Duel at the Dumbster (Part VI)
#throwbackthursday
“Another delay is expected this month in the murder trial of an Abilene father and son accused of killing their neighbor over a dispute about a mattress in 2018, a court official said this week.”
Read more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article264129071.html#storylink=cpy
“A new date has not been scheduled, but the Millers are expected to go on trial in early 2023, court officials said.”
They’re probably happy that they’re out on bond. It appears that they had to spend from September of 2018 until April 2019 in the can (jail). Whether they had their Man Locks during their jail stay is unknown.
Killing someone, no matter how obnoxious the person is, over a mattress is a Serious Mistake.
“Court documents said police reviewed the video and determined the Millers were likely tired of Howard acting out and threatening them verbally.”
As anyone who has been involved in the court process can tell you, it’s a living Hell, even before you go to trial. It will be around four and a half years for them, assuming they get to trial in early 2023. My colleague John Murphy https://www.fpftraining.com/ commented:
“The process is the punishment.”
This incident was so ridiculous and avoidable that I have written a series of articles about it.
Unjustified Killings
https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2018/09/20/serious-mistakes-unjustified-killings/
Lessons from the Duel at the Dumpster (Part I) https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2018/09/21/lessons-from-the-duel-at-the-dumpster-part-i/
Lessons from the Duel at the Dumpster (Part II) https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2018/09/22/lessons-from-the-duel-at-the-dumpster-part-ii/
Lessons from the Duel at the Dumpster (Part III)
https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2018/09/28/lessons-from-the-duel-at-the-dumpster-part-iii/
Duel Site Visit (Part IV)
Duel Site Visit (Part V)
Be dedicated to Stanford’s Paradigm.
- Avoidance
- Deterrence
- De-escalation
- Disengagement
P&S ModCast 306 – Optimal Is Not Universal
I rarely do podcasts because I don’t like hearing myself talk. But, legendary lawman Chuck Haggard talked me into joining Primary & Secondary ModCast 306 – Optimal Is Not Universal. The replay is up now. https://www.spreaker.com/user/primaryandsecondary/p-s-modcast-306-optimal-is-not-universal
The podcast mostly focused on a subject I’m always interested in, small pistols. It was refreshing to hear some viewpoints that were counter to “it’s only an arm’s length gun.” As I like to say:
It’s only an arm’s length gun if you’re incompetent.
In particular, a couple of discussion points struck home for me. The first was Chris Cypert’s explanation of how placement of gunshot wounds affects performance. Chris was a Special Forces medic and his experience with treating gunshot wounds is extensive. This segment begins at 46 minutes and is very worthwhile to listen to.
The other point I really liked was Darryl Bolke’s explanation of ‘towel carry’ for small pistols. I learn something new every day.
It was an interesting evening of discussion and many thanks to Matt Landfair of P&S for having me on.
Teaching the Snub Nose Revolver
After a decade long hiatus, I’m back to teaching the snub nose revolver. This time it will be in a virtual format on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/TacticalProfessor/membership
The Snub Nose Revolvers – Hands-on Shooting Tier is a four month project to develop shooting and gunhandling skills for snub nosed revolvers. It will be based on the principles and techniques of the Snub Nose classes I taught for decades and the two DVDs I made about snubs. Also included will be examples of what went right and wrong in several real life incidents involving snubs.
Each Monday an overview of activities and necessary preparations for the week will be published. Three additional more detailed posts will follow each week. There will be one live fire session each month of no more than 50 rounds. The live fire will be compatible with either indoor or outdoor ranges.
Noted author and former CIA paramilitary operative Ed Lovette, who wrote the original book about the snubby, opined that information about running revolvers in general and snubs in particular is getting harder and harder to come by. I’ve shot snubs in a wide variety of formats, including winning more than two dozen IDPA Championships shooting one. Hopefully, I’ll be able to add a little to the literature and practicum by creating this Tier. I hope that those who own snubs will join my Patreon Tier and grow your skills.
I’m also pleased to announce that I will writing a short skill development shooting exercise for each issue of the Detective Gatzette, the magazine of Snub Noir, the snub aficionados’ organization. https://snubnoir.com/ Snub Noir is a unique group and those who like snubs will find membership useful and enjoyable.
Carjacking update
The POlice have apprehended one of the individuals involved in the carjacking and murder near my home.
I’m particularly interested in this one because of the possibility that he was targeted and followed. Surveillance Detection is a useful skill in Personal Protection and I wonder if it could have saved the victim’s life. The incident could have been locationally opportunistic and the targeted hypothesis completely wrong, though.
When an individual has a bayonet tattooed between his eyes, the FBI calls that ‘a clue.’
Incidents that take place in Social Space like this are why I am less concerned about having a Roland Special as opposed to just having some tool to protect myself. We’ll be discussing that on the Primary and Secondary Podcast tonight. https://www.spreaker.com/show/primary-secondary-podcast
VP 40 In the News
Don’t hang your gun on the hook when you’re using the facilities. This story is a good illustration as to why. Pictures this detailed are seldom available.
Imagine if you were changing your baby’s diaper at the Koala Kare station when his gun went off. Your baby might not be the only one who needed changing.
Anatomy of a Carjacking and Murder
https://bit.ly/peachtreecarjacking
A sad story that hits close to home. The incident occurred near my home and I have topped off my tires at this pump many times.
A man went into a QuikTrip gas station on Sunday afternoon at 12:30PM. This is a large busy gas station in an upscale area. It is just across the street from two high end shopping malls.
He pulled up to the air pump with his passenger side next to the pump and proceeded to top off the tires on that side. A black sedan with three men in it backed into the space next to him. One of the men then got into the driver’s seat of the victim’s car. This is a crime known as ‘sliding,’ which is technically not a carjacking in the State of Georgia but is close enough for our purpose of analysis.
In retrospect the ‘Safe Place’ sign was incorrect.
When the man noticed the hijacker in his driver’s seat, he came around the car and got into an ‘altercation’ with the hijacker. A second man then got out of the black sedan and entered the fray, making it a two on one affair between the two cars.
A clueless bystander, oblivious to the altercation, pulled up behind the victim’s car. She thereby unintentionally blocked it in. When the initial hijacker attempted to pull the victim’s car out, he collided with the bystander’s vehicle.
At this point, the hijacker got out of the victim’s car. One of the two hijackers involved in the ‘altercation’ then shot and killed the victim. Both of them returned to their vehicle and all three sped off.
“The identity of the suspects and their vehicle is unknown at this time” according to the POlice.
The deceased has a lot of cred as a really decent guy and it’s very sad to see his life cut short.
Lock your doors and take the keys with you whenever you leave your vehicle. Tire maintenance always puts you in a head down posture. Do your best to maintain your awareness of the area around you. Cars that pull up next to mine always give me the willies from the old days. At an air pump, it’s common and almost always benign but obviously not 100% safe.
“As long as we can both get out of the car, just let them have it. I have insurance and the car isn’t worth either of our lives anyway.”
–my instructions about potential carjacking to a former girlfriend who lived in a sketchy area
The Top 5 Missed Shots in Handgun Shooting
- The first shot.
- The last shot.
- The first shot after reducing a stoppage (which includes a reload).
- The shot after an Unintentional Discharge (it’s missed because it’s not fired).
- The first shot after the transition to another target.
The first shot is easily the most missed shot of all. Walking rounds into the target is a very common exercise. However, as Theodore Roosevelt wrote in his 1893 book Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail https://www.amazon.com/Ranch-Hunting-Trail-Theodore-Roosevelt/dp/1414505108 :
No possible rapidity of fire can atone for habitual carelessness of aim with the first shot.
If the gun isn’t indexed into the eye-target line with adequate precision, relative to the distance involved, the first shot is likely to miss. Brian Enos called the necessary personal characteristic “visual patience.” Get the gun adequately aligned prior to pressing the trigger.
The last shot is often missed due to lack of follow-through. There always needs to be one more sight picture than rounds fired. Follow-through may be the least understood of all the Fundamentals of Pistol Shooting. https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2021/11/05/fundamentals-of-pistol-shooting-part-1/
A stoppage is any unintended interruption in the cycle of operation. Whether that’s a malfunction or simply running out of ammo is irrelevant. Any stoppage reduction is a complex motor skill. That means a combination of gross and fine motor skills. Once the stoppage is reduced, we need to transition back into the fine motor skill only (trigger manipulation) mode before we fire the next shot.
After an Unintentional Discharge, the next shot is frequently not fired at all, which is why it’s missed. Periodically, a POlice dashcam or badgecam will record an officer firing one shot, then clearly displaying some type of startle response, and then immediately reholstering. That means it was an Unintentional Discharge, even if shooting was Justifiable under the circumstances. In competition, shooters will occasionally have a UD and then look at the pistol in a dumbfounded way. If they’re not Disqualified by the Range Officer, they will eventually get back to shooting but it’s often several seconds later.
Transitioning from one target to another and then making a good hit with the first shot is difficult. Very few people ever practice it, which increases the difficulty. It’s a sacrilegious view, but my observation is that when someone who isn’t a highly experienced and capable shooter (GM, M, A, Expert) moves their eyes to another target ahead of the sights, the first shot is going to be a miss. If the target is in an unexpected location, this is even more true.
Understanding the Top 5 Missed Shots makes them easier to avoid and shoot gooder.
The following isn’t related to the 5, but it’s an interesting comment from a previous post on my blog.
If you can’t be bothered to expend fifteen minutes a week in dry practice, two extra magazines on your person are most likely meaningless.
SSS Summit Roundup from Active Response
Greg Ellifritz wrote an excellent article about the Summit. I’ll just link it here for those who are interested.
Greg asked me to open the links to my Patreon articles about the Summit and those are now public. The links are available in his article.
SSS Summit – Mindset
#mindsetmonday
The Surgical Speed Shooting Summit Surgical Speed Shooting Summit 2022 – An Overview was largely about pistol shooting technique. Nonetheless, the first thing Andy spoke about on Thursday was mindset. Several items he mentioned are like leadership and land navigation, they bear regular study and periodic review.
- Ayoob’s Priorities
- Mindset
- Tactics
- Skill
- Equipment
- Cooper’s key contributions
- Fundamental safety rules
- Private sector combat competition and shooting schools
- The Modern Technique
- Principles of Personal Defense https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Personal-Defense-Jeff-Cooper/dp/1581604955
- Stanford’s Strategy
- “Private citizens have no law enforcement duty to control and arrest criminals nor military objectives such as killing people and breaking things.”
- Your number one option for personal security is a commitment to:
- Avoidance
- Deterrence
- De-escalation
- Disengagement
Keeping those in mind at all times is a good formula for avoiding Serious Mistakes and Negative Outcomes.
tacticalprofessor 
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