A Great Buy and My thoughts on AR15 / M4 for Home Defense

I’ve had three classes in June and folks are really picking up on their own self defense and how important it is and how fragile that right is becoming, especially with a self described hard core liberal who has never been a judge; fixin to be seated on The Supreme Court by Da Prez O Dent, & co.

To that end and as always as a consumer advocate for my friends and trainees, I’ve got some info for ya.
Philip, one of my June trainees has given me a heads up on some new Springfield XD’s at a great price. They are NOT XDM’s…….AJC Sports in Clute; have acquired an inventory of Springfield Armory XD’s from a shop that went out of business I understand.

Here’s what I have been told:

SA XD’s
New in the box
9mm and 40 S&W calibers ONLY. (IN THIS BATCH)
Black frame with stainless slide (silver).
Holster, mag holder and 2 magazines (XD Gear) in the case.
$399.00  (all factory warranties apply)

This is a fantastic deal on a very good firearm. Jump on it if you’re in the market. They won’t last long at that price and those guys are a big gun show vendor.

"PEARLS BEFORE WHINE”

People complain about practicing, instructors and trainees alike so here are some words to conjure on:

Down the hall in your home when you’re defending yourself and your loved ones it is not that;

“He’s so close I can’t miss!”…… it’s ……..He’s so close you can’t AFFORD to miss!!!!!!!

For many folks it’s not “TACTICAL”….IT’S….”TACTICOOL!”

FASTMAN SAY:
Buying a firearm because it’s cool or popular or cheap is just the “the debit card road to perfection”
You’re not gonna find perfection you’re gonna get A BILL!

AR and M-4 Tips.
A lot of these guns are out there and I’ve been watching people shoot them. I also have in my continuing quest to be a better instructor; acquired several video training series that include a couple geared directly at fighting with rifle and specifically the AR 15 and M-4 carbines that are prevalent today.

O.K. let me get this out of the way. I am going to preface this by saying that if you want to get an AR 15 or M-4 or other semi auto “tacticool” or “combat” style rifle, by all means do so. That is our right in this country and by all means exercises that right before the liberal democrats legislate it away as Clinton did.

Having said that let me say this as an Instructor. You better learn how to actually use it, and I don’t mean takin it out to the range or the deer lease and firing at whatever as fast as you can.

To shoot an AR15/M16/M-4 carbine effectively takes many factors. Basic marksmanship skill with rifles, understanding of bullet weight and rate of twist for the .223/5,56mm, the difference between 5.56 and .223 and which rifles will fire both or not (THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN THE AMMO AND THE RIFLES!!!!!!), the operating system, and lubrication and cleaning of these particular weapon systems.

The biggest mistake I see with owners of AR rifles being made is the open dust cover. This was designed with a purpose and it must be closed whenever possible to keep crud out of the weapon and the follow on jams. On a windy day at the range you will see someone as I have; shooting their M-4 carbine and not closing the dust cover between shot strings. One guy I watched came back from checking his target, and then getting a soda, all the while wind and dust blowing across his action open M-4 carbine. After two rounds he had failures to fire and failures of the M-4 to go into battery. After listening to him curse the thing I suggested that he field strip and clean the weapon cause I was pretty sure it had gotten dust in the action as I was downwind on a bench and had to rub grit out of my eyes every time the wind blew across the line. He was frustrated and said he was going home. Bye!

The dust cover is there for a reason, Stoner designed it that way, and it’s called a “DUST COVER!” Close it when you’re done. Cover the action from dust. AR 15/M-4 carbines are NOT self cleaning. That is a myth that chrome lining does not cure. You have to clean and lubricate an AR/M-4 for reliability and I mean ……LUBRICATE………it. A lot!

Everyone I see shooting AR/M-4’s eventually lets go with a barrage of bullets as fast as they can SLAP the trigger. Even the U.S. Military demanded a change in design of the M 16 to a 3 round burst instead of the original full auto mode of fire. This was to stop the average foot soldier from dropping into the “spray and pray” mode. They still do it in the Sandbox but have to pull the trigger after every burst of three but here at home there is always an attempt to replicate auto fire in a semi auto rifle. It’s impossible to either replicate or hit accurately when you slap a trigger instead of deliberately pulling it.

I also even see this on the training videos I’ve acquired from two highly respected Instructors and one joke of an Instructor. My two almost heroes/idols of firearms instruction can be seen not only SLAPPING BUT YANKIN the triggers of these weapons and you never see the targets( CAUSE THEY AREN’T HITTING ANYTHING BUT IT SURE LOOKS COOL BEFORE THEY HOLLER “CUT!”.

Ya know my basic mindset is that if you have these rifles great learn to use them but don’t get off track by trying to learn to fight with them. O my Gawwwwwwwwwd what did he just say? To quote comedian Chris Rock…..”I Said It! Yeah I Said It!”

If all you have at home is an AR 15 or M-4 carbine and you have decided upon it as your home defense weapon, so be it but it is not the ideal house gun because of over penetration. Maneuverability issues and tactics. That is what the 911 and ensuing Police response is for.

Look if you are in a rifle fight in your home or in the Continental U.S. of A. for that matter; you are in what is affectionately known as a “world of sh*t Private”. I hate to go against my idols but learning a one handed reloads with your weak hand of an M-4 is a useless skill in the confined spaces of your average home. If you are in such deep doo doo that you have to reload a rifle to fight with in your own house you have more problems than solutions to work out. One handed weak hand rifle reloads, on the ground reloads, charging handle manipulation and malfunction clearance of an AR/M-4 with weak hand are all things you do if you have a partner with an AR/M-4 laying down suppressing fire for you while you sort it all out. Standing in your hallway in your boxers is no place to have an exchange of rifle fire and I’ll bet you that you’re boxers don’t have 30 round magazine pouches built in. But hey, what do I know?

Just like your handguns; if you get an AR/M4 or just gotta have one great. Learn how to use it.
If you’re ranching or deer hunting on the border regions or “the valley” having an AR/M-4 makes some sense. It does not mean you are ready OR able to defend yourself or “fire fight” with seasoned and hardened cartel soldiers crossing the border ready to kill you for the drug trade they ply. It is a good choice though in that situation which allows you to get the Hell outta there and call in the Cavalry that’s their job.

Another major Instructing school was shown teaching the absolute nonsense of tucking an M-4 under your arm to operate its weapon mounted light when the M-4 either went dry or malfunctioned. If you’re fighting with an M-4 and it runs dry,  SCREW STICKING IT UNDER YOUR ARM! DROP IT! GO TO YOUR HANDGUN AND THEN GO AWAY ASAP!  A weapon mounted light on an empty or broken weapon is as useless as it gets.

All these so called techniques are geared to keep TV audiences interested but of little real life use to anyone other than Law Enforcement or Military professionals who really need some of these skills from time to time.

Just my thoughts!

Your Instructor, Eddie…. Out!