Been In School

I started a shooting class yesterday. Three days and 1200 rounds It's been...interesting. I have managed to pick up a few pointers that will hopefully allow me to find some accurate speed with a handgun. Last day tomorrow. We should be shooting some stages and breaking down our performance.

They have revamped my stance and grip so how it'll go tomorrow is anyone's guess. I even missed a 3 Gun match today for this class so it had better be worth it.
Six

This post brought to you by Don't Try This At Home.

I'm Back

You may have noticed I haven't been around for a while. Nothing bad I just completely lost my mojo. Doctor Evil has been seen in the area though I'm not making any accusations. Just saying is all.

What have I been doing? Well, I finished the coat closet and framed in the short wall for the laundry room. I shot another 3 Gun match. Somehow I managed to squeeze in some schoolin'.

I'm now a certified USPSA Range Officer. That just means my club will now abuse me and ask me to work pretty near every match that comes up. It's all good, I may even take the next step and become a Nationals level RO. That way I can get abused outside of Utah.

I also bought a new gun. Remember my posts on Budget 3 Gun? Yeah, that didn't last long. Sunday I picked up this:

That's a DPMS 3G2. DPMS M111 free float handguard, Magpul stock and 45 degree offset backup sights, Ergo grip, Miculek compensator and a 2-stage trigger. I shot it today to sight it in and it's sweet. Light and very accurate. Not gonna say how much I paid but it's fair to say it pretty much blew my budget to Pluto. I'm shooting the Utah Peace Officers Association (UPOA) 3 Gun on Wednesday. Pics and a write up after the match.

I'm hoping to get back to blogging but I'm also writing other stuff so my posts may be decidedly shooting oriented for a while. My brain cells are limited so I must use them judiciously. Something about not being able to chew gum and walk at the same time.

Six

School Shootings

I posted this on 2-29-12, after the last horrific school shooting. I'm re-posting it because it sums up my view of how we address these atrocities if the safety of our children really is the bottom line.
Six

I've waited for the emotion and sorrow of the latest horrific incident of school violence to lessen before I made any comment. Frankly, I usually let these things pass without any comment at all because I find it incredibly insensitive to discuss them in light of the weight words may carry to the bereaved and the surviving victims. "Dancing In The Blood Of The Innocent" is how it's usually referred to and I abhor the practice. Still, I find myself in the position of needing to speak out in view of the ignorant screeching of the usual disarmament and 'Gun Free Zone' zealots. I hope I may be forgiven for my part in this discussion but I need to speak my heart. I'll not link to any of them but that's Ok. We've heard that song before. Many times and always to our societal injury and individual sorrow.

School violence is not a modern phenomena. One of the earliest in American history was the 1927 Bath County, Michigan school bombing by one Andrew Kehoe that eventually killed 45 and injured 58. Since then there have been many more. Here's a Wikipedia link to more if you'd care to peruse it. How have we responded? Well, the responses have been essentially variations on the Shelter In Place, Profiling and Police Response themes. Take a careful read through this document; Stone & Spencer—Enhancing an Active Shooter School Emergency Plan Using Ambient Materials and The Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 7(3) School Resource Officers (2010). Please note some of the conclusions drawn (emphasis mine);

Those findings most relevant to the current discussion were: attackers did not threaten their targets directly prior to the attack; there is no accurate or useful profile of students who engaged in targeted school violence; and despite prompt law enforcement responses, most shooting incidents were stopped by means other than law enforcement intervention (United States Secret Service, 2004).

In effect, of the thousands or hundreds of thousands of possible threats made or detected every year, only two or three will be real. While there is no accurate way to calculate the false positive rate, since there is no reliable recording of “threats or perceived threats”, it is reasonable to assume that the false positive rate is very high on predicting targeted violence. Responding to a large number of false positive threats would consume enormous resources and be very disruptive to the educational environment. While threat assessment as a strategy cannot be dismissed, it clearly does not represent “the” solution to school shootings.

All of this additional material about targeted violence, physical security and student support programming was also implemented into school districts’ emergency plans, again contributing to the “planning burnout” effect. School administrators find themselves trying to analyze an almost infinite number of threats, decide which represent the greatest threat, install physical security to counter those threats and implement psychological support programming for unidentified disorders with almost no additional budget.

In considering what else can be done to improve current lockdown plans, the authors realized that any suggestions would have to be “cost effective” and politically acceptable to parents, teachers and school administrators. Some suggestions made in the past such as arming teachers were simply not politically acceptable, even if the implementation problems could be overcome (McLelland & Frenkil, 2009).

The 1990 FBI tests established that a common 9mm cartridge could penetrate an average of 29 inches of ballistic gelatin, a substance designed to simulate human tissue. Under their standards, 12 inches of penetration was considered the minimum to produce a fatal or incapacitating wound. What was even more revealing, is that this same cartridge could first penetrate two sheets of gypsum wallboard spaced 3.5 inches apart (simulated interior wall) and then still penetrate an average of 27 inches of ballistic gelatin. A barrier of ¾ inch plywood also proved to have minimal ballistic resistance leaving an average penetration of 28 inches in gelatin (FBI 1990). In effect, common interior walls, especially those of “portable or temporary” classrooms simply are not effective barriers to common firearms. Sheltering in place behind these walls obstructs the vision of the assailant but provides minimal real safety. This would also need to be considered when tactical (QUAD) entry by the police is being attempted. Students sheltering in place behind non-ballistic resistant barriers would be in danger from police gunfire as well as the gunfire of the assailant.

There's a lot more there and it's worth your time to read and ponder.

There's another factor to consider. The use of School Resource Officers (SROs). This also is not a new phenomenon. The first known SRO program was in Flint, Michigan in the 1950s. Here's a typical duty description for an SRO. Now don't get me wrong here, I'm a supporter of the SRO program and the officers who do that job but consider this. Skip down to 11:22 and 11:23 where it talks about the SRO. He exchanges gunfire with one of the shooters at 11:24. Things have changed a bit since then and primarily as a response to this incident. Now you hear terms like Active Shooter Response and Quick Action Deployment. It's basically form up and march to the sound of the guns as opposed to form a perimeter and await SWAT. It's a laudable and much needed response but again consider how many of the school shootings had an SRO on the grounds? I don't know how many (and have so far not been able to find out) but seeing as we've had the program since the 1950s and the fact that there are over 9000 SROs currently serving and the conclusion is obvious. There have been some and probably more than a few. I can point to one and it's still the worst school shooting in American history. That's not denigrating the SRO program, just pointing out that it's not the panacea some seem to believe it is.

So let's examine where we've been and where we are now. School violence has been around for at least 85 years and doesn't seem to be ending permanently any time soon. Responses like Shelter In Place and Profiling have a limited utility. Profiling doesn't work (and may subtract from the overall mission given the sheer number of false positives leading to program burnout) and there is a marked (and decidedly non survivable) difference between cover and concealment. SROs are a positive addition and a good tool but cannot be everywhere at once nor foresee every possible scenario in time to stop all threats before deaths and injuries occur and to expect them to is sheer folly and wishful thinking. Even in cases where an SRO is in a position to stop a threat there are no guarantees. The creation of Gun Free Zones has added precisely zero to the conversation except as talking points for the victim disarmament groups. It hasn't worked, doesn't work and will never work. Anyone who says differently is either lying or kidding themselves and you. Where guns exist there is no such thing as a gun free zone and guns will always exist. It really is just that simple. Might as well create a disease free zone. It's just as useful a concept.

Where do we go from here? Well, I may be the wrong guy to ask. I spent 24 years as a street level police officer in sunny and crime ridden California so I've seen the results of victimization and what those dedicated to violence do to their fellow man. I have zero tolerance for lawlessness and criminality. I believe in every person's innate right to defend themselves, and more importantly given the current topic, those they love. It is stupidity bordering on the criminal if not outright treasonous behavior to seek the disarming of the innocent and law abiding. So, my solution to the school shootings is simple. Let's take 'Political Acceptability' out of the armed school discussion.

Every teacher and school administrator should be required to attend and pass a basic firearms course as a prerequisite to a teaching credential. The cost isn't onerous and can be easily absorbed into their curricula and funding. I'd bet you could find or set up parent and concerned citizen groups that would help financially and instructors who would volunteer their time. Take a look at the responses to the arming of pilots discussions if you doubt me. After graduation and after accepting a teaching position all teachers and administrators would require to qualify regularly and attend further shooting and gun handling classes in their free time (Summer vacation, Spring break, etc. and all paid for by the taxpayer). Want to be a Principal or Vice? Fine, go to SWAT school first. Every school should have a dedicated and trained shooter response team. Let's be honest here. Even in cities that have an excellent response time it is never ZERO. In a armed school that response time would be as close to zero as we're ever going to have unless we go ahead and staff every classroom with an armed and trained police officer each and every school day and if you do that every school budget will crash and every city's tax rate will skyrocket. Want an advanced educational degree or teaching certificate? No problem. There's a wealth of precision rifle schools just begging for motivated students. And every teacher or wanna be had better be good else we'll find someone else who is just as smart but can acquire the skills and mindset we need.

I don't want Gun Free Schools, I want Obviously and Overwhelmingly Armed schools. I want teachers walking around with a Glock on their hip and an AR15 hanging from a carry sling with Level IIIA body armor under a Tac Vest. I want snipers on the roof with 300 Win Mags and range cards and known distance markers in the parking lot. I want anyone who even dreams about taking out a school to wake up with nightmares and a sudden desire to tackle something safer, like a National Guard Armory. I want anyone who does try to die with a sucking chest wound that will only bubble long enough for the Splat part of Tap Tap Splat to reach him. I want our children to be safe. Anything less is an admission that the aim isn't safer schools, it's gun banning pure and simple. The anti Second Amendment crowd would have us all believe that their aim is a safer America. That their only concern is for the victims and the children. That's pure political bullshit. That they don't even acknowledge anyone who isn't killed by a gun is instructive. That they refuse to allow, much less demand, the actual safety of our children is murderously criminal. They are absolutely guaranteeing that there will be more and more such school shootings period. And they won't quit  until we either surrender to them or take matters into our own hands. For them this is a political question not one of true violence prevention and it is completely despicable.

The gun genie is absolutely and irrevocably out of the bottle and there is no way humanly possible to stuff him back in. There will still be guns on this planet 3 years after the sun burns out. So, if disarmament is not working then those who use such tragedies as the killings of our children to bludgeon the public over the head with the Gun Free and Gun Ban hammers are not, indeed cannot, be serious about putting a permanent stop to violence against the innocent. That they won't even discuss or consider it tells you all you need to know about them.

As I write this I can already see the rivers of flame heading my way. Good. If you've got a better answer I'll listen with an open mind and debate it with you. But let me leave you with these 2 tidbits;

The Harrold Independent School District in Texas
and
The University of Utah (scroll down to the section 'Student Life' and read the last sentence).

Now do an Internet search of each of those academic institutions under the heading 'Mass School Shootings At...' and let me know what you find. I'm not saying it'll never happen because neither is the armed school I envision but it's data and at least enough for a rational discussion about real solutions for real school safety instead of the usual 'If Only We Got Rid Of All The Guns' nonsense the anti Second Amendment crowd continues to spout. It's just another chance for them to bathe in innocent blood and preach at people who know better and understand that allowing the inmates free run is precisely the opposite of a rational school safety policy.

I'm an anti crime, pro gun advocate but I am those things precisely because of what I did for a career. There is indeed evil in this world and closing your eyes to it and trying to wish it away with platitudes, wishful thinking and reliance on those with a political drum to beat is suicidal at best, genocidal at worst. There will always be crime and therefore criminals. Placing the safety of our children in the hands of the violent, deranged and psychopathic is insane.

Here's the bottom line for me. It has to be obvious by now to the rational and those not motivated by liberal politics that what we've done so far hasn't worked. More of the same will simply lead to more of the same. It's time to take a look at the issue with a critical eye and an open mind.
Finally I leave you with this. It's an article from Hoover Alabama entitled "Preparing for the unthinkable". The title alone should tell you something. If you regard anything as 'unthinkable' then you've already buried your head in the sand. It's just an article I picked more or less at random but it underscores just what I'm talking about. In it Mo Canady from the National Association of School Resource Officers is quoted. Read it and ask yourself what is it really that he's advocating and what new and innovative approaches to the issue of school shootings is he putting forth? This thinking and these policies (metal detectors for crying out loud! That's the best you can do?) are what's being put forth as the proper, indeed only, way to secure your child's school. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If it's not insanity what is it? We're really only left with three options; gross incompetence, wishful thinking or evil intent.

It's up to you to decide.

Six

Preschool

One of the things I want to do here is to document the process of bonding and training with Angus. Many (most) of you are veteran dog owners and trainers and much of what I write and do may seem odd or wrong to you. All I ask is that you keep an open mind and remember, these are my methods and your mileage may vary. I am strictly self taught with the addition of raising and training two previous dogs, Trooper and Chrisi, both Black Labs. The methods I'm using with Angus are the same I learned at the literary feet of Richard A. Wolters and my experiences actually putting his ideas into effect. I'm going to start at the beginning and carry on to what I hope will be a finished retriever and family dog. The two are not self exclusive. Both Trooper and Chrisi were and are competent retrievers and great family pets. Both were immediately responsive to voice, hand and whistle commands, fetched both marked and blind retrieves and were good with kids and strangers. They were near perfect canine companions if I do say so myself. Angus? We'll see but he has all the hallmarks of a fine dog.

Picking a puppy
Regardless of what anyone tells you it is not a science, it's a crap shoot. Still, there are things you can look for. Please bear in mind that most of what I tell you is from my experience with the Labrador Retriever breed but they should work with most breeds.
I tend to stay away from the shrinking violets. They are usually the picked on dog and may have already picked up habits and traits that will negatively effect their ultimate temperament. This is many times the fear biter. Not always the case but it is a potential indicator. I also disregard the fat boy. He's usually the litter bully, spending way too much time at momma's teat at the expense of his brothers and sisters (see the shrinking violet). Listless dogs may be less than bright or even sick. Beware.
I look for the well adjusted puppy. He's inquisitive, explores, plays and is unafraid of humans. He'll usually come right up to you and watch your face. Dogs are great at reading facial cues and body language and a dog who shows interest is a dog that will be far easier to train as he grows up.
With all that said I bought and paid for both Trooper and Angus sight unseen. In both cases they were the only black males in the litter so I had exactly zero choices to make. Like I said, my belief is that picking a puppy is a crap shoot. Better by far to pay particular attention to your breeder. What does the facility look like? Is the whelping box clean, dry and covered? What are their experiences breeding? Do they have a veterinarian on call? Do they have references? Do they have a guarantee? Are they affiliated with the AKC? (Not always a great indicator but better than someone who says AKC? What's the AKC?) Have the parents been screened for genetic problems (hip dysplasia, eyes, structure, etc.)? These are the things to look for and ask. If you get information that makes you uncertain do yourself a huge favor and find another breeder. Stay strictly away from pet store puppies. These are almost always puppy mill dogs and ones you will almost certainly have behavior and medical issues with.
Last but not least take a look at your local pound. Murphy's Law has adopted at least 2 dogs that I know of and they were/are both fine animals. Both puppies and adults can be found in  most any breed you can name. Now, on to the show.

Preschool - 7 weeks to 12 weeks
Angus is in preschool. I got him just a few days shy of 49 days old. 49 is the target but a few days either side is acceptable. The purpose of picking up your dog at 49 days old is two fold.
First, we want the dog to imprint on us. The bonding process is best done at this age. By 49 days the puppy has learned some socialization skills, has learned about humans and has learned that he's a dog. It sounds funny but a dog needs to learn that they're dogs and not humans. We've also lessened the impact of negative behavior by litter mates.
Second, we've jump started the process of transitioning the dog from self directed behavior to trainer directed behavior. The sooner this process starts the better.
In preschool Angus and I will get to know each other. Through feeding, playing and general care we'll form a bond that will have a permanent effect on the dog. Starting at 49 days gives us the best chance for this to become strong and life long.
Preschool puppies need a lot of attention. Don't get one if you're not prepared to devote the majority of your time to him until he reaches about 6 months. Angus and I are together constantly. We eat together, play together and sleep together. He gets the majority of my attention when he's awake and my watchful eye when he's asleep. I am taking him along the path toward being the dog he can be and that can't be done properly unless you're devoted to the puppy and the process. I'll gently teach him the things he needs to learn now and instill in him the tools he'll need when the training ramps up.
In Preschool Angus will learn some things but more importantly he'll learn how to learn.

Potty Training
The first thing he needs to learn is where to do his business. House training is actually pretty simple in theory but demanding in practice. I started out by taking him out to the potty area as soon as we got home. I knew he would need to go and kept him there, playing and petting until he voided. I praised him and we played for a bit to implant in his mind the idea that some things are more fun than others. I keep Angus in a confined area, the living room, with immediate and easy access to the yard and the potty area. It's important to watch him constantly when he's awake. Look for the signs that he needs to go. For Angus he'll start nosing around and exhibiting body language that I have learned to read as "Need to go right now". Scoop him up, take him to the potty area, keep him there until he goes and give him plenty of praise and fun when he does. I take Angus outside every time he eats, drinks and after he wakes up from a nap. If he starts to go in the house again scoop him up, give him a NO and take him to the place. Keep him there for a bit but if he doesn't go don't praise him. Thoroughly wash any place he's gone in the house and use a scent remover like Fabreeze to mask the scent. For solid eliminations it's much the same. One thing I suggest is don't get too thorough in cleaning up in the beginning. I want him to be able to smell where he's already been, at least at first. Oh I scoop but I don't rinse until I'm sure he knows exactly where his place to go is. Does it work? It did beautifully with both Chrisi and Trooper. We had maybe 10 to 12 pee accident in the house total and no poops. Angus is doing even better. We've had 2 pee accidents and not even close to a poop in the house. He'll jump up from a sound sleep and head out to his potty place just as nice as you please yet he's barely 7 weeks old.

Crate training.
I'm a firm believer in crating dogs. Now before you condemn me let me explain. The only time I crate Angus is at night when it's time for sleep. The crate is open, airy and cool and it's right next to my bed. He can smell me and hear me and it gives him comfort. He also learns that when it's time for quiet and sleep it's time. Dogs are also natural denners. They seek out places where they feel secure. The crate is quiet, dark and temperate. It also alleviates potty accidents as the dog will tend not to go where he sleeps. A crate is a perfect den. Don't believe me?
This is Angus' sleep crate. Note that it's open at the top and has plenty of air flow. Angus, like Trooper, likes to choose his sleep surface. After I took this picture I laid down some tiles so he can choose between the blanket and cool, hard surfaces. Note also his monkey. If Angus chooses to play quietly in the crate I'm fine with that so I give him something to do if he wants. It relaxes him and removes any stress he may have been feeling over being confined. I also have one of my worn shirts in there so my scent is always in his nose.

Here's Angus' toy box. Yep, it's another crate. I put all his toys into it whenever he's done playing so he has to go into the crate to get something fun. It reinforces the idea that the crate is not something to fear but rather something positive. Even something to seek out. That's Angus after waking up from a nap in that crate that he voluntarily chose.

Need more proof? Here is his favorite sleepy spot in the living room. Note the similarities to his crates. This is a spot he found and goes back to again and again. Enclosed on three sides, dark, quiet and secure.

Ok, one more and I'll get off this topic. Here's Angus sleeping in the mud room. Roughly 8x9, it's completely closed during the day except for the doggy door. He loves it in there and, for all it's greater size, it's just another crate. The point is that crate training your puppy isn't cruel or harsh, it's actually good for the dog. Let me leave you with two things about crate training.

The usual rule of thumb is never leave the puppy in the crate longer than 1 hour greater than his age in months. For example, Angus is approximately 2 months old so 3 hours is the max. It's usually time for a pee about then anyway. I let Angus set his pee times. He'll wake me when it's time and go right back to sleep after. He's such a good boy.

The crate is not a playpen or a replacement for your attention. Never use the crate as punishment. The crate is a positive place for the dog not a way to "get him out of your hair".

As Angus gets older I'll look for the signs that he's ready to transition from that self directed to trainer directed behavior. The first sign I look for is response to his name. I'm also looking for him to seek me out and follow where I lead. He wants to do what I'm doing, whatever that is. I'm already seeing some signs of that in Angus. He'll follow me around, climb into my lap when I sit on the floor with him and look to me when it's play time. He's learning that chasing the ball is fun and chewing is a sublime activity as long as it's the right thing. But for now it's strictly no pressure learning. there's no discipline here beyond NO. I may do dominance with him (a puppy definitely understands and has experience with who is dominant in the litter) but nothing else. What I'm trying to do with him is make him happy, secure and interested. He gets plenty of love and affection and learns that Daddy's hands are wonderful things. I'm preparing him for adulthood and the life of a Good Dog. When Angus starts responding to his name we'll move on to advanced Preschool where he'll learn SIT, STAY, COME and maybe DOWN. Believe it or not but by the time this puppy is 12 weeks old he'll know all these commands and respond to them by voice, hand and whistle and he'll do it all with the doggy equivalent of a smile on his face..

Skeptical? Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy.

Stay tuned.

Six