June 2013 | Page 2 of 3 | Tennessee Gun

23 Jun 2013

PRN Episode #23 Interview James Talmage Stevens

Today, I get a real treat, we are interview Dr. Prepper himself – James Talmage Stevens. As I have said several times, his book “Making the Best of Basics” was one of the very first prepper books I ever read. Mr. Steven’s philosophy has done much to form me into the prepper I am today. I value being adaptable and learning and storing the basics rather than chase the newest prepper tech

We share many of the same philosophies when it comes to the industry and personal preparedness, and I was very honored when he asked me to write the first ever gun chapter in his newest revision of “Making the Best of Basics”

We don’t talk much about his book on the show, but if you have not read it I highly suggest you do so – its worth it…

You can get it here. As a matter of fact, I contributed a chapter on firearms for self defense in the new addition.

The show is scheduled for Monday at 10pm central time at this link.

If you cannot listen on Monday, you can always download the podcast for listening at your own leisure.

20 Jun 2013

The Tool vs Weapon Distinction

I originally made this video for prospective NRA Basic Pistol Instructor Candidates because the National Rifle Association does not allow the term weapon to be used in basic classes, and many instructor candidates (especially the former military ones) have a very hard time with this.

In my opinion the distinction between tool vs weapon is a critical issue, not of semantics, but of mindset. To me something is or is not a weapon based upon its use. Wither it is a t-ball bat, a tire iron, a filet knife, a pistol, or a car – they are tools that have uses other than as a weapon.

Since not all NRA basic students are interested in handguns for defensive purposes, and some feel the word weapon has negative connotations, the NRA has made this decision in order to be welcoming to all people that want to know how to safely operate a pistol and not just serve those that are interested in the defensive uses.

As you may know by now, I am not the sort to go into histrionics over someone calling a magazine a clip, and I do sometimes over simplify my own language to be more approachable, but as an instructor I feel it is vital to understand the difference between a weapon and a firearm and use the proper terms in class.

However, for those that have problems being able to separate the two terms in your head I will tell you how I look at it, and hopefully it will help you sort it out.

“I am the weapon, the gun is my tool”

I do not always have my gun on me (I work on a Guard Base where it is prohibited), but I am never unarmed – if attacked I will grab my nearest weapon (which at this moment is a metal stapler) and use it against the closest target, but I never ask my coworker to hand me a weapon when I want to staple documents.

19 Jun 2013

4 Ways to Cook Bacon

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I love learning new ways of doing things, and sometimes I even find better ways of doing things. As I have been making a lot of bacon lately, so I figured I would look up new ways of cooking it. Today we show 4 ways to cook bacon

But really that’s just intro fluff – what you need to know is that it is a post about BACON

We use:

A microwave
An Oven
Water in a Skillet
A George Foreman Grill

AND as a bonus, we weave some bacon and fry it so that when we make sandwiches we can get bacon on every inch.

Microwave

On a microwave safe dish, we placed a doubled paper towel, the bacon, and then covered it with a paper towel.
Our instructions said cook it for 5 minutes, flip and cook 5 more. We found 5 minutes total did a good job.
The microwave bacon shrunk more than the other methods, and it tended to stick a little to the paper, but it was the crispest of the methods.

Oven

On a cookie sheet we laid out some parchment paper (the first time we did not use any, but it works MUCH better with), and then covered with bacon.
We preheated the oven to 375 and baked for 15 minutes.
We have read that some put the bacon in a cold oven and then set the temp to 400, and by the time the oven reaches temp the bacon is mostly cooked, but the 375 preheated oven did a very nice job.

Foreman Grill

So simple is defies explanation, we set the bacon on the grill, cooked for about 4 minutes, and flipped it.
Very easy and it cooked up very nice.
A tip is to look at the grease as it runs off – as the bacon is cooked the fat will become clearer and thinner.

Skillet

Historically I normally just throw my bacon in a medium hot skillet and flip it around with a fork until I take it out and eat it.

In this method you take a cold skillet, put in your bacon, and then pour in enough water to cover the bacon.
Put on the heat and cook.
The water will parboil the bacon as it boils – which cooks the bacon without the need for turning or flipping or a lot of oversight. As the water boils away the bacon will start to sputter. This signals you that the cooking is almost done and you will need to start paying attention. Basically once the water boils away you only need to cook the bacon to your desired level of brownness.
This technique is good for fancy breakfasts where you have a lot going on and cannot devote all your attention to the frying bacon.

Three neat things that may be useful:

Bacon curls from uneven heating – so the parboiled bacon and oven bacon curl less because they are heated more evenly.
When frying bacon, the oil bubbles get smaller as the bacon cooks
Bacon crisps as it cools, so if you cook it to desired crispiness, then it will be over cooked and more brittle than you desire – so pull it out when almost done.

By he way, if you want high quality bacon, in bulk, for a good price, try Zaycon Foods – I have always been very happy with their products

18 Jun 2013

Shooting: 22 Sensitive Exploding Targets

I like using binary exploding targets when exposing new shooters to the joys of shooting.

It rewards the shooter and gives immediate positive feedback. I haven’t used them as much as I could because of the expense, and the fact that typical exploding targets need a centerfire rife to detonate.

When I found the Last Man Standing targets, I knew they had something special. Their targets are affordable, and they have some that are reliably detonated by .22lr.

I did learn that when using .22 Sensitive Exploding Targets, you get much more reliable detonation when you attach them to a hard surface with the enclosed stickers. I was able to get some to detonate against the ground, but it was MUCH more satisfying when the detonated against a hard target.

I also learned in my last pumpkin shooting video, that while one 22 Sensitive Exploding Targets makes a nice satisfying crack, mixing all ten and shooting at one time makes a scary big “boom” – I won’t do that again for a while…

There are a lot of manufacturers of binary targets, but I find this one to be affordable and innovative. I particularly like their 22 targets.

16 Jun 2013

PRN Episode #22 Interview Tom Givens Rangemaster

In today’s show David is interviewing Tom Givens of Rangemaster. Before coming to Rangemaster full-time in 1996, Tom completed a 25-year career in law enforcement and specialized security work.

Tom has over thirty-five years experience in firearms instruction. He has trained security officers; law enforcement officers at the local, state, and federal level; and foreign government agents. He is a well known professional in the firearm industry.

In this episode we discuss firearm training – including what skills the new shooter needs to focus on, handgun selection, firearm statistics, holster selection, and what the typical handgun permit student looks like demographically.

We spend a little time talking about balancing a person’s Constitutional right to own guns with the responsibility to train.

Tom is very knowledgeable, and trains constantly – which allows tonight’s show to pass on some very valuable insights into the world of defensive pistol craft.

I would invite you to visit the Rangemaster.com website to learn about their classes, as well as their Annual Tactical Conference.
It seems that Tom has semi retired and no longer teaches full time in Memphis. He still travels to teach.

And as always, please visit the Shepherd School website at www.tngun.com