HAR HAR HAR!!!
When it comes to tactics and guns, my mindset has always been to 'reach out and touch someone' if that was what is called for. I watch the guys running and gunning, close range, at huge targets... and it strikes me as a waste of ammunition. If you let your adversaries get that close to you - even with the skills of Jerry M - your odds of survival drop by 50%. More, if you are facing off a trained gunnie. Contrary to Hollywood and the cool kids, the first order of business in any firefight is to avoid it in the first place. If that isn't possible, the second order of business is cover, and the third order of business is returning fire.
Not to take anything away from ol' Jerry - the guy is a shooting machine and you couldn't ask for a WORSE adversary in an actual gun fight. But I remember the old days of the metallic silhouette game where precision was the order of the day, and the custom built single shots were the king of the range. They had categories for production handguns and they were dominated by high end revolvers. The legends of the day were guys like Bill Blankenship.
The legend I have is that Colt had just launched their Delta Elite back in the mid 80's. They invited all the most prominent gun writers from the rag sheets to the product launch - and Bill was their product specialist. They wheeled out a cart full of the pistols at the range, but Bill was to shoot first. He went after the 12" gongs at 200m and knocked them down one after the other. Offhand. I was sold on the 10mm forever afterward... but never bought one to my disgust. I suppose Jerry is no slouch with precision shooting either - in one of his vids he was popping balloons at 1000 yards.
It is a mindset in the sport that is all too common and that's a shame. Kim du Toit earned my utter contempt and wrath when he once said 'the purpose of my pistol is to fight my way to my rifle'. If I ever face that old bastard... he will never make it to his rifle, of that I assure you, HAR HAR HAR!!! HAR HAR HAR!!! Like so many of the kids these days, he sells the pistol far too short of it's actual potential. It's a shame really, because there is lots of fun to be had with the precision end of the shooting sports as well.
If you have the financial means and time to shoot 100K plus rounds of pistol ammo per year.....for 40 years, you too can be as good and as dangerous in real life as Jerry Miculek. Few people have that opportunity. For those of us who can't be pro shooters a handgun is a means of up close self defense. And a rifle being inherently more accurate AND more lethal will always be the preferred weapon when possible. That's real life.
ReplyDeleteI was laughing at one of his vids. Jerry doesn't clean his brass in a vibratory tumbler like most of us - he uses a cement mixer. And he burns up guns almost as fast as he burns up ammo!
DeleteGlenn,
ReplyDeleteIn case you haven't seen this, lots of good reading here. See the "tales" listed across the top--
http://www.jouster2.com/forums/forum.php
An example--
http://www.jouster2.com/sea_stories/end_of_an_era.pdf
What a treat, RHT. Thanks for passing it along!
DeleteI still remember - probably 5 or 6 years ago, some older gentleman saw a police office in a shootout with some scumbag. The gentleman drew his 357 magnum and shot the offender at 165 feet. That is gun control for sure.
ReplyDeleteNo, it isn’t Anon. You can do it too, all it takes is practice.
DeleteAt least, the shooting element is possible. Coolness under fire is another can of worms. But hits on a man size target at 50 yards is easily do-able.
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ReplyDeleteI carry a Ruger LCP 2, which is a pocket pistol. I didn't know if I could hit much with it over 30 feet away, but it'll put the lead right in there.
ReplyDeleteMy old friend Cody was at the gun range with a few other cowboys and loafers, and took out his Jennings to shoot.
"What are you doin' with that? You'll never hit anything with it," one cowboy opined.
"Okay Fred, tell you what. You just walk out there until you feel safe, and I'll see what this little Jennings can do."
The same thing applies to 'it's only a .22'. Fine, you stand out there and I'll shoot you with it.
Kim du Toit is something of a bloviator. I don't agree with him all the time, but he can be entertaining and he isn't entirely wrong most of the time.
Yup. Sure - I would love to have a tuned 44 magnum with a 4~6" barrel if I had to get into a firefight. But... you have to carry that iron, and be able to conceal it too if necessary.
DeleteAt close range - unless your assailant is an absolute psychotic on drugs that can't feel pain - the 380 and 22 will absolutely ruin your day. Gunnies get hung up on ballistics charts far too easily. In the real world, when the metal hits the meat, things USUALLY stop happening very, very quickly...
I wanted a 10mm ever since I saw Sonny Crocket using his Bren Ten on the first two seasons on "Miami Vice". Finally got an EAA Witness back in the nineties and really liked it. It's one of the guns that #1 nephew really wants after I kick off. Since I don't shoot it much anymore I should just give it to him....
ReplyDeleteMr. Filthie- that was a back handed slap at Mr. Kim du To it! I bet had his feeling hurt! (But I doubt it!) Texson
ReplyDeleteI doubt very much that his feelings got hurt, Texson, HAR HAR HAR!
DeleteMy intent was more to attack the man's position on pistolcraft more than the man himself.Like WL Emery, I consider him an entertaining fop that happens to be right most of the time.
Perhaps..the purpose of your pistol is to fight your way back to your rifle that you should not have set down, to fight your way back to your radio and target designator-that you should not have set down.
ReplyDeleteBack in the day I shot NRA Bullseye iron sights one hand only. Got to be a decent shot. I used to hunt jackrabbits with my .45 ACP scared a lot of of them and even hit a few. Now my glaucoma has made it really hard to see the sights, let alone the target, so if my rifle doesn't have an optic I am out of luck. All of you youngsters enjoy your relative youth, it ends all too soon!
ReplyDelete