Have gun. Will travel.

     During the course of my 'normal' job I have come across folks in the great state of Tennessee who have had their Tennessee Gun Carry Permit and don't keep their firearm with them when they travel. I always ask them,
"Why not?"

They reply,
"I don't know just never thought about it." is the usual answer.

Firearms are like fire extinguishers and parachutes. If you need any of those items usually you need it right then. If you don't have it you won't ever need it again. Figure it out.

In my 14 years of my current job I have seen several crimes stopped dead cold in their tracks by a responsible person with a firearm. It doesn't always end with a dead body on the ground or at the front door. A good number of times just the pulling out or brandishing the weapon makes folks run away. Works the same way with TASERS. Trust me.

I carry concealed EVERYWHERE I go.  I will not be caught with my pants down and die (or my family) at the hands of some disturbed fuckstick or meth head.

Now Tennessee is a 'Carry' state. You can carry concealed OR Cowboy up (open carry) if you have the permit. I'm not a big fan of Cowboy carry. In my humble opinion (which is like noses) you are opening yourself up to two things. 1. Getting the police called on you a lot. 2. Being the first person shot during a robbery along with the guard. I have had to answer calls where a person had a legally carried firearm but someone freaked out and called the police. FML. Then I have to embarrass a law abiding person by approaching them like an armed suspect and confirm they have a permit. Not how I want to spend my day when they did NOTHING wrong.

As far as concealed carry goes.......... I have been in Walmart on many occasions and can walk down the isles looking a folks going, "Yep they have a pistol. Yep they have a revolver." under clothing that is totally wrong with the method of carry or the method is wrong for the clothing. One of my friends in the profession is maybe 10% body fat. He wears clothing that is form fitting and stylish. He has a devil of a time when we go out carrying his off duty pistol. Now he is using a proper gun and holster for the way he dresses. Not as many issues.

If you have your gun in your truck or car center console and you are in the grocery store what good will that do? "Hold on thar. Let me go get my gun." Last person that said that to me had the business end of my 1911 pointed at them by the time they turned around.

I'll talk about some concealed carry options here in a few days.


From Force Science Institute:
IV. New stats on the growing threat of rapid mass murder
Ron Borsch, who monitors active killing incidents worldwide, has released his latest statistical summary, indicating that the frequency of these bloody events is continuing to escalate and that the interruption of a suspect's murderous rampage is most likely to be initiated by a single citizen or LEO.
Borsch, manager of the Southeast Area Law Enforcement Regional Training Academy in Bedford, OH, tracks what he terms Rapid Mass Murder (RMM): four or more persons slain within 20 minutes in a public place.
He also tallies attempted RMMs: incidents that would likely have reached the four-victim level had they not been aborted. Attempts, he concedes, are a case-by-case judgment call, determined by the number of persons wounded, the weapons and ammunition the offender had, suicide notes, and/or other evidence suggesting apparent intent.
Among Borsch's findings:
• RMMs are at a record high. From 1975 through the Columbine massacre, "successful" and attempted RMMs in the US and abroad averaged one per year. Post-Columbine through 2010, the yearly average was four. Last year there were eight, and the total for 2012 through Thanksgiving was 9.
• Statistically, the most dangerous months are March (23%) and April (16%), with September and December tied at 11%.
• Schools (pre-school through 12th grade) are target 38% of the time; colleges/universities 17%; and churches/religious facilities 10%.
• Intervention occurs to stop the killing in just over half the incidents, Borsch estimates. Of known aborts, two-thirds are accomplished by civilians and one-third by law enforcement.
• Citizens for the most part act unarmed, and eight out of 10 times their intervention is initiated by a single actor. "When law enforcement successfully stops RMM," Borsch reports, "the abort is initiated by a solo officer seven out of 10 times."
• Borsch has found examples of successful two-officer and three-officer intervention on occasion, but he says he has "never been able to objectively document a case where four or more officers acting together in a formation have been able to stop RMM."
The single most important training take-away, in Borsch's opinion: "Agencies need to emphasize single-officer tactics for responding to active-killer threats and de-emphasize or abandon multiple-officer 'posse' exercises, which still persist as a sacred cow in some jurisdictions."

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     Tim Davis, Jr. is a full time law Enforcement Professional, martial arts, and a part time firearms instructor. He has firearms experience spanning over 15 years ranging from several schools in advanced tactical response to time spent in Afghanistan working with their law enforcement program. Tim is the co-owner of Appropriate Action in Englewood TN.

Going for a start

     My father thought I should write a few articles with my experiences on firearms handling and my theories on how they should be used in the world. He has his own website that is popular for Christianity. Another person I know is a budding writer +Mylo Ayjack and has done her own blog. I was inspired. So..... I thought I would give a blog a whirl.

     By no means am I extreme right wing extremest. I don't plan on overthrowing any government either on the federal, state, or local level. Unless........they extend past their constitutional given powers. I am a prepper. However, I'm not like the ones you see on National Geographic. I live in an area that likes to flood and get hit by a good tornado once a year. That is why I do what I do with prepping. Other than that I keep to myself. I am an educator.... By double profession.

     I deal with the public every day I work. Some of urban legends around firearms have been promising at most and scary at its worst. I have seen more than a few people shot by "unloaded" firearms and a few others that have not payed attention to the backstop on their target and have shot through their neighbors home landing a trip to jail for felony reckless endangerment. More than not it is bad decisions and poor training that make firearms owners look ignorant and dangerous. All you gotta to hear on the range is "Hey Tim....check this out." And I know right then I might need to go to my truck and get my trauma kit.

     Moreover, I just want folks to be safe with their firearms. Because in the end it takes just one bad example to give everyone else a bad name.

    

     When I train and teach I follow these rules:

     1. Treat all guns as if they are loaded.
     2. Never point a weapon at anything you don't intend to destroy.
     3. Keep your finger straight, and off the trigger until you are ready to fire.
     4. Be aware of your targets foreground and background

     These rules cover most situations as far as firearms are involved. I use them at work and at home.

___________________________________________________________________________________
     Tim Davis, Jr. is a full time law Enforcement Professional, martial arts, and a part time firearms instructor. He has firearms experience spanning over 15 years ranging from several schools in advanced tactical response to time spent in Afghanistan working with their law enforcement program. Tim is the co-owner of Appropriate Action in Englewood TN.