Part One: The NORB Review, First Impressions at the Range

I discovered the NORB, an acronym for No Ordinary Range Bag several years ago when Gabby Franco posted hers online and showed a short video of all the things she could carry in it.  I was a new shooter back then and was immediately impressed at the versatility.  I also respect Ms Franco’s opinion on equipment becuase she is a professional shooter and probably has more experience than I have in the world of range bags.  Although I hadn’t purchased any range bag since I first started shooting 4 years ago, the NORB was still in the back of my mind as a great range bag with a funny name.

 

A few years later I saw in an issue of the Sure Shot’s Magazine an ad for OffHand Gear and their hand guards.  I was amazed at their designs and checked out their website.  Little did I know, this was the same company that made that amazing bag, the NORB.  Recently, OffHand Gear posted online their new NORB-C.  A compact version of their original NORB and I shared the post online with CCLSC, my ladies’ shooting club.  The same day OffHand Gear’s owner Sandi contacted me to test one of their NORB bags and I jumped at the opportunity.  Here is my full review of the NORB in Kyptek Typhon.

First impression

It’s smaller than I thought.  Not by measure, but what I assumed, the size of a bag to carry all the things you’d need to go to the range. I was accustomed to my backpack that I can stuff (uncomfortably at times) full of whatever I figured I might need.   Most of it I don’t actually need.

The NORB is measured at 12 inches tall by 14 inches wide by 3 inches deep.  The website states that the bag can stand on its own and I was skeptical.  I immediately took it out of the packaging and attempted to stand it up.  Sure enough it does.  I was even more curious to see if it stood up once I filled the bag with anything I could find.  Surprise: it does.

Once I opened the bag up and started looking at the fabric and pockets, I realized the NORB was made with high quality buckles, soft fabric lined and sturdy zippers.  Sandi also included a short handle accessory which is nice because I like to grab my purses by the handle and sling them over my shoulder.  The short handle accessory is sold separately, but I would highly recommend purchasing one with your NORB.  The NORB is heavy duty and appears sturdy enough to hold up to regular use at the different ranges I go to.  The strap is made of a bungee cord covered with a woven material so it has stretch without pinching.

From the website - "Why on earth does NORB have a skinny, bungie strap on it?"  Well, where is your hand when you have that wide strapped bag on your shoulder?  It's holding it on your shoulder, right?  Wide straps are a better design for men so I started the design process with the strap and designed it after a bra strap.  The OffHand Gear bungie strap will stay on your shoulder, so your hands are free for other things (coffee for me), and the bungie distributes all that weight when you walk.  Walking with all your range gear, especially in heels, creates a lot of stress on our shoulder and heads right to our feet. With the bungie strap, the weight gives with you taking some of that pressure off of your feet and even more importantly off your shoulder.  Of course you can also cross body carry NORB and that bungie makes it a little easier to get on and off.

At The Range

Of course I wanted to test this claim. At the range at the following CCLSC practice, I packed my bag and heading to the range.  Usually I need to put my backpack down to move around the range to teach, but this time, I kept the NORB on my shoulder to see if it would stay in place.  Sure enough it did.

How much can you REALLY carry?  I was seriously skeptical. I figured there had to be a trick or something when I saw how much Gabby Franco could hold in hers.  I emptied my backpack and took a picture of everything in it and then proceeded to put it all in the NORB. All of it.  Everything I take to the range with the exception of my clipboard which I don’t always carry with me.  It actually fits more than I take to the range.  I generally only carry one pistol with me the NORB has the capacity for two, plus everything else. 

Lastly, I showed my husband the NORB and he said “That’s it?  Do you have everything in there?”  I replied yes and proceeded to take everything out and show him.  He said “WOW. Looks great like a regular bag. And it’s smaller, so it will be easier to carry and take to matches.”

You can check out the NORB here.

Part Two: Shotgun Clinic

CCLSC Photo Shoot 2017

This year's photo shoot was a great experience for everyone, even our photographer Lauren Jensen Photography.

Here are a few highlights of this year's CCLSC roster.

For more photos from the day visit our facebook page here.

Step two: After the basics

Sometimes when I ask the ladies, “what are your shooting goals?” they say “I want to shoot better.” I usually follow up with “what do you mean by better?” And they give me a look that means, “duh better”.  This has prompted me to outline a few options for those who want to shoot “better”.

Fundamentals, Target Shooting and Recreational Fun

There are a few examples of beginner shooting goals right there in the heading.  Work on your fundamentals, so they are the BEST they can be.  You can perform these without thinking and your shots are on target every time.  If you were a robot instead of a breathing human being, your fundamentals would be a precise program written for perfection.

Target shooting and hitting bullseyes perfectly every time.  Read: you are always in the 10 ring.  You are so accurate that you hit the same hole every time.  It looks like you have shot only one round, but really you have shot 50.  Try this achievement at every distance available to you at your local range.

Shooting for recreational fun.  I don’t mean going to range and gossiping with your girlfriends while holding a firearm.  What I mean is shooting fun targets, take bets as to who can do it the best, no pressure situations.  Try some trick shooting, like splitting a playing card in two or a poker target and see who can shoot the best hand.  And enter a local shooting competition for fun.  Local ranges may host a bullseye contest to benefit a charity or win a prize.  It’s not about winning, although that is nice, consider it a part of your overall experience as a shooter.

Shooting Sports, Competitive Shooting and Join a Team

I’ll be upfront with you; I don’t have a lot of experience with shooting sports.  I have an idea of what they are about and what is involved, but not a first-hand account.  Shooting sports and competitive shooting events are like all other sporting events, but shooting is the game.  There are local clubs that host these events and they have a set course you must shoot and you are scored based on your time.  Your time is calculated by the reading on the timer and then offset by the scoring mechanism in place.  For example, if you missed the target they might add 2 seconds to your time and if you shot a perfect target, they might take away 2 seconds from your time.  Better hits equals a better time.

And like many other sports there are teams you can join, where your scores are compiled as a team.  Then you are ranked and placed like a track team or swimming team.  Look up local ranges (both indoor and outdoor) in your area to see what the offer.  Many times these events are low cost, hosted monthly and have a moderate ammunition requirement.

Defensive Shooting and Further Training

Working on your skills can lead to other opportunities in training.  Once you have a good understanding and execution of the fundamentals and your shots are going where you expect them and want them to go, you might be ready to seek out more advanced training.  You can always learn more and get a different perspective by training with other people.  In this skill, more is better.

Become and instructor

Becoming an instructor is one of the most rewarding options (in my opinion).  I enjoy teaching others, no matter what the skill is, and I have a long history of teaching a wide range of topics.  There is always a practical test of your skills you must perform to qualify, but after completing our first topic, it should be no problem.  When I became a firearms instructor, I became a better shooter.  I understood what needed to be shared from my experiences and how my experiences applied to each individual.

Choosing the teaching pathway also opens you up to share your knowledge base with others.  In the firearms world, there are always people who learn on their own, but when you gain the skills needed to teach someone, you will learn what you need to do to improve other shooter’s skills.  In the end you can help everyone become  a better shooter.

 

Natural Aiming Area and Flash Sight Picture

“You can’t miss a shot fast enough.”

A shooters natural aiming area (or NAA) is the instinctive alignment of the shooter, gun and target in a specific stance.  A good defensive shooter is one where their natural aiming area can be achieved in a variety of positions.  Practicing good fundamentals will strengthen your natural aiming area, so that you will stop thinking about the fundamentals and instead naturally assume a good shooting position.

In a close range encounter, you will not be able to achieve a perfect sight picture.  The additional skill to your NAA is flash sight picture.  Flash sight picture is an imperfect alignment of your target as you recover from your firearm’s recoil.  Specifically, it is used to quickly acquire your target during a rapid, close range engagement.  Think of the last time you were shooting at the range.  With your eyes focused on the front sight you should be able to see the recoil of your pistol go up then down onto your target.  As soon as the front post is coming into the target, you will get an instantaneous sight picture of your target.  This is your flash sight picture.

You need to develop your skills in both your natural aiming area and flash sight picture to shoot fast and accurately in a defensive situation.  One more thing to think of, the farther the target is away from you’re the more time you have to acquire your sight picture.  Conversely the closer the target, the less time you have to acquire proper sight picture.

Next time we will return to preparing yourself mentally in a defensive shooting situation.

Defensive Accuracy versus Target Shooting

“A slow hit beats a fast miss, but there is such a thing as taking too much time.”

What is defensive accuracy?  Defensive accuracy is the ability to shoot the center of mass as fast and accurately as you can, the resulting shots should be covered by the spread of your hand.  As we progress from novice to intermediate shooters, I would hope that shooters’ goals will also change.

Many beginners learn the fundamentals and focus on target shooting.  To review the six fundamentals – stance, grip, trigger control, sight picture/sight alignment, breath and follow through.  All of these fundamentals should be performed perfectly in order to hit a bullseye.  In contrast to defensive accuracy where your fundamentals may not be perfect, your ability to stop the threat will be.

Take sight alignment.  There is a degree of deviation from perfect sight alignment when shooting for defensive accuracy.  Aim at the center of mass of the exposed target area, when aligning your sights and acquiring sight picture, your shots will be spread across your target.   To determine your accuracy, your shots should be about the size of a sheet of copy paper.  You are looking at a larger area and at a closer range as your target. A defensive encounter will not afford you the time to gain a perfect sight picture as it does in the range.  Therefore you will need to practice a new set of skills.

Do not think of defensive accuracy and target shooting as opposites.  They are stages in the progression from being a beginner to becoming a marksman.  As first you are only concentrating on the basics.  You want to perfect these before moving on.  This may mean that you skills will allow you to shoot a small 3-4 inch grouping on your target.  Once you are satisfied with your progress, try shooting a piece of paper as your target.  First shoot slowly and keep in mind your fundamentals.  Then change to a clean target and shoot faster.  Aim for one shot every two seconds.  Assess your progress and continue until all your shots are on the sheet of paper.

Next time we will cover natural point of aim and flash sight picture.

Natural Response to Fear

There are five psychological responses to a threatening encounter – fight, flight, freeze, posture and submit.  Every encounter is different and there is no way that you will be able to predict your response regardless of your previous experiences.  This is where your versatile training and becoming flexible in your response comes into play.

Fight – the fight response is using whatever force is reasonable to prevent harm.  Deadly force may only be used in the event of an imminent threat of severe harm or death.  You must become familiar with your local laws and what is to be expected from the legal process if your plan includes deadly force.

Flight – also known as retreat.  Fleeing is not always possible without incurring injury to yourself.

Freeze – in the event of a life threatening encounter you may be taken by surprise and incapable of any action.  Be aware that this is a possible reaction and train to reduce its effects.

Posture – is combat without contact.  In the animal kingdom, this is usually seen as puffing up, growling, baring teeth, but not actually fighting.  The end result sought is for one side to back down or retreat.

Submit – is completely giving in to the adversary. 

In some cases, these responses may lead to another response and escalate the situation.  Know what you will do in any of these cases, role play and discuss your plan with others who may be available during an emergency.

In addition to the mental state, you should also be aware of your physical responses to a stressful life threatening encounter.  These include loss of fine motor skills, tunnel vision, auditory exclusion (unable to hear/speak), time dilation (time slows down) and adrenaline rush.

Both psychological and physical responses can be a battle to overcome in your practice.  Training for stress is crucial to prevail in an encounter.  Your goal is to acclimate yourself to performing under stress.  This can be done through timing yourself while you shoot, raising your heart rate through exercise prior to shooting or entering a competitive match.

Preparing You for Your Personal Protection, Part 2

Whenever you start a new project, whether it is a new home project or training in first aid, you want to be sure you have the proper tools at your disposal.  Aside from learning the basic safety rules of handling a firearm, you will also want to learn how to respond to an emergency where a firearm will be used.  In short, just because you know how to shoot a bullseye doesn’t guarantee that you will know what to do when defending yourself with a firearm.

Mindset.  This is one of the first and most important tools at your disposal.  Arming yourself with the correct mindset will be your best defense against an assailant.   Mindset is your ability to never give up, to be on your guard at all times and respond accordingly.  Responding under stress should be a part of your training at the range and practiced at home.  Training your mind how to respond in an emergency is the same as preparing how to take the final exam in the field of your choice.

There are several steps after equipping yourself with a mindset to win and fight.  First, develop a personal protection plan.  This plan should be what you will do in a confrontation as well as what to do to avoid a confrontation.  Avoiding a situation is equally, if not more important than planning what to do in the event of one.  Don’t think of it as “running away”, but rather adopting a lifestyle where you are choosing to avoid the situation before you are forced to deal with a situation.

Visualize and practice the plan, while you are at the range and at home.  When you are shooting paper targets, imagine the target running towards you.  When you are dry firing at home, imagine there is a threat entering your home.  What would you do?  How would you handle yourself?  Continue this practice and seek additional training.  Your end goal is to be confident in your skills to defend yourself.  Mindset is crucial to your success and your ability to perform under pressure.

Finally, learn to control the encounter.  In the event of a home invasion and you find yourself face to face with an intruder, stay as far away as possible (avoid the threat).  If you surprise the intruder, and are able to hold them at gun point, do not approach them.  Once you have taken command of the situation, the intruder has three choices; they can flee, comply or challenge you.

-          If they have chosen to run away, let them run away.  Call the police and report the situation.

-          If they comply have him/her lie face down, away from you, with arms spread wide, and palms up.  Shout your commands and do not reason with them.  Call the police and report the situation.

-          If they decide to confront you, this is where the final steps of your personal protection come into play.

Once the encounter is over, there are five common responses that we will discuss next time.

In the meantime, take a look at this link -

 http://www.breachbangclear.com/mindset-v-hardware/

Preparing You for Your Personal Protection, Part 1

A Gun Owner’s Responsibilities

American’s enjoy a right that citizens of many other countries do not – the right to own firearms.  But with this right comes a responsibility.  It is the gun owner’s responsibility to store, operate and maintain his or her firearms safety.  It is the gun owner’s responsibility to ensure that unauthorized or untrained individuals cannot gain access to his or her firearms.  And it is the gun owner’s responsibility to learn and obey all applicable laws that pertain to the purchase, possession and use of a firearm in his or her locale.  Guns are neither safe nor unsafe by themselves.  When people learn and practice responsible gun ownership, firearms are safe. – NRA Guide to the Basics of Personal Protection in the Home

One of the most important factors for gun safety is to understand the NRA’s three safety rules of gun handling.

1 Always keep you gun pointed in a safe direction. This means any direction where if an accidental discharge were to occur you would not harm someone.  This also means you do not point your gun at anything you do not want to destroy.

2 Keep you finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.  Finger simply off the trigger but alongside the trigger guard, in my opinion is not an option.  The safer choice is indexed alongside the frame of the gun.  This habit will also prevent accidental discharge while drawing from a holster.

3 Keep your firearm unloaded until ready to use.   Ready to use is the key phrase here.  Ready to use will depend on your situation and your surroundings.  In your holster as every day carry = ready to use.

Understanding the responsibilities of gun ownership widens the gap between those casual users who shoot for fun and those who want to expand their skill set into personal defense.  Using a firearm as self-defense is a tool of last resort, once the round has left the barrel there is no taking it back.  So you must be sure that you are prepared and adopted the mindset to end another’s life if the situation calls for it.

Deciding to use a firearm in self-defense, users need to evaluate their personal ethics, morals and beliefs as they pertain to taking a life.  If you have an objection to using deadly force, firearms should be omitted from your personal defensive plan.  Only you can decide if using deadly force is right for you.  Remember, there are other options for personal defense and all of your options should be evaluated before deciding on what to include in your plan.

Before you decide to train with any weapon, the first tool in your kit should be the proper mindset.   I will dive further into this topic next time.

A New Year With CCLSC

Our first practice of the year pictures are up on our facebook page.  You can check out our photos at the link below.  We had a small group this week. Women's 101 will be starting soon and hope ladies will take advantage of CCLSC practices. Over the next few months we will be working on our marksmanship.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1559836440927403.1073741846.1478471462397235&type=1

Is It December Already?

Check out our latest practice -

CCLSC Hole-oween

This week, we celebrated Halloween a little early, by carving pumpkins.  "Carving" we interpreted as shooting pumpkin targets.  Everyone had a great time! I was having such a good time I didn't get too many pictures of the laughter.  But, here are the CCLSC targets -

Kanani testing the pumpkin targets earlier in the day.

Julie and Michele with their targets.

Chrissy, new to CCLSC Mondays shooting her pumpkin.

Nicole and Shellie watch while Hollie shoots her target.

Marina showing off her target.

Nicole and Shellie with their targets.

CCLSC For The Win!

Last night was the final of sorts for the Women's 101 class and the Advanced Pistol class.  The 101 class had 38 students when it began four months ago and ended up with 22 finishing all four classes.  The Advanced Pistol class had two ladies, both were CCLSC shooters.

CCLSC has been working in the fundamentals with students during Monday practices and refining their skills.  Top issues have been trigger control and "the flinch".  There have been some good information posted on our Facebook page about these trouble spots.

I am also pleased to announce that the two ladies who tied in 101 were both CCLSC shooters and ended up doing a shoot off at 10 yards.  Congratulations Cari and Hollie!  Hollie came out victorious in this bout.  The tie breaker was a result of both ladies shooting an amazing 90 points to tie.

Cari (left) and Hollie (right) moments before the shootoff!  Congratulations Hollie!
You did an awesome job shooting!

CCLSC Shot-tober

I would like to welcome new member Kristi to CCLSC.  WELCOME!

CCLSC is always looking for new lady shooters.  In order to participate, you must be enrolled/competed the Women's 101 class offered at Tacti-Cool Gun's & Gear.  If you don’t want to wait until the end of/start of the New Year, Tacti-Cool offers an “Every Friday class” that meets, you guessed it, every Friday.  The next class is a 4 hour class beginning at 2:00 pm ending about 6:00 pm when the shop closes.  This class is the same material as the Women’s 101 without the benefit of being in an all women environment, range pass or the option to win a pistol. The other drawback is that it is a little more expensive than the Women’s class (which is $100).  The Friday class is $75 and then you pay for your range time, rental, ammo and target.  This adds about $35-40 to the cost of the class.  However, the Friday class is limited to 6 students so you’d have a smaller class instead of the 30 students in 101. 

Mellissa taking aim.

New member Kristi loading her handgun.

Cari shooting the M&P shield.

Nicole shooting her brand new AR-15 for the first time.

Kristi showing Nicole how to load her revolver.

Hollie shooting her XD.

Cari and Heather calculating their scores on their target.

CCLSC Events

UPCOMING EVENTS

Gun Show – October 11 & 12.  I believe they open up at 9:00 am each day.  If you are interested in going, we can all go as a group and meet up outside around 10:00 am.  Please send me a reply of preferred day – Saturday or Sunday.  We will go on the day that works best for the majority of ladies.

Advanced 2 Last Scheduled Date – October 11 Same place, same time ladies.  This will be our last scheduled date for Advanced 2.  I would love feedback of what you thought of the class and anything you think we should improve upon.  Any comments and feedback is appreciated.

Women’s 101/Advanced Pistol – October 16  This is the last class and we all know what that means.  CCLSC meets one more time before this date.  I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you to take advantage of Monday practice.  If you haven’t been attending, the 6^th might be what you need to improve your shooting.  For those who have been shooting regularly between classes, I commend you!

I would also add that even when the 101 and Advanced pistol classes have ended, please continue to attend Monday’s to improve your skills.  CCLSC offers additional training and events that are not open to members of the public.

CCLSC Paintball Classic – November 2 at The Shack Paintball in Santa Maria.  October 6 is the last date to let me know if you are interested in playing paintball.  We need a group of 10 to reserve equipment to play.  Spouses and family are welcome to join us.  Ages 10+ can play.  If I do not get enough responses, we will postpone to a later date.

CCLSC Meet up – November 3  We will be meeting up after practice for pizza.  If you are interested in meeting up after practice that week, please let me know you’ll be there.

REMINDERS

CCLSC on Facebook – If you have a Facebook account please share CCLSC with your friends and family.  Encourage them to like our page.  We are steadily increasing our numbers every week.  I post shooting information, pictures from practice and random funnies.  You do not need a Facebook page to view our page!

https://www.facebook.com/cclsc

CCLSC is in the Sure Shots Magazine – The latest issue of the Sure Shots online magazine will be released this week.  Why do I mention this?  I submitted CCLSC information and I wrote an article for the issue.  Keep posted, I will be sharing the information for the article as soon as I get word the issue is published.   The link for the magazine is below -

http://www.sureshotsmagazine.com/

UPDATED - The latest issue has been posted online.  The link above will take you to issue #9.

Only Hits Count

This week CCLSC focused on making every shot count.  It doesn't do a lot of good when your shots aren't landing where you intend them to. Always know your target and what lies beyond it.  By the end of our time in the range, and a few corrections, shots were landing on target where we want them.  Good job ladies and great work making your practice time count.

Kanani shooting downrange.

Who's target is that? Once you have accomplished shooting
"hole in hole" you should continue to challenge yourself
and move the target further away, or change the type of target you use.
Always challenge yourself to improve your skills. This week: "only hits count"!

Ali loading her first rounds into her new Sig's magazine.

Please ladies, no maniacal or evil laughter in the range.

Hollie and Marina checking their shots.

Shellie trying out Ali's new Sig.

Marina practicing.

Nicole loading her magazine.

Heather and Lindsey sending out their target.

In case you missed practice two weeks ago, we had a huge turnout of 13 girls at practice. That was out highest so far! You can always visit our Facebook page to see more!