RECCE ROOM

For the record, I got this email two years ago. The author requested I wait to publish for a while. I responded with my advice immediately to the person, and logged this one for a future posting date.  From a reader: Just had a question. I’ve seen you write some pretty solid career and interviewing advice. How about this situation – I turn in my notice and my boss offers me a raise and a promotion. How do you handle that? - JH Great question. One thing keeps popping out in my head on this one... if there was a promotion and a raise so handy, why didn't the boss already offer that? Why did it take the threat of leaving to motivate the boss? There's no way I would continue employment at a place like that. Get out of Dodge. From a more sanguine point of view: once you have given your notice, you must keep your word. It is a matter of integrity. Whatever motivated you to leave is still true, even if they offer a change on the surface. Also, the c...

My thoughts on the Samson Evolution free float rail: OK, I've put this rail on two different builds for friends. I also put one on an AR15 that I've built for my son for his 10th birthday this fall (pics of that build coming soon!). The rail attaches using a standard barrel nut. That is extremely convenient, in my opinion. Three sides of the rail do not have continuous rails to have to cover. Nice and smooth, but not slick. This rail is very light in weight. I like that! The rail seems strong. Not going to say it's the strongest on the market, but I will say if you * need * something stronger, you should pay more than $200 to get it. The rail costs under $200! (Actually got one from Primary Arms for ~$167 on sale!) The rail comes in several lengths - including 9", 12", and 15" (those measurements are not exact). The rail comes with small rail segments that can be attached on either side or the underbelly. I think there were two 1" segments and ...

It seems the Pentagon is preparing for a zombie outbreak . Too many snarky comments to select just one... .

A few days back, a liberal friend on Facebook posted the following meme: I'm no defender of Bush, but something on this seemed *off.* Thought about researching, and had looked up a couple of the incidents, and then I found this link , where all the research had been done for me. In short, of all the incidents listed, only one death was an ambassador - who died immediately, as opposed to being tortured for hours and calling for help only to be denied that help. Also of note, nine US defense contractors also died - again, immediately, and they never got a chance to call for help and be denied that help. So yet again, the liberal fascists misrepresent things because their arguments do not hold water and they know it. .

You can't make this stuff up! A restaurant in NC posted a sign forbidding the carry of "weapons" into their establishment. They were robbed at gunpoint by criminals who failed to heed the sign. .

The good: The restaurant chain, Chipotle, has decided to label genetically modified "food." The bad: And it's very bad... Chipotle has decided to ban guns . I've decided to ban Chipotle. I mean, why couldn't they just ban GMOs and allow guns? That would make sense... .

Krav Maga This martial art / fighting style was conceived by a man that thinks it's a good idea to carry a pistol with an empty chamber. This means I'm not entirely sure I can trust him to teach someone how to fight. .

Ketchup. Oh, that delicious sauce made with tomato paste and vinegar and (too much) sugar. I absolutely love ketchup even though I rarely eat it anymore. I've always wondered something. You know that clear-ish liquid on the top when you first open the ketchup bottle? Why is it that this nasty liquid is on the top when your ketchup bottle pours from the top... but the liquid is also on the bottom when you have a squeeze bottle that opens from the bottom??? You'd think the laws of physics would apply, and it would be relegated to either the top or the bottom. .

What would happen if you pitted two teams of martial artists against each other? Not tag-team style, but more of a 5-on-5, last man standing format? Here is a video of just that sort of fight: Notes:  I watched several of these. They all pretty much follow the same pattern - one particular one-on-one match gets decided, then the winner helps out a buddy, which finishes that fight in a hurry, too. This continues until one team is totally victorious. Usually, the winning team does not lose even a single member. It helps to have a size advantage - so long as skills are substantially similar. In the videos I saw, none of the teams ever employed team tactics until the first one-on-one fight was decided. I wonder if that would change the outcome?

A man in China, who was trapped in a mine for 17 years, was recently rescued from that mine. Story here . Seems he lived on an emergency cache of rice, supplemented by rats and moss. .

Dear readers... sorry about the delay on this one. Thought I'd set it to publish over a year ago, but found it marinating in my "drafts" section. Pushed it to the next open date.   From a reader: Usagi, You have written a bit about stupid people you have seen at the range. Do you often run in to idiots at the range? How do you handle it? Good question. One that I think bears a good answer, so here's my best. Let's start with the "stupid people at the range ." Understand, there are stupid people everywhere . Some people manage to catch metal dump trucks on fire on the interstate. Some people critique your career choice when they change careers paths more often than underwear (and make less of a salary in their mid-40's than I'd made by age 25). Some people think we have 57 states... So the range is not the only spot for a stupid person. That said, when firearms are involved, stupidity can have lethal consequen...

Hillary Clinton wants to " rein in " your 2nd Amendment rights. I * might * consider it, if she leads by example and disarms her bodyguards, secret service, and all federal law enforcement and military. A good leader leads by example... let's see if she's fit to lead! ( I'm not holding my breath! ) .

Most people are aware of the phrase "one man's trash is another man's treasure." I used to not think my mom heard it quite right. She always said: "One man's candy is another man's raisins." Then, I found out later (thanks to "tez interwebz") that there used to be an old ad campaign for raisins and the catch phrase was "one man's fruit is another man's candy." The phrase also was heard like my mom said it, too. .

Do your kids ever claim there's nothing to eat in the kitchen... yet you know you went to the store just yesterday? Did you ever do the same? Pops had a unique method for handling this situation. He would say (while counting out on his fingers, point by point): "There's soup ... ... ... cereal ... ... ... sandwiches ..." He would say that every time we complained there was "nothing" to eat.  Do your parents ever say something so frequently that you get sick of hearing it? This phrase was just that way for my siblings and I. Later, my brother, sister, and I christened these three food items as "The Three S's." Yes... we knew that "cereal" starts with a "c" - but it is a soft "c" sound, so it sounded close enough. .

Eight weeks ago, my church decided to throw a contest - a weight loss challenge. Teams of four would be weighed in at the beginning and end. The team with the highest total percentage would be declared the winners. I volunteered to be included on a team, should someone need another person to fill out a team. It just so happened that one team needed two more people, so my wife and I joined that team. At initial weigh-in, I was 239.6 pounds. At final weigh-in, the measurement was 206 pounds. That was good for 14.02%. That happened to be second-best in the entire church for individuals... only 0.02% behind the man who lost the most weight (as a percentage). My team wound up in second place out of over 8 teams, with each individual losing at least 10 pounds. Combined, we lost 69 pounds. The entire group of teams lost over 550 pounds. .

Recently had the opportunity to try a .300 blackout rifle in an AR15 configuration. Here are my thoughts: Recoil is a bit less than 7.62x39, but a bit more than 5.56. Guy handloaded all his rounds. This lead to very spotty performance. Half the time, I was clearing jams. Scope was mounted "low rise" on a flat top AR15. That was not good for cheek weld. Scope was canted. Other than that, it was a nice gun. If ammo were cheaper, I might consider it. To be fair, there is not much it can do that a .223 cannot. .

Born and raised in Chattanooga. (37421) Here is an article titled: " 10 Chattanooga Stereotypes That Are Completely Accurate. " 6, 9, 10 are completely accurate. The rest might be true for about 30 residents... collectively. And certainly true of nobody born there. ----- These are far more accurate . Specifically: *** You can pronounce any one of the following: LaFayette, Wacker, Olgiati, Ooltewah, Unum *** LaFayette = "luh faye uhtt" Olgiati = "Old Johnny" Ooltewah = "oooo tuh wah" Unum = "you numb" .

According to Rener Gracie , here are the four "undesirable" training partners: 1. Smasher (the guy who uses 110% strength at all times) 2. Stencher (the guy / gal who stinks) 3. Sensei (the guy who is always teaching instead of just training) 4. Sniper (the guy who only rolls with girls) By the way - I agree with each of these. .

I recently went camping and had several opportunities while there to evaluate some of my gear and skills. Here is a brief rundown: Blanket I keep a blanket in my car at all times. I had no sleeping bag on this trip as the temperature was not supposed to drop below 55 degrees. As often happens, the forecast was not quite correct. Temps dropped into the mid-forties. A single blanket on top and a tarp to sleep on were not quite warm enough for my preferences. Lesson learned: from now on, I plan to have a sleeping bag in my car at all times. Grade: C- Fitness I've been working out a lot lately, including 5k runs as well as body weight strength training. This paid off. During the camping trip, we went on a 5k hike. I took my chest rig, backpack, and primary rifle. In my current physical condition, it was not difficult at all, and I could easily have endured the burden all day. Grade: B+ Marksmanship We shot out to 600+ yards. With the ACOG, it was like child's play. My...

The prevailing thought in the Bible is to love the Lord our God, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. As we have discussed, showing this love is typically done by showing love to our "neighbor." One of the main ways we are directed to show love to our "neighbor" is to give. Giving allows us the joy of blessing others who are in need. Giving (generosity) has the ability to span both life and death. Selfish people cannot claim generous promises (to whom much is given, much is expected). Nothing expresses the Gospel more than generous giving as a lifestyle- "For God so LOVED the world that He GAVE His only Son..." If you do not give, you cannot claim to love. Love and giving are always tied closely together.  Another article on same. 

If you are a "good" police officer, or family of a "good" officer whom you vigorously defend, ponder this please... When was the last time you arrested one of the bad officers in your department? When was the last time you turned that guy in to your supervisors? You know, the guy who chokes handcuffed victims, shoots family dogs, writes needless tickets, etc.? (For family, when was the last time your loved one did this?) If you haven't... then you are not a "good" cop. You are just as guilty as the bad cop you refused to arrest or turn in to supervisors. .

This past weekend, I went camping with my cousin and a couple of his buddies. Before camping, we shot guns a bit. My uncle has a place that is out of the way, and he has plenty of land for these sorts of activities. At one point, we moved from close shooting (under 100 yards) to a spot on the farm that had a clearing that went on for a bit more than 600 yards. I had my recon rifle (RECCE), and my cousin had a mini-14 with him. The mini-14 had a 3-9x scope, and my RECCE was outfitted with a TA31F ACOG. The RECCE rifle also had a bipod. We took a moment to guess the range, and both came to the agreement of 600 yards. We took another moment to find a good spot, and once we had it, I set up the rifle. I shot first with 55-grain Federal AE. This stuff mimics M193 very closely, and I've found it to be extremely accurate for what it is. Note: My cousin's friend took a rangefinder to the same spot and determined the distance was 614 yards.   The target was 18" square. I fi...