This month I shot what I believe will be the last of The Pin Shoots, my all-time favorite shooting match that began in the mid-1970s as the Second Chance Shoot. It was conceptualized and run by Richard Davis, “the man who bullet-proofed America’s police” when he became the first to use ballistic nylon and later Kevlar and Twaron to create soft, concealable body armor that could be discreetly worn under one’s shirt and could stop bullets.
Best known among shooters for creating the sport of bowling pin shooting (and my own favorite shooting match!) he will be best remembered for the thousands of lives his concept has saved over the years, a thousand or so of which were with his own brand of armor, Second Chance.
On awards night as the finale of the event played out, Richard was introduced by his son Matt, who has continued the tradition of saving lives with his own brand of ballistic vest, WarBird (www.warbirdpro.com) and also brought the Second Chance Shoot back to life as The Pin Shoot from 2017 to this year’s June finale.
Richard, you need to know, was never a cop. He was inspired to invent his always-on body armor when, as an armed citizen, he won a gunfight against three armed thugs and got hit by a couple of bullets himself. It made him one of the most stalwart supporters of the law-abiding armed citizen concept.
Richard became famous for shooting himself with his own armor on. It gave a new meaning to the term “stand behind your product.”
Asked to speak to us in in the audience, Richard took only a minute and ten seconds and focused on the time one of his competitors in the body armor industry asked him how he could shoot himself like that.
Believe me, his answer is worth a minute and ten seconds of your attention, and here it is:
Or watch video here.
I can still recall watching the video of him doing that-apparently for the first time-his voice was shaking, but he still did it.
I wore personally purchased Second Chance for roughly 25 years. Worth every penny, still got it, still fits.
BTW, following a traffic accident where I ended up with a broken sternum, I wore that vest-with the steel trauma plate-every time I got behind the wheel for months. Now if I’d only been bright enough to have been wearing it at the time………………
The man is a true hero in my eyes. Yes, I remember him demonstrating his product. He revolutionized the body armor industry, and has saved countless number of lives. I got my first 2nd chance armor back in the late 70’s as an RSO, and then ended up moving to Vegas and wore it a number of years as armed security.
As a LEO Range Master, still wearing armor. With summer heat hitting 100 plus degrees, people ask me how I can wear it, but I always think of how I can’t do the job without it.
As I’ve always known, not all heroes wear capes. Rich Davis is one of those heroes
Was so glad when he came out with a vest designed specifically for women. It was comfortable, easy to wear and had side panels which saved me from broken ribs in a fight when bad guy hit me with a tire iron. The vest absorbed the majority of the impact. I was sore as hell but not broken. That was many years ago but my Second Chance vest still hangs in my closet.
Richard’s product has saved a lot of lives and he will always be remembered for that.
A man who truly stood behind his product. Thank You Sir….
We appreciate all of your backing over the years Mas. Richard deserves the Medal of Freedom. Over 1000 lives saved. Think of how many people that touches. They were able to live their lives, have kids, grandkids. He shot himself over 250 times proving his product worked. The shoot started the careers of countless shooters, gunsmiths, writers. when the original shoot stopped we had 500 shooters from all over the world. It was the best and most realistic shoot ever. The pins react like an adversary might, you don’t get a clean hit and they shoot back, the pins would fall over and cause you to keep shooting to get them off the table. No paper hits or falling plates that go over with a poorly placed round. No mundane target crossing at the same speed year after year. I would love to see someone meld pin shooting with IPSC, run and gun with pins, that would be the best. Gordy Burnham was my first RO. He had us run to the target and back to get our heart rate up then shoot. He introduced me to the pin shoot in 1980. My gun locked up and you walked down gave me your gun and ammo and said , “it shoots dead on”. You didn’t know me from Adam. That started a long friendship. I always enjoy seeing you each year. There are very few gun writers that can actually shoot and go to competitions. My hat is off to you as well. Hope our paths cross again. Thanks for your support of a great man and shoot.
I forgot to mention, I was a save from an auto accident when a drunk ran into me at 50 mph.
Second Chance was the only brand I would wear because of that demonstration. When I first became a police officer, we had to purchase our own vests. We took money from our wedding gifts to purchase my first.
I had the opportunity to see and meet Mr. Davis over the years at different LE conferences and always enjoyed those interactions.
When I was a young cop I always wanted to be a writer like my idol Mas Ayoob. I will always remember when you asked me to share a cup of coffee and a short conversation at ILEETA in Chicago.
Congrats on your Legacy Award.
Good a chance as any to hang a question about penetration I have:
The new US Army round was adapted because:
wikipedia:
‘The M7 was designed to fire the 6.8×51mm SIG Fury cartridge in response to concerns that improvements in body armor would diminish the effectiveness of the 5.56×45mm NATO round used in the M4 carbine and M249 SAW and increase their lethality and effective ranges compared to common, battlefield rounds such as the 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO.’
But no one is being given the ammunition to try.
Anyone know how effective it is?
Interesting how the 6.8x51mm SIG Fury (.277 Fury) is so similar to the .276 Pedersen (7x51mm) round, which was developed in 1923. The new round has more pressure. And, “M7” is both a bayonet and a rifle.
Thanks Roger
Maybe as they say there is nothing new really.
No bayonet on the rifle now it has a suppressor.
njk
nicholas kane,
Correct. I learned there is very little new in the area of cartridge development from Jeff Cooper. It’s also interesting that the actions commonly used in guns today, (revolvers, lever actions, bolt actions, pump or slide actions and semi-automatics) were all invented by 1895.
nicholas kane,
Your original question was about the effectiveness of the 6.8 Fury cartridge. I did a quick AI search. It said the 6.8 Fury penetrates body armor better than the 7.62 NATO cartridge. It mentioned a steel base in the brass cartridge case allowing pressures up to 80,000 psi, resulting in speeds of 3,000 fps at the muzzle. AI says the 6.8 Fury was developed to penetrate body armor on enemy soldiers up to 500 meters away. It didn’t cite any studies.
Thanks again Roger
But I simply ignore AI generated content. It’s so often wrong.
njk