The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – January 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 January 2024 issue.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/good-bad-and-97498558
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 January 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 – January 2024
The Good
Shooting Death of Rodney Yancey in Manchester, New Hampshire ruled legally justified.
The Bad
Security footage shows gun discharge and injure man at Duran’s Central Pharmacy
The Ugly
Argument over ex-girlfriend leads to fight, shooting at Black Jack [Missouri] apartment
Enjoy!
The GBU isn’t drawn from The Armed Citizen column of the official NRA Journals but the January 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.
Snub Dry Practice Training Aids
#wheelgunwednesday
All discharges of a firearm by LAPD officers must be reported to the LAPD Force Investigation Division. Each discharge is thoroughly investigated, adjudicated by the Board of Police Commissioners (BOPC) for LAPD policy compliance, and a public report posted on the BOPC webpage.
https://www.lapdonline.org/police-commission/categorical-use-of-force
Of particular interest are the off-duty discharges. These usually involve one of two situations. First, situations of self-defense similar to what would be encountered by any non-sworn person who owns a firearm for personal protection. Or, second, Unintentional Discharges due to administrative gunhandling such as: placing or removing the firearm in a storage location, cleaning the firearm, or dry practice “to improve accuracy.” In one rare instance, both situations were involved; a firearm was discharged while being retrieved during a ‘tactical situation.’
In adjudicating Unintentional Discharges cases, the LAPD BOPC subdivides them into two categories.
A. Unintentional Discharge
The definitions for an Unintentional Discharge, both Accidental and Negligent, are as follows:
Accidental Discharge: The unintentional discharge of a firearm as a result of an accident such as a firearm malfunction or other mechanical failure, not the result of operator error.
Negligent Discharge: Finding where it was determined that the unintentional discharge of a firearm resulted from operator error, such as the violation of firearm safety rules.
Administrative Disapproval – Negligent Discharge. Finding where it was determined that the unintentional discharge of a firearm resulted from operator error, such as the violation of a firearm safety rule (Los Angeles Police Department Manual, Volume 3, Section 792.05).
From 2005 to 2023, five Unintentional Discharges of five shot revolvers, which are authorized for backup and off-duty carry, occurred. All five were adjudicated as Negligent Discharges and received Administrative Disapproval. Negligent Discharges are one category of Negative Outcomes https://store.payloadz.com/details/2617872-ebooks-true-crime-serious-mistakes-gunowners-make.html and we obviously want to avoid them.
Four of the five involved preparation for dry practice. The cause of all four was the same. Not all five rounds were ejected from the cylinder when the revolver was unloaded. One round remained in the cylinder when the other four ejected. At some point during the dry practice, a loud noise occurred when a click was expected. That universal cause reinforces my concept of how to prepare for dry practice with a revolver.
https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2020/08/21/dry-practice-safety-part-ii/
Since that article was posted, Zeta6 and I teamed up to create the SafeSnap Training Disc.
https://zetasix.com/product-category/safesnap
I now keep a SafeSnap Disc in my storage box, along with an empty HKS speedloader, to make my dry practice even safer. Although I don’t carry an HKS, I find it’s the easiest of all speedloaders to put ammunition in.
I rotate the revolver so the muzzle is pointing straight up, eject the live rounds from the snub, place them in the speedloader, and then put the SnapSafe in the revolver. Holding the revolver completely vertical is an important aspect of ejecting the live ammunition. Holding it at angle and catching the rounds in the palm of the other hand is a dangerous technique and is “cruisin’ for a bruisin’.” Sooner or later, doing that will bite you in the ass; hard.
This procedure makes the possibility of having a Negligent Discharge during dry practice fairly remote. I also have a Zeta6 K-PAK2 https://zetasix.com/product/k-pak2/ with dummy rounds for reloading practice in the box. It is set up with a Retention Ring https://retentionring.com/ to mimic my EDC reload.
All the live ammunition stays in the box and the box gets closed while I’m practicing. When I’m finished practicing, I rigidly follow the post-practice safety protocols described in the above linked article.
Dry practice is a key component of learning how to shoot well. When doing it, we want to avoid having the Negative Outcome of “causing damage to equipment or injury to personnel,” which was a graded aspect required to pass the Special Forces Weapons Qualification Course that has stuck with me for the past 44 years. Having the right training aids and following safety protocols in a disciplined manner is how we can avoid those Negative Outcomes.
FTC Note: I have a relationship with Zeta6 and Retention Ring but receive no compensation for mentioning their products.
Shooting Practice for a Criminal Encounter
The second installment of my Shooting Illustrated series about organizing your shooting practice is now online.
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/shooting-practice-for-a-criminal-encounter
I always include more photos with my article submissions than can be used. After this paragraph in the article, I included what is possibly my favorite shooting photo of all time.
Shooters often blast an entire box of ammunition at the target without checking and then marking it consistently. This is one of the worst mistakes that can be made when practicing for marksmanship development and self-defense.
Sadly, along with several others, it was cut for space reasons. The photo is of a target that was left up at my gun club years ago. Every time I look at it, I literally Laugh Out Loud. I call it the ‘goober target.’
That is not the way to learn how to shoot to hit anything. Another photo that was cut shows how to mark your target with masking tape every few shots.
As mentioned in the article, checking and marking your target regularly will help you improve your marksmanship. Blasting away and creating a goober target will not.
Here is the Pump target. No one can say you’re practicing to shoot unarmed people if you have a representation of a gun on your target.
It’s getting to be a wild world out there; be ready.
Fundamentals and Training Aids (Part 1)
#fridayfundamentals
Revisiting the series about the Fundamentals of Pistol Shooting https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2021/11/05/fundamentals-of-pistol-shooting-part-1/ brings to mind the subject of training aids. Training aids are other pieces of equipment you will find useful for marksmanship and gunhandling practice. Your pistol shouldn’t be your only practice tool. There are a wide variety of readily available and inexpensive training aids.
An Inert pistol replica is the most valuable training aid you can own. Having a replica of your real gun is the best but it’s not absolutely necessary. This picture shows a small portion of my collection of inert pistols. No trainer worth his or her salt lacks at least one inert pistol for demonstration purposes.
The rubber 1911 is the first training aid I ever acquired. I carried it on field exercises when I was a 90mm M67 Recoilless Rifle Gunner in the Army and didn’t want to clean two weapons every time I came back from the field. I’ve had it for 50 years now.
The orange and blue camo inert pistol was purchased from WalMart for less than $10. If no replica of your personal pistol is readily available, at least there’s something that can be used. It also makes a satisfying pew-pew noise when the trigger is pressed.
A SIRT Pistol is a useful option but expensive. Only three models are available; Glock 17, S&W M&P, and a generic subcompact model that reportedly only fits a holster for a Springfield XD-S.
An inert pistol can be used in a variety of ways. Among other things:
- Draw practice, especially for those who are reluctant to practice with their real pistol at home.
- Checking the solidity of your grip by having a partner hold the front of the slide and try to move it around.
- Practice getting your pistol out of its safe storage location quickly.
- Introducing others to holding a pistol without intimidating them.
- Doing demonstrations without endangering others.
There are also a number of other training aids that can improve your shooting.
How to use these other training aids will be covered in future installments of this series.
Tactical Professor books (all PDF)
https://store.payloadz.com/results/337896-tactical-professor
Negative Outcome from Opening the Door
Bottom Line Up Front
Do not open (nor even unlock) your [exterior] door[s] until you’re confident this person does not represent a threat.
John Farnam
Excellent advice on many items in John’s post.
Also read this post about ‘Castle Defense.’
http://modernserviceweapons.com/?p=18502
Forewarned is forearmed.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – December 2023
Rather than my usual boring rants about Serious Mistakes, Negative Outcomes, and excruciatingly detailed analyses of Armed Citizen incidents, I’ve decided to do something different for 2024.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is an iconic movie in American cinema and arguably the best of the ‘Spaghetti Westerns.’ A new feature in 2024 for my Patreon page is a monthly post based on this theme; the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. It will feature a Good incident by an armed citizen, a Bad incident resulting in a Negative Outcome, and a stupid and unbelievable Ugly happening.
My Patrons get first look at it on the last day of each month. The following month I’ll unlock the Patreon post on the last Monday and link it here for my blog Followers. Today’s the day to unlock the December 2023 edition.
My hope is to make it both educational and entertaining. I’m very excited about the idea and hope you enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed researching and writing it. The movie soundtrack is outstanding so a snippet from the soundtrack will be part of each month’s post also.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/good-bad-and-95600517
Enjoy!
The GBU isn’t drawn from The Armed Citizen column of the official NRA Journals but the December 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.
A Way of the Wheelgun
#wheelgunwednesday
In 2022, I created a four month Patreon series for developing shooting and gunhandling skills with snub nosed revolvers. There are a total of 65 articles in the series and it is the online equivalent of a book. All the articles are now available as a Collection on my Patreon page. Unlike a book, you can read it at your leisure on your Smartphone.
The basis for the Series is the principles and techniques of the Snub Nose classes I taught for decades and the two DVDs I made about snubs. Also included are examples of what went right and wrong in several real life incidents involving snubs.
There is a great deal of emphasis in the Series on ‘dry practice,’ i.e., practice without ammunition. There is also periodic live fire (originally monthly) of no more than 50 rounds. The live fire is compatible with either indoor or outdoor ranges because the vast majority (999/1000 by my calculation) of gunowners only have access to indoor ranges.
The first three posts in the Collection are unlocked and available for anyone to read. These initial posts describe Safety Protocols during dry practice to avoid putting bullet holes in people, places, and things where they are undesirable. Tragedies can and do take place during dry practice and we want to avoid those at all costs.
For anyone who owns and/or carries a snub, this is a good program. Anyone who does any dry practice, whether with a revolver or autoloader, will benefit from at least reading the first three posts about Safety Protocols.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/snub-revolver-97045992
Subscribers to my Concealed Carry Skills Tier ($3/month) https://www.patreon.com/TacticalProfessor have access to all the articles in the Collection plus all the articles I write on Patreon about marksmanship and gunhandling. In the financial industry, we’d say the Return On Investment (ROI) is very high.
Organizing Your Shooting Practice – I
Start the new year off right with this easy to shoot, easy to practice drill.
The NRA online website Shooting Illustrated has published the first of my series of articles about using the framework of State Level CCW Qualification Courses as marksmanship drills. The series is geared toward the new gunowner audience but even experienced shooters can gain something from it.
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/organizing-your-shooting-practice/
The philosophy behind the series is to give new gunowners at least a small idea of what they can do to gain some degree of proficiency with their guns. While “Do the work” has become a mantra in the training community in the 21st Century; what trainers mean by that is simply unrealistic in the context of most people’s busy lives. The goal of the Organizing Your Practice series is ‘Do Something.’ As my late colleague Paul Gomez said, “Shoot Yor Guns.”
Each of the monthly sessions can be accomplished by going to an indoor range for an hour, buying one box of ammunition, and getting in a short but meaningful practice session. If a shooter doesn’t even shoot the whole Session of the article; that’s okay. At least they know what it’s like when the gun goes off and what the sound of gunfire and the feel of recoil are like. The majority of adults are visual learners. For them, there’s also a YouTube Short about the session at https://youtu.be/AV4HSnAj_rw?si=pSbB0lNG5jILyrmM.
The purpose of the video isn’t really to provide a guide to the session. It’s mostly to show what real shooting looks like as opposed to the foolishness that is usually seen on TV and movies. Although Jennifer Garner frequently looked great on Alias, the shooting was always utterly ridiculous.
As a guide for staying on task at the range, I created an Aide-mémoire (Cheat Sheet) that can be folded up and brought along in a pocket.
If you would like to download the Cheat Sheet and/or cool Upper and Middle Target Sheets, they’re attached.
Attachments
- MCOLES Cheat Sheet
- Upper Target Sheet
- Middle Target Sheet
Since gear is always of interest, the demonstration for this article was done with a Taurus 856 .38 Special snub nose revolver and Blazer ammunition. The laser wasn’t used during the shooting. Reloads were done using the Zeta6 K-Pak2 Speedloader https://zetasix.com/product/k-pak2/ equipped with a Retention ring https://retentionring.com/ .
Very Good Shooting and Enjoy!
Downrange Incident During Home Invasion
From the Armed Citizen http://graphics.nra.org/ac/ac-138.html this month.
Authorities say a man opened fire on a suspected burglar who attacked his wife at their home
Deputies said [the intruder] encountered a 74-year-old woman inside the residence and ‘began to struggle with her physically.’ Her husband heard her screams and saw her struggling with Jackson. The man then retrieved his firearm and shot Jackson in the right shoulder.
This is what I call a ‘downrange incident.’ I.e., there’s an innocent party downrange and in close proximity to the attacker. Incidents where close range precision is required are more common than is realized.
A downrange drill is part of all my private sessions above the beginner level. The shooter has only one round in the pistol. Two IDPA targets downrange with one placed directly to the side of the -0 zone. The shooter can advance to any distance they feel they can make a -0 hit, either head or body, on the first shot without hitting the hostage. Even experienced shooters tend to get somewhere within Social Space (4-12 feet).
It doesn’t have to be an IDPA match scenario
but practicing the ‘downrange shot’ occasionally is worthwhile.
The Cost of Killing Redux
#fridayfundamentals
I’ve written about the Cost of Killing several times. https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2016/07/24/the-cost-of-killing/ Even to someone who is involved but not the shooter, it’s incredibly hard on people.
Here’s yet another sad example.
I-Team: St. Louis family demands answers after double homicide case went from murder to self-defense
Note that the story begins with “Eric and Arron Smith were gunned down following a domestic violence incident,” as if they were innocent victims of a senseless shooting.
A précis of the incident is that a violent domestic abuser and his violent brother, Eric and Arron Smith, were shot and killed in self-defense by the victim’s sister’s boyfriend. The sister had stashed the abuser’s pistol in her purse when the rescue party arrived. The abuser’s brother arrived with his own pistol, beat one of the party with it, and gunpointed the rescuers. At that point, the victim’s sister took the abuser’s pistol out of her purse and gave it to her boyfriend. The boyfriend then shot and killed both the abuser and his gunpointing brother. The boyfriend was arrested, charged with Murder, and placed in Jail with no bond.
The prosecutor subsequently hid evidence from the shooter’s defense attorney. When this was uncovered by a Grand Jury and judge, the charges were reduced to Manslaughter, and the shooter was released on bond. Fourteen months later, shortly before trial, all charges were dropped.
The saddest part of the entire affair is that a few days before the trial was to begin, the sister who gave the gun to her boyfriend to protect the rescuers committed suicide. The shooter’s defense attorney didn’t want to speculate why she did that.
“We don’t know what occurred that led her to take her own life.”
Having been a party to the killing of two men she knew and then having to recount all the details in court is a good guess as to why.
“We weren’t trying to start any problems, we were just trying to help my sister,” she told the POlice.
RIP Kaylee Castro
tacticalprofessor 
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