Featured - My Gun Culture

Top 5 Coolest Things from NRA Annual Meeting Day 1

April 13, 2012 By Tom 2 Comments

Even with a busy meeting and interview schedule, we managed to spot some pretty nifty things during day 1 of the NRA Annual Meeting in St. Louis. So far, we’ve only covered about 30% of the exhibits, so look for more over the next two days.

Here are some of the standouts from Day 1:

	Smith & Wesson M&P Shield – The much anticipated Shield is out and available for purchase. It’s a compact, yet comfortable little single stack pistol. It sports a brand new trigger design which is, well, fantastic.
	Aimpoint Pro – Previously for LE and Military only, a civvie version is ready. 2 MOA red dot, flip up lens covers, a torque limiting rail mount and typical Aimpoint quality. We’ll be doing a full review shortly.
	Bore Tips and Swab Its – We first saw these at SHOT Show 2012, but they still make the NRA AM Day 1 cool list. Bore-Tips are foam based cleaning swabs get complete contact with the barrel – and they are washable for reuse. Swab Its are the 21st century equivalent of Q-Tips that don’t leave cottony junk in your gun. And they come in different sizes to do things like reach into those impossible spaces in AR chambers.
	Handgun Hangers – From Store More Guns, these simple but amazingly useful hangers mount above and/or below safe shelfs to hang pistols by the barrel. This keeps your pistols organized on any size of shelf. And you can store magazines underneath. They also have some nifty solutions that allow storage or more rifles in the same amount of gun safe space.
	Ruger 22/45 LITE Rimfire Pistol – This fun little .22LR pistol is shockingly light. No really, shockingly light. Oh, and phenomenally cool. The gold receiver and barrel shroud is tastefully colored and the contour cuts are just plain sporty. Look for this in different colors something in the future.

We’ll be back tomorrow with more cool things from the NRA Annual Convention. Stay tuned…

Filed Under: Events, Featured, NRA Annual Meeting, Viewpoint Tagged With: aimpoint, gun cleaning, gun storage, M&P, nra, optics, pistols, Ruger, shield

Coming Soon! Colt M2012 CR

April 13, 2012 By Tom 5 Comments

Colt is showing a couple of prototypes of a very impressive bolt action rifle. The M2012 CR is a 13 pound, decked to the nines tactical and/or fun long range rifle.

The first versions should be out in a couple of months in .308. Short term plans include .223 and .22-250 chamberings – among others yet to be determined.

With 13 pounds of beef, this rifle should have virtually no recoil. Adjustable comb, 60 degree bolt, and a spiral-fluted barrel make it beastly looking and functional.

Estimated retail is about $3,700 give or take.

Can’t wait to shoot one…

Filed Under: Events, Featured, News, NRA Annual Meeting Tagged With: colt, long range shooting, new products, rifles, sniper

New Smith & Wesson Shield – It’s Finger Candy

April 13, 2012 By Tom 2 Comments

We’re here at the NRA Annual Meeting in St. Louis fighting the crowds and shoppers – all 80,000 of them.

The folks at GunUp.com just arranged a private tour of some of the newest offerings from Smith & Wesson – the highlight of which was the new M&P Shield.

Initially offered in both 9mm and .40 Smith & Wesson, the shield is similar in appearance to it sibling M&P line. Polymer frame, comfortable grip contour and no-trigger-pull takedown. While offered in two calibers, the Shield frames are the same in both offerings.

Where it differs, in addition to its slim and very concealable size, is the trigger. It’s a whole new design. Weighing in at 6.5 pounds, we found it to be exceptionally crisp with no detectable take-up and minimal overtravel. It feels a whole lot lighter than the measured 6.5 pounds. The other noticeable difference is in the trigger reset. While we weren’t able to measure the distance here on the show floor, we felt a crisp and distinct reset at what seemed to be about an eighth of an inch. The trigger on this gun is simply sporty. That’s one of our code words for “superlative.”

Also unlike the larger M&P models, the Shield does not feature an adjustable backstrap. Mainly because that would be kind of silly on a pocket sized gun. In our opinion anyway.

Another difference is the additional of a positive safety. It’s unobtrusive and machined to be embedded mostly into the slide so there is not much to catch. Smith & Wesson explained that this was added not so much for those who choose to carry in a belt holster, but to allow more flexibility for purse, pocket, and other types of carry methods.

The M&P Shield ships with two magazines – one with a flat base for maximum concealability and the other with an extension to allow better third finger grip.

This gun has a really great feel to it – we can’t wait to test one at the range.

Stay tuned!

Filed Under: Events, Featured, News, NRA Annual Meeting Tagged With: guns, nra, nra annual meeting, shield, smith & wesson

Soup It Up For Soldiers: You Can Get The Ultimate Ruger 10/22 and Benefit Project Valour-IT

April 4, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

We’re going to have some fun, learn some things about home gunsmithing, melt the phone lines to the the Brownells GunTech Team, and hopefully not butcher a perfectly good Ruger 10/22 Carbine in the process. And all for a great cause.

At SHOT Show 2012, we got to talking to GunTech Team Leader Dave Bennetts. That alone can be a dangerous thing to do, but we persevered. Somehow we got on the topic of the Ruger 10/22 and what a fantastic platform it is. And we mean platform in the true sense.

Plat ・form [plat fawrm]

The basic technology of a guns design, parts, specifications and operating systems. A platform defines what other components may be used interchangeably or to accentuate the primary function of the gun.

OK, maybe we fudged the Webster’s definition a bit, but in plain English, the Ruger 10/22 is so extensible and ubiquitous (that’s our $.50 word of the day so we can claim to be bona-fide journalists) that an entire industry has evolved to provide quality accessories, replacement parts, and components that are optimized for specific purpose. In fact Dave bragged that Brownells carried so many aftermarket parts for the Ruger 10/22 that if we kept customizing we would eventually replace every single piece on the original gun. And he said that “regular” folks would be able to do this on their own. Yes, that’s people like us. And we’re not certified gunsmiths. In fact, we’re not certified in much of anything except making Twinkies disappear.

So we took him up on that claim.

We’re going to document the transformation process in a series of episodes. Brownells is donating the parts, Ruger is donating the 10/22 Carbine, and our staff is donating the labor and coverage. We’re going to photograph and document each step along the way and post articles here on exactly what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and how it worked out. We think it’s going to take about 5 episodes from start to finish. If we’re still posting stories on this in a year or so, that simply means that the Brownells GunTech Team stopped taking our phone calls.

The best part of the deal is that when we’re finished, we’re going to Auction the newly customized Rifle on Ruger’s Auction Site, hosted by GunBroker.com. You’ll have a chance to bid on this fabulous rifle and make it your very own.

And to top that off, you can bid freely knowing that 100% of the auction proceeds are going to Project Valour-IT.

Project Valour-IT is affiliated with Soldiers Angels and helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. It’s a great idea and a great cause. Check out the link to see what they’re all about.

So sit back, enjoy the series, and get ready to bid generously knowing that your money will go to a great cause – and you’ll get a sick rifle out of the deal. “Sick” is what our kids say when something is beyond awesome. Apparently it’s a really good thing.

Filed Under: Featured, News, Soup It Up For Soldiers Tagged With: auction, brownells, charity, Ruger, soldiers angels, valour-it

How To Stare A Bull Elk Into Your Freezer: Our Interview With Huntress Mia Anstine

March 30, 2012 By Tom 7 Comments

Today we have the pleasure of interviewing not just an interesting “gun person” but an exceptionally busy one as well.

Meet Mia Anstine – Professional hunting guide at Wolf Creek Outfitters, blogger, Womens Outdoor News contributor, mentor, coach, soon-to-be-official shooting instructor, mom, wife, TenPoint Crossbows pro-staffer, Prois Hunting Apparel representative, and author of “Mia and the little gal.” Tired yet? We are.

My Gun Culture: Mia – Thanks for agreeing to occupy our interview hot seat several weeks back. To be honest, we’ve dragged our feet a bit out of embarrassment that we don’t know how to pronounce your name! Is it Mee-yah? My-ah? Mah? Yo lady? Mom! And then there’s the whole question of the correct pronunciation of your last name… An-steen? Ahn-stein? Ahn-stin-ay? We’re very confused. Please set our readers straight…

Mia Anstine: Haha! That’s a GREAT question! I often wonder what people think in their mind as they read my name and pronounce it in their head. My first name if after the Spanish word for “mine”. It is pronounced Mee-uh as in Mia Hamm, Mia Farrow or Mia Anstine! Haha! My last name is a German name. It is pronounced Ann-Stine. Not Steen or Stein. It is Ann-sty-n. Hopefully that helps. If not, I will correct you when I meet you. Hah!

MGC: As long as you don’t correct me with one of your crossbows, we’ll be fine! Speaking of Crossbows, what exactly do you do as a pro-staff member of TenPoint Crossbows?

Mia: I mentor lots of people in the outdoors including attending shooting events, trade shows and open houses at local archer or gun stores. At various events I give presentations and show off TenPoint. I demonstrate with my Carbon Fusion CLS and allow shooters to test the bow.

MGC: Being that you’re a professional guide, you’re obviously an accomplished hunter. Have you ever just totally blown a stalk by tripping over something, sneezing, or playing Angry Birds on your iPhone? It’s OK, you can tell, it’s just between us…

Mia: No, but I once was with my husband stalking a 5×5 bull elk that was chasing a cow when I suddenly saw another bull heading to chase him off. I was in the middle of a clearing when off to the right the larger, angry bull circled around the oak brush. He charged in from the side of the meadow. We turned, and there he was. I was standing in the middle of the clearing with no cover. Hank whispered “don’t
move!” I stood there, 20 feet from him, all 5’2” of me, trembling. I was so excited, nervous and scared! That bull and I looked each other in the eye, him glaring at me. He was mad at that other bull trying to steal one of his cows. I could see his nostrils flaring as he took
deep breaths, trying to smell me and figure out what I was. I stood in awe as he had busted us but I wasn’t sure if he was going to run or run me over.

MGC: I’ve been wanting to see that movie “Men Who Stare At Goats.” Apparently it’s about some army program where they train to hunt the enemy using psychic powers. I’m assuming that’s how you got out of the bull elk situation right? You just stared at it until it dropped dead? Right?

Mia: We did give each other the stare down, but I had no psychic powers at hand. Thanks to the NRA and our right to bear arms, that day I used my .270 Winchester rifle to put meat in the freezer. It just happened to come along with an exciting story.

MGC: How did you get involved with Prois? You didn’t stare them into submission did you?

Mia: I discovered Prois hunting apparel when it first came out. I was very excited with the quality, function and fit. It was a product I believed in, supported and promoted over the past few years. It was also a bonus when I learned Kirstie Pike’s vision for ladies in the outdoors parallels my own. Now I am so proud and especially honored to be on the Field staffer for Prois.

MGC: We enjoy reading “Mia and the little gal” on Womens Outdoor News! Just hypothetically, how would you handle it if the little gal went entirely vegan one day. Would you teach her to hunt for wheat grass sprouts or something?

Mia: OMG!!! Just posed the question to the Little Gal and she says and I quote “Meat has more flavor than veggies.” LOL!!!! I guess being a vegan is not an option. Haha!

MGC: So tell us what inspires your about being a professional hunting guide at Wolf Creek Outfitters…

Mia: At Wolf Creek Outfitters (WCO) we have always promoted lady hunters, youth hunters as well as disabled. This year we are excited to be taking a number of kids for their first hunts as well as sponsoring a hunt for Outdoor Buddies of Colorado.

MGC: So what’s on your agenda for 2012?

Mia: I am happy to be promoting women in the outdoors and mentoring lots of lady hunters, new and old. I will be attending some ladies shooting events as well as coaching and mentoring at and on ladies hunts. It is my goal this year become an NRA certified shooting instructor.

MGC: So where should folks go to keep up with your adventures?

Mia: At Women’s Outdoor News I enjoy sharing stories of my and my daughter’s outdoor adventures. It is through the blog that we hope to mentor other families to get outside and hunt, shoot, fish and overall enjoy the outdoors together. We have some exciting stories we hope to share throughout the spring and summer. Stay tuned!

Thanks to Mia Anstine (and the little gal) for sharing their story. Stay tuned for more stories from interesting gun people!

Filed Under: Featured, People Tagged With: hunting, interviews, Mia Anstine, people, women, WON

Top 13 Reasons NOT to Join the NRA

March 28, 2012 By Tom 6 Comments

People who play with guns have all sorts of reasons for not joining the NRA. I forgot. My dog ate my computer. My dog peed on my computer. I am a member – I sent them $10 27 years ago. I bought a used gun, so I’m automatically a member. Isn’t it part of my AARP membership? I have my voter registration card, so I’m a member. I watch Top Shot on TV – doesn’t that make me a member? I got my membership in a box of Lucky Charms.

We’ve heard all the excuses. With that said, here’s our Top 13 list of reasons NOT to join the NRA…

If more people join the NRA, then Hugo Chavez will have no chance of getting nominated to the United States Supreme Court. Be compassionate people! What’s a despot dictator to do in his retirement years?
Operation Fast and Furious may be less fast and less furious with too much NRA oversight. If our government is going to export guns to Mexican drug lords, let’s do it with style and plenty of volume – that’s the American way!
I am married to: (fill in the blank) Eric Holder, Michael Bloomberg, Wayne LaPierre, or Vladimir Putin
If the NRA gets any more clout, those crazy Fast and Furious testimonies on CSPAN may come to a premature end. And everything else on daytime TV stinks now that All My Children is off the air.
Being part of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy is so 1990’s
I’ve built my own intercontinental ballistic missile and the NRA is not fighting for my rights to cap it with a multiple-warhead nuclear bomb. It’s my right!
I already get my gun rights news from The Huffington Post and New York Times. I’ve got my objective news sources covered already.
I don’t want to encourage worldwide deforestation by adding my name to the NRA-ILA direct mail list.
Eddie the Eagle reminds me of clowns. And I have Coulrophobia . That’s fear of clowns.
I already subscribe to Communist Dictators Quarterly magazine and don’t really want another subscription to American Rifleman. I can only read so much propaganda in a months time.
What’s a Constitution? Is that like when you eat too much cheese and get all backed up?
George Soros owns The Freedom Group, which owns all the gun companies, which own the NRA.
They never serve Chateaubriand at Friends of NRA dinners.

Bu seriously folks. No excuses. If you own a gun, believe in little details like your right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of satellite TV, then you need to join the NRA.

Yeah, they’ve probably done something you disagree with, but so has your spouse/brother/sister/father/mother/child/neighbor. So get over it. Join all the other organizations you like. We do. There are a lot of great ones out there. Just be sure to add a +1 to that 4 million member number that freaks out all those certified politicians in Washington.

You can join here.

Filed Under: Featured, Politics, Viewpoint Tagged With: Gun Rights, National Rifle Association, nra, nra-ila

Top 5 Ways To Teach A Successful Concealed Carry Class

March 26, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

Having acquired concealed carry permits from two different states over the past so many years, and forgetting to renew a license in one of them, we’ve been subjected to three different state-mandated concealed carry classes. Actually, ‘sentenced’ is probably a more accurate descriptor than ‘subjected.’

State mandated classes are always high-quality because legislators have arbitrarily selected a number of hours that students must sit attentively in the classroom. Well at least sit. While continuing to breathe of course. Students in states like South Carolina, where certified politicians have determined that eight hours of classroom study is appropriate, get extra training benefits. Because with eight hours to kill, certified instructors get to come up with all sorts of interesting and informative things to talk about.

We’ve taken these classes at three different gun ranges, with three different instructors, over a period of 10 years. Fortunately, one of the classes, not coincidentally the shortest one, was somewhat professional and more educational than a slow motion play-by-play of the Jersey Shore’s last night of the summer at the Karma nightclub.

As for the other two? We would have learned a lot more by smearing the sticky sludge in the bottom of Snookie’s tenth Kamikaze glass all over our heads while hoping to learn by osmosis.

So we thought it prudent to offer some valuable advice to some of the more teaching-challenged concealed carry class instructors out there.

Here are our top five suggestions – all based on honest-to-God experiences in our classes:

1. Be sure to cover your classroom walls with posters of scantily clad women.

After all, nothing attracts more women and families to the shooting sports than lots of photos of half-naked women.

2. Brag about how you can beat anyone in the class in a gunfight.

The respect and admiration that your class has for you almost always increases when you tell them you could beat any of them in a gunfight, because you’ve been there before. You wouldn’t panic as the bullets flew your way and you would carefully aim and take them out. Because you’re a professional instructor. And fearless.

3. Tell about that wild and crazy time when you almost committed murder.

Give a detailed account of that time you came home from work and found your ex-wife in bed with your best friend. And how you got a gun and went to murder them. But be sure to close the story with an explanation of how you came to your senses at the very last minute. You wouldn’t want students in the class to get the wrong impression of right and wrong ways to use a gun in their day to day lives. Your students will learn much from your sense of judgment and restraint.

4. Share amusing anecdotes about your shooting skills.

Try telling the class about that time when you were a bit younger, and a lot drunker, when you had one of your friends shoot an apple off your head with a .22 rifle. Nothing sets a good example for new gun owners like real-life exhibition shooting case studies. How else are your students going to get good ideas of things to try with their new guns?

5. Offer to do toe-prints of the female students.

A great way to build rapport with new lady shooters during the fingerprint process is to give your very best partially toothless smile and offer to do a set of toe-prints for free. Because you have a foot fetish. This always makes the ladies feel right at home. Your referral business is sure to grow as they’ll be more than happy to tell their friends.

This has been a public service announcement to the Fudd Firearms Trainers of America. You don’t know who you are.

Filed Under: Concealed Carry, Featured, Life, Shooting 101 Tagged With: certified politicians, concealed carry, Self-Defense, training

Do You Make These 5 Range Mistakes?

March 20, 2012 By Tom 2 Comments

Spoiler Alert: One of these 5 range mistakes involves the Hokey Pokey.

We do a lot of our testing and recreational shooting at a public range, located in an unnamed and top-secret national forest. You can assume that it borders the Area 51 Dreamland property if you like. While the state maintains the facility, it is unsupervised and there is no range officer on duty. People who shoot there put on their big kid shorts, take responsibility for their actions, and generally self-administer range etiquette and safety. Kind of like the old days.

In any given week, there are plenty of examples of less than stellar range behavior and most of them are a result of simple ignorance – not malicious or willingly irresponsible behavior. Although there is the occasional drunk security officer. Not everyone out there consumes gun magazines and books by the metric ton as we do. And add to that the fact that humans believe that they are genetically pre-wired to know how to operate a firearm. Well at least the males of our species seem to think so.

In short, we find plenty of opportunities to provide firm, but good-intentioned advice and guidance to newer shooters at this facility. You see, we’re on a training mission from God.

Here are some of the more common range etiquette faux pas that we see…

1. The Side Slide Swipe

We value our love handles. Don’t shoot them off. Yes, dieting is hard, but far preferable to ballistic waist reduction.

The Side Slide Swipe happens when a shooter tries to rack the slide of a semi-automatic pistol. Given the simple geometry of us human folk, we generally have hands and arms mounted on the sides while the eyes face forward. So, standing at the range, naturally facing the target, the natural motion to rack a slide is (from a right handed point of view) to point the gun to the left, grasp the slide with your left hand, and rack. Nice and easy. The only real problem with this method is that your gun is pointed directly at all the shooters to the left of you.

It actually takes a bit of effort and concentration to rotate you body so that the gun is pointed downrange while racking the slide.

It’s worth the trouble though. If not for yourself, do it for the love handles. Please.

2. The Itchy Magnet Finger

Apparently the best way to scratch your index finger while at the range is to rub it around the inside of the trigger guard. We know that index finger trouble is hard-wired into our human DNA, like nose picking at traffic lights, because we see it all the time.

Yes, the magnetic draw of a gun trigger is an irresistible force of nature for most index fingers – especially for new shooters. The millisecond that gun metal contacts the hand, the finger is magnetically latched on to the trigger. The finger just belongs there doesn’t it? If it didn’t why is there a big hole and a neat little handle to rest your finger on?

There’s endless debate about the practical value, or lack thereof, of competitive shooting. One thing is for sure though. Enter a few IDPA or Steel Challenge matches and you will most certainly be cured of any trigger finger discipline problems.

3. The Hand Trouble

While not as frequent an event at indoor ranges, Cold Range scenarios are a regular part of shooting at many outdoor ranges and clubs. Basically calling Cold Range gives folks an opportunity to safely go down range, change targets, clean up their mess, or whatever. Without fear of getting shot in the backside. Cold Range means no shooting. While not as literal as “no shooting,” a command of Cold Range also means “don’t mess with your guns.”

Yeah, we know. But your gun isn’t loaded!

Do everyone a favor and save the hand trouble problems. Play a game of Angry Birds or catch up on some good old-fashioned texting while the range is cold. Just don’t fondle your firearms.

4. The Back Seat Shooter

Back seat drivers are the worst. Frustrating, dangerous, and generally too wimpy to move forward and drive themselves. So are back seat shooters.

These are the ones that hang back too far behind the shooting line so that the muzzles of their various firearms are actually behind other shooters on either side of them. Is it the result of some instinctive Dirty Harry reflex to have the drop on everyone else at the range? We don’t know, but as nice as you seem to be, I don’t trust you! Not when you have a loaded gun behind my back anyway.

Step on up to the shooting line. Look at the bright side, you’ll be a little closer to the target and shoot a better group!

5. The Hokey Pokey and Turn Yourself About

Turning your self all around? No, that’s not what it’s all about at the range. Especially when you’re holding a handgun.

Handguns are really short. Even shorter than Ryan Seacrest. That means when you turn your head around to say something like “Hey look! I just shot a pomegranite to smitherines!” that your gun will most likely be pointing at the dude beside you or even someone behind you. If you see people around you dropping like Jersey Shore cast members, it may be a result of your gun handling skills.

Feel free to put your handgun forward, and even put your right foot in. You can even do the Hokey Pokey, just don’t turn yourself around.

What bad range habits do you see out there?

Filed Under: Featured, Viewpoint Tagged With: gun safety, new shooting, range, shooting 101

I’m A (Drunk) Security Officer!

March 10, 2012 By Tom 9 Comments

Several days ago, the My Gun Culture team was at an undisclosed outdoor range doing some testing for our Will It Expand series. It was a quiet day with a family with kids and a couple of friends at the other end of the shooting line. While quietly going out our important business of shooting things like grape jelly, Spam, and leather boots, we heard the beginnings of a disturbance. Apparently a new shooter had arrived and set up in the lane next to the family and friends. We started to pick up on some slightly heated conversation soon after. As the volume increased, we began packing up our stuff…

Family Guy: Hey would you mind not shooting at my kids targets?

Other Guy: I can do whatever I want.

Family Guy: Well, they brought them and set them up and I would really appreciate it if you wouldn’t shoot at theirs. They went to a lot of trouble to set them up.

Other Guy: I’m a security officer!

Editors Note: (Now ‘Other Guy’ has an identity! He apparently has mall credentials!)

Family Guy: What??? You’re a security officer because you’re not smart enough to be a cop! And you’re a drunk! Look at you! You’re half drunk already!

Editors Note: Being at the opposite end of the range, we had no idea if the Security Officer was in fact drunk, but we took Family Guy’s word for it.

Security Officer: You better shut up, I’m a security officer! And I’ll do what I want!

Editors Note: At this point, Family Guy starts getting pretty aggressive and appears ready to pick a fight. Interestingly the guy he is starting to pick a fight with is standing there holding a large revolver and, by Family Guy’s own accusation, is drunk. We’re outta there.

Family Guy: (kicking dirt at Security Officer in imitation of Billy Martin’s best umpire abuse moments) Look, all I want you to do is say you’re sorry and set up your own targets instead of shooting at ours!

Security Officer: Mgghtmrmrgghhhph. I’m a security officer – you better watch it.

Family Guy: (Wife holding him back at this point) Look at you! You’re half drunk already! You aren’t smart enough to be a real police officer, so you’re a security guard! You’re a drunk and a loser!

Security Officer: You gonna come at me? I’m a security officer!

Editors Note: Etc, etc. etc. The “you’re drunk / I’m a security officer” cadence was repeated numerous times here.

At this point, we’re packed and hitting the road. The ‘Security Officer’ has also decided to hit the road – thankfully.

Unfortunately, this is a true story.

As a public service, and so others can learn, we’ve developed this helpful multiple choice and true / false quiz to help educate our readers on how to deal with similar situations.

Pop Quiz: Range safety, drinking, and legal authority of Security Officers

Please answer the following to the best of your ability. Guessing will not help your score.

1. Drinking before going to the shooting range is:

Fun for the whole family
A pre-requisite of NRA membership
Awesome dude! Party on Garth!
An integral part of most mall-certified Security Officer training programs

2. When picking a fight with an armed, drunk, and/or obstinate Security Officer, you should:

Position your wife and children in front of you
Position your wife and children behind you
Ask for some of what he’s drinking and bury the hatchet
Wait until he loads his gun before approaching with your fists raised

3. Security Officers have Presidential Authority to do whatever they want.

True
False

4. Kicking dirt on your gunfight opponent is an effective means of not getting shot. Especially if your opponent is drunk.

True
False

5. If someone at the range shoots at your targets, you are legally entitled, and morally obligated, to:

Kick dirt at them
Take pot shots at their car
Threaten them while using your children as human shields
Forcefully confiscate their firearm
Lodge a formal complaint with the AMPAA (American Mall Police of America Association)

6. If you are the aggressor in an altercation, which of the following statements are true?

Your children make excellent ballistic shields in most cases
Most of your children are only capable of stopping common handgun rounds
You should always ask your spouse before using your children as ballistic shields
It’s more tactically sound to use other peoples children as human shields as yours are expensive

7. Many people are capable of being complete idiots:

True
False

Score yourself on this quiz using the honor system. If you answered any of the above questions, please enroll in the nearest Mall-Certified Security Officer Training Program immediately.

Filed Under: Featured, Viewpoint Tagged With: idiots, mall cop, mall ninja, opinion, range etiquette, rednecks, security officer

Exotic Dancing, Narco Trafficking and the .45ACP Gospel – Our Talk With Black Man With a Gun

March 3, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

The best thing about putzing about the gun and shooting industry, and I do mean putzing, is the variety of interesting people I get to meet. One of those is the Reverend Kenn Blanchard, known online and in Homeland Security response strategy meetings as Black Man With A Gun.

I met Kenn for the first time almost a year ago at The Battle of A Top Secret Location Near Knoxville, TN – otherwise known as the LuckyGunner.com 2011 Blogger Shoot and automatic weapons happy fun festival. Right away, I knew Kenn was a man on a mission. My first words to him were something along the lines of “Why are you here in the tent working instead of shooting machine guns and cannons? Are you some kind of fairy?” After dusting myself off and putting a cold steak on my newly minted black eye, I found Kenn to be a pretty nice guy. With a killer right hook. No wonder Homeland Security has been harassing him for years.

I’m pleased to share some, ah, unusual insight with Kenn Blanchard: Marine, Pastor, Gun Rights Activist, Historian, Shooter and generally swell dude. Enjoy…

My Gun Culture: By my count, you were on the terrorist watch list before there was one. If you started advocating for personal protection rights in 1991, you even pre-date The Department of Homeland Security! Are you really that old?

Kenn Blanchard: Dern, you made me think on that one. But you’re right. I was into terrorism before it was a household word. Before 9/11, I traveled to a lot of not so nice places in the world to protect or return American families from harm in foreign places. I broke rules, did cool stuff and never lost anyone on my watch. I never escaped US Customs though. I fit every profile of a narco trafficker they had so I’ve been searched more in the US (thankfully) than abroad. And all before biometrics and detection devices that smell residue. I’ve had a lot of dogs get familiar with my private parts searching for stuff I didn’t have, but its all good.

MGC: As a dog person, I know for a fact that dogs just like to invade your, umm, private areas, just to make you blush! So given your experience with customs and good old-fashioned grope searches, how do you feel about the TSA’s new porn scanners?

Kenn: I practically wear pajamas now when I fly. The TSA reminded me of the time when I was a exotic dancer. I have to keep myself from going into a routine when I get in the booth or it feels like someone is trying to put money on me, but I digress.

MGC: I notice from your bio that you lobbied in the great state of South Carolina for gun rights. Being that I live there now I would love to hear that story – especially since I am now benefitting from your work here…

Kenn: Yes sir, when I decided to grow old, I changed jobs and tried my hand at political persuasion. I worked with the National Rifle Association in South Carolina to talk politics, freedom and religion to a nice guy in SC legislature that was also a pastor but had the wrong information of self defense, the right to carry and his history. I preached in his office, converted his staff and then made him listen to me on one of the best elevator pitches I have ever managed in Columbia. By the time I testified, he was giving us an AMEN for the RKBA. I was just starting to realize my calling into the gospel ministry but you gotta use what you got to get what you need.

MGC: Well thank you very much for getting the great state of South Carolina in order before I moved here! You saved me a lot of trouble! So let’s talk about your move into the ministry. Maybe I should describe that as your move into “official” ministry as it sounds like you might have been doing the amateur version for a while. Have you ever shared the gospel at the shooting range? If so, does the gospel work better with 9mm or .45ACP?

Kenn: I have actually preached in the store part of a range, and folks wondered how a preacher got in. They wanted to see my ID to prove I was clergy. It wasn’t planned but happened. The Good News was someone actually gave his life to Christ afterwards. I know I am a bit different. I didn’t start out a choir boy.

MGC: You put a lot of energy and passion into educating people about the real roots of gun control – racism. It’s pretty ironic that many of those promoting gun control measures today shout their status as non-racists from the rooftops. Am I taking crazy pills? This seems astoundingly hypocritical. Your thoughts?

Kenn: I can’t call it. All I wanted to do when I started was help people. I never intended on being a modern day abolitionist, trying to abolish the residue of slavery but it happens. Most folks don’t even realize what they say and think is not original but just adopted till they are called out for it. Some are hypocritical but most just never gave it much thought and talk without thinking. And of course some people are just the backside of a northbound mule.

MGC: Tell us about your first gun…

Kenn: My first gun was a Daisy BB gun, but first firearm was a .357 single action Ruger revolver with a eight inch barrel I got from another Marine.

MGC: We ask all of our interview victims, umm I mean guests, to weigh in on our ongoing debate of whether the MK19 Automatic Grenade Launcher is appropriate for home defense. What say you?

Kenn: I wouldn’t be a fan of a grenade launcher for my home. The clean up would be expensive.

MGC: Thanks for your time today Kenn. One more question for you. I can’t help but notice that there aren’t a whole lot of black men with guns walking around the big shooting events like SHOT Show, etc. I want to see a whole lot more people in general get involved in shooting. How do we fix that?

Kenn: I hear you brother. We have to be patient. It took over four hundred years, a lot of fear and misinformation to get things they way they are. It won’t take that long to fix but it won’t be when we want it. You will see a few more every year, and every event, I promise. You and I will just be gainfully employed making it happen for awhile that is all. Shalom Baby!

I’d like to thank Kenn for his patience and good humor! Be sure to check out Kenn’s podcast here.

Stay tuned – next on the My Gun Culture interview hot seat are in depth discussions with Huntress and Professional Outfitter Mia Anstine, Bart and Lisa Looper from Looper Brand Holsters, makers of belts, holsters, law enforcement gear and the world famous FlashBang holster.