by Pat Heyman | Dec 22, 2009 | Pat
I just saw this story on MadOgre.com.
11-25-09: Rule One: Handle all firearms as if they were loaded. This Just Happened. We had a lady bring in an old 12 gauge Winchester 1300 shotgun for trade. Travis and I both check it, cycled the action. When I looked down into the action, I didn’t see any shells in there… the action was cycled probably 20 times. It was filthy, gritty, and foul… it felt like it was full of sand and on top of that it felt too tight. Travis hit it with some gun oil and cycled it a couple more times. Then Marcus cycled it. And then all the sudden – Ker-Chunk! A Live Shell popped onto the shell lifter and there it was. A live round in the gun. What happened evidently was that because the gun was so old and so completely filthy, the feed mechanism was bound up. After a shot of some spray in oil and some working, it became unbound and was then able to feed that unseen shell. This was pretty scary, because there was the hidden potential for an accident. However because everyone followed the 4 Rules, that accident didn’t happen. But it could have had we let our guard down. Because we had all thought the gun was unloaded… here we are looking forward to getting off work early… looking forward to the holiday, getting a little lax… but because we practiced the 4 Rules we avoided what could have been a disaster. A gun shop in Colorado not too long ago had an employee working on a gun… shot and killed another employee… it can happen. Firearms are like poisonous snakes… you can handle them safely, but the moment you disrespect them – they can bite you.
Follow the Rules. Always.
For those not in the know, the four rules—or laws— of guns safety were devised by Colonel Jeff Cooper who, if not invented, developed and popularized the modern technique of the pistol. They are:
- All guns are always loaded
- Never let the muzzle cover anything you don’t want to destroy.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target [and you are ready to shoot].
- Always be sure of your target.
As Randy Cain says, you can break one rule and be okay, but if you break two rules it’s going to end in pain. Although it’s rule 3, Jeff Cooper is reported to have acknowledged that keeping one’s finger off the trigger would prevent most gun accidents. If you watch TV you’ll see rule 3 violations all over the place—and Jack Bauer is one of the worst offenders.
Update: Repeatedly running the slide (as described in the story) is not correct way to check if a pump-action shotgun is unloaded. The correct way is to check the chamber (visually and tactilely) and to check the magazine tube for the presence of the follower. So apparently, in the story above, despite working at a gun shop, they didn’t know how (or didn’t care) to correctly check if the gun is unloaded. And as several of my friends have pointed out the first rule is “All guns are always loaded!” not “Treat all guns as if they were loaded” as maintained in the quoted excerpt.
by Pat Heyman | Dec 12, 2009 | Essays, Pat
One of the best things about Randy’s classes is his encyclopedic knowledge firearms equipment. Randy’s philosophy is that the most important aspect of a defensive weapon is that it is reliable, and the goal of shooting is to hit the target. As a result his gear selection tends toward the tried and true, with availability of replacement parts weighing strongly in his selection. Hence, his choice of shotgun is the Remington 870 as much for its ubiquity and availability of parts as for its inherent reliability.
Moreover, you will get a chance to see other people with various options and how they work, giving you ideas for your own gear, both what works and what doesn’t. And of course Randy will try to help you steer clear of transfer devices—gear whose main purpose is to transfer your money to the vendor.
This fall, I took Randy Cain’s Shotgun class. In preparation for the class, I have already posted a couple articles on the shotgun in general and what to look for in a Remington 870. Now that I have taken the Shotgun class, I will be posting an article on recommended modifications to the Remington 870. But this article is dedicated to the class itself.
Videos from the class are available for friends and family. E-mail me.
Day 1
Shotgun I is the second class that I have attended with Randy, and it followed the same pattern as Tactical Handgun 101. The first thing is a discussion on safety. You will learn Jeff Cooper’s safety rules for firearm safety word for word. Following safety is a general orientation to the shotgun as a whole and the Remington 870 in particular (everyone in our class had an 870) including how to load and how to unload the shotgun.
Then we were out on the firing line with buckshot to pattern the guns. Patterning consists of shooting buckshot at paper at varying distances to see what the pattern (or shot distribution looks like). You will need (at least) six rounds of two different types of buckshot (12 total) There are three reasons for this exercise:
- It helps you determine the best ammunition for your shotgun. Every barrel shoots every load differently.
- It helps you to understand your shotgun’s capabilities with buckshot at various distances.
- It demonstrates the folly of the Hollywood school of shotguns. At 7 seven yards (across the room distance), the pattern on my shotgun was only 4 inches across—so much for the “just point and you can’t miss” myth.
We exchanged our buckshot for birdshot and went to the steel plates and practiced various drills such as firing on the move, searching, and Rolling Thunder. Rolling thunder is a team exercise designed to put you under a bit of stress while manipulating the shotgun as quickly as possible just to keep it loaded. We would repeat Rolling Thunder with different variations several times over the next few days. This was followed by a competition to see who could knock down three steel plates the quickest.
Day 2
The next day, Randy showed us various slinging techniques and how to shoot from them. We then had a demonstration of how quickly one can shoot from African Carry. After some more birdshot drills, we exchanged shot for slugs and began the process of zeroing our shotguns, while Randy instructed us on prone shooting, the seven points of contact, and natural point of aim. The idea is that the prone shooting should be totally relaxed, and the sights should only move up and down as you breathe—easier said than done.
Randy’s preferred zero with the shotgun is at 25 and 75 yards. The parabolic trajectory of a slug makes the zero the same at 25 and 75 yards, allowing for a very versatile zero. Our day was scorching hot (the following weekend was cool and crisp), so we had frequent breaks where class members picked Randy’s brain for gear selection. Here we learned that the clamps that most extension tube manufacturers use affect the zero of the shotgun, and you must re-zero after every time you remove the barrel for cleaning. So Randy doesn’t use the clamp and has his gunsmith drill and tap the metal between the barrel and retention ring to mount his slings (see picture).
Then we learned various shooting positions, sitting, squatting, and reinforced kneel. We shot several exercises in various positions followed by yet another Rolling Thunder and called it a day. Depending on the time of year and level of the class, Randy sometimes has a night shoot, but our class did not.
Day 3
After recapping the basics and what we had learned the previous two days, we shot several birdshot drills, refined our zeroes, and proceeded to shoot several several slug drills and competitions (some of which you can see on my videos page). We also performed select slug drills and a drill where Randy gives you a sequence of slugs and birdshot to shoot, and then you must load the shotgun correctly and hit the appropriate targets (hint: don’t shoot slugs at the steel targets).
And then all too soon we were saying good-byes and driving back home.
Last thoughts
Randy’s courses are incredibly fun and educational. They can also be incredibly frustrating if you show up with the wrong gear. In the case of the shotgun, you’ll get the most out of the course if you have a Remington 870 with Rifle sights with a recoil pad. (A maxi pad under your shirt also helps.) A sling is mandatory. You should cut the stock down to a comfortable length of pull (this will help your shoulder immensely). Get a fanny pack or military style drop bag to hold your shotgun shells, but make sure you can close it with a zipper or pull string, because some of the drills have you getting up and down, going prone, and spilling your shells everywhere. Also bring a mat or blanket of some kind. If you forget to, you can use your car’s floor mat in a pinch. Other than that, wait until you complete the course before spending any additional money on your shotgun.
And finally come with an open mind. As Randy says, you’re paying him good money, so you might as well try it his way first. You can always go back to what you were doing if it doesn’t work out for you. Take good notes, and start saving up for your next class.
by Pat Heyman | Nov 28, 2009 | Essays, Pat
Dr. Archie Carr wrote several books about his journeys. One of them, The Windward Road, was extremely popular. Several chapters described his adventures with sea turtles and Tortuguero. Joshua Powers, a publishing company representative, read it and became fascinated. He nominated Dr. Carr and several of his colleagues to the board of what he called the Brotherhood of the Green Turtle. It was decided that the Brotherhood would dedicate itself to raising of money to fund turtle research. It was incorporated as the Caribbean Conservation Corporation in 1959, and Dr. Carr became the technical director, so he dictated the course the CCC took.
Today the CCC still funds and operates the turtle research station at Tortuguero. With the help of volunteers, over 30,000 turtles have been tagged at Tortuguero, making it not only the longest running sea turtle research project, but also the largest.
Dr. Archie Carr and Giovanna Holbrook were old associates. He lead her first trip to the Galapagos, and was instrumental in her early success in the travel industry. Today, his son, Tom Carr, works for Holbrook Travel in the development department. So it seemed destined that the two organizations should eventually meet again. Holbrook Travel and CCC are partners in the volunteer turtle tagging project, and the Carr family still watches over Tortuguero.
The CCC offers two turtle tagging programs, one week and two weeks long respectively. Those with busy schedules who can only stay for shorter periods can also help by keeping a lookout.
by Pat Heyman | Nov 28, 2009 | Essays, Pat
History of Turtle Tagging
You can only do so much with a nesting turtle to study it. Weigh it. Measure it. Count the number of eggs. Describe it. But that isn’t enough. Dr Archie Carr was familiar with tagging birds and other animals for research purposes. So he talked to his brother Tommy, the physicist in the family, and came up with some sort of nickel alloy that was resistant to seawater. Punch four holes in the shell, stick nickel wire through the holes and wire the tag on. Now, the cow ear tag is used which is crimped onto the fleshy part of the trailing edge of the fore flipper.
The tags say “Reward. Premio.” and have the address of the department of biology at the University of Florida. The idea was that fishermen who caught the turtles would report them in order to collect their reward. In So excellent a fishe: A natural history of sea turtlesSo Excellent a Fishe, Archie records letters that he had gotten from local fishermen. Most are to the effect of, “Ah good sirs, if the Lord has been kind to you and it has been a good day, then please could you remember the reward you promised for fishing out a turtle…”
Once Archie started tagging turtles, he could start collecting information on growth rates, site tenacity, and population recruitment. Site tenacity is how often a turtle will come back to the same beach, and population recruitment is how many new turtles come to a beach. An interesting trend was noticed. The same female would return to the beach several times in a season and then some seasons not return at all.
There was a Caribbean lore which said that the turtles come and the turtles go. Archie Carr wanted to know where the turtles were going. The navy was extremely interested in tracking turtle movements for research on animal navigation. Archie received several grants from the navy as well as help from navy personnel. After several failed attempts, Archie devised a way to track turtles:
Attach a weather balloon to the turtle, and build two towers. Every two minutes for the next twenty hours, record the bearing of the turtle’s location. With the two towers, the turtle’s position could be triangulated. Interestingly, the turtles rarely dove below fifteen feet unless frightened. Archie found out that the turtle goes out and mates with new males, and then comes back to lay a new clutch. This was a breakthrough discovery.
by Pat Heyman | Nov 28, 2009 | Essays, Pat
When he first arrived in Tortuguero, Costa Rica, Tom Carr was only five. He recalls that he tagged his first turtle when just six years old. He spent three years in Tortuguero with his parents before returning to the United States to go to school. Every summer for the next eighteen years he would return to help with the turtle project.
In the old days, the Tortuguero research station worked because it was one big family with the local village. The village helped the Carr family, and the Carr family helped them. “Pana pana hancome hango,” they would say. “You help us. We help you.”
The earliest settlers of Tortuguero were black Caribs. In the early days Carib faces were the only faces around, but through the years migration has brought an ethnic mix to the Tortuguero area. As they were generally the only people who could speak English, when the tourist boom began, many moved to San Jose and some became successful hoteliers, head chefs, and front deskmen.
At first, the Tortuguero field station was run just by Archie Carr, his family, and his graduate students from the University of Florida during the summers. There was very little communication or transportation, and one of the Carr boys would go down a week early to set up camp. As time went on Archie’s students who had graduated began to take over the project.
The early days of Tortuguero were filled with adventures straight from the pages of the Swiss Family Robinson, complete with smugglers, pirates, and guerrillas. Today, Tortuguero remains a colorful, albeit calmer, town.
Adventures in Tortuguero
Life in Tortuguero was not always easy nor quiet. There were little to no supplies. There were threats from Cuba and pirates. Here is one firsthand account of an adventure at Tortuguero.
Hunting the Giant Jewfish — recounted by Tom Carr
To get fresh meat and quench my urge to fish the unknown waters of turtle bogue I would go fishing at the boca (river mouth) after my chores were done. I hooked a 400 pound Jewfish one late afternoon; I had tied the line to the largest log I could find on the sandbar at the mouth of the river. Even though he was in water only a meter deep he was able to pull me and the log slowly but surely into the sea. There were a hell of a lot of big tiger sharks out there in those days from all the turtle butchering going on.
At the last moment before the monster made it to deep water I got to my feet and ran out in to the water towards the fish using the line as my guide. As I ran I pulled a small .38 caliber derringer (a survival gun) from my back pocket, and when I reached the fish was able to shoot him twice in the head. The bullets did not enter the skull but the impact was such that that it stunned him and I was able to drag him back to shallow water. The fish was way to big for me to get him into my cayuca (canoe) so I tethered him to the gunwale and with a small outboard towed him back to Casa Verde (the Green House) where Shefton, our friend and cook, butchered him. The meat from this fish fed our team and the village for days. I was fourteen at the time.
by Pat Heyman | Nov 28, 2009 | Essays, Pat
How it all began:
Fifty years ago, we knew next to nothing about sea turtles. If you study sea turtles today, you will notice one name popping up again and again: Dr. Archie Carr. Dr. Carr set up the first systematic turtle research program, which still operates today. He is directly responsible for saving the Caribbean green turtle population from extinction. Most of our knowledge of sea turtles stems from his research. Dr. Carr’s life was as interesting as the turtles he loved.
Archie was the son of a Presbyterian minister and spent his early years traveling throughout the south with his father. His father was a strict disciplinarian who insisted on a proper education. Fascinated by adventure fiction, Archie’s character was shaped by his heroes, the characters of Kipling, Hemingway, and Twain. With a literary bent, Archie felt drawn to write as well.
He had once read that one of his favorite authors had said that to write one had first to live hard. So Archie took it upon himself to live hard, and live hard he did. For a time, he worked the river boats of the Mississippi following in Mark Twain’s footsteps. He wound up working the docks of Savannah. One day while loading bales of cotton, one of the large needles used to sew up the bales pierced his forearm. With no penicillin, the doctors chose to remove his bone and replace it with a metal bar.
With his days of hard living at an end, Archie chose to attend college at the University of Florida, where he graduated with a double major: biology and English. Taxonomy was his specialty, and in those days, that meant going out, finding new species, and naming them. He met his wife, Marjorie, while on a trip into the field. She was studying the sex life of the St. Johns River large mouth bass at the time.
They married, and soon word of Dr. Carr’s research reached the ears of the Ivy League. Harvard asked if he had ever heard of a fellow named Popenoe. (Popenoe’s research lead to the introduction of the avocado to the United States.) If Archie would help “Pop,” Harvard would pay for him to live and do research in Honduras. The fruit companies would front the money for the project. And so Archie packed up and moved off to Honduras. He describes these as the best years of his life. He was teaching biology to bright young students in Honduras’ Zamarano School of Agriculture. He had all the time in the world to travel into the cloud forests looking for new species. His wife studied her birds. His children were born. And, the fruit companies indirectly paid for it through Harvard.
In order to go deeper into the jungles, Archie hired himself out to chicleros. (Chicleros were the collectors of chicle, from which chewing gum is made. Many chicleros were less than reputable.) So there Archie was. White American university professor, Ph.D.–gallivanting around the jungle acting as huntsman and cook for the toughest bandits in all Honduras. Life was good…until one fateful day.
October 10, 1947, Archie had taken a trip on horseback to the Pacific coast in search of new species. And there for the first time in his log, he records seeing a nesting sea turtle, “…eggs came out every 4-10 seconds in bunches of 2, 3, or 4 [few times], usually 2-3. Turtles eyes closed and plastered with tears and sand. This must be of some function.” The preliminary sketches and descriptions tickled his imagination and began a fascination with turtles that would stay with him for the rest of his life.
A good friend of his, Guillermo Cruz, told him that if he were really interested in sea turtles, then he needed to go to Costa Rica to Tortuguero. After a cursory trip in 1955, Archie and his family made the trip on horseback from Honduras to Tortuguero in Costa Rica. The leader of the expedition was none other than Pepe Figueres, the leader of Costa Rica’s revolution less than ten years earlier.
And so, Dr. Archie Carr began what has become today the longest lived turtle research project in the world–Tortuguero. And still today, the Carr family watches over the goings on in Tortuguero.
This series is dedicated in loving memory to Dr. Archie Carr. 1907 – 1987.
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