Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Things that go "Bump in the Night"

Things that Go Bump in the Night

Three of my guilty pleasures are reading
-Survival Blog by James Wesley, Rawles
-Ol' Remus Woodpile Report
-Zero Hedge

One of the articles in Zero Hedge inspired this blog entry
Forget Neighborhood Watch, This is a Glock Block!

This is one scenario of things going "Bump in the Night"
What is accurate about this video is that the good guy gets only one hit in ten shots.  That is actually on the high side.  The hit rate for well trained Law Enforcement Officers is  one hit for every four shots.  After-action interviews often disclose that the shooter experienced extreme tunnel vision and sensory exclusion.  They were physically unable to the sights on the firearm.  The only thing they could see was the threat.  Another thing about this video that is accurate is the guy is closing his eyes while shooting.  He is scared of his weapon. What is not accurate about this video is the good lighting, the clarity of the bad guys actually being bad guys and the amount of time the home-owner has to retrieve his weapon.  It is very likely that some other family member will be the only one who can retrieve a weapon. So here is the first installment on the Eaton Rapids Joe approved tools to repel TTGBITN.  Your story does not need to end like the story shown in the Video.
Overview.  Mossberg 500 slug gun (shotgun) with three accessories.  Slug guns typically have shorter barrels that make them handy in tight quarters.  They are also outfitted with rifle type sights for precision shooting.
Only hits count.    Stack the deck so you lay 100% of the lead on the target.
If you get only one accessory...get a Red Dot scope and a suitable mount.  Mall Ninja's write reams about the dangers of "over-penetration".  I am here to tell you the best way to avoid  over-penetration is to make sure every shot hits your target.  That means you need a system that works in bad light and lays an aim point in the same focal plane as your target.  Remember, the after action interviews consistently show that the shooter was oblivious to the sights on the gun.
Sighting in with slugs at 20 yards.  The nail was the aim point.  Second shot skipped across top of firewood chunk.  Third shot is plenty good enough.  Note that longest cross-room shot in my house would be 30 feet ( 10 yards, half the sighting in distance)
Sissy pads are not for sissies.
Remember how the shooter in the video was afraid of his weapon?  Imagine his wife or daughter trying to shoot that gun.  Sissy pads are practical!  You just need to be a little careful that you do not make the firearm overly long for any of the home's potential users. This is a work in progress.  The sissy pad has not been ground to fit the contour of the scope.  The hard, red factory pad has been replaced with a Pachmayr "Decelerator" pad.  There are softer pads that are even more effective at reducing recoil, but I like the durability of the Pachmayr pads.
The lace-up cheek piece raises your line-of-sight to the height of the scope.  It is padded so it also reduces shooter anxiety about getting smacked by the stock.
A ziplock type baggie held in place with a rubber band makes a great see-through dust cover.  It also strips off easily without  requiring fine-motor skills
Key points:  This scope uses batteries.  Reset the brightness to zero.  Use a clear dust cover.  Honestly, the baggie and rubber band is the best system I have found.

Bonus Section:

After the shooting, what happens?
Box-O-Truth, how to fight with a Shotgun

1 comment:

Readers who are willing to comment make this a better blog. Civil dialog is a valuable thing.