John Farnam

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Marijuana And Guns

April 30, 2018 by 5 Comments

Trainer John Farnam posted another of his Farnam’s Quips this morning and it contains a very valid warning for anyone using marijuana whether medicinally or recreationally. Don’t lie on your Form 4473 and say you aren’t a marijuana user if you do pot.

From Farnam’s Quips:

US Attorneys are currently prosecuting five men in ME for falsely claiming on Federal Form 4473 that they were not users of marijuana. Form 4473 must be filled-out for every retail gun purchase.


Marijuana use, medical or “recreational,” is a violation of federal law, even though some states, like ME, have “legalized” it, at least within state boundaries.


How a state can “overrule” federal law has yet to be explained to me in a way that makes any kind of sense. I am confused with regard to what the term “law” even means any more!


However, current implications for potential gun-owners are far easier to understand!


When you use marijuana, in any state and for any reason, forget about owning guns!


For sure, don’t attempt to purchase guns!


BATF doesn’t care what state you live in!


And since after exposure, traces of marijuana remain in your system essentially forever, any use of marijuana at any time in your life probably represents a “deal-buster” with regard to gun ownership!


The five men mentioned above are in for the “hassle of their lives.” Whatever the outcome, this “adventure” will be impoverishing, morbidly frightening, and essentially never-ending!


Another administration might look at this issue differently, but the current one is putting out the clear signal that they are coming after marijuana-users who attempt to buy guns- big time!


Don’t be “that guy!”

It needs to be said that in this case Federal law trumps (no pun intended) state law on marijuana use. It sucks especially if you have found relief using marijuana for medical issues. However, until such time as marijuana is legalized under Federal law, the use of marijuana will impact your gun rights and could end up with you becoming a felon.

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Industry News: Cor-Bon Ammo Sold

January 4, 2018 by

According to a Farnam’s Quips post yesterday, Cor-Bon Ammunition of Sturgis, SD has been sold to a new ownership group. Founder and CEO Peter Pi and his family will no longer be affiliated with the company.

Cor-Bon ammunition has been a family-owned company since its inception. The only CEO the company ever had was Peter Pi, my good friend and colleague. I was just on the phone with him yesterday.

At the end of 2017, Cor-Bon was sold to new owners. The Pi family is no longer involved!

I don’t know any of the details of the sale, and I know nothing about the new owners other than that they are new to the ammunition industry. I’m looking forward to meeting them at the SHOT Show later this month.

Right now, nothing is being produced at the Cor-Bon factory in Sturgis, SD, and no one can tell me when production will be resumed, nor what products will be retained and what will be dropped.

John Farnam goes on to report that Peter Pi’s oldest son Peter is starting his own ammunition company called Defiant Munitions. They expect to be shipping by mid-year 2018.

I’ve never used Cor-Bon ammo but it has always had great recommendations from people I know and trust like Marty Hayes and Michael Bane.

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John Farnam’s Observations On Coatings And Acidic Sweat

February 15, 2017 by

If you don’t subscribe to Farnam’s Quips then you are missing out on a lot of good information and astute observations.

Today’s edition is no exception. In it John talks about the second day of the gun writer’s conference being held at Gunsite. The day, from what I can tell, was devoted to coatings and metal treatments for firearms among other things.

I’ll let John tell what he learned about coatings and metal treatments:

Observations:

All metal treatments, even high-tech ones, have “side-effects.” Nothing
is perfect!

For external guns surfaces, polymer is a good choice. Robar’s version is
Roguard or Poly-T-Two. Both are very acceptable, and can be an any color.

Also suitable for external surfaces is QPQ, otherwise known as Tennifer or
Melonite. Very hard. Also very suitable for rifle bores. However, it is
so hard that subsequent machining is nearly impossible!

For internal parts, NP3 is the way to go. NP3 has integral teflon, which
gives it natural lubricity. However, it is slick and thus not the best
choice for slides. And, it has a silver/grey color. Other colors are not
possible.

“Hard chrome” plating is obsolete. There are superior choices for
surface treatment today. Hard-chrome barrels are notoriously inaccurate, because
of inherent unevenness of the plating.

Nickel plating is also mostly obsolete. It is of interest only by those
who want “shiny” guns.

Ceramic coating (Cerakoat) has excellent high-heat tolerance and are thus
suitable for some parts of full-auto guns. However, ceramic has no
inherent lubricity.

Smoking and coffee-drinking lowers blood PH, making bodily fluids,
particularly sweat, acidic and thus corrosive to pistols worn close to the skin.
Smokers and coffee-drinkers typically have to deal with rusty guns, even in
dry climates! They will particularly benefit from modern, high-tech metal
treatments.

While I don’t smoke and never have I do drink coffee. I didn’t realize that coffee drinking would make sweat acidic. Actually, I never thought about it one way or another but it make sense that acidic sweat is more corrosive to handguns.

If you want to subscribe to Farnam’s Quips, shoot John an email at dtiquips@clouds.com .

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Learning From The Masters

April 12, 2016 by 3 Comments

If you watched golf on TV this weekend, you saw 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth essentially melt down on his last 9 holes in this year’s Masters. He was leading at the time and his meltdown allowed the steadier British golfer Danny Willett to win.

John Farnam had some comments on what we could learn from this in his Farnam’s Quips that were published yesterday. He has graciously given me permission to reprint it here.

“Positive outcomes don’t necessarily demonstrate superior play. Superior
play will lead to positive outcomes more often than will poor play, but
even poor players sometimes catch lucky.


It is when you confuse catching lucky with playing well, that demons sneak
in!”


John Vorhaus


Yesterday, I watched the final round of the four-day 2016 Masters Golf
tournament in Augusta, GA.


Not being a golfer myself, I still love watching these consummate
professionals play this game at the highest level. Their skill is a wonder to
behold!


Jordan Spieth, last year’s winner, was the odds-on favorite, and no
wonder! He was ahead of everyone else for the entire tournament. By the last
nine holes of the final round, he was so far ahead, I thought, as did many,
he was unbeatable!


Then, demons crept in!


And, I felt a kinship with Spieth, as he fell so suddenly, and so
ignominiously, from glory, because I, and many of my instructors, have done the
same thing- more that once!


The question is:


How much continuous, simultaneous bad news can you handle, and still retain
your sanity? At what point do you unwittingly open the window, and let
demons sneak in?


At its best, golf, like fighting, is a smooth, coordinated, orchestrated
flow of events, a seamless whirlwind of motion. That is, until you:


1) Stray from the present tense


2) Get distracted and allow your concentration to dissipate


3) Start hesitating


4) Start getting in your own way


5) Try to alter an otherwise smooth-flowing technique right in the middle


6) Allow doubt an vacillation to consume you


7) Are swept-up in rapidly-compounding disasters and discover that you aren
’t recovering quickly enough!


During the final day of the tournament, there were three holes-in-one (by
other contestants), and the media, of course, swooped-in to cover those.
And, there were many other spectacular shots that also garnered the attention
fo the media. These events were as melodramatic as they were irrelevant.
None of them materially affected the outcome. They never do!


Then we had the humble Englishman, Danny Willett. A great champion to be
sure, or he would not have been there, but I never heard of him until
yesterday!


Willett’s game was devoid of “great shots.” He played steady, careful,
solid golf. However, he had no bogies either! When Spieth blundered, and
the door opened, Willett gracefully walked through, and never looked back!!


And, if you’re wondering if there is a point lurking in the foregoing, it
is this:



“It’s not ‘great shots’ that save you. It’s ‘little mistakes’ that kill
you!”


True in fighting, as well as golf.


The Hollywood, overdramatized version of events always draws attention to
occasional, glamorous (and irrelevant) “great shots.” Like the cavalry
arriving in the ‘nick of time,’ great shots always save the day, and we all
live happily ever after!


Rubbish!


That manufactured nonsense only happens in movies!


When you’re making little mistakes, episodic great shots won’t save you, as
we see!


So, we concentrate on correcting mistakes. It’s not glamorous, nor
entertaining, nor even interesting, at least to the shallow and self-centered.


In fighting, as in golf, the wise work to eliminate “little mistakes.”
The “great shots” will take care of themselves!


“Darling, my legs aren’t so beautiful. I just know what to do with them!”


Marlene Dietrich


/John

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Comment Of The Day

March 10, 2014 by 2 Comments

The comment of the day comes from trainer John Farnam of Defense Training International. John is well known for his “quips”. In today’s “quip”, John is discussing the language our opponents use like “governmental interest” and “public safety” and how the police “need” semi-automatic firearms with standard capacity magazines while we don’t.

Regarding semi-auto M4 carbines, John has this to say:

In a final act of hypocrisy, M4s issued to state police are always
called “Patrol Carbines” Those exact, same M4s, when owned by private
citizens, are always called “assault weapons.”

I think that captures the essence of the argument about the perversion of language by our opponents.

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Ammo Choke-Point

June 18, 2013 by 6 Comments



Trainer John Farnam of Defense Training International puts out an occasional newsletter with his quips, quotes, and observations.  In a post sent out on Sunday, he described a conversation with the CEO of a major ammunition manufacturer.

It appears the choke-point for ammo production is not powder or primers but rather brass.

I spent last Friday with the CEO of a major domestic ammunition
manufacturer. While there, I was able to get a small quantity of high-performance
40S&W and 45ACP ammunition, as well as some 9mm hardball. He also had some
40S&W practice ammunition and several boxes of high-performance 308.

No high-performance 9mm, and no 223/5.56×45 of any kind. I would surely
have acquired some had it been there!

He indicated his current in-hand orders will consume his entire
manufacturing capacity for at least the next twenty-four months, and that is assuming
no major change in world events.

He also indicted the real choke-point is brass casings. Propellent
powder, bullets, even primers are currently in at least adequate supply.
Conversely, brass is chronically hard to get, and generalized shortages are
holding-up production, industry-wide.