for shit under stress, it follows an old tradition, and-sure enough- cops who can't shoot for shit means we need(say it in chorus!) MORE GUN CONTROL LAWS!!!
It's an ongoing complaint by gunnies that so many cops are lousy shots, and I think Uncle hits a big part of it: in so many places they've tried so hard to destroy the gun culture, and- to a large extent- succeeded, especially among those who really SHOULD be part of said culture. When you've got cops who only shoot when required to, and only care about managing to qualify, you get people who can't shoot well. And, as the saying goes, under heavy stress you don't rise to the occasion, you fall to your level of training. So if your level of training is "I have to shoot twice a year to qualify"...
Guy Dad used to work with was the poster boy for this. Very nice guy, knew the law, knew his job, but didn't care for shooting, so he didn't. My first real "I don't believe this!" on cops and guns was when he brought his shotgun over for help: they'd qualified about two months before, and there was an inspection coming up, and he could manage to clean his revolver but couldn't remember how to break down the scattergun, and didn't even have a rod for cleaning the bore. So that powder and plastic fouling(lots of buckshot and slugs) had been sitting there solidifying its position for two freakin' months. And would have been there longer if not for the inspection.
See, the cops I was around as I grew up were either country boys or city boys who liked to shoot and/or hunt; they actually practiced on their own when they could, and knew how to take care of their weapons. So when I started meeting those who not only didn't like to shoot, but didn't bother, even though a lot of them were people who were often a looong way from help if things went south... well, it was a shock. And there are a lot more of them than there used to be.
2 comments:
I had two favorite uncles as a lad. One was 4 yrs. older and more a big brother than uncle. The other was 20 or more years older and crazier than a shit house rat. He was my idol. A combat vet of the Okinawa invasion, loved guns, fishing and (yecchhh, gaggg) Rainier Beer. He made it to Sgt. in the Marines, only to be busted repeatedly to Pvt. Like I said, crazy.
He was a beat cop in downtown Seattle during the time normal people never, ever went there in groups of less than 4. He carried a Colt's Police Positive, 4" bbl in .38 Spec. Police issue ammo was in his pocket, HB wadcutter's loaded hollow out in the cylinder. He never drew it in 25 or more years. He simply told the "bad guy" to put the gun on the ground or he'd have to go to Harborview (local ER) to have it removed. That happended twice.(CRAZY) Uncle Buddy had a short fuse and have I noted he was crazy? He had to qualify too. He also took me to the Police Athletic Assn. shooting range twice a month. Practice ammo was 2 for a penny. In exchange for keeping his lawn under control I got to shoot $5 worth of wadcutter rounds every other Sunday afternoon while he practiced the skills he learned in the Pacific killing The Sons of Heaven. Yup, that crazy cop could shoot well under stress. I normally shot up $3 worth of wadcutters and took my other $2 in two bricks of Federal Monark Standard Vel. .22 LR for piddling around in the woods. I acquired a .22 Savage 5 shot rifle somehow and shot the "P" out of it at every opportunity. On my 16th birthday, Uncle Buddy took me to Warshal's Sports on 1st Ave. in Seattle where he used my cash to buy a Ruger Bearcat Revolver. Wonderful little revolver. It got lost/stolen during a move I think. I must have put 10or 15 rds of Fed. Monark through it while I had it. Dozens of rabbits, 'n grouse ended in my skillet due to it's effectiveness. Someday when I'm rich I'll have another one. In the meantime, I have a suitable replacement in a Hawes Western Sherrif pot metal POS that shoots just fine with HiVel bulk .22 LR.
Gerry N.
(learn to proofread, dummy)
WE bought the Bearcat, I took it home. I shot 10-15K rounds through it over the next ten years or so.
Dang, gettin' old. Nearly forgot, Tracy's got MY mug done. I'll email a pic of it to you.
Gerry N.
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