To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth
I borrowed the title for this post from a book by the late, great, Colonel Jeff Cooper. To borrow implies an obligation to pay back (something I wish our political class would understand), so I need to pay homage before I get started. Anyone familiar with John Browning's model 1911 chambered in .45 ACP probably knows the name Jeff Cooper. Browning gave us a handgun that hasn't been improved in a hundred years. That's just a fact. I suppose it's odd that it took a half century for someone to develop the proper technique for using it. That man was Colonel Jeff Cooper. "Gun control means using both hands."
The late colonel's idea of gun control is probably enough to rank him as a major contributor to western civilization. But Colonel Cooper was more than a pistolero. He was, dare I say it, an intellectual. If G. K. Chesterton was the Apostle of Common Sense, then Colonel Jeff Cooper was a slightly lesser apostle. But only by a slim margin. If you care to immerse yourself in his prose, you will be well rewarded. Okay, my debt is paid.
"To ride, shoot straight, and speak the truth" is a proverb that comes from ancient Persia. The idea, perhaps a recognition, was that Persian princes would learn only intrigue if raised in and around the royal court. A wise king sent his sons into the countryside to experience the rigors of rural living: to ride, shoot straight, and speak the truth. Only a righteous monarch can rule his domain with wisdom. And I guess that's my entire point.
I am sick almost to despair when I listen to the latest wranglings, and interpretations, and gambits regarding the budget negotiations. Yesterday I heard from a former student: "Mr. Paules, what ever happened to righteousness?" Well, spot on. Nailed it in a word, he did. Out of the mouth of babes and all that. Righteousness! We are either a righteous nation or we are not. We will rise to new heights of greatness or fall into the abyss on that virtue alone. Period. End of story.
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Dec '10
Re: To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth
You're gonna have to help me out with this one.
What is so scary about a positive mechanical sear block?
I feel a lot better carrying a 1911 cocked and locked than I do a Glock. At least the XD's have a grip safety that requires you to at least have your hand around the frame before the trigger can be pulled. Not so the Glock. Hell, the 1911 requires that, AND the manual disabling of the sear block safety before it'll fire.
Dec '10
Re: To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth
Agreed.
I bought my mother an XD .45 to carry, and she seems to like it quite a lot.
It sure is easy to field strip, I'll say that for it. The trigger cannot hold a candle to a well cut 1911, but pretty much nothing does, so it's not really fair to compare. The XD does have a pretty good trigger feel for a striker pistol though.
Dec '10
Re: To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth
It pains me not a little that the original philosophical thread has become a gun forum. Handguns are cool but to each his own. I suspect we will need them one day IMHO. The crux of the matter is what manner of man will wield this tool.
Jun '10
Re: To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth
The gun chatter actually ties in rather well with the philosophical thread. You ask "what matter of man will wield this tool?" Why, a righteous man, of course. Only a righteous people can be trusted to own and bear firearms. Such a right requires moral restraint on the part of the individual. Notice that nobody who has posted above has made any threats implied or otherwise. Birds of a feather and all that.
Dec '10
Re: To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth
I am on board with the second amendment and have an arsenal that is respectable and probably excessive to some. I also agree that righteousness is required for gun wielding. My concern is the apparent paucity of courageous, righteous men and their continued waning in our country as we passively allow indoctrination and political correctness to run rampant.
Oct '10
Re: To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth
Agreed. Pistols are underpowered and difficult to shoot accurately. Fifteen yards is a looong way away when things are coming down quickly and the adrenalin is surging. I agree with the man who said a pistol is useful to fight your way to your long gun.
They are better than a sharp stick but far inferior to either a rifle or a shotgun. Their biggest advantage is their convenience.
Jun '10
Re: To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth
"Righteousness" has an ancient and hallowed pedigree. St. James was "James the Just" but the term (tzadik) actually translates better as "righteous". To be righteous is to have control of one's self, to attain self-mastery. It has a spiritual connotation, also.
Righteousness is a worthy goal to attain. America was well founded by righteous men.
Dec '10
Re: To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth
Jim Wilkins
They are better than a sharp stick but far inferior to either a rifle or a shotgun. Their biggest advantage is their convenience. · Jul 23 at 9:34am
Well, yes, but an M1A is damned hard to hide under a summer jacket.