THE POLICE MARKSMAN —- CURRENT ISSUE : LEO, GET SOME!

What’s not to like, free and on line.

  a legacy of advancing tactical excellence in law enforcement training. Our mission is to arm law enforcement with the tools and knowledge to survive and win real-world encounters. We maintain a laser focus on delivering cutting edge articles on tactics, firearms and officer safety to law enforcement of all ranks nationwide. We achieve this through our roster of leading topic experts and our long-standing reputation of integrity and commitment to law enforcement.”

Current Issue

Officer Down” column (last article link below in list) — a must read comprehensive analysis of an OIS, with a buffet of food for thought.   This one has particularly important lessons for traffic stops and other encounters where repeated challenges are issued to a non-compliant. In one case where a non-compliant subject was holding a weapon, a federal appeals court said: “We accept for the present purposes that, once past Sergeant Carr, Montoute never turned to face him again, and Montoute never actually pointed the sawed-off shotgun at anyone. But there was nothing to prevent him from doing either, or both, in a split second.   At least where orders to drop the weapon have gone unheeded, an officer is not required to wait until an armed and dangerous felon has drawn a bead on the officer or others before using deadly force.” The case, Mountoute v. Carr, is here.

Kyle Dinkheller, EOW 1/12/1998:  The dashboard video is here.  Watch it and then read the column.  As Rod Serling would say, submitted for your approval:  Repetition makes good practice, but in the real world, use it at your own risk.

PM_JanFeb2014_Cover.indd

Disclosure:  PM once (IIRC, in a prior century) sent me a box of 45 Auto +P Federal® Premium 230 HST, for free.  I have most of the box left.

Stay safe,  whether in or out of uniform.

Bullseye Shooting and the Importance of Basic Marksmanship

My target after the 25-yard portion of the FBI Bullseye Course

With the proliferation of “tactical” training, I have noticed that one area that many shooters tend to neglect is basic marksmanship. Sure, it is a lot of fun to practice hosing a target at five yards, but it really doesn’t do anyone any good if the rounds are not on target.

It isn’t nearly as exciting to shoot slow fire groups at 20 or 25 yards, but I have learned this skill separates the “men from the boys” especially in the police firearms training world.

One of my favorite courses of fire to evaluate Basic Marksmanship skills is the FBI Bullseye Course. It is not fancy, but it is a great evaluation of the shooter’s understanding and application of sight alignment and trigger control.

The course is simple and is scored on an FBI Bullseye target (similar in dimensions to an NRA 25 yard rapid fire pistol target). All stages begin with pistol aimed in, safety off, finger on the trigger. This is not a tactical course but rather one that evaluates a specific skill set.

Continue reading