Point Shooting Aid

I recently posted a series called "Point Shooting: Grasping the Weapon," which seemed to spark some interest. The third post in that series featured a link to the Point Shooting website.

That site has a short article about using a product called "Clipdraw" as a point shooting aid. I ordered one for my model 1911 & it arrived in just 2 days. It's designed so that you can carry a handgun (which you should only do lawfully, of course) inside your waistband without a holster. The clip slides under or over your belt to hold the weapon in place.

It does away with the need for a holster, and my .45 clings to my side with no telltale imprint. The big bonus, though, is that it provides a rest which keeps the index finger away from the slide (or force cone gap) when you're point shooting. I've not tried it with live fire, but as I've experimented dry firing at various ranges, it appears -- to me, at least -- to be hard not to line up dead-on with this item.

I'm not a big fan of shooting gadgets, but the clipdraw is simple, it's low tech, it required no modification to my weapon, and it was a snap to install. It might even motivate me to work on improving my draw (especially after my last post).

If you're interested to check it out for yourself, here's the link:

CLIPDRAW

The Christian Martialist & Providence

Although US civil authority has historically treated the indigenous -- not native (native simply means born here) -- population abominably, the following story makes a valid point:

In the days of the American frontier, there was an itinerant preacher who believed in God's governing providence in the affairs of men. He particularly liked to apply this doctrine in his evangelistic sermons. "God has determined your time to die, and when your time comes, it comes, so you'd best be prepared to meet Him," he'd say.

One day, a somewhat cynical hearer approached the minister and posed a question. "Preacher, I've heard you say many times that 'when your time comes, it comes.'"

"Yes, that's so," replied the preacher.

"Well, if that's so," went on the man, "why do you always ride with a rifle slung across your saddle?"

Without hesitation the preacher replied, "Why, that's just in case I meet some Indians whose time has come."

The point is that God's providence works through secondary means, and that includes the unviolated free will of men (it's a paradox; accept it). From one second to the next, you retain life because of His providence. But you must never presume upon providence by lack of preparation or training.

Do you have that firmly in mind? I hope so, because this video may blow away all your confidence and cause you to ask, "What chance do I have?" Here, thanks to dlr, is the link:

Sparrow Hitman

Some say, "Do the best you can & leave the rest in God's hands." It's better to say, "Be the best you can and leave it ALL in God's hands."

Now, I'd like to hear your reactions, observations & ideas. Please comment.

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms, 2

Continued from "The Right to Keep and Bear Arms"

At this point, I hope that it's clear that the RKBA, if it exists, must be found in Scripture, not in the statutes, constitutions & courts of men. Further, if the right is inalienable -- not subject to overruling authority -- we must find it in Scripture as an unequivocal, clearly universal command.

In my posts, "Buying a Sword" & "Buying a Sword, 2," I addressed Jesus' command in Luke 22:35-36:

And He said unto them, "When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing?"

And they said, "Nothing."

Then said He unto them, "But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one."

Here is a command from our King to go into the world carrying the message of His kingdom while defensively armed. Is this command, however, unequivocal and clearly universal?

Perhaps I can illustrate what I mean in a discussion of the command that provides the grounds of our right to own property: Thou shalt not steal. It seems a simple, clear and universal right based on a simple, clear and universal command.

But let's take a closer look. Some of the most egregious and widespread examples of theft in history have come in the form of confiscatory taxation. From the ancient days of our fathers in Israel (I Samuel 8:10-18) to the present, social elites have used taxation to enrich themselves by legalized plunder.

Should you, then, stand on your right to property and resist unjust taxation? How would Jesus respond to such a question? Very much, no doubt, as He did to the Pharisees:

"Tell us therefore, What thinkest Thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?"

But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money." And they brought unto Him a penny. And He saith unto them, "Whose is this image and superscription? "

They say unto Him, "Caesar's."

Then saith He unto them, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left Him, and went their way. (Matthew 22:17-22)

If you have a right to private ownership of property, why does Jesus not bid you to stand on your rights and fight for what's yours? Two words: strategy, tactics.

Jesus came to redeem His people and to establish His kindom among men. His commission to His Church is, basically, a mandate for world conquest:

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach [disciple] all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:17-20)

Jesus requires Christians to lead whole nations into discipleship and to displace their pagan/humanist law systems with His commandments. This makes believers a threat to existing power structures. He does not want His people, however, to extend His reign by means of military force, a la Mohamed.

The King's subjects are to establish outpost communities (called churches) and live peacefully within the surrounding culture. Sort of like a light to the world or . . . I know -- a city set on a hill. (Matthew 5:14) This is not much different from the mission God gave to Old Covenant Israel through Moses:

Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon Him for? (Deuteronomy 4:5-7)

Strategically, there is a difference, however. Whereas Israel under the Old Covenant inherited a limited plot of real estate, the subjects of King Jesus will occupy the world (Romans 4:13). (For a more complete discussion of the strategy & tactics of the Christ's Kingdom, see my article, "What Will It Take for the Church to Fulfill the Great Commission?")

The whole point of this exercise is that, following our Lord's strategy, it is destructive of our ends to arouse the powers that be by unnecessarily defying them. This may mean that Christians will have to pay unjust taxes, in order that they may live in peace to establish their base of Gospel conquest.

Followers of Christ defer their property rights, in this particular case, for the cause of His Kingdom. Does this deference extend to the RKBA? The answer to that question is bound up in the right to life and the right to self-defense. I address that issue in "The Right to Keep and Bear Arms, 3"

Defend Against a Knife Attack, 2/WARSKYL Conference

You can use a handgun to defend against a knife attack, but it takes more training than hitting a target at the range. A competent level of performance in the Tueller Drill is the very minimum you need for a knife attack from a distance. If you carry a knife rather than a firearm, you can practice a modified Tueller Drill to draw your blade and get it into action.

But that's minimum, because an orc doesn't normally stand 21 ft. away, wave his knife and holler, "Yoo-hoo! Here I come." He will try to get close. Weapon concealed, he smiles as he approaches and says something distracting like, "Hey, buddy. Can you tell me how to get to the movie theater?"

You need to be as wary of strangers approaching you at the fringes of activity as prison guards are wary of approaching inmates. Unofficially, prisons offer inmates university and graduate level training in mayhem, and no corrections officer wants to become some orc's field project in Shanking 101. When convicts approach, guards typically demand, "Give me five feet."

Five to six feet gives a trained person the minimum reaction time needed to react to a knife attack. Prison guards routinely enforce a personal a five-foot buffer zone around themselves. You need to do the same.

As you yell, "Give me five feet," you keep your weak hand in front, ready to fend while your strong hand reaches back to grip your knife. At this point, whether the attack continues or the attacker breaks it off will depend on his state of mind and level of desperation & determination.

These are very basic considerations for facing an assailant who has an edged weapon. I hope to have time to address the following topics at the WARSKYL Conference:

• How to tell when someone with a knife is just posturing;
• How to tell, when a stranger approaches, if he intends to knife you;
• Stranger approach drills;
• Knife attack reaction drill.

We have set the date for the conference: October 11, 2008 in the vicinity of Peoria Illinois. I sincerely hope to meet you there.

Defend Against a Knife Attack

How do you defend against a knife attack if your assailant has a knife, but you don't? Let me begin by saying that my opinions & conclusions do NOT come from personal experience, but are based on research. You may consider that a positive or a negative.

Knife attacks tend to be sudden and vicious. The orc does not stand at a respectful distance and announce, "En garde!" In most cases, he wants to get as close as possible before you even realize he has a knife.

Then without warning, he explodes into violent action with rapid, repeated stabbing strokes from less than a foot away. At that distance, you do not have sufficient time to react. Why did you let him get that close?

Last week on Monday was Memorial Day here in the States. I had to go to work, but the plant was closed, so I had a few precious quiet hours. I celebrated by re-reading W.E. Fairbairn's classic close quarters combat (CQC) manual, Get Tough! I paid particular attention to what he had to say about the use of the knife:

In close-quarters fighting there is no more deadly weapon than the knife. An entirely unarmed man has no certain defense against it . . . . (p. 41)

His best advice for defense against a knife is to snatch up a chair to serve as a combination shield/weapon (pp. 28-29). Considering Fairbairn's stature and place in the history of CQC, that's not very encouraging, is it?

Worse, police sergeant Dennis Tueller is famous for his demonstration that an orc armed with a knife can reach the typical police officer from 21 feet away and stab or slash him before the officer can draw and fire his sidearm. That puts a real damper on jokes about bringing a knife to a gunfight.

You may want to mull over these dismal facts. Meanwhile, I'll try to provide a glimmer of hope in the next post.

Mats & DVD

Today I received a [late] birthday present, the CORE DVD from Defendo. I will review it, when I finish watching it.

I also received my training mats from GetRung. Now, all I need is a parter to practice with.

Sorry, I can't post anything more substantial, today. Been busy.

Edification for Sheepdogs

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman popularized the metaphorical term sheepdog in reference to warrior/protectors in his book, On Killing (which I consider must reading). He expanded on that concept in On Combat (which I also highly recommend).

I write specifically for Christian Martialist Sheepdogs, and if you've followed this blog for long, you know that I fear there are more than a few wolves masquerading as sheepdogs in our military and police forces. Still, Grossman has something to say to those of us who choose to follow and serve the Great Shepherd as sheepdogs.

To that end, I submit to you this link to a rather long excerpt from On Combat:

"On Sheep, Sheepdogs, and Wolves"

Note: My link does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the landing page's website, advertisers or contributors.

If you want to follow my thoughts & comments on being a Christian Martialist Sheepdog, click on this link:

"The Christian Martialist as Sheepdog"