Beginning Saturday January 12th you will be able to listen to TriggerTalk Radio hosted by Dick Cupka every week.
My new show can be heard at 11:00 am on WAAM Talk 1600 South Eastern Michigan’s Conservative Talk Leader (1600 on your AM dial)
The gifts are opened, the eggnog is gone and you don’t have to take down Christmas lights until next week. What you really want to do is go to the range and pull the trigger several hundred times. It is freezing cold outside and you don’t want to go out in the snow, how can you keep your skills sharp in the winter?
There are a several options available: You may be lucky enough to live near one of the indoor ranges in the area. Besides warmth, some of these have the added benefit of gun rentals if you wish to try out a new gun. One local range (the Firing Line) even has a 50 yard rifle range allowing rifle calibers up to 30-06 and shotguns (slugs only), so you can stay practiced with your long guns as well.
I actually enjoy winter outdoor shooting at my local range. Dressed properly an hour shooting session is very manageable. I am usually the only one there when the temperature plunges below freezing so the range time is very efficient and without the distraction of other shooters.
Cold temperature shooting provides an insight into the effects of temperature on both man and machine. Cold fingers do a good job of simulating the loss of small motor function you may experience in a self-defense encounter; I know one instructor that advocates soaking hands in ice water before shooting to replicate the physiological effects of high adrenaline and reduced blood flow to the extremities. Can you still release the safety, pull the slide to clear a malfunction, or reload?
Temperature can affect your equipment as well. Modern ammunition is formulated to be functional at most temperatures. However, that new “Whiz Bang” super grease you got from Uncle Joe might get very thick at low temperature and slow down the slide and action of your gun creating malfunctions. Better to know these things ahead of time.
Assuming you want to stay warm and dry there are many things you can do inside. First and foremost you need a place that you dedicate to practice that has NO ammunition in it, NO boxed or loose ammo, NO loaded magazines, NO loaded guns period!
Nobody ever had a negligent discharge (notice I said negligent not accidental) with a loaded gun, they all swear they thought it was empty.
Practice pulling your gun from your holster using your weak hand to pull your cover garment aside. Practice in front of a mirror so you can see the motion, making sure you keep the muzzle in a safe direction, never placing a portion of your body such as your arm or hand in front of the gun.
Practice magazine changes or reloading your revolver (using dummy rounds) with a speed loader or speed strip. Cycle your slide using one hand only and your pants pocket or a piece of furniture to simulate running your gun while injured.
If your gun is equipped with a laser you can place a target on the wall, draw and pull the trigger. This is great practice for point shooting and also helps you improve your trigger control. Take note of the laser movement when pulling the trigger and practice a smooth consistent pull that keeps the laser dot from dancing around the target.
A new product by Laserlyte, the “Laser Trainer” uses technology long used by Law Enforcement and the Military is now available to the public at reasonable cost.
The laser caliber specific laser emitter goes into the chamber of the gun and is triggered by the firing pin. The target records the shot location and displays by aiming at the display sensor. Another sensor resets the device to start again.
Next Month: Gunshows
If there is a shooting enthusiast or gun owner on your Christmas list you are in luck. We love to get “Gun Stuff” and there is an endless supply of gifts and stocking stuffers to choose from.
Far from being a chore, most of us like to clean our firearms almost as much as shooting them. Not only does proper maintenance provide for the durability and reliability of our guns, but taking them apart, cleaning and reassembly helps the shooter better understand the inner workings of the firearm.
A cleaning mat will help protect guns from scratches, soaks up any dribbled solvent and keeps small pieces from rolling away. It also will protect the kitchen table from scratches if you do not have a separate work bench.
Securely holding the firearm is important and can be difficult if the gun is a rifle or shotgun. A very versatile device is a gun vise. These bench tools come with clamps, pads and adapters to securely hold virtually any gun. They also have accessories that can be added such as magazine adapters to hold AR-15’s, allowing the vise to be upgraded as new or different firearms are added.
A must have for any shooter is a “Bore Snake” This is a braided cloth “rope” that is pulled through the barrel of the gun. It has copper bristles imbedded to clean powder or lead fouling, and solvent/oil can be applied with one device. They are available in various calibers and gauges so you can select one, or purchase them as a kit with all the popular calibers. Bore Snakes come in both pistol and rifle lengths.
A relatively recent newcomer to the gun cleaning scene is the OTIS cleaning system. This kit uses a flexible cable that is pulled through the bore from the breech end to keep debris out of the action of the gun. A kit includes a set of brushes and patch holders for cleaning and lubricating the barrel. It is stored in a small pouch and is very portable to take to the range or field if needed. This same system is now the standard used by our military in combat zones.
A steady rest to stabilize the firearm is important for sighting in a rifle and for target shooting. A sandbag is a great addition to your range equipment. Available in many sizes, shapes and materials they are essential equipment for many shooters.
To help keep guns safe on trips to and from the range or when traveling there is a wide variety of cases, these range from inexpensive soft cases and pistol rugs to hard sided lockable rifle cases for travel on airlines. If your shooter into tactical rifles there are special cases to support their needs.
Hearing protection is critical for all shooters and there are many choices. ranging from foam ear plugs to custom fit hearing aids My favorite type is the amplified noise attenuating muffs made by Peltor. Equipped with electronic microphones these muffs allow normal conversation, but cut-off sound as soon as high sound pressure levels are detected. As an added benefit when hunting in a dark woods you can hear every twig snap, acorn crunch, and rack being rubbed on a tree.
Certain smells are often associated with fun activities: cookies baking, apple pie in the oven, freshly cut grass. When I smell gun cleaning solvent and gun oil it takes me back several decades to cleaning guns with my grandfather. That smell is Hoppe’s #9 solvent and generations of shooters recognize it. Hoppe’s now offers air fresheners (the kind you hang in your car) in that wonderful fragrance. If you want to bring a smile to every gun person’s face, there is no better fun gift than one of these air fresheners. Now if we can only get them to make it in perfume or cologne we’d be all set
Have a Merry Christmas and a Joyful New Year!
Next month: Keeping your shooting skills sharp in the Winter
Last month we talked about avoiding “Gun Free Zones” and letting store owners know the economic impact of their decision to make you un-welcome in their stores. But what can you do to protect yourself when you can’t avoid a gun free zone.
First, in Gun Free Zones mandated by law, you must follow the rules. The State or Federal Government is not forgiving of what you may see as an infringement on your rights. The consequences both monetarily as well as limiting your future right to own and/or carry guns is not worth it. Find another way to get your business accomplished without risking a potential felony gun possession charge.
There are some common sense ways to help keep yourself safe:
Remember, to someone with criminal intent you are “Prey”, just as the lion goes after the slowest gazelle, the criminal is looking for an easy target. If you display awareness to potential threats and appear prepared they may just decide to wait for an easier target.
Private property such as stores or other venues is another matter and many people feel that concealed means concealed. If you enter a store that displays a “No Guns” sign either accidently or intentionally and the proprietor suspects you are carrying, leave if requested. Failure to leave could result in a trespassing charge if Law Enforcement is called.
I once heard the story of a Law Enforcement Officer attending a public social event in uniform. A patron questioned him on wearing his sidearm and was asked “If he was expecting trouble that night”? His reply was “No Maam, if I was EXPECTING trouble I would have brought my rifle”.
The point is that we never know when trouble may present itself. As a private citizen the decision to carry a firearm is a personal one and carries great responsibility. The reason you carry is for your own safety or that of another. Simple precautions to prevent a confrontation and avoid a situation that requires the use of your firearm is the best outcome of all.
Next month: Christmas ideas for the Shooter in your life.
Until then …….Safe Shooting!
One of the pleasures of writing a blog is the correspondence you get from time to time in the form of comments. I have learned many things from people that have contacted me. Sometimes it may be an opposing view, but for the most part it has been an expansion of the subject or related information.
This past week I was contact by John O’Connor who thought I may be interested in a cause he supports that affects all of us that enjoy the shooting sports. I have an article John sent me for this post , and I fully support his recommendations.
As a young man I spent many years in very close proximety to loud farm equipment and even louder aircraft engines and propellers. I can remember that when we went shooting we thought it was less than “Manly” to wear hearing protection. This just shows the recklessness of our youth and as a result I suffer from significant amount of hearing loss at some frequencies.
Today, I wear protection no matter how small of a caliber I am shooting. I use amplified headphones when instructing to assist with normal conversations with the student. And I must say that I have found these same amplified headphones to be a major plus when deer hunting. Sitting in a woods that is still dark waiting for the sunrise I can hear every twig snapped by a hoof , and every leaf nibbled!
John’s Blog post and links follow:
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Hi my name is John O’Connor, I am a father, outdoorsman and passionate about living a healthy lifestyle. Over the past few years I have become more and more interested in hearing loss. My father and grandfathers, who are and were all hunters, are affected by hearing loss. I feel that there is a general lack of understanding around the issue and it is our job to spread awareness where we can. Check out my new blog at bloggingwjohno.blogspot.com!
Hunting Can Contribute to Hearing Loss
Did you know that certain recreational activities can contribute to hearing loss? Activities that involve loud noises, such as hunting, can damage your hearing. If you plan on going to the shooting range or heading out into the woods you must always protect your ears from the loud noises that a gun can generate.
When visiting a shooting range or while hunting, you should wear earmuffs that are designed to protect your hearing. If you don’t have access to ear muffs, you can just as easily wear earplugs. These will keep the loud noises from reaching your eardrum, thus protecting your hearing and decreasing the chance that you will damage your ears.
You may not always be able to notice right away that you are damaging your ears when being exposed to loud noises. While the sound of a shotgun may be uncomfortable, you may feel that since you are not necessarily exposed to the sound repeatedly, that you are not harming your ears. This quite often is not the case. Any loud noise can be damaging whether you hear it once or over and over again.
What many people do not realize is that the inner ear contains many tiny hair cells. These small structures are essential to good hearing. Once they are damaged or destroyed by loud noises, they cannot be repaired or replaced. This leads to permanent hearing loss.
When you are hunting, you should wear earplugs or earmuffs which will block the loud noise of a shot gun from reaching your inner ear. By doing this, you will be protecting your ears from irreversible damage. My father who has been into target shooting and hunting for years, has irreversible damage to his ear drums due to not always wearing the proper hearing protection while shooting. He wears a hearing aid in order to amplify sounds and increase his hearing levels. Although he has been affected by the loud noises from hunting, he still loves to get out there and practice at the range throughout the summer and hit the woods in the fall. He just makes sure that he is always properly equipped with the right hearing gear in order to prevent himself from experiencing further hearing loss.
If you like to practice shooting at the shooting range, you should protect your ears before entering the range by placing muffs or earplugs in or over your ears. This will protect your ears from the shots fired from others’ guns while you are setting up and getting ready to shoot and while you are practicing as well.
If you’ve been a hunter for many years, perhaps you have hunted several times without protecting your hearing. It is possible that you’ve damaged your ears because of this. If this is the case, you can still continue to hunt but look to make smart choices when heading out next time and bring the right protective gear.
There are many aspects to the shooting sports: self-defense, target shooting, hunting, competition, and hand loading ammunition. Gun owners often venture into modifications to their firearms. Similar to other hobbies, people often like to add their own custom touch. Some of these modifications may be purely cosmetic while other can affect the function of the gun.
My advice to you is “Be Careful”, a simple part change may have unintended consequences that can affect your guns reliability or durability. Firearm engineers design the gun to perform reliably under all conditions, changing one parameter without regard for the balance and function of the complete system may not achieve the results you desire.
There is no shortage of gadgets, devices, or replacement parts offering grandiose claims of greater accuracy, smoother operation, less recoil, better ergonomics or just plain look cool!
Many upgrades fall within the capabilities of a typical gun owner: Changing the floor-plate on the bottom of a magazine to add a finger extension to improve your grip seems easy enough, but you must make sure the spring and follower are still installed correctly or your gun may not feed correctly. And make sure the little pin that locks the floor-plate is correctly latched or you may drop all your rounds out of the magazine at a critical time.
People often change grips or add a rubber sleeve with finger grooves to improve the feel or reduce felt recoil. Always check the function of the gun after these types of modifications. I once had a student that was having malfunctions with his magazine. Checking his gun, he had added a grip sleeve over the polymer grip of his handgun and had not installed it correctly. The magazine was prevented from fully seating and rounds would not feed reliably. If this had been a self-defense situation he may have found himself with a gun that wouldn’t fire.
Changing sights is a common upgrade and within the skill levels of many people, however the correct tools such as a sight press may be necessary to prevent damage to your gun. You will not be happy with your new Hi-Viz or Night Sights if you now have big scratches on your barrel or slide from using the wrong tool.
One area I frown upon for all but the most experienced people is changing springs in a handgun to purposely affect the function. I don’t mean routinely replacing a recoil or magazine spring with an exact replacement as preventative maintenance. I am referring to people that are seeking to reduce trigger pull, or slide efforts.
The function of a handgun is a balance of forces. When a trigger is pulled the hammer or striker must fall with sufficient force for the primer to ignite the propellant in the cartridge. Installing a lower tension spring or cutting coils off a hammer spring can reduce energy to a level that fails to reliably fire the gun. The last thing you want to hear when you are relying on your self-defense gun to save your life is “Click”.
Installing a lighter recoil spring to make it easier to operate the slide on a semi-auto pistol may prevent the slide from having sufficient energy to strip a fresh round from the magazine and full seat the round in the chamber. Again the result could be a malfunction when you can least afford it.
An additional concern with modifying your firearms for a lighter trigger pull is the increased chance of an accidental discharge. In the event you are involved in a defensive shoot you may find yourself explaining your need for a “Hair Trigger” to an overzealous Prosecuting Attorney.
Next month: Gun Free Zones
Until then …….Safe Shooting!
It is no coincidence that the mass shootings that have taken place recently happened in so-called “Gun Free Zones”.
The very concept of a “gun free zone” is flawed from the start. If a person with criminal intent plans to kill someone or a mass of people, there are already a bunch of laws they are going to break.
Is it not enough that murder is already illegal, or that robbing a bank at gun point or for that matter knife-point is illegal? What type of genius does it take to realize that a sign at the door of the theater in Aurora, Colorado was not going to deter the crazed killer that murdered 12 people and injured 58 others?
A look into the facts surround the shooting indicates there were several other movie theaters within a few miles of the shooters home. Unlike Michigan, Colorado law allows concealed permit holders to carry their firearms into theaters. The theater selected by the shooter was not the closest one showing the film that night, it was however the only theater that voluntarily chose to be a “Gun Free Zone” .
Statistics have shown that concealed permit holders are far more likely to be law abiding than average citizen and likely to obey a gun free zone sign. The Colorado shooter chose a venue where he was not likely encounter an armed citizen that could have put a stop to his plan.
Looking at past mass shootings shows a pattern with this type of cowardly act taking place in schools, theaters, malls, college campuses and churches… All places where law abiding citizens are prevented from defending themselves. Please note the lack of mass shootings at gun stores, gun ranges, gun shows, and police stations.
There is also another pattern with these shootings; in all cases it takes someone with a gun to stop the killing. That person may be a Law Enforcement Officer or in many cases an armed private citizen.
There are two types of Gun Free Zones: those mandated by law or ordinance, and those voluntarily designated by groups or businesses. As a gun owner and permit holder there are several ways to deal with these potentially dangerous locations.
Avoid them when possible, In Michigan I know people that will not go to a theater anymore, relying on the many other home entertainment choices available. Michigan allows you to carry in a place of worship with the consent of the Pastor, Minister, Priest, Rabbi, etc…talk to them about your concern Use an online stamp program and drop box to avoid U.S. Post Office property. Be prepared and be sure you know and understand the CPL laws.
Businesses that prohibit guns are a completely different story. I make it a point to NOT do business with any store that has posted a “No Guns” sign. I make it a point to tell the owner, (not the kid behind the counter) why I will no longer be spending my money at their store. I carry a supply of cards in my wallet designed by the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners (MCRGO) that explains this is in detail to the store owner. http://mcrgo.org/mcrgo/d_no_gun_signs.asp
If you e-mail me, I will forward you a template to print out your own cards.
Next month: When you can’t avoid a “Gun Free Zone”
Until then …….Safe Shooting!
We live in amazing times for new and innovative products for people that use and enjoy firearms. No matter what area of the shooting sports you are engaged in, there is no shortage of features, materials and accessories competing for your shooting dollar.
These products may satisfy a need: a larger caliber, greater capacity or smaller lighter, and easier to carry. It may be an accessory, optics or sights that enhance your accuracy or help compensate for aging eyes. And sometimes you just see something and say to yourself “I have to have one of those”!!!
A few such products have caught my eye (and wallet) recently:
One problem many of us face is that our gun safes are too small. Oh sure, at the time we bought it there was plenty of room, but over the years as we expand our interests the space gets tight. We also realize that a fireproof gun safe is a great place to store other valuables and paperwork, taking up more space.
I came across a product called “Rifle Rods” by Gun Storage Solutions and immediately thought “Why didn’t I think of that?”. Most safes have notched racks for resting rifle barrels; these racks require the gun to be leaned into the notch and alternated or crisscrossed with guns in the opposing rack. With Rifle Rods all the notched racks are removed, a polymer rod with a Velcro cap is inserted in the barrel, the gun is placed in the safe and the rod pulled up and stuck to Velcro cloth on the bottom of the top shelf. With guns placed vertically not leaning or intertwined with other guns, I was able to get over 50% more rifles into the safe. Their website www.storemoreguns.com highlights this product as well as several others to help save space in your safe.
Rifle Rods by Gun Storage Solutions expands the capacity of your Gun Safe
LaserLyte has introduced affordable add-on lasers for several handguns including some revolvers. I recently added one to my Ruger LCP. Installation and adjusting Point of Aim was simple and straightforward. The laser is comfortable, easy to activate and after several hundred rounds fired, appears to be rugged and functioning well. A feature of this style laser is that it fits in your current holster.
Laserlyte mounted on a Ruger LCP
I enjoy using vintage firearms and one of my favorite is the lever action Savage 99. I have developed a fondness for the .300 Savage cartridge, in fact I have begun to collect other styles of rifles chambered in that same round. Many people consider the .300 Savage to be an obsolete round with few choices in ammunition available. I was surprised to find a new factory load for the .300 Savage offered by Hornady. Developed for their SuperPerformance line, these rounds take at advantage of new developments in bullet design and propellant technology to give modern performance to older chambering’s. They have also added several surplus military calibers to their Vintage Match line-up. such as: 6.5 Swiss, 303 British and 8mm Mauser.
One new product that falls into the “I need to get one of those!” category is the Ruger 10/22 Takedown rifle. The 10/22 rifle design is almost 50 years old and available in a variety of styles, and materials. In March Ruger announced a take down version that breaks down into two equal length components in less than 2 seconds. Requiring no tools to disassemble and constructed of stainless steel with a composite stock, it stores in a custom backpack (included) ready for camping, backpacking or hunting in any weather.
A quick call to my local gun store and one now resides in my gun safe where there is room thanks to my new Rifle Rods (see above).
Next month: The Myth of “Gun Free Zones”
Until then …….Safe Shooting!
Dick Cupka
I had the great opportunity last week to interview a very outspoken supporter of our Gun Rights, United States Constitution, and American way of life in general. Ted Nugent pulls no punches when talking about a subject he cares about. Recently he has been in the news for political commentary, hunting issues, and here in Michigan his battle with the DNR over rulings relevant to his pig farm and the species of pig he has chosen to raise.
Ted gave Matt Clark and I over 29 minutes of his time July 3rd on the eve of our Country’s Birthday to talk about things near and dear to all us. We aired the interview on our monthly TriggerTalk Radio program Sunday July 8th and I am posting links to the segments of the interview here.
Additionally, I am posting a link where all segments from the past year can be found as well as Matt Clark’s outstanding home page and podcasts.
Ted Nugent interview part#1
Ted Nugent interview part #2
TriggerTalk Radio Home page – with all Segments
http://www.clarkcast.com/about/trigger-talk
Safe Shooting…
Dick Cupka
There has been a lot of talk in the main stream media lately on self-defense and the use of guns to protect yourself. We can argue the justifications and merits of a particular case currently in the News, however it is clear that Law Enforcement Officers cannot be everywhere all the time to prevent attacks on people. The best statement to describe this is “When seconds count, the Police are only minutes away”.
Based on sales and ownership data, it appears women have embraced the concept that one must be able to defend themselves. “USA TODAY Snapshots” reports that in 2011, 23% of all gun owners are women, up from 13% in 2009. Calculating from the number of gun owners in the U.S. and the number of NICS (Instant Background) checks reported by the FBI that means that over 40% of purchases the past two years were by women.
I have seen this locally in the Conceal Pistol License classes where I teach. Each month 30%-40% of the students are women, and most have only recently become involved with shooting.
I recently participated in the annual “Women on Target” event sponsored by our Sportsmen’s Club. This year over half of the 70 women participating had never touched a gun previously and many were anxious when they arrived. They came for many reasons: urging of a spouse, parent, or friends, to try something new and exciting and others because they felt they should know how to take care of themselves in an emergency or dangerous situation.
Over 19000 rounds later at the conclusion of the day, the room was full of smiles and talk of additional firearms training and the shooting sports. One woman shared this story: She had called her friends early that morning to say she wasn’t going to come, she was anxious about the event and “didn’t feel well”. Her friends had signed up as a group and told her “they were already on the way and to be ready in 15 minutes”. She left the event that day with a list of the firearms she had enjoyed shooting and planned to purchase for herself!
These women had found out something we men had known for a long time, Shooting is Fun! It is not just about self-defense, there’s target shooting, clay pigeons (Trap) and hunting too. I continue to read reports about the increasing numbers of women attending Hunter Safety courses and taking part in hunting trips.
A demographics review of hunting licenses in several hunting oriented states revealed an 18% – 20% increase in women hunters over the past two years. This increase is good for the advancement of all shooting sports. And jokes about the male bastion of testosterone known as “Deer Camp” aside, If you teach a man to hunt and he goes hunting. If you teach a woman to hunt, the entire family goes hunting.
Women are increasingly active in competitive shooting events such as the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA), Skeet and Sporting Clays. This summer women shooters will participate in the summer Olympic Games. Ironically due to gun control laws, pistols are illegal in England, Wales and Scotland and the UK Government had to give special dispensation to allow the events to take place.
I have read of college students that have received rifle team scholarships, and last year at the NCAA championships an all-women’s rifle team from TCU took down an all men’s team from Fairbanks Alaska.
Homework Assignment:
Men Take a woman to the Range
Ladies Keep up the good work!
Next month: New Products
Until then …….Safe Shooting!
