by Zach Billings on May 15, 2013
Lets put the cards on the table… If you’re getting into defensive shooting, concealed carry or, god forbid, you’re an old school shooter willing to learn up-to-date Modern Technique, this should be helpful. The real reason I’m writing this however, is just because I think I’m cool and I like watching YouTube videos of myself.
I’m mostly kidding—well maybe not mostly—but getting back on topic, we’re going to examine my first ever video of me doing a live-fire defensive drill, and I promise to point out my faults and not just my Clint-Eastwood-fast draw (it’s not really that fast). I’ve been practicing modern weapon manipulation on a Glock 19 replica for 6 years (starting long before I could own a gun), as well as 18 months of drawing from concealment. Now I’ve been concealed carrying my Glock 19 for 6 months, I have done plenty of dry practice at home, as well as live fire practice on the range. Finally it seemed like time to film myself for analysis to start honing my technique. I expect this to be the first in a series of similar posts about my progress, but here I will also outline the basics of concealed carry. [click to continue…]
by Zach Billings on May 13, 2013
From the first .22 caliber bullet that I ever launched from a gun (a Ruger 10/22), I’ve never been afraid of firearms. Even when, on that same day, I tried out a .45 pistol, a 12 gauge shotgun, and an M1 Garand, the feeling was profound respect… never fear. Interestingly I’ve been noticing, at shooting ranges in NH, MA, and on forums, that many experienced shooters are goddamn pussies around firearms, and I think I’ve figured out the common thread. Freaking sport shooters. [click to continue…]
by Zach Billings on April 26, 2013
We’ll start with the obvious. There are dozens of detailed video reviews already out there covering the BioLite Camp Stove. Some of them demonstrate ideal conditions. Some show you water boiling. Others show you windy conditions. The best of them, such as the one by MainePrepper, give you realistic materials, insights, and Bug Out Bag potential. If you’re here to learn about the TEG and the pros and cons over propane ‘pocket rockets’ you’ve come to the wrong place. This is a functional overview, and maybe just a bit… a bullshit meter for the YouTube reviews. [click to continue…]
by Zach Billings on February 27, 2013
Three months since I bought my first gun—my Glock 19 Gen 4—and it now has about 1750 rounds through it, in six of seven sessions. It has been the birthing period of a new lifestyle. One which I must confess, I’m very happy with.
I have grown quite comfortable with the Glock, and I carry it—in or out of the house—at all times (if I’m not in Assachusetts). My hands have grown calluses at the points where they contact the gun. My concealed carry holster is soft and broken in. The gun is even showing its first signs of wear. Marks of experience and use in my book. Glocks are meant to be used.
My practice has reached something of a plateau until I can either begin practicing in a more dynamic environment, or acquire some training (preferably both). That’s not to say I can’t shoot well, but I’m certainly not satisfied. In slow shooting I have learned the trigger to the point that I can put a single shot anywhere I want it. At least that was the case before I switched sights… but I’ll circle around to that. In panic drills, drawing and firing very quickly, I generally see a good size spread on a torso at 25ft. Performing Mozambique drills (two center mass, one in the head) I occasionally miss the head by an inch if I’m rushing (and I try to rush because I’m sure in a gunfight I wouldn’t be very well composed). With factory sights I can drill the same hole all day at 30ft. The next step will be to attain more consistency during rushed firing and fighting drills. All of my shooting has been at my NH shooting range, and I recently got a membership at a local outdoor range, so I can begin practicing more dynamically. [click to continue…]
by Zach Billings on December 21, 2012
This was originally written by Darryl Bolke and I found it on the Facebook page of James Yeager, of Tactical Response. These words are not mine, but they are well put together and make an arguement that any reasonable, thoughtful person should be able to consider. I’m not saying this will sway you if you’re on the other side of this, but if you really take a moment to consider it, you might come away with a slightly different viewpoint.
“When we look at the current and past debates on the issue of so-called “assault weapons” I have seen a propensity for the public, press, and even my fellow shooters to apply a standard to them that seems to be lacking elsewhere in society. Whenever I debate non-gun owners, liberals, and others who are passing judgment on this class of weapons based strictly on what they are fed by the popular media and the generally uninformed politicians, I use my favorite “gun-control” argument analogy to get my point across. My item of choice to compare guns to is cars. Every-time I hear the call for a ban on guns because some criminal used one to commit a crime, I usually ask if they thought it would be okay for the government to come take their car away because their neighbor was a drunk driver………this usually ends the debate. So lets apply this same analogy to the subject of assault rifles. [click to continue…]
by Zach Billings on December 13, 2012
I’ve moved to New Hampshire and become a free man. No more stringent MA gun laws or licensing requirements. No more feeling infected by the majority of liberal sheeple. All I now needed to purchase my first firearm was a New Hampshire driver’s license—and I didn’t even have to wait for the permanent copy—and some money in my pocket. 6 days after moving in to my new house, I had both.
11 months ago, I posted a blog about my process of selecting the a concealed carry pistol—the Glock 23—at my New Hampshire shooting range. At the time I had given many aspects of the Glock 23 a great deal of [click to continue…]
by Zach Billings on February 29, 2012
The STi is gone. Evaporated into misty vapor and absorbed into the recesses of my mind, reserved only for the most powerful of life lessons. My experience with it taught me more than I would care to try to articulate, but thankfully, it’s GONE. In it’s place, now sits a 2012 Nissan Xterra Pro4X, the extra-rugged, utility-focused trim of the Xterra. As of my writing this the odometer reads 375 miles, and let me tell you, they are 375 of the most enjoyable miles I’ve driven. And, while the driving experience of the Xterra could never boil my sports car blood like an STi with Dunlop Z1 tires, it has certainly revealed a prevailing sense of satisfaction that was only felt in brief, fleeting moments with my former love. [click to continue…]
by Zach Billings on February 28, 2012
Many things have ramped up and changed in life of late; far too much to sum up in a single post that can entertain a reader, so here I will only focus on the material… Specifically cars.
The last time I wrote about my Subaru STi, things were looking up. My new motor was in and I was optimistic. I had written an article about it more recently but just couldn’t summon the will to finish it for posting. My transmission failed and the car sat helpless by my driveway for two months, before I finally had the transmission professionally rebuilt for $3500. New syncros, new bearings, new bell housing (which is what had failed), tighter shifter bushings, and even brand, shiny, new JDM 5th and 6th gears with a shorter ratio. Things went well for a while and the transmission felt great. I was formulating plans for the order in which I would tackle the car’s other issues (largely cosmetic), and how long it would take me to save the money… when… [click to continue…]
by Zach Billings on February 15, 2012
Juice boxes, carrots, stuffed animals, and Star Wars. That pretty well sums up my childhood. I am blessed to have grown up in a house where my dad appreciated the classics from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, to Lawrence of Arabia, to the original Star Wars trilogy. Obviously the first two didn’t come until I was 10 or so, but the first time I saw Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was in 1996, at the age of 5 years old. I was hooked. [click to continue…]
by Zach Billings on February 7, 2012
As if Massachusetts didn’t already make it a huge pain in everyone’s ass to own firearms, things have just become more complicated for me… I recently called the Massachusetts Firearms School (where I took my Firearm Safety Course) to get some advice on what to write on my Class A-LTC application. I wanted to know what to write under the field regarding my reason for application. In MA you have to be careful what you write here if you want an unrestricted license to enable concealed carry of a pistol. When I told the instructor on the phone that I lived in Framingham however, he replied with “Uh oh…” [click to continue…]
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Lets put the cards on the table… If you’re getting into defensive shooting, concealed carry or, god forbid, you’re an old school shooter willing to learn up-to-date Modern Technique, this should be helpful. The real reason I’m writing this however, is just because I think I’m cool and I like watching YouTube videos of myself.
