Category: General Information

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Stress in Combat

perceptual narrowing

Fighting for your life is likely the most stressful event any person can experience. That stress affects your performance: some of it good, some of it bad. This is the first in a series of articles that will explore what this stress is, and what it does to your body.

Survival Stress

Survival stress is caused by a perception of an imminent threat of harm. The seriousness of the perceived threat causes a proportionate amount of stress on the body. Additionally, if the individual is surprised, or has very little time to react, the amount of stress increases.

For example, willingly entering a MMA competition will likely cause a moderate amount of stress, whereas being attacked suddenly in the parking lot by a knife-wielding thug will probably cause an extreme amount of survival stress.

Survival stress is also referred to as “body alarm response” (BAR) in some of the literature. Regardless on what you call it, it causes some pretty predictable reactions in the body.

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Happy New Year!

The old year is gone, and the new one just begun.

2009 was an unprecedented year in many ways.  The government of the US, the one that is supposed to be of the people and by the people, has uniformly ignored and alienated itself from the people.  Government take-overs of banks and industry, started in late ’08, have continued.  Government control of your health care seems assured.  Our representatives (in both parties) no longer listen to their employers, and they have seized enough power to continue their existence in perpetuity.

2010, I hope, will be the beginning of the process to reverse all of this.

In 2010 we have a new set of national elections, in which, we can begin to make a change.  But we can also make important changes at a much more personal level.

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Firearms Safety

SIG P226 Winchester Ammo

SIG P226 Winchester Ammo

Get a new gun for Christmas?  Congratulations!  Owning a firearm is a very positive thing, but it comes with the very serious responsibility of safe handling, storage and use.

Handling

A firearm will never discharge without human intervention.  This means a loaded gun laying on the table is no threat to anyone, unless a person walks over and begins to handle it.  So, the firearms community developed a set of four rules to follow when handling a firearm.

All firearms are always loaded – Always treat a firearm as if is loaded.  Even if you just checked it, always assume it is loaded.  There are many cases where someone thought the gun was unloaded, and tragedy struck because it was not.

Never point the gun at anything you are not willing to destroy – Don’t point a gun at your friends, wife, husband, dog, TV or anything else that would be hurt, killed or destroyed by a bullet.  If you accidentally discharge a firearm that is pointed in a ‘safe’ direction, no one is killed.  If you are pointing the gun at a loved one…

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Thanksgiving

Here in the United States, we take one day off every year to pause and reflect on those things which we are thankful for.

I am thankful for my family: my wife, children, and parents. Each of them has made me a better person by setting examples and inspiring me to be more than I am today.

I am thankful for my country.  Here I am free to pursue my dreams, worship God in my own way, and to live my life free of fear.  No other country in the world has done more to foster freedom and liberty in the world than the United States.

I am thankful for the men and women who willingly stand up and walk into harm’s way to protect the citizens of my country.  Whether you carry a M4 in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan, stand watch on an aircraft carrier, or drive a patrol car through the cities and counties of our own country, each of you stands up every day and goes where others will not, to defend our fellow citizens, asking only one question: If not me, then who?

I am especially thankful for Marcus Luttrell and all of the servicemen in our country’s elite fighting units who are called upon far too frequently to walk into battle, to do the impossible missions that are asked of them.  These soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen willingly suffer more, mentally and physically, than we have a right to ask of them.  Yet, they refuse to stop or quit because their countrymen still need them.

I am thankful for the medical technology, and a free and competitive market that has given it to us.  Our current health system helped my father beat cancer more than 20 years ago, and it is helping my mother beat it today.  Our health system saved the life of my wife and our daughter, when she was giving birth and complications arose.  Under a socialized form of health care, I would be without these people, and as such I am very thankful for the men and women of the United States who have stood up to fight against the current health care bills in the US Congress.

Lastly, I am thankful for you, dear reader.  You have chosen to spend some small part of your day to visit, read, comment, and support my sponsors.  Without you, I would not be able to do this.

Thank you.

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General Information

May Preview

The Stark SE-1 Grip

Welcome to May.  This month I have some exciting evaluations planned for you.  Included in this month’s evaluations: custom hearing protection, zombie killing flashlights, and AR accessories.

Hearing protection may not be a sexy topic, but it is a serious one.  For you to keep your hearing and to enjoy a lifetime of shooting, some type of protection is a must.  There was a time that custom-molded earplugs and electronic ear muffs were out of reach for most shooters due to their high prices.  Well, this month, I take a look at some custom-molded earplugs that sell for less than $15 and electronic ear muffs that go for less than $50.

I also have an evaluation of a new tactical flashlight that runs on AA batteries, but throws more than 600 lumens! To describe this light as bright is a major understatement.

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