You may have noticed that the name on this blog is not exactly Anglo. We of Arabic descent may be genetically programmed to be nomadic.

That would account for why, now happily ensconced at home for a little while, the Evil Princess and I travel a lot.  In the last six weeks, our path looked like this:

We started driving to northern Virginia to teach a class for John Murphy at FPF Training. Then New Orleans, Louisiana for the Rangemaster Tactical Conference where we taught, learned, and competed in the accompanying shooting match. Thence to St. Louis, Missouri where I did the same at ILEETA, the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, where I led the panel of experts of firearms/deadly force training for some 700 plus attendees and spoke as a member of the panel on interdiction of mass murder attempts. Then to Bentonville, Arkansas to teach a MAG-20 Classroom course on judicious use of lethal force by private citizens in defense of self or innocent others for Jody Box of Practical Defense Solutions. Onward then to Montgomery, Alabama to teach the same class for  Tiger McKee at ShootRite and shot a Glock match while we were there, and then to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to teach for Scott Merrick’s school Shooting Adventures. Next was  Wilson Combat’s facility in Berryville, Arkansas to take a seminar on the new guns that company is offering, and finally to San Antonio, Texas to teach a MAG class for Eric Lamberson at Sensible Self Defense.

Why didn’t we do the two Louisiana things and the two Arkansas things together to save time and travel?  Because host schedules and venue schedules don’t always coincide with OUR schedules. Just as court schedules don’t coincide with my schedule when I have to appear as an expert witness in shooting cases, dammit.  Welcome to real life.

When we pulled into the driveway in what I call the Barbie Van and the Evil Princess calls the Tactical Urban Assault Vehicle, the trip odometer read one tenth of a mile short of 7500 miles for the six recently devoured weeks.

Got to see lots of old friends, meet lots of new friends, burn up most of a four-figure round count of ammo we had with us, and generally have a helluva good time and interact with metric tons of good people.

We’re tired…we’re happy to be home for a while…and we’re prepping for the next tour. All in all, our life is good.

We hope yours is, too. You are the kind of people we live for.

26 COMMENTS

  1. Mas – I take my hat off to you. I don’t know how you maintain such a demanding schedule.

    I have done some traveling during my life. I have flown dozens of times and visited most of the States (in the lower 48 anyway). Most of this was done for business when I was still working as an Engineer.

    Now that I am retired (for the last year and a half or so), I find that my natural indolent (fancy word for lazy!) side is strongly re-inserting itself. I really like to “take it easy” now and I tend to not do anything more stressful then taking a hike or going to the gun range.

    I have made a few “Road Trips” since I retired. I went to Dallas to attend the Dallas Safari Club annual meeting in 2018. I also drove to North Dakota last Fall (a round trip of over 2,600 miles) to do a Bison hunt. Got a young bull (Good Eating!) with one shot with my Ruger .300 RCM.

    However, there is no way that I could maintain your schedule month after month and year after year. Your dedication to firearms training and the shooting sports is impressive and much appreciated by us “Gun People”! 🙂

    • You must certainly keep busy God bless you with good health and the abilities to help teach and train many many people. Been following you for decades and have learned a great deal of knowledge. I’ve known people who have attended your training classes recently as well.

      I actually saw you and you’re wife once at a rest stop you were getting into your, van was going to come over say hello but my wife says you better not. Lol

      Happy Easter to you and you’re family Mas and stay well my friend.

  2. Always felt i had a little gypsy blood, for the last half century i have been happiest when on the move. Building new relationships and renewing old ones is worth the journey. And as Twain said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” Still, a lot to be said for returning home to your chair, your bed, your backyard.

  3. Mas, you and Gail are an inspiration. I can’t believe you didn’t drive up and down the driveway a few times in order to round out that mileage total.

  4. Mas, anyone who has ever worked with you, learned from you or simply knows you, is damn glad you’re out there doing what you do! Here’s to seeing you soon, my friend!

  5. Hat’s off to you and the evil princess for being on the road that much. In a way a bit jealous just for the traveling.

  6. A little off topic, but since you’re so well traveled, you would know this. In a few years when I retire, I’m moving out of NY, which presently presents a unique combination of crippling taxes and repressed rights. Any suggestions as to a good place to go? I’m looking for gun friendly, obviously. Thank you.

    • Lots of gun friendly states will accept refugees! Spend some time looking at the website handgunlaw.us .

    • The site, that Mas listed (above), is very good for determining which States have gun-friendly or oppressive firearms laws.

      For tax levels after retirement, you might try this site:

      https://www.retirementliving.com/taxes-by-state

      When you find a State that ranks high in both categories (good gun laws and low taxes), you have a WINNER!

      My home State of Tennessee ranks pretty high in both categories. However, one could probably find a different State that (arguably) might be better overall. Nevertheless, Tennessee is a good one. At any rate, it is far, far, far better than New York! 🙂

      • Lawrence,
        I live in Michigan, and while some say that our firearm laws are not all that good, in fact, the only thing I see that I don’t like is that we must register when we buy a handgun. A pain and a grab at our rights, perhaps, but we also have much to recommend our state. Income tax rate of I think 4.6%, and sales tax of 6% but not on food at the store.
        But we have the Great Lakes, hundreds of interior lakes, thousands of acres of national forests, an upper peninsula that is simply breath taking, with waterfalls over 100, the list goes on.
        Numerous white tail deer, more turkeys than ever, black bears, and though the DNR hates to admit it, a cougar population in the lower peninsula that is starting to make things interesting. And only one poisonous snake, that I have only seen 2 times in 58 years.
        As long as you stay away from Detroit area, the rest of the state is perfect.

  7. Glad you had a safe trip uncle Mas. Let us know if you’re going to be in Idaho in the next few months, I’ve got a book or two I’d love to have you autograph, beers are on me!

  8. A few years ago there was a thread on the pakguns.com forum about the utter lack of any kind of defense training to be had in Pakistan. I suggested they pool their resources and find out how much you’d charge to go over there and teach some classes.

    Funny thing was, I didn’t have to explain to anyone who Massad Ayoob was… if you ever get an enquiry from some guys in Karachi, it might be legit.

  9. Barbie Van! That’s hilarious. However, with four figures of ammo and Lord knows how many firearms, Tactical Urban Assault Vehicle is probably a fair name. Love the tip of the hat to Stripes in that one!

  11. Mas – I am curious. I noticed that your recent travel route, outlined above, is largely confined to Southern / South-Eastern States. Of course, given where you live now, these States are nearby to your home. However, I am wondering if State firearms laws figure into your schedule. The States that you visited are all fairly “Gun Friendly”.

    During my trip up to ND (mentioned in my first comment above), the shortest route would have required extensive travel through IL and MN. Neither of these States recognize my TN handgun carry permit. I, therefore, chose to drive a slightly longer route that mostly avoided these States. I did have to cut across a corner of IL anyway. I unloaded my firearms and locked them up, in compliance with the Federal Interstate Travel Law, when doing so.

    As a former Law-Enforcement Officer, you have legal advantages that I, as a private citizen, do not have. Nevertheless, do you plan your travel schedule with oppressive State firearms laws taken into account?

    Even if I was a former Law-Enforcement Officer, I don’t think that I would be willing to drive my “Tactical Urban Assault Vehicle” (loaded with guns and ammo) through States like NJ, NY and CA.

    • We are driven more by the weather, TN. We do the south when it’s temperate there, winter spring and fall, and the north more in the summer. While I’m covered under LEOSA insofar as carry, I’m bound under present rules by the same magazine capacity limits, etc. as any citizen. When in California, Hawaii, NY, etc. I don’t have any magazines with me than can hold more than the stipulated number of rounds in any state I’ll be passing through. The last couple of years, when the training tour takes me through places like NY and NJ, I simply carry and teach with six-shot revolvers. I like to stay current with the different gun types, and that particular tour gives me a good excuse to break out the six-guns.

      It goes to what I call Ayoob’s Law Number 9: “Don’t break the law; know the law better than the other guy, and you’ll probably never feel a need to break it.”

    • TN_MAN,

      If someone does have the misfortune of driving through NJ, NY or CA, obey all traffic laws and you should be fine. Be the “gray man” no one notices.

      My experience in NJ has been that when pulled over for a traffic violation, the cops talk about the violation, they do not bring up the topic of guns. Be respectful, keep your hands on the steering wheel, AND DO NOT VOLUNTEER INFORMATION! Do not mention guns!

      Plenty of us in NJ own guns. We obey all the rules and everything is fine, so far. We just have more rules to obey than those who live in “free” states.

  12. Your last stop near San Antonio completed a very major item on my bucket list.I took MAG40 under you and Eric in April 2016 with my youngest son. The 4-day experience was so awesome, not to mention the excellent help I got managing my revolver, that I knew somehow I needed to get my other two sons into the course. And earlier this month all three sons experienced MAG40 under you and Eric. Now the older two understand why I felt it was so important. And the youngest got a “booster shot” as a repeat student. Thank you so very much for keeping up the program offerings. I hope the Lord continues to bless you with good health and energy to continue your valuable teaching, and especially with Eric.

  13. You’re right, Mas. Must be something in the blood. I recently returned home from a cross-country motorcycle trip. Coast-to-coast before riding home to Pittsburgh, 4000 miles in three weeks. I carried the entire way, but was careful to do so lawfully.

  14. Mas,

    We are so glad you do what you do, bringing enlightenment to the firearms community like Johnny Appleseed planting trees. Keep traveling in moderation for the next thirty years. After you’re gone we’ll have your books, videos and blogs to learn from.

    Imagine going west the way people did in the 1870s and 1880s if they couldn’t afford a ship or train. A Conestoga wagon pulled by two oxen. That is probably not much different than how people traveled thousands of years ago. Now we complain about how the airlines squeeze us into those seats for a few hours. We should complain about that, because it is unnecessary, but we still travel in comfort.

  15. That’s some travelling.

    While I do believe that the security of a nations borders is of very great importance, I do think that Mas – and I hope he doesn’t mind me saying this – is a bona fide example of the benefits of immigration.

    And also, while the evil-Princess may not be a girly-girl, but she’s definitely a girl. A guy would have called it the Tactical Wheeled Assault Transport . . .

    Happy trails.

  16. To Mas Ayoob: I have a Ruger P95. You mentioned you knew of a gunsmith who did good work on the P Series of Ruger Semi-Auto Pistols. Please forward info re: this to me. Thank you so much as I need this for sel-defense.
    God Bless,
    Dennis Maley

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