Docwagon

I like small venue concerts. I got tired of stadium concerts long ago, and now many of the concerts I "attend" I'm working security and crowd control. Typically bands I could give two shits about, but still. I think the last concert I voluntarily attended was Junior Brown in an auditorium that sat about 200. I would have liked to have seen Vern Gosdin before he died. I keep saying I'm going to go see Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band one day, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm definitely going to see the North Mississippi All-Stars next time they are near me.

Thanks, Jsin, I really appreciate the effort you spent getting all that transferred over.

Not from me. The chaplain's office and the POST team is better equipped and more personality suited for that sort of thing. One of the detectives in my office is a classmate of his, though, so I've been keeping on eye on him and let him know he could talk to me if he wanted to.

Trust me, I am too. Its hard enough to lose someone from your department, to know he bled out in the uniform you wore when you were on the street. Its that much worse when you have to face losing a cop and a friend at the same time. I can sort of stand back and offer a bit of advise to the guys going through it the first time, to point out it affects the spouses too, because they know it could just as easily have been their family suffering the loss, etc. Its a tragedy, but I'm able to have that distance and am not so wrapped up in my own head like I was with Dave.

http://social.newsinc.com/media/json/69017/25184816/singleVideoOG.html?type=VideoPlayer%2F16x9&videoId=25184816

The ban part is sorta true, sorta not. They were never illegal to possess, buy, sell, etc. You just couldn't make or import new ones. That stopped in 2004 with the sunset of the Clinton AWB, though. 30 rounders are perfectly legal in Indiana and by federal law, although some states have more restrictive laws. I'd check www.midway.com and www.brownells.com. They are usually pretty fair on pricing and shipping. Indiana's only knife prohibition is against throwing stars. Seriously. Its a misdemeanor to have a throwing knife with blades set at multiple angels. No restrictions on concealment or blade length. Auto-openers (aka switch blades) were made legal July 1st of this year.

Another quickie tip on ammunition. Handgun ammunition in certain calibers will be available in different pressure levels. Standard, +P, and +P+. Standard and +P are defined by SAAMI and conform to certain specifications, +P+ is not defined. Any firearm in good working order can handle standard pressure ammunition in its caliber. Antique guns, brass framed revolvers, etc. Most modern steel framed weapons can handle +P ammo, although you should check your owner's manual first. The higher pressure will typically result in higher velocities, and is often used in short barreled weapons to overcome the velocity handicap of incomplete powder burn in short barrels. Few manufacturers recommend the use of +P+. In an antique firearm it could cause a catastrophic failure (ie, it blows up in your hand). In a modern weapon rated for +P its unlikely a few rounds will cause a catastrophic failure, but you are likely accelerating wear and damaging your firearm minutely with each firing. In a typical carry firearm, stick with standard pressure ammo. In a short barreled weapon, particularly the .38 revolver, evaluate +P as it can be a significant advantage. I say "evaluate" because their is no free ride, higher velocity = higher recoil (all else being equal), so you need to make sure the weapon is still controllable, doesn't induce flinch, and allows for reasonably quick follow up shots.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/slain-officer-rod-bradway-wife-delivered-pet-supplies-to-tornado-ravaged-oklahoma NDIANAPOLIS - Officer Rod Bradway was among the many Indianapolis police officers who routinely give back to the community in other ways than just through his day-to-day job. Bradway, who was killed Friday as he responded to a domestic disturbance call, and his wife organized an effort to gather and deliver pet supplies to in response to a devastating May 20 tornado in Moore, Okla. Bradway's wife, Jamie Bradway, detailed the couple's efforts in a Department of Public Safety newsletter earlier this year. During a three-day collection effort, thousands of pounds of supplies for displaced animals, including food, kennels, blankets, toys and veterinary supplies were gathered. "When we arrived and they found out we had EVERYTHING under the sun for them, they were elated!" Jamie Bradway wrote. "They were so excited to learn that people all the way from Indianapolis cared so much!" Jamie expressed that she and Rod were happy for the opportunity to help and for others support in gathering the pet supplies. "Rod and I want to thank you all AGAIN for your INCREDIBLE GENEROSITY!!!" she wrote. "YOU have truly made a difference in the lives of so many families and so many lives."

This is a bit dated, they've identified everyone now, but gives you the overview.

Tronic, its not terribly close to where I live, but its the same police department I work for. The details, as I know them, are that he responded to a domestic, hears a woman screaming for help, once he's inside the apartment the male half shoots at him, they exchanged gun fire, and were both mortally wounded. I do not know him personally, just in passing.

Officer has succumbed to his wounds.

Its never good when the pager goes off at 3am. http://fox59.com/2013/09/20/officer-shot-on-citys-west-side/#axzz2fHYRS2mJ

From the shoutbox: tronic44 : (19 September 2013 - 10:41 AM)you'll have to mount it, one sec

Lol, I'm probably cooler online. BB, we patrol because that's how you stop issues before they start. Reactive policing will always be the majority of what we do, but proactive policing can definitely stop crime before it starts. You don't catch people breaking into cars sitting at a station and waiting for a call, you gotta be at the right place at the right time, and that's done by learning your beat and patrolling. Traffic enforcement has a revenue component, but it also has a safety component. How else are you supposed to enforce petty crimes? No one thinks jail time is reasonable, but there have to be enforceable rules of the road if driving is to remain relatively safe. Having lived in countries that didn't enforce any traffic laws, I see the difference. Seeing the statistics for high crash intersections in our county when half are assigned a traffic unit for 4 hours a day on random days and the others aren't, I see the difference. Yes, paying a fine sucks. Its supposed to in order to deter the behavior. I know a lot of cops that don't like to run traffic. They consider it petty. I usually just point out that statistically if you aren't a criminal yourself, aren't involved in gangs or the drug trade, you are much more likely to suffer injury or property loss from a traffic crash than from a violent felony. Any individual ticket may be petty, but the cumulative effect is a safer community. I used to write 30-60 tickets a month, when the average district car writes maybe 10. Few people outside of Traffic wrote more than I did. I saw direct results in reduced crashes. Google "6400 Binford Blvd Indianapolis IN" and zoom in until you can see the street markings. I used to have about 4 crashes a week there because people would try to use that middle "turn only" area to go straight across. After just a few weeks of writing tickets there, crashes dropped to 2 a week. After a few months, almost none, and I could focus on other areas. As long as I hit that intersection once a week or so, people knew I was still there (I'm sure the people who worked in the office building there cursed me daily) and for the most part they stopped cutting across. I'm sure a lot of the folks I ticketed didn't get why it was a big deal and that I was being petty. A reduction in traffic crashes of over 90% seems to me that it made a positive impact in that area. I'm an official True Believer when it comes to traffic enforcement. Of course now I don't even have a ticket book in my car. I'm too busy to run traffic, and state law prohibits me from writing them anyway (you have to either be in uniform or in a marked car to write a traffic ticket in Indiana).

We're just regular people, and like any other occupation some of us are better at it than others. I bet if you did a ride along program for a week you'd have a totally different perspective. Its a challenging job, and few make it through their entire career unscathed physically and emotionally, but its one that I never have to wonder if I'm making a difference in. That said, while I'd prefer to have your support I don't require it. If I needed universal love and acceptance, I'd be a firefighter.

Anyone, but especially politicians, who constantly make EVERYTHING about race. Me: I just bought some tacos. That guy: Did any black people buy tacos? DId they have equal access to the tacos? Were they given preferential rankings in the line to get tacos? We need diversity in the taco eating community! Me (about a rude waiter): (good mood version): That guy's having a rough day. (bad mood version): That guy's a total jackass. That guy (about a rude waiter): He's racist. He wouldn't treat me like that if I wasn't (insert minority here). The only thing that possibly annoys me more is when people in positions of privilege and social acceptance try to play the "I'm so downtrodden" card. Me: Looks like some kids got in trouble for praying instead of taking a math test. That guy: There's a war on Christians! If a Muslim group they'd let them pray in school! Yup, if you ignore the multitude of clubs like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the multitude of Christian schools, media outlets, celebrities, books, musical acts, and the tiny fact every town in America has a plethora of churches, it's pretty obvious Christianity is being stomped out and driven underground by modern American society.

Her family isn't in the US, except for one 'friendly' brother in CA, so that's not much of a concern these days. She carries mostly to humor me, I think. She understands the benefits, but I think deep down inside she's a believer in "it will never happen to me."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2422133/Wedding-h-owl-er-Couple-wanted-barn-owl-deliver-rings-altar-ceremony-hold-fell-asleep.html?ico=news^headlines A couple had to put their wedding on hold after an owl which had been chosen to carry the rings fell asleep in the roof of the church. (more at link) BWAHAHAHAHA!

LCR review: After much anticipation, I was able to pick up an LCR .357 today. I traded my Taurus 850 CIA hammerless in, primarily because I've gotten so used to the Ruger style cylinder latch that I fumble my reloads with the S&W/Taurus style latch. I wanted to keep everything on the same page. I found the LCR to be a nice upgrade over the Taurus, and worth the $150 difference I paid. The Taurus I traded: The LCR comes with a handy zipper pouch with a pocket on the back for speed strips/loaders: Open it up, and here's the little fellow (already a bit dirty from his first range outing) I took it to the range and ran an assortment of ammunition through it today, shooting both steels and cardboard. PMC 132 gr 38's were used for my qualification shoot (qualified it as an off duty gun immediately since I traded in the Taurus and didn't have another ankle gun on my qual list) Now for the meat of the review: Size/weight: The LCR is 17oz per Ruger, about 6 oz lighter than the Taurus 850 it replaced. Honestly I can't tell much difference in the hand or in an ankle holster. I do see a bit of difference in pocket carry in shorts, but very minimal. The size is almost identical to the eyeball, but there is a small difference once the calipers come out. The Ruger is about 1/4" taller and 1/10th" narrower than the Taurus. Again, no real felt difference in carry although my wife said the Ruger doesn't print in the jeans pocket like the Taurus did. Measurements aside, both are easy guns to carry. Grip: The LCR has a factory Hogue "Tamer" monogrip. The Taurus has a factory rubber grip. Both feel grippy and give good purchase, but the Ruger fills the palms better and has a channel for speed loaders to clear which the Taurus lacked. The LCR does a MUCH better job of reducing felt recoil. Shooting the LCR with 125 gr .357s is less punishing than shooting .38+Ps through the Taurus. Both were comfortable with standard pressure .38s, but the LCR is a real ***** cat with them. I couldn't believe how light shooting they were. Shooting .38+Ps with the Taurus was a 15 and done event, leaving me with a stinging palm and redness at the base of my thumb. I didn't have any +Ps to run today, but did shoot some Magtech 125gr .357s and felt like I could shoot a full box with no problem. 158grs were beyond the grip's ability to tame, though. I ran one cylinder of Blazer Brass 158gr .357s and had to talk myself into shooting the last one. Its a VERY jumpy gun and is like high fiving a sledge hammer with the full house 158 grains. I didn't have any 110 gr to test. Cylinder/Ejection: The crane and cylinder release latch are both pretty stiff out of the box, but are loosening up as I work them. The short ejection rod has trouble extracting .357 empties, which is a common failing among revolvers of this size. It ejects .38s very cleanly and reliably though. Sights: They were surprisingly useful, given the standards in this segment of the gun world. While they are a standard u-notch and front blade, the notch is deeper and better defined than on the Taurus and similar S&Ws. The front blade is black, but is pinned so swapping it out for a high viz should be an easy endeavor. The front sight post is a reasonable width for the intended shooting distances, and lets in a good amount of light on either side for rapid sight alignment. They are definitely geared more toward speed, but taking your time you can get good accuracy as I'll go into in a bit. Trigger: This is where the LCR really shines. The 850 had a 13 lb trigger. Yeah, I know. My wife couldn't pull it without shaking so hard she couldn't aim it. 9-11 lb seems standard in a DAO revolver but the LCR breaks at....wait for it....wait for it...just under 5 lbs. Ruger says they use a cam system to reduce friction and get a smooth trigger pull. It works. There is absolutely no grit in the trigger, its smooooth. I was stunned at how easy it was to pull, but honestly didn't believe it was that low. The armorer was surprised as well and rechecked it, but the trigger scale kept coming back at between 4.5 and 5 lbs no matter how many times he checked it. It feels slightly heavier than that, I think because of the length of travel, but the scales don't lie. The trigger has a touch of stack, but very little compared to most any other DA trigger I've shot. Over travel is about 1/8". The trigger breaks cleanly and predictably. The only complaint I have is with the reset. Unlike most guns were when it clicks its ready to go again the LCR has two clicks. They are ALMOST immediately together, but the ALMOST is what you need to be aware of. While shooting it you probably won't be aware of the clicks, but you MUST let the trigger go all the way forward or you'll have a problem. If you let it click once and then start a new trigger pull, it won't pull and will act like its locked up. Fixing it is as easy as releasing the trigger and starting your pull again. There is a tiny window between the clicks, though, that will let the cylinder turn but not let the hammer fall. In short you'll get a trigger pull but no "bang". I did this with my 2nd cylinder of ammo and kept pulling the trigger on the fired chambers until I got back around to the one that was skipped and set it off. This is easily overcome with practice, but YOU NEED TO PRACTICE TRIGGER RESET if you are going to carry the LCR. I'll take it in exchange for how fantastic the cam system works. Other than a worked Colt Detective's Special I don't think I've felt a comparable DA trigger in a revolver this size. Accuracy: The three shot groups within the bigger circle where my qualification. This was all done with PMC Bronze 132 gr .38s. As you can see, the 5 shot group in the head at 3 yards is pretty darned tight. The first 2 were almost in the same hole, than 4 in one ragged hole, than the final shot slightly outside of the rest. Calipers say .715" from center to center. The 5 shot group from 5 yards was almost as tight. Throwing the calipers on it showed the widest spread was 0.8" from center to center. The 5 shot group from 7 yards opened up more than 2 yards should account for. 4.25" I wasn't real happy so I tried it again and brought it in to 3.5". From there I stayed at about the same group size. 4.3" at 15 yards and 4.5" at 25 yards, minus one called flier where I was off paper. At 25 yards I was firing as fast as I could find the front sight and on the 3rd shot I knew I had front sight way too far right as I touched it off, so that's definitely on me and not the gun. Still, rapid fire at 25 yards with a sub 2" barrel, I'll take it. Group size is only part of the story of course. Point of aim vs point of impact is also important. At 7 yards and in they matched up. As I moved further back my point of impact dropped down and to the right. 2.5" at 15 yards and 5.75" at 25 yards. I think this is too much trigger finger on my part. Hand size vs gun size means the trigger is almost to the 2nd joint of my trigger finger holding it naturally. I think as I get more used to the gun and concentrate on not having so much finger inside the trigger housing this will correct itself. At 25 yards bullet weight vs designed bullet may account for some of the drop as well but since I was just holding it center of chest and pulling the trigger I don't have a real accurate measure of bullet drop as there is no precise point of aim to measure from. I shot steels prior to this target as there was someone using the cardboard target stands. Up to 25 yards and switching between 2 steels I had one miss in 45 shots and I was doing some pretty rapid shooting on 1/2 targets. Ammo selection: 158 gr .357s are a bad idea. The recoil is approaching painful and the jump is too much to accept in a defensive pistol. Follow up shots are simply too slow as you recover, and the recoil is so heavy it encourages flinching. 125 gr .357s are a less bad idea. Recoil is reasonable, and follow up shots are quicker. 110 gr .357s...I dunno. I didn't have any to test. "They" say that they can jump crimp in such a lightweight rapid recoiling hand gun. I don't know, but I've never used 110 gr anyway. 158 gr .38+P is reasonable. Recoil is moderate, slightly less than the 125 gr .357s 130 gr .38+P is probably going to be my choice (Wichester PDX-1 bonded) as the recoil is very reasonable and the balance of recoil/terminal ballistic performance is a win in my book. **.38s have the edge for another reason as well, empty case extraction. The short ejection rod has trouble getting hot .357 rounds out as they conform to the walls more due to pressure (sticking in the chamber harder) and longer length so they have to move further before they fall free. Even a good whack occasionally leaves a "hanger" on one or two chambers, slowing your reload. .38s ejected much more cleanly, several empties fell out once the revolver was flipped upside down even before the smack on the ejection rod.** Overall thoughts: The LCR is the little engine that could. It carries like the small gun it is, but shoots like a much larger gun in terms of recoil and control for quick followup shots. The U-notch sights are much better than the usual groove sights and helps somewhat overcome the short sight radius. The trigger is awesome, and if the reset didn't have that little glitch would be the perfect DAO trigger. The shape, size, and weight are perfect for concealed carry in any of its usual iterations (belt, ankle, pocket) and draws should be snag-free. Why the .357 over the .38? The .38 LCR is a bit lighter, but otherwise dimensionally the same. Its also cheaper. .357s can be a real hand full in a lightweight gun like this and most (if not all) folks are better off running .38s though it. So, again, why the .357? For me it was because my primary EDC is a GP100 and this way my speed strip will feed either the primary or the BUG. Additionally, I reload, and this gives me a bit more flexibility in OAL and the like on my loads. I don't know if the bit of extra weight helps with recoil any appreciable amount or not, but if it does that's also in favor of the .357. While the added flexibility of being able to run .357s is nice, I think its primarily a .38 with the option of taking the occasional .357 if the situation dictates. I shoot it better than I ever did the Taurus, I think primarily because of the better sights and better trigger than any real mechanical difference in potential accuracy. Its also much more comfortable to shoot. I'd glad I made the switch. ***CORRECTION*** Since I wrote the original review I've had a chance to use a more accurate trigger scale with the gun locked in a vise. The trigger breaks at about 7.75 lbs, which is more believable compared to the feel, and is outstanding for a double action trigger pull.

Wow, thanks Jsin, I appreciate you swapping everything over!