Introduction
My name is Jim. I am an incurable “gunoholic”.
I have been asked by the fine folks at GunsAmerica to pen, or whatever the cyber term for expressing ideas in electronic print, a regular column for their new endeavor.
This little introduction will be about the only time you hear from me about me. I grew up in what Jeff Cooper would call “Another Country”. While there are certainly those who may contest the claim that I actually “grew up”, at least I have managed to survive to an age at which I have seen a few things of interest. One of the things I was brought up to believe is that a man who talks about himself is a bore, so I will keep this brief.
You will pick up right away that I am not a professional writer. My son is the English Major so I will leave the precise grammar, punctuation and even, occasionally, the spelling to him – and the spell chequer. If you came here for perfect literature then you have opened the wrong window on your screen. But I do know a thing or two about firearms. If you came to discuss guns on a wide range of topics then grab a chair and pull yourself up to the old pot bellied stove – something I actually remember doing as a child, basking in the heat of the fire, listening to crusty old men reminisce about driving mule drawn ambulances at Chateau Thierry or slogging through the jungles of Guadalcanal or just chasing that monster buck no one could seem to bag down around Buzzards Roost (that’s a real place, by the way – I shot my first .45 Auto there when I was five years old).
I am also not big on titles. While I am officially recognized by governments from the federal level down through the state and county as a “Subject Matter Expert” and I have a piece of paper signed by the Guru Himself (that would be Jeff Cooper if you came in late) stating that I am a “Senior Expert” (one of about 12 world wide). I don’t think of myself as such. If you ask me, I am serious student of Weaponcraft. I enjoy both working and recreation (I don’t think of it as “play”) with firearms. Firearms of all types. If ever comes the time I stop learning about firearms then it is time to hang up my guns.
God has blessed me in that I am involved full time in the thing I like to do. I am presently semi-retired from duties as a Peace Officer. I never liked the term Law Enforcement Officer much. There are too many laws in my book. A good friend, and author whose name you would recognize, once said: “Jim’s idea of too much government interference is a stop sign.” He knows me well.
While I am still involved with folks who tote badges and guns on the training side of the picture and I am on call for the rare occasion that lethal force may need to be applied in extreme cases, my full time occupation is training the military. My employer is a bit averse to publicity so we will not be discussing in detail the exact organization(s) or be covering the classes I conduct but of course what is learned there as far as skills that can be shared will frequently find its way into our discussions.
“Discussions”. That is a good word. I would much rather view the endeavor here as a friendly discussion than as some sort of lecture or position paper or even a diatribe. One of the more novel ideas the staff at GunsAmerica have, and which I find attractive, is that this column, while hopefully informative, will be a discussion starter. However, unlike the typical internet forum, it will be a discussion amongst friends, in a fairly closed group. As long as I am involved those discussions will be conducted with decorum and respect.
While I have a fairly long resume of firearms related experience, I have already grown weary of talking about me. You will figure out pretty soon whether I am all wet or I might have a clue, albeit a small one, about the topics in which we delve. So let’s take a look into the crystal ball and gander at the cornucopia of firearms related mischief we can raise.
One of my favorite mental pastimes, which has sort of carried over into the active side, is what I call “goring sacred cows”, to mix a couple of bovine metaphors. To be sure, I don’t want to get into the negative rut. Nor do I wish to seem critical. In fact, very few times in this column will you see negative references to individuals. I was taught, and still believe, that visionary people talk about ideas, serious minded people talk about things and small minded people talk about other people. Of course sometimes an idea gets unavoidably intertwined with a personality. We hope to treat those topics without tromping on any sensitive toes. It is never a good idea to insult folks with guns. Robert A. Heinlein was an excellent fiction writer but when he penned “An armed society is a polite society” he was speaking the truth. We gun toters need to remind ourselves regularly that offensive behavior, in ourselves, can quickly escalate into something we did not intend. Judging from the statistics of people with concealed carry permits committing crimes, we are doing a fairly good job of that, I must say.
One thing I almost never get into is the “he said, she said” style of discussion. Those who have a classic education know this as a tool of argument as “appeal to authority”. It has been my privilege to know personally quite of few of the world’s authorities on firearms. Some I know well enough to call friend – a term I do not sling about lightly. With the advent of the World Wide Web, I have met others and carried on personal correspondence with far more than I would have been able to meet in person. Point being, we are not necessarily impressed with notable names being dropped as giving credence to ones side of the argument. Nor will the idea that ________ (fill in your favorite shooting star here) uses this particular gun or style of shooting carry much weight.
Not to boast, but I have been around most competition circles, have probably seen some of the folks acknowledged as the best shots in the world and, in my prime, could give them a run for their money. As Will Sonnett (played by Walter Brennan) used to say: “No brag, just fact”. At the same time one does not want to get the big head about performance. I was once walking around the U.S. Region IPSC Championship (this was before the days of USPSA) with Ross Seyfried, a gentleman of the first order! A vendor asked him how it felt to be the best pistol shot in the world (Ross would become World Champion the next year). His response was: “I have no idea. The best pistol shot in the world is probably some farmer out in Colorado or someplace who we never heard of.” It was a point I took a lesson from. Both as to one’s attitude and probably as to the factual reality that there are indeed great shooters who are unknown to the press and public.
Case in point, my Dad was not a competitor nor even what one would call a recreational shooter. He seldom went to a range and only owned 3 guns (one being his father’s double barreled shotgun which he never used). Yet he was probably the best rifle shot it has been my privilege to watch, and I have seen a few fairly famous riflemen shoot (to include Carlos Hathcock who was no slouch). I have run into several other folks who don’t shoot regularly but who can perform some feats that the stars of many shooting shows might find hard to duplicate. Point being there is always something to learn from just about anybody if you have an open mind.
Moving on, so what “sacred cows” might we go about sticking? Here are a few. Mind you some of these topics have at least two sides, both of which may be valid. I once had an excellent pastor who would say during his sermon: “I know there is another side. Don’t make me give it this week, I will give it next week.” Some of my best arguments are with myself. By the way that same pastor said from the pulpit: “If guns cause crime I will buy a comb and have it cause hair.” He was what we might call, “folliclly challenged.”
OK, enough beating around the bush. What ideas might we explore that some folks think are valid, maybe even sacrosanct? Well I have in mind a few favorites and will come up with more:
Cold Ranges are safer than Hot Ranges
Shoot “Center Mass” for self defense
“Practice Makes Perfect”
Kinetic Energy equals Effectiveness
A .357 Magnum will penetrate an engine block
A .44 Magnum will “blow your head clean off”
Leverguns are strictly for cowboys or woods hunters
You “aim” a rifle and “point” a shotgun
You cannot carry a “big” handgun on the street in the summer
It doesn’t matter what caliber you carry if you shoot it well
The list of course goes on and on. However, I don’t want to give the impression that we will always be talking about the fallacy – or perhaps debatable aspects – of gun mythology. We will also talk about training one’s self to be a better shot and a better gun handler. We may talk about what you pack hunting come hunting season. We may even talk about gadgetry. If we talk about ballistics, group sizes, load data and so on, I promise you that we will not dwell much on boring charts and reports of endless columns of numbers. We may lightly touch on such in the context of practical use.
We will of course be very interested in feedback. A fairly wise man once wrote: “No man has enough experience that his opinion may be taken as definitive.” That man was Elmer Keith Surprised, aren’t you? By the way, if you don’t know who Elmer Keith is, you have a lot of catching up to do. Everything of value has not been written on the World Wide Web. Some of it was written before Al Gore invented the Internet.
You will also catch on pretty quickly that I seldom have anything new to offer you except perspective. Rather I like to delve into a topic and learn something of practical use to someone. In that vein I like to tell folks that all of my material is original. I steal it from the people who originated it! Even the title of this column is not my original thought. It comes from the title of an excellent book by Eugene Cunningham written in 1941.
I look at reading and writing firearms related articles, training of all types, watching DVDs and so on as “mining for nuggets of wisdom” (I stole that little gem from an instructor at an NRA Law Enforcement Instructors Development Course). I am a firm believer that plagiarism is the most sincere form of flattery. However, I will never intentionally go so far as to claim the idea being plagiarized is my own and will always endeavor to give credit where credit is due.
I also look at feedback as one of the most useful tools in the toolbox. No telling where your questions or comments may lead us.
With that, let us boldly go where no doubt other people have gone before!
Onward and Upward!
Your humble correspondent, Jim Higginbotham, henceforth to be known as “just Jim” (someone else originated that too).
