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
Dry Practice Safety – Part II
#fridayfundamentals
The LAPD Categorical Use Of Force report about the UD of a snub revolver https://lapdonlinestrgeacc.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/lapdonlinemedia/2021/12/040-19-PR-NTUD.pdf generated a fair amount of interest. Here’s a follow-on idea.
These three Lessons To Be Learned From The Incident were mentioned last time.
- While we sometimes have to perform administrative functions with our guns, those administrative actions should mimic our actual handling and firing procedures, whenever possible. In this case, ejecting the rounds straight down as if getting ready to reload would be a better procedure.
- Count the rounds when they come out of the revolver. You should be aware how many chambers your revolver has. Five chambers but only four rounds indicates a problem. Note that a nickel plated single round in the cylinder of a stainless or anodized revolver is not necessarily immediately obvious. By counting the rounds and then carefully examining the cylinder, the chances of a round remaining in a chamber is mitigated.
- Dummy ammunition not only protects the firing pin, hammer nose, or striker of a handgun during dry practice, it also provides an additional layer of safety during the practice session. If a visually identifiable dummy is in the chamber(s), then a live round cannot be. This is also physics. Dummies are available from A-Zoom and ST Action Pro. They can be found on Amazon or better gun stores.
Keeping a speedloader filled with dummy rounds accessible allows you to accomplish all three of these tasks. You could do the same thing with a Speed Strip, pouch, or loops.
- Put your speedloader where you might carry it. If you don’t habitually carry a speedloader for your reload, just put it in your pocket.
- Eject the live rounds from your revolver on the ground.
- Reload with the dummies using the speedloader.
- Holster your revolver.
- Put the live rounds in the speedloader and secure it with your other live ammunition.
- Go to your dry practice area, which is a place where there is no live ammunition.
- When you have finished your dry practice, put your revolver away without reloading it.
- Do something else to remove dry practice from your thoughts.
- When dry practice is distant from your thoughts, reverse the reloading process and reload your revolver with the live ammunition. Replace the dummy rounds in the speedloader. This gives you a reminder that your revolver is now loaded with live ammunition.
- Put your revolver away or immediately exit your home to preclude the last repetition that makes a loud noise.
Using this procedure helps protect you, your gun, and gets in two good reloading repetitions.
Tactical Professor books are NOT FREE but if you would be interested in knowing how to better operate the firearms you own during the American Insurgency, they can be purchased from 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.
Question from a Patron
One of my Patrons https://www.patreon.com/TacticalProfessor sent me the following message:
I have been reading online ‘experts’ who say that with riots and increased numbers of unemployed, that the day of the lone attacker is over, and that concealed carriers need the additional ammo and quick reload capabilities of modern semi-auto pistols, to handle multiple attackers. According to these ‘wise’ folks, the day of the concealed revolver or low capacity pistol is past.
What are your thoughts? Is this paranoia, or an evolution of threat?
Here’s what I think.
It’s both. They’re right that there is some elevated risk of attack if you go to ‘stupid places where stupid people are doing stupid things.’ However, if you look at the FBI figures about the overall volume of crime v. the number of people who become casualties at mass gatherings, the percentage of casualties at mass gathering is infinitesimal.
The logic is skewed in a similar fashion to the way BLM logic is skewed. Just because we hear about a questionable incident doesn’t mean the other 999 don’t represent the reality of the big picture. For instance, the FBI reported in 2017 there were an estimated 810,825 aggravated assaults in the nation. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017/topic-pages/aggravated-assault As best I can tell, those are all the same kind of attacker situation (1 or 2) that has existed since the FBI started gathering statistics. The big picture hasn’t really changed, only what some people are looking for in it has. We’re all victims of selective perception at times.
I’m familiar with the comment “No one wants to be a statistical anomaly.” I’m also familiar with Tom Givens’ observation that the only students of his who have lost their fights were because of forfeits, i.e., they were unarmed. Let’s face a reality that every Infantryman knows all too well, ammunition is heavy and uncomfortable to carry. Periodically, I hear the quip “no one in a gunfight says they brought too much ammunition.” My response to that is that a lot of people who are attacked think “I wish I’d brought my gun.”
It seems like periodically we have to relearn the lesson that the pocket pistol on you is more useful than the service pistol left in your safe. With respect to one of my colleagues, the concept “It should be comforting not comfortable” is probably the most foolish and out of touch saying that has ever been uttered in the training community.
Thanks to my Patron for asking a good question.
Links to my ebooks are at the top of the page as TACTICAL PROFESSOR BOOKS.
TSA redefines rules for flying with firearms
A heads up for those traveling by air with firearms. This new requirement has not been published on the Transportation Theater Agency’s website, however there are multiple reports that it has now gone into effect nationwide and is not airline specific. TSA agents have a paper copy of a new policy dated 7/21/2020 being used as the enforcement rules.
Synopsis of the new rule is that handguns must be secured in a locked hard sided case INSIDE a larger piece of luggage. For instance, having handguns secured in a Pelican case alone will no longer be sufficient. John Farnam’s post gives more details.
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
FREE gun books
Many basic aspects of rifle marksmanship are a completely mystery to new gun owners and often long time owners. While not all the information in FM 3.22-9 is applicable to civilians, there’s a lot that’s worthwhile. If nothing else, read the sections about Trajectory (exterior ballistics) and Zeroing Procedures. People who have only worked with handguns and not rifles probably don’t have any notion of how important those things are when shooting a rifle. The truth is that many soldiers and veterans don’t understand them either.
There are a bewildering array of handguns and techniques out there. A decent reference is:
Since these are FREE, at least for now, there’s no excuse for not upping your knowledge about your weapon and how to use it.
You might even be interested in putting your new found knowledge to use by shooting the drills in my books. They’re written specifically to take you from the theoretical to the practical.
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
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