Trigger management.

License to suck.......

Dave Spaulding has some excellent tips for running the plate rack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR77XCjfICs

Actions upon contact:

Paul Gomez (RIP) has an excellent rif on gunfighting and the history of the "FAST" drill (this is not TLG's FAST test).

Optimal handgun grip, by Claude Werner:

http://www.examiner.com/list/the-proper-grip-for-shooting-an-autoloading-pistol

Best Youtube video evar, full stop. Seriously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLeGBzDZmzU

Well, maybe second best:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpH5L8zCtSk

Interesting new targets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdMSIhsFb_Q

Good folks to train with....

http://hardwiredtacticalshooting.com/

Interview with Darrel Bolke:


Listen here!

Nice web site to find firearms for sale on the net.

gunwatcher

SC's "Castle Doctrine"....

About a 1/4 of the page down at the link:

Here!

SECTION 16-11-420. Intent and findings of General Assembly.

(A) It is the intent of the General Assembly to codify the common law Castle Doctrine which recognizes that a person's home is his castle and to extend the doctrine to include an occupied vehicle and the person's place of business.

(B) The General Assembly finds that it is proper for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves, their families, and others from intruders and attackers without fear of prosecution or civil action for acting in defense of themselves and others.

(C) The General Assembly finds that Section 20, Article I of the South Carolina Constitution guarantees the right of the people to bear arms, and this right shall not be infringed.

(D) The General Assembly finds that persons residing in or visiting this State have a right to expect to remain unmolested and safe within their homes, businesses, and vehicles.

(E) The General Assembly finds that no person or victim of crime should be required to surrender his personal safety to a criminal, nor should a person or victim be required to needlessly retreat in the face of intrusion or attack.

HISTORY: 2006 Act No. 379, Section 1, eff June 9, 2006.

Bad words....

Very interesting.

http://www.bulletproofexec.com/the-four-words-that-make-you-weak-upgrade-your-language/

SC CWP Code

http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t23c031.php

Internet classic......

H&K-because-you-suck-and-we-hate-you

Good 411 on 7.62x51 Mil Surplus ammo

Everything seems to be correct, IMHO:

http://www.breachbangclear.com/site/10-blog/519-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugle-of-battle-rifle-feeding.html

Thoughts on a beginners shooting class from a seasoned trainer..

We try to address this by bringing them through the course material in a step-by-step, measured and supportive way.

In addition to the core lectures, we do a lot of "hands-on" work with the students. The students handle a variety of revolvers and semi-autos under direct supervision, one-on-one, of an instructor. They use dummy rounds to load and unload the guns, dry fire and generally learn how things work and feel, and they get continual safety reinforcement.

These initial hands-on exercises help students get familiar with handling gun and lay a foundation for safe gun handling habits. The students begin to realize that although guns can be dangerous they can learn how to handle them safely and that safety is in their hands.

Then in preparation for live fire, and after the "marksmanship" lecture, we work one-on-one with students on grip and stance using "blue" inert training guns.

Before going to live fire with .22s, the students shoot airsoft (the quality type) in the classroom so they can get a feel for sight alignment and trigger control (and reset) without the noise and intimidation factor (for beginners) of firing real ammunition.

After the students fire their 25 rounds of .22 (working one-on-one with an instructor), we put out a variety of guns from 9mm to .44 Magnum so the students can get the experience of firing the larger calibers. Shooting the centerfire guns is at each student's option. Most fire them all, but some choose not to.

Claude Werner's web site:

Another one of those things I needed to post.

Here!

Done.  :)

Interesting new articles

Rich Grassi is publishing some great articles.  Not sure if these will be non-subscription in the future, but these three are worth noting. From top to bottom, authors are Mike Seeklander, Claude Werner and Tiger McKee.

http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/specials/CCSE2013FALL/story.php?id=228176

http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/specials/CCSE2013FALL/story.php?id=228178

 http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/specials/CCSE2013FALL/story.php?id=228179

Mike Seeklander covers moving to cover and shooting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kTnNo1V9nI

ArmedDynamics covers drawing from an ankle holster.

It's a bit different and I think his point about this method being useful in a FUT is his best point.  The fingertip technique is a strong one as well.

Kyle Defoor on grip

Five stages of violent attack

 1 Intent
 2 Interview
 3 Positioning
 4 Attack
 5 Reaction

Via Marc MacYoung's website 

Thoughts from a noted trainer

There are quite a few variables, all within the framework of the individual course type. Ultimately my end goal is to achieve my course objectives as they are plainly laid out in the description, and to do everything I can to give the students their honest money's worth.

It starts with a clear, stripped-down course description. It starts with plainly-stated prerequisites. It starts with as accurate a predicted round count as I can suggest. It starts with appropriate instructor/student ratios. It starts with the instructors being prepared and showing up ready to work and start the class on time.

There is mandatory admin at the beginning... skipping or short-changing the safety brief is not an option. I quickly get a feel for the students and their abilities. I see right away who I'll need to devote more attention to. If it is a more advanced level class and prerequisites have been plainly stated, cold-testing at the start can be a valuable tool.

A group of all strong shooters (and this applies to fundamental level classes just as much as advanced level classes) makes life easier and allows everyone to press forward. This will ramp the ammo consumption up and will burn through content. Instructors need to over-prepare and have more content in their hip pocket than what they think will fill the allotted time, for just such an eventuality. Conversely (and far more common) one or several shooters will require A LOT more attention. This will naturally slow the class down *if not managed correctly*. This is another reason that assistant instructors are so valuable. They allow the flexibility to spot-weld an AI to an individual while the lead continues to move the class forward at a decent pace.

Everything that's presented needs explained, but I think the trick is to avoid chasing down off-topic rabbit holes. Stick to talking about one concept and only one at a time. Another place where class value is built up or broken down are instructor demos. I try to find a balance between not demonstrating and demonstrating everything everytime. I would say that I lean slightly toward less demoing than more. The students didn't pay to watch me or my AIs shoot all day long - but they do want to see us demo - that, I'm sure of. Some things have more demo value than others, so choose carefully.

Finally I'd say that "getting off the clipboard" is an important step for an instuctor. Yes, have a framework. Yes, have a bullet-point reference sheet. But give yourself the flexibility to deviate and move the class where it needs to go. Occasionally refer to your notes to make sure nothing major gets glossed-over, but don't try to treat every class like they're going to follow your written plan perfectly. Every class is different, and probably should be.

Hopefully I addressed your question; it had elements of "round count", "value", and "time management". I tried to consider them in my response to a balance of competing factors.

Frank Procter on deliberate loading

Cannot find anything to disagree with.  Note that his slide manipulation is more aligned for muscular folks, not Granny running a G19 and his presscheck can be done at night - his right index finger can check for brass in the chamber..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGf3Y1Mm5ds

Tiger McKee on triggers & fingers

Interesting food for thought and new to me:

http://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/227949

Falling plate drills with Dave Spaulding

As those of us at MCRC know, the falling plate rack is both addictive and fun.  By using some of Dave's guidelines, one can use the plates for some self-defense practice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-rqkOLMjJs

Interesting article on the 4 Rules, from a police perspective

Rather thought provoking for civilian trainers...

http://www.lawofficer.com/article/magazine-feature/bringing-streets-range

SC CWP firing qualification

The proficiency test consists of shooting 50 rounds at a silhouette target at the following distances: 10 rounds each at 3, 5, 7, 10 yards and 5 rounds each at 12 and 15 yards. A passing score is hitting 35 out of 50 on the target.

Bolt action rifle Immediate action

Something I really had not thought about, but makes sense.  Only thing I think he could have expanded on is when an immediate action drill become a remedial action drill. 

The four rules

Can't believe I haven't posted these:

RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET AND WHATS BEYOND IT

Excellent post - Fight like a girl

http://limatunesrangediary.blogspot.com/2013/08/fight-like-girl-and-other-lessons-from.html

Iron sight adjustments made easy

As some of you know, I love me some acronyms.....

Remember FORS when adjusting sights.

When moving the sights.
Front Opposite
Rear Same

So when moving the front sight down, you are actually moving the POI (Point of Impact, where the bullets hit) up. Moving the rear sight to the left moved the POI farther left.

Kyle Defoor on mindset

">Good stuff, prepare to take notes:

Rangemaster AKA Tom Givens

One of the top instructors training folks today is Tom Givens out of Memphis Tenn.  He also produces a monthly newsletter than is chock full of good information and is free to download.  Enjoy:

http://www.rangemaster.com/current-newsletter.html

Ever wonder why incompetent people are a PITA?

Here's the reason why:

Dunning Kruger effect

PaulG on why training isn't static...

Paul is a former USMC 0311 (Infantryman) who was badly wounded in 2003 in Iraq.  Here's a link to his story and why we should critique and review our training often:

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=38540

Stand your ground law explained

Nobody does it better than Massad Ayoob.....

News you can use......

The "Tactical Wire" publishes Tuesdays and Thursdays.  While I skip the gear information, Rich Grassi and Tiger McKee usually have a couple of paragraphs well worth reading.

http://www.thetacticalwire.com/

4 count draw stroke by Paul Gomez

The late Paul Gomez:

Clearing AR-15 malfunctions

Well done video.

Trigger control yet again...

While I've been shooting for well over a quarter of a century, I'm constantly paying attention to my trigger control - it's that important.  Here's Mike Seeklander's thoughts.

Bump drill.

Once again, Bruce Gray gives us a great way to work on trigger control.

Bruce Gray on accurate (enough) shooting

Bruce makes many excellent points.


http://grayguns.com/zen-and-the-art-of-hitting-stuff/

Highly recommend SWAT magazine

Just some exerts from the past few months...

Max Joseph - arm your targets - why would you shoot an unarmed person?

Darryl Bolke & Wayne Dobbs - first two seconds of a gunfight are the most important.

Pat Rogers - a gun with out training is a liability, not an asset.

Lots of nuggets there...

Overpenetration !

One constant on the gun forums is that when someone mentions using a .223/5.56 caliber rifle for defense, someone will immediately yell "overpenetration".   Tain't so.  Using something other than FMJ ammo will give both enhanced performance and limited penetration.  Here is the hands down best experiment done on that subject to date:


Very interesting!

Folks in Ohio are doing a series of interviews.  Those interviewed are well known gun folks, like Kathy Jackson, Todd L. Green, Dave Spaulding and Tom Givens.  Enjoy!

Easy listening!

Why this blog?

When I first got formal instruction (that I paid for), about 30 minutes after we started shooting, the instructor looked at something I was doing poorly.  He (Tiger McKee) suggested a simple fix.  Worked like a charm.  If I didn't get anything else from the course, that tip was worth the expense.  Seriously.  (got lots more though)   www.shootrite.com is Tiger's web site, highly recommend.

So, what I'm going to try to do is use this blog to record tips, techniques and procedures that I see in various places on the web and in books and magazines.

Perhaps I can turn on a few "lightbulbs" for folks...