weapon training | the things worth believing in

April 26, 2013

change less…train more

Posted by tgace under skills | Tags: conditioning, firearms, mindset, opinion, training, weapon training |
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The good folks over at ITS Tactical posted up the following:

ITS Tactical iPad Lock Screen Wallpaper (Photo credit: mikepetrucci)

Gun Fighting is a Skill That Requires More Training, Not More Information

Whenever people ask me how they can shoot like a Navy SEAL, I always say the same thing: dry fire, lots and LOTS of dry fire. I never mention any particular technique or any of the well known fundamentals of marksmanship. Nope, what you need to do is train. Sure there are plenty of great little tricks out there and I’m always trying to acquire new tools for my toolbox (actually, not to brag but I’ve got more of a tool shed than a box), but no matter what skill or technique I’m working on, I’m working.

Read the rest.

I agree with the authors premise. At some point in a persons technical/tactical development they should start to be less concerned with searching for the latest techniques/gear/etc and focus on practicing what they have already been taught.

Todays information age almost makes it too easy to find books, videos, youtube, websites and blogs offering all sorts of ideas, techniques and products for you to pick up. The problem is many people spend more time LOOKING for the latest trend than they do actually DOING something.

The person shooting at paper on a static range is better off than the “internet SEAL” who likes to discuss force on force training but hardly ever pulls a trigger IMO. The person in the gym doing “ineffective” training is at least getting some training. The person debating the benefits of Crossfit over P90X who never gets off the couch would be better off just knocking out some push-ups and going out for a walk.

What have you actually DONE today?

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January 19, 2013

branching out

Posted by tgace under equipment | Tags: firearms, weapon skills, weapon training, weapons |
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Since my State finally decided to allow rifle hunting in my area, I decided to get myself a stick for hunting whitetail. I went with the American Classic, a Marlin 336C with a Leupold Gold Ring 2-7X33. Expect a few posts about it in the future.

October 10, 2012

fine..gross..lets call the whole thing off

Posted by tgace under skills, weapons | Tags: weapon skills, weapon training |
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Another interesting post over at Vuurwapen Blog. Andrew talks about one of my favorite “tactical sacred cows”…the whole “you won’t be able to do that fine motor skill in combat” meme.

http://vuurwapenblog.com/2012/10/09/dexterity-motor-skills/

I was first told about “fine motor skills” while in the military; the explanation I was given was that anything to do with using my fingers under stress was a bad idea. That doing so would not work, that I just wouldn’t have the dexterity. I was told to use the bigger parts of my hand, or my fingers bunched together, to do any sort of weapon manipulation. This, they said, was a “gross” motor skill that would be better under stress, which apparently makes your fingers turn to jello.

However, I was also taught by other people to do things like punch buttons on military radios and put tiny needles in small veins, both of which require dexterity. In addition, both are skills which might be critical to saving lives under stress (or taking them, in the case of calling for fires). I also found, on my own time, that I could manipulate safeties and slide releases just fine with my thumbs.

…

The author goes onto explain that in his opinion the issue all comes down to ones familiarity and recent experience with a weapon system. I agree 100%. If you are unfamiliar with a weapon, finding the small buttons and levers under stress will indeed be more difficult than grabbing a slide and slingshotting it home. However, if you know the weapon like it’s part of your hand, it’s stupid to loose time doing “gross motor movements”.

I did some comparisons of handgun reloads back in this thread:

http://tgace.com/2011/01/14/variations-on-a-themeemergency-reloads/

To be honest, I now use the slide release lever so unconsciously that I doubt I would ever do the overhand slingshot technique under stress.

July 2, 2012

Carbine Standards

Posted by tgace under skills, weapons | Tags: carbine, weapon skills, weapon training |
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The summer reloading/shooting season has opened.

I have been trying out Redback One’s Carbine Standard.

RedBack One Carbine standards

Preamble: The following shooting standards have been designed to prepare students for advanced training with Redback One. These standards will serve as Go/No Go for enrollment to RB1 advanced weapon training. Students should strive for 100% speed and accuracy, however the entry standard will be 80%. These standards will be conducted ‘Cold and on Demand’ on day 1 of all RB1 Advanced Weapons Training. Failure to meet these standards may result in removal from the course. The final decision will be made by the Senior Instructor running the training.

Instructions for shooting the RB1 Carbine Standards.

All strings are shot from the ready positions detailed in each serial.

Distance: as per requirements in each serial.

Target: RB1 silhouette (preferred).

Scoring zones: head box & A zone as detailed, 8” chest circle.

Total score possible: 80 points

Passing score: 64 points

Scoring the target:

Each round in scoring zone = 1 point

Each round outside scoring zone = 0 points

Rounds fired after time limit = 0 points

———————————————-

Serial 1 – 7 meters (Low Ready)

1 round to the body – 0.80 sec

2 rounds body, 1 round head – 2.00 sec

6 rounds to the body – 2.00 sec

Serial 2 – 7 meters (High Ready)

1 round to the body – 1.20 sec

4 rounds body, 2 rounds head (A zone) – 3.00 sec

1 round body, 1 round head, 1 round body – 2.00 sec

Serial 3 – 7 meters (Low Ready)

1 round body, transition, 1 round body – 4.00 sec

1 round body, reload, 1 round body – 6.00 sec

1 round body, transition, 1 round body, reload, 1 round body – 11.00 sec

Serial 4 – 7 meters (High Ready)

10 rounds body, reload, 10 rounds body – 12.00 sec

Serial 5 – 10 meters (Low Ready)

3 rounds body, transition, 3 rounds body – 6 sec

Serial 6 – 10 meters (Weapon unloaded on ground)

Load weapon and fire 1 round to the body – 5.00 sec

Serial 7 – 20 meters (High Ready)

2 rounds body (standing) – 2.50 sec

4 rounds body (standing to kneeling) – 4.50 sec

6 rounds body (standing to prone) – 8.00 sec

Serial 8 – 25 meters vertical cover (High Ready)

2 rds body strong side cover, strong shoulder, 2 rds body weak side cover, support shoulder – 6 sec

5 rounds body strong side cover, transition 5 rounds strong side cover – 16 sec

This is my second go at it and the first time I had to read the stages and shoot them myself..so that alibi is out of the way.

Result. I wasn’t tallying points just yet, I was just metering myself on my time and rounds on target so… this time I had all rounds on target with 5 outside of the “A zones” on an IPSC target. Most times were within standard but many were slow by a fraction of a second and a few by a second or more. Overall not a discouraging start, next time I will start tracking my score and see how I improve over time.

June 17, 2012

skill goals

Posted by tgace under skills, weapons | Tags: weapon skills, weapon training |
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I better buy more ammo….

May 25, 2012

full-time attitude

Posted by tgace under law enforcement, skills, work | Tags: law enforcement, training, weapon skills, weapon training |
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English: A Picture of FBI SWAT officers. Origionally from http://buffalo.fbi.gov/specialty_programs.htm (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Having just completed a tactical leaders course I found myself revisiting a thought that crosses my mind from time to time about police tactical units and training. By a pretty large percentage, most police SWAT teams are “part-time”, meaning that the officers train 1-2 days a month and otherwise work as patrolmen, detectives, etc as their “full-time” job.

The thing that I seldom see addressed, in SWAT courses, literature or even over a beer with others in the tactical circles, is the issue of “off-duty” training. There’s plenty of talk about what “should be trained”, how vital PT is and how perishable weapon skills are, but WHEN is seldom addressed. Face it, formation running or group PT during a training day is nothing more than a team building exercise if your operators are not conducting physical conditioning on their own. Weapon proficiency of a SWAT standard isn’t going to be honed with the range time a part-time team gets. If a tactical unit member wants to seriously consider himself an “operator” he needs to have a “full-time attitude”. Just putting on your ACU’s and going off to your monthly training isn’t enough. Being “elite” isn’t a uniform or duty assignment, it’s what you DO. If you are only thinking about improving yourself 1-2 days out of the month than you are “part-time” between your ears.

The problem is…not all team members have the time, facilities, money or (sadly sometimes) the interest to pursue weapons training on their own “dime”. Add to it the fact that many departments (or certain key members within departments) are so risk/lawsuit averse that they wont give the departments stamp of approval to any training activity not supervised by department trainers and the result is many operators only shooting when their department provides it. Sure they get more trigger time than their co-workers who are not on the team, but not enough IMO.

Many of the best shooters I have met were good because of their personal interest in shooting/hunting. They would probably be good shooters even if they had never become cops. Fortunately many of those “types” are drawn to tactical teams within PD’s, but there are other SWAT coppers who, while not as “gun-nutty” as their brethren, would still love to shoot/train more often but are not provided with any sort of official support from their PD’s.

If it were a “my way” world and money were no object, I would love to see things like these available;

-PD ranges ran like civilian gun clubs where officers could go at anytime and shoot with department provided ammo/targets/gear.
-Departments providing their operators with take home training gear like SIRT Pistols, and/or training magazines, timers and dry-fire curriculum.
-The ability to use ranges, simulators or other department facilities without the approval of a Captain, two lieutenants, a sergeant and a letter from your mother. “If you build it they will come”…

In the end though, there are no excuses. There are things you can and should be doing ON YOUR OWN to keep up your skills.

May 20, 2012

the stuff that’s out there (aka caveat emptor)

Posted by tgace under bad budo, skills, weapons | Tags: firearms, skills, training, weapon skills, weapon training |
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The popularity of tactical firearms training is on the rise. Thanks to the internet, people looking for instruction in weaponcraft have many sources to refer to and training groups are easy to find with a simple “Google”.

That being said…do your due diligence. Research the people you are considering training with and compare them to other sources. Take a look at this video:

This is the same group/guy mentioned over a papadeltabravo.com back in 2010.

One would think that with all the stuff available for the watching on the net, that these people would have been exposed to videos like this:

Nuff said?? I know that not all the students are going to look as sharp as the instructor, but compare the stuff they are teaching and how they are teaching it.

Now…when if you come across a web page advertising instruction in “tactical firearms” and see the teacher has all sorts of tactical/LE/military credentials, and you see the first video as a sample, wouldn’t you be skeptical when you know that guys in the second video are out there teaching too?

May 15, 2012

TacStrike Steel Target

Posted by tgace under equipment, evaluations, weapons | Tags: carbine, equipment, firearms, gear, training, weapon training |
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A few months ago I decided to upgrade my range toys with a stationary steel target. What I wanted was something I could leave out permanently..at least over the summer/fall..instead of having to hump a plate steel gong downrange every-time I go out shooting.

After a little research I went with a 12″ x 12″ 3/4″ thick AR450 plate from TacStrike. It was in my budget range and was advertised as a “leave it out” target…exactly what I was looking for.

It took a few weeks to get it, but Rob at TacStrike was upfront with his production timeline and kept in contact with me via e-mail to assure me my item was on the way. On arrival my target looked like this:

This bad boy is HEAVY and is designed to be driven into the ground. I wanted to have the target closer to COM height so I drilled some holes in the angle iron stake and bolted it to a piece of 4″ X 4″ fence post:

Last Friday I finally had an opportunity to take it out to the range. I drove a steel fence post spike into the ground at an angle and mounted the post. I then had at it from about 75 yards:

Firing 55 gr Hornady FMJBT over 26.3 gr of W748, this target simply DESTROYED the projectiles, and because of the target angle (a little steeper than I really wanted…but Oh Well) all of the debris went right to the foot of the post:

If there’s any “wish” about this target I would make, it’s that I wish it would “ring” a bit louder. The rounds are so completely pulverized that many of them just make a flat “THWACK!!!” when they hit. But I believe that’s simply a fact of physics vs anything to do with the target.

All in all I’m very happy with this item. I only wish I had more ammo to burn. If you are looking for some steel give the folks over at TacStrike a look.

April 27, 2012

tactical preschool 25

Posted by tgace under tactical preschool, tactics | Tags: law enforcement, martial arts, military, tactics, weapon skills, weapon training |
[2] Comments

Im re-posting this older tac-preschool lesson because this part of the blog has become more popular lately. This topic in particular was one that I was hoping to get more discussion on.

The tactical world is full of various debates.

.45 vs 9mm, 1911 vs Glock, point shooting vs aimed fire, you suck vs I am high speed.

Another issue that crops up is how to engage multiple opponents. There are various schools of thought on the best way to deal with this situation.

One method is known as “boarding house rules”. Which is stated as “everybody gets firsts before anybody gets seconds.” What that basically means is that, starting with the most immediate threat (which usually is the closest bad guy) you “serve” one shot to all opponents then go back and deal with the first target if it’s still there. A common training method is to hit the last target with two shots then go back and give the other targets one more. So in the illustration below the sequence would be: 1, 2, 3, 3, 1, 2 repeat as necessary.

A different version of this engagement sequence calls for you to “double tap” each target from near to far then back again. 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3….

The biggest problem I see with this idea is the presumption that you have actually hit the first targets before moving onto the next. Range/competition shooting at plates, poppers, silhouettes etc. isn’t the same as dealing with moving and shooting human beings. I am a decent shot, but I’m not fooling myself into thinking that I can guarantee hits like that when the SHTF.

multi1

Another school of thought is that due to stress, tunnel vision and the natural human reaction to combat; that a better solution is to shoot each threat, in order of severity, until it no longer is a threat. In the illustration below this is shown as: 1, 1, 1, 1 then onto 2, 2, 2…and so on till all threats are dealt with.

multi2jpg

I tend to side with the second approach, but what dogmatic people fail to acknowledge is that there is nothing saying that you cant mix these approaches up. Perhaps I may go: 1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 3, 3, 3, 3 depending on what the hell theses guys are doing.

What I find troubling in most training of this sort, regardless of the method you like, is the “training in” of standing still in the midst of multiple armed opponents and shooting it out. What I think should happen is that you should be MOVING. Move to cover and deal with the closest threat. If he gets behind cover deal with the next available threat. And be thinking about your next move. If they are maneuvering on you or decide to keep shooting it out you are in a loosing proposition. Think about bugging out.

April 19, 2012

interesting drill

Posted by tgace under skills, weapons | Tags: firearms, skills, weapon training, weapons |
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I find the solution for the “shot drift” at the end of this video pretty interesting. I tend to drift the same direction when shooting at speed. Ill have to give this a try.