A Warning

"The United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam." These are our Presidents words to you Americans. However, let me remind you that many who practice Islam ARE MOST CERTAINLY at war with the United States. They hate us and everything we stand for. Even if our President's head is stuck in the sand we must never allow ourselves to be fooled again. We MUST remain vigilant.

Springfield XD 9mm

Chuck Taylor's view of the Springfield XD 9mm:

In the category of small arms, the names of B. Tyler Henry, Hiram Maxim, John Browning and George Luger attained legendary status, as did Sam Colt, Daniel Wesson. John Garand, Eugene Stoner and Mikhail Kalashnikov cast huge shadows in the world of military rifle design, as does Gaston Glock in the world of handguns.

Yet, though on the surface, these men's achievements appear unrelated, they all share one thing in common – they took existing concepts and reshaped them into something whose time had come. And in so doing, they facilitated a quantum leap in technology that elevated the state of the art in their respective endeavors.

So it is with the Vukovic-led Croatian design team engineers who designed Springfield Armory's XD-9 9x19mm pistol. Although they're probably not aware of it, they created something significantly better than anything that came before. Incorporating the best of both Glock and SIG designs with a few new wrinkles thrown in for good measure, the XD-9 is a strong contender for the title of being the first true pistol of the 21st century.

Historically, the XD-9 began life as the HS-2000, which itself was an improved version of I.M. Metalworks (Karlovac, Croatia) HS-95 of 1995. But it actually first appeared as the PHP in 1991, though that particular pistol was fraught with a few quality control problems due to the ongoing Croatian civil war. Vukovic's design team continually refined the PHP and HS-95, correcting its design and metallurgical weaknesses, the final version being designated as the HS-2000. At this point, I'll forego further historic commentary because it would be redundant, since the HS-2000 was covered in detail in a previous issue of COMBAT HANDGUNS. Shortly thereafter, Springfield Armory acquired importation rights and re-designated the weapon as the XD-9.

Sorry Folks!

I'm sorry folks. Sorry I haven't been keeping up posting here or getting around to visit all my blog friends. No excuses. I've just been a little lazy. That and I've been feeding my addiction to Mafia Wars on Facebook. I'll get back to normal soon. Thanks for your patience with me.

The Use of Deadly Force

Take out a $100 bill. Let's make a bet. If I win the bet then I get your $100. If you win the bet then you get to keep your $100. Is that a good bet? That, my friends, is a gun fight. YOU RISK EVERYTHING AND YOU DON'T WIN ANYTHING. YOU JUST GET TO KEEP WHAT YOU HAVE. Gun fights should be avoided like the plague but if you find yourself in a gun fight then you will be happy that you have trained to win. It is not near enough to own a gun. The gun is only the tool. YOU must be the craftsman and know how to use that tool skillfully.

When is it justifiable to use deadly force?

You are universally justified in the use of deadly force when there is a reasonable fear of immediate or otherwise unavoidable danger of death or serious bodily injury to the innocent. All these factors must be present in order to justifiably use deadly force. Lacking any one or more of the key factors will result in a questionable use of deadly force and you will face the criminal and civil consequences.

REMEMBER: Gun fighting is risky business. You risk everything and you don't win anything. At best you just get to keep what you already have. Those of you out there who own guns and carry them for protection I would urge you to get out and train to win.

Focus on the Front Sight

The name Front Sight comes from a shooting technique that focuses on just that. In this technique the most important thing to focus on is the front sight of your gun. As pictured above you should have the front sight completely in perfect focus while the target is blurry. This idea is coupled with learning to have a correct stance and correct grip on your gun. Once your stance and your grip are right you place the front sight on the center of mass of your target as your finger enters the trigger guard and begins to take the slack out of the trigger, align the sights perfectly as you transition your focus to the front sight. Establish a crystal clear focus on the front sight as you smoothly PRESS (not pull) the trigger until you receive a surprise break. For me the difference between me pulling the trigger and me pressing the trigger with an even pressure and letting the pressure build until a surprise break made an enormous difference in the accuracy of my shots.

Front Sight Institute

I had the great privilege of attending Front Sight this past weekend. It is billed as the premiere school for gun handling instruction in the country and having attended a 2-day handgun defense class there I have no arguments with that assessment. Simply put it is an awesome campus with awesome instruction and awesome instructors and range masters. I'll go much farther into their philosophy and my experience there throughout the week.

Happy Birthday Ari and Jessie!!!

Dom Deluise Dies at Age 75

DeLuise generally appeared in comedic parts, although an early appearance (in the movie Fail-Safe as a nervous enlisted airman) showed a possible broader range. His first acting credit was as a regular performer in the television show The Entertainers in 1964. In the 1970s and 1980s, he often co-starred with Burt Reynolds; together they appeared in the films The Cannonball Run and Cannonball Run II, Smokey and the Bandit II, The End, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and All Dogs Go to Heaven. DeLuise was the host of the television show Candid Camera from 1991 to 1992.
TV producer Greg Garrison hired DeLuise to appear as a specialty act on the popular Dean Martin show. DeLuise ran through his "Dominick the Great" routine, a riotous example of a magic act gone wrong, with host Martin as a bemused volunteer from the audience. Dom's catch phrase in broken Italian dialect, No Applause Necessary, Sava to the End. The show went so well that DeLuise was soon a regular on Martin's program, participating in both songs and sketches. Garrison also featured DeLuise in his own hour-long comedy specials for ABC. (Martin was often just off-camera when these were taped, and his distinctive laugh can be heard loud and clear.)
DeLuise was probably best known as a regular in Mel Brooks's films. He appeared in The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Silent Movie, History of the World, Part I, Spaceballs & Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Brooks' late wife, actress Anne Bancroft, directed Dom in Fatso (1980). He also had a cameo in Johnny Dangerously as the Pope, and in Jim Henson's The Muppet Movie as a wayward Hollywood talent agent who comes across Kermit the Frog singing "The Rainbow Connection" in the film's opening scene.
DeLuise exhibited his comedic talents while playing the speaking part of the jailer Frosch in the comedic operetta Die Fledermaus at the Metropolitan Opera. In the production, while the singing was in German, the spoken parts were in English.
An avid cook and author of several books on cooking, in recent years he appeared as a regular contributor to a syndicated home improvement radio show, On The House with The Carey Brothers, giving listeners tips on culinary topics.[4] He also wrote several children's books.