Tennessee Firearms Association Annual Meeting 2024

 It will be held in Lebanon, TN., on September. Pete Hegseth will be the keynote speaker. Here's his promotional video. (1 minute, 14 seconds)

The Smith & Wesson Goldilocks .380

 Thursday August 15, in conjunction with their GOALS Convention in Knoxville, Gun Owners of America had their first Media Range Day near Sweetwater, TN. We were able to shoot a large variety of firearms. One that caught my attention was the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0 in .380 caliber.

I call this the Goldilocks .380 because, for a .380 it is just right. There are lots of .380's on the market of varying sizes. Walther has had one on the market for many decades. Many manufacturers have one out there today. A game changer in the .380 market was the Kel-Tek P3AT, which put the .380 in a true pocket-pistol category. The Ruger LCP followed, which popularized that size firearm. 

This S&W is slightly larger than the LCP, with their dimensions compared at the HandgunHero website. From the HandgunHero site, here are same-scale silhouettes of the two pistols.

 Where the S&W really shines, though, is that despite its diminutive size, the felt recoil* is considerably less than the P3AT and LCP, which makes it just right as a .380; small enough to carry discreetly, yet relatively gentle to the user.

*Felt recoil, as the term implies, is a measure of how it feels to the user. Every cartridge from the .22 short to the big magnum African game cartridge has its own intrinsic recoil. From there, firearm shape, action type, weight, etc., all have a bearing on felt recoil. Each shooter will have their own perception of recoil, also.

Gun Owners of America Convention

REGISTER HERE

 Gun Owners of America (GOA) is holding a convention in Knoxville August 17-18. It will be held in the Convention Center downtown. 

Sign up to attend HERE. 

This event is for GOA members. If you are not a member, you can join HERE.

Easter 2024

 

What would cause someone to voluntarily submit to the agony of the Cross?

Any honest student of history will agree that there was a historical Jesus. Given that, the Bible teaches that He -

• Was born of a virgin
• Suffered unbelievable torture
• Was crucified
• Was stabbed by a Roman soldier to ensure his death
• Was buried

.... And rose from the dead!

He also made an outlandish claim, which if true, places a great burden on us. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."  John 14:6 (KJV)

The Bible also teaches that we all live, die, and  will face judgement. 

However, if you come to know Jesus, He has already taken your judgement on Himself.  "He that believeth on Him (Jesus) is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:18. (KJV)

So, please explore His claims. It is not enough to know about Jesus, you must know Him. 

To answer the question asked at the beginning, look to John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Before you go, check out the Got Jesus tab above (or HERE) to learn how to know Him. 

The One Shot Group

In the movie The Patriot, Benjamin Martin takes his two young boys to rescue his oldest son from British soldiers. He gives his sons specific instructions, including -

AIM SMALL, MISS SMALL

What can we learn from this scene? I started thinking about the fact that in those days, a person only had one shot with a muzzleloader; and in a self defense situation, it was take the shot, then use whatever other means were available to escape or prevail over the bad guy. 

So -

What if we started training as if there was only one shot? Ergo, the title of this post. A few years ago, I wrote about handgun stopping power, and discussed the ways a fight can be stopped. You can read that post HERE. 

This drill is super simple. When you arrive at the range, put a target out at 25 yards. Draw or pick up your pistol (depending on range rules) and take one shot. Now relax for a few minutes, then check your hit. End of the drill. How did you do? 

If you can't deliver the shot at 25 yards, what range can you do it at?

How far can you do it with iron sights?

With a red dot sight?

With a laser?

Vital Dude target. White dot added to clarify the shot location. 25 yds, 
with a laser pointed at the middle of the nose.

Happily, we are not restricted to only one shot with modern handguns. For those of us who live in free states, ammunition capacity is limited only by our personal desire and circumstances. If we have to shoot, we shoot until the threat is stopped.

Ordinary reasonable people really don't want to shoot someone, and avoidance of bad situations is the best defense. But if you are in a public place and someone comes in and starts shooting, you need to do your best to deliver the shot. . . . and try to make the first one count.

If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. (Romans 12:18 KJV)

The Nativity, AD 2023

 

As we celebrate Christmas 2023, the Nativity display reminds us of who it is about; and the calendar points to the fact that the Nativity was such an event historically that nothing else can compare. Sure, there are other calendars; the Japanese, Chinese, Indians, Israelis, and others have calendars, but the calendar based on Jesus' life is used almost universally around the world.

When you look at the manger scene above, you see Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Gathered near are a shepherd, a donkey, a sheep, and three wise men. Similar scenes are displayed all over during the Christmas season.

But, what does the Biblical record show, and what does it mean. The Bible does mention the presence of shepherds at the manger scene, but does not specifically mention the number of wise men. It tells of gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but not how many men came. The written Biblical record does not place them at the manger, either.

We see depictions of livestock ranging from a sheep and a donkey as shown above, to scenes with those animals, as well as cattle, and camels. There was no Kodachrome or digital photography then, so all we have is the written record. But it is sufficient to tell the story.

At first glance, we might think of the Nativity as the beginning of the story, but it has its origins in eternity past. Mankind's story begins in the Garden of Eden with the creation of Adam and Eve by this same Jesus. (As the Apostle John writes: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1: 1-3)