Articles by Herschel Smith

Very interesting.  Michael begins at about 11:52.

F&S.

A U.S. Army soldier was killed in a fatal bear attack while on a training exercise in Anchorage, Alaska, Tuesday. The soldier, whose name is being withheld until family is notified, was part of a small group from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) operating in Training Area 412 west of the Anchorage Regional Landfill, according to a statement from the base.

Initial reports have not indicated what species of bear was involved in the attack. A video on the JBER website that urges caution in dealing with a heavy bear presence shows both black and grizzly bears on the base, which covers 64,213 acres of coastal lowlands surrounded by high mountain chains, mostly consisting of wild areas dotted with lakes and swamps. Hunting and fishing are allowed on the base, and access is managed through the use of an online registration system. Training Area 412 was closed to the public after the incident, which is Alaska’s first fatal bear attack of 2022.

Does Military.com know something we don’t?

A soldier died in a bear attack during a training exercise at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, the Army announced Monday.

It is unclear whether the soldier was equipped with bear spray, or if their unit supplies the spray to all of its troops. A packing list for students at Alaska’s Cold Weather Leaders Course, the region’s premier school training soldiers to survive in the area, does not include bear spray.

The base news release says nothing about cold weather training, but of course it does say that he perished in training.

What do we make of the Military.com report?  Are they sending Soldiers out to train in the region of the country most densely populated by bears without carrying means of self defense?  Are they doing that?  Do they not trust them with handguns?

Bear spray?  Seriously?

Bear spray?

Dean Weingarten.

On May 3rd, in the Lake Highlands neighborhood of the Dallas metroplex, a coyote attacked a two year old toddler on the front porch. It was about 8:30 a.m., according to AP. From Fox4kdfw:

DALLAS – A 2-year-old child is in critical condition at the hospital after being attacked by a coyote in Dallas. 

Police said it happened around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning in the Lake Highlands area while the child was sitting on the front porch of a home on Royalpine Drive, which is not far from White Rock Creek.

Another coyote attack on a toddler had happened a week earlier in Huntington Beach, California.

[ … ]

As coyotes have increased in population and adapted to urban areas, coyote attacks have increased. In one research paper 142 incidents were recorded from 1960 to 2006. In overlapping research, 367 incidents were recorded from 1977 to 2015.

When most people were armed, and considered coyotes a pest, coyotes learned to be wary of humans. In urban areas, many people consider coyotes to be closer to Disney characters. Some people value coyotes highly.

Coyotes are not sweet.  They are not nice.  They are not friendly.  They are not your friend.  They don’t want to be your buddy. They attack children and pets.

Don’t be an enviro-whacko.  Kill them if you or your family or beasts are in danger.  Make a rug out of their fur.

Make a discipline of carrying a firearm.  Have no mercy on them.  They won’t with you.

At Ammoland Jeff Knox apparently tried to persuade Allen West to run for Wayne LaPierre’s position.

Next, the horrible David Keene, a man without honor, slams West and does the talkie-talk about how great LaPierre is.  I won’t quote it.  You can read that crap if you want to.

Finally, Allen West agreed to take him on at the next board meeting.  Also see here.

Most of the cases against LaPierre are about his corruption.  Sure enough, he is also a man without honor.  But I prefer to base my case on the fact that the NRA is a gun control organization and has supported virtually every gun control measure ever proposed, from the NFA to the GCA and Hughes Amendment, to Clinton’s AWB, the bump stock ban, universal background checks, red flag laws and a permitting scheme.

LaPierre’s corruption is a corollary to the failures of the NRA.

I would be happy if West were to replace LaPierre and may even consider donating to the NRA again.  But that’s not going to happen.  The NRA cannot be saved.  It must perish.  Out of its ashes will rise a new and much better organization.

Let’s just agree that it’s better in this circumstance not to fight.  One or more of us will get hurt.

Coyote attacks toddler (at ten seconds).

Stalked by Coyotes in broad daylight on a city street.

Please make the baby be quiet.

I want to go out NOW!

When two bald eagles are fighting, just stay back.

I have an owie.

You mean this whole yard is mine?

I really don’t want to be this close to a bear.  Here is the full video.

Hero dog saves the family.

I think I want to live here.

Don’t do this to dogs.  Just don’t.

Sort of mixed up results.

Here’s my take with this and all of the other tests I’ve seen.  The 45ACP does just fine expanding within the window and accomplishing the correct penetration.

Speeding it up doesn’t necessarily help with JHPs.  Stick with 45ACP or +P 45 (or if you wish, +P+ 45ACP) for self defense purposes and shoot JHP.

For hard cast ball like we would need in the bush, that’s where more velocity helps.  Always carry +P or +P+ hard ball in the bush.  I carry 450 SMC (or at a minimum, Underwood, Double Tap or Buffalo Bore +P+).  For shooting 450 SMC, as I’ve discussed before, I had to modify a 1911 by removing the 18# spring and installing a 22# spring.  There was no change to the barrel.  It will achieve 1120 FPS with a 230 grain bullet.  If I intended to shoot 45 Super, I would get a different barrel (or go with 460 Rowland).

In urban and suburban areas, over-penetration is always a concern. So to summarize, I’m not entirely sure why you would choose 45 Super with a JHP style bullet for any scenario.

Via David Codrea.

Hi great reset. Thanks for reminding us as to why the founding fathers included the 2nd amendment in the bill of rights https://t.co/Xf7yYQeK3P

— President Non_Fudd (@Non_Fudd) May 9, 2022

They want to control not only your health, your guns, your financial dealings, and your children, they want to control your food supply as well.

Take careful note.  Don’t slip past this example without doing some planning of your own.

This is warfare as surely as artillery strikes.

News from Texas.

A Texas mother of three shot and killed a man who broke into her home while her children were asleep — but police say she won’t face any charges.

The woman was at her home with her kids on Kashmuir Place in San Antonio about 10 p.m. Thursday when she heard the man trying to enter the main door from the laundry room, News 4 San Antonio reported.

She opened fire and struck the man, identified as 41-year-old Roman Rodriguez, twice in the chest, according to KSAT. It is unclear if the intruder was armed.

When police arrived, they found the bloodied Rodriguez sitting on a chair in the backyard. He died on the way to the hospital, police said.

No one else was physically hurt in the incident.

The probe continues, but the unidentified homeowner is not facing charges because of the so-called Castle Doctrine, which allows a person to use force against an intruder who breaks into their home, News 4 San Antonio reported.

As I’ve said before, “Wait.  Something must be wrong with this report.

I thought guns magically turned and killed the owners rather than home invaders?  I thought that no one except the “only ones” (LEOs) were able to use weapons for self defense?  I thought that fine motor skills totally collapse when confronted by danger?  I thought that people had to go through tacticool training with former JSOC guys to be able to defend their life?  I thought you were supposed to “run, hide and fight?”  I thought that you were supposed to call 911, lay on the floor and grovel, and wait for help to arrive after they got through eating their sandwich?  I thought only former military understood enough about firearms to use them?  I hear that all the time when I read articles that begin with “I’m pro-2A and I shot guns in the military, but … blah, blah, blah, you’re not good enough … blah, blah, blah … I know what I’m talking about because I was in the military or a LEO, you’re in danger, don’t buy a gun … blah, blah, blah.”

And not only all of that, you’re just going to shoot up innocent people around you.  Only the cops and tacticool operators with classes from former SEALs are good enough to kill the bad guy.  “I guess we’re all going to have to recalibrate after this.

The narrative is busted once again.”

AF.mil.

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. —  The 422nd and 59th Test and Evaluation Squadrons proved that modern-day armored vehicles equipped with Explosive Reactive Armor are vulnerable to the A-10C Thunderbolt II’s GAU-8 Avenger. This first-ever test was conducted at the Nevada Test and Training Range, February 14-25, 2022.

Each test mission included a two-ship of A-10Cs employing armor piercing incendiary rounds against two surrogate main battle tanks equipped with ERA. The pilots varied attack parameters and direction in order to evaluate weapons effects against the up-armored targets.

Through post-shot analysis of video, photo imagery, and visual inspection of the targets, analysts were able to ascertain the battle damage inflicted upon the tanks and determine that the tanks were rendered inoperative.

“A typical A-10 gun employment uses 120 rounds, which means an A-10 is capable of employing fires on nine to ten targets before exhausting its gun munitions,” said Maj. Kyle Adkison, 422nd TES A-10C division commander. “Against large fielded forces, A-10 formations are capable of engaging nearly 40 armored vehicles with 30 millimeter munitions. That’s a significant amount of firepower.”

In addition to 30mm gun rounds, the test also collected data on AGM-65L Maverick and AGR-20E Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System effectiveness against armored vehicles.

“This has been an ongoing test effort since the idea originated in 2020,” said 1st Lt. Christopher Earle, 59th TES A-10C operations test analyst. “Now that it’s come to fruition and proven successful, we will work towards testing other types of anti-armor munitions in the Air Force inventory against ERA and collect more data.”

The A-10 is well suited for Agile Combat Employment roles, and this test proves the A-10 can continue to deliver massive rapid firepower with devastating effects on enemy vehicles in a contested environment.

For all the folks who say that sexy-jet so-and-so is better, there is no jet in the USAF that can do what the A-10 does.  For its purposes, it rules the skies.

Via WiscoDave.