Clint Smithisms

Big Cholla

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I have attended a few courses at Thunder Ranch. Here are a some vintage "Clint Smithisms". ........... Big Cholla

Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch, is part drill
Instructor, and part stand up comic. Here are a few of his observations
On tactics, firearms, self defense and life as we know it in the
Civilized world:

"The handgun would not be my choice of weapon if I knew I was
going to a fight....I'd choose a rifle, a shotgun, an RPG or an Atomic Bomb instead."

"The two most important rules in a gunfight are: always cheat
and always win."

"Every time I teach a class, I discover I don't know something."

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

"Make your attacker advance through a wall of bullets. I may get killed with my own gun, but he's gonna have to beat me 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."

"Nothing adds a little class to a sniper course like a babe in a Ghilliesuit."

"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 I have a gun, what in the hell do I have to be paranoid for."

"Don't shoot fast, 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. You might 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 the man who only has one gun. He probably knows how to Use it!
 
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I have attended a few courses at Thunder Ranch........... Big Cholla

-----------------------------------------

Just curious.......................

Once you got there, did you have to unlearn any bad habits or techniques?
 
I particularly like #2: If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck. Too right! Seek an overwhelming advantage whenever and however you can find it. If you can't stack the deck, get out of there!

Out West
 
He used to a member here. He stopped posting owing to flak that the took over the form of the "Thunder Ranch" revolvers and other issues. People didn't like the IL, the gaudy logo, etc. This led to a reference in one of his columns that, if I recall, referenced the membership here as "turd suckers". There was some bad blood that resulted (obviously).

Shrug. Don't look at me, I'm just telling you what happened.
 
Thirty Acres: I will have to think about that question for a day. I will get back to you tomorrow night. There is no question that I learned new ways to look at martial arts with a firearm. And there is no question that the 'correct' techniques were reinforced. But, I was a fairly well advanced Firearms Instructor myself by the time I started at Thunder Ranch with most of the 'basics' down in an acceptable fashion. So I will cogitate and report back. ........ Big Cholla
 
new one to me!

picked up my new (to me) model 14-3 today!6" barrel blued...target hammer and trigger...appears unfired...beautiful condition...i saw it at my gun dealers a couple weeks ago when i picked up my model 27...soooo had to put this one on layaway at that time...i sprung her from jail today...will see what she does at the range tomorrow....
this one is from august 1977 and has been well stored
 
Yea, he was amusing. I stopped reading his columns after the above referenced "turd suckers" incident. If you put yourself out there as an "authority", or "persona", have a thicker skin.

He lost any credibility he had with me, when it was revealed (through a photo in American Handgunner) that HIS model 21 was lock free. He should practice what he preached. I've no use for hypocrites. Regards 18DAI.
 
My Bad Technique Corrected by Clint Smith

I have attended a few courses at Thunder Ranch........... Big Cholla
-----------------------------------------

Just curious.......................

Once you got there, did you have to unlearn any bad habits or techniques?

ThirtyAcres: Ok, I do remember that it was at my first attendance at Thunder Ranch when Clint caught me doing the infamous Gunsight "Press Check". I had been to Gunsight twice before going to Thunder Ranch. The object is to check your Model 1911 to make positively sure there is a round loaded in the chamber. The handgunner was to pinch the lower part of the very front of the slide with a finger of the off hand while placing the off hand thumb inside the trigger guard. That allows a constant grip with the strong hand but requires a glance downward to visually verify the loaded round assuming enough light.

Clint pointed out to me that technique had three major problems; the first was the fine motor coordination it required to do the 'pinch'. Done calmly it works; do it while excited as one would be during a fire fight it could lead to a ND, a finger tip shot off and all sorts of related ND problems. Secondly it requires a look away from the firefight action. Third it requires enough light to see the chamber opening.

Clint's technique is to place the off hand over the rear of the autoloader slide with the thumb around the top/back of the grip area. A squeeze motion will cause the slide to open. The small finger of the off hand can then be inserted into the top of the chamber to 'feel' if that round is there or not. The advantages are no looking downward during a critical time period and fine motor coordination is not required. If the chamber is not loaded the motion is continued to make it the conventional 'racking' of the slide. The strong hand grip is never changed. Clint's 'Squeeze' to check can also be done in total darkness.

I practiced this technique off on the side of the range while pointing in a safe direction and picked it up very quickly. I always do that 'loaded?' gun check before I holster a handgun in the morning. .............. Big Cholla
 
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The one I always remember from going to TR back in '97, "If the space shuttle can go up like a book of matches, your gun can and will fail."
 
I think Clint and my Dad thought along the same lines. The only advise my Dad gave me on fighting was, there is no such thing as a fair fight kid, use whatever it takes to win! I think fighting a war sorta gleans the wheat from the chaff when it comes to that sort of thing!
 

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