tire iron's corner

The ASSKRAKINOV or Michael Kalashnikov meets Peter Mauser in the back alleys of Darra Adam Khel

2013-04-19T21:36:00.001-06:00

This is the unclassified portion of the story of a particular rifle that I have named the "Asskrakinov". This rifle was captured by an SF team near the Pakistan border. When it was found it had a round chambered. It is fed via a standard AK47/AKM magazines.

Every one on the SF team wanted to see it being shot. However, being the crafty, beard wearing, no mamma's fools that the typical SF troopers are - none of them actually want to be the one to fire it. So, the best answer was to get one of the Afghanistani troopers to actually pull the trigger (from a safe distance). Happily nothing happened to the brave soul that pulled the trigger.

Now lets look at this thing and try and decypher more about this interesting specimen from the conflict in Afghanistan.

It was most undoubtedly created in some mud brick shack in Darra Adam Khel, near Peshawar, Pakistan - where they copy and create firearms of all varieties in conditions that would make a blacksmith from the 1600's feel right at home.

This rifle is chambered in 7.62x39. It has an AK barrel, front site, gas tube and top and bottom handguards. Then going further aft - it starts to get weird. The gas tube is permenantly mounted, i.e. there is no gas tube retainer, and the rear sight block is solid - not hollow like real AK. This was done so gas isn't shot into the firer's eyes when he pulls the trigger. Why they didn't weld up the gas hole in the barrel is a mystery all by itself though. Gas still comes out of the gas tube - which is vented AK-47 style.

What is really puzzling is how they mounted a Mauser type bolt action to the AK barrel. Note that the gunsmith (snicker) engraved the top of the action with the word "China". I guess he did that because everyone knows that China is known throughout the world as the finest firearms makers in history.

Here is a picture of the engraving.

The rear of the receiver is not a modified AK receiver - it is a receiver that was purpose built for this rifle. On the top is the Mauser action, and on the bottom is an AK-ish pistol grip (not a bona-fide AK pistol grip) that has been deck-out with a leather cover and an AK magazine catch. The bearded contractor who took these pictures couldn't figure out how to get the bolt out of the action, so we don't have any pictures of the "guts". Which is a shame too, as it would be very interesting to see the inside. There would be no hammer, as Mauser actions, like most bolt actions are striker fired (like a Remington 700).

Going further rearward we see that there is an underfolder AK stock attached to the rear of the receiver. That make total sense, as the underfolding stock is known to have the best cheek weld there is for a quality bolt action rifle. You want proof? Just look at how many bolt action rifles in the hands of dangerous men have underfolding AK stocks. If searched real hard you could probably come up with a grand total of ZERO.

Unfortunately these are going to be the only pictures we will get of this interesting firearm, as my contact has been moved to another area in the region.

A huge thanks to "Bass Master" for sending me these pics and allowing me to post these on my blog!

cheers

tire iron

Deep Concealment Rigs - Kangaroo vs Deep Conceal

2013-03-13T20:31:00.002-06:00

My review of two viable deep concealment rigs. They are perfect for the S&W Shield, S&W M&P series as well as the Glock 26, 27, 19, 23 and other similar sized handguns.

Deep Concealment Rigs

cheers

tire iron

Fundamental DONT'S

2013-03-12T22:57:00.001-06:00

Fundamental DONT'S.

Things NOT to do.

cheers

tire iron

Press Check

2013-03-12T22:55:00.002-06:00

Fundamentals - Press Check

Press Check

cheers

tire iron

Both eyes open

2013-03-12T22:54:00.002-06:00

Another fundamental video, this one covers shooting with both eyes open.

Both Eyes Open

cheers

tire iron

Reloading from Slidelock

2013-03-12T06:24:00.000-06:00

Another foundational video covering how to reload from slidelock.

Reloading from Slidelock

cheers

tire iron

Clearing Malfunctions with the Handgun

2013-03-11T22:05:00.002-06:00

I made this video mainly for some new students of mine - who are brand new to firearms and knew they would need a "refresher" at home. Of course we ALL can benefit from practicing the fundamentals.

Clearing Malfunctions with the Handgun

cheers

tire iron

Dry Fire with the handgun

2013-03-11T22:03:00.002-06:00

Loading and Unloading the handgun

2013-03-11T22:01:00.002-06:00

I made this video mainly for some new students of mine - who are brand new to firearms and knew they would need a "refresher" at home. Of course we ALL can benefit from practicing the fundamentals.

Loading and Unloading the Handgun

cheers

tire iron

How to Grip the handgun

2013-03-11T22:00:00.003-06:00

Armed Citizen Preparatory School

2013-01-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to my website:

http://www.acpsllc.com

My thoughts after returning from SHOT 2013

2013-01-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

I went to SHOT this year for the last two days - and here is what I have to report:

Obama and his ilk have already scored a MAJOR victory. Even though Obama's executive orders of Jan 16th were not very draconian (no bans on imports, ammo, magazine capacity, etc) all the threats of bans had their affect and this was witnessed by me at SHOT.

Here is what I am talking about - I went up to Manufacturer "X" (they make magazines and accessories for the AR as well as some other firearms) and talked with them. They were going to focus more on handgun accessories - as they feel these will be around longer than AR's. They felt more comfortable spending development dollars on those than developing more AR/AK accessories.

I asked TAPCO if they were going to develop a "slab side" AK74 mag like they did with the AK47 mag. My thoughts were I would keep my SHTF magazines in storage and use only TAPCO's at the range. So I would like to keep my Bulgy 74 mags in a box - and use TAPCO's for training. The response I got from TAPCO was "we were seriously considering it - but now that project has been permanently killed". They explained that to create a mold costs over $200,000 dollars. Since they all believe a ban is coming (maybe not this week or month) that they could forsee recouping that cost before the ban comes. A business decision that I can not fault them for - as I would make the same decision were I them. They would need to sell a TON of magazines to recoup that investment money.

I talked with ARSENAL (they were the IZMASH booth too) if they were going to import the AK-22 that IZMASH developed. The answer was "no - not with a ban looming".

In other words - everyone believes a ban is coming - period. And that belief affects their business decisions. They don't want to lay out capital that they can't recoup - and I don't blame them.

Sucky thing is - that a lot of the development of products for AR's and AK's has come to a dead stop. In that way - Obama and his ilk have already won.

To end on a more positive note - the USA made Tavor is a COOL little rifle. It can be shot from both shoulders without catching brass in your teeth - and it accepts any and all AR magazines. They will be shipping to dealers in March. I hope they are extremely successful.

cheers

tire iron

Gun Control - Part 2

2012-12-28T00:30:00.000-07:00

continued from here: http://tireironscorner.blogspot.com/2012/12/we-are-losing-gun-control-debate.html

You can watch my ugly mug here or you can read it yourself below.

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack.”
― Sun Tzu

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle”.
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

We are losing the battle for our individual freedoms. We are losing because we have failed to adhere to the principles taught by Sun Tzu.

In the public arena we don’t have an overarching strategy. We don’t have offense. We only have a defense – and our defense is lacking.

Our tactics have been logic based. Our tactics have been fact based. Our tactics have been numbers based. Our tactics have been the noise before defeat. Our tactics – unless changed will lead to more defeat.

Our tactics have been defensive in nature. The other side throws out an emotional argument, always on offense – and we throw back facts and figures – to defend our position – failing all the while to recognize that they don’t care about facts and figures. They don’t need truth to base their position off of – all they need is emotion. We think we did a good job of defending our position only to be surprised at the fact that we were completely over-run.

If we have any hope of garnering a victory we MUST change our tactics. If we have any hope of garnering a victory we MUST change our strategy.

First things First.

We definitely don’t understand the opposition. Our adversary’s argument is emotion based. Their whole argument is based upon feelings – and not facts. Their emotional base is not rooted in fact. Their emotional base is very powerful without facts.

However – what do we offer to counter their argument? Facts. Figures. Data. Numbers. Statistics.

Look at the last election cycle. There were the conservatives – spouting off endless facts and figures. Mathematically showing that four more years of Obama’s spending will bankrupt our country. Yet what happened? The conservatives got soundly defeated. Obama’s campaign was emotion based. Obama’s campaign was all about feelings. Obama’s campaign was not fact based. Obama’s campaign was not rooted in truth.

In other words – we are speaking a foreign language to the opposition and they have zero interest in learning our language. Our statements fall on deaf ears. Our numbers are lost in the ether. Our facts are not even considered for a nano-second. We think we have defended our position when in fact we were over-run.

In order to be victorious in battle/politics we must know ourselves, and we must know our enemy.

First - who IS our opposition. Well – we have two different categories or groups of those that oppose us.

The first group is the power-brokers in the media (Hollywood, Music Industry, News, etc.) , Washington DC the Pelosi’s, the Feinstein’s, the Obama’s, the Clinton’s, labor union leaders, the upper echelons of police and fire departments, etc etc – then globally the George Soros and nearly everyone in leadership positions in nearly every country on the planet. And let’s not forget the U.N.

These people have no respect for the constitution or the Bill of Rights, particularly the 2^nd Amendment and would abolish it if they could. These people are our ENEMIES. They are ENEMIES OF FREEDOM. They are FRIENDS OF TYRANNY. It will do us no good to try and reason with these people. They are our enemy. Make no mistake – they don’t want gun control – they want TOTAL CONTROL. To reason or try to make our case with these people is a waste of time, resources, breath and shows we lack an understanding of who our enemy is. The only way we should engage our enemy is with the goal of DEFEATING them.

The second category of adversary is NOT our enemy. These people make decisions based upon emotion with little or no facts involved. These people are NOT in favor of repealing the 2^nd Amendment. They are in favor of “reasonable gun control”. These people are our neighbors and friends. These people make up a sizable chuck of our nation. It is this sizeable chunk of people that give power to our ENEMY. Without this sizable chunk of people our enemy would be nearly powerless. They are democrats, republicans, independants, catholics, protestants, jews, Mormons, black, white, tan, brown, union members, non-union, blue collar, white collar, people that own guns and people that don’t own guns. A lot of them are hunters, and members of the NRA, or are members of the military or are law enforcement.

This group of people think and act based primarily upon emotion.

The ENEMY feeds this emotional decision making process of this huge group of people. They talk about FEELINGS. The ENEMY knows that facts are NOT on their side – so they keep the discussion on the emotional level. Facts are never brought into play. The enemy has become so skilled at feeding the emotional discussion that many of our friends and neighbors don’t consider the facts.

We outnumber our ENEMY. Our ADVERSARY outnumbers us.

We can win a whole lot of our ADVERSARY over to our side. By winning over our ADVERSARY we DEFEAT our ENEMY.

Therefore – it will do us NO GOOD and will only do HARM if we engage our ADVERSARY with facts and figures. We will be seen as uncaring. And to this group of people – to be seen as uncaring is a horrible sin. Do NOT discuss facts and figures with this group. It does our righteous cause harm!! There will be a point in time that facts will help – but that will occur on an individual basis as they come along.

At first we need to engage them on an emotional level.

That is HARD for a lot of us to do. We naturally think in terms of logic, facts, figures, pro’s, con’s, etc. In fact many of us try to NOT let emotion enter into our decision making process! However in order to win over our ADVERSARY and defeat our ENEMY – we must learn to engage our ADVERSARY on an emotional level. We need to speak their language.

Side note: We have a WINNING Strategy and WINNING Tactics in the courts on local, county, state and national level. Why? Cause courts mostly deal in logic and facts. And we are GOOD at that. But in the public arena, our tactics using facts and figures will lead to failure. We have engage our ADVERSARY on an emotional basis.

So what is an example of an engaging our ADVERSARY on an emotional level?

Next time you hear someone say “but anyone really need a magazine that holds 30 rounds?” – we have to do an emotional redirect. Ask them “do you really need a house?” They will probably say “yes”. Ask them “what do feel you need a house for?” Notice I said the word FEEL instead of THINK. Most of us that use logic say “think” most that use emotiona say “feel”. We need to use the word FEEL as much as possible. Whatever they say – your response will be: “so you feel would die without a house? Nobody from the dawn of man has been able to do without a house?” Follow this emotional story (using logic but don’t tell them!) down to the fact that we as human’s only NEED shelter, water and food. That means a little branch hut near some water is all a human NEEDS. EVERYTHING else is a want. EVERYTHING. Do the same regarding their EXACT car. So whether a magazine holds thirty rounds is not about needs. But let’s go back to your car and your house. What if the government said “the model of car you drive is the model that most drunk drivers drive – so starting tomorrow your model of car is outlawed and will be impounded. HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT? Would it feel right? Do you feel it would be the American thing to do for the government to do that? Oh and the model of house you live in is the same model as most murderers live in – so starting tomorrow you are banned from entering your home. HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT? Oh and by the way – the model of computer you own is the same one most pedophiles use – so they are banned as of tomorrow and you have to turn it in or go to prison. How would you feel about that? Do you feel it would be right for the government to do that? Would it be considered American? How would most American’s feel about that? That is how I feel regarding the 2^nd Amendment. I feel that when it says “the right to bear arms shall not be infringed” – I feel that it means the government can’t tell us as Americans what we can or can not own. And when it is put that way most Americans feel the same way.”

Do you see how we kept it on an emotional level?

Shooters - we are in a fight for our freedom – not just our guns. We must emotionally engage our adversary and win them over to defeat our enemy. Please – if you agree with what I have said here on this youtube video – like it, share it, publish it as far and as wide as possible. For those situations where youtube won’t work, a printed version of the words I speak will be on my blog. Share them. Publish them as far and wide as possible.

Now – roll up your sleeves and go to work!

We are losing the gun control debate

2012-12-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack.”
― Sun Tzu

My fear is that we are losing the battle for our individual freedoms. We are losing because we have failed to adhere to the principles taught by Sun Tzu.

We don’t understand our adversary. Our adversary’s argument is emotion based. Their whole argument is based upon feelings – and not facts. Their emotional base is not rooted in fact. Their emotional base does not need facts to be powerful.

However – what do we offer to counter their argument? Facts. Figures. Data. Numbers.

In other words – we are speaking a foreign language to them that they have zero interest in learning. Our statements fall on deaf ears. Our numbers are lost in the ether. Our facts are not even considered for a nano-second. We think we have defended our position when in fact we were over-run.

If we have any hope of garnering a victory we MUST change our tactics. If we have any hope of garnering a victory we MUST change our strategy.

More to follow…..

Double Half and Half Drill

2012-12-08T12:23:00.002-07:00

Watch me FAIL while shooting the Double Half and Half with misses and overtime shots. (Inspired by Viking Tactics Half and Half Drill).
Double Half and Half

Flashlights and Handguns Part 1

2012-11-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

Considering that most crime happens in the hours of darkness - it is important that students of the Warrior Tetrad be found with a fighting light and the skills to properly use that fighting light.

This video will cover the different flashlight techniques and will also cover live fire of the various techniques including reload drills and malfunction drills.

Should you have any questions, comments, need additional information or clarification - please post below.

BTW - part 2 will cover what these techniques look like in low and even no light - so you will see the Pro's and Con's of each when using them. We will also cover tactics and techniques of how to properly and improperly employ lights during low light and no light.

I hope this helps,

cheers

tire iron

Flashlights and Handguns Part 1

Good Habits - Bad Habits

2012-10-20T14:56:00.000-06:00

Good habits - bad habits. We all have them.

Bad habits. These are behaviors we have developed that pose a risk to us in some fashion.

There are two types of bad habits. They are either conscious or unconscious habits.

A conscious bad habit would be smoking.

You KNOW it is bad for you. You know you have a substantial increase in the odds of getting cancer. From a Warrior Tetrad standpoint - smoking is dangerous to you and your team-mates. The cigarette smoke will give you away both visually (the smoke in the daytime and the glow at night) and via smell. The smell can linger for days. The longer you go without a smoke the more nervous you are - and since your body/mind is craving a cigarette - you can't devote all your senses to being situationally aware.

Conscious bad habits are easy to identify - and since they are easily identified - they can be eliminated. Note that conscious bad habits are sometimes easier to identify than they are to stop.

Unconscious bad habits are much harder to identify. Since they are hard to identify - they seldom are stopped until it is too late.

You are driving in a city. Your vehicle could use a fill-up, you are hungry and you need to relieve your bladder. So you pull into a gas-station/fast food place to fill the tank in your vehicle and your stomach, and to empty a different tank. You do a quick 360 scan as you exit your vehicle. The keys remain in the ignition. No threats are detected so you insert your ATM card at the gas pimp, punch in your PIN and start filling the gas tank up, scanning while you standing next to the driver’s door. If you need to leave RIGHT NOW you can quickly get in the driver’s seat and drive away. After the tank is full you pull over and park on the right side sort of by the entrance of the store/fast food place. Again - immediately upon exiting you do a 360 scan. No threats pop up so you take your keys - lock the vehicle - then walk towards the door to the store. Before you even enter you are scanning through the windows looking to see if there is anything out of the ordinary going on inside the store. You detect nothing unusual so you enter the store doing a left to right scan - all while moving - you don't stop in the "fatal funnel" - EVER. You immediately break left after passing through the fatal funnel and continue to scan. It looks like you are scanning all the junk food and soda pop - but you are scanning for much more sinister activity than yellow food coloring #6.

As you are moving towards the back you notice the sign for the restrooms. As your head continues to scan you walk over toward the bathroom. You notice the door is a push door - so you extend your hand out to open the door in order to keep your body from being too close to the door. This is to avoid being knocked out by the door if someone charges it from the other side while you are opening it. You push the door all the way open to minimize the chance of someone hiding behind it without being detected. Once it is open you walk through the fatal funnel taking care to "go wide" (staying to the side of the doorframe opposite the hinges).

As you enter into the main room you do a quick scan. There is a bank of urinals against one wall - and a row of stalls with doors on the other wall. There are 3 other males in the bathroom standing at the urinals. There is one to your right that is washing his hands at the sink. None of them look like threats. You see a urinal that has at least one empty spot on either side - so you choose that one.

You walk over - step up to the urinal and unzip your fly. You are standing flat footed - with your center of gravity directly over your feet. Your vision is quite limited - and the urge to keep scanning left and right is suppressed by the notion that you don't want to be looking at other men when they are standing "exposed" next to you. You either stare slightly up, straight ahead, down, or alternate between those three vertical options - just like every other guy standing at a urinal. You hear the door open and hear voices and more footsteps enter the bathroom - but because you can't see behind you - you have no idea who they are. All you know is more than one person entered - but you can't tell if it was 2 or 3 or......

Approximately 7 seconds later you are pushed from behind extremely hard. The force of the impact was directly to the back of your head. Your forehead slams into the tile covered cement wall that is less than a foot away. You black out before you even start to fall.

What did you do wrong? You did nothing wrong per se - you were the victim of your own unconscious bad habits.

WAY before you became "situationally aware" you have been going to the bathroom. You learned early on that men urinate standing up. Only girls urinate while sitting down. So - it has become an "unconscious habit" to stand up while urinating in public places. This unconscious habit just allowed you to get knocked out in a public bathroom. It doesn't mean there was malicious intent in the minds of those that knocked you out either. They may have been horsing around with each other - like young males do - and one of them accidentally ran into or got pushed into you - knocking you out.

Now that you know that standing up while urinating in a public place can get you hurt/killed - what should you do? The stalls are the obvious choice. If you sit in the stall - your BACK is against the wall. Even though your vision is severely limited - your eyes are to the front. The threat can NOT come from behind. Since you are CCW'ing - you have your handgun readily available. (What I do is take my handgun out of the holster and let it sit in the folds of my pants/underwear. It is very accessible - and it remains hidden from view of anyone that might be on either side of me.)

The point is though - you did everything right - UNTIL you stepped up to the urinal.

We need to analyze our behavior's/habit's from a situational awareness standpoint. If those habits make us victims or degrade our situational awareness - we need to replace them with habits/behaviors that enhance our situational awareness. This is usually best done with a team-mate. Have them follow you around for a day with the express purpose of finding weaknesses in your habits/behaviors. Then return the favor. For some reason it is easier for us as humans to find weaknesses in others than ourselves. So - use that to your advantage and have someone else point out the areas that you need to work on.

Since we are creatures of habit - this is an on-going exercise - to purge from us the habits and behaviors that are dangerous to us and replace them with habits and behaviors that are beneficial to us.

What are some habits/behaviors you have identified that are dangerous to you?

cheers

tire iron

Is your score at least 8 pluses to 1 minus?

2012-10-06T14:15:00.001-06:00

When you are out and about - if you see other people that you know BEFORE they see you - add one to your score. If they see you before you see them - subtract one from your score. The goal is to keep around 8 or more pluses to every minus 1. This is a good indicator of whether or not you are situationally aware in your surroundings.

Why is it important to be situationally aware?

You have probably heard the phrase "complacency kills". Does it really? If it does - how does it? If it does - can we avoid it? How?

Complacency means that you are lulled into a false sense of security. And - since there is no such thing as "security" - anytime we lie to ourselves that we are "secure" - we have fallen into complacency. Some of you will have a hard time grasping the idea that there is no such thing as being secure. Let us look at that more carefully and in detail. By show of hands - how many of you feel our skies are more secure now than they were 15 years ago? We as a country spend 8 BILLION dollars a year to ensure our airways are "safe". We have all manner of scanners/wands/frisking/spot checks, etc. Here is a fact that will open some eyes - the TSA (Transportation and Safety Administration) only finds 30% of the knives and guns that officials try and sneak through as a test of the efficiency of the screening process. That means 70% of the guns and knives are not detected. ( http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7848683 and http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2011/01/tsa_threat_detection ) So much for airport security. Another way to put this is that EVERYONE that feels more secure about flying these days has fallen into complacency.
How about metal detectors at schools and shopping malls? That makes those areas more secure, right?

You live in a good neighborhood and are friends with all your neighbors - so you feel secure - don't you? Your home - you have a security system installed - so your house is secure - right? Your car has automatic door locks - so it is secure, isn't it? You are walking down the street of a city in broad daylight - you are secure, aren't you? You are in the military and live on base, so you are secure aren't you?

The answer to every one of the above questions is a resounding "NO". There is no such thing as physical security. Who made locks? Humans. Who makes security systems? Humans. Who makes metal detectors? Humans. Whatever one human develops to enhance security - another human can think of ways to get around that development. The real simple example is: Locks vs. Lock Picks. Whatever security you have for your house or business can be exploited, can be broken through. If a human made it - another human can break it.

NOTHING is "secure". Some things are more secure than others - but nothing is secure. I am reminded of a rich person I know that had dug a giant hole in the ground - directly under his bedroom and had a vault poured of cement - and it was capped off with a small door from a safe. As the door was being installed (my buddy did the installation) - the owner was commenting on how secure this vault now was - that no one could get to the money and assets he would keep in there. He felt VERY secure that no one could get inside the safe. My buddy said "I could get in the safe in less than a minute". Then owner replied "not a chance - I am changing the combination as soon as you leave". My buddy replied "Oh I don't need the combination" to which the owner then asked incredulously "then how are going to get in the safe?" My buddy replied "easy - I will take a pair of garden shears and start cutting off your daughter's fingers - one knuckle at a time. You will open the safe for me." The color left the man's face as he realized my friend was right. There is no such thing as security.

Please note that I lock my doors - I secure my tools when I don't need them - I keep a "GunVault" by my bed for easy access of my handgun but away from any neighborhood kids that may be in my house - I lock my vehicle doors - I have a large dog with an EXTREMELY intimidating growl and bark - in other words I do what I can to avoid bad guys being able to get to me - but I don't rely on these things to feel "secure" - as I know there is no such thing as being secure.

Since there is no such thing as security - what should we do? What are our options? Is there a good option to being complacent?

Yes - there is a good option to being complacent - the option is to be the opposite of complacent.

A retired USMC Colonel by the name of Jeff Cooper (Google Cooper's color code) came up with a color code that gives a good representation of being complacent or not.

The color code is: white, yellow, orange and red.
White: Unaware and unprepared. Complacent (my word - not included in Cooper's Color Code).
Yellow: Relaxed alert. Situationally aware (my words). You have your "antenna" up - doing a passive search for threats.
Orange: Specific Alert. Your "spidey sense" has picked up on a potential threat and your awareness has bumped up a notch or two. You are focusing on that potential threat and working through possible solutions. Your brain is doing micro calculations at light speed regarding distance, angles, trajectories, speeds, cover locations, no shoots (friendlies) and time.
Red: FIGHT - the potential threat is now a confirmed threat and must be dealt with.

If you have ever been so absorbed into a book/magazine or movie that someone came up to you and surprised you - you were in condition white. You were complacent. If you are/were in the military and fell asleep when you shouldn't have (while pulling security or something like that) - you were complacent. If you are in a vehicle convoy and think you are safe - you are complacent. If you are a cop and don't wear your body armor - you are complacent (as well as stupid). If you have ever been mugged - you were complacent. If you have ever been ambushed - you were complacent. If you have ever been nailed for speeding - you were complacent. If someone in a store - that you know - saw you before you saw them - you were in condition white. If you are on a long shift (or patrol) and are tired/hungry/wet/cold/hot - it is EASY to be in condition white. It takes discipline and vigilance to remain in condition yellow - situationally aware.

In my world the opposite of complacency is "situationally aware". (Note that all on-line dictionaries regarding the opposite of complacency disagree with my opinion. That is OK with me - you will have to decide if that matters to you.)

You must start to be situationally aware - live in condition yellow - to always have your "spidey sense" active and searching for threats. Your head swivels on your neck, your eyes moving in their sockets. You are searching for predators. Most people live in condition white (complacency) - that is why most people are so shocked when something bad happens. As you develop your situational awareness you will see the vast majority of people live in condition white. You will also start to notice others that are situationally aware. They will notice you being situationally aware too. Kind of freaky when that happens - especially the first dozen or two times.

It almost can be broken down into "predator/prey". In the animal world if a gazelle is in condition white - it is complacent and it will be lion food.
It is no different in the human world. There are predators (bad guys) and prey (those in condition white). If you live in condition yellow (you are situationally aware) - the predators (bad guys) will see that and will leave you alone 99% of the time and go after someone that is complacent (condition white).

In the animal world - when the lions are attacking the gazelle - no other animals will come to its rescue. In the human world the difference is there are people like you and I - who will stop the threat from happening to someone in condition white. However the ONLY way we can do that is if we are in CONDITION YELLOW (Situationally Aware). We must perceive the threat in time and act accordingly; otherwise if we too are in condition white we could very well be the first casualty.

Complacency DOES kill.

DON'T BE COMPLACENT. Keep your antenna up and scanning for threats. The life you save may be your own.

cheers

tire iron

Where is your line?

2012-09-29T11:30:00.001-06:00

What is a line? A line is some pre-determined limit that we knowingly or unknowingly have set, that if crossed would set in motion some type of response.

Some of our lines have been very well thought out and logically defended. They have well thought out, logical responses.

Some of our lines are purely emotional and not very logically defended at all. They don't have well thought out, logical responses.

Followers of the Warrior's Tetrad encourage the setting of boundaries and/or lines in a methodical/logical manner.

Followers of the Warrior's Tetrad discourage the emotional lines.

What constitutes an emotional line?

In Islam - ANY depiction of Muhammad is considered offensive. Whether or not we agree or disagree (which I do) matters not to the muslim that believes that. To that muslim - there was a line that was crossed and there will be consequences for crossing that line. They are CHOOSING to take offense when someone disparages Muhammad/Islam. Let me state that again - they are CHOOSING to be offended. To take offense (or be offended) is an EMOTIONAL line. Emotional lines are bad. Emotional line are immature. Emotional lines are juvenile. We in the USA have equally as juvenile emotional responses. When someone burns a US flag - and we get upset - that is just as juvenile as a muslim getting all bent out of shape if someone else draws a cartoon caricature of Muhammad.

Let's think about this logically - if someone burns a US flag - does that diminish what the flag represents to me? ABSOLUTELY NOT. The flag of the USA does and always will represent to me our patriot heritage, a symbol of our founding documents, and a beacon of hope and freedom throughout the world. Does my logical side care what the flag means to anyone else? Nope. When someone burns the US flag - do I get bent out of shape? Nope. I CHOOSE to not get all bent out of shape. Is our patriotism, our founding documents or our beacon of hope and freedom threatened when someone burns our flag? No. In fact - it could be stated that our patriotism, our founding documents and our beacon of hope and freedom are ENHANCED when someone burns our flag. Our country was founded on the ideal of freedom of expression PARTICULARLY when that expression is political in nature. This is the very thing our First Amendment protects.

If we allow ourselves to get all lathered up when someone burns a USA flag - we have an "emotional" line, just as muslims do when someone draws a cartoon of Muhammad.

People that are known to have "short tempers" have LOTS of little emotional lines that are crossed often. When one of those lines gets crossed they then allow themselves to lose control emotionally and erupt into temper tantrums. Emotional lines are juvenile reasons to get upset. They are emotional responses that can't be defended logically. These are signs of immaturity. Whenever we are acting out of immaturity - our actions will likely be grossly overboard and ineffective. Neither of these are desirable outcomes.

I recall a lesson I learned in S.E.R.E (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape) school many years ago. This "school" taught military personnel that would be operating "behind enemy lines" how to survive off the land, avoid capture, resist torture if captured and hopefully escape. The class I was in was filled with Navy and USMC pilots and USMC "snake eaters". Pilots get shot down in enemy territory and we (the snake eaters) would be operating in enemy held territory. The Naval Officer that ran the school spent a decade as a P.O.W. in Viet Nam - and didn't forget much of what happened to him. We each did time in solitary without food or sleep, endured multiple interrogations and generally had no fun at all. There came a point when we were brought together as a group and our captors were saying disparaging things about Christianity. At one point one of the instructors tore a Bible in half and threw it out into the mud. I remember one of us that was a prisoner dove after the Bible trying to save it from falling in the mud. He got punished for this by our captors. Even though the emotional side of me was bothered to see the Bible being torn in half and thrown into the mud - my logical side recognized that that particular Bible was nothing more than a book that is made from printed paper. That Bible being torn up and thrown in the mud doesn't negate my belief in God.

There was also a USA flag on the floor that our captors used as a rug. It was filthy with hundreds of dirty boot prints. My emotional side was bothered by this - my logical side told me that it was nothing more than cloth material - it was no longer a flag as it had been desecrated.

After S.E.R.E. school had concluded - during the debriefing the instructors told us that we need to recognize where our lines are. If our line truly is if someone tears a Bible in two - then our chances of surviving were slim - because that would mean we were making choices based upon emotion - not logic. If our line was truly seeing our flag being desecrated - our chances of survival were slim - because we were making choices based upon emotion - not logic.

What is a logical line?

If those flag burners threaten or endanger lives in my presence - *my* line has been crossed and I will respond accordingly. NOT because they burned the flag - but because they threatened grave bodily harm or death. The law of the land where I live coincides with that decision and allows use of deadly force if people feel that grave bodily harm or death is imminent. I have made that a "line" long ago - when I made "the decision". The creation of that line starts during the process of making "the decision". Even though there are emotions involved (you feel your life is in danger) - the decision making process was entirely logical. It was created from logic chain a long time ago. It is 100% defensible, both morally and legally.

Same with our embassies and consulates. If some members of mob jump up on the embassy walls - the only legitimate response is to allow the Marines (whose job it is to protect the embassy/consulate) give an unmistakable warning to get off the walls. If they decide to remain on the walls - it should be considered the same as someone invading my home. They can protest all they want outside the walls - and I would protect their god-given right to do so - but once they invade the embassy grounds - the line has been crossed and there should be an immediate response is very clear and unmistakable.

Speaking of lines - note that you have more than one line. I have multiple lines. We all have multiple lines. I will give a business two tries. If they burn me once with bad customer service - I will give them one more try. If they burn me twice - I won't ever do business with them again. They "crossed the line".

Someone cuts me off in traffic - or even flips me off - I smile and wave like a friend. No line there. If they are being reckless weaving in and out of traffic and nearly causing multiple wrecks (irrespective of the speed at which they are traveling) that is a line they crossed and I will notify the Highway Patrol. If someone is speeding in a safe manner - I have no problem with that.

If someone calls me a "pussy" - no biggy. I couldn't care less what some stranger's opinion is of me. I recall a phrase I learned a few years ago "what other people say or think about you is none of your business". So...don't take offense from other people - period. Being offended is a purely emotional response that is a waste of time.

So - what are some of YOUR lines?

cheers

tire iron

The Warrior TETRAD - the TRUE Warrior

2012-09-17T19:12:00.003-06:00

If you are unfamiliar with what the Warrior Triad is - please go here: The Warrior Triad

Those of you that are aware and hopefully working on your Warrior Triad - please read on.

Remember the "symbol" of the Warrior Triad? It is a three legged stool. One leg for each of the three pillars of the Triad, namely Skills, Tactics and Mindset.

One of the reasons I chose the stool as the symbol of the Triad - was because in all actuality - it is a Tetrad - not a Triad. I have written articles wherein I have included the term Warrior Traid - and have specifically talked about Skills, Tactics and Mindset in numerous places also. However - that is not the end of the story. In order to get to the heart of the issue - we need to return to the symbol - which is the stool.

Notice the three legs.

Notice there is a larger, round "connecting piece". This larger piece is what joins the legs together. This larger piece provides synergy to the whole. Without this larger piece you would have separate sticks. With this larger piece the three legs are given direction. With this larger piece each of the three legs is able to stay in its proper place. This larger piece provides STABILITY.

What does this larger piece represent?

Lets look back at history for a minute. There have been millions of people throughout history who possessed great skill, that had vast knowledge of tactics and a honed mindset - yet they were "bad guys". They were cold ruthless killers. They either became dictators, or soldiers for hire - that cared nothing for a cause - except the license to kill. Stalin was very skilled at what he did - his knowledge of political tactics was great - and he had a strong mindset. He killed all of his adversaries and many that weren't adversaries just to instill fear in others to keep them in line. His Triad was very strong. He was an evil guy.

Many of the Nazi's had very strong Triads - yet were very evil men (and women). Mao - same story. Osama bin Laden - cut from the same cloth. Strong Triads - evil guys. Many of our adversaries have very well developed Triads - yet they are evil men that desire to unleash modern hell upon the weak and the innocent. Even as you read this - there are evil people in the world with very developed Triads that are designing evil plans to instill fear and terror and to cause pain and anquish to millions of people - perhaps nearly the whole world. Tyrannts from days gone by to today have very well developed Triads that they use to take power, and keep it.

Those that have developed Triads that are on the "dark side" think nothing of participating in unspeakable horrors - simply because their Triad is directionless. They are like ships without a rudder. A Battleship that shoots at whatever the wind blows near. A Destroyer that obliterates whatever it can, where ever it can.

The larger part of the stool - the piece that combined with the other three create the Tetrad - is actually the MOST IMPORTANT piece.

So - what does that larger piece represent?

I have readers of my blog from every continent on the globe except Antartica. As I am posting this article to my blog - my "hit count" just surpassed 100,000 hits. Some of you live in countries that are not friendly with the United States. I hope and PRAY that everyone that reads my blog is "good guy/gal" no matter where they live. I hope and pray that everyone that reads my blog wants to remain a good guy/gal no matter where they live. A good person wants good things to happen to other peole as well as themselves.

We have to decide if we want to be a good guy. More importantly we must decide if we want to REMAIN a good guy. Notice I said we must "decide". We must choose to remain a good guy - or we won't remain a good guy. We will be seduced by the "dark side" and may become evil ourselves. There have been many that started out as good guys - that ended up bad guys. Why? Because they failed to DECIDE to remain good. They worked on developing thier Triad - yet since there was nothing that gave the three legs direction - they ended up going the wrong way.

The largest part of the stool - the part that gives direction and stability to the three legs is this - a strong belief in God. This doesn't necessarily mean that you must belong to a church - but it does mean that you must LIVE like God wishes you to. There are many that go to church on Sunday - then act totally different from Monday to Saturday. That is NOT what we are talking about here. The Tetrad demands that every day you strive to become the person God wants you to be. That you are actively trying to incorporate into your charactor the attributes God wants you to possess: love, forgiveness, mercy, etc. We must be living examples of what a God centered life is all about.

If you feel hatred - recognize that comes from the dark side.

If you have love - recognize that comes from God. (If you feel hatred - ask God to put love in your heart and push the hatred away.)

If you feel anger - recognize that comes from the dark side. If you have peace - recognize that comes from God. (If you feel anger - ask God to help you push it out of your heart and replace it with peace.)

If you desire to hurt others - recognize that comes from the dark side. If you want to help lift others - recognize that comes from God.

If you desire to force your will upon others - recognize that comes from the dark side. If you desire to encourage others make good choices - recognize that comes from God.

If you desire to committ harm to others - recognize that comes from the dark side. If you desire to stop harm from being committed - recognize that comes from God.

If you desire to "kill them all and let God sort them out" - recognize that comes from the dark side. If you desire for all to get right with God and STAY right - recognize that comes from God.

Recognize life's situations are not as black and white as the statements above. The statements above are the GOAL. Living our live in accordance with the above statements will prevent us from ever being used by the "dark side" to committ evil.

By having this be the largest part of the stool - you will NEVER become evil. You will recognize the "dark side" and shun it. That little voice inside of you (your conscience) will alert you when the dark side comes calling and help you to flee that dark side.

If you feel fear - recognize that comes from the dark side. If you have faith - recognize that comes from God. (If you feel afraid - put your trust in God for a good outcome - in other words exercise faith - and the fear will leave.)

Also - the TETRAD spills into every area of our lives. In other words - if you cheat on your spouse or you are single and cheat with another person's spouse - you may have a Triad - but not a Tetrad.

If we have (or if we develop) and KEEP a good relationship with God - and try to live as He would have us live - we will never be used for dark purposes. We won't committ attrocities. We won't committ murder. We won't knowingly hurt innocent people. We will go out of our way to ensure that we don't hurt innocent people. It won't ruin us if we must use the Tetrad to save our or other's lives. Only by having a strong Tetrad can you be a TRUE Warrior.

Deep inside of us - we all instinctively know right from wrong. God instilled this in us from when we were very young by giving us a conscience. One becomes evil when they get to the point that they have shut their conscience off - so they no longer hear it.

My desire is that everyone that reads my blog is developing their Tetrad.

If you have been doing wrong - get right with God and man - and strive to have a strong Tetrad.

I also recognize that some of you only want the Triad. My hope and prayer is that you will CHOOSE to develop the whole Tetrad so we can be brothers.

However if you choose the dark side, recognize you are my enemy.

cheers

tire iron

How far to do I need to move my iron sights on my handgun?

2012-09-15T13:47:00.002-06:00

I shot a good group at 25 yards with my handgun. Now – since my handgun has fixed sights – how much do I move my rear sight if I want to move the shot group 2.5” at 25 yards?

The formula is:

Sight Radius (in inches) = X (distance to move rear sight in inches)

Distance to Target (in inches) Distance to move group on target

For instance:

The sight radius on my S&W M&P is 6.45” (measured from rear of front sight to rear of rear sight). Note that I run aftermarket sights on my gun – your sight radius is probably different than mine.

The target at 25 yards is 900 inches.

The distance to move my rear sight is “X” – what I want to know.

The distance to move the group on the target is 2.5”.

6.45 = X

900 2.5

6.45 divided by 900 = .007167

.007167 times 2.5 = .0179 (I will round it up to 3 decimal places - making it .018)

So – I have to move my rear sight .018” to move my group 2.5” at 25 yards.

Hope this helps. Note that this formula can be used with rifles and shotguns too.

Shooting my S&W M&P for groups at 25 yards

2012-09-14T22:53:00.000-06:00

I have been shooting for decades. I have shot hundreds of thousands of rounds throughout that time period. I don’t say that to boast – I merely say that to give a frame of reference.

In all that time – any and all misses I have attributed to me. I either yanked the shot – or flinched – or whatever. If I miss – the fault is mine.

One of the reasons I have believed this is as a result of my experience as a firearms trainer. Whenever I am instructing – and the person shooting is missing – they almost always blame it on the gun. Upon which time I will take their gun – and hit the center of the target with THEIR gun and THEIR ammo. So I have learned that it is almost always the person doing the shooting that is missing.

In the last couple years though I have slightly altered my idea regarding this enough for me change my position. My new position is that all misses are MY fault as long as the gun and ammo combination have been sighted in and has proven to be able to hold a good group.

The genesis for this new position for me started when I did the blog article about .22 ammo and the differences in groups when EVERYTHING was the exact same – except for the ammo. That article is located here: http://tireironscorner.blogspot.com/2011/10/story-of-my-m4-22.html

As you probably know – I really like my S&W M&P’s. Finally an American company can beat the Europeans at their own game – that being polymer framed semi-auto handguns.

However – I have more misses with my M&P’s than what I like. I have always thought that those misses were my fault. When I first bought my M&P I sighted it in (at 7 yards) with my carry ammo – Winchester Ranger RA9T 127 grain +P+ ammo. And it shoots that ammo well. However my practice ammo is 115 grain copper PLATED bullets at around 1100 fps. But – I figured “how much difference in accuracy can there *really* be between those two loads?”

I have shot falling plate racks at distances of 15~20 yards – and even though I do pretty well – I have more misses than what I like. I have chalked that up to my eyes getting older and my inability to clearly see the front sight. For the past number of years the front sight is fuzzy.

Well I went shooting today to sight in a couple of my tools.

The first handgun I tried to shoot for groups is a Gen IV Glock 22 in .40 S&W. However – I have a Glock 17 9mm barrel in it and some G17 mags. The result is the four pieces of brown tape you see on the target. When I saw the group size I thought it was the fact that the G17 barrel doesn’t fit exactly right – there some slop between the outside diameter of the barrel and the inside diameter of the G22 slide.

So – I grabbed my S&W M&P loaded with my carry load and fired a five shot group that measures less than 2” – that includes my called flier at 3 o’clock. Without the flier it is about 1 ½” – which is a respectable group at 25 yards. I do need to drift my rear sight to the left a bit to center the group on the bullseye.

Then I loaded up five rounds of my practice ammo – my reloads which consist of 115 grain copper plated bullets over a charge of powder that is near the low end of the power scale.

I used the EXACT same hold (I had my wrists/forearms resting on a canvas bag – which was sitting on a table) – the EXACT same gun – the EXACT same target – same EVERTYHING except bullets.

And I shot this group (you can see five holes that form somewhat of a circle outside the black – with the shot down low at 6:30 being WAY outside the black).

That is an approximate SIXTEEN INCH GROUP! No – that is NOT a group – that is a PATTERN – like a shotgun pattern!!!

No wonder I have missed falling plates more than I like – my group at 20 yards is larger than the plates themselves!

Armed with this new knowledge – I am going to test some different weight bullets and different powder combinations to find a good practice load – one that will group 3” or less would be fine with me. However – SIXTEEN inches is horrible.

The moral of this story is this – if you don’t like how your gun is grouping – try a different load.

So…what kind of groups are you getting with your tool/ammo combo?

cheers

tire iron

Why did he shoot all those people?

2012-08-27T23:31:00.000-06:00

We as the human race are interesting creatures. We were a given a brain with which we can act, decide, problem solve, invent/create, destroy, follow, lead, etc. We were given emotions to experience joy, sadness, pleasure, pain, love, hatred, anger, happiness, etc.

It is when we try to join these two things - logic and emotion - that we find ourselves stuck in our own OODA Loop. (OODA Loop link.)

For instance - we have been witnessing what seems to be a rise in the number of shootings in the USA lately. The very FIRST question we hear being asked is "WHY?" The fact that someone could/would/did kill or maim another person (or lots of people) for no apparent reason strikes us as illogical. While our brain is trying to process that question - our emotions are in full bloom with sadness, dispair, hurt, anger and maybe hatred toward the bad guy.

When Logic and Emotion collide - it is indeed an pyschological train-wreck. We can become somewhat immobilized until we are able to process through the information given. That can take some time - maybe even days or weeks until we are "back on top" of ourselves.

From my perspective (the foundation of which is the Warrior Triad) - "WHY" is the WORST possible question we should ask ourselves. Why is "why" the wrong question? Lets look at that. For the sake of argument - lets say you were given the opportunity to ask the bad guy "why" he did what he did.

From the list of answers that he could give - which one would allow your emotional side to feel safe and secure? Which one would lessen the pain we feel? Which one would stop the hurt? (Recognize he is either a liar, or emotionally disturbed, crazy, etc. - so how reliable could his answers be?)

Here is the TRUTH:

Your logic is based upon YOU and YOUR view of the world. You are a nice guy/gal. You are a good guy/gal. You think that down inside all people are nice and good. However reality dictates otherwise. There are BAD people. Bad people that do horribly bad things to other people. Your logical side can and will (if you allow it) to see the world in a more realistic fashion. Then when something horrible happens - your logical side can say something like "knew this was coming". Your MINDSET will be better prepared for bad things to happen. My mindset is that I know MOST peope are good people - however I also know some people are just BAD people. Nasty. Vicious. Mean. Since I don't know everyone - I am prepared to ALWAYS encounter the bad one's. I am happy and greatful when I encounter good people. I am not surprised when I encounter bad people. I know they exist.

Your emotions are another thing altogether. Your emotional side is hoping to hear something to allow your emotions to be where they were prior to this bad thing happening. You are in a REACTIVE emotional state instead of a PROACTIVE emotional state. In other words you are waiting - with bated breath - for the bad guy to reveal some statement that will allow you to react in a positive way - that will allow you to go back to where you were emotionally before this bad incident.

Here is the TRUTH:

NOTHING he says will allow you to feel safe.

NOTHING he says will allow you to feel secure.

NOTHING he says will take away the pain.

NOTHING he says will stop the hurt.

YOUR EMOTIONS are being controlled by the bad guy. You are allowing yourself to be terrorized by him.

This is a VICTIMS mentality.

VICTIMS ask "why?"

VICTIMS are never in control.

There is a different way to live. That different way is to embark upon the path of the Warrior Triad.

When you embark upon the path of the Warrior - you will change your mode of emotional response from primarily a REACTIVE mode to a PROACTIVE mode. Once you decide (logically by the way) to change your emotional well-being from REACTIVE to PROACTIVE - guess what?

Instead of asking "WHY" - you will ask yourself "what can I learn from this to help me be better prepared if this or something similar happens in my presense?" You will then augment your mindset, skills and tactics training to deal with that new potential situation.

Since you are PROACTIVE - you feel safe. You feel secure. There will be hurt and pain along the way - but it won't be debilitating. You will refocus your energies to positive activities - instead of worrying about things of which you have no control.

So the next time a tragedy occurs - take note of what your first question is.....if it is "WHY?" - recognize you still have a victim's mentality. If you ask yourself "what can I learn from this" indicates you are developing a Warrior's mindset.

Which is the "right" way for you? That is for you to decide.

Choose well - a LOT may depend upon your choice.

cheers

tire iron

My handgun mods

2012-08-17T09:44:00.000-06:00

This video outlines some of the mods I do to my Glocks and S&W's.

Hope you enjoy it.

cheers

tire iron

How to camouflage your rifle

2012-08-07T21:39:00.000-06:00

In this video I show you how to camouflage your rifle.

Hope you enjoy it!

cheers

tire iron

tire iron's corner

The ASSKRAKINOV or Michael Kalashnikov meets Peter Mauser in the back alleys of Darra Adam Khel

Deep Concealment Rigs - Kangaroo vs Deep Conceal

Fundamental DONT'S

Press Check

Both eyes open

Reloading from Slidelock

Clearing Malfunctions with the Handgun

Dry Fire with the handgun

Loading and Unloading the handgun

How to Grip the handgun

Armed Citizen Preparatory School

My thoughts after returning from SHOT 2013

Gun Control - Part 2

We are losing the gun control debate

Double Half and Half Drill

Flashlights and Handguns Part 1

Good Habits - Bad Habits

Is your score at least 8 pluses to 1 minus?

Where is *your* line?

The Warrior TETRAD - the TRUE Warrior

How far to do I need to move my iron sights on my handgun?

Shooting my S&W M&P for groups at 25 yards

Why did he shoot all those people?

My handgun mods

How to camouflage your rifle

Where is your line?