Failure Drill?
A friend of mine sent me a link to the Maine [POlice] “Plain Clothes Course of Fire” Pistol Qualification.
https://www.maine.gov/dps/themes/dps/mcja/documents/PlainClothesPistolQualificationCourse2019.doc
As with many current POlice Qualifications, it includes a “Failure Drill = (2 to the chest and 1 to the head),” in this Course three times. The terminology evolved from what was originally called the “Mozambique Drill.” https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2017/5/18/the-mozambique-drill-a-history-and-how-to/
Consider the “Failure Drill” as it’s currently taught and evaluated. It has been bastardized the same way the “OODA Loop” has been. The drill isn’t actually structured to deal with a Failure. The concept of Failure requires an assessment of the efficacy of the original effort. Assessing the target’s reaction or lack thereof to the first two shots was an explicit part of the drill as originally taught by LAPD Officers Larry Mudgett and John Helms.
When the structure of the drill is such that the transition from the two chest shots to the head is immediate and pre-programmed, no assessment is involved. Rather such a drill is structured to ensure the recipient is killed from the get go. It should be called the “Anchor Drill” or “Kill Drill.” That’s not to say there might not be a justifiable reason to anchor the adversary. However, let’s not have any illusions about what the object of the exercise is and call it something it’s not.
Improvised Weapons Found
This video shows various improvised weapons I have found over the past year on my daily walk. Don’t assume vagrants are unarmed or harmless. As my colleague Chuck Haggard commented:
Every single “homeless” person I’ve ever arrested or had to pat down was carrying a knife, or knives. At minimum.
Someone who completely missed the point, no pun intended, was this YouTube common tater.
Or or [sic] just maybe Cary a knife / a gun if you are that worried you need a weapon and not use some random rusty screwdriver that probably won’t do shit
The slender 4″ shaft can easily penetrate a ribcage. While a pneumothorax https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pneumothorax/symptoms-causes/syc-20350367 is not an instantly fatal wound, it can definitely become one if not treated promptly.
Just because someone is a disgraceful vagabond doesn’t mean they can’t do something to you. You never know what will set them off.
They are not you.
–the late William T. Aprill
And what they do might involve more than just a cream pie.
How Do I Choose Which Carry Gun?
One of my Patrons https://www.patreon.com/TacticalProfessor?fan_landing=true&view_as=public sent me the following message. With his permission, I’m going to answer it for a broad audience.
My question for you is how do you decide which gun you carry most often. … I know from following you over the years that you carry various pistols and revolvers from time to time. I’m just curious how you decide which gun you carry most often.
That’s a pertinent and insightful question.
The short answer is that I don’t change guns very often. My EDC handguns all are sufficient to deal with what I consider my most likely threat profile. Because that’s so, I don’t feel the need to scale my armament up and down.
I will change my gun to fit different mission profiles. As a professional trainer, my mission profile is based on what I’m teaching not a varying threat profile. For instance, when I was working on my LCP Project, I carried an LCP for almost a year. When I began the Snub Nose Revolvers – Hands-on Shooting program on Patreon, I switched back to carrying a J frame. During the program, I would occasionally alternate between a S&W 317 and Taurus 856 to evaluate their differences, but that was about all.
When I end the Snub Nose Revolvers program at the end of this year, I will start the Subcompact Pistols – Hands-on Shooting program. For that program, I’ll switch from a J Frame to a Glock 42 that Glock sent me for evaluation in the program. The LCP will also go back into service as another example of subcompacts.
Handguns have different triggers, index onto the target at different points, and even draw differently. The difference between where the Glock 42 indexes onto the face of a target vis-à-vis the 317 is quite noticeable. Obviously, the triggers are different, even with the NY1 trigger spring I installed in the 42.
For simplicity sake, I prefer to stay with the same system day to day. When I do change, I do an hour’s worth of dry practice before venturing out with a new carry piece. How I can make the gun perform is much more important to me than aspects of caliber and ‘firepower.’ It’s just a handgun, folks. As John Farnam says, in the end they’re all just pathetic popguns. I’m a firm believer that “It’s the ‘finest light cavalryman in the world,’ not the arrow,” even when one arrow isn’t quite as pointy as the other.
Chasing Criminals -Serious Mistake
This past Sunday a man decided to commit an armed robbery of clerk working in a California convenience store. When the robber fled with the stolen goods, the clerk retrieved his own gun and pursued, firing at the fleeing robber. The robber then used his own gun to shoot and kill the clerk.
Branca – Law of Self Defense
Both tactically and legally, this is a problem. Although it usually doesn’t result in getting killed, I have numerous incidents in my database where the victim was then charged with a crime for various aspects of the pursuit. Like it or not, it is what it is.
Many were surprised when Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton then decided that she would not press a murder charge against the armed robber, on the grounds that the robber was acting in lawful self-defense when he killed the clerk.
Branca – LOSD
I’ll let Andrew comment on the idiosyncrasies of the decision but this would be the ultimate indignity to me personally. My sympathies to the victim’s family.
AAR – Reactionary Zones
#mindsetmonday
I recently had the opportunity to attend REACTIONARY ZONES, a 3 Hour Online Session with Shelley Hill. This is an online class conducted via Zoom. This is my After Action Review of the class.
http://www.thecompletecombatant.com/online-reactionary-zones.html
One of the glaring holes in Personal Protection training is accessible training that goes beyond the gun itself. While there are various Force on Force exercises available, some good and some not so much, they still require travel to a training site, involve a significant time commitment, cost more than most people want to pay, and are intimidating to those new to the concept of training. Reactionary Zones is designed to address these issues.
As the saying goes, this class can be taken “in the comfort of your own home.” The cost is nominal ($39.95) for a highly interactive experience. Images are heavily used in the class as training props to introduce the clients to the idea that situations will require some degree of reaction for a successful outcome. Images are a part of the class but the emphasis is more on understanding timing aspects of Personal Protection.
A major benefit of the class is that it introduces the concept of spatial relationships and time requirements into Personal Protection thinking. This can be a difficult aspect of self-defense for many people, not just beginners, to grasp in a concrete manner.
Shelley has a very interactive style in the class despite it being Zoom based. It is definitely NOT a boring Zoom lecture. She engages the clients, poses a progression of situations, and requires the clients to learn problem solving. It was obvious a lot of learning was going on by those who attended. This is a thinking and reacting class not just note taking.
For those who are just beginning the journey into understanding Personal Protection concepts, whether armed or not, this is a great starting point. Even for experienced practitioners, there’s a good deal to be learned in the class.
FTC disclaimer: I had significant input into the content of this course. Shelley is a good friend of mine and invited me to take the course gratis. However, I receive no compensation for this review nor commission for anyone who signs up because of my review.
Shooting in the leg
Investigators say Marquez claimed the shooting was self-defense and that he only intended to shoot his brother in the leg after his brother assaulted him during a fight. Instead, Marquez shot his brother in the stomach.
Bad decision. The brother died.
Marquez was arrested and booked into jail. He is accused of multiple charges, including second-degree murder.
This was a Serious Mistake that resulted in a Negative Outcome. To purchase my book about Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make, click the link below.
https://store.payloadz.com/details/2617872-ebooks-true-crime-serious-mistakes-gunowners-make.html
Decision and Determination
“The document details how [Michaela aka Micky] Shunick fought back against her attacker by spraying him with Mace, stabbing him several times and fighting relentlessly until he ultimately shot her in the head.”
ABC News
Synopsis of the incident
- The Culprit intentionally hit Shunick’s bicycle
- Insisted that she enter his truck
- He put her bike in the bed of his truck
- The Culprit was in possession of a knife and a semi-automatic handgun
- When Shunick attempted to grab her cellphone to call for help, the Culprit threatened her with his knife
- She sprayed Mace [or some other chemical weapon] into the Defendant’s face
- Micky fought off the Defendant who succeeded in wrestling the chemical weapon from her
- She grabbed the Defendant’s knife and proceeded to stab the Defendant several times in what would later be called life threatening wounds
- The Culprit tried to grab the knife from Shunick, which caused him to cut tendons in his hands
- Micky struggled with the much larger and stronger Culprit
- He succeeded in taking the knife from her
- The Culprit then stabbed her at least 4 times and she fell over
- Micky lay motionless and the Culprit was unable to detect a pulse
- The Culprit then drove her motionless body to a secluded area 40 minutes away
- He planned to dump her body there
“Suddenly, Micky jumped up [after having been initially rendered unconscious], with the Defendant’s knife she had regained possession of and lunged at the Defendant stabbing him again in the chest, the court document said The Defendant pulled his semi-automatic handgun, which he had armed himself with, and shot Micky in the head, killing her instantly.”
That was one tough and courageous woman. She decided to make the crime as hard as possible for the Culprit. She had the determination to fight as long as she could, even after initially being rendered unconscious. I give her a lot of credit. We can all learn something from her example.
The Culprit pleaded guilty to her murder and to the 1999 murder of another woman, Lisa Pate. He was sentenced to life in prison, where he has proven to be a less than model prisoner. https://www.katc.com/news/around-acadiana/2018/10/25/convicted-murder-brandon-scott-lavergne-disciplined-often-in-jail/
Don’t Get Tied Up
“When they get the duct tape [or zip ties] out, it’s time to make your move, ready or not.”
The Most Dangerous Man in the World
A tragic story from California. An entire family kidnapped and murdered. Even their 8 month old baby was not spared.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/worst-fears-kidnapped-baby-parents-uncle-found-dead-91088353
“Surveillance video showed the suspect — later identified as Salgado — leading the Singh brothers, who had their hands zip-tied behind their backs, into the back seat of Amandeep Singh’s pickup truck. He drove the brothers away and returned several minutes later.”
Back in the 1980’s, Evan Marshall, a now retired DEEtroit POlice sergeant, laid out his plan if he got caught up in a store robbery while off-duty.
“As long as all they’re doing is taking money from the register, I’m going to act like a CPA from Akron and be a good witness. But if they start searching people, making customers get on the ground, or herding people into a back room, my wife knows to get away from me because I’m going to start shooting.”
While I know of a few incidents where a kidnappee didn’t come to physical harm, they’re few and far between. When a criminal intends to tie you up, they’re not after stuff, they’re after YOU. Nothing good is likely to come of that. Whether you’re armed or not, it’s time to start fighting. Even if you get killed in the process, the chances your baby won’t be left outside to die of exposure become much better.
Have that decision made ahead of time and act on it without hesitation if the need arises.
RIP Singh family.
Some things take time
I’ve always accepted that some things take time. In some cases, ideas are like time bombs and take a while to go off.
Many many people, not just gun people either, would greatly benefit from it.
An outline of the principles, called Dale Carnegie’s Secrets of Success, is available as a free download. I have a hard copy and refer to it regularly.
https://www.dalecarnegie.com/en/resources/dale-carnegies-secrets-of-success?
I receive no commission or other remuneration from recommending it, it’s just a wonderful resource for me that I like to share.
Gun Training from Friends and Relatives
This is a good example of why “My uncle is a veteran and he taught me to shoot” isn’t the hot ticket.
Watching the video in slow motion and looking at the track of the hits, it’s fairly clear that every hit on the roof and back of his car was created by the homeowner. Negative Outcome. There’s a hit on the side glass that probably came from the criminals and started it all.
This story was sent to me by a friend from the original tip on Gun Free Zone https://gunfreezone.net/thats-a-lot-of-dumb-luck-and-spent-brass/. I agree with this commentary.
He is very lucky to have survived and to have not been charged with a crime for filling a neighborhood with bullets.
Suppressive fire has its place in a combat zone but not in your own neighborhood.
tacticalprofessor 
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