OK, I guess it’s my own fault. I made the heretical suggestion that we address the causes of violence as a way to undermine support for Gun Control. I identified several of the things that I believe contribute to violence in the US. Several people found this highly offensive and ‘didn’t like my politics.’ I’ve lost some readers. *shrug*

I’m a veteran. I’m an ex-cop. I’ve run my own business for thirty years and on the whole been a success. Throughout the near sixty years I’ve been around I’ve been watching and thinking about what I see. I was taught how to learn, how to research, how to think critically; that can happen when your dad’s an engineer. I grew up in white suburbia in the 1960’s and 70’s and after the army I lived around the area where I grew up for some time. Spent about a year in NYC before moving back to Seattle. The whole time I was watching and thinking about what I saw.

Twenty-three years ago we moved to a poor, racially diverse neighborhood. I kept watching and thinking. What I didn’t see were the stereotypes. I didn’t see people on welfare. I saw hard working people trying to make their lives better and to make a better life for their children. Sure, there were bad characters in the neighborhood, but no more so than the neighborhood I grew up in.

I’ve see a lot and thought a lot. I thought critically about things, because that’s how I was brought up. I’ve worked hard; less hard than some of my neighbors in recent years; I’m not getting any younger after all.

Through it all I’ve been a gun owner and a staunch supporter of the 2nd Amendment. I’ve never seen a gun law that demonstrably made things better. I oppose them, on principle and because they don’t work.

Over the course of all of this experience and thinking I’ve formed opinions. I didn’t pull them out of my ass. I didn’t get them from Rachel Madow or Rush Limbaugh, from CNN or Fox. I didn’t get them from propaganda or the internet. I got them from observation, from life experience and sharing the experiences of others.

You don’t have to agree with my opinions. Your opinions are likely formed by your own observation and thoughts. Different people, different lives; different opinions are going to happen. Honestly I try not to inflict my opinions on you, because that’s not why we are here. We’re here because we like gun stuff. That’s our common ground; a place where we can put things aside and appreciate each other for what we have in common. It was my error to introduce opinions that reek of politics. My apologies; I’ll try to stick more strictly to gun stuff.

But if you are so totalitarian in your beliefs and opinions that we can’t even meet on that ground? Well then we are both better off if you choose to spend your time elsewhere. Have a nice life.

Me? I’ll keep watching and thinking critically about what I see, and writing about gun stuff… and try to keep politics out of this blog.

Michael Tinker Pearce, 23 March 2021

As I write this details are emerging about another spree-shooting, this time in Boulder Colorado, and I am again reminded of why I carry a concealed pistol every day. Not to be a hero, not to be the ‘Good Guy With a Gun’ that saves the day. I carry it to defend myself and other innocents if necessary and possible.

I’ve talked about this before. Self-defense does not mean hunting down the shooter; going after a madman with a rifle or shotgun while armed with a concealed handgun does not strike me as a recipe for a long life. I have a home and family, and as a civilian my first responsibility is to survive and return to them. Going after the shooter is the job for the people with training, long-guns, commo and armor that are paid for this sort of situation.

As an individual citizen it is just not my job. Sounds callous, but there it is. I am not going to try to hunt down an active shooter. I’m going to get out. If it is feasible I’m going take as many innocent people with me as possible. My concealed carry pistol is for defense, period, and that means covering a retreat. Period.

Another consideration is that the police, and even potentially other armed citizens, don’t know who the hell you are or what you are doing. They don’t know how many shooters there are. In they heat of the moment and operating with limited information if they see you ‘on the hunt’ with a gun they just might shoot you. So get out. If you can help others while doing so then by all means do, but get out.

Well, that’s the ideal. I am, unfortunately, what’s called a ‘high responder;’ last year when I observed a domestic issue I intervened despite knowing what I should have done instead. I knew better, but in the moment… OK, I can work with that. If I know I may not be able to do the sensible thing I need to take that into account and plan accordingly. So, look for a choke point and play rear-guard while others are escaping, then get the hell out myself. If engaged the idea is to disengage and retreat, which means I need to plan to do so as safely as possible. We need to learn our limitations and work around them as much as possible to achieve the desired result, which in this case is to preserve my own life for my sake and the sake of those that love me.

Arguably one of the most useful things you can do in a mass-casualty event is to be prepared for the aftermath. Carrying a tourniquet or a small emergency trauma kit might save a life you couldn’t have saved by trying to be a hero. Take a ‘stop the bleed’ class. Be prepared to useful in a way that makes sense, even if you are armed. Oh, and if the gun comes out it goes away again the instant you are reasonably safe; you really don’t want to escape a life or death situation only to be shot by a cop with incomplete information.

All that being said, I feel the need to comment more broadly on these mass killings. Gun Control laws have not stopped these events in other countries, and they won’t stop them here. Despite strict gun control there was a serious mass shooting in France, and there have been in other places too. That leaves aside bombings and other mass-casualty attacks, and we need to recognize that the dead really don’t give a single shit if the instrument of their demise was a bullet, a bomb or a delivery truck driven into a crowd. Mass killings are not the disease; they are a symptom. Sadly the United States has that disease worse than most and it’s not going to go away until we address that fact.

Unequal education, lack of economic opportunity, income inequality, sexism, racism, political extremism, the deliberate and systematic concentration of wealth to a small, exclusive minority… and maybe most importantly the sense of privilege that denies these are real. Want to stop the killing? Address these things. Yes, it’s harder. Yes, it’s expensive, and yes it’s easier to slap a band-aid on the sucking chest wound and pretend you’ve done something useful. But until we address these factors and the societal illness that currently prevails the killing isn’t going to stop. It’s like people are starving and we’re arguing about the menu instead of feeding them. Deal with the disease and the symptoms will go away.

Michael Tinker Pearce, 22 March 2021

I’ve got a couple of old revolvers that I like to carry concealed. I tend to do so less than I used to, but these are still working guns. One is a S&W Model 1902 .38 Special that shipped in 1909, and the other is a Colt Police Positive Special in .32-20 made in 1910. I modified both of these guns to suit their roles and made antler grips for them, supplemented by a Tyler T-grip on the Colt. These have served me well, but…

My middle finger on my right hand has gotten fat. I’m pushing 60 years old, and my body is going through changes (falling apart.) The grip of the Colt is no longer comfortable, and I can no longer easily get a proper grip on the S&W while drawing from the holster. Time for a change, and by change I mean new grips. I had some Maple sitting around and a bit of free time, so I went for it.

Both issues are now solved; the Smith is easier to draw, the Colt is easier to hold. The S&W’s grip is a half-inch longer, but it doesn’t really cause issues with concealment. So how do they shoot (aside from ‘better than I do?’)

Range Time!

S&W M1902

This gun has a fantastic DA Trigger; that was one of the reasons I bought it, despite the horrible refinishing job etc. After I refinished and modified it it was an excellent shooter. The new grips are very carefully fitted to my hand, and the addition of the stippling makes them quite secure. It’s also now easy and intuitive to get a proper grip on the gun for the draw. I started with a rapid-fire group at seven yards with some standard-velocity 158gr. LRNFPs.

Next I tried seven-yard yard ‘Panic Fire.’ For this I use a two-hand grip and I pull the trigger as fast as I can. For this I am depending on muscle-memory of firing with the sights, but not actually using them. Two cylinders produced this-

Switching to some hot 115gr. JHP loads I repeated the seven-yard rapid-fire exercise.

I did some more shooting, and after some 5-shot point-and-shoot drills at three yards, shooting with both strong and weak hand, I ran the target out to twenty-five yards and fired a five-shot double-action group. On the last shot I felt myself pull the shot off, and the flyer at the upper left was the result.

I’m going to call the new grips a winner. I do hope the primer shortage eases up soon; I miss going to the range… and need more practice.

Colt Police Positive Special

When I got this gun it was time-worn but essentially fine… except for the grips. I used it for ballistic tests of .32-20, but after had no further need of it. Given the ongoing (futile) attempt to weed out my collection I felt I should either pass it along or re-purpose it. Being me I turned it into a snubby, with improvements to the trigger and a few other minor modifications.

For today’s excursion I’d loaded a box of 100gr LFPs over 4.5gr of Unique; this is a fairly snappy load from this gun, but isn’t really pushing the limits. Three 5-shot strings at seven yards told the tale.

The rear sight notch is shallow and the front sight a bit wide so this could be an aiming error on my part. I’m going to figure out how to improve the sights. I moved from this to five shot point-and-shoot drill at three yards. Shots are fired about as rapidly as I can pull the trigger.

So I need to work on the sights and my shooting, but really happy with the grips and the gun overall.

Conclusion

Both of these guns, though subject to refinishing and/or modification, are over 110 years old. When I got them both showed signs of being well-used in that time, and both still function as well as ever. While more advanced guns have taken their place in their original roles as ‘duty’ weapons, they retain usefulness as self-defense weapons suited to the needs of average people. There aren’t a lot of complex manufactured items that remain useful after more than a century!

Michael Tinker Pearce, 17 March 2021

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