Tactical Tip of the Day
If you go into a Wings takeout joint and a guy has a gun with an extendo tucked in his belt, leave immediately.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Disturbing surveillance video shows the moments two men started shooting at each other at a DeKalb County wings restaurant, all over a few dollars.
Deep Dive Into California
Doing more research for my Shooting Illustrated series about using CCW Qualification Courses as training structures led to exploring the California Qualification Courses. California has an unusual system in that the State mandates the requirements for the issue of a Concealed Carry License but the Licenses are issued by County Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police. The requirement for live fire is specified in California law but the actual Course of Fire is delegated to the issuing authority.
“SECTION 1. Section 26165 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
(b) A licensing authority shall establish, and make available to the public, the standards it uses when issuing licenses with regards to the required live-fire shooting exercises, including, but not limited to, a minimum number of rounds to be fired and minimum passing scores from specified firing distances.”
As a result, there is a wide variety of “live fire shooting exercises” among the issuing authorities in California. In some cases, the requirement is a relatively simple untimed Qualification Course of 10 to 18 rounds. In other locations, a long, elaborate, and difficult to administer scheme is perpetrated to make the process and qualification very difficult. A few Sheriffs require their Course to be shot twice, once for ‘practice’ and once for qualification.
Some are clearly designed to be five shot revolver friendly, others not so much. Without a shadow of a doubt, having to shoot 50 rounds through a J Frame for practice and then another 50 rounds for qualification in a three hour period is not conducive to good shooting. When the Course of Fire includes a timed requirement at 15 yards and the target is the 7 ring of a B-27, it’s even more difficult. That’s not setting applicants for success.
The most interesting thing I found related to the fact that any weapon carried has to be listed on the License and qualified with. The issuing authority determines what is an acceptable weapon. The Contra Costa County Sheriff has a long list of unacceptable weapons with some surprising inclusions.
- Prohibited firearms include any single action only firearms. This includes any semi-automatic handgun made by any manufacturer built on the Colt 1911 configuration.
- Firearms with attached laser sights, flashlights, red dots, and sighting systems [???] are not acceptable.
- Firearms which have been modified, including modifications to triggers, slides, safety mechanisms, conversions, and magazine releases are not approved.
- Any modifications to firearms after issuance of a permit may result in revocation.
- Glow in the dark or luminescent sights are acceptable. (That’s generous).
- Acceptable firearms include revolvers or semi-automatics with a caliber of not less than .32 or greater than .45. So you recoil sensitive folks who have a hard time shooting the qualification with a centerfire handgun are out of luck.
- Weapons will be inspected for suitability by an Office of the Sheriff Range Master at the time of qualification.
The Course I like best is San Diego County’s. It’s clearly designed to be workable with a J Frame.
- 3 yards: three rounds strong hand, two rounds support hand
- 5 yards: five rounds two hands
- 7 yards: five rounds two hands
Unfortunately, San Diego County does not comply with Penal Code § 26165, subd. (b).) and make available to the public “the minimum number of rounds to be fired and minimum passing scores from specified firing distances.” However, the structure is readily available from secondary sources. Passing is either 12 or 13 hits out of 15 shots; sources vary.
The one I find the most obnoxious is the course used by Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff, Orange County Sheriff, San Jose Police Department, and Santa Monica Police Department. Not because it’s the hardest because it’s not. Their Course is shot at 3, 5, and 7 yards like San Diego’s. It’s also untimed like San Diego’s. But the requirement is to shoot 24 rounds at each distance. What is the point of shooting 24 rounds at 3 yards? That’s only to make it fatiguing, more expensive, and annoying.
Although many thought that the Bruen decision https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/new-york-state-rifle-pistol-association-inc-v-bruen/ was going to make things better in California, it’s not clear that the situation has improved. This notice appears on the Alameda County Sheriff’s CCW webpage. “NOTICE: As implemented by SB2, psychological service fee has increased to $400, effective immediately.” That’s just the cost to get a shrink to write that you’re not a wacko. All the other fees are on top of that.
I feel for our brothers and sisters in California. It used to be a pretty nice place to live but no more.
Here are my Shooting Illustrated articles.
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/organizing-your-shooting-practice/
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/shooting-practice-for-a-criminal-encounter/
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/three-shots-in-three-seconds/
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/home-defense-pistol-skills/
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/tightening-your-accuracy-and-performance-standards/
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/practicing-precision-and-transitions/
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – April 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 April 2024 issue.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/good-bad-and-103337883
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. I observed Memorial Day, so today’s the day to unlock the April 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 – April 2024
The Good
85-year-old Idaho woman who killed intruder committed ‘heroic act of self-preservation’
The Bad
Fayetteville man struck and killed while attempting to stop carjacker in Lumberton
The Ugly
It’s hard to know where to start on the Ugly for this month. It was an unbelievable month. Chronologically, they run like this.
Customer pulls gun on Burger King employee for giving him a discount
Las Vegas lawyer and wife killed amid custody fight for children from prior marriage, family says
Katy man charged with shooting at neighbor speaks with ABC13
CPL holder claims self defense in Kroger incident that led to felony assault charge in Oakland County
Enjoy!
The GBU isn’t drawn from The Armed Citizen column of the official NRA Journals but the April 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.
Tightening Your Accuracy and Performance Standards
My latest Shooting Illustrated article is up.
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/tightening-your-accuracy-and-performance-standards
The New Mexico Competency Demonstration was the final exercise in my Revolver Operator Course. Those who had snubs were encouraged to shoot it with their little guns. Shooters can put variations in it to make it even more relevant for Personal Protection practice. In ROC, I made it simple; five shots with two hands, five shots with the Primary Hand Only, and five shots with the Support Hand Only. For the article, I put a little different spin on it.
Here are the images that weren’t used.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – March 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 March 2024 issue.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/good-bad-and-101430615
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 March 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 – March 2024
The Good
Woman shoots 2 alleged intruders, killing 1, inside West Philadelphia apartment, police say
The Bad
The Bad section this month was difficult to decide which incident to use but the most tragic won out.
Mother accidentally shoots, kills daughter when searching for keys in purse, police say
The Ugly
Kentucky man accused of shooting roommate for eating last Hot Pocket, police say
Enjoy!
The GBU isn’t drawn from The Armed Citizen column of the official NRA Journals but the March 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. Naturally, my hometown of Chicargo is prominently featured.
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
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