Got to practice First Aid at Range

[TMan]

I was Range Officer yesterday afternoon, filling in for another RO. Since I was going to be there, I invited a friend that I'd taken shooting there before. He had inherited several pistols, revolvers (including a Python), shotguns, and rifles. (I inherited a Karmann Ghia ).

Since I'd taken him shooting before, I wasn't watching him that closely. His Beretta Compact in 40S&W DAO was horrible. Even I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it.

I then handed him my Glock 34. He fired it, shook his hand and stuck his thumb in his mouth. It wasn't too bad, and after a little cleaning and a tight bandaid, it stopped bleeding. I then pointed out how both thumbs should be pointing forward.

He shot a few more rounds in the Glock and then I switched him to another 9mm pistol. Fortunately, I looked and ther was his left thumb over the back of his right hand. I yelled: "Stop, stop, stop". I pointed out that he was about to tear off the bandaid that I'd just put on. He corrected, and then started putting everything in the dirt. I let him shoot 3 rounds, and then made him stop for the day. There was no way that he was going to get over the flinching having been hurt.

He was upset and I told him to get some 38 Special for his Python and I'd take him shooting later in the month when I get back from Shanghai. I'm thinking a little revolver shooting to build up his confidence, and then switch him to a couple of semi-auto's in 22LR. After developing some good muscle memory, then I'll let him go back to 9mm.

It was unfortunate because he was wanting to apply for his CHL, but knows he couldn't pass the test.

I tried to encourage him by telling him a few of the stupid things that I'd done, and that I'd gotten a knicked thumb off my Ruger P90 - welcome to the club. That reminds me of what happened a couple of years ago. We had started attending a church that was suggested to us by a friend. We went there for several weeks and during that time someone had given him a Harley. Well he "dropped" it and got busted up a bit. When he came back he mentioned that he was "really a good motorcyclist". I reminded him of the saying "pride goeth before a fall". I went on to tell him that he and my son belonged to the same club - my son had dropped his Harley too. The minister looked at me and said: "it really isn't that exclusive a club". I chuckled about that all the way home.

[MLB]

Part of the motorcycle road test in NY involves performing 2 "figure-8's" between the curbs on a side street. As I would have to manage this with a 650 lb bike, I practiced in a nearby school parking lot in the evenings.

A bit too much front brake with the handlebars hard over is a good lesson. Fortunately, my horizontal Harley story was much more of a "semi-controlled set down" than a "drop." Happily, there was no damage to me or the bike. I suppose it's not that exclusive.

[TMan]

MLB, I forgot about that in the MC test in NY. I was thankful that I didn't have to parallel park. ;D What I did was stall the Honda 500 at one point. Fortunately, I had the electric starter.

I dropped the CB900C one time on a curve at the end of my street. The 900 has a dual speed rear-end, which is sort of the reverse of a 10 speed bicycle. In the low range, when you let full off on the throttle, you hear a chirp from the back tire on the pavement. I think I let off when going around the curve. Two weeks in the hospital with a ruptured kidney.

I also had two incidents with the 500: once when following a car to closely, I ended up on his trunk. That was the end of the 500.

The earlier one was minor, but kind of funny. We had a pad at the side of the house and a one car garage. My car was in the garage and my wife's was out in front in the driveway. I drove out in the morning and there was plenty of room in the driveway.

My pain-in-the-rear son forgot his trumpet so his mom took it to school for him. Then she did something that she never does - backed into the driveway. When I came home for lunch, I saw the car sitting where it was when I left, or so I thought. As I drove by it, the crash bar caught the front bumper, which sent me flying off the left side of the bike. I ended up with two big bruises on the back of each hand where my hands hit the mirrors.

[Callahan]

I had problems some years ago with being cut by pistol slides and also once cut on the eyebrow by a scope on a high-powered rifles. Last time, the first-aid kit in my truck came in handy. Talk about feeling like a complete idiot. (You don't have your winter coat on today, stupid!)

I've even caused a few blood blisters from smacking mags in during quick reloads and getting a good pinch.

I have managed to make it home the past few years without losing any blood.

[TMan]

So, I just got to practice first aid on myself this evening (morning to y'all). We had a lot of luggage so had a guy with a cart loaded with our suitcases following behind me walking through the airport. He ran into me with the car and took a good chunk out of the back of my heel.

Now if I was a liberal, I would be pushing for Washington to pass a law making airports cart-free zones.

Why was I flying on Friday the 13th?

[MLB]

Thursday night was a worse night for flying here in Buffalo (actually, about 15 miles northeast of Buffalo.) Continental flight 3407 crashed about 10 minutes drive time from my house taking the lives of 49 on the plane, and one in the house that it crashed into.

Enjoy every minute folks, it can be gone quickly...

[TMan]

MLB,

I was rather shocked when I turned on the TV this morning to BBC and they were talking about it. They said something about the plane was on autopilot when it shouldn't have been under the icing conditions. They also said that it was pointed away from Buffalo when it landed, and making a 180 degree turn was one of the procedures a pilot could do under icing conditions. That didn't make much sense to me because if it was on autopilot, how could the pilot have made the 180 degree turn?

Oh, and Thursday night was already Friday the 13th for half of the world.

[MLB]

I did hear about the autopilot thing this morning. The 180 degree thing is puzzling.

I don't put too much stock in the early reporting though. People are so eager to find out what's what, that the news media spits out any tidbit that they hear. It'll take time.

[TMan]

Since my last post, I've given in some more thought, and perhaps TA can shed some light on this...

If the plane is on autopilot, and the pilot grabs the controls, can he override the autopilot or does he have to shut it off, or perhaps grabing the controls turns it off (I would think either of the last two could be dangerous).

["DoubleAction"]

Feb 17, 2009 5:26:36 GMT -5 TMan said:

Since my last post, I've given in some more thought, and perhaps TA can shed some light on this...

If the plane is on autopilot, and the pilot grabs the controls, can he override the autopilot or does he have to shut it off, or perhaps grabing the controls turns it off (I would think either of the last two could be dangerous).

TMan; I flew in the cock pit with my dad for a number of years. The only time we use the autopilot was to way direct us, it would be switched off as soon we reached our designation; if not before.

[MLB]

One current theory is that the plane nosed down on autopilot to increase speed (due to the icing.) The pilot pulled back to correct the loss of altitude as a reaction, but this ensured the stall.

As I understand, this is one of the reasons that autopilot should not be used in situations where there is icing; the pilot doesn't notice the lack of responsiveness of the (iced up) wings.

["DoubleAction"]

Now if I was a liberal, I would be pushing for Washington to pass a law making airports cart-free zones

TMan; We had such law voted into law last year, but The Mayor Of Atlanta, Shirley Franklin, opposed new carry law and sent to the federal court. Like most Judges in Atlanta, this one went against the law and struck down the existing which the Governor had signed into law. Which bring into mind; Who enforces our State Laws ? Liberalism alive and doing well in this country.

[TMan]

Hey, just a little update on my patient: HE PASSED THE CHL TEST

He had rotator-cuff surgery last year, which makes it hard for him to pull back the slide on a pistol. Therefore, he bought a S&W revolver for carry. However, he really wanted to take the test with a pistol and then he could carry one in the future if he ever decided to do so.

So I finally got my wife, who hates guns, to actually handle some handguns. She is very small and weak. So I figured if she could rack the slide, so could he. I only let her try on 9mm because he is quite recoil sensitive and didn't want to shoot a 45. That limited me to 9mm that were relatively heavy (no Kel-tec PF9, and with an easy slide to operate. Would you believe that there was only one gun that my wife could rack the slide on: the Glock 17L, which has the Glockworx trigger system.

So when he came over to borrow the gun, I let him dry fire it, load the magazine with snap-caps, and checked on his sighting over the gun (I stood on the stairs and looked over his shoulder).

When he called me last night to tell me he passed, he went on to tell me what a sweet gun the 17L was, and he was thinking of getting one. I had to burst his bubble and tell him that wasn't a factory trigger.

Anyhow, I'm glad he passed, and that he isn't returning my gun covered in blood.