Anatomy of an Active Killer Event

Random Shots

These kind of events happen all too fre-quently, but this one occurred in Southwest-ern Ohio where I live. On September 6, 2018 just after 9 AM, a lone 29-year-old gunman walked into the Fifth-Third Bank Building (the corporate headquarters of the bank and home to several other businesses) in downtown Cincinnati and opened fire. He managed to kill three individuals and wound two more before responding police officers were able to confront and kill him. Right away, gun control advocates, including city officials in Cincinnati, pronounced that immediate actions needed to be taken to enact striker gun laws and chided the Re-publican-controlled state legislature in Co-lumbus for their inaction on this subject and for making Ohio a more dangerous place to live.

The liberal media hoped to get some trac-tion out of this story to advance their anti-gun agenda. They claimed that this was the fifteenth “mass shooting event” in the Cin-cinnati area since 2013. However, they de-fined a “mass shooting event” as one having four or more victims. Although there is no officially-agreed to definition of the term, the Federal government has considered such

events to be one in which four or more peo-ple are killed, not including the perpetrator. As usual, the liberals will use whatever defi-nition best meets their agenda goal. In the fifteen supposed “mass shooting” events in Ohio since 2013, a total of 13 people were killed and 77 were wounded.

As the facts in this specific case emerged, the anti-gun crowd’s enthusiasm began to wane.

• Rather than a dreaded assault rifle, the gunman used a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, which he had legally pur-chased.

• The gunman had “hundreds of rounds” of ammunition with him—actually 200 rounds, although one City Councilman claimed it was 500 rounds—which he carried in their original cartons in a briefcase. He only fired 35 times be-fore his gun jammed and he was killed according to police officials.

• The Hamilton County Prosecutor claimed, “He could have killed over 100 people.” But, he only killed three and wounded two more before being killed himself.

• Rather than being a fanatical conserva-tive “white supremacist” he was His-panic. He was born in Puerto Rico, was raised in Florida and South Caroli-na where he had some minor encoun-ters with law enforcement and had lived in the Cincinnati area since 2015. His ne ighbors descr ibed him as “increasingly bitter and reclusive”.

Once again, the gunman chose a “no guns zone” to carry out his attack. While there were security guards in the building, they were unarmed in accordance with corporate policy. As happens so often, the gunman violated numerous laws to carry out his act of violence.

The killer entered through the building’s loading dock and immediately began firing his pistol. He made his way to the building’s lobby where he was confronted by respond-ing police officers. Three or four officers opened fire on the gunman through the large plate glass windows and doors that opened onto the street, hitting the gunman multiple times, killing him.

Of the three people killed by the gunman, one was a 64-year-old construction superin-tendent working on a project in the building. One victim and the gunman died at the sce-ne. Two other victims died in the hospital. Some of the victims were shot multiple times, including one of those wounded who sustain twelve gunshot wounds.

From the time the killer opened fire until he was killed by the police, less than five minutes elapsed. Given that he only fired 35 times, that means his effective rate of fire was 7-8 rounds per minute. Approximately one-third of the rounds he fired hit just one victim, who survived the attack. Some of the other victims also sustained multiple wounds. It appears the gunman was not shooting indiscriminately but was rather deliberate in firing at the victims he had selected.

The police have been unable to determine a

November/December 2018 Volume 8, Issue 6

Edited and Published by

Gary Evens, Rangemaster and

NRA Certified Firearms Instructor &

Range Safety Officer

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to

keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in Random Shots are those of the author(s), and

do not necessarily represent the positions of any other individual or

organization.

"Like steel, our lives are forged and hammered in adversity, quenched and tempered in experience, and honed on the stones of our lives." — Michael Bane (host of the Outdoor Channel’s Shooting Gallery)

motive for the gunman’s actions. He appar-ently had no connection to Fifth-Third Bank or the other businesses in the building nor did he have any connection to any of his victims.

So, what does this incident show us?

1. The gunman followed existing laws to acquire his firearm and none of the “common-sense” gun laws proposed by liberals would have changed that.

2. The “no guns” policy of Fifth-Third Bank was totally ineffective in protect-ing its employees and others visiting or working in the building.

3. The presence of unarmed security guards was no deterrent in preventing the gunman from gaining access to the facility and carrying out his act.

4. The gunman was finally stopped by armed first responders.

-- G.R. Evens

Part VI: What Did It Cost?

As I stated in Part I of this series of articles, I knew that it was going to cost me more to build my AR pistol than it would to acquire one already assembled. While I did try to

keep the cost low by acquiring needed parts when they were on sale, etc., I also had some specific preferences regarding some of the components and that resulted in paying more for those items than a “generic” part would have cost. The table below shows the breakdown of costs for the basic pistol.

I paid retail prices for the items I used. Someone who makes up AR pistols as a business can get volume discounts on the components they use and thus sell the com-pleted pistols at a lower cost.

Not included in the table is the cost of my Sig Sauer Romeo 5 red-dot optic or the costs of the various tools and fixtures that I needed to assemble my AR pistol. The Sig sight cost about $200 and the other items needed for assembly came to about $170. Estimated in the table is the cost of a bolt carrier group for my AR pistol since I have not purchased one for it and am still using the bolt carrier group from my regular AR carbine in it for now. Add another $65 for the gunsmithing work that Fern Hill Cus-toms did for me and you will see that the total cost of my AR pistol is around $1,470.

Was it worth it? Well, what do you think!

-- G.R. Evens

2018 NDR League

Results

It has been 5 years now that I have been competing in a summer .22 caliber bullseye pistol league—the NDR League—at the Greene County Fish and Game Association. My overall average scores have been steadi-ly, but slowly, improving over that time. While the improvement is not as much as it could be, I am satisfied given my age and my eyesight. Officially, my average score this year was 445.7 out of a possible 500 points over 14 separate range sessions. This is an improvement of 5.8 points over last year’s average, and an improvement of 13.1 points compared to what I was shooting on average when I started competing in this league in 2014.

My overall score this year was somewhat hindered by switching guns four weeks into the competition. I started out shooting my High Standard Supermatic Military Citation with iron sights—the same gun that I used last year. I switched to my Ruger Mark III Hunter, the gun I used in 2016, but I

Page 2 Random Shots Volume 8, I ssue 6

Component Use Unit Cost Tax Total Sub-Total

Anderson Mfg Stripped Lower Assembly Lower Assembly 49.99$ 3.37$ 53.36$

CMMG Gunbuilder's Lower Parts Kit Lower Assembly 38.95$ 2.63$ 41.58$

ATI AR Pistol Buffer Tube Assembly Lower Assembly 49.99$ 3.37$ 53.36$

Spike's Tactical ST-T2 Heavy Weight Buffer Lower Assembly 37.95$ 2.56$ 40.51$

Receiver End Plate Lower Assembly 10.77$ 0.73$ 11.50$

Hogue AR Pistol Grip Lower Assembly 24.99$ 1.69$ 26.68$

MagPul Enhanced Trigger Guard Lower Assembly 8.50$ 0.57$ 9.07$ 236.07$

Bolt Carrier Group Upper Assembly 225.00$ 15.19$ 240.19$

Radian Raptor-LT AR-15/M16 Ambidextrous Charging Handle Upper Assembly 56.95$ 3.84$ 60.79$

Anderson Mfg Stripper Upper Receiver Upper Assembly 75.00$ 5.06$ 80.06$

Stoner AR 10.5" Stainless Steel Barrel (1:8 twist) Upper Assembly 81.99$ 5.53$ 87.52$

3-Prong Flash Hider Upper Assembly 11.99$ 0.81$ 12.80$

Carbine-length Gas Tube Upper Assembly 14.99$ 1.01$ 16.00$

MI Micro Low Profile Gas Block Upper Assembly 39.99$ 2.70$ 42.69$

Blackhawk Rail-mounted Thumb Rest Upper Assembly 18.99$ 1.28$ 20.27$

MagPul MBUS Flip-up Front Sight Upper Assembly 37.99$ 2.56$ 40.55$

MagPul MBUS Flip-up Rear Sight Upper Assembly 54.99$ 3.71$ 58.70$

Diamondhead USA 8.5" Handguard Upper Assembly 129.00$ 8.71$ 137.71$ 797.29$

TOTAL COST: 968.02$ 65.34$ 1,033.36$

changed the red-dot optic on it from the Burris Fastfire III to a Vortex Crossfire. (I had originally obtained the Vortex red-dot optic for my AR-15 pistol project, but de-cided to use a SIG Romeo 5 on that one instead.) The Vortex sight has a little larger viewing “window” than the Burris optic has, but it also rides a little higher above the bore than the other sight did.

I still struggle finding the red dot sometimes as I bring the gun up into my line of sight. I am sure this is partially a result of the red-dot optics blocking the view of my front sight. Because of this, I am unable to co-witness my iron sights and to use them to get the initial alignment with the target.

About halfway through the season, I re-placed the standard Ruger trigger system in my Mark III Hunter with a Volquartsen one, but after a couple of weeks using it, I decid-ed to switch back to the Ruger trigger shoe itself. (I also retained the factory-installed slide release rather than using the extended one that is part of the Volquartsen kit). I did keep the new Volquartsen sear, hammer, and springs in the gun—they are smoother and I feel they did help improve my scores this year once I completed the modification to my gun.

Once again, I used 36 grain CCI Mini-Mag Copper Plated Hollow Point .22 Long Rifle ammunition in my pistols for this competi-tion.

With each range session I learn a little bit more about what I need to do to improve. My most dramatic improvements came to-wards the end of the season when I changed my technique. On the “slow fire” course I used to bring the pistol up into my line of sight and fire two rounds before lowing the gun to the low ready position again. To-wards the end of the season I changed to only firing one round each time I brought the gun up. I also concentrated on exhaling as I brought the gun up from the low ready position and held my breath as I aligned the red dot on the target and fired the shot. Still another change I made was to keep both eyes open rather than closing my non-dominant eye as I do when shooting guns with iron sights. With a red-dot optic, I can focus my vision on the target instead of the front sight, as I do when shooting with iron sights, but it did take some getting used to.

As a result of these changes, my accuracy improved considerably. During one of the last range sessions half of my shots—15 out

of 30—were in the 10-ring when I was shooting from 25 yards, with 10 of my shots being in the X-ring! Earlier in the season I managed to get 19 out of 30 into the 10-ring with 8 of those going into the X-ring. I managed to get 16—4 in the X-ring—out of 20 rounds into the 10-ring from 15 yards at the last shoot of the season.

Before I started using the Ruger, I sighted-in the Vortex red-dot using a benchrest posi-tion. However, shooting off-hand is not the same so I found myself adjusting the optic to get my rounds hitting closer to where I wanted them to when shooting using a two-handed grip from a standing position. To-wards the end of the season I got the gun “dialed in” to where I liked the results. I was now able to get more consistent hits on the center of the target at the 25 yard dis-tance (for the “slow fire” portion) by hold-ing the red dot on the center “X” on the target. At the shorter 15 yard distance (for the “rapid fire” portion”) I held the red-dot at the top of the X-ring.

At the end of the season after the last shoot, I went back to the range to see where my rounds were hitting at 25 yards when shoot-ing using a benchrest, i.e., the same set-up I used earlier in the year to sight-in the Vortex red-dot optic. The photo below shows where my hits were. My point of aim was the center of the lower black square. The

grid on the target is in -inch squares. Thus

my red dot is now pointed about 1-inches higher than when I sighted it in from the benchrest earlier in the year. (I did confirm that the gun is still hitting where I want it to when shooting offhand with a two-hand grip.)

I finished in 18th place this year, out of 29 shooters that completed the season—last year I was 14th out of 24. Even though my average score improved a lot—for me—so did the scores of most of the other shooters and we had a few new shooters this year that shot very well.

The top shooter in the league this year had an average score of 491.9 points! Last year this same individual had the top score with an average of 494.8 out of 500. The individ-ual that finished just ahead of me in the standings this year had an average score of 450.5 so I need to really up my game to pass him next year. My high score this year was 460 points, while my lowest score was 415 (at the practice session at the start of the season). My best “slow fire” score was 282 (out of 300)—about mid-way through the season—and my best “rapid fire” score was 193 (out of 200)—during the final shoot of the year. For some reason when I shoot well on the “slow fire” course, (30 rounds in 10 minutes or less at 25 yards) my scores on the “rapid fire” portion (four 5-shot stings each fired in 10 seconds or less each at 15 yards) were less than I hoped for and vice versa. I definitely need to improve my con-sistency. My average “X-count” this year was 6.0, down by 0.1 from last year. My best “X-count” for the year was 12 and my worst was 2 over the 50 round course of fire.

The majority of shooters in the NDR League use Ruger Mark-series pistols, pri-marily Target, Hunter, and Competition models. A few are shooting the S&W Vic-tory 22, with even fewer using other models of .22 pistols like High Standard, Browning, etc. Most shooters use an optic of some sort, with just a few using iron sights. (The individual that had the highest average score using iron sights—463.2—finished in 13th place overall.)

During the off-season I am going to con-centrate on improving my arm strength so that I am able to hold the gun steadier on the target for a longer time. I’ll also need to spend more time on the practice range be-fore league competition begins next year. We’ll see how that works out.

-- G.R. Evens

What is the Best Brand of Handgun to

Buy?

I own a lot of different handguns and am sometimes asked what I think the best brand to buy is by individuals looking to purchase their first handgun. I have or have

Page 3 Random Shots Volume 8, I ssue 6

had handguns made by Beretta, Browning, Colt, Glock, High Standard, Kimber, Ruger, Smith & Wesson, SIG-Sauer, Taurus, Wal-ther, and Uberti, plus a couple of less-well know makers. Each manufacturer has its strengths and weaknesses. Most of them produce quality handguns, but a couple sac-rifice some quality to keep prices down. Some of my handguns are based on designs that are over 100 years old. Some were made in the years before World War II.

Whenever anyone asks me which brand is best, I need to ask some questions such as the following:

• What is the handgun to be used for?

• Will someone else also be using this handgun?

• Are you considering purchasing a re-volver or a semi-automatic pistol?

• What caliber are you considering?

• How much are you looking to spend on this handgun?

The answer to the first question is probably the most important because it gives me a lot of information about size, reliability, etc. It also gives me some idea of what the answers to the other questions might be. For in-stance, if the gun is to be used for personal protection/home defense, then it needs to be absolutely reliable and needs to be pow-erful enough to deal with likely threats. This usually means it needs to be chambered in .38 Special/9mm Luger as a minimum. It also means that I can rule out guns cham-bered for cartridges like the .454 Casul1, .500 S&W, etc. Unless the individual lives in Alaska and needs to protect themselves from grizzly bears or “velociraptors” these large-caliber handguns are too powerful and too big in size to be considered for use.

On the other hand, if the gun is to be used for recreational purposes—target shooting, small game hunting, plinking, cowboy action shooting, 3-Gun/USPSA/IDPA competi-tion, etc.—then it does not have to be as reliable as a personal protection gun does, and it can probably be chambered for small-er calibers like the .22 Long Rifle, or more specialized calibers optimized to the specific use of the gun. (Those that participate in competitive shooting sports will probably argue that their guns need to be absolutely reliable, but their lives are not depending on the reliability of their guns and they typically have made modifications to their guns to

enable them to shoot as fast as possible and with a specific type of ammunition.)

I own several Glocks. They are extremely reliable—nearly indestructible—and I shoot them fairly well, but they are not my favorite guns. They are more “utilitarian” in nature. For some reason, I shoot my SIG-Sauer handguns very well, but they are expensive and tend to be on the larger size—at least the ones that I own—when it comes to con-cealed carry. I love my Colts, but they tend to have limited ammunition capacity and old designs. Ruger makes great recreational guns that are also relatively inexpensive. I have several of their Mark-series .22 pistols that I enjoy shooting. While Ruger also makes personal protection handguns, they are not the first thing I grab except when I need a very small gun to carry like their .380 ACP-caliber LCP II model or when I want to carry one of their M1911 clones. I have a Ruger SR9c, but I’m in the process of selling it. It is a great gun, but I cannot say it is better (or worse) than my Glock G19 or G26 for concealed carry use so why hang onto it.

I did have a .22 caliber Taurus double-action revolver, but it had a “gritty” action and when I discovered the Ruger SP-101 in the same caliber and capacity, I quickly got rid of the Taurus.

Smith & Wesson makes great double-action revolvers—probably the best available to-day—, and their striker-fired semi-automatic M&P guns are excellent. I used to have an M&P chambered in .40 S&W, but got rid of it as I disliked the sharp recoiling caliber. I also got rid of a Glock G23 in the same caliber for the same reason. Now all of my M&Ps (and Glocks) are chambered in 9mm Luger. I especially like the M&P M2.0 Compact with the 4-inch barrel. It is the same size as the Glock G19 and I can shoot it very well. When I need a high-capacity carry gun, this is what I grab these days ra-ther than the G19.

If you are into Cowboy Action Shooting, Colt, Ruger, and Uberti make single-action revolvers that are suitable for use. Howev-er, the Colts are way to expensive—but I’d still love to add one to my handgun collec-tion.

So, which brand is best? Below are my thoughts—based on the guns I have or have shot—, and on their quality. You may chose differently, especially if budget is your main consideration.

• Concealed Carry — Smith & Wesson M&P or Glock

• Home Defense — SIG-Sauer, Colt, Smith & Wesson, Ruger, or Glock

• Small-bore (.22 caliber) Target Shooting — High Standard (but they are no longer being made) or Ruger

• Large-bore Target Shooting — Colt

• Cowboy Action Shooting — Ruger or Uberti

• Plinking/Small Game Hunting — Ruger

• Handgun Collecting — guns that are over 30 years old and/or that were pro-duced in very limited numbers by any of the manufactures

So there you have my thoughts. You will notice that I did not mention Springfield Armory, Kahr Arms, or Remington. I have shot most of them but found they do not have anything unique that the other manu-facturers that I have listed do make availa-ble. As a result, I have not chosen to pur-chase any of their handgun products—yet.

If I could only have one personal protec-tion/home defense handgun and one recrea-tional handgun, they would be the Smith & Wesson M&P M2.0 Compact in 9mm Lu-ger—but this is a personal preference over the Glock G19, which has greater parts availability and is a little easier for the user to maintain—and a Ruger Mark IV (Hunter, Competition, or Target Model) in .22 LR.

-- G.R. Evens

Page 4 Random Shots Volume 8, I ssue 6

I do not blindly accept every handgun tech-nique that I am taught, even if the instructor (and thus advocate) of the technique is a well-respected firearms expert. Some of my friends tell me this is because I analyze eve-rything and if it doesn’t make logical sense to me I will question something until it is adequately explained and if I feel that expla-nation is not adequate, I will find something else that does make sense to me! This time the topic of discussion is whether you should look at your handgun and holster as you re-holster your gun following a confron-tation (or as part of a training drill).

A couple of the instructors that I’ve had advocate not looking. They indicate that you should develop enough muscle memory through repetitive practice that you can ac-complish the task safely without looking. Some of the explanations that I’ve heard for needing to do this include the example of a police officer re-holstering his handgun in order to secure (i.e., handcuff) a suspect. In that instance, the officer needs to keep the suspect continually under observation and cannot afford to look away for even a mo-ment until that suspect is secured lest the suspect launch a sudden attack or try to escape while the officer is distracted. I can buy that explanation, but only if you are a police officer performing your duties! But, I also ques-tion whether police officers are exclusively focused on the suspect to the exclusion of everything else. Instead I think they also are looking around to make sure none of the suspect’s accomplices are trying to intervene to help the suspect escape. Thus the officer will divert their attention away from the suspect for a moment or two.

Since most of us are not police officers, we have no role in securing suspects—that is the job of the police after they arrive on the scene. To break our “tunnel vision”, we are told that we should scan the area all around us to make sure that there are no additional threats before we re-holster our handguns. If there are no additional threats then we can safely re-holster. If there are additional threats then we need to move to confront them or move to a place of safety.

Another example I’ve been told that sup-ports re-holstering without looking is that we may need to secure a bystander or family member by moving them to safety and thus

we should keep our focus on them as we re-holster. Again, I don’t buy this. The need to secure the bystander/family member is not so great after the threat has been stopped that we can’t take the time to look around and at our holster before slowly re-inserting our handgun into it. And, if the threat is still present, we should not be re-holstering our handgun!

I tend to agree with the logic of some other well-respected firearms instructors that say you should always look as you re-holster your handgun because it is during the re-holstering process that the vast majority of unintentional discharges occur. The trigger can get caught on something as the gun reenters the holster if there are any obstruc-tions, especially when striker-fired handguns are involved—and that “obstruction” could be your own finger still on the trigger. The logic of these instructors continues that if there is still a threat in your immediate vicin-ity, you should not be re-holstering your handgun, and if there is no threat present then there is no harm in taking a moment to look at your holster as you slowly put your gun back into it. They also point out that those individuals that carry their handguns in an appendix holster or pocket holster must exercise additional caution to avoid shooting themselves as they go about the re-holstering process.

So where does this instance on not looking come from? Some of it is because many firearms instructors come from a law en-forcement background and that is the way they were trained. They bring with them many of the biases, intended and un-intended, from that background. Some in-structors have a strong martial arts back-ground. In many of the Japanese (Samurai)-based martial arts re-holstering a handgun without looking is done for the same reason that Samurai warriors returned their swords to their scabbards without looking. Howev-er, I get a sense that this is more “ceremonial theater” than a practical appli-cation in today’s world. It looks good, and it follows the martial arts tradition of not questioning the logic of the founders of the various arts, but is it safe, especially in the context of a high stress aftermath of a vio-lent encounter that we face today?

As instructors, it is our responsibility to question every technique that we teach. The majority of our students won’t because they don’t know any better. For most of them we may be the only one they ever receive

instruction in the proper use of firearms from. Therefore it is vital that everything we teach is placed in the context of what the student needs to survive a violent encounter that involves the use of firearms and not teach them techniques that have a very nar-row and specific application—save those for the students that work in those narrow areas and have need of those specific techniques.

-- G.R. Evens

Random Shots

[Editor’s Note: The author of this article is not qualified or authorized to give legal advise. You should always consult with an attorney knowledgea-ble about your local firearms laws if you have legal questions.] Occasionally a reader of this newsletter will send me some questions. Usually they have to do with what they need to do to renew their CHL permits, get a replacement course certificate, about an upcoming class, etc. However, recently one reader sent me some really good questions that I thought were worth sharing with you all.

Q1: When carrying in my vehicle, must my weapon be on my person to be legal, or may it be in a door pocket, on or beneath my seat or such?

A1: With your Ohio CHL, you may transport your handgun in your vehicle in any manner that you chose—it does not have to be on your person. When Ohio’s concealed carry law was first enacted in 2004, there was a requirement that a hand-gun in your vehicle had to be on your per-son, but this requirement was dropped from the law a few years later. It should also be noted that the only “weapon” Ohio’s con-cealed carry law applies to are handguns. You are not permitted to carry a loaded rifle or shotgun in your vehicle at any time. It is strongly recommended that you keep your gun secured in some manner so it does not slide around or get tossed if you stop or accelerate suddenly. Per the booklet published by the Attorney General, Ohio’s Concealed Carry Laws and License Application (see page 11-14), “A concealed handgun license holder may transport a loaded, con-cealed handgun in a motor vehicle. You may not have a loaded handgun in the vehicle if you are under the influence of drugs or alco-hol…WARNING: A handgun should al-

Page 5 Random Shots Volume 8, I ssue 6

ways be carried safely and securely. It should be carried so it is not accessible to unauthor-ized persons. If you are planning on carrying a concealed handgun while driving, have your concealed carry license and another piece of valid government identification in your possession.” [Statutory Reference(s): ORC 2923.16(E) governs how licensees may transport loaded concealed handguns in motor vehicles. ORC 2923.16(B) and (C) govern how firearms must be otherwise transported in a vehicle.] You can always review the latest information on Ohio’s fire-arms laws by going to the Buckeye Firearms Association website: https://

www.buckeyefirearms.org/ohio-ccw-information-center.

Q2: In your writings you tell of handgun shoot-ing accuracy at comparatively long distances. Is this consistent with the definitions of self-defense? (My biggest concern is with home in-vasion situations, wherein the distances will be close and the idea of self-defense unquestiona-ble.)

A2: The vast majority of self defense shoot-ings occur at distances of 5 yards or less so that is where you should practice your shooting most of the time. Within your home, you should be able to accurately shoot at the longest distances you have in your home. This would usually be down a hallway or across your largest room. I be-lieve you should be capable of hitting a 10” by 12” target at distances out to 25 yards, so some practicing should be done at those longer distances as well—think about situa-tions you may encounter when you are out-side of your home and train occasionally to deal with them as well.

Q3: We have seen an amusing video of a cou-ple of punks being chased out of an apparently old folks environment by an elderly fellow with a handgun. The question is, once the aforemen-tioned punks have turned their backs to flee, does this not change the “self-defense” scenario?

A3: As soon as they turn their backs to flee you are no longer justified if you shoot at them—assuming they are not shooting be-hind themselves at you as they flee. If they are fleeing from your residence, you won’t be criticized if you follow them to where you can tell they have left. It would be good to be able to tell the police what direction they fled in, a description of their vehicle, etc. Keeping your gun with you while you do this is probably a good idea if they

should suddenly return, but you do not want to have a gun in your hands when the police arrive.

Q4: I have a plastic cup with some unidentified cartridges that I do not know what to do with. Do you have any means of disposing of them?

A4: Probably the easiest way to dispose of your unidentifiable ammunition is to contact your local police department. They’ll either come by and pick it up from you or have you drop it off at their office. There are other ways of disposing of old ammunition, but unless you have some training and knowledge in how to do it, you should not attempt it. Just let your local police do it for you.

I hope you find these answers helpful. If any other readers of Random Shots have any questions, send them along to me at the e-mail address I use to send out the newslet-ter. I’ll get a response out to you individual-ly and if appropriate I’ll publish your ques-tions and my responses in a future edition of this newsletter.

-- G.R. Evens

The Fine Art of Aiming

When you aim your gun at a target, what part of the target do you aim at? This may sound like a silly question, but it has im-portant implications. Most novice shooters would respond that they aim at the target. Instead they should say they aim at a “point” in the exact center of the target. And, that “point” is where they aim every shot. Instead a lot of new shooters aim their next shot near where the last bullet hole appears in the target or in the opposite direction so their next bullet hole will appear closer to the center of the target—in other words, they chase their hits all over the tar-get, never getting any sort of “group”. (A “group” is a cluster of bullet holes near the

same point on the target.)

Only by aiming each shot at the same point will they be able to shoot a group of shots that allows them and their instructor to de-termine whether they are making any aiming errors or if the sights on the gun are proper-ly adjusted. On the other hand, if they are just aiming at the target, their hits are likely to be all over the place and you won’t be able to tell what kind of aiming errors they are making or what kind of sight adjust-ments may be required.

The more precisely you aim your gun, the greater the probability will be that your hits will be on the target at or near the point you are aiming at. Mel Gibson, in his movie The Patriot (about the American Revolutionary War) perhaps said it best—“Aim small, miss small”. What you are trying to do is create a “group” of hits on the target. The smaller this group is, the better for diagnosing aim-ing errors. It is not important initially for the hits to be in the center of the target.

In this example, the hits on the target are clustered to the left and above the center of the target—i.e. the “10” in the very center. This could be caused by two things; 1.) The sights may need to be adjusted to move the hits lower and to the right by adjusting the rear sight in that direction if your gun has ad-justable sights, or 2.) It could mean that the shooter is holding the front sight too high in the rear sight notch and applying unequal pressure to the right side of the gun forcing the barrel to move slightly to the left as each shot is fired. Most likely it will be a result of the shooter’s technique and not the gun’s sights. The only way to confirm that the sights need adjustment is to have someone else shoot the gun by aiming at the same center point and seeing if their hits appear in the same place as your hits appeared. If

Page 6 Random Shots Volume 8, I ssue 6

they do, then it would probably be okay to adjust the sights—assuming they can be adjusted. Otherwise, you need to focus more on your grip and sight alignment/sight picture to correct the aiming error.

So if aiming at the center of the target is important, why don’t we mark that point on the targets we use when we teach handgun courses? The answer is because we are teaching defensive shooting, not target shooting. As a result, the shooter, especially the novice shooter, needs to get used to being able to hit the target without having a precise aiming point on it to shoot at. A paper plate represents a target about the same size as the high center chest area on a human. That is the area that you need to be able to hit in order to have a good chance of stopping an assailant and that area is much smaller than the entire human body is as a target area.

The below chart shows some of the causes of common aiming/trigger control/gripping errors. To use this chart as a tool to diag-nose errors, you must be able to shoot groups.

The target depicted above applies for right-handed shooters. A mirror-image of this target would be used for left-handed shoot-ers.

If you want to become a more accurate shooter with your handgun, you need to learn how to visualize your point of aim and to hold your sights on that point as you press your handgun’s trigger to fire the shot.

-- G.R. Evens

Part I: My Background with

Ruger Guns

I own more guns made by Ruger than any other brand. Indeed, the first gun I ever bought was a brand new .22-caliber Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic carbine that I paid less than $70 for in the summer of 1971. A few years later, another Ruger—a .22-caliber Super Single Six—became the first single-action revolver that I acquired. Since then I have acquired many more Rugers for my “collection”. I like Rugers because of sever-al factors including:

• They are the largest firearms manufac-turer in the United States.

• They have made a wider range of fire-arms—handguns, rifles, and shot-guns—than any other current US man-ufacturer. (They do not currently make any shotguns, but they hope to resume production as soon as they can.)

• I like the design features and aesthetics of Ruger firearms.

• They are high-quality firearms that are reasonably priced.

I own at least one Ruger firearm in just about every category that they make; semi-automatic pistols, single-action revolvers, double-action revolvers, semi-automatic rifles, bolt-action rifles, and a classic over-and-under shotgun. About the only catego-ries of Ruger guns that I don’t own—yet—are their single-shot rifles and their black powder firearms.

Ruger has always been an innovator when it comes to understanding what the public likes and building guns to match those likes.

The first gun made by William B. Ruger when he and Alexander Sturm formed Sturm, Ruger, & Company in 1949 was a .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol that somewhat resembled the German Luger and the Japa-nese Nambu, war souvenirs that every GI coming home from World War II wished they had. That first model has evolved over the years, but the basic design has been in continuous production for 70 years now. A few years later Ruger brought out a single-action .22-caliber rimfire revolver that tapped into the public’s interest in the Old West in the 1950’s and 60’s. Later they would scale up this design by introducing the centerfire Blackhawk series of single-action revolvers. Once again, these guns in both rimfire and centerfire have been in continuous production since they were first introduced, and sales remain strong.

In 1964, Ruger introduced their innovative rimfire 10/22 carbine with it’s 10-shot rota-ry magazine. That gun has also been in con-tinuous production since it was introduced and is the most popular .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle in the world with more than 5 million produced. They also introduced a version chambered in .22 WMR for a few years, and they had a version that fired the .44 Remington Magnum cartridge. For a while, Ruger produced a lever-action version of the 10/22, known as the Model 96. Over the years, I have owned three 10/22s. I traded the one I bought in 1971, along with some cash, to get a Winchester Model 94 lever-action rifle around 1991, but a few years later I replaced it—at almost double the price I paid in 1971. My new 10/22 was not the same quality as my original one was. It functioned just as reliably and was just as accurate, but the walnut stock had been replaced with some other variety of wood that was stained to look like it was walnut, and the buttplate and barrel band were made out of plastic instead of steel like on the original. (I have modified this gun exten-sively since then and today you could hardly recognize it. The only original factory parts on it are the receiver and bolt assembly.) I got a second 10/22—a Deluxe Model—in 2007 that does have a walnut stock and a nice rubber buttpad. Both of these guns are very accurate shooters.

I got that .22-caliber Super Single Six revolv-

Page 7 Random Shots Volume 8, I ssue 6

er in the summer of 1979—with a 5½-inch barrel and interchangeable cylinders ena-bling me to shoot both .22 Long Rifle and .22 WMR cartridges in it. It has proven to be a very handy and accurate handgun, especially with the magnum cylinder fitted in it and firing .22 WMR cartridges. I have dispatched more pests (snakes and rodents) around the various homes I’ve lived in with this gun over the years than with any other firearm I own.

In 1973, Ruger introduced their Mini-14 rifle chambered in .223 Remington/5.56 NATO. It would be over 40 years before I decided to add one to my collection of Ruger firearms. It is a handy utility rifle, the kind you would throw in a gun rack in the rear window of your pick-up truck if you lived in the rural areas in the western half of the United States.

In 1978, Ruger brought out a sleek 20 gauge over-and-under shotgun, the Red Label, and of course I had to get one of those as well—which I did in 1982. At the time I pur-chased it, it was the most expensive firearm that I owned. It has been a great lightweight field gun that unfortunately I don’t get to use very often. Ruger is not currently mak-ing any shotguns, which is a shame because the ones they have made have all had ele-gant lines and were quick-handling.

When Ruger brought out their rimfire 77/22 bolt-action rifle in 1983, I just had to have one of those—I did in 1984. Several years later (in 1999) I bought another one cham-bered in .22 WMR and still later (in 2011) I bought a 77/357 Model when they upgrad-ed the 77/22 design to handle pistol-caliber centerfire cartridges (.357 S&W Magnum and .44 Remington Magnum). That 77/357 is an excellent deer rifle for here in Ohio where only straight-wall cartridge rifles as allowed for hunting. The .22 WMR rifle that I have is the second most proficient eliminator of pests around my yard, especial-ly when loaded with “shotshells”.

When I got involved in Cowboy Action Shooting, it was Ruger that I turned to first for my single-action revolver needs. My first one was a Bisley-Vaquero Model with a 5½-inch barrel and chambered in .45 Colt that I bought in late 1999. (Since I needed two revolvers to compete, I also got a Colt Single-Action Army clone made by Uberti with a 7½-inch barrel.) In 2000, I bought a Ruger Vaquero with a 4¾-inch barrel and chambered in .357 Magnum to use instead of the Uberti. When the Ruger introduced their New Vaquero Model single-action revolvers, I got one, chambered in .45 Colt, of the first ones to become available in my local area in December 2004. I liked the handling characteristics of the New Vaquer-os so decided to standardize on that model, but in .357 Magnum, for my use in cowboy competitions starting in 2006. To finance this change, I sold my “old” model Vaquero, my Bisley-Vaquero (which I have come to regret), and that New Vaquero in .45 Colt.

In 2009, I purchased my first Ruger double-action revolver, a 3-inch barrel SP-101 chambered in .327 Federal Magnum. A couple of years later (in 2012) I bought an-other SP-101, chambered in .22 Long Rifle, for use in handgun classes that I was teach-ing at the time.

In 2010, I got my first centerfire Ruger semi-automatic pistol, an SR9c Model cham-bered in 9mm Luger. It was a great con-cealed carry firearm that I used very success-fully during several firearms classes that I took. I decided to sell this gun when I ac-quired and started using other brands of self-defense handguns like my Glocks and S&W M&P pistols. A few years later when Ruger came out with their SR1911 Model—upgraded clones of the Colt Model 1911—I jumped at the chance to add them to my collection. I currently own a 5-inch “Government” model (acquired in 2011) and a 4-inch “Commander” model (acquired in 2013).

In 2009, Ruger entered the AR rifle market with the introduction of their SR556 Model. This gun featured a gas piston rather than the regular gas impingement system used in most AR-style rifles. I got mine as soon as I saw one at a local gun shot. When I did, this became the most expensive firearm that I owned. It is a great rifle, but a little on the heavy side when you have to lug it around all day.

In 2011, Ruger rocked the bolt-action rifle

world when they introduced their Gunsite Scout Model chambered in .308 Winchester. I got mine in 2012. This is a great general-purpose rifle and it basically revived the scout rifle concept that was originated by Col Jeff Cooper.

In 2015, Ruger once again rocked the rifle world with the introduction of their Preci-sion Rifle, designed for long-range shooting. I got one chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor in 2016. It is by far the most accurate rifle that I own.

Over the years, several other Ruger guns of various models and types have passed through my hands. I still own many and will no doubt add even more as Ruger continues to introduce new and innovate designs. One Ruger that I would love to get, but will probably never have the opportunity, is their 12-gauge Gold Label side-by-side shotgun. These were only made for a couple of years, were relatively expensive, and Ruger had several problems with the design that led to them halting production.

I have not been a fan of some of the fire-arms that Ruger has made over the years. I did not like their P-series centerfire semi-automatic pistols because their lines look “clunky” to me. I do not like their small LC9 or LC380 pocket pistols because of their long and heavy double-action trigger pulls. I also did not like the .380 ACP LCP model for the same reason but have subse-quently acquired an LCP II when they made upgrades to that original model that ad-dressed most of my concerns—it is not my favorite handgun, but there are times when it is the only thing that is practical to carry concealed. I also don’t like the design of the cylinder on their small LCR pocket revolv-ers although I do like their smooth double-action trigger pull. I don’t own any exam-ples of their larger centerfire double-action revolvers like the GP100 or Redhawk mod-els—again their lines are just not as pleasing to the eye as I would like.

My latest obsession with Ruger guns, how-

ever, is their original .22-caliber semi-

automatic pistol. They will be the subject of

future articles in this series.

-- G.R. Evens

Page 8 Random Shots Volume 8, I ssue 6

First Impressions

During a recent Hojutsu range session, one of my fellow students brought along a rather unique firearm for us to look at and try out—a 12-gauge Kel-Tec KSG bullpup pump-action shotgun.

The unique design of this shotgun definitely puts it in the “tactical” category. Because of its bullpup design, the gun’s overall length is just over 26-inches and it weighs just under 7 lbs. It has an 18.5-inch barrel, dual tubular magazines that hold six (3-inch) rounds each or seven 2¾-inch rounds each (plus one round in the chamber), downward ejection, and ambidextrous controls. The user manu-ally switches between the two tubular maga-zines, but this enables you to load one type of ammunition—buckshot for instance—in one of the magazines and slugs or birdshot in the other. Many of the gun’s parts are made of plastic polymer, which contributes to the gun’s light weight. Other versions are available with longer barrels, etc.

Kel-Tec introduced the KSG in 2011. The first-generation guns experienced some reli-ability issues, but Kel-Tec addressed those by releasing a second-generation model (and for owners of first-generation guns, offered to upgrade them at no cost). The KSG that I shot was equipped with a TruGlo red-dot reflex sight and a combination vertical grip/weapons light on the fore end.

I only shot three rounds through the gun when it came my turn to shoot it. My target was one of the silhouette targets we had been using earlier to shoot at with our pis-tols. I stood about seven yards away, pumped the action to load a round into the chamber and pulled the trigger. “Click” was all I heard. I pumped the action again and got another “click”. It was at this point that the owner of the gun realized she had placed the magazine tube selector switch in the wrong position. That was quickly resolved, and it was “yee-haw” time as I quickly fired the three rounds that had been loaded into the gun. They went right into the target where I was aiming, cutting large holes in the paper.

I do like shooting shotguns, but this one

was a little surprising. Contributing to the “significant” felt recoil was the fact that the gun does not weigh that much and the recoil forces come straight back into the shoulder rather than rotating the gun upwards like occurs with most shotguns. This design makes follow-up shots quicker as less move-ment is needed to get the sights back on target. At least I didn’t have a bruised shoulder the next day. A ticker rubber re-coil pad would probably help tame the re-coil. I also noted that the integrated vertical grip/light smacked into the top fingers on my hand holding onto the vertical grip dur-ing recoil.

The KSG is not for everyone. It is a reason-able home defense gun, but it would be dif-ficult to use in a hunting scenario. They are a little pricey, with an MSRP of $990 for the model that I shot—plus the cost of the re-flex sight and vertical grip/weapons light. Retail prices are probably lower, but I have-n’t seen any in the gun stores that I frequent so I can’t say.

-- G.R. Evens

Random Shots Reading List

This next book on my list was given to me as a gift by one of my advanced firearms students. I do have to admit that I struggled getting through it though. It isn’t that the author and/or material is boring, but that it caused me to do a lot of thinking while I was reading the material, trying to figure out what I agreed with and what I disagreed with.

Gavin de Becker’s The Gift of Fear: And Other Survival Signals That Protect Us From Violence was on the New York Times bestseller list for four months when it first came out in 1997 and was a #1 Nation-al Bestseller, pub-lished in many differ-ent languages around the world. It has consistently been a bestseller over the years on the topic of violence in society, abuse, and personal safe-ty. The book’s main focus is on how indi-viduals should trust their “gut instinct” to help them avoid violence situations. The

author presents a series of warning signs in the book that he says should be “red flags” in various situations. He applies these warn-ing signs to various interpersonal relation-ships between individuals, in the workplace, etc. He then goes on to indicate how heed-ing these warning signs can help individuals and organizations avoid future violence.

I did have trouble with some of his recom-mendations. For instance, in the case of a stalker, he indicates simply ignoring them might be the best strategy to follow. How-ever, ignoring them might mean the stalker is lurking around for years. Another strate-gy might be to confront them, hoping that will become a deterrent to future stalking efforts. He indicates that sometimes con-frontation works, but other times it does not. The problem is that you won’t know which strategy works at first and once you chose the confrontation strategy if it fails you cannot go back and simply ignore the stalker. (I suspect some of his recommen-dations are ambiguous because the author owns a company that is in the business of doing risk assessments for clients and if he provides to much definitive guidance in his book, his company won’t have any more clients.)

Various chapters in de Becker’s book cover topics like how to use intuition to predict impending violence, pre-incident indicators, understanding threats, dealing with persis-tent individuals, workplace violence, dealing with stalkers, violent spouses, violence in children, violence to gain attention, etc.

While many of the case studies de Becker includes in his book as examples of behavior are dated—he wrote the book over 20 years ago—the lesson are worth considering if you are concerned about dealing with poten-tially violent people in your life.

Reading List:

1. Deadly Force: Understanding Your Right to Self Defense, by Massad Ayoob, ISBN-13: 978-1-4402-4061-2, ©2014

2. The Law of Self Defense: The Indispensable Guide for the Armed Citizen, 3rd Ed., by Andrew Branca, ISBN-13: 978-1943809141, ©2016

3. gunFIGHT!: An Integrated Approach to Shooting and Fighting in Close Quarters, by Richard Nance, ISBN-13: 978-1-6088-5140-9, ©2016

4. On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learn-

Page 9 Random Shots Volume 8, I ssue 6

ing to Kill in War and Society, by Lt Col (Retired) Dave Grossman, ISBN 0-316-33000-0, ©1996

5. On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and Peace, 3rd Edi-tion, by Lt Col (Retired) Dave Gross-man with Loren Christensen, ISBN 978-0-9649205-4-5, ©2004, 2007, & 2008

6. Left of Bang: How the Marine Corp’s Com-bat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life, by Patrick Van Horne and Jason A. Riley, ISBN 978-1-936891-30-6, ©2014

7. Facing Violence: Preparing for the Unex-pected, by Rory Miller, ISBN 978-1-59439-213-9, ©2011

8. Counter Ambush: The Science of Training for the Unexpected Defensive Shooting, by Rob Pincus, ISBN 978-0-9791508-8-3, ©2012

9. Handgun Combatives, 2nd Ed., by Dave Spaulding, ISBN 978-1-60885-024-2, ©2011

10. The Gift of Fear: And Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From Vio-lence, by Gavin de Becker, ISBN: 978-0-440-50883-0, © 1997

-- G.R. Evens

Upcoming Classes LongMeadows Shooting School

Dave is still teaching the Ohio Concealed Carry Course, but it is by appointment only. Contact LongMeadows Shooting School if you want to schedule a time to attend.

Defensive Training Solutions

DTS offers a full range of firearms and self-defense instruction. Hojutsu classes are held starting at 6:30 PM on Tuesdays alternating between the “dojo” (hand-to-hand skills) and the range (shooting skills). No previous martial arts experience is required to participate in Hojutsu classes. Other upcoming classes include:

⬧ 20 Oct—Ohio CCW @ Olde English Outfitters

⬧ 21 Oct—Defensive Carbine 2

⬧ 29 Oct (PM)—Skillbuilder 1

⬧ 10 Nov—Ohio CCW @ Olde English Outfitters (Ladies Only)

⬧ 12 Nov—Pepper Spray

⬧ 17 Nov—Ohio CCW @ Olde English Outfitters

⬧ 17-18 Nov—NRA Pistol Instructor Class

⬧ 18 Nov—Defensive Shotgun 2

⬧ 24 Nov (AM)—Skillbuilder 1

⬧ 24 Nov (PM)—Skillbuilder 2

⬧ 26 Nov (Evening)—Skillbuilder 1

⬧ 2 Dec (PM)—National Safety Council First Aid CPR/AED

⬧ 10 Dec (Evening)—Pepper Spray

⬧ 15 Dec—Ohio CCW @ Olde English Outfitters

⬧ 17 Dec (Evening)—Skillbuilder 1

NOTE: DTS classes are taught at either DTS’s training facility in Troy or at Olde English Outfit-ters in Tipp City. See the DTS website for details (i.e. times, location, costs, course requirements, etc.) and to sign-up.

Featured Course—Skillbuilder 1

When confronted by an armed attacker, the first shot you take is the most important one. For this reason, the DTS staff will spend some time helping you understand how long it takes to get that first shot, and help you make that first shot accurate and fast.

DTS instructors work with students to fur-ther develop their skills with a hand-gun. They will work on helping you to shoot quickly, carefully and precisely; as well as help you develop a balance of speed and accuracy with your handgun.

Skills covered in this course include:

⬧ Shooting at multiple targets

⬧ Making multiple shots on a target

⬧ Making multiple shots in different zones on the same target

⬧ Shooting at various distances (6 feet to

25 yards)

⬧ Clearing common handgun malfunc-tions

⬧ Shooting with one hand (both strong side and support side)

⬧ Dry-fire techniques that you can use at home to practice your skills

For this class you should bring the following items:

⬧ A handgun chambered in .380 ACP or larger

⬧ Two magazines for your semi-automatic pistol or three speed loaders for your revolver

⬧ 200-300 round of factory ammunition in your handgun’s caliber—no reloaded ammunition allowed

⬧ Eye and Ear protection

⬧ A hat with a brim

⬧ Long pants/collared shirt/sturdy shoes—no flip-flops or sandals

⬧ Optional Items include a strong-side hip holster for your handgun and maga-zine/speed loader pouches

You will receive instruction on the range by one of DTS’s certified instructors, a booklet with all of the courses of fire listed for fu-ture practice, and a quality certificate to show verification of training.

Course duration is approximately 3 hours.

Course cost is $50 per student.

Although it is not required DTS suggest that you complete this class prior to taking De-fensive Handgun 2. If it has been over a year since you completed your Ohio Con-cealed Carry training, they highly suggest that you come back and train and have a certificate of completion showing that you have continued training.

Page 10 Random Shots Volume 8, I ssue 6

LongMeadows Shooting School

4910 State Route 201

Tipp City, Ohio 45371

(937) 478-8201

2855 Stone Circle Drive

Troy, OH 45373

(937) 335-2998

https://defensivetrainingsolutions.com