Fifty Shades of FDE

Before I got into the profession of Law Enforcement, even as an Explorer, I thought that all LEO’s were experts with their pistols and knew all there was to know about firearms.
Now that I’ve been on for nearly a decade, what I thought as a teenager was far from reality. The fact is, the majority of LEO’s only have one weapon in their possession: their issued duty weapon. Most are very proficient with it after carrying it everyday. What I quickly learned early on in my career was that the large majority of my partners were not gun people like myself. You don’t need to be to do this job, it’s only one aspect of the job, albeit an important one. LEO’s come from different walks of life and have different interests and hobbies. Are there LEO’s that are firearms experts and enthusiasts? Yes, however that is a very small percentage.
I knew early on in my life what I wanted to do for my career. I was also a firearms enthusiast then and now. My interest in firearms grew as I was getting ready to join the ranks because I knew I’d be carrying one on my hip everyday and that’d proficiency with it would be critical in my survival and that of others. To me, firearms proficiency was one of the most important skills that I needed to have and it still is. I cannot say that my partners have my same set of priorities.
Firearms experts? That’s even more rare to find among LEO’s. I don’t expect everyone to be experts in this field. I spend a lot of my downtime reading about the latest technology and tactics involving firearms. It’s time consuming but I’m personally interested in this field of knowledge so for me, it’s time well spent.
There is nothing wrong with LEO’s who are not gun people. They all signed up to do a job and they do it well. They all have to qualify monthly or quarterly. They’re great officers and know how to operate their duty weapon well enough to take care of most threats. They work with their issued gear and equipment and it works just fine.
I however don’t want to just meet the minimal qualifications, I want to make myself better and prepared for the absolute worst case scenario. This way, I can easily handle any scenario knowing what I’d do without having to think about it when it’s too late.
I wouldn’t call myself an weapons expert. I would say that I’m very knowledgeable on many different weapons systems. It is important to me to have this knowledge about different weapons systems because if my weapon malfunctions or is out of ammunition, I will be able to pick up any weapon and know how to use it. I also know the capabilities of these weapons so if I come facing one, I know how to react to each of them because what you think is cover may not be the case depending on what kind of round is coming at you.
Since most LEO’s aren’t gun people, a lot of them don’t really care about the Second Amendment. A lot of them believe that only they as in LEO’s should have guns. Their beliefs come from the lack of knowledge of firearms and tactics. Please know that I’m not talking about ALL LEO’s, I’m just talking about a percentage. This is why you see a lot of Police Chiefs and Sheriffs stand for more gun control.
The reality is that Police Officers and Deputy Sheriff’s are not and can not be everywhere. They have a response time and they are now stretched thinner than ever due to budget cuts and nowadays lack of staff due to recruiting numbers at an all-time low. Everyone is truly their own first responder when Their lives are threatened that exact moment. Most people are not able to defend themselves and that’s why we have Peace Officers. For those who are able and choose to defend themselves, who is anyone to tell that person how and when they can defend themselves?
Forget the Second Amendment for a minute, every human life is precious and every human being has the natural right to live and defend that life period.
I respect those who choose to defend themselves that are law abiding and I will always be there to defend those who aren’t able to. I don’t see citizens with CCW’s a threat to my safety, I respect the fact that they made a decision to carry a firearm for their safety and went through all of the paperwork to get that permit.
Firearms are an important tool in Law Enforcement, it is rarely used, but it is the best tool available today that can deal with certain deadly force scenarios.
As always stay safe!

Jury Duty: two words that are dreaded by almost every citizen that gets a notice in mail with their name on it.
Yes, it’s inconvenient to be a juror. It is however, everyone’s civic duty and it is extremely important part of our justice system.
Some of you have been called in as jurors, even served as jurors. Most of you probably didn’t want to be there and had better things to do. Those who have actually served as jurors usually have a great experience after doing so. I wouldn’t know myself because Law Enforcement Officers are exempt from most jury service. I say most and not all because some of my partners have served in civil cases.
Ok, now imagine my point of view as Bailiff. Try dealing with a courtroom full of people who didn’t want to be there in the first place.
I’ve been a Bailiff for a few years now and have worked more jury trials than I can remember. You get good groups and every now and then, you get some bad groups.
Here’s some examples through my experiences:
Cell phones- never fails, after numerous warnings that I give to have them silenced, there is always at least one that goes off while we’re in session.
Tardiness- some jurors seem to lose track of time and will show up late from a break, holding up the trial because everyone needs to be present to continue. In some rare occasions, there are some that decide not to return and they get a nice arrest warrant with their name on it.
Luggage- you’d think that some of these jurors were going on vacation or camping with all of the bags, backpacks and sometimes suitcases that they take with them.
Destroying court documents- this happened once a few trials back; these jurors decided to rip apart a question form that they had, which was a clearly stamped court document! I had to dig the shreds out of the trash bin and the clerk had to tape the puzzle pieces back together.
Sleeping- I don’t blame any juror for falling asleep. Some testimony could be dry and just plain boring, especially when it comes to DUI trials with the crime lab tech testifying about BAC’s and so forth. I usually calmly wake them up and it’s usually not a problem after that.
Attitude- Everyone’s time is important to them but jury service is important too. How one goes about it will dictate their jury duty experience. A few have just terrible attitudes the moment they walk in until the time they’re dismissed.
There are really too many other behaviors that jurors exhibit.
What I’m here to say is that Jury Duty isn’t as bad as it seems.
Here are some facts:
A lot of jury trials actually resolve before they start. Jurors have to be ordered in advance and when there are actual jurors waiting in the assembly room, either the prosecution or defense will ultimately decide whether they have a good case or a strong enough defense and may decide to make a compromising agreement. The jurors are then dismissed before they ever walk into a courtroom and are free of jury service for a year.
The attorneys do not want a juror that doesn’t want to be there. They want someone that they believe will be fair, impartial and that will pay attention to the case. So there is a likelihood that most people won’t fit into that and will be dismissed by either side.
Jurors that get assigned to the case for the most part, have a good experience being jurors after the case is over with.
In my personal opinion, our justice system isn’t perfect, but it’s the best system out there and I believe that jurors get it right most of the time. They hear all of the evidence in the case and none are biased to either side. In criminal cases, they have to agree unanimously to either find someone guilty or not guilty. A few cases are hung and the prosecution has to then decide to retry the case or not. Our system is a fair as it can be and it doesn’t work without jurors.

It’s not everyday that I get to shoot a fully automatic submachine gun. Actually it’s extremely rare to do so, especially in California-even for Law Enforcement Officers.
The Heckler and Koch MP5 celebrated it’s 50 years since it was created in Oberndorf as a scaled down version of the G3 battle rifle.
Everyone knows what an MP5 is or at least have seen it in movies and TV shows ever since Die Hard.
It was a weapon system that has been on my bucket list to shoot. I was planning to do it on my next trip to Vegas whenever that would be.
I happen to be at my department range to do some practice with my duty and back up guns when I ran into my long time friend along with his partner (both EOD). They both were making a lot of noise honing their SMG handling skills with their issued HK MP5’s on full auto.
After catching up for a bit, my friend’s partner asked me if I’d ever shot an MP5 and I replied “No…” Then he asked if I’d like to try it out and I said “Hell yeah I would!”
He made sure I knew how to operate it, loaded a 30- round magazine and slapped the charging handle forward and I was good to go!
I decided to shoot a few short bursts before I dumped the entire mag. I was surprised with the first burst; there was a lot less recoil than I was expecting. I followed with two or three more bursts. After that, I pressed the trigger and held onto to it till the mag was empty, which didn’t take long.
After finally shooting the MP5 on full auto, I now know why it is (or was) the weapon of choice for the SAS, Special Operators the world over, SWAT teams.
It’s light, compact, accurate, reliable and extremely easy to shoot, even on full auto.
According to my friend and his partner, my bursts were right dead center and my full auto was a little spread but all on target.
Let’s just say, last Friday was a great day on the job!
If you’ve never shot a fully automatic weapon in your life, I highly recommend it and you can do so at many venues in Las Vegas. There’s the famous Gun Store and the newer Battlefield Las Vegas. In my opinion, I’d rather go shoot my money than gamble it away….at least you know what you’re getting and you’ll leave with a big smile on your face!

I recently acquired the Fabrique Nationale Herstal SCAR 17s. It was a rifle that I have wanted for many years, but it was always out of reach due to how much it costs.

In order to obtain the funds for the 17s, I had to sell several of my firearms. It was worth the sacrifice and I have no regrets.

SCAR stands for Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle. This rifle isn’t new and there are many reviews out there so I will just focus on my own experience with mine.
The SCAR 17s is based off of the SCAR H (Heavy), which is currently in service with US SOCOM. It is chambered in .308 Winchester or 7.62x51mm. The difference is that the 17s is semi-automatic only, whereas the Heavy is select-fire.
The 17s comes in matte black or FDE (Flat Dark Earth). I got mine in FDE and every single rifle in FDE comes with multiple different shades of FDE. The upper and lower receivers and stock all are different shades of FDE. This was expected and I don’t mind it as it naturally breaks up the rifles visual profile. My aluminum upper receiver came in bronze, the polymer lower is almost dark brown and the collapsible stock was Magpul FDE.

Before I continue, this rifle had to be California Neutered in order for it to be legal for me to possess. Most people don’t know all of the restrictions this state had on law abiding gun owners. Both of the magazine releases on the 17s have Raddlocks installed and the stock has a Raddlock stock block disallowing it to fold. Why? The state law requires a tool to release the magazine and the minimum length for a rifle in California is 30″. The 17s folded comes in at 28.5″.
I had some immediate upgrades that were installed before I took it out to the range. GG&G extended charging handles is a must have, it gives you the extra needed space to keep your fingers and knuckles to clear whatever optics you may have on top. I replaced the standard and cheap A2 grip with a Magpul MOE grip modified by Parker Mountain Machine. I also replaced both safety selectors with PMM ones, large on the left and small on the right. PMM’s BCD (Battery Control Device) was installed as well. All of these parts added a few more shades of FDE.

I replaced the PWS brake with Surefire’s new WarComp. The WarComp is mainly a flash hider with compensator ports on top to mitigate some recoil and keep the barrel flat during firing.

I placed an EoTech 552 HWS as a temporary optic for now. In the future I am looking at the XPS-2 with the G33 magnifier.
One advantage the 17s has over other .308 AR platforms is it’s weight. It is 8 lbs empty. It had a  short stroke gas piston operation, which will keep the bolt carrier group and chamber relatively clean.
I was able to squeeze in some range time last week at the local indoor range. I shot three rounds on the bench with a Harris Bipod attached. The EoTech 552 was set to the BUIS and after shooting it at 25 yards, I found that they were perfectly zeroed for 50 yards and no adjustment were required. Since I have the WarComp installed, the felt recoil was definitely noticeable but it works as advertised. There’s no flash signature and the barrel stayed level and flat leaving the recoil impulse going straight back. I have to admit my shoulder was a bit sore for a few days but you just have to suck it up, you’re shooting.308!
In my opinion, the 17s is the best semiautomatic .308 battle rifle for the price that you pay. It’s the lightest among its counterparts. As expensive as it is, it is actually in the middle when you compare the prices. There’s a reason that SOCOM chose it. It’s combat proven by our elite troops in the worst conditions. What this rifle can do is what sets it apart from all the others; you can maneuver it at close quarters, you can shoot long range, you can hunt with it. It pretty much does it all. Everyone of my friends and partners at work who have picked it up are truly amazed by how compact and light it is. When compared to my LWRC M6A2, the 17s is just a few inches longer and weighs just a hair more.

FN definitely succeeded in making the most technologically advanced battle rifle out there yet and I am happy to own one!

The moment you accept the oath, are sworn in and given a badge, your life changes. Unlike any other job or career, being a Peace Officer is a lifestyle that is 24/7. Whether an officer accepts it or not, it is a reality that they signed up for.
We carry weapons on our person and wear a bullet resistant vest because our job and sworn duty is to enforce the law and to protect and serve. These are merely tools that are necessary to effect an arrest and to keep the peace.
When most people leave their workplace, they leave their work behind. This isn’t necessarily true for officers. Some officers do choose to be truly off duty and want nothing to do with their jobs when they’re 10-7. You can’t blame them for choosing to do this, however I am not that type of officer.
When off duty, there is absolutely no legal obligation for us to act or respond to anything. I can’t speak for anyone else other than myself. I’ve already made my decision when it comes to how I will react to different situations when off-duty. My family’s safety comes first, then it is my own safety because my family needs me more than anyone else. All of my decisions come down to whether my involvement would help or make the situation worse. Most of the time, I’m a good witness while I’m on the phone with a dispatcher.
The current unfortunate trend of violence and murders of Peace Officers around the nation is simply heartbreaking. We’ve always had targets on our backs from the moment we first donned on our uniforms. These attacks are not new to our community; they are however, more frequent and increasing. An officer was murdered in his own home the other day. If this isn’t an all out war on law enforcement, I don’t know what is.
There is no job our there where there are people who hate you enough to kill you based solely on the fact that you wear a uniform and what you stand for.
There is an obvious division between law enforcement and the community. It is getting worse everyday. Our leaders need to step up and speak out against the murders of my fellow brothers and sisters.
It’s time for our leadership to do what is right, not what is easy. That being said, it isn’t hard to take a stand for what is right.
I’m not holding my breath. As always, we really only have ourselves to keep each other safe.

United We Stand.
Do we as Americans still remember this phrase? It sure doesn’t look that way currently; in fact, I don’t ever our nation so divided as it is today in my entire lifetime.
Quite frankly, I’m sick and tired of seeing fellow U.S. citizens stomp on and burn the American flag. Just because you have the right to do something that disrespectful, doesn’t mean that you should.
I love America and what it stands for. It definitely is not a perfect nation, but it’s ahead of all others on this planet when it comes to the freedoms it provides for it’s citizens. America is a nation by the people and not by the government.
I am a first generation American. Both of my parents were refugees from the Vietnam War. My father was a South Vietnamese Airman and was evacuated from an airbase being overrun by the Viet Cong. My mother came across the Pacific Ocean by boat. They both went to America to start a new life and they did so, successful by working hard. They loved America and what it provided them and our family. They lived the American Dream.
Most Americans take a lot for granted. We are free because of the brave. The brave are our service members and our law enforcement officers. Our service members keep our enemies off of our soil, while our peace officers keep our streets safe from criminals. I have the utmost respect for all of those who have answered the call to serve in our armed forces. I have many close friends who are veterans and many who are currently serving and deployed overseas. I can’t imagine being away from my own family, let alone being away months at a time.
I never served in our armed services; I instead chose to serve my community by being a peace officer.
Why do people serve as soldiers, marines, airmen, sailors or peace officers? They all do so because they are a part of something much bigger than themselves individually. They do so to serve their fellow Americans selflessly.
There’s absolutely no excuse for anyone to disrespect the American flag because there’s no greater disrespect to those who have sacrificed so much, many with their lives.
If you’re unhappy with how your life sucks, how about taking it out on those who are responsible: your leaders, not the people who are only doing their jobs and have no power to make any changes.
Never Forget that over 3,000 Americans were brutally murdered on September 11, 2001. Don’t forget the ultimate sacrifice of the hundreds of first responders who went into the towers to save others. Remember the United We Stand, Divided We Fall. Lest we forget…

My knowledge on optics for long guns is very limited. I can say that I’m proficient in close range engagements with rifles. I’ve only shot out to a hundred yards to zero some of my rifles. I am not a sniper or marksman and this post is to pass on some knowledge to those who were in my shoes a while back when I researching what optic to put on my rifles.
What most new gun owners will notice after they had just spent nearly or over a thousand dollars (sometimes thousands of dollars) on a quality rifle, is that the cost of optic for will be in the hundreds and sometimes may exceed the cost of  rifle it’s going on.

Iron Sights, in my opinion, everyone should learn how to shoot with them first before adding any optics to their weapon system. Most optics are electronic and therefore can fail. That’s why they call the BUIS, or Back Up Iron Sights. So why have optics? There’s many good advantages you obtain from employing good optics. With Iron Sights, in order to get a good sight picture, you need to align the front and rear sights, usually using yor dominate eye and closing your other. One can be very proficient and fast with Iron Sights, but with a Red Dot Optic (RDO) you only need one point to focus one, allowing both eyes to remain open. This allows for extremely fast target acquisition, increased field of view and peripheral vision. It makes shooting real simple: place the dot on your target and press the trigger.
There are many options for RDO’s, like with everything in life, you get what you pay for! You cannot go wrong with Aimpoint, EoTech, Trijicon and a few other brands. These brands are all expensive and start at the $400 mark. They are all combat proven by our service members and are tough as nails. They will hold their zero and will take a beating. I will go in depth on RDOs on another post.

Magnified Optics do exactly what their description says, they magnify. Here, my knowledge and experience becomes very limited. Like I said, I’m not a skilled long range shooter. There’s not a lot of places for me to shoot further than a 100-200 yards. I also don’t get enough time at the range to shoot my longer range rifles. With my limited experience, I will say that it definitely helps having a magnified optic to identify your target and hit your targets with more accuracy than you would with a non magnified Red Dot Optic. The cost of good magnified optics can get extremely expensive. There are many manufacturers that have affordable options available. Some good brands are Leupold, US Optics, Steiner, Night Force, Zeiss and the list goes on. Some of those will run over $5000 easy! Shooting long range is not a cheap or easy endeavor. It takes a lot of time to be proficient. It is a very satisfying and challenging experience nonetheless shooting things that are far away.
So if you’re a new rifle owner, there’s a ton of information out there, so do your research before you drop a few hundred on one. Always remember, you get what you pay for!

I’ve carried the Beretta M85F Cheetah chambered in .380 ACP or 9mm short for many years as my backup gun.
When I got tired of lugging around my HK P2000sk in my vest holster, I started searching for something smaller but not too small. Back then, pocket .380 pistols were all the rage. Almost every company had one; Ruger, Sig Sauer, KelTec to name a few. I was, however not a fan of the pocket pistols then, believing that they were too small to control and shoot accurately. That was then, I’ve come around on that thinking and that’s why I sold my M85F… back to the review…
I’ve always wanted a Beretta, but didn’t want the full-size M92, so the M85F was a great solution; it is like a mini M92.
To my knowledge, it was the biggest .380 pistol I could find and at the same time, it was smaller, slimmer and lighter than a subcompact pistol. I could get a full grip with both hands.
The Beretta M85F is a DA/SA Semi-Auto with a manual ambidextrous safety/decocker that resembles a 1911’s, it is on the frame and not on the slide like on the M92. It also has a magazine disconnect safety, which I don’t like. The trigger pull is like a standard DA/SA on the M92 and has no trigger reset, another feature I’m not a fan of. The magazines are metal, single stack which hold 8 rounds.

It was accurate and easy to shoot.
So why did I get rid of it? There are quite a few reasons for that.
If you have been following me for the last few months, you would notice that I have been doing what I’m calling a “spring cleaning” of my firearms collection. I’ve been updating my collection with newer guns that I want and will use more often by selling ones that I don’t anymore. At the same time I am consolidating the ammunition that I need by getting rid of a few calibers.
The M85F was one of them. It was the only .380 ACP pistol I owned and those that own .380’s know that it’s difficult to find ammo for it. My department does not provide .380 for practice, so I had to supply it myself, which was not an issue, but I didn’t always have practice rounds with me at work so I rarely shot it.
The .380 is also called a 9mm short because that’s what it is. Some will argue that it is too small of a round to use defensively. I always carried good JHP ammo for duty, but why carry .380 when you can carry 9mm? Enter the Beretta BU9 Nano.

Cost, the M85F isn’t cheap with the price being close to $800! You can get a M92 at that price!
Bottom line: if you like .380’s and Beretta’s this is the gun for you. I sold it to my partner who got it for his wife for the range. It’s an ideal range gun for the ladies who have less upper body strength to deal with other Semi-Autos. The M85F is pretty easy to manipulate.
In my opinion, it’s more of a collector’s piece because of it’s price tag. There’s so many other options out there that are more practical and cost effective.

Throughout my career, I’ve come across a lot of criminals. Most of them made poor decisions or life choices. Seldom do I ever run into some truly evil people.  Those are the ones you don’t forget.
It’s like looking into the eyes of a shark; black, cold and empty. Their facial expressions are full of hate and rage. As scary and intimidating as they may seem, I’m not afraid to face them. I too, can look fearsome and when they stare at me with all of their hatred for my uniform, my race, or whatever..I stare right back.
A few years ago, I was in a arraignment courtroom and one the inmates was an overt white supremacist with his lightening bolts and 88 tattoos all over his neck and face. He was uncooperative from the moment he entered the courtroom. He eventually had to be physically escorted by the detention deputies out of the courtroom. Later on, his mother approached me asking about him. Usually, family members I deal with are curious as to when someone gets released from jail. She was the total opposite. With fear all over her face, she asked me to confirm that her son will be staying in custody as she was in fear of her life from her son. I wasn’t a parent then, but now that I am, I couldn’t imagine going through what that poor woman has to go through.
Racism is still in existence of today, sadly. I just don’t get it in this day and age with all of the information available for people to educate themselves. It’s a huge topic in our media and I can say what most cops will attest to, I don’t care what someone’s race or ethnicity they are, it’s their actions that were focused on.
A few months ago a man who was probably suffering from some mental illness had a rough time going through our weapons screening process and had to place a forbidden item outside of the building. He responded by opening the exit door and throwing the item outside. I told him that he needed to take it away from the building and not throw it. He got about a few feet from my face and stared right at me and clenched his fists and started to turn red, it reminded me of the Hulk getting angry. He then turned away and did what I requested him to do. On his re-entry through the metal detector, he yelled something at me that was inaudible. I asked him to repeat himself. He said it again and it was still inaudible. Then he said, “First Amendment! Freedom of speech!” I responded with, “okay…” He then said what he said earlier, this time clear and loud, “I HATE ASIANS!!!!” I replied with, “Well I don’t care!”
Once my partners heard what he said, they stayed with him and eventually escorted him out of the building for saying other absurd things to civilian staff members.
Does it make my blood boil? Yes, but I’m a professional and I know better than to let my emotions get in the way of my job. It’s all part of the job, to take it and move on. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the years is to just let it go.

The worst case scenario. If anyone really knows me, they know that I always plan for the absolute worst that can possibly happen, this way I’m never surprised.
I’ve always carried a backup gun on duty. Things happen and Murphy’s Law is always waiting to enact itself whenever your in the middle of the worst situations.
I keep all of my firearms well maintained and as you know, all of the firearms I choose to own and carry are of high quality. I don’t expect my VP9 to fail me, but if that does happen for some odd reason, I’m not out of the fight.
My first backup gun was my Heckler and Koch P2000sk in .40, believe it or not, I carried it in my best holster!

Well that got old and I bought a Beretta M85F in .380 ACP. It served as my backup gun for many years and I just sold it to my partner to buy it’s replacement from another partner, the Beretta Nano in 9mm. I wasn’t a fan of pocket pistols, that is why I choose the M85, it was a mini M9 and it was small, but not too small, allowing me to have a full grip. I didn’t get to shoot it often however, since it was a .380, my department only gave me 15 rounds a year to qualify with it and no more. I would have to bring my own ammo to practice and I did not always have my .380 practice ammo with me at work. It’s was also a pain to have to buy another caliber and stock up on.

The Beretta Nano changed my opinion on pocket pistols. It is built specifically for concealed carry and is snag free, which will make drawing it an east task. I will do some in-depth reviews on each weapon later.

The whole point of this post is encourage everyone to have a backup gun. Most of my partners don’t carry one. Their reasons basically comes down to pure laziness and believing that it is unnecessary. A lot of them also believe nothing will ever happen while they’re on duty. That way of thinking will cost them dearly. Trust me, I always try to teach them but it’s like preaching to the choir. A lot of you can attest to the same with your own partners.
I can go on all day long with examples of why you should carry a backup, but I don’t feel like it. So if you don’t have a backup, you should!