It's a brave new world out there...

Yesterday our beloved retired pastor called and asked if we'd like to meet he and his lovely wife for church, then afterwards go to dinner (our church offers a Saturday evening service in addition to two Sunday morning services).

We had a wonderful time. They took us to a deluxe hamburger restaurant called Red Robin, and as you can imagine on a Saturday evening it was packed. We had about a 15 minute wait before they were able to seat us. The service was great, the food was delicious, and the atmosphere was upbeat and family-friendly, with lots of children.

With the happy, cheerful crowds in the restaurant, an odd and disturbing thought passed through my mind as the hostess seated us: it would be a perfect place for some nut-job to conduct a mass shooting. And for once, I wasn't packing heat.

So it was very interesting to note something that happened late in the meal. Several young men (late 20s, early 30s) were walking the floor of the restaurant. They were smiling and helpful. While they didn't serve food, they gladly fetched condiments or extra napkins or anything else diners might require. One stopped at our table to see if we needed anything. And around their waists they all wore high-tech belts containing walkie-talkies and sidearms.

I mentioned this to our pastor's wife, and she said a lot of places are now doing this -- having visibly-armed security officers present, particularly during high-traffic hours.

While it's sad that so many restaurants feel the need to have these security officers present, I for one was glad to see them. There's only one way to stop an insane gunman, and that's a sane gunman.

Yep, it's a brave new world out there...

Preparing for my Utah concealed carry

Day after tomorrow -- Sunday -- I will be spending the entire day taking my Utah concealed carry class.

I already have my Idaho concealed carry. Why Utah?

It's because the Utah concealed carry allows me to carry in 33 other states including, crucially, Washington. Being right next door to Washington State, and traveling as often as we do into Spokane, I want to be able to carry during my trips to the city.

Besides the extensive course work necessary for this permit, there will also be a proficiency portion requiring me to shoot 20 rounds at seven yards into a target the size of a pie pan, within two minutes.

Must. Practice.

Shooters these days face a quandary: we need target practice, but ammo is far too precious and expensive to waste on target practice. Catch-22, anyone?

Nonetheless this morning Don built a target and we set it up against the clay berm in the pasture. Don measured seven yards.

Seven yards turned out to be right where this cow plop was located. Good marker.

Accouterments: Makarov .380 handgun, box of .380 ammo, two magazines (six rounds each), eye and ear protection.

Twelve shots, fairly rapid fire. No bull's eye, but certainly within a pie pan diameter.

Don taped over the holes while I reloaded the magazines, then I shot another twelve rounds. This time Don timed me. It meant I had to remove the empty magazine and replace it with the full magazine; then remove the second magazine and reload more ammo. I ended up with twenty-five seconds to spare, and had similar accuracy.

Younger Daughter also received a bit of instruction.

This photo was a nanosecond after her shot (which is why the handgun is aimed high -- you can see the puff of smoke). She shot five rounds total and rivaled my accuracy.

Wish we could practice more! -- but can't waste the ammo, not with the present prices and scarcity. Grrr.

Ready...aim...

Last Friday I did something I've been meaning to do for quite awhile: target shooting.  I'm not too bad with my revolver but had never shot larger weapons.

So I visited some friends who have a small shooting range and got instruction for both a 12-gauge pump action shot gun (yuck)...

 and a lethal-looking AR-15.

Wow, I think I'm in love!  That AR-15 was smooth as silk and awesome to handle.  The shotgun was awkward for me (for starters it was a touch too big) but the AR-15 had very little kick and was just plain FUN.

Didn't do too badly on my aim, either.

Now if I could only figure out how to put an AR-15 into a bra holster...