Author: Kim du Toit

I’m With Insty

The Gun Thing

Glenn Reynolds points to an article which proclaims the virtues of the double-tap, and makes this comment:

Lately, I’ve gone to Mozambique drills

…and I agree.  (For the record, I’ve always referred to the “controlled pairs” type of shooting as “double tap”, simply because an uncontrolled second shot is a wasted shot 99% of the time, and every shot should be a controlled shot.  I just prefer the cadence of the double-tap phrase over the vague-sounding controlled pair.  Here endeth the exposition.)

While the double-tap is good — provided that one has mastered the timing thereof —  three will always be better than two, especially if you’re using a smaller cartridge like the 9mm or .380 ACP.  (The good part of a smaller cartridge is that the recoil is less than, say, that of the .45 ACP or .357 Mag, so target re-acquisition is far quicker, making the third (head-)shot easier.)

The tricky part of any “repeat” shots, whether the double or triple, is the timing thereof.  Here’s my training drill for each.

My goal for any double-tap is to get both shots inside a palm-sized area in the center mass of the target.  As I get them consistently inside that 4″ diameter circle, I try to cut the time between shots.  I don’t specify a time for this drill (e.g. both shots out the barrel in less than a second).  The quickest speed that I can land both shots inside the circle over forty shots (two boxes of ammo) I call my “optimal” speed; that is, the time in which I can reliably get almost 100% accuracy.  (Obviously, that speed increases with, say, a drill with a .22 LR pistol compared to that with a .45 ACP 1911 or with a .357 Mag revolver, which is why I don’t use an actual time-frame to judge the effectiveness of the drill.  And if I don’t get both bullets consistently into the circle, I slow down until I do.

I refer to this as “Bang | Bang”, where “|” is the optimal interval between shots.  (Sometimes expressed as “Bang” {beat} “Bang”.)

I do the same for a Mozambique drill, except of course that I now have to get the double-tap into the 4″ center-mass target, and the third shot into the head area of the target (if using a silhouette target, or if not, a 3″ circle about twelve inches right above the 4″ circle).

There’s a significant difference in the timing interval between the three shots, though, because I think a shooter needs a fraction more time not only to re-acquire the target, but to shift the point of aim upwards.  For the Mozambique drill, therefore, I try for the following timing:

Bang | Bang | | Bang — in other words, whatever is the pause between shots 1 & 2 in a double-tap, that pause is doubled before I drop the hammer on the Mozambique’s shot 3, the head shot.

In my opinion, if you’re an ordinary shooter like I am (as opposed to a competition shooter like Rob Leatham or Dave Dawson or even compared to deadly shots like The Layabout Sailor or Doc Russia), it’s too difficult to get the same interval between shots 2 & 3 as you’ve managed to achieve between 1 & 2 — and let’s be honest, the third (head-)shot is the most difficult of the three, so give yourself just that extra beat to acquire the new target and get your shot off with absolute confidence.

After going through hundreds upon hundreds of these drills, I’ve found this timing and these target sizes to work for me.  It really helps with IDPA scores, by the way, if that is your favorite competition type:  the time penalty is much less than the miss penalty.

Others may differ.  Your mileage may vary.  Void where prohibited (e.g. at your local range).

All comments welcome.

 

Rich Bastards Not Wanted Here

Gummint, Travels

I’m not quite sure what to think of this situation:

New Zealand is set to ban foreigners buying homes after a spate of millionaires creating luxury doomsday bunkers has apparently pushed property prices up for local buyers.
It comes after purchases by PayPal founder Peter Thiel and disgraced former NBC host Matt Lauer, who lost his job after allegations of sexual misconduct.
The country’s centre-left government, led by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, has blamed the wealthy expats for their major housing crisis with homelessness rates being among the highest in the developed world.
Yet David Parker, Minister for Trade and Economic Development, said the bill, for which he is responsible, isn’t only about house prices.
‘In this world of concentrating wealth, we don’t want this coterie of ultra-wealthy people overseas being able to outbid successful New Zealanders for what is our birthright, not theirs,’ he said.

From a free market perspective, it’s not right;  but on the other hand, seeing how Californians have done pretty much the same thing Over Here when fleeing their home state for other, less burdensome ones, I can sort of see the Kiwis’ point.  It’s also happened in Britishland, where wealthy Londoners have bought themselves country pieds-à-terre and have driven up real estate prices beyond the reach of the locals.

Here in north Texas, we’re facing a similar situation with regard to both Californians and Yankees moving into the area — real estate prices are constantly increasing — but there’s so much land around here for expansion that we haven’t yet reached that stage of feeling “trapped”, so to speak, by soaring prices.  That’s not the case in tiny Britain and New Zealand, of course and as I said, I can sympathize with the KiwiGov for wanting to at least arrest the phenomenon somewhat.

That said, New Zealand is prone to having some humdinger earthquakes from time to time, so the rich farts’ “doomsday bunkers” may ironically not be quite the secure bolt-holes their owners believe them to be.

Ending The Bullshit

Politics

I’m getting a little sick of all the en vogue enthrallment of the media with this fad called “democratic socialism”.

In the first place, regardless of the figleaf nomenclature — and the “democratic” prefix in this regard is just that — we’re still talking about socialism:  that appalling socio-political system which has failed (and will continue to fail) everywhere it has been installed, has caused countless millions of deaths and has resulted in universal poverty and misery not seen probably since the Dark Ages.

And lest we forget:  with the exception of Russia in 1917, all the worst socialist governments — Hitler’s Nazis in Germany in the 1930s, Allende’s Socialist Party in Chile in the 1970s, Chavez’s Fifth Republican Movement in Venezuela in the late 1990s and so on — were democratically elected into power by their respective voters.  Whereupon they all, without exception, followed the socialist precept of “One man, one vote, one time”, and set about holding onto power simply by the means of outlawing political opposition, vote fraud and all the other little parlor tricks by which socialists remain in power.

So no matter how outwardly attractive the socialist candidates may appear — strongmen like Hitler or Chavez or twinkies like that little tart from Brooklyn — let us never forget that at the end, they will impose their horrible philosophy on the nation and they will always strive, by any means, to hold onto power.

And if you think this could never happen in the United States, you’re being hopelessly naïve.  It’s already started.  What other rationale could be offered when local governments run by Democrats — and sometimes even the federal government — have no problem with allowing non-citizens to vote?

Real Enemies

Crime, Politics, Two-Minute Hate

Richard Nixon had his famous “Enemies List” of people whom he considered political adversaries, and I’m pretty sure Obama and other presidents have had similar ones.  Here are the first two parts of a serious list of enemies, because these are actual traitors:

John Brennan

James Clapper

Both deserve at least imprisonment and possibly execution for their crimes.  To the best of my knowledge, neither has even had their security clearance revoked, which is not only inexplicable but inexcusable.  What the hell is Trump thinking?

Update:  LOL  does Trump read my blog?

Now for that turd Clapper…

Expensive Indulgence

Two-Minute Hate

So you’re flying to Dubai (a Muslim country) on Emirates Airlines (owned by a Muslim government) with your child on a vacation, but decide you just have to have a glass of free wine (despite the fact that, as everyone knows, Muslims get all bent out of shape about booze).

Then you arrive in Dubai, only to discover that your visa isn’t valid, and you have to return to the U.K. on the next flight.  You refuse and get all truculent, whereupon the Arab fuzz — a breed not known for their gentleness and kindness to foreign Christians — throw you and your daughter into a manky jail cell because you have booze on your breath and that’s A Bad Thing in Dubai.  Even better, your husband has to fly out to rescue your daughter and you’ll be in jail for a year while the Muzzies decide to bring your case to court.  Result:

“So far this situation has cost me around £30,000 in legal fees, expenses and missed work. My practice is closed. All our savings have gone.”

Hope the free glass of wine was worth it, that and your bad attitude.  (And yes, I know the silly bint has since been set free through the intervention of Sheik Mohamed because clearly, he saw how poorly this was reflecting on his pisspot city.)

However, Readers will be amazed to learn that this is not the main reason for my ire.   The woman is an idiot, and deserved to get spanked.  This is my point.  The fucking British government was going to do nothing, repeat nothing to help this moron.  Let’s look at the whole picture here.

In days of yore, this would have been settled toute de suite by the Royal Navy sending a gunship into the poxy Arab harbor, whereupon the fuzzies would be suitably cowed and would release the British citizen.  Nowadays, of course, this is Just Not Done (and in any event, the Royal Navy nowadays seems incapable of sailing as much as a dinghy without a year’s preparation).

So here’s what I would do in a situation like this one, were I in charge of the BritGov, and it’s the modern-day equivalent of sending in HMS Warspite:

  • Suspend all Emirates flights in and out of the U.K. for the time that this woman is kept locked up.
  • In the future, confiscate or otherwise forbid all liquor on Emirates airliners before they take off from Heathrow, on the basis that serving liquor on these flights can put passengers in legal peril when they arrive in Dubai.
  • When any Dubai citizens in the U.K. are arrested and accused of breaking British law (e.g. speeding up and down Sloan Street in their gold Ferraris), hold them in jail for a year before allowing them to stand trial (just as in Dubai — they should be used to it, after all).

If this sounds like overkill, it is.  All gunboat diplomacy is over the top, but what it does is serve to remind these little shithole countries that petty actions can have serious consequences — just as Brits traveling abroad should be aware of same.

The problem is that nation-states used to have a duty to look after their citizens when traveling abroad — even when said citizens had screwed up — but nowadays, governments seem to have forgotten this, one of the most basic of their responsibilities.

And for the Daily Mail, a correction is in order.  This broad wasn’t imprisoned for smelling of booze;  that was simply the pretext.  Her original misdeed was refusing to obey the immigration laws of the foreign country she was traveling to, by traveling on an expired visa, and then getting uppity and refusing to return on the next flight — which she would have to do by international law.

I have never understood the arrogance of people when traveling.  Outside your native country, you are a guest, and you need to be respectful of that fact that you are there on sufferance, not by right.  If you want to act all bolshie, save it for when you are at home.

This time, the stupid woman was saved.  The next one may not be so lucky.