Author Archives: Jerry Jones

About Jerry Jones

Jerry Jones has been a Sheriff's Deputy in Kentucky since 1996. Jerry is currently assigned as a patrol deputy, firearms instructor and senior operator/training supervisor with a multi jurisdictional tactical team. Jerry is Kentucky POST certified to teach firearms, SWAT, and sniper operations and deployment at the Academy level. Jerry is also the President/CEO of Operation Specific Training and the Law Enforcement Representative for Apex Tactical Specialties.

Evolution in Training – The Importance of Staying Current

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When people see the topic of evolution, it usually brings forth some heated arguments.  This article is about how we fail to evolve as firearms and tactics instructors.  This failure of evolution has brought forth a lot of heated arguments as well.

I don’t see this failure as much in the larger, more mainstream firearms and tactics schools as I do in the smaller ones.  Certainly it exists in larger schools.  I see it more often in training at the local level, and mainly in institutional organizations and police training. These schools often have instructors that have been around a while, and generally they haven’t been to a school to upgrade their skills and knowledge since Carter was in office.  And the curriculum shows it. Continue reading →

The Forgotten Military and Police

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My last piece I wrote was about service pistols going back 20 years, the Smith and Wesson 10mm series of pistols.  The 10mm was created as an ideal police cartridge to bridge the gap between the 9mm and the .45 ACP. This time we’re going back another 20 years (closer to 30, actually) to a rarely remembered Smith and Wesson M&P.

Today, when we mention the Military and Police in many circles, it conjures the image of a sleek auto pistol chambered in 9mm, 357 SIG, .40 and .45.  But the term Military and Police goes back to around the year 1900 when Smith and Wesson set the world on it’s ear with a hand ejector revolver that would be marketed to law enforcement.  And it would go on in one shape or fashion to rule what was in police holsters for the better part of that Century.  The .38 Military and Police had many variants from from about the year 1899 and later became a modeled number of the Model 10.  Modeled numbers were introduced in the late 1950’s.  There were different versions of the Military and Police.  One was chambered in .357 Magnum as the Model 13. Continue reading →

First Look: Safariland’s New 7TS ALS Holster Line

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At SHOT Show, we caught a glimpse of the new line of Safariland ALS holsters. When we stopped by to speak to Bill Rogers, he showed us the new effort. Basically, it uses modern manufacturing techniques to fix some of the complaints that the ALS system has had from the end user. The current line of 6xxx holsters, when used in a concealment role, have met the complaints that they are too bulky for detective assignments. The new 7xxx holsters fix that without compromising the durability and dependability of the ALS system. The 7xxx line is going to be available in all the model lines apparently All you have to do is just substitute a 7 in front of your favorite 6 model holster for selection of the holster that is right for you. (IE- our current issued duty holster is a 6360 ALS with the hood, and the new slimmer, lighter version will be a 7360). When we spoke to Bill Rogers in January, he stated that the price point was going to be lower than the current line of ALS. How much? That is the million dollar question at this point.

Pic of the Day- The Tactically Practical

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The Glock 34/35 series of pistols are ideal for just about any role an end user may require.  They work well out of the box, with only a few minor changes needed to make them a little better.  Shown is one of my G34’s with one of the early Apex FRE prototypes, and a most excellent set of 10-8 tritium sights.  A man (or lady) can about rule the world with that setup.  It is no wonder why this series of pistols have became favorites of police officers and competitors alike.

The KY STATE POLICE Modified Sniper Qual

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An old qualification target with a vintage FBI sniper school data book. Documentation on the target states that the run was made in 4:11 total.

Years ago, I had the pleasure and honor of attending the Kentucky State Police Advanced Sniper School a couple of times.  I went back several more times with the honor of helping put it on.

This article is not about the grueling 16+ hour days, the realistic scenarios or the demanding mental and physical conditioning needed to pass.  This article is about the single thing that sent many a perspective sniper, or in some cases experienced sniper packing without a certificate at the end of the week.

This article is about the modified qualification course.

Continue reading →

SKD “PIG” Plate Carrier- A Review

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We currently issue the PPI Operator vest at work.  We’ve been looking at and testing various vests, and plate carrier rigs for our next vest replacement which comes up in 2014.

In comes the “PIG” (Patrol Incident gear) plate carrier from SKD Tactical. (http://www.skdtac.com/PIG-Plate-Carrier-p/pig.502.htm).  One of my coworkers purchased this plate carrier, set it up and we started testing it.  The first thing I noticed about it was the reasonable price.  The carrier ran about $340 shipped.  SKD’s website boasts that their product’s ship in one business day or it ships free.

Continue reading →

Heavy Training With A Weapon Mounted Light

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Cleaning handguns after heavy training can be tedious. Cleaning a weapon mounted light can be even worse.  The above pistol had nearly 3,000 rounds through it in a foolish stunt to see if we could make it break.  The gun got so hot at times that I had to rack the slide on my holster during reloads because I could not touch it with Oakley gloves on.  I do not advocate abusing a modern service weapon in the way we did above at any time.  But, sometimes during product development it is necessary. Continue reading →

Review- Sure Fire X300 Ultra Weapon Mounted Light

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Sure Fire X300 Ultra mounted on author’s duty Glock 35

I am a flashlight nerd.  I admit it.  I’d almost go to meetings like any other addiction if it was offered.  I am constantly on the hunt for the next biggest and brightest thing.  I’ve often stated that I am waiting around for the light to come out that has the same performance on the human body as to when the Germans looked into the Ark of the Covenant on Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Real old Testament stuff.

So when James Otto of Otto Firearms contacted me and stated he had the new Sure Fire X300 Ultra in stock finally, I broke out the plastic and one was on its way. Continue reading →

Return To Where the Professionals Train

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It had been a long time since we had been to the SIG Sauer Academy.  Going on five or six years it seems.  Too long I guess.  Bruce and I rolled into the Academy on Thursday to check things out prior to the class we were teaching on Friday.  The first thing that struck us was the fact so much had changed in that time.  The Pro Shop was the big addition we noticed immediately.  In this day and age of going into gun shops and seeing bare shelves, it was really nice to go in and see the walls lined with Evil Black Rifles.  Did my heart good, actually.  We checked in and found out that we were going to be teaching on range three, and drove back to check it out.  We chatted to some familiar faces from a SIG centric Federal agency to find out that the SIG Academy was basically their home range.  Interesting, I thought. Continue reading →

Glock Armorers Course – A Review

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Recently, I traveled down to Smyrna, Georgia this week to the home of all things Glock for their eight hour armorers course. I had originally taken the course in 1996.  It was an eight hour course then, and best I remember it cost $75.  It was eight hours of assembly and disassembly.  The course wasn’t much.   As simple as the guns are, I never re-certified.

Fast forward to last November.  I told my boss I wanted to go down to the factory and take the Instructor Workshop class, and he green lit me for it.  A very nice lady from Glock Training called me back and informed me that I had to be a current armorer to be eligible for the class.  So, I said what the heck, and added a day onto my trip. I drove down with a head full of questions, ranging from recoil spring weights to extraction issue questions to a whole lot of questions about the 17T (Simunitions pistol). Continue reading →

The Admin Load – Why do we still teach it?

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The “Administrative Load” refers to a common sight on the police range.  It is loading the pistol while the pistol is still in the holster.  It involves reaching back behind your holster and inserting/removing/swapping out magazines while your pistol is still holstered.  This takes place while the shooter is still on the line, facing down range.   This nonsense got started when semi-automatics hit police ranges, and some bean counter figured that the more time that the gun remains in the holster, the less time there is for cops to shoot themselves, or each other.  Fact of the matter is that it is a dangerous practice.

Dangerous, you say?

Continue reading →

Firearms Safety – Why do we take it for granted?

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This installment there are no pictures.  No high speed/low drag, Crossfit fueled, SWAT laden cool guy pictures.  My apologies to Tim and Hilton for not having pictures as required. (Editor: We don’t require pictures for every post!)

Instead, I hope this article will serve as a moment of pause.

It is 2013.  Why are gun owners still negligently shooting people in their homes?  Notice I said negligently.  I am talking about the unintentional shooting of a family member or guest that usually winds up with the shooter telling the first responding officer “I thought it was unloaded”.

The liberal left tries to get everyone to equate gun control with gun safety.  They seek an emotional response by invoking, “It’s for the children”.  Fact of the matter is that their versions of gun control have nothing to do with safety, nothing to do with guns, and everything to do with control.  What I am referring to is firearms safety becoming a way of life.  It becoming organic to who you are, a thread in your DNA.

Continue reading →

Carbine Training: The 18 Drill

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The 18 drill is one of my old standby’s.  18 yards, 18 rounds, 18 seconds, 18 inch aiming area.  Sound pretty simple?

This is a carbine drill that is shot from three positions- standing, kneeling and prone.

To set up for the drill, the shooter loads three magazines with six rounds each.  One is inserted into the gun and the gun is charged.  The other two are placed somewhere on the body for two emergency reloads.  The shooter starts in the standing position,  facing the target, safety on, gun in low ready.  On the tone, the shooter fires six rounds standing, performs an emergency reload, and goes to the kneeling position.  From the kneeling position, the shooter then fires six rounds.  The shooter performs an emergency reload, and then goes prone.  The shooter then fires his/her remaining six rounds.  Time stops on the last round fired.

We score it as all or none on the target.  The run has to be “clean” with all 18 rounds inside the aiming area.  Usually we shoot this on the B21 target with all hits to be inside the “coke” bottle (a little more generous than a true 18 inch circle) or anything in the “Down One” or “C” zone on a IPSC or IDPA target.  The “Down One” or “C” zone is larger than 18 inches, but with a little ingenuity, you can make the scoring work with just about any target, by adjusting the target area to fit.