Friday Fundamentals – Terminology
#fridayfundamentals
In reply to the Back to Basics WheelgunWednesday post, a pertinent question came up.
“I was ‘hammering’ instead of firing a ‘controlled pair.’
What do you mean by hammering?”
Great question – thanks for asking. Sometimes we trainers take our subject matter knowledge for granted. Several concepts developed by Jeff Cooper have remained constant despite having been formulated nearly half a century ago.
Fundamental Terminology
- Flash Sight Picture
- Controlled Pair
- Hammer
Flash Sight Picture
The concept of accepting that perfect sight alignment is not necessary to achieve an acceptable hit. Shooters often assume that they need to obtain a perfect sight picture for acceptable hits.
That’s not necessarily the case, depending on the distance to target.
https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2015/02/06/89081/
https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2015/10/02/friday-fundamentals-segment-2/
Controlled Pair
Achieving an acceptable sight picture on a target, firing a shot, bringing the pistol down in recoil, obtaining a second acceptable sight picture, and firing a second shot.
Hammer
Achieving an acceptable sight picture on a target, firing a shot, bringing the pistol down in recoil, and firing a second shot using only a physical index to the target without regard to achieving a second sight picture.
Note that the term ‘double tap’ is obsolete because it could refer to either a controlled pair or a hammer and so is inadequate as a description. Others have written in-depth articles about Cooper’s concepts so I will just link to them.
Flash Sight Picture
Chris Baker
Jim Wilson
https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/sheriff-s-tips-understanding-the-flash-sight-picture
Hammer v. Controlled Pair
Jim Wilson
https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/whatever-happened-to-the-double-tap
Darryl Bolke via Greg Ellifritz
Chgowiz wins a free book of mine for asking a great question.
Back to Basics WheelgunWednesday
#wheelgunwednesday
Going back to basics occasionally helps me get back in the groove. Two basic exercises I like for the snub revolver are the LAPD Retired Officer Qualification Course and the NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting Level 1 test.
The LAPD course is described in the LAPD Manual.
“The starting position for this qualifying course of fire will begin at the 7 Yard Line. When the target faces, the shooter will draw and fire 10 rounds at a single silhouette target. A score of 70 percent is required to pass the qualification. All rounds impacting anywhere on the body and head will receive full value and rounds impacting upon the arms are half value.”
Basics of Pistol Shooting Level 1 test consists of shooting five shots into a circle that is four inches in diameter at a distance of 10 feet. All five shots must hit or cut the circle. It must be done four time, not necessarily consecutively, to pass BOPS.
For both tests, I include opening and spinning the cylinder periodically to create ball and dummy practice. In the LAPD Course, I also include a few initial dry practice draws, a la the NY State CCL Qualification, staggered loading with loose rounds during the first five shots, presenting from Low Ready, firing different numbers of rounds, and a reload with a loading device for the second five.
During my initial run of LAPD (I did four), I noticed that a couple of my shots went high. Upon repeating it, I realized that I was ‘hammering’ instead of firing a ‘controlled pair.’ That was probably the reason I had a couple of high hits during the Rangemaster Pistol Match https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2024/04/10/tactical-conference-2024-pistol-match/.
I used a target that I found on the range. The hits covered with masking tape are mine. The ones with pasters are from the previous and unknown shooter. The two hits just below the neck line were the ones probably the result of hammering.
Since BOPS has four strings, I used the opportunity to tune up with several different loading devices. One was an HKS speedloader and the others were various tools from Zeta6 that I like. All the Zeta6 devices are modified with Retention Rings. I find the Retention Ring is a handy addition for getting the device out of my pocket.
It was a nice little tuneup. The day was nice and the results were satisfying.
Tactical Conference 2025
Some folks have said they go to the Tactical Conference because it sells out so quickly. Here’s the scoop for next year.
They’ll go quick so don’t delay.
Home Defense Pistol Skills
My latest Shooting Illustrated article is up.
“In the process of defending one’s home with a pistol, several additional skills beyond marksmanship are useful and necessary. In particular, the ability to move through the home while holding a handgun and techniques to inform the all-important DON’T SHOOT/SHOOT decision are critical.”
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/home-defense-pistol-skills
Flashlight skills at home are important enough that the flashlight chapter of Indoor Range Practice Sessions is a free download on my ebook store.
https://store.payloadz.com/go/?id=2505573
Tactical Conference 2024 – Loot and Looted
At every Conference, Seminar, or industry gathering, the attendees always return with items given away by Presenters and other attendees. TacCon 2024 was no exception; I call this ‘Loot’ and I returned with some good items.
Loot
Books
Good reading material courtesy of Chuck Haggard, my hostess for the weekend, Andy Stanford, and Greg Ellifritz.
Targets and Drills
At the end of Andy Stanford’s Practical Handgun Drills class, he gave us laminated copies of the Surefire targets and a double sided sheet of drills for using them.
Cool Stuff
Yet another doubloon from Andy Stanford was a Surefire Stiletto flashlight, given to all the trainers at the event. Retention Ring gave me a nice laminated card as an aid for adjusting pistol and rifle optics. A friend in the Air Marshal Service presented me with a cool pin and Chuck gave me a unique and apparently one off revolver inert gun.
Looted
Notice that there is no picture of the package of Narcan gifted to me by Greg Ellifritz. That’s because it was ‘liberated’ from my suitcase while in the custody of Frontier Airlines on the trip home. Whether a sticky fingered baggage handler got it or it was ‘seized’ without notice or an inspection tag by the TSA is unknown to me. Sunny Hostin might think the Total Eclipse disintegrated it while in the aircraft’s hold. When I opened the suitcase, I thought things were arranged a little differently. A bit later I realized that the Narcan had taken a walk.
That’s the last time I’ll ever fail to secure my suitcase with a TSA lock and a zip tie. I didn’t feel it was necessary this time because I didn’t have a pistol in my suitcase but it’s a lesson learned.
Many thanks to my friends for their generosity. Whether presenting or attending, there’s always interesting stuff given out at conferences. I’m looking forward to duplicating the Surefire targets and shooting Andy’s drills for them.
In Memoriam to all the heroes of the Miami Massacre, April 11, 1986. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_FBI_Miami_shootout
Tactical Conference 2024 Pistol Match
#wheelgunwednesday
I shot the match with my Taurus 856 snub.
Here’s a video short of the Pistol Match https://youtube.com/shorts/uFh9EogmeAY?feature=share
Course of fire
All strings were shot at turning targets in 4 seconds.
3 yards
- 6 shots from concealed holster (6/6)
5 yards
- 5 shots from concealed holster (5/11)
- 5 shots from concealed holster (5/16)
- 4 shots Primary Hand Only from Low Ready (4/20)
- 3 shots Support Hand Only from Low Ready (3/23)
7 yards
- 4 shots from concealed holster (4/27)
- 4 shots from concealed holster(4/31)
10 yards
- 2 shots from concealed holster (2/33)
- 2 shots from concealed holster (2/35)
5 yards
- 5 timed {3.53} face shots from Low Ready (5/40) These shot were scored with Comstock scoring.
This was my final target score. I pulled a few out of the circle but none below the belt or off the silhouette.
Rangemaster Tactical Conference 2024
TacCon 2024, as we call it, is now in the books. [link] It is an annual teaching and learning conference for those who are, or want to be, serious students of the Art of Self-Defense and Personal Protection. This is the fourth year it has been held at the Dallas Pistol Club, a marvelous facility.
The Conference is three days long. This year there were 42 trainers, who taught 69 different classes in 10 different ranges/classrooms. Topics ranged widely from shooting technique to unarmed combatives to medical procedures to using social media effectively and safely. Some classes are live fire, some are hands-on non-live fire, and some are lectures.
There is also a pistol match for those who choose to shoot it. The match is not mandatory and some attendees don’t shoot it. Not everyone who attends TacCon is a gun person, although most are. The Pistol Match consists of 40 rounds shot on turning silhouette targets at distances of 3 to 10 yards.
The presentation I gave was Off-Duty Shootouts of the LAPD. The basis for my presentation was the entirety of shootouts by LAPD officers, while they were off-duty, during the period 2005 to 2022, the last year full reporting has been published.
Since there are generally 10 classes going on at time, it’s impossible to attend them all. Some of the classes are repeated once or twice but the majority are not. Classes I was able to attend were:
Friday
Beware of… Well, Just Beware by Tom Givens
As my colleague Craig Douglas likes to ask “How do you do ‘Situational Awareness?’” Tom provided some answers to that question.
Civilian Defender Philosophy by Dr. Sherman House
The Art of Self-Defense and Personal Protection has many different facets, as represented by the wide variety of topics presented at TacCon. ‘The Real Dr. House’ presented his thoughts on how to prioritize and integrate them.
SATURDAY
Off-Duty Shootouts of the LAPD by Claude Werner, the Tactical Professor. To start the day off right, my presentation was one of the 8AM offerings.
Why study Off-Duty POlice Shootings? LAPD officers are encouraged to NOT take “enforcement action” while off-duty. Off-duty lethal force incidents involving LAPD officers are almost always Self-Defense/Personal Protection incidents much like those that could be encountered by Armed Private Citizens. They provide a thoroughly researched and documented database of shootings and the circumstances that led up to them.
Pistol Match
I finished about middle of the field. But since I shot a Taurus 856 snub revolver and speedloaders against a bunch of red dot equipped service sized autoloaders, I’m okay with that. POV video of the match will be up in a few days on my YouTube channel.
10 Tips for Teaching Gateway Students by Karl Rehn
It’s heartening to me to see how many high level instructors are thinking about best practices for teaching entry level gunowners and shooters. Karl’s wasn’t the only such presentation at the Conference but the only one I could attend.
During lunch, Andy Stanford from Surefire did a video interview with me about Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make and Guns That Get No Respect. When he publishes the edit, I’ll link it.
More about the Conference tomorrow
Improving Snub Sight Visibility, Again
#wheelgunwednesday
The new Lipsey’s 642 UC (Ultra Carry) is the latest hotness in the revolver community. Its single biggest feature is an upgraded set of sights on it. The sights are a worthy improvement.
Not everyone who owns one of the millions of snub revolvers out there is going to buy something new to get a better set of sights though. I’ve written previously about how to improve the sight visibility of a snub revolver. https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2019/07/10/getting-more-out-of-your-snubs-sights/
The bottom line is that if you can’t see the sights on your snub, you can’t use them.
Earlier this year, I purchased an Ameriglo tritium front sight for my Taurus 856. Although I had already painted the original front sight as outlined in the previous article, I wanted to try out the Ameriglo. Installing it was not difficult, only requiring a 1/16th inch pin punch. Some kind of bench block is helpful. The process is easier if the cylinder is removed so the gun lies flatter on the bench.
A word of warning; the screw that holds the yoke on the Taurus is not one piece assembly like a Smith & Wesson. There’s a small plunger and spring that fits inside the Taurus screw and is a separate assembly. It will come out when the screw is removed. Watch for it and don’t lose it, the screw will not hold the yoke in if the plunger assembly is lost.
The rear of the Ameriglo sight overhangs the barrel a bit and at first I thought that was a design flaw. Then I realized it’s actually very clever. The overhanging lip ensures that the hole for the roll pin holding the sight in place is always in the same spot. It works very well, the pin was easy to reinsert. A replacement pin is included with the sight but I reused the original.
When I took it to the range, I had an issue. While the sight is highly visible, bringing the whole orange area into the rear notch when sighting makes the gun shoot high. This is a common problem when folks paint the entire ramp of a revolver. The natural tendency is to bring the entire colored area visible in the rear notch. Inevitably, this means the top of the front sight is above the top of the rear notch and the gun will shoot high. As long as you’re just trying to hit the 8 ring of a B-27 at 3 yards, this doesn’t matter. However, if you’re trying to put a bullet in the face of the target at 5 yards or more, it becomes very problematic.
I had to consciously bring the top of the sight down into the notch for every shot. This reduced how much the high visibility of the sight contributed to my shooting. I was still able to make my par times but I was working at it.
To remedy this, I painted the lower part of the sight with white Appliance enamel. Fortunately, it was obvious that the tritium dot established the part needing white paint. I’m not concerned about the night sight, so I just painted over it. Masking the area I didn’t want paint on gave a good final result. The original sight with its paint is on the right.
When working on a snub’s sights, putting a large binder clip on the front of the frame will stabilize the revolver and position it properly so you can do your artistry. Put some tape or cloth around the frame if you are concerned about scratching it. Note also that the rear notch is blackened with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The system that inspired this method of painting sights is the Optical Landing System used by pilots landing on aircraft carriers. They learn to use the visual reference very quickly while landing and with some practice, using the sight paint on the front sight to achieve a good sight alignment becomes second nature too.
If I see the white, I know the sight is too high. If I don’t see the orange, I know to bring the front sight up. After doing it for a while, this becomes as instinctive as driving between the lines on the road, unless you drive a Honda Odyssey, in which case the lines probably aren’t important to you. 😊
I’ll find out how well this works at the 2024 Tactical Conference when I shoot the pistol match.
My ebooks about shooting and personal protection are available on Payloadz. https://store.payloadz.com/results/337896-tactical-professor
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – February 2024
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is an iconic movie in American cinema and arguably the best of the ‘Spaghetti Westerns.’ Rather than my usual boring rants about Serious Mistakes, Negative Outcomes, http://seriousgunownermistakes.net and excruciatingly detailed analyses of Armed Citizen incidents, I’m creating a short collection of a Good, Bad, and Ugly incident each month. Here’s the February 2024 issue.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/good-bad-and-99377217
My Patrons get first look at it on the last day of each month. The following month I unlock the Patreon post on the last Monday and link it here for my blog Followers. Today’s the day to unlock the February 2024 edition.
My hope is that it will be both educational and entertaining. The movie soundtrack is outstanding so a snippet from the soundtrack is part of each month’s post also.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – February 2024
The Good
RCSD: Fatal Columbia shooting determined to be self-defense
The Bad
Man arrested by police after TSA stops him with loaded gun at Pittsburgh International Airport
The Ugly
Two Men Charged with Murder in Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Parade Shooting
Enjoy!
The GBU isn’t drawn from The Armed Citizen column of the official NRA Journals but the February edition of The Armed Citizen is attached. Rather than an obsessive interest in ‘the worst case scenario,’ it shows what the vast majority of Defensive Gun Uses really look like.
NYC Subway Monkey Dancing
#fridayfundamentals
Today’s post is not about shooting technique, it’s about avoiding being an idiot. I’m writing a series of Patreon posts about the incident but Idiot Avoidance is the bottom line.
By now, probably everyone in America has heard about the shooting that occurred last week on a New York subway train. The full video is available on ABC 7’s video – Brooklyn subway shooting: the full video https://abc7ny.com/videoClip/nyc-subway-shooting-brooklyn-man-shot-on-train/14527921/
The most important lesson of the entire incident is not about weapons’ usage or unarmed combat or weapon disarms. The important lesson is to avoid ‘Monkey Dancing.’ Rory Miller coined this term years ago and it’s important.
“The term Monkey Dance was coined in the book “Meditations on Violence” to describe the human dominance ritual. It’s a deliberately ridiculous name for a ridiculous pattern of behavior.“
Rory Miller
Before the would-be shooter, who ended up being the shootee, began to access his weapon there were three and a half minutes of Monkey Dancing. It’s also worth noting that accessing his pistol took him 14 seconds because he had it in a zippered pocket of his jacket. He had taken off the jacket in preparation for the Monkey Dance, so it was off-body carry at that point.
It’s also worth noting that with two exceptions, the crowd watched and enjoyed the spectacle for four minutes. They only became unnerved by the introduction of a gun. Then, they began to panic and scream. “Let me out!”
The two exceptions were the woman in the face diaper behind the Black man and another man who took a big chance and stepped in to create a break. The woman, although not involved up to that point, immediately stabbed the Black man in the back several time when he began his Ground and Pound. It only took her a couple of seconds to get started so she must have had her knife in hand ready to go.
Monkey dancing is stupid and irrational. Don’t do it.
tacticalprofessor 
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