anything will ever actually happen to them and that breeds complacency.   So what do they do? They get a permit, carry for 2 weeks, decide it is too much trouble and then after that they just  take a gun with them when they go on a trip, or if they have to go to a "bad part of town" but other than that it sits in the safe or the sock drawer at home. Even at my day job working for a firearms distributor where it is perfectly acceptable to carry, only about 30% of us actually carry at work.....so in a job filled with HARD CORE gun enthusiasts only 20% of THOSE people actually carry a gun on them regularly.   Take a look at people packing up and and leaving at the end of IDPA matches...I'd guess that 25-50% of those people (who by definition are HARD CORE gun enthusiasts) who are competing in a sport that is for practicing CONCEALED CARRY SKILLS do not actually carry on a regular basis. That is just reality. And I base that on watching people stow their guns in their trunk and take all their gear off before they leave the match. I have actually had a HIGH level shooter at a regional match see me replace my match gun (glock 34 with fiber optic front sight)  with my carry gun (glock 34 with tritium front sight) while getting ready to leave look at me curiously and  comment "You're one of those people that really carry a gun on them? " while he got in his truck to leave...... with no gun on.......   Just sayin'...it does not surprise me at all.

This whole "empty chamber carry" thing usually done by someone who is more afraid of the gun they carry than they are of the bad guys. And that is to some degree the fault of all the "you are more likely to be killed by a gun if you have one in the home " crowd. The average person (especially those in urban areas) knows little about guns other than what they see and hear on TV.  So people who know LITTLE about guns and even LESS about how fast REAL street crime happens decide they want to get a HCP but they are so afraid that the gun might "go off" they carry with an empty chamber.   My question is do they only load 5 rounds in their six shot double action  revolver so they have to pull the trigger TWICE to get it to go off? It is NOT logical. Ask any of the empty chamber carriers WHY they do it and the answer is EMOTIONAL....NOT logical. I've been working a full time job in the shooting industry for over 15 years and been teaching HCP classes the same amount of time and working as a travelling instructor, attending and presenting at some of the biggest conferences in the country for the last 8 years....and in ALL that time and travel I have yet to meet a SINGLE SERIOUS GUN CARRIER who carries with an empty chamber. And there is a reason for that. The people who KNOW how fast things can go from "hey man, do you have a cigarette" to "give up yo' wallet Mother F-er" know that empty chamber carry is stupid practice that can get you killed.   Now for those of you who say "well that is how we carried them in the army back in the day " ....maybe so...but that doesn't in ANY way mean that was the best practice...it just means the army doctrine for carrying a 1911 was "officially" to carry with an empty chamber for safety. I then ask those guys how much pistol training did you get AFTER you did BASIC? Any ? No? Unless you were in a VERY specialized unit, or were an MP you didn'ty carry loaded pistols in any kind of capacity on a regular basis....so people take that to mean that "if the army did it that way it was right". No...if the army did it, it was for a reason and that reason is RARELY because it is the best practice for FIGHTING. It is simply an effort  to keep UNTRAINED personnel from shooting themselves and others accidentally because they cannot grasp the concept of not using the trigger as a place to rest their finger .  Once those same people deployed to a combat zone the general practice was to say "to hell with the regulations" and carry it loaded and the safety on when outside the wire.....why? Because racking the slide took too long to bring the weapon into a usable condition.   In my "day job" I sell holsters and ammo and all manner of other accessories. I had an old guy (clearly in his 60s or 70s) call about a "defective" Galco Miami Classic shoulder holster for his "old military .45". He said it would not "fit". He said the thumb snap would not snap. I finally figured out WHY and asked him ...Sir, are you trying to holster that pistol with the hammer down or with it cocked? He said "What kind of idiot carries it cocked?" I asked if he had a round in the chamber and he again asked what kind of idiot carries that with a "bullet" in the chamber.....He informed me that he was a korean war vet and that "no one" carries a round in the chamber. I told him that Glaco designs their 1911 holsters to be carried with the hammer cocked, round chambered and safety on. THAT is why his gun would not fit.If the hammer was down the thumbsnap was not long enough to wrap around the hammer.... If he simply cocked the hammer it would fit..... He was dumbfounded because apparently since that is how the army did it (empty chamber) in 1950 that was the pinnacle of small arms TTPs....   Another pet peeve is the folks who simply parrot what other uninformed folks have told them about the Israelis carrying with an empty chamber and that they have some of the best counter terror folks in the world so if they do it then it must be OK.....well their CT units carry with loaded chambers...it is the " 2 year conscripts " that carry empty chamber and that started largely because in 1948 when Isreal became a country of their own for the first time since the late Old Testament times they had a hodge podge of foreign guns all with different features and different safety mechanisms. How to train people to use all this differnt stuff? Have them leave the safeties OFF and leave the chamber unloaded....that will work for EVERY TYPE of pistol no matter who made it or where and it is easier to have people do that than to invest the time into training them in good gunhandling practices......   So for all those carrying empty chamber....ask yourself this question.....how do guns go off? The trigger has to be pulled. So if we habituate ourselves to keeping our finger off the trigger until the muzzle is pointed at the target and we don't carelessly handle the pistol and when we are not handling it we have it in a holster that covers the trigger guard then it is nigh unto impossible for it to go off accidentally......AND it will work RIGHT NOW in an emergency situation when you pull it out without having to take the time to involve the other hand to make it functional. Carry how you want....but empty chamber carry is like emptying your car gas tank when you get where you are going so that the car doesn't catch on fire.....a ridiculous practice born of fear and emotion not education and logic.

ONE WEEK to go on this one. Don't miss this opportunity to get this class. We only do this class in this area a couple of times a year.......

Awesome. Looking forward to seeing you in class!

A second gun comes in awful handy if the first one is damaged if the BG's bullet hits it or your hand and you are injured and drop it. We see A LOT of wounds to the hands in FOF training.  But honestly the overwhelming majority of gun owners with an HCP don't regularly carry a gun............... much less carry TWO.   But you can have too much of a good thing. If you are festooned with pistols all over your person and end up in an entangled fight now you are having to not only keep from getting beaten, stabbed, shot, etc, but also trying to keep the other guy from using your own stuff against you. 

On Sunday April 19 Suarez International Tier 1 Instructor Randy Harris will be in Knoxville leading a regional training group working on enhancing pistol skills for extreme interpersonal problem solving.   We will be working to smooth out and further develop our skills with the weapon we carry most...our pistol. We will shoot some challenging drills, including the Federal Air Marshal Qualification course.    Date: April 19   Time: 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM   Subject: Enhancing Combat Pistol Skills   Price : $80 pay at class (cash or check)   Equipment needed : Pistol and 3 magazines (or 3 speed loaders if you use a revolver) and 200 rounds of ammo   Location: 1818 Tarklin Valley Rd Knoxville Tn 37920    Looking forward to seeing you there!            

Absolutely. If that is what you carry then bring it!   This class is about teaching you to effectively use your pistol , not to use someone else's idea of an ideal pistol. Bring it and come on out and join us!

Welcome aboard.   Hopefully I will see you in class sometime ! 

Get started right or get a refresher on the fundamentals!  CRG-1: PISTOL GUNFIGHTING February 28 - March 1, 2015 Price: $350 Chattanooga, Tennessee Instructor: Randy Harris All training must begin with fundamentals. This comprehensive fundamentals class is designed to prep you for the more advanced courses such as Close Range Gunfighting. Through a carefully designed and detailed curriculum we are able to bring you up to a level of skill in a short two day class that previously would take over 4 or 5 days to achieve at other schools. You will learn a complete presentation of the modern combative technique of the pistol which will put you in good standing for any defensive situations you may encounter in the real world. We will also be incorporating fundamental Point Shooting techniques which will prep you for the more advanced courses such as Advanced Reactive Gunfighting. You will learn the components of various point shooting methods and integrate them into your existing skill sets. This knowledge will put you in good standing for any defensive situations you may encounter in the real world.    No experience or prior training is needed to attend this class and it is specially suitable for beginners, or as a tune-up for accomplished shooters.   DURATION: 2 days   TIME: 9:00AM to 5:00PM(CENTRAL)   AMMUNITION: Approximately 300 rounds (Minimum)   YOU NEED TO BRING: Spare clothing appropriate to the weather. Lunch, snacks and water (minimum of 1 gallon per person) for the entire day. Baseball or other style hat, sun screen, bug repellent, allergy medication (if needed), chair (if you have a problem with sitting on the ground, note taking paper/pen/pencil and a boo boo kit (band aids, gauze pads, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment and tape).   REQUIREMENTS: Modern defensive pistol with a holster specifically made for that pistol and designed to be worn on the belt at the "strong side". Three (3) magazines and one magazine pouch. A belt of the same width as the belt loops for the holster and magazine pouches, range safety gear (eye protection and ear protection).     For more info and to register......http://www.suarezinternationalstore....x#.VI8q_CvF8as

In regards to the original question....Person A with no training shoots and kills an assailant who was trying to stab him. Person B wh o HAS had training does the same. IF it goes to trial the guy WITH training can better answer WHY he knew he was in reasonable fear of grave bodily injury or death and can articulate why dude needed to be shot. The other guy may have a harder time convincing the jury that he NEEDED to shoot the guy.     If training were a detriment then WHY THE HELL DO POLICE DEPARTMENTS MAKE SUCH A BIG DEAL OF DOCUMENTING OFFICERS TRAINING? Training is never a handicap (unless it is BAD training and they told you to shoot them on the porch and drag them inside or some other such nonsense.....) That is why Police Depts have RECURRING in service training because IF their officer kills someone then they are going to have to prove that he is as well trained as the state POST standards and the dept expects him to be and that he was acting in accordance with that training.    As to hand to hand with people "accidentally getting killed".....street fights are dangerous. You can fall and hit your head and be just as dead as someone hit you with a bazooka. So if at all possible it is best to avoid them but if you do find yourself involved in a fight you need to damage the other guy and get away as quick as possible. You see for those of us that carry 24/7 EVERY SINGLE ALTERCATION can possibly end up in a lethal force situation. If you get in a tussle and get knocked out then what do you think the bad guy is gonna do with the gun he finds in your holster? Probably not going to just keep it as a prize.....ask Julie Jacks....oh wait ..you can't because she was disarmed and killed with her own gun..... and she was a uniformed police officer who had been  trained in weapon retention.......not just an average joe with a handgun carry permit and no training..........So it is most prudent to avoid physical confrontations and "pissing matches" all together when the "prize " for losing is probably death because you are armed.   As to medical personnel rendering aid.....Do what you want, but you are not compelled to render aid to people who were previously trying to kill you. And we actually recommend you NOT TRY TO. The reason is that when people lose consciousness from loss of blood they often "wake up" when their BP gets back to a certain level and they go right back to what they were doing when they passed out. If they "wake up" with you on top of them trying to resuscitate them then you find yourself now in an entangled fight with them. Not where you want to be.....   Another issue is the cops rolling up on the scene knowing nothing more than there has been a shooting see you on top of the other guy and might think YOU are the assailant and shoot YOU.  So proceed at your own risk. You are only responsible for your own safety. Leave fixing the other guy to the responding EMTs...you're going to have enough to worry about with interacting with  the responding cops. 

TWO weeks to go!!!

This is getting closer! This class is at The Ridge in Dayton TN just about 30 minutes from both Chattanooga and Cleveland TN. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Quick reminder, this one is coming up in a few weeks.....

This one is right around the corner!!!

For good or ill, I don't see a whole lot of people with slung rifles in everyday life in my neighborhood. Yet I have personally carried a loaded AK in a "sneaky bag" (looks like a skateboard case) through a police checkpoint on foot after the tornado here a few years back. I had to park my car due to downed power lines on the road just short of home and walk the last 600 yards to the house. I simply told 'em I live in THAT neighborhood right there and am going to hoof it to THAT house right there on the hill. They said "just be careful" and that was that.     I generally follow the advice that if you are not drawing attention to yourself you are not going to be singled out. No one gets arrested for carrying concealed weapons...the weapons get found when they search them incident to arresting them for something else not involving the weapon. A folding stock rifle or SBR (or even a rifle caliber pistol) and a "sneaky bag" (either made by Sneaky Bag or by any other number of vendors) go a long way toward making things less obvious avoiding the "eye of Morder" and staying out of any unpleasant imperial entanglements. 

OK...so you are then carrying it with you into businesses concealed on your person or carrying it in a case? I'm not being argumentative, I'm legitimately curious so that I know that we are on the same page in the discussion. 

Agreed. ALL lawful carry in TN is essentially an exception to the law. My HCP is an exception for carry of pistol . The Monadnock impact weapon certification card is an exception for carry of a "club". They are all exceptions because carrying "weapons" with the "intent to go armed" is on its face illegal in TN.  And it would be great to get that changed at least from a "academic" standpoint. I just don't know if anyone's "ox is really being gored" by the way the law is currently being applied.  I'm certainly open to being convinced though.    I'm just not seeing a rash folks getting arrested for having loaded long guns outside their vehicles in my area. 

edited...this is in response to OH SHoot...DOlomite posted while I was typing...   So essentially unless you are either "waving it around" out in the open or carrying it on a hike down the highway then you are still within the law....   Steering this back to the original subject....if it then is not "illegal" to "carry it to and from your car and house and hotel and other peoples houses , etc then there is little chance of the "common man" running afoul of the law. So then at what point is having the brace equipped Ar (or SIg or AK ) pistol REALLY making it easier to keep you on the side of the angels...INSIDE the borders of TN? Aside from going for a jog with it or taking it on public transportation I'm having a hard time seeing where that makes much difference if it is not out visibly in the open. Now outside TN you might travel to a place where loaded long guns are a "no no" and in THAT case you are covered by it being a pistol...but for inside TN does it REALLY make that much difference?   I ask this because I know a lot of folks who both legally (and in the past illegally) have carried loaded long guns in their vehicles. None of them has ever run into a situation where they ran afoul of the law. So I'm just naturally curious as to exactly what likely scenario inside the borders of TN would be better served with an AR pistol than an actual SBR or carbine with a stock (aside from obvious size and storage issues).

OK so at what point is  the "lawful citizen" going to get tripped up by this?  

I was aware of the no loaded long guns carry . Until they changed the law for HCP holders to be able to carry loaded long guns in vehicles "Big Boy rules" applied. Fortunately that was changed. The issue I was raising question about was in a round about way without typing 3 pages (I'm at work here...) how the legal carry of loaded long guns in a vehicle for self defense (which is a lawful purpose) would play out against the "no carry of long guns" outside the vehicle that is also on the books if you are not in the act of shooting someone in self defense.    Obviously the act of using it for self defense trumps the "illegal carry" just like it would with a pistol carried on school grounds (which there is case law for) , on posted property, in court, etc. In those cases Self Defense is a "doctrine of competing harms" kind of affirmative defense. "yes they broke the law but it is OK because they were defending against unlawful violence". So if you smoke some guy trying to kill you in a "gun free zone" you are covered by the "safe harbor" law.  But the key part is you have to be defending yourself....   The screwed up thing is that it is legal to carry in vehicle loaded AND It is legal to use for defense BUT in a strictly legal sense it is somehow illegal to carry it loaded to and from your car if you are not actively shooting someone in defense at the time? So you have to carry it to the car unloaded and then load it in the car and then unload it before you take it out of the car because "carrying" a loaded long gun is illegal??????  The law probably needs to be clarified.,,,,,but of course then the question becomes...has ANYone ever actually been prosecuted for this and if so what were the exact circumstances?   And is this something that even really ever comes into play for anyone? So for instance you (possessor of valid TN HCP)  take your loaded AR carbine in your discreet carry bag from house to car in the morning... you arrive at work and take it inside....you leave work and drive to another town in Tennessee (so there are no "other state travel" issues involved for simplicity sake). You get out and go into hotel room taking loaded rifle with you. You spend night with it in room with you. You get up and put it back in car. You drive to the event you were in that town for leaving it loaded and in the car. When the event is over (we'll say it was a golf tournament just for argument sake) you go to the mall, leaving it in the car. You finish buying your.....candles for the wife or whatever you bought at the mall...and leave the other town and drive home again not travelling through any other states. You get home and take rifle out of car and put it in the house....at what point were you actually "illegally carrying" it?        Again, sorry,  kind of rushed for time.... that is why it is choppy and edited a lot...

Thanks! But I'm not sure that is the newest info....I don't see anything about loaded guns in cars without permits being legal now (unless I'm looking right at it and not seeing it which is a possibility).   Used to be that you had to have a permit to keep loaded guns in vehicle...now anyone can have loaded guns in vehicles...including long guns.

OOps...OK, I see what you are saying now (I think). Because the overall length of the 14" with the brace made it 26". BUt even if it is under 26 a 12ga cannot be a "pistol".