Things I've Learned This Year

[okie john]

Every year, I keep a log of progress toward my various goals. About this time, I review everything and try to make sense of it all. Here's what I've realized thus far:

• I can hunt from the Rio Grande to the Arctic Circle with a 338 WM and a 30/06.
• The 30/06 will do everything I want to do. The 338 is icing on the cake. Buying a second 30/06 as a backup makes a lot of sense.
• My love for FN commercial 98 Mausers in 30-06 is irrational. Seriously out-of-hand irrational.
• Dollars cannot express the value of a rifle that holds its zero, even if it’s not the most accurate one on the rack.
• An eight-pound 30/06 kicks about as hard as I can stand. A nine-pound 338 scoped but without a sling beats the shit out of me with full-power ammo.
• The 30/06 with 165-grain bullets and the 338 WM with 225-grain bullets look like a pretty good match.
• Wood-stocked rifles that are bedded at the tang and lug are total NO GO for the Pacific Northwest. Either bed the action properly or move to a synthetic stock ASAP.
• A rifle with a McWoody stock would be nice.
• I need to clean my 30/06 rifles more often, especially after I shoot milsurp ammo.
• I need to chronograph everything before I make a too many more decisions.
• I’ll walk a lot no matter where I hunt, so I need to get into better shape. I should NOT delude myself into thinking that flyweight gear matters more than getting into shape.
• I have hunted in the brush so long that I’m a good offhand shot, but I’ve lost much of my ability to hit targets more than about 200 yards away. Part of this is not having a place to practice beyond 200 yards.
• Shooting from the bench is a very specific skillset, and I need to get a lot better at it.
• Things to do much more often: Shoot long guns with a timer, shoot long beyond 200 yards, shoot from expedient positions, and practice quick assumption of position.
• I need to master the positions Jeff Cooper describes in The Art of the Rifle and shoot more of his rifle tests, adapt material from Green Eyes, Black Rifles to working with a bolt-action hunting rifle, and focus on building speed and accuracy with long guns equally.
• I need to shoot my 338 from field positions with a sling.
• My supporting gear sucks. Nostalgia is the only excuse for BDUs and ALICE packs.
• Okie John’s Hierarchy of Needs: get into shape > LPV optics with illuminated reticles > better supporting gear > 338 ammo > 30/06 ammo > more rifles
• I can buy good ammo cheaper than I can load it, plus loading takes time out of my home life. I should buy generic 30/06 softpoints in bulk when I find it for under $1.02/round (or 180 Partitions for under $1.38/round), train with cheap bulk ammo, and only handload for uses that go beyond 200 yards.
• I’ll probably hunt deer and hogs more than anything else.
• Within reason, I should look at rifle upgrades with a focus on recoil mitigation and ideal balance for offhand shooting rather than light weight. I can train to carry and shoot whatever results, again within reason.
• You don’t want to just kill an elk, you want to drop them in their tracks.
• Always plan hunts around meat recovery.

What did you guys learn this year?


Okie John

[RevolverRob]

New and old lessons learned and relearned:

Cardio and eating better results in better sleep, which results in better health.

Taking time off to focus on your personal mental health, will not result in the inevitable heat death of the universe coming sooner than anticipated.

The best laid plans and back-up plans can be ruined quickly if they are in any way dependent on someone not yourself.

Regardless of the challenges meted out by life, I can and will, continue to meet them head on, and attack them relentlessly until I find a solution or those challenges give up.

Failure is always an option.

It doesn't matter how many times you fix a British car, it's still going to break down several times a year. Most likely those breakdowns will coincide with the times when you have the least amount of money in your bank account or you've forgotten to renew your AAA membership.

Always renew your AAA membership it helps reduce the number of times your British car will breakdown.

Never bet on the Golden State Warriors. They may break the most wins in a season record, but they don't play no D. And the end result is they will blow a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals and cost you money.

Always buy loyally. If you can buy a new piece of kit from the same company you bought from before they will remember it. The same goes for restaurants, gas stations, coffee shops. Simply put, be nice, be loyal, tip decently, and you'll find the people will take care of you. You'll get the table in the crowded restaurant first, you'll get excellent customer service if you have an issue, you get the best deals when you make friends and influence people.

If you find yourself in a fist fight, circle away from the strong hand of your opponent, not towards it.

Take your ego out of the equation as frequently as possible. Just because you THINK it is right doesn't make it right. Remove your ego and view with objectivity as many things as possible. It will reduce your drama and problems a thousand-fold.

Finally, tell the people you love that you love them. You may not be here tomorrow and it's better they should know it now than wonder about it later...

[Robinson]

Hopefully I'm forgetting some things:

• I'm done shooting non-suppressed rifles. Except maybe a Winchester 1892 with .45 Colt subsonics someday.
• Top loading 300 BLK rounds into an internal magazine sucks.
• LPV optics with illuminated reticles are really cool.
• I need to make the hour-long trip to the outdoor rifle range more often.
• Getting out of shape because of multiple injuries at my age doesn't take long.
• Federal makes 147gr FMJ ammo that works perfectly as a counterpart to 147gr HST carry ammo.
• A 9mm Lightweight Commander that works is a nifty item.
• The sheath for my SOG SEAL Pup has molle clips. I don't have any molle equipment.
• White noise is the enemy of tinnitus sufferers.
• I'm learning I haven't learned enough in 2016.

[Nephrology]

Uh... a shitload

1. Aortic dissections are obstructive processes
2. The treatment of decompensated heart failure can be remembered with the mnemonic UNLOAD ME -
-Upright position
Nitroprusside (0.4mg SL or 10 mcg/min aggressively uptitrated )
Lasix (if lasix tolerant, their daily PO intake in an IV push; if naive, 40-60mg)
Oxygen via nasal cannula
ACE inhibitor (enalaprat or captopril)
Dobutamine (for cardiogenic shock)
Morphine (for pain, mild venodilation)
Energy (shock em if cardioversion is indicated)

3. Acute life threatening causes of chest pain - ACS/STEMI/NSTEMI, myocarditis/endocarditis/pericarditis/tamponade, PE, Dissection, Acute chest Syndrome in SCD, Boerhaave's, more)
4. + FOBT in an elderly male is colon cancer until proven otherwise
5. How to intubate, suture, apply physical restraints, and talk down people who are really, really angry
5-50000: Tons of miscellaneous facts, trivia, and clinical skills that I may or may not use in the future
50001. I have crippling ADD
50002. I love emergency medicine

[RJ]

Hmmm...What did I learn?

• Diet and exercise make you lose weight. Who knew?? I'm down from a high of 203.4 lbs 9/28/15 to 185.6 this morning.
• I don't need any more guns. Actually I need fewer guns and more training. This year, I kept one, traded two, and bought one.
• Carry a gun with a left hand button mag release, as a lefty, is not really a good idea. Magazines tend to pop out at awkward times.
• When Hickok45 casually mentions that carry gun you are thinking of buying is a little heavy relative to its magazine capacity, you really ought to pay attention.
• My wife is still the smartest person I know. She made an exception by marrying me, but still...

[TR675]

Don't get married.

[hufnagel]

Concussions suck. Even a year later.

[Clobbersaurus]

1) Being a good friend does not mean friends will be good to you.
2) IPSC is hard and it takes a lot of work to do well.
3) Work never gets easier, and change is constant.
4) You have to think about the long game, always.
5) No matter how hard you work at something, there is always more to learn, and more work to do.
6) People need to calm down! You only go around once, and you don't get out of this alive.
7) 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the people. Life is better when you are in the 20%.

[karmapolice]

I'll bite....

Things I learned in the year 2016:

• At 30 years old you still don’t get the adult manual downloaded in your brain automatically. I’m still the same child I was when I had that moment of self realization all those 20 something plus years ago.

• Parenting a nine year old is still awesome and my little girl is growing more and more but will always be my amazing little girl.

• My wife as I already knew is an amazing, strong, kind, super smart, and wonderful woman who puts up with me. She definitely was tasked with some new stuff this year and handled it like a boss and how I always knew she would. It’s great to have a supportive spouse who understands the job I do.


• Being calm and thinking a lot about mindset and playing scenarios out in your head as I’ve learned in other real life scenarios is really helpful. Calmness through the storm or storms is still the best way to be and I’m very thankful to have learned that before this year and to have it confirmed in a larger way. I’ve had success with it in all sorts of situations but some trials standout more than others.

• I curse a lot, I already knew this and this mostly applies to work time because I generally do not to cuss at home with good success (or most social situations). This is more like under breath comments and towards or in conversation around my peers at work not towards citizens. The body camera don’t lie lol.


• I really like low power variable optics, I’ve liked the concept for awhile but running an NXS with the FC3G reticle made me a full convert. That and the Trijicon Accupower really have usable reticles without utilizing their illumination capabilities which is important with their battery lives.

• Red dots on handguns are the future but still need some tweaking and more manufacture support. I ran over 6k rounds through a ATEI worked on 19 with an RMR. It was a great set up but very cost prohibitive especially when considering backup and training guns. Plus for me I still have eyesight that works well with irons and cannot carry a red dot at work. I look forward to seeing how they evolve and do not dismiss them at all.


• Dawson precision fiber front with a charger plain black serrated rear is my jam. I’ve played with t cap/Defoor combo and some other but I have the best luck with Dawson’s. I can shoot very consistent and well at distance with them (on demand) and do not lose any speed up close with them.

• I still really love carbines and a 14.5” carbine with a good rail system, light, sling, trigger (not needed but nice), and an LPV optic is the jam for a general purpose carbine. I wish I got to use it more at work not that I don’t get to use it but not in that way. I’m still waiting to be pulled/picked for some awesome task force or Fly Team type thing all random like how it happens in the movies or fiction books


• Having a good shooting partner is one of the most important things because you can keep each other in check and bounce ideas off of each other. ASH556 is my main squeeze for this but I’m also very lucky with the friends I have on here and other places that are a wealth of knowledge and are shooting partners too ( I get around). I’ve know that for a while but it was really driven home more so this year.

[Nephrology]

I'll bite....


• Dawson precision fiber front with a charger plain black serrated rear is my jam. I’ve played with t cap/Defoor combo and some other but I have the best luck with Dawson’s. I can shoot very consistent and well at distance with them (on demand) and do not lose any speed up close with them.

Dawson makes my favorite fiber optic, bar none.