Cruel Hand Luke

For those who know about it and those who do not, Suarez International Instructors offer several times a year Regional Training Groups. We offer 1 day practice sessions to come out and work some of the skills that were taught in the Suarez classes under the eye of an instructor/coach. We normally advertise these on Warriortalk, but I know several people here have been to Suarez Int classes but are not regular members of Warriortalk. As such I thought they might appreciate a heads up.    So what are we doing?  This is a full day of empty hand skills. No crouching tiger hidden dragon silliness, just good solid old school combatives combined with some modern influence and geared toward the street not the octagon. The class is priced accordingly and there is a hefty discount for anyone who is signed up for the Zero To Five class Aug 31-Sep 1 http://www.suarezinternationalstore....anooga-tn.aspx  Students should be in reasonable physical condition....you don't have to be a cross fit instructor, you just have to be in good enough condition to do one of our pistol classes.  TITLE- "Stayin' Alive" - Empty Hand Combatives in a Weapons Based Environment DATE- August 24  TIME- 9AM- 4PM (CENTRAL TIME AT THE RANGE) LOCATION- Phillips Edwards Farm 763 County Rd 332 Pisgah Alabama 35765 (the usual place) You can email or PM me here for directions....the range is 40 minutes from downtown Chattanooga. PRICE- $100 (ONLY $50 if you are signed up for the Zero to Five Aug 31-Sep 1 ) Just bring check or cash to the Training Group.  AMMO - 50 rounds...this class is all empty hand techniques and transitioning to weapons but there is a little live fire to tie it all together.  EQUIPMENT NEEDED- Pistol , holster, Blue gun or Airsoft pistol (I do have loaners if your holster will work with a full size glock), Paintball mask or at a MINIMUM shooting glasses - getting poked in the eye sucks... OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT- mouthpiece and cup. Seriously, no one likes getting hit in the junk. A cup is a good investment . Training knife if you want to bring one. Focus pads-if you have 'em bring 'em. ANY kind of personal padding you want to bring.  This is NOT an MMA class. This is NOT a traditional martial arts class. This is a combatives class based on dealing with criminal assault initially with empty hands and bridging to weapons if needed. This is an awesome primer for our Zero To Five class.  The reason we are offering this is that when polled on what they want to work on the training group students say they'd like to do a combatives class. It makes sense. You cannot carry a gun everywhere...but you carry hands, feet, elbows and knees every where you go. Also you cannot just shoot everyone who hits you. And sometimes gunfights and knife fights start as fistfights and usually start before you get a weapon in hand. If all you have in the tool box is to stand and shoot ..well...good luck with that.  Hope to see you there!!!!!!!   Email me at cruelhandluke2000@yahoo.com or PM me here at TGO for more info.

Welcome aboard from Ooltewah!

This one is just a little over 2 weeks out!    This class is not offered very often so don't miss this chance to get it in the Chattanooga area. With all the publicity of the Zimmerman trial and all the discussion of when an unarmed person becomes a lethal threat and how to deal with physical assault when you are carrying a gun this class is more timely than ever. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Gonna be out of town but I'll be there in spirit.....

This one is getting closer every day.....

I think we can all agree that McCain deserves the appropriate respect for his service.....having said that, some of the things he says and does (while wearing the mantle of the Republican party -and ostensibly the CONSERVATIVE side) might make one think back to the Manchurian Candidate....https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manchurian_Candidate where the "conservative" candidate is really controlled by communists.    NO...I'm Not saying he's Raymond Shaw and he's going to assassinate anyone....let's be clear about that. It is not a 1 for 1 comparison to the movie or book .If anything he'd be more like a combination of Raymond Shaw and vice presidential candidate John Iselin. Shaw was an unwitting brainwashed pawn and Iselin was the "Manchurian Candidate" who would "for the sake of our safety" would use his power to usher in communist rule in the USA.     I'm saying it sometimes makes you  wonder at the things McCain says that are a bit far left which side he REALLY is on ....

And there are a ton of used Gen 2s out there that can be had.....

This one is getting closer everyday...ONE month to go!

THIS ONE IS COMING UP IN ABOUT A MONTH!!!! THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THIS CLASS HAS BEEN OFFERED IN THE CHATTANOOGA AREA. THIS CLASS IS NOT OFFERED MORE THAN ONCE A YEAR IN ANY PARTICULAR REGION. SO IF YOU ARE AT ALL INTERESTED IN GETTING THIS CLASS DON'T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY! THIS CLASS IS NOT JUST ANOTHER SHOOTING CLASS. THIS IS THE CLASS WHERE WE DEAL WITH THE REALITIES OF THE FIGHT, ACTION VS REACTION, AND ACCESSING YOUR WEAPON ALL AT CONVERSATION DISTANCE WHILE UNDER ATTACK AND WE DO IT AGAINST LIVE RESISTING OPPONENTS , NOT JUST AGAINST MOTIONLESS CARDBOARD. wE DO THIS BOTH STANDING, AND ON THE GROUND. THE AMMO COUNT FOR THIS CLASS IS COMPARATIVELY SMALL TO OTHER CLASSES SO BEING ABLE TO FIND ENOUGH AMMO SHOULD NOT BE A BIG PROBLEM. IN FACT PART OF THE VALUE OF THIS CLASS IS NOT ONLY THE LOWER AMMO COUNT, BUT THE FACT THAT 75 % OF THE CLASS IS SPENT WORKING AGAINST LIVE OPPONENTS...JUST LIKE REAL FIGHTS. CARDBOARD NEVER KILLED ANYONE. LIVE OPPONENTS ARE WHAT WE FACE IN REAL FIGHTS , SO LEARNING (AND TESTING) HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM IS FAR MORE CONSTRUCTIVE THAN JUST SHOOTING PAPER TARGETS. WHAT IF THEY ARE TOO CLOSE TO OUTDRAW THEM? WE LOOK AT DISARMS AND HOW TO MINIMIZE OUR RISK AND MAXIMIZE THE DAMAGE TO THEM AS WE TAKE THEIR PISTOL FROM THEM. AND AGAIN, ALL OF THIS IS DONE AGAINST A RESISTING OPPONENT NOT AGAINST ONE WHO IS "ATTACKING YOU THE RIGHT WAY". IF THESE ARE THE SKILLS YOU ARE WANTING TO DEVELOP THEN THIS CLASS IS THE ONE YOU WANT. ANYONE CAN GO SHOOT PAPER AND CARDBOARD ANYWHERE. THERE ARE NOT ALL THAT MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK AGAINST LIVE OPPONENTS WITH AIRSOFT GUNS AND TRAINING KNIVES AND LEARN HOW FAST FIGHTS REALLY HAPPEN AND HOW TO USE ALL OF THE KNOWLEDGE WE GIVE YOU TO YOUR ADVANTAGE. WE THEN TAKE ALL OF THIS AND APPLY IT IN LIVE FIRE AGAINST PAPER TARGETS AND AGAINST REALISTIC REACTIVE TARGETS SO YOU CAN SEE THAT ALL THAT SHOOTING ON THE MOVE, SHOOTING IN CONTACT WITH THE OPPONENT, SHOOTING WHILE ON YOUR BACK, SHOOTING WHILE GETTING UP ALL WORK WITH LIVE GUNS JUST LIKE WITH AIRSOFT (JUST A BIT LOUDER) IF THIS SOUNDS LIKE WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THEN GET SIGNED UP. AND IF YOU HAVE A PHYSICAL LIMITATION, WE ARE ABLE TO WORK AROUND THAT TOO. IT IS BETTER TO FIND OUT IN A CLASS LIKE THIS EXACTLY WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH THAT LIMITATION THAN TO HAVE TO EXPERIMENT WITH IT IN THE MIDDLE OF A REAL FIGHT. WE HAVE HAD STUDENTS WITH A PHYSICAL LIMITATION OR A PREEXISTING INJURY THAT PRECLUDED THEM FROM DOING SOME THINGS, BUT WE WORKED AROUND IT AS BEST WE COULD. SO DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU. IF THERE IS ANYTHING IN THE CLASS YOU CANNOT DO, YOU CAN STILL LEARN A LOT FROM OBSERVING. WE DO NOT MAKE ANYONE DO ANYTHING THEY ARE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH.AND WE USUALLY FIND A WAY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM, EVEN WITH THE LIMITATION. SO IF LIFESAVING MATERIAL FOR THE FIGHT AT LESS THAN 3 YARDS IS WHAT YOU WANT...THIS CLASS IS THE PLACE TO GET IT. hOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Due to unforeseen, unpredictable and unavoidable circumstances we are going to be rescheduling this class for the weekend of October 19-20 . On the positive side the weather should be a little less stifling in October than in August and it gives you guys and gals a couple of months to get your ammo.    

The 7.62 loses less velocity when shortened. The difference in velocity between my AKM and AK104, is less than 100FPS. Then stepping down to the 107UR is again less than 100 feet more. I lose more than that when I go from AK74 down to the AK74SU. All of them will still work, but their useful ranges are cut dramatically more so for the 5.45 than the 7.62x39.    If you are just using it to punch paper then a 5.45 with an 8" barrel has plenty of horsepower to punch holes in paper and cardboard at 100 yards....but when the targets are people that are trying to kill you and the rounds need to reliably penetrate clothing and skin and muscle and go deep enough to hit vital organs then the 5.45 is not your best choice. In fact the 5.45 and 5.56 SBR length guns are really about 75 yard guns.  I'm not saying they don't still hurt past 75...I'm saying what they will do at 100 is NOTHING like what they do at 25.    On the other hand the 7.62 really does not lose much velocity. As such it really does not perform much different at 100 out of a 16" than it does out of a 12". The 8.5" 7.62 loses a little more, but you still have a bullet likely to penetrate deep enough to hit vital organs. The 5.45 out of an 8.5" barrel may or may not......

Look at Dale Fricke (http://dalefrickeholsters.com/)   I carry a G17 99.9% of the time and I carry it IWB. I normally carry it in a customized Fricke Archangel that has been modified with 2 sets of holes to adjust the cant any way I want it. The archangel normally comes set up for straight up and down carry only. The new holster called the Nehemiah is set up for standard FBI cant. 

One major problem is that the people on the jury probably will have had little to no experience with violence and will be basing their decisions on things they think they know from movies and TV.  Hence the old..."you shouldn't have shot him, he "just had a knife"...or "you can't shoot unarmed people".     Keep in mind also that Trayvon Martin was the same size as Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard.....they all fought at the same weight Martin was. I was 5'11 165 lbs my sophomore and junior years in COLLEGE...so Martin may have only been 17...but he was already a grown man physically. And if that individual is using your head to beat a hole in the pavement you ABSOLUTELY are justified in shooting them, stabbing them, doing WHATEVER it takes to MAKE them stop. 

This one is coming up next week!!!

The reason the M14 still gets play is NOT because it is so awesome.....it is because it is what we HAVE in inventory in a 7.62x51 rifle. They had all those rifles (well, at least the ones left that Clinton did not have cut up) left over from when we phased them out , stored in supply depots like Anniston. When GWOT (Global War on Terror) kicked off we could either take those out of mothballs and use them or we could WAIT for a new gun to be built. They did what they always do...use what they have until a better solution presents itself.   Sorry guys,the M14 is an OK sniper rifle and a fine target rifle,  but the M14 was obsolete as a battle rifle before it was ever even fielded. It was about 20 years behind on technology when it was adopted. The only other rifle that was so short lived as the official US rifle as the M14 was the Krag Jorgenson...ANOTHER rifle we adopted that was obsolete before it ever saw combat. We have historically had this habit of providing weapons that would have rocked...in the LAST war we fought. The Krag would have been awesome....in the Civil War...and the M14 would have dominated WWII. But when they were adopted they were already old news and better things were available.

The short answer? An 11.5" is at most a 75 yard gun from a terminal ballistics standpoint with ball ammo. Yes...I said 75 YARDS.   You can increase that range with 70+ gr HP ammo but the 11.5" 5.56 is never going to do what a 16" or 20" gun will do. 

I'll fix that for you...SOME AR10Type rifles beat the ever loving .......     DPMS makes an AR 10.....Rock River makes an AR10...Armalite makes an AR10 ....NONE of them would I want to actually have to depend on to preserve life and limb. The one constant  with ARs is that you will definitely get what you pay for. Now if we are talking Sig 716 or SR 25 then I agree...but not ALL AR10s are built equally.

That is a BIG plus for those rifles. You can get about 5 G3 mags for every 1 FAL or M14 Mag. 

That one is apparently not a regularly offered item with DSA...so in that case...yes, you can OCCASIONALLY  find a DSA for $1499. They do occasionally have "for a limited time" models. A few years ago they had some guns built from used surplus IMBEL kits that were running $999 IIRC. Pretty sure AIM carrried the DSA IMBEL rifle too.  But it was a limited run and using surplus kits until they ran out of kits, not using the parts DSA is making.    There are places with $1500 dealer price on Sig 716s.

I'm actually working on an article on this subject right now. They all have pluses and minuses. They are all also relatively obsolete from a "modern" firearm perspective. That does NOT mean they are no good...it means they are 50 + year old designs and there are more modern tools available.   Also keep in mind that a REAL M14, FAL and G3 is NOT going to be what you buy now. Most all of them are different than the real ones. And the foreign made ones have to have enough US made parts to import them.   Springfield armory has been out of Mil Spec M14 parts since about 2002 . The M1A is mostly newly made MIM parts now.   The FALs can't be imported and FN stopped making them long ago. A pre ban FN is $3000 a pre ban Springfield SAR48 is $2000+.  The newly built ones that are available from DSA are US made receivers and most of the Mil Spec parts they got from Styer are drying up hence the steady climb in pricing. Or your other option is to buy a kit and a receiver (DSA or Coonan) and have someone assemble it....   And HK does not even build or import to the US the HK94 anymore and a pre ban HK made G3 clone will be $2500 and up. The paddle mag release is normally not found on the imported guns due to import restrictions and how ATF views HK machine guns (long story). So the push button mag release on the right side is how you get the mags out. Unfortunately this is the least ergonomic feature of the 3 rifles but there are places that can retrofit the paddle release to the gun if that is important to you .   So your options on a G3  is pretty much an HK preban import, a Springfield SAR3 (or 8) for about $ 1500 or a new gun from PTR. Their GI model is built with parts from Portugal on equipment acquired from Portugal with enough US parts to make it legal (Portugal made their own G3 licensed by HK ). I have a pre ban Portugal made FMP G3 and it is pretty much all you can realistically ask for in a battle rifle. (for full disclosure I also have 2 M1As and 2 FALs)   The M14 was already obsolete when it was adopted. It is essentially an updated Garand.  It is a fine target rifle and a decent fighting rifle but it is old school technology with a hunting rifle stock. The FAL was a better choice but we already had all the tooling to make Garands and M14. The FAL was a more modern rifle with pistol grip and more like what we expect now from a fighting rifle.  We actually "agreed" to take the FAL and adopt it (which was originally designed around a different cartridge) and we made the NATO countries take 7.62x51 as the cartridge for it and then backed out of the "deal" and started production of the M14. The G3 was produced by the Germans when the Belgians refused to allow them to produce FALs. The G3 was essentially a modified CETME from Spain designed by German designers who left Germany at the end of WWII . It used a pretty radically different operating system than the FAL or the M14. The G3 is as tough as a telephone pole but slightly less ergonomic than the FAL.    In 2013 the choices for a factory new rifle are pretty much either an M1A that is essentially a target rifle now with less than the most robust internal parts and magazines that run around $40 a piece, a DSA FAL that is getting really expensive (about $1800) or a kit gun, and Mags that run around $25-30, or a G3 from PTR (the GI model) that is built on the original Portuguese machinery, still reasonably priced (can be found just shy of $1000) and mags are $5 to $10.    If you want a modern .308 rifle that will easily mount optics (mounting optics was an afterthought on ALL 3 of the rifles) then the SIG 716 is a piston AR in 308 with flat top receiver and can be had for less than the new DSA. But if optics are not critical then any of the 3 will work....they are just not the SAME as the REAL ones.

Reminder, this one is coming up in just a few weeks.   Those of you in west TN , especially the Memphis area, this is a golden opportunity to get some world class training in not only pistol shooting, but in all things CCW related from dealing with people who approach you on the street,  pre assault indicators, pre fight tactics, accessing your pistol from concealment,  shooting on the move (while moving to not get hit, not just duck walking), integrating hand to hand and gun work, dealing with multiple assailants,  after action assessment , talking to the police, etc.    Come on out and train with us in Tunica (and hit the casino afterwards!)

OK, apparently it might have been TN vs Tracey C Clark....I found where the appellate court remanded it to the local court and said they should not have dismissed charges, but I cannot find anything after that.....     The one I'm looking for IIRC the defendant was convicted and the judge said essentially that IF he had shot the attacker the self defense claim would be valid but since he did not that it was not...anyone have info on that?

Hey, does anyone have a link to or the thread from here from a while back about a guy in TN who was carrying at a school baseball game, pulled his gun on a guy , then argued that the "safe harbor" portion of the law made the illegal carry irrelevant, but was convicted of the illegal carry and the judge said if he'd actually SHOT the guy that it would have covered it?    Anyone have any info on that???

Children SHOULD be able to walk the streets without fear of being accosted....by the same token a resident of a neighborhood SHOULD be able to ask an unfamiliar person who they are without fear of being physically attacked.     But a 5'11 165 lb 17 year old is FAR from a CHILD. I know because that is what size I was at 19 years old in college.  In fact...for context..."Marvelous" Marvin Hagler, Thomas "the hitman" Hearns and "Sugar Ray" Leonard all fought at that same weight in their boxing careers. So this is NOT some 100 lb 12 year old that they are trying to portray. It is a grown man. 

I'd be there too, but I'm teaching a rifle class in Kentucky at Knob Creek this weekend.