Downrange drill target
My only question is whether you might have an alternate suggestion for target set up comparable to the one in this post and the one before. I shoot at two restrictive ranges without the ability to shoot targets spaced as indicated in your diagram.
Almost all indoor ranges are restrictive that way. There are still things you can do even if you can’t accomplish everything you’d like.
This is a target from my upcoming Dry Practice book you can print on letter size paper.
Downrange drill target
Tape it to the head of a silhouette target. It is anatomically sized correctly by using the ocular distance indicated by the line with arrows on the male mugshot of Dennis Rader, the notorious BTK Killer. https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/dennis-rader The dashed circle is sized to four inches in diameter. The pretty lady is a mug shot too, unfortunately, but she serves the purpose of occupying the place of a NO SHOOT.
Place the target at 10 feet, which is the mid-point of the far phase of Social Space in Proxemics. The object of the drill is to place one round in the circle as rapidly as you can. Do it five times in a row. If you hit the lady, you’ve shot a loved one; consider that in your evaluation of your abilities. As Dirty Harry said, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”
Even if you don’t have a lot of flexibility at your practice range, there are still things you can do to up your game.
Tactical Professor books (all PDF) (not Free)
- Real Shootouts of the LAPD http://realshootoutsofthelapd.com
- Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make http://seriousgunownermistakes.com
- Indoor Range Practice Sessions http://indoorrangepracticesessions.com
- Concealed Carry Skills and Drills http://concealedcarryskillsanddrills.com
- Advanced Pistol Practice http://bit.ly/advancedpistolpractice
- Shooting Your Black Rifle http://shootingyourblackrifle.com
- Package deal of Serious Mistakes, Indoor Sessions, Concealed Carry, and Shooting Your Black Rifle (20% off) https://store.payloadz.com/details/2644448-ebooks-sports-shooting-drills-package.html
Why we practice marksmanship – number 2
Investigators say Mills walked into the bathroom where the female homeowner was showering. She screamed and her husband ran in to confront Mills. Police say Mills had a knife and stabbed the husband in the face and stomach before running from the home.
A downrange drill including standoff.
Once again, we’re more likely to need to do a close range precision shot on a predator than a 25 head shot on a terrorist. Let’s use ‘hit a 4 inch circle at 10 feet’ as a definition of ‘close range precision shot.’ That’s the standard to pass the NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting course. Just like BOPS, our standard should be 100% hits for a five shot string.
Why we practice marksmanship
Man shot multiple times while trying to steal couple’s SUV at gas station
“The suspect walked away from his truck and toward a couple that was at a gas pump with their SUV, investigators said. Officers said the suspect then entered the driver’s seat of the SUV while a woman was in the passenger seat.
At some point, police said the man saw the suspect inside of the SUV. He then fired at the suspect sitting in the driver’s seat, striking him multiple times, investigators said.”
Note the position of the bullet holes in the windshield.
Hopefully, the wife exited the vehicle before the shooting started. If not, that was a scary downrange drill, i.e., friendlies or non-threats somewhere downrange between the defender and the criminal. Scary for both the shooter and the downrange friendly. Consider the position of the shooter when the shots were fired.
Armed Citizens are far less likely to have to make a 25 yard headshot on a terrorist than we are to need to make a close range precision shot with no-shoots downrange. It’s something that very few gunowners practice but ought to. In this situation, the hit ratio needs to be 100%, not 70% or 20%.
Even during the Beer Plague, we’re often out of our homes with our loved ones and there’s no guarantee that they will be behind us when trouble starts.
Tactical Professor books (all PDF) (not Free)
- Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make http://seriousgunownermistakes.com
- Indoor Range Practice Sessions http://indoorrangepracticesessions.com
- Concealed Carry Skills and Drills http://concealedcarryskillsanddrills.com
- Advanced Pistol Practice http://bit.ly/advancedpistolpractice
- Shooting Your Black Rifle http://shootingyourblackrifle.com
- Package deal of Serious Mistakes, Indoor Sessions, Concealed Carry, and Shooting Your Black Rifle (20% off) https://store.payloadz.com/details/2644448-ebooks-sports-shooting-drills-package.html
Helping or hurting your case
The justifiability of this shooting will be determined in the courtroom. However, it’s fairly safe to say that not reporting a shooting/killing to the POlice and subsequently tampering with evidence, i.e., throwing the spent shell casings in the dumpster and concealing the revolver, is unlikely to help your case.
Win, Lose, or Draw; the cost of this killing will be high, both psychologically and financially.
Also, the optics of two shots to the back of the head are not good.
Tactical Professor books (all PDF) (not Free)
- Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make http://seriousgunownermistakes.com
- Indoor Range Practice Sessions http://indoorrangepracticesessions.com
- Concealed Carry Skills and Drills http://concealedcarryskillsanddrills.com
- Advanced Pistol Practice http://bit.ly/advancedpistolpractice
- Shooting Your Black Rifle http://shootingyourblackrifle.com
- Package deal of Serious Mistakes, Indoor Range Sessions, Concealed Carry, and Shooting Your Black Rifle (20% off) https://store.payloadz.com/details/2644448-ebooks-sports-shooting-drills-package.html
Another off body carry incident, with a twist
The incident occurred in September of 2016. The shooter was convicted of Aggravated Battery with a Firearm at a bench trial in November of 2017. This month, the Appellate Court reversed his conviction. He’s been in prison ever since his arrest.
Bottom Line Up Front:
A woman invites a man she’s never met in person over for sex. While they are in the midst of the act, her boyfriend shows up. The naked man grabs his pistol from under the bed and shoots the boyfriend because the man feels threatened. He is eventually arrested, tried, convicted, and sent to prison. Four years later, his conviction is reversed on appeal.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ROBERT D. WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant.
https://courts.illinois.gov/R23_Orders/AppellateCourt/2020/3rdDistrict/3180189_R23.pdf
Although the case has some lurid traits, it’s also very interesting from both the legal and tactical perspectives. I’m summarizing it on my Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/TacticalProfessor but the Appellate ruling provides a lot of detail you can read for yourself.
As always, should you or your loved ones be interested in learning to use your equipment better during the American Insurgency, my books are available at the menu at the top of the page.
Off Body Carry Incident
Parks, a legal gun owner, said he took a handgun out of his glove box and got out of his car, keeping the gun at his side.
Self-defense: No charges after fatal shooting in Kroger parking lot that left school protection officer dead
I’m not much in favor of keeping guns in glove boxes, door pockets, etc. but the idea that doing so will certainly lead to your demise is not true either. Many, many incidents have a build up to them, perhaps more than don’t.
Parks then shot Martin twice and called 911.
Note also that the defender fired two shots from his handgun and did not, in fact, need to fire two full magazines of ammunition to kill his attacker.
Tactical Professor books are NOT FREE but if you would be interested in knowing how to operate the firearms you own during the American Insurgency, they can be purchased from the menu at the top of the page.
Control your emotions
A Serious Mistake that will undoubtedly lead to a Negative Outcome.
Publix shopper allegedly shot another in the foot during confrontation, police say
As a friend of mine likes to say:
When you carry a gun, you give up the right to defend your honor.
She is being charged with Aggravated Assault with a Firearm on the first victim and Attempted Murder on the second.
She probably had not read my book Serious Mistakes and Negative Outcomes, which is available on the top of the page in Tactical Professor Books, along with my other books.
Revolver Operator Course – The Pence Drill
We had a very successful Revolver Operator Course this past weekend. One of the two keystone drills of the course is the Pence Drill, named in honor of Officer Skip Pence of the California Highway Patrol. Officer Pence was murdered in the Newhall Incident in 1970. Historical gunfights can be the basis for an important part of training classes. Officer Pence’s sacrifice is uniquely appropriate for inclusion in a class about running the wheelgun.
The Learning Objectives of the Pence Drill are smooth trigger manipulation, calm ammo management, and effective Time Management under fire.
RIP Officer Skip Pence
Tactical Professor books (all PDF) (not Free)
- Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make http://seriousgunownermistakes.com
- Indoor Range Practice Sessions http://indoorrangepracticesessions.com
- Concealed Carry Skills and Drills http://concealedcarryskillsanddrills.com
- Advanced Pistol Practice http://bit.ly/advancedpistolpractice
- Shooting Your Black Rifle http://shootingyourblackrifle.com
- Package deal of Serious Mistakes, Indoor Sessions, Concealed Carry, and Shooting Your Black Rifle (20% off) https://store.payloadz.com/details/2644448-ebooks-sports-shooting-drills-package.html
Things you should know about body armor
I have body armor and am a firm believer in keeping it close. Since I’m not an expert, here’s better information than I could provide.
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/seven-things-you-dont-know-about-body-armor
You won’t be able to fire that ammo or eat all that stored food if you get shot and die because you didn’t have body armor.
The package deal for my books is still going. The package is available as an immediate download of all four ebooks at this link:
https://store.payloadz.com/details/2644448-ebooks-sports-shooting-drills-package.html
Know The Rules
#fridayfundamentals
Along with learning gun safety principles and procedures, new gunowners should begin to acquire an understanding of the Rules pertinent to defensive use of firearms. Periodically, long time gunowners should also review them. This is especially true for those who have programmed their Orient Phase with platitudes such as “Better tried by 12 than carried by six, I’ll shoot anyone I find in my home, Don’t draw your gun unless you’re going to shoot,” ad nauseum.
There are two good initial sources for this review. The first is the legal statutes for using Force and Deadly Force of your State. For instance, in the State of Georgia the use of Force and Deadly Force is covered by OCGA 16-3-21, https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2010/title-16/chapter-3/article-2/16-3-21, OCGA 16-3-23, and OCGA 16-3-24.
The Statute(s) for every State are available online with a little searching. Some States’ laws are relatively easy to read. Others are confusing tangles of legal gobbledygook. If reading your particular State’s law makes your head hurt, think about what it would be like trying to justify your actions in a criminal court using that miasma.
Keep in mind that there is a significant legal difference between Force and Deadly Force. Discharging a firearm intentionally at another person is a use of Deadly Force, even if the other person isn’t injured. The legal justification for using Deadly Force is very high in every State. Displaying a firearm MAY be a use of [non-deadly] Force in your State or it MAY be a serious felony, such as Aggravated Assault.
The second source is the pamphlet What Every Gun Owner Needs to Know About Self-Defense Law. https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/learn/what-every-gun-owner-needs-to-know It is a general document based on the Model Penal Code that gives an overview of what the process can be like but does not go into the specifics of State laws because they vary so much. The Network will send a free hard copy upon request and a PDF is available at the link.
Normalcy note
I sat on the deck while having my morning coffee today. There were lots of birds out and I like watching them and listening to their calls. A group of three Cardinals flew into a small tree just beyond the deck. At first, I thought one of them was a Sparrow because its plumage wasn’t very colorful but in a little bit it came into better view. The bird had the distinctively colored beak of a Cardinal along with the crest on the head. It must have been immature, although it seemed to be bigger than the two brightly colored one. I’ll have to research the species a little more.
Dale Carnegie note
Please stop berating those who have recently bought guns in a panic, those who don’t have many everyday staples on hand, or who rushed out to buy 27 years’ worth of toilet paper. Doing so is a variation of the psychological game “I told you so.” https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1177/036215377600600306?journalCode=rtaj20
It’s nicer to keep in mind Dale Carnegie’s number One principle from The Golden Book summation of How to Win Friends and Influence People.
Become a Friendlier Person
Don’t criticize, condemn[,] or complain.
Tactical Professor books (all PDF)
Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make http://seriousgunownermistakes.com
Indoor Range Practice Sessions http://indoorrangepracticesessions.com
Concealed Carry Skills and Drills http://concealedcarryskillsanddrills.com
Advanced Pistol Practice http://bit.ly/advancedpistolpractice
Shooting Your Black Rifle http://shootingyourblackrifle.com
Fair Disclaimers:
- I am a member of the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network and a local affiliate trainer. However, I receive no compensation for providing the link to it.
- I am NOT a lawyer and nothing in this post constitutes legal advice.
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