Gun Wisdom

[10-42]

Gun Wisdom
Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch, is a drill instructor (Thunder Ranch is a firearms training facility in Arizona ).

Here are a few of his observation on tactics, firearms, self defense and life as we know it in the civilized world.

"The most important rule in a gunfight is: Always win and cheat if necessary."

"Don't forget, incoming fire has the right of way.."

"Make your attacker advance through a wall of bullets. You may get killed with your own gun, but he'll have to beat you to death with it, cause it's going to be empty."

"If you're not shootin', you should be loadin'. If you're not loadin', you should be movin', if you're not movin', someone's gonna cut your head off and put it on a stick."

"When you reload in low light encounters, don't put your flashlight in your back pocket.. If you light yourself up, you'll look like an angel or the tooth fairy... and you're gonna be one of 'em pretty soon."

"Do something It may be wrong, but do something."

"Shoot what's available, as long as it's available, until something else becomes available."

"If you carry a gun, people will call you paranoid. That's ridiculous. If you have a gun, what in the hell do you have to be paranoid for."

"Don't shoot fast, unless you also shoot good.."

"You can say 'stop' or 'alto' or use any other word you think will work, but I've found that a large bore muzzle pointed at someone's head is pretty much the universal language."

"You have the rest of your life to solve your problems.. How long you live depends on how well you do it."

"You cannot save the planet but you may be able to save yourself and your family."

"Thunder Ranch will be here as long as you'll have us or until someone makes us go away, and either way, it will be exciting."

More Excellent Gun Wisdom.......

The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.

1. Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.

2. If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck.

3. I carry a gun cause a cop is too heavy.

4. When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away.

5. A reporter did a human-interest piece on the Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him 'Why do you carry a 45?' The Ranger responded, 'Because they don't make a 46.'

6. An armed man will kill an unarmed man with monotonous regularity.

7. The old sheriff was attending an awards dinner when a lady commented on his wearing his sidearm. 'Sheriff, I see you have your pistol. Are you expecting trouble?' 'No ma'am. If I were expecting trouble, I would have brought my rifle.'

8. Beware of the man who only has one gun, because he probably knows how to use it very well.

'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

A people that values its privileges above its principles will soon lose both.

"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not..." - Thomas Jefferson

[countybear]

The words of Special Agent Edmundo Mireles, FBI; recounting his actions in the Miami FBI shootout of April 11th, 1986:

``I had to stand up, because I knew that the longer we waited, the more blood we`d lose. We`ve gotta get this thing over with as quickly as possible.``

Mireles staggers slowly toward the car. He`s leaning slightly forward. His right arm is extended, clutching his revolver. The agents on the periphery hold their fire.

``My goal was to move in on the car and take them out. I felt I could die. It wasn`t a suicide type of thing, but I felt if I was going to die, then I was going to try to take these two guys out.

``I felt they could still do damage, especially the passenger. I wasn`t sure I had hit him. I saw movement near the passenger. I said, well, he`s still alive. I wasn`t sure about the driver. His eyes were still open. I wasn`t gonna take a chance. I put two shots into the driver`s chest.``

The driver recoils from the impact.

``I was still a ways back. I couldn`t see the passenger very clearly so I moved in close to the car, within three or four feet of the windshield.

``I had only tunnel vision now. I was going into shock. I could just see inside the window. I got to a position where I saw the passenger. The guy was moving his arm; I don`t know what he was doing. I shot him three times in the chest.``

The passenger recoils.

``I had one round left over. The driver was still there, so I shot him with my last round.``

(Quoted from: A Hero From The Deadliest Fbi Shootout - Chicago Tribune)

[ChesCopPodz]

A bit old. Thunder Ranch moved to Oregon 3-4 years ago.

Doesn't make it any less right though

Clint Smith kind of annoys me. His advice is usually spot on. But he tries to be both superstar and regular Joe. I've read articles from him that say things like the S&W 500 is good for hunting a T-Rex, but for CCW it's overkill. And that the S&W 500 and 460 are fine guns, but his elbows already hurt enough, so he doesn't shoot them much, and doesn't carry them.

Then, he does a CCW class with a S&W 500 and everyone's like "OMG ur AWESOME clint". Pick a side please.

[MacLean]

I've had the pleasure, and Clint Smith is an outstanding instructor. He has a grasp on material and the method of presentation.

My favorite line from him is, "Shoot the center of what is available until something better becomes available."

It cures vapor lock caused by folks who can't see the center of their target and have been told that "center mass" means only one place.

[MacLean]

I've read articles from him that say things like the S&W 500 is good for hunting a T-Rex, but for CCW it's overkill.

He speaks to that in various articles.

The very best instructors try everything once, then decide.

All of the big names get a big head - what I want to know is if they can do it, and then teach it - or teach me to teach it.

[lewisipso]

All of the big names get a big head

Confidence I can deal with. Arrogance is stupid. I try and tolerate arrogant people to suck up as much knowledge as I can, as long as I can stand it until I finally have to walk away. Did I mention I have a hard time dealing with arrogance?

[MacLean]

Confidence I can deal with. Arrogance is stupid. I try and tolerate arrogant people to suck up as much knowledge as I can, as long as I can stand it until I finally have to walk away. Did I mention I have a hard time dealing with arrogance?

It's annoying, yes.

My job is to steal stuff from any instructor I can get in front of, and then pass along the useful bits.

I can tune out the big head speeches if they can deliver the goods.

It sounds like you can, too.

I never did find Clint to be arrogant, though.

[lewisipso]

Exactly.

[Trojan 42]

That got my hopes up and then dashed them a few posts later. I go to AZ every year, so would have paid Thunder Ranch a visit, just for a look. I don't even know where Oregon is.

[MacLean]

That got my hopes up and then dashed them a few posts later. I go to AZ every year, so would have paid Thunder Ranch a visit, just for a look. I don't even know where Oregon is.

You could still go to Thunder Ranch's "father."

Gunsite is where Clint worked before he went out on his own, and was founded by the great Colonel Jeff Cooper.

It is in Arizona, west of Paulden.

[Trojan 42]

Cheers, Mac. I might pay it a visit one day. Although, I must admit, I'm not a fan of these 'big name' experts. They seem to get 'noticed' by writing books and being self proclaimed experts in their field.

If the books were written by others, independently, saying what an expert in combat so and so is/was it would hold more credence with me. But then I've always been cynical.

.

[MacLean]

Cheers, Mac. I might pay it a visit one day. Although, I must admit, I'm not a fan of these 'big name' experts. They seem to get 'noticed' by writing books and being self proclaimed experts in their field.

If the books were written by others, independently, saying what an expert in combat so and so is/was it would hold more credence with me. But then I've always been cynical.

.

I think you would like Gunsite and Thunder Ranch, for exactly the reasons you mention.

[ChesCopPodz]

I think you would like Gunsite and Thunder Ranch, for exactly the reasons you mention.

+1

Despite the split personality thing that annoys me, that I mentioned above, I have never read any article by Clint Smith that wasn't spot on advice. The man knows his stuff.

And Jeff Cooper was anything but a bigshot blowhard.

You will gain much from attending either Gunsite or Thunder Ranch.