Irony abounds in Cuba. There is a government owned museum in Havana that displays many of the weapons used by the Revolutionary fighters. While guns and knives are illegal there, the museum highlights how the “people” fought for their “liberty” with their guns. Lever action rifles, .22 semi autos and shotguns dominated the long gun cases. Only a few military rifles or pistols were highlighted with the notariety of 1911s and M1 carbines used by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. The minds of the average Cubano believe that they have no need for firearms and are boastful of their low gun violence. The local police are not well armed; in fact only 1 in 3 uniformed security personnel we saw were armed in Havana – mostly with Makarov pistols. Firearms are so inaccessible to the average person that the government has successfully cowed the majority into believing they are better off being “safe” than armed. In general, people have more liberty the further they are from “the flagpole”. The people in Trinidad, a rural inland city are more capable of bartaring their produce (food) for necessities than the far more heavily government supported folks in the capital of Havana. Per our guide, 90% of a Havana citizen’s income goes to purchasing food since housing, and utilities are provided. In the rural agrarian regions, they have a greater potential to prosper within current government controls.

Better late than never I guess.  The following are some of the more poignant points from the NRA show in Atlanta GA 27-30 April 2017.   On the way in, was pleased to meet YouTube guru Hitchcock45 and his son; neat, friendly and humble folks.  

Some quick observations on some of the exhibits: I do not like the articulated triggers on the M&P Shield or the FN 509.  Believe it or not, I found the Taurus Slim trigger to be preferable for me.  I do like the Ameriglo GL101 Trijicon I Dot sights.  I believe that Leapers is highly under rated as an accessory provider for ARs.  As far as snub nose revolvers, for the money, you cannot beat Rossi.  I also like the KelTec 9mm carbines. Sat in on the presentation by John “Shrek” McPhee. 

 Shrek is a former Special Forces SGM who is now working as a firearms coach.  He helped us understand the role of slow motion capture rehearsals in becoming a better shooter.  The actual “shot” takes .08 seconds but a lot is happening prior to it’s occurrence.  Video at 240 frames per seconds can reveal a lot of a shooters performance potential.  Efficiency over Speed.  (no wasted time or movement).  The less the gun moves; the better.  Grip and Stance = 98% of shooting.  It’s not about strength; its about technique. Perfect dry practice is best.  You want 200% grip (or 100% per hand).  Not “60/40”.  Hold tight as you can and let off until the shaking disappears.  “Trigger Jerk Myth”: Good grip and stance = control Anticipation.  Not the trigger.  STANCE: head in line with balls of front foot (or + forward), keep height up= more leverage (bring gun to eye; not head down to sights). Best practices: head over lead foot; knees bent; knee-hip-head over foot (mid walk).  Avoid pushing your hips backward, Grip- push firing hand away as fast as possible , non-firing wrist = thumb at target; fingers pointed back toward shooter.  Push-Pull. Modern Sports Coaching Method- I show you; I tell you how to get better; Video rehearsal=get better.  Neuro Science myth “You won’t see your sights”.  You will be unconsciously competent.  Brain works best with sequential  learning; step-by-step.  Train to develop subconscious brain.  Gunfighter University.  Isolate Thumb/Grip from Trigger Finger.  Push Away so you are Aiming the whole time; Coaches Eye app for iPhone/Android. 

Sat in on the presentation by LTC Dave Grossman.  Dave is a former Army officer and reserve policeman. He believes  we are in denial and the media wrongly portrays shootings as murders (unjustified killing).  We ought to be more like the Fire Safety community:well regulated and drilled = low risk to citizens.  300 killed in Fires annually compared to 15000 killed in Violence.  More juvenile murders in Germany/Finland before the US.  From the book -Assasination Generation: more violence to occur in the future.  Need families to prepare for violence.  Daycare massacres coming.  China Daycare Massacres.  Deter: The Killer fears failure- need to arm educators.  Detect.  Defeat.  Medical technology is making a great difference in the Murder rates; no longer killed, but maimed, etc…. Book- Control by Glen Beck.  Book- Inside the Mind of a Teen Killer by Phil Chalmers.  Gang membership on rise.  Cops murdered would be 8x more without medical technological advances and body armor tactics.  Gangs use video games (Grand Theft Auto) and they know how to win= killing.  We need to also consider head shot focus to defeat body armor VS. Center of Mass shooting practice.  Criminals believe they have “rights” after Fergerson (Black Lives Matter).  “Righteous indignation”.  Bad times for Law enforcement.  Greg Stevens in Garland TX, 59 year old cop saved lives at art festival.  The armed American is the key.  20 most homicidal nations in the world; Mexico is our future.  Central America very high.  We are the best trained armed citizens in the world… the founding fathers knew there would  be a time when we needed to act in our own defense.  1998 35 deaths in school; 18M incidents of bullying.  Video games reward players for killing/maiming and NO consequences.  Current enemies cannot be deterred- will use Nukes if they get it,  They will attack our schools.  Book –Terror at Beslan- John Giduck.  Russian school attack in 2004.  314 killed, 13 Special operators KIA.  Need armed people everywhere.  Israel got it figured out.  Armed and trained persons can swarm on target [a circle of fire]..  In Beslan, every adult male was  killed in first 30 minutes.  49 terrorist killed; 17 escaped.  They will use fire as a weapon.  Need solo officer response capability; cannot afford to wait 20 minutes for two-man rule… Be armed, be equipped, be trained.  House of worship= Target.  Clear-Armor.com/True armor laminate film on windows,  Need ways to lock doors in/out.  RUN-HIDE-FIGHT mantra is Not a sequence; its an option menu NOW.  Open carry= the decoy.  Carry 24-7.  Hero 911 app for law enforcement; Have a rifle and a GO BAG with Ammo.  Your heart and mind must be ready. TRAIN.  “Shootjitsu” martial arts.  Get your hand on grip soonest (not Hollywood clearing cover garment).  You gotta be able to make the shot.  Live a life of sacrifice so others may live.  Not impressed to hit a golf ball 200yards; more impressed to hit a golfball from 200 yards! .  Quote from JFK in 1961- need for new minutemen.  “Piss on Golf”- need to develop more ranges for Americans.  Normandy Beach= 98% combat casualties; weak link is the mind.  1 % were Psychopaths; (wolves); 1% were sheepdogs..  CONSIDER BECOMING A RESERVE SHERIFF.  LEO authorized to carry defensive tools (lifesaving tools of my profession).  Only a predator can hunt another predator.  YOU NEED TO MAKE THE DECISION TO BE WILLING TO USE DEADLY FORCE IN DEFENSE OF YOURSELF AND OTHERS; NEED TOOLS AND SKILLS.  If not; you don’t need a gun.  “Ain’t nothing too hard over here… we go home every night.  We will sacrifice so our children won’t need to.  Let it end with me.  Military Resiliency Training- every ad thing reaffirms you are on the right side of the cause. KEY IS MOTIVATION- you must believe your sacrifice is worthwhile.  You protect your family- YOU CAN DO SOMETHING; Denial kills you twice- physically: no gun, skills; -mentally-  wish you had the tools and skills.  Preparation saves you twice! You need to save your kids, your grand kids, your progeny, and your neighbors.  I don’t get PTSD… I give it; “I’m a carrier”.  Identify the one thing you can control and do it.  One person you can change is YOU!.  Book –Secrets of Mental Marksmanship.  Stress inoculation: force-on-force training.  Ken Murry: Training at the speed of life.  Jennifer F.  cop in Florida shot 10x and kept going.  Use paintball and simunitions.  Push the envelop in training. Don’t carry a gun without  insurance.  We are the Samurai/Paladins. Need authority to take human life except in self defense.  Goal is to save lives; NOT kill.  Gunfight creates powerful neuro pathways;  some +; some -.  Breathe in through nose (drink water)= break neuropathways.  Survivor guilt is not PTSD.  Dedicate yourself to having a full life.  Chris Amorosso- as face turns white (pale) no rational thought.  What conquers fear? Love!  Live a life of Sacrifice. I have the authority from the consitutuion to defend myself.  Be able to tell the story.

Active/Emerging Threats by Steve Tarani; 98% of Active Shooters have mental disorders.  Gun Fu- “ching-ching-pow” system.  Avoid-Mitigate-Defend; common denominator = How.  Don’t know when or where.  “If you boys go to guns; you already failed”.  1) Establish Control, 2) Works anytime, Anyplace, 3) Proactive vs. reactive.  //

1) Control your environment, 2) how to avoid a threat, 3) how to defend an attack.  “It’s not what you look at, it’s what you see”- Thoreau.  Choose Your Mindset, Be Determined, Apply Your Awareness, Recognize a Threat.

Choose Your Mindset: 1) It won’t happen to me; 2) Someone else will handle it; 3) THIS is MY responsibility!

Be Determined: 1) Accept the fact that bad things happen and could happen Today!; 2) Have the WILL: I have the will to take action; 3) HAVE A PLAN: “Hey… What if…”

Apply Your Awareness: White: Home mode; 2) Yellow: Public Mode; 3) Orange: Alert Mode; 4) Red: Action Mode.

Recognize Threat:  Event Indicator; Threat Indicator.   Set your baseline: what is there?  What is NOT there?  – PreOperational Surveillance: OODA loop- Observe, Orient, Decide, Act.  Threat Progression- Potential Threat- Actual Threat-Pre Attack Behavior- Attack Behavior.  Predators: Look-Choose-Stalk-Close-Attack.  90% of the progression timeline, we have control over.  Proactive- control the situation by doing something in anticipation of future prolem.  Apply 90% advantage to defeat attack.  Target the bad guys process.  Avoid appearing weak, unaware, or alone. 

Deny opportunity: De-escalate, Deter, Defuse, (verbal judo). 

Reaction to attack (inside 10%).  Flight, Freeze, FIGHT!

Book- PreFense: the 90% Advantage.  

 Next NRA show in Dallas Tx in May 3-6 2018.  

As Bruce Lee would say, “To change with change is the changeless state”.  On that note, the NRA has modified the Phase I Online course to allow instructors to teach the Basics to students.  In my opinion, this is a great option for students to go beyond the blended learning and receive training and education from a knowledgeable mentor; not just the computer interface.  This option reportedly will become available on 4 April of this year so there is much more to follow.  If you are interested in this level of interface for the Phase I portion of the Basic Pistol Course, feel free to contact me at Mike@SurvivalNomad.com or call/text (256) 294-1776.  Best to you, in training.

Lessons learned: You need to go to the show if you have ANY interest in firearms. And if you choose to arrive on time to hear Donald Trump speak, you should think again!  Traffic was horrendous on Day 1.

Traffic Day 1- Donald Trump speaking minutes from now

Not advertised much but made available were several free seminars that touched on all aspects of the gun culture. I attended two free seminars that were very much value-added. The first was from Tom Marx on concealed carry.

Tom Marx on Concealed Carry Considerations

He highlighted several key points: 1) the most important feature of a holster is its convenience- you should be able to put it on like your wallet or watch. 2) You absolutely need to carry if you are ever going to have the chance to use it as a life saving tool. 3) Practice drawing slowly in order to build speed in your presentation. Build on what you know first; then build on what you’ve learned in order to validate it. Tom emphasized strong side carry as preferred, being comfortable, and to think sight lines as a focus of your draw. 4) Build on what your people will learn- in other words, don’t try to teach a civilian to draw like a policeman- they each have different requirements and there are no hard written rules to obey (outside of Safety!). I personally took this to heart when considering my own preference for holsters. I was taught to pick a holster that retained the gun in likely scenarios you might encounter, to ensure it covered the trigger guard and lastly to ensure it would stay open after the draw to ease reholstering. In retrospect, this last requirement is somewhat foolish… Why do I care how easy the gun can be reholstered? In an encounter, my priority is to deal with the threat. Once it is safe to do so, then reholster. If there is still a threat, I should still be dealing with it and the LAST of my concerns is how quickly I can get my gun back in its holster so I can handcuff a suspect. 5) Practice with the same gear you use to carry. I have a Glock 17 that I used to carry but now I prefer the Glock 26. The 17 stays in the house where its large initial capacity allows me greater time in fight if something goes “bump” in the night at home. Away, the Glock 26 allows me better concealment and the ability to take 17 and 15 round magazines as spares. You need to look at your environment, activities, mode of dress and how you travel to determine your needs. The more deeply you conceal your firearm, the more difficult it will be to produce when needed. Avoid the windbreakers or exterior garb with elastic pull tabs since they can easily foul your draw. 6) TALK TO YOUR FAMILY ABOUT YOUR EXPECTATIONS OF THEM- what do you need them to do if you should need to react to a dynamic critical incident? Action beats reaction. The cell phone is your lifeline. Carry extra ammo and a flashlight to help identify threats in low visibility situations. I had the opportunity to test the new Streamlight MicroStream that uses one AAA battery and fits innocuously in your pocket. Good piece of kit.

Kyle Lamb on Survival (Combat) Mindset

The second speaker was SGM (Ret) Kyle Lamb on Survival (Combat) Mindset. He focused on several lessons learned: Have Plans (multiple). The bad guys are training every day so we must also. YOU ARE A TARGET. BEFORE an incident, you need to wake up in the morning and go through a mental rehearsal. Check your tools, maintain your equipment. CARRY. Face reality. You can use a flashlight as a deterrent/weapon. If you cannot deter, avoid, if you cannot avoid, eliminate the threat. Are you prepared for the sights and sounds of a fight; gunshot, screams and death? Train every time you can. Accept responsibility to protect yourself and your loved ones AND educate. Jeff Cooper was cited as establishing a dichotomy between two types of people: the Copers and the nonCopers. Be aggressive but not a bully. Be confident in your skills. Gunfighting skills are not circus tricks. Become aggressive and seize the initiative. Remain on the offense. Train frequently: dry fire at minimum. Practice target discrimination so you can get quickly on the gun but slow to the trigger. Practice engaging multiple targets, shooting on the move, speedy malfunction training. Be fast enough to stop myself. Take care of the problem and not all problems require a trigger press. Scenario training is key- understand zones and spaces. Concerning Gear: is it ready for the fight? Are you training with your CCW or are you practicing with your range toy? Can you manipulate all features one handed? Do the sights work without a light? Do you have a flashlight? Do you know how your ammunition will work through a car door or wind shield? Do you carry bonded bullets? Medical Gear: to you have the knowledge to check and maintain the ABCs (Airway, Breathing and Circulation)? Do you know self and buddy aid? Do you carry a tourniquet? MENTALLY- get your mind right and develop confidence in your strong and support hand shooting. Use VISUALIZATION techniques to go over as many skills as possible and through various scenarios. Find the gaps in your plan. How will you identify yourself to the police? Fitness is very important: Can you move someone? Can you run? Can you punch? Can you take a punch? You cannot rely on adrenaline to get you moving and become effective. Recommended competing in IDPA or 3 gun to build opportunities to be stressed. GET BEYOND YOURSELF: Think about reality- what will happen if you die? Have a will, insurance, understand how you will be treated by the media. STAY SWITCHED ON: Present aggressive and confident demeanor and situational awareness. VIGILLANCE: “Have a plan to kill everyone you meet”- T. Lawrence, 5th Special Forces Group quotation. During an incident, you MUST perform! Trained gunfighters use their sights. Point shooting does not work at distance. Threat Focused Shooting. After the incident, you want to be in a position to return to your loved ones. Did we thrive or only survive the aftermath? After affects include PTSD and you need a plan to talk to your spouse, pastor, family, friends. “Their drills were like bloodless battles and their battles like bloody drills”-Flavius Josephus. Train as you fight! Basics done exceptionally well. Individual training and Leadership training important. Study rapid information processing.

Project Appleseed was also in attendance with several instructors from around the country.

Project Appleseed

At the show, I had the opportunity to see many of the vendors I was curious about and touch many of the products I was interested in. At the Kel-Tec Booth, I had the opportunity to compare the PF9 to the PF11. I had long ago thought the only differences were in the magazine capacity. What I did find is that there is a different style trigger assembly in each and that I much prefer the PF9 version for its crisp trigger pull and compact size. At the Glock Booth, the latest craze seems to be the option of cut outs in the frame to accommodate the numerous red dot/MRO sights on the market. These too are available for purchase on the Blue Label discount program for law enforcement and military veterans.
Next year’s Show will be in Atlanta April 28-30th. Hope to see you there!

Global HQs of Palmetto State Armory

Hours as published (EST)

After building my first AR and having had success with the folks at PSA online, I decided to make a visit at their humble establishment in Columbia SC. They have several stores statewide but we chose the main HQs off of Farrow Rd. The people were friendly and knowledgeable, and the prices are reasonable. Their online business is still the mainstay of their retail front. Prices are generally better online but they do offer in-store pick up for us out-of-staters. By way of example, they offer AR mags for $6.99 online but the same offering at the store was $7.99. Their selection from ammo, reloading kit, firearms and components was awesome. Highly recommended!  Only downside is that sometimes they do have delays in shipping or product availability.  Solution- know what you want and check their site often. DO NOT MISS THEIR BLACK FRIDAY SALE!

This afternoon we received notification from NRA Training Headquarters that starting 17 February 2016, the Basic Pistol Course will be going online for Phase I. Students will need to register using the NRA training site for Phase I, complete the blended learning course, receive a completion certificate and Personal Identification Number (PIN), and then use the PIN to register for Phase II (the instructor led portion). When students register for Phase I, they will gain access to the online portion and receive a basic pistol book mailed to their home address. Per NRA Training, the cost of Phase I will not exceed $60. Cost for Phase II will be determined by the instructor. Based on this, my current price for the course will likely drop to accomodate this new training paradigm. I ask your indulgence and patience as we work to best implement these changes.  As a result of this initiative, I am researching a new course that will include the most valuable portions of the Basic Pistol, Personal Protection in the Home and Personal Protection Outside the Home.  Stay Tuned!

Email from NRA HQ