Fig.1 S&W 1911TA in unusual condition
As you can probably tell from the photo above, something is very wrong here. What you see is a .40 caliber case that almost made it out of a .45 caliber barrel. What you cannot see is the .45 bullet that is lodged in the barrel behind the .40 case. Continue reading
I recently attended the SIG Sauer Academy – Close Quarter Pistol Operator Course. This one day class was taught by Todd Rassa. Todd is a Sig Instructor and also has his own training company Tactical Defense Readiness Concepts. He also works for a large municipal Police Dept. I had been to SIG twice in the past for armorer classes and had been impressed with the facilities and staff. In the two years since my last visit, they have been busy. It’s almost worth the trip there just to see the Pro Shop. (Leave Your Credit Card At Home).
Two excellent training tools to compensate for the ever increasing cost of .223 or 5.56 training ammunition: Next Level Training’s SIRT AR Bolt and Smith & Wesson’s M&P 15-22 .22 caliber rifle.
Thanks to the recent push by politicians to capitalize on the public’s emotions and institute further restrictions on law abiding citizens, along with the ever increasing cost of raw materials, ammunition is more expensive than ever. Around January, a 1000 round case of PMC .223 caliber ammunition was selling for nearly $2000 a case. Thankfully, costs have come down, but it is still difficult to come by, and a 1000 round case of factory training ammunition still costs upwards of $600-800. Training organizations have responded by allowing students to attend courses with .22 caliber rifles or conversion kits.
Here, we’ll take a look at a couple options that can help us maximize our training efficiency without breaking the bank on ammunition. Continue reading
Simple to find, easy to replace yet so often overlooked, magazine springs for shotguns are very often the cause of feeding issues in shotguns.
Operating on the assumption that modern shooters who care for their equipment keep track of their round counts, most of us track the lifespan of our wear and tear parts. In this case springs will be the main focal point. Have you ever counted how many springs are in your gun? Ever consider how important each one is to the proper operation of your pistol, rifle or shotgun? I know quite a few people who have never given it a single thought. They just figure that if it still works, it must be good to go. Scary thought process huh? Continue reading
It is that time of year again where the sun is up longer and is more intense than we are used to in most cases. With that in mind, please review the following and keep a close eye on your students and fellow instructors.
Heat Exhaustion (Mayo Clinic)
Heat exhaustion is a condition whose symptoms may include heavy sweating and a rapid pulse, a result of your body overheating. It’s one of three heat-related syndromes, with heat cramps being the mildest and heatstroke being the most severe.
Causes of heat exhaustion include exposure to high temperatures, particularly when combined with high humidity, and strenuous physical activity. Without prompt treatment, heat exhaustion can progress to heatstroke, a life-threatening condition. Fortunately, heat exhaustion is preventable. Continue reading
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.
As I have mentioned before in previous articles, I believe competition is an excellent way to push my training to the next level. While it certainly has limitations as to how “realistic” it can be, I can’t think of a better way to add to your training the anxiety of shooting under time pressure and being accountable for your accuracy. (As an aside, our friends at Gun Nuts Media have an excellent article on competition vs tactical training recently posted to their site.) Continue reading
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.
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
Much ado has been made of the Smith and Wesson’s M&P having a less distinct reset than what many 1911 and Glock shooters are used to. This particularly bothers those who have been trained to “shoot to reset” between shots. This has never particularly bothered me and here is why:
For those who are not familiar (or may need a quick refresher), most basic pistol courses teach shooters to “reset” the trigger between shots as part of the follow through process. I look back to my Basic Academy training way back in the day, which taught shooters to hold the trigger to the rear, realign the sights, and then slowly release the trigger until they feel a distinct click. Then they can begin preparing for the next shot. Continue reading
Few are prepared for what to do after using deadly force. Even fewer recognize this planning is part of your combat mindset.
I find it peculiar that nearly every person with whom I discuss the topic has failed to mentally prepare for the aftermath and subsequent fall out from the deadly force encounter. The simple fact is that this timeframe is literally the rest of your life. Many people spend thousands of dollars each year preparing for an event we all hope will not happen, but if it were to occur, would last a mere 3-10 seconds; and I am being generous with that time estimate. The simple fact remains that most are simply not prepared for what will come afterwards.
It is an unfortunate, yet very real, part of our modern law enforcement and legal systems that the person who calls 911 first is the complainant. Since you have been busy defending innocent life, you may not be able to be the first to call. However, you certainly need to make that call. Have you prepared your mind for what you will say? Have you practiced it as much as you have your verbal challenges to your assailant(s)? Have you practiced how to make that 911 call using your cell phone? Smart phones are a wonderful addition to the world. The fact still remains that they can be more complex to operate. If yours has the ability to make a direct 911 call without unlocking, do you know how to do this? Continue reading
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
K-9 Handler and Firearms Instructor S. Sharpe uses a SIRT 110 PRO training pistol while giving in-service training to a group of police officers. Photo Credit: S. Sharpe
Most shooters understand the SIRT Training Pistol from Next Level Training is an excellent training tool for dry practice away from the range. What many don’t realize is that there is a universe of training potential for the SIRT on the range as well. By integrating the SIRT into live fire training, you can help mitigate the flinch response and focus on trigger control. A 3 to 1 ratio or so (three reps SIRT to 1 rep live fire) will develop trigger control drills while still keeping you honest with recoil management. Try it and you’ll see great results.
Making decisions under stress can be greatly simplified through preparation and training.
In “Combat Mindset – A Beginning,” we discussed the reasons we would be willing to kill or die. We came to an understanding that using a firearm or edged weapon to end another human beings life is a violent, penetrative and messy act. We also covered the physical and emotional dangers of not properly preparing your mind for some very stressful decisions. Continue reading
Chance favors the prepared mind. The unprepared mind just leaves you with file not found syndrome.
I am certain that this is something that many of you have covered and perhaps even think about on a regular basis. However, it is so important to survival that I think we should cover it again to make sure everyone is periodically reviewing their own frame of mind.
Combat mindset is a simple yet vital component of preparing yourself for an armed encounter. It allows you to learn and store those skills necessary for the gunfight and more importantly; it enables you to apply those skills knowing you are prepared mentally for that, which must be done. There seems to be a shortfall when it comes to training in this area. Continue reading