The Wandering Minstrel

I purchased “Principles of Personal Defense,” a book written by famed firearms expert Colonel Jeff Cooper ($8.50 at Amazon). I started reading it last week before the short trip to Kalifornistan. It looks to be very interesting reading and I should be finished soon, since it’s less than eighty pages in length.

Cooper presents a list of seven principles and describes each principle in detail in its own chapter. There is also a closing chapter, “A Final Word.”

The principles are:

• Alertness
• Decisiveness
• Aggressiveness
• Speed
• Coolness
• Ruthlessness
• Surprise

Cooper mentions in the introduction that this work has been received by many law enforcement agencies with only moderate enthusiasm. It seems like their public relations folks don’t like the principles of aggressiveness and ruthlessness. Heh.

This is the write-up on the back cover of the book:

This new edition of Cooper’s classic Principles of Personal Defense - with a fitting tribute by firearms expert Louis Awerbuck and all-new drawings by renowned illustrator Paul Kirchner - presents his timeless theory of individual defensive behavior clearly, concisely and practically. All free people who aspire to stay that way should read, study and share the wisdom found within these pages. Considered by many to be one of the greatest books on combat mindset and proper defensive mental conditioning ever written, it deserves a place of honor in every library.

While doing reserch about Indian Reservations yesterday, I came across another website dedicated to CCW and reciprocity maps, etc. This one, USA Carry, has a nice interactive graphics feature where you can see any state’s recognition by other states to honor that state’s CCW permit. Likewise, you can see (by state) which permits are recognized by that state.

I did a screen capture of Arizona’s recognition, not necessarily reciprocity, but whether permits are honored or not. On the left is states that recognize Arizona and on the right, states Arizona honors. Ignore Wisconsin for the time being, since they are still sorting out the details of their recently becoming the 49th state to issue CCW permits. As for the gun-grabbing state of Illinois - well, what can you say about “OBAMALAND” being the last hold out on this fundamental second amendment right?

Both are clickable images.

Bottom line - Arizona residents who have an Arizona CCW permit can carry in 35 out of 50 states. And, anybody (eligible under the usual rules) can carry in Arizona - EVEN IF YOU’RE A RESIDENT OF ILLINOIS!

Last month I posted about the Wickenburg Sportsmen’s Club offering a CCW class. We had out-of-town guests and had to pass on the class. I reported that the club offered the class quarterly, but it seems that they are going to offer a class in August.

It also appears that the requirements for AZ CCW have changed somewhat. Previously, there was an eight-hour session with live range qualification. Evidently, the live fire is no longer required. It will be a four-hour classroom session.

The club secretary emailed me the flyer and application. I signed up myself and The Better Half and the check for the class is in the mail. We’re both looking forward to attending.

After finishing Frank James’ “Effective Handgun Defense,” I ordered more books on the self-defense topic thanks to a couple of tips from DrJim who blogs at “Every Blade of Grass.”

Left to right in the (clickable) image above, are “In the Gravest Extreme” by Massad Ayoob, “The Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry” also by Ayoob and “Armed Response” by David Kenik. I have already finished the books on the left and right and I am about a quarter of the way through the big book in the middle.

My impression of all of these is very good. All I can say about getting into a position which requires the use of deadly force is I hope to heaven it never happens to us. But if it does, all three of these shed light on techniques and most importantly, what to expect in the aftermath. It’s not going to be pretty, that’s for sure.

Ayoob’s big book in the center is a bit more enjoyable reading than the other two, but only because of the frank descriptions of the reality of the self-defense experience and the repercussions that may follow in the other two. There is a little of that in the big book, but there is also lots of photos of guns and some interesting anecdotes. Even though I have not finished the digest, I can say it promises to be good reading.

The Wickenburg Sportsmen’s Club is offering Arizona CCW permit training this month. The Better Half and I want to get our permits, but with the 60-day processing period, we won’t have the permits in time for the Gun Bloggers Rendezvous. That, and other complications, will cause us to have to miss this training session.

Since the Club offers training quarterly, we plan to attend the September class and qualification. We need the CCW permit to allow us to carry when we travel out of Arizona on our vacations in the future. The good news is that most states where we want to visit (except Nevada) accept our Utah CCW permits, so this summer’s vacation can proceed as planned.

Here are some details regarding the WSC Training on July 23rd:

To qualify for an Arizona CCW permit under ARS 13-3112, you must:

• Be a United States citizen, a resident alien (valid green card) is OK.
• Be 21 years of age or older
• Not be under indictment for and have never been convicted of a felony
• Not suffer from mental illness and never have been adjudicated mentally incompetent or committed to a mental institution
• Not be unlawfully present in the United States
• Satisfactorily complete the 8-hour firearms safety-training program approved by the AZ Dept. Of Public Safety.

What to bring: Gun, holster & belt (REQUIRED) (No shoulder holsters), 25 rounds of ammunition to qualify. It is advised to bring extra ammo. (FACTORY AMUNITION ONLY – NO RELOADS), eye and ear protection. Also bring drinking water, non-alcoholic beverages, & snacks. You may bring your lunch or restaurants are close by.

NO LOADED FIREARMS ARE PERMITTED IN ANY TRAINING AREA UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUIRED BY THE INSTRUCTOR.

Cost: Per Person $79.00 Couples: $150.00 (Includes required finger printing and range fees.) In addition to the class fee, a $60 cashier’s check or money order made payable to Arizona Dept. of Public Safety is required when you submit your application in order to process your 5-year CCW permit. Do not send the payment to DPS in with your class registration. You will mail this in with your application and fingerprint card, which you will be given in class.

As of Friday, July 01, 2011, the Silver State will allow Arizona and Kentucky CCW permits to their somewhat limited list of recognized permits. This is good news for Arizona (and Kentucky) CCW permit holders that want to attend the September Gun Blogger Rendezvous to be held in Reno, Nevada on September 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th.

According to the Nevada Department of Public Safety, Arizona and Kentucky will become reciprocal on Friday:

Out of State Carry Concealed Weapon Permit Recognition

*Effective July 1, 2011

In accordance with NRS 202.3689 (effective October 1, 2007) the State of Nevada will recognize the following States CCW permit holders:

Alaska
Arizona*
Arkansas
Kansas
Kentucky*
Louisiana
Michigan
Missouri
Nebraska
New Mexico
North Carolina
Ohio
Tennessee
Rhode Island
West Virginia

This law allows holders of valid permits from these states to carry a concealed weapon while in the State of Nevada. The permit must be in the possession of the issue at all times while carrying a firearm.

CCW Prohibited Locations defined by NRS 202.3673

Even though Arizona is a Constitutional Carry state, The Better Half and I will be taking Arizona CCW training so we can carry in the 32 other states that recognize Arizona CCW permits. This will come in very handy as we will begin our tour of the Southwest.

Clickable Image: Arizona Reciprocity

Several new Arizona firearms laws have been signed into law. Excerpt from The
Tuscon Citizen (emphasis mine):

Since July 29, 2010, people 21 and older have been able to carry a concealed weapon without a permit in Arizona except in bars and restaurants that sell alcohol. Although the law does not require permits in most cases, some people still apply for them. A new law tweaks the permitting process by reducing some of the requirements for instructors and permit-holders.

The number of new concealed-carry permits issued has dropped by more than half since the change in 2010, according to the Department of Public Safety. From August 2010 through May 2011, the DPS issued 9,485 new permits. In those same months in the previous fiscal year, the DPS issued 20,208 new permits.

Bill sponsor Rep. David Burnell Smith, R-Carefree, said a permit is still an advantage because it gives residents privileges in 32 other states.

House Bill 2146 removes the requirement that instructors – who must be authorized by either the DPS or the National Rifle Association – submit fingerprints and a fee to undergo background checks.

Charles Heller, spokesman for the Arizona Citizens Defense League, said instructors already undergo background checks when they apply for their concealed-carry permits.

The law also allows permit seekers to apply with an older training certificate, rather than one obtained in the past five years.

Last October, I posted about the Town and Country magazine loads for my 9mm Glock 26, “Little Boy.” Since then I have a different formula for the carry gun depending on whether we are in Wickenburg or down in the valley.

Clickable image: Fat Man and Little Boy in their Don Hume IWB holsters.

After rethinking the potential for personal crimes in both areas, I now prefer to carry “Fat Man,” my Glock 30 with .45 caliber JHP rounds when we’re in the Phoenix Metro area and when in our small town, to carry Little Boy with one round of shot and the other ten rounds to be 9mm +P hollow points. A quick look at the data on personal crimes in Maricopa County will reveal my reasons for wanting the .45 stopping power.

The first 9mm shot shell round is for rattlesnakes or whatever dangerous critters we encounter in town and the rest of the rounds (if the first shot does not discourage an attack) are reserved for two-legged varmints.