I want you to think of this for a minute, "A well regulated militia, being necessary of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." This of course are the words that our founding fathers ensured was cemented in ink on the paper of liberty as the 2nd amendment of the United States Constitution. Now I know there is a lot of political and personal opinion of what it means in the 21st century. But, why do we discuss just this Amendment as being the one that is "out dated" and not the others? That should be the question posed to everyone who says it, so that they should pause and understand the discussion isn't about arms nor weapons but the actual rights and liberties we have.
Now, I want you to think of the time when the founding fathers wrote document of liberty. Did they not understand the value of personal protection and having the ability to defend oneself? I believe they did, and with that wanted to cement the right to the people. We all know that with rights come responsibility. A great many people will try and define the meaning to you, such as, "keeping it locked up", "keep ammo separate" or "you can't carry here". Well, before we get into the overall responsibility, we have to think what has changed? The over all culture of the country has changed about firearms. This is nothing new, many civilized societies, have grown to forget or loose touch with the very tool that has created or assisted building the fabric of it.
When did it change? I am sure we could break it down into a gradual time period, but that is not what this post is for, as much as, what has changed. It was understood by everyone in that house hold that a firearm was a tool to provide life. It provided food, provided defensive protection, and built a tied that bound them. It required a respect, which also meant practice. It was never taken lightly, and always known, that once the projectile left, that the effect was forever. I am not just talking of the 1700's, I recall when I was a young man, I would go HUNTING with my elders and observe. It took patient's a demonstration of respect and maturity to even get to hold or carry the firearm, and one slight blemish of the rules they had was swiftly enforced with a slap and scolding. Did I think it was cruel at the time, yes I did. But, as I matured I understood that it needed to be strict and enforced, because a slight breach would mean a result that was not forgiven forever. This developed to a respect of the tool and understanding, as well as, some pretty great memories I will have forever. This is a big part of what is missing in our culture today, the time to be mentored and hunting was the classroom. So, we loose a great many things, and one is the very understanding and passion for the Constitution of our rights.
As I have said we know that with Rights come, Responsibilities, What are they? There are a few book's and article's that are good. But for the most part, they are not laid out in black and white for all to see and read. What I will try and do is high light the one's that are important and should be taken in:
Knowledge- Understand the right's (all of them) you have and what they mean, both on Federal and State level. Yes, you should have a good understanding of the law's that you will be held to. You should understand the Constitution (frame work of all our laws). You should have an understanding of how to legally and ethically own, posses and carry a firearm in your area. This takes sometime and effort, but what you learn will last your lifetime, along with the length and pleasure of it. Always use and carry legally!
Education- I am amazed at the number of people who put this last if not at all on the list. Take either a basic firearm class and/or a personal protection in the home class. This will give you the structured knowledge of the firearm that you will need. Before spending your hard earned money on a firearm, learn about them, to make and educated decision on which is right for you. I have a great many people who purchase a firearm that is not right for their physical make-up. Also a quality course should teach you not only the parts, and how to shoot, but also how to store and/or clean your firearm. This is why State's require people to take these classes to ensure that they are educated. Keep your certificate's, talk of this later.
Security- It is your responsibility to keep the firearm from unauthorized people! Before you purchase your firearm some thought should be taken in as too how you are going to accomplish this. Not just in your home, but on your person (if you choose to carry), and your vehicle (unless you are lucky enough to have a range on your property). You need to have a plan of how you will keep it safe. There is a great many options, that you can make it adjustable to lifestyle. It is Federal law that every firearm come with a locking device.
Control- It is your responsibility as a firearm owner to maintain control of that firearm. Be it on your property, your vehicle and/or your person, keeping the firearm under your control at all times.
Safety- It is your responsibility to ensure at all times that using the firearm is done in a safe manner. The firearm does not go off on it's own! If you do something that is not safe with the firearm it means you are negligent. This must be adhere to at all times, a slight lapse will be all it takes.
Usage- Once a firearm is in your hand's, you are the only one who can control it. It is up to you to understand how it works and/or use it. This is where a great many accidents happen, as people violate the safety rules, by trying to figure out how to unload a firearm. Always refer to reading the owners manual and/or ask someone how it works. Before using any firearm, I always recommend dry fire practice and/or mimic the actions, so understand them.
Documentation- "Why would I need this?", I get asked often. This is something I recommend people do, that I do myself. I have a list of the firearms I have with caliber, serial number, date of purchase and/or sell and any modifications done to it. No, I do not do this for the government, I do it for me. In the slight chance that one or all all stolen, I want my local law enforcement to have the information to get them back after I report them stolen. Which by the way is your responsibility to report if they are, so law enforcement can recover them and protect you in case used in an crime. I also do this in the rare chance if I have a fire, this way I can get them replaced. I also keep a running total of ammunition for each firearm, so I know when it needs to get checked out by gunsmith. What about training certificates? You want to have copies of these placed somewhere protected as well. Training is good for life, so later on you may want to demonstrate you have taken a certain course, for some reason. One of the big one's for my students of concealed carry is that the training is discover-able evidence!! Which will demonstrate to the jury and/or Judge, why you acted the way you did.
Ammunition- Many people loose sight of this part of the pie, because how good is a firearm with out ammunition. You have the responsibility to know what ammunition your firearm uses. You also should understand the law's around when and what ammunition to use. Is it okay to use buckshot in a firearm for personal protection or no? What about reloading and/or making your own ammunition, is there law's around it? You need to know about storing it in safe place from unauthorized people too. Is placing a material that explodes in a locked steel box the right way? Would a young child find a cartridge and with there friends and take it apart? Ammunition is part of firearms.
I hope that some of these helps you understand and prepare for you to act on your Right to firearms. I hope that it better assist you in accepting your responsibilities around them. No, one wants to look 5 minutes in the past and say "if only, I". Firearm's are great tool's for recreation, food provider and protection and should always be respected and treated with care they deserve.
Train as if your life depends on it,
Todd R. Mendenhall
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Before your Concealed Carry Class
I have people ask me from time to time, "is there anything I can do before the class?" Actually there is a few things that a person who is going to take training can do. This is not to "take the load off the instructor", but to stimulate the thought process of the individual. This in turn will ensure they get more out of the training and also, to have question's that they can get answer's too then. As well as, save time having to break many things down to explain. The difference between a class that is prepared and one who is not sure of what they are getting into is night and day, and actually translates to 2-4 hours of quality training lost, due to having to slow down and break everything down. Let's look at what we could do before taking training for a concealed carry class.
Choice of firearm is one that comes up a lot, as what is right for me? This question, can be answered best by taking a Basic Pistol course. This way you are educated in the way to use a pistol, manipulate it, as well as, things that you need to understand. Grip, fit, trigger press and just the few you need to understand before spending your hard earned money on a pistol. A quality course, will have a few different pistols (semi-auto and revolver) for the student to try out so they can get and understanding. It is recommended that you take a Basic Pistol class few months before the Concealed Carry class, to give you time to purchase your pistol and by applying the information you learned, become proficient with it.
How are you going to carry the pistol for concealed carry? This is something that is individual based, as we are all built different. Many quality firearm instructor's offer intermediate classes to help the individual become educated in the differences. The main thing is you want to understand how your going to carry, before you take the course. Be aware that many Conceal Carry Instructor's will not allow a student to use an inside the waistband nor shoulder holster for the training. The reason is the real world fact of shooting your self and/or another person. These type holsters, as well as, appendix carry take special training and time.
Keeping the firearm from unauthorized people is your responsibility! How are you going to store your firearm safely in your home? This is something that needs to be thought of before actually purchasing the firearm, in my opinion. Each of us are different, if it is a home with children it will be stored differently than a home of just two adults. When you store a firearm in your home, will it also need to be readily accessible for home protection? Again a quality basic pistol class should address this, if not contact your a NRA Personal Protection in the Home or Personal Protection Outside the Home Instructor.
Do yourself and your fellow students a huge favor and read up. No, I am not talking about the latest Clancy novel, but you want to have an understanding of the laws that will apply and you will learn in your course. I strongly recommend purchasing and reading either Massad Ayoob "In the Gravest Extreme" or "Use of Deadly Force". Another Author who brings real world experience to the table is Andrew Branca, "Law of Self-Defense". One of these book's will give you a basic understanding of the law's that your instructor will cover. Reading ahead of time will, allow you to prepare some questions to ask your instructor, as well as, optimize your training time.
You have Insurance on Home/Auto and medical right? Before your class, it is a good time to educate yourself on Self-Defense protection plans. We carry rescue equipment to save our lives or the lives of those under our mantle of care. Once we survive the incident, we will have to protect all the things we all have worked for all our lives, money and possessions. There are several plans out there, two in my humble opinion are worth looking at. One is Armed Citizens Defense Network, the other is called "Second Call". The first is the oldest and the one started by experts in real world incidents. The latter is backed by the NRA and has a pretty good repetition. Educate yourself on plans, then ask your instructor about them. Many people only learn of these plans or the concept of having "protection" during the class. Many never follow up or stride to learning more.
Start practicing Situation Awareness now. This is a skill set that should be or will be covered by your instructor. It is your first line of defense, to gain time and distance. Being Situation Aware, can lead to stopping an incident from even happening. It will also allow you to start employing tactics to have the outcome of an incident in your favor. This does not mean that you have to live in "panic". This means you are more adapt of what is happening around you. Professional Instructor's call it living in yellow. Which this color coding system should be expressed in your training.
If you take this advise, I strongly believe that you will enjoy and gain much more out of your course. When the I.S.C.A.P.E. team, instruct's a concealed carry class, we cram a lot of information into it, because we know that majority of people will stop learning there. Deciding to "Carry" is a lifestyle change and a commitment. Students are often over-whelmed and shocked at the amount of information that one needs to arm themselves with, to physically, mentally and financially survive an encounter. As we say through out the class, "this is just getting the lid off the paint can, there is a lot more to this". We stress to take more training and education, not for the benefit of instructor's or organization's but for the student. I want more concerned, prepared and educated Armed citizen's out there, for the simple reason that "you could be using my family as the backstop, you better be in the right".
I hope this prepares and helps people get more out of their course.
Stay Aware and Train like your want to live,
Todd R. Mendenhall
Choice of firearm is one that comes up a lot, as what is right for me? This question, can be answered best by taking a Basic Pistol course. This way you are educated in the way to use a pistol, manipulate it, as well as, things that you need to understand. Grip, fit, trigger press and just the few you need to understand before spending your hard earned money on a pistol. A quality course, will have a few different pistols (semi-auto and revolver) for the student to try out so they can get and understanding. It is recommended that you take a Basic Pistol class few months before the Concealed Carry class, to give you time to purchase your pistol and by applying the information you learned, become proficient with it.
How are you going to carry the pistol for concealed carry? This is something that is individual based, as we are all built different. Many quality firearm instructor's offer intermediate classes to help the individual become educated in the differences. The main thing is you want to understand how your going to carry, before you take the course. Be aware that many Conceal Carry Instructor's will not allow a student to use an inside the waistband nor shoulder holster for the training. The reason is the real world fact of shooting your self and/or another person. These type holsters, as well as, appendix carry take special training and time.
Keeping the firearm from unauthorized people is your responsibility! How are you going to store your firearm safely in your home? This is something that needs to be thought of before actually purchasing the firearm, in my opinion. Each of us are different, if it is a home with children it will be stored differently than a home of just two adults. When you store a firearm in your home, will it also need to be readily accessible for home protection? Again a quality basic pistol class should address this, if not contact your a NRA Personal Protection in the Home or Personal Protection Outside the Home Instructor.
Do yourself and your fellow students a huge favor and read up. No, I am not talking about the latest Clancy novel, but you want to have an understanding of the laws that will apply and you will learn in your course. I strongly recommend purchasing and reading either Massad Ayoob "In the Gravest Extreme" or "Use of Deadly Force". Another Author who brings real world experience to the table is Andrew Branca, "Law of Self-Defense". One of these book's will give you a basic understanding of the law's that your instructor will cover. Reading ahead of time will, allow you to prepare some questions to ask your instructor, as well as, optimize your training time.
You have Insurance on Home/Auto and medical right? Before your class, it is a good time to educate yourself on Self-Defense protection plans. We carry rescue equipment to save our lives or the lives of those under our mantle of care. Once we survive the incident, we will have to protect all the things we all have worked for all our lives, money and possessions. There are several plans out there, two in my humble opinion are worth looking at. One is Armed Citizens Defense Network, the other is called "Second Call". The first is the oldest and the one started by experts in real world incidents. The latter is backed by the NRA and has a pretty good repetition. Educate yourself on plans, then ask your instructor about them. Many people only learn of these plans or the concept of having "protection" during the class. Many never follow up or stride to learning more.
Start practicing Situation Awareness now. This is a skill set that should be or will be covered by your instructor. It is your first line of defense, to gain time and distance. Being Situation Aware, can lead to stopping an incident from even happening. It will also allow you to start employing tactics to have the outcome of an incident in your favor. This does not mean that you have to live in "panic". This means you are more adapt of what is happening around you. Professional Instructor's call it living in yellow. Which this color coding system should be expressed in your training.
If you take this advise, I strongly believe that you will enjoy and gain much more out of your course. When the I.S.C.A.P.E. team, instruct's a concealed carry class, we cram a lot of information into it, because we know that majority of people will stop learning there. Deciding to "Carry" is a lifestyle change and a commitment. Students are often over-whelmed and shocked at the amount of information that one needs to arm themselves with, to physically, mentally and financially survive an encounter. As we say through out the class, "this is just getting the lid off the paint can, there is a lot more to this". We stress to take more training and education, not for the benefit of instructor's or organization's but for the student. I want more concerned, prepared and educated Armed citizen's out there, for the simple reason that "you could be using my family as the backstop, you better be in the right".
I hope this prepares and helps people get more out of their course.
Stay Aware and Train like your want to live,
Todd R. Mendenhall
Friday, September 18, 2015
life patrol
"What is the first rule of a firearm encounter?", if you have attended I.S.C.A.P.E. training then you know. When I pose this question at each class, there is several response's like: "have a firearm", "draw quick", "win". Though they are all good answer's when in the heat of the encounter, they do not address the "first rule of an encounter", which is DO NOT BE THERE!! When I bring this up there is a few chuckle's and people look at me like "no kidding", but if you think about it, this is the rule that will keep 98% of people from every being in the situation to have to even start the process of defending themselves. The other 2% are the situation that materialize with the person doing everything correct, but a determined terrorist/criminal makes the decision for them.
This is why I place "situation awareness" as number one on the list of priorities that a person has to develop, which I address in another article. We must have a questioning attitude as we move through the dynamic world of society. People, believe thanks to television and motion pictures that the thug/criminal scumbag will be dressed in dirty clothes and will stick out like a sore thumb in a crowd. But, what about when you are in a hall way or store and you hear screams or shots? You have to process this information and act, now!
We must understand that taking action, does not necessarily mean that we "access" our firearm, sweeping our garment out of the way and getting that good purchase on the pistol. We default ALWAYS to the "first rule of an encounter, do not be there". We take action by utilizing cover and concealment (knowing what it is) and get to an exit. We take action by implementing the plan we made for the area/building we are in, you did have a plan right?
Will the plan be affected by who we are with? Sure it will, it is easy to act alone, but through in the dynamic of your child or spouse and it change's a little. But, with a little training/education and a visual mindset, it can become natural. Let me see if I can give some insight on this with some relation to some lesson's from the military.
Infantry and special operation's do something called "going on patrol", which is "military tactic, which is a sub-unit or small tactical formation, sent out for the purpose of combat, reconnaissance or both". This small unit consist anywhere from 2-12 men. Each person in this patrol, has a specific job there perform, keeping in mind that all are cross trained on the others. The patrol moves through hostile terrain, to reach their objective, at which time there will perform their task, then the real key is returning back to base (home), safely. Starting to see a slight similarity? After all when we leave home to go to the store, in essence are we not doing same thing on a less dangerous level?
Now, long before the patrol even leaves the safety of the perimeter of the base, they have done certain things, because they know that "the devil is in the details". The figure out the safest route to the target and back. They communicate the duties of each member of the patrol, they ensure that each member has the equipment they need and in proper place (inspect), they then work out "the what if's", what are we going to do if this happens and than happens? Then they do what is called Immediate Action Drills (I.A.Drills), which is the patrol rehearse's the reaction to a certain situation, till it is done right and all problems worked out. They plan what to do if fired upon, if someone is injured, if they have to break contact (get away quickly), where and when to meet up if they get split up, and how they are getting back. This way everyone is on the same page, and no matter what happens, they can get "home" safely. There of course if more to this and it goes in more detail, but we can see where some of these thing's can translate to armed citizens using some of the tactics to there advantage. Let's look at a few of them.
Safest route- as we move through our usual routine in life, we pretty much know how to get to the store's, school's, work and various other venture's, like it is second nature. Now, think how you felt when you left your home to go to one of these place's and the road was block for some reason, you was actually stunned, upset and had to figure out another way around. I suggest take a few minutes on paper, smart phone or whatever and sit down and actually draw it out, then plan an alternate route. Along with that in today's world, where would be a good place to pull off and take a phone call or fix emergency issue's. What this will do for you is let you see your world in a new light, and get you start to do some planning. Which will begin the thinking process of being aware. This is extremly critical to do if you are planning to be in an area/city that you are not familiar with! When I am going to a city I am not familiar with, I literally sit down and draw out route from hotel to the places I am going to and have a minimum of one alternate route. In today's world it is quicker, because we have smart phones/computers and all the information we need, and with a "click" we can print it out. If you was going to a foreign town would it not make you more comfortable knowing the rounte, and let you focus on other threat's?
As you can see, this will obvious apply to safe route into and out of any building's as well. We can use the modern tool's actually see where stores are located, where to park and how to approach them. But, what about once we are in the facilities? You must learn to look for exit's when ever you walk into any shop or store! You do not have to, step in the store and goose neck around. As you come into the shop and browse, just casually look around for the exit's, other patrons and employee's. This takes but a few second's, after you get use to doing it.
I.A. drills- Though none of use have the time to spend an hour or two to practice immediate action drill's before we go out the door, can not deny the importance of it. Actually, there are some common problem's all patrol's face that they have S.O.P. (standard operating procedure) drill's for them, and only rehearse them once or twice to ensure that everyone is up to standard before they go out. This allows the patrol members to concentrate on more specific drill's for the patrol. One of those is what to do if "Ambushed", fired upon. Which would be good for us to have the same plan. Patrol, S.O.P., I.A. drills for this action if broken into "Near ambush" and "Far ambush".
Near ambush is taking fire within 150 yards (keep in mind in the military they use rifle's). If the patrol is in a close ambush, they will turn into the fire and begin returing more accurate fire (reason being, is that in an ambush this close, the best thing to do is make the other guy in fear of his life). Now, how would this translate to the armed citizen? First we use pistol's so range will be closer. Second, you will only do this as a patrol would when your life is in immediate danger of death and/or bodily harm (crippling injury). So, we could reasonably set our distance at 7 yards, due to the time lost in reaction, as is demonstrated by the "tueller drill". So, now we have as an example, set our "line of action" at 7 yards, which in turn will make our decision easier to at a minimum get to our pistol and/or get it out. Then we have to take in the circumstances to decide if a trigger press is needed. Keeping in mind, that in an armed citizen's world that the threat could of ceased do to the action you just did, so the thought process is ongoing.
Far ambush is taking fire from 150 yards and beyond. If the patrol is in a far ambush they will almost always "break contact", (disengage from the fight). They will do this by a tactic known as a "peel". One member will give cover, as the other moves to rear, then they will cover him as he moves (leap frog effect). What lesson can be learned for the armed citizen. Even with all the high tech. firearms, gadgets and highly trained warriors, will always get to safety if they can! This is where anything that is 8 yards or beyond, needs to beconsidered time to "break contact", we move toward cover & concealment, creating time and distance to our favor. Perhaps we take the time to work with our family unit, so we can move as one. You do not need to be a S.W.A.T. team, but some small prior planning/rehearsal (sound familiar)and discussing, if this happens, I want you to do this. If nothing else, the spouse, grab your belt and guide you to the exit, so you can concentrate on the threat, would be helpfull, right?
Injured person, this is something that very few armed citizen take into consideration, unless they have served in the military and been down range. The armed citizen need's to understand that the likely hood of having people injured in a situation is high. Also, that the chance's of them being injured is also extremely high. In my advanced class I bring this up, and you can see the look of shock on the experianced people face that they haven't thought of that, as I explain my technique for assesting. So, we can again take a lesson from the patroling tactics and start to create our own plan for dealing with injuries. The one thing I can not express enough is training/education in intermediate or critical first aid (not the basic boy scout or red cross class). Possesing the information is more valuable then having the winning lottery ticket, don't believe me? If you or your child was sitting against a wall with a hole in the side of the chest, would you pay millions to stop it or know how to? Of course, you would as would any reasonable person. So, why not plan ahead and take a course on using procedure to take care of injured people? The reason, it is most valuable, is you have the knowledge and can apply it, even when you don't have high speed medical gear, you can use field expediante stuff. Also, you will learn what you can do with one hand, which is valuable if you are the one injured and the one with the knowledge. Then you can form a more detailed plan, based on limitation if this happens or that happens, and have training reflect it?
The one thing that always makes a patrol successful or faulter is what they pay attention to. Doing patrol's are very taxing on a person, because you are constantly on alet for issues or intelligents. In the armed citizens world, you are constantly being situational aware, which is our determination of the facts. Take the time to sit down and draw our your route, draw out a situation in a store, then think through it. What would be the line? What is the right way to do it, realisticly. Visualising, and planning what to do will give any law abiding citizen a second in favor of life and happiness. I will give up 15 minutes to and hour, of planning to keep that last second of my life from being closer than needs to be.
This is why I place "situation awareness" as number one on the list of priorities that a person has to develop, which I address in another article. We must have a questioning attitude as we move through the dynamic world of society. People, believe thanks to television and motion pictures that the thug/criminal scumbag will be dressed in dirty clothes and will stick out like a sore thumb in a crowd. But, what about when you are in a hall way or store and you hear screams or shots? You have to process this information and act, now!
We must understand that taking action, does not necessarily mean that we "access" our firearm, sweeping our garment out of the way and getting that good purchase on the pistol. We default ALWAYS to the "first rule of an encounter, do not be there". We take action by utilizing cover and concealment (knowing what it is) and get to an exit. We take action by implementing the plan we made for the area/building we are in, you did have a plan right?
Will the plan be affected by who we are with? Sure it will, it is easy to act alone, but through in the dynamic of your child or spouse and it change's a little. But, with a little training/education and a visual mindset, it can become natural. Let me see if I can give some insight on this with some relation to some lesson's from the military.
Infantry and special operation's do something called "going on patrol", which is "military tactic, which is a sub-unit or small tactical formation, sent out for the purpose of combat, reconnaissance or both". This small unit consist anywhere from 2-12 men. Each person in this patrol, has a specific job there perform, keeping in mind that all are cross trained on the others. The patrol moves through hostile terrain, to reach their objective, at which time there will perform their task, then the real key is returning back to base (home), safely. Starting to see a slight similarity? After all when we leave home to go to the store, in essence are we not doing same thing on a less dangerous level?
Now, long before the patrol even leaves the safety of the perimeter of the base, they have done certain things, because they know that "the devil is in the details". The figure out the safest route to the target and back. They communicate the duties of each member of the patrol, they ensure that each member has the equipment they need and in proper place (inspect), they then work out "the what if's", what are we going to do if this happens and than happens? Then they do what is called Immediate Action Drills (I.A.Drills), which is the patrol rehearse's the reaction to a certain situation, till it is done right and all problems worked out. They plan what to do if fired upon, if someone is injured, if they have to break contact (get away quickly), where and when to meet up if they get split up, and how they are getting back. This way everyone is on the same page, and no matter what happens, they can get "home" safely. There of course if more to this and it goes in more detail, but we can see where some of these thing's can translate to armed citizens using some of the tactics to there advantage. Let's look at a few of them.
Safest route- as we move through our usual routine in life, we pretty much know how to get to the store's, school's, work and various other venture's, like it is second nature. Now, think how you felt when you left your home to go to one of these place's and the road was block for some reason, you was actually stunned, upset and had to figure out another way around. I suggest take a few minutes on paper, smart phone or whatever and sit down and actually draw it out, then plan an alternate route. Along with that in today's world, where would be a good place to pull off and take a phone call or fix emergency issue's. What this will do for you is let you see your world in a new light, and get you start to do some planning. Which will begin the thinking process of being aware. This is extremly critical to do if you are planning to be in an area/city that you are not familiar with! When I am going to a city I am not familiar with, I literally sit down and draw out route from hotel to the places I am going to and have a minimum of one alternate route. In today's world it is quicker, because we have smart phones/computers and all the information we need, and with a "click" we can print it out. If you was going to a foreign town would it not make you more comfortable knowing the rounte, and let you focus on other threat's?
As you can see, this will obvious apply to safe route into and out of any building's as well. We can use the modern tool's actually see where stores are located, where to park and how to approach them. But, what about once we are in the facilities? You must learn to look for exit's when ever you walk into any shop or store! You do not have to, step in the store and goose neck around. As you come into the shop and browse, just casually look around for the exit's, other patrons and employee's. This takes but a few second's, after you get use to doing it.
I.A. drills- Though none of use have the time to spend an hour or two to practice immediate action drill's before we go out the door, can not deny the importance of it. Actually, there are some common problem's all patrol's face that they have S.O.P. (standard operating procedure) drill's for them, and only rehearse them once or twice to ensure that everyone is up to standard before they go out. This allows the patrol members to concentrate on more specific drill's for the patrol. One of those is what to do if "Ambushed", fired upon. Which would be good for us to have the same plan. Patrol, S.O.P., I.A. drills for this action if broken into "Near ambush" and "Far ambush".
Near ambush is taking fire within 150 yards (keep in mind in the military they use rifle's). If the patrol is in a close ambush, they will turn into the fire and begin returing more accurate fire (reason being, is that in an ambush this close, the best thing to do is make the other guy in fear of his life). Now, how would this translate to the armed citizen? First we use pistol's so range will be closer. Second, you will only do this as a patrol would when your life is in immediate danger of death and/or bodily harm (crippling injury). So, we could reasonably set our distance at 7 yards, due to the time lost in reaction, as is demonstrated by the "tueller drill". So, now we have as an example, set our "line of action" at 7 yards, which in turn will make our decision easier to at a minimum get to our pistol and/or get it out. Then we have to take in the circumstances to decide if a trigger press is needed. Keeping in mind, that in an armed citizen's world that the threat could of ceased do to the action you just did, so the thought process is ongoing.
Far ambush is taking fire from 150 yards and beyond. If the patrol is in a far ambush they will almost always "break contact", (disengage from the fight). They will do this by a tactic known as a "peel". One member will give cover, as the other moves to rear, then they will cover him as he moves (leap frog effect). What lesson can be learned for the armed citizen. Even with all the high tech. firearms, gadgets and highly trained warriors, will always get to safety if they can! This is where anything that is 8 yards or beyond, needs to beconsidered time to "break contact", we move toward cover & concealment, creating time and distance to our favor. Perhaps we take the time to work with our family unit, so we can move as one. You do not need to be a S.W.A.T. team, but some small prior planning/rehearsal (sound familiar)and discussing, if this happens, I want you to do this. If nothing else, the spouse, grab your belt and guide you to the exit, so you can concentrate on the threat, would be helpfull, right?
Injured person, this is something that very few armed citizen take into consideration, unless they have served in the military and been down range. The armed citizen need's to understand that the likely hood of having people injured in a situation is high. Also, that the chance's of them being injured is also extremely high. In my advanced class I bring this up, and you can see the look of shock on the experianced people face that they haven't thought of that, as I explain my technique for assesting. So, we can again take a lesson from the patroling tactics and start to create our own plan for dealing with injuries. The one thing I can not express enough is training/education in intermediate or critical first aid (not the basic boy scout or red cross class). Possesing the information is more valuable then having the winning lottery ticket, don't believe me? If you or your child was sitting against a wall with a hole in the side of the chest, would you pay millions to stop it or know how to? Of course, you would as would any reasonable person. So, why not plan ahead and take a course on using procedure to take care of injured people? The reason, it is most valuable, is you have the knowledge and can apply it, even when you don't have high speed medical gear, you can use field expediante stuff. Also, you will learn what you can do with one hand, which is valuable if you are the one injured and the one with the knowledge. Then you can form a more detailed plan, based on limitation if this happens or that happens, and have training reflect it?
The one thing that always makes a patrol successful or faulter is what they pay attention to. Doing patrol's are very taxing on a person, because you are constantly on alet for issues or intelligents. In the armed citizens world, you are constantly being situational aware, which is our determination of the facts. Take the time to sit down and draw our your route, draw out a situation in a store, then think through it. What would be the line? What is the right way to do it, realisticly. Visualising, and planning what to do will give any law abiding citizen a second in favor of life and happiness. I will give up 15 minutes to and hour, of planning to keep that last second of my life from being closer than needs to be.
Friday, September 11, 2015
9/11 and the 2nd Amendment
First, please take a moment and remembe the brave men and women, we lost 14 years ago to the terrible terrorist attacks. Then Raise your head high and let your heart swell with pride at being an AMERICAN! A country where liberty and freedom will never become oppressed. Let us use this time to reflect at what and why 9/11 happen and how this country having the 2nd Amendment keeps us safer. I do not intend for this to be any kind of rant or political thesis, though there will be times I may address it.
The atrocious attack's that happen on September 11th, where terrorist siezed planes and in essence turned them into bombs/missles, happen how? Their was not one firearm involved with the attack, now remember this was the most lost of American life on our soil, only beaten out by the battle of Antietam (Civil War battle which was fought only by American's). The terrorist, scum, seized control of the plane with box cutters!! Yet to this date, there is no law, nor legislation that has been made to keep these horrific weapons from terrorist hands? Think of how that translates to all the law's and legislation that is pushed to do away with the 2nd Amendment?
Why did the terrorist use box cutter's and not firearms? Well first off, if they really wanted to they could of smuggled firearms onto the plane. It had nothing to do with the weapon used to take control, but more to do with accessibility and intent. You see, they would of had a "harder" time getting firearms with out raising suspicion with their visa's (and how did a few get in the country when they was on the "Terrorist Watch List"). They did not want to use firearms on the plane! First, a funny thing happens to an airplane at altitude, when a bullet punches a hole into the fuseflage of the plane, it has a tendancy to "suck" items out and cause grave damage. Remember, they wanted to the plane to use as a "missle" to strike an intended target. Which bring's up a point that seldom get's discussed a lot. During my time in the military I had the pleasure of meeting with and training with several "Air Marshal's". These men and women are top notch and true professionals. I can tell you, from training with them, if there would of been one on the plane it NEVER would of made it to the target. They are shooter's on pare with any special forces out there or competitor. So, what wasn't there one on any of the planes? It was long standing policy that they only flew on international flight's, up untill the 90's (after Desert Storm) and the terrorist threat's against the United States became more severe, then they was "charged" with being on "high profile threat domestic" flights. What else is seldom discussed is that when the two term Administration before 9/11 took office, they "CUT" deep the intelligents and "Air Marshal" service's to balance the budget. There was not that many, the one's we had was over tact's and was not at the standard they once was. Sorrowly it took the 9/11 attack to bring this into light and now they are back and better than before.
Secondly, there is the simple fact that one of the hostages, can and would of, taken the firearm from the terrorist and then eliminated the scum from the earth. We, American's have firearms,bred into our very fabric from the foundation of this country. Someone on those planes would know how to use the firearm effectively. This is well known through out the world! Because we have the 2nd Amendment right in the Constitution, this is the reason we have never been invaded since the war of 1812 (british burned Washington D.C.). The Japanese believed that American's have a firearm in every home and they know how to use it, "a rifle behind every blade of grass". The russian's believed up to the 90's that we mandated that our youth take part in organization's to learn not only how to shoot, but how to live off the land and fight (Boys and Girl Scouts of America).
Having the 2nd Amendment, is what keeps this Country from being invaded and lends itself to assist in the temptation of Terrorist organization from becoming more aggessive here. Though, you are starting to see more "domestic terrorist" incident's taking place (it is this author's opinion, that these are only called "domestic" in a political sense and being quelled for those reasons). These attack's are not accidents, they are purposely driven. They are "feeling out our defenses", same way a patrol does in time of battle. Take the time to become trained and educated on the use of firearms, this is our patriotic duty to this great country, besides what other right gives you the power, to stand up and say no, I will not be a victim. We will not tolerate people who want to oppress us.
The atrocious attack's that happen on September 11th, where terrorist siezed planes and in essence turned them into bombs/missles, happen how? Their was not one firearm involved with the attack, now remember this was the most lost of American life on our soil, only beaten out by the battle of Antietam (Civil War battle which was fought only by American's). The terrorist, scum, seized control of the plane with box cutters!! Yet to this date, there is no law, nor legislation that has been made to keep these horrific weapons from terrorist hands? Think of how that translates to all the law's and legislation that is pushed to do away with the 2nd Amendment?
Why did the terrorist use box cutter's and not firearms? Well first off, if they really wanted to they could of smuggled firearms onto the plane. It had nothing to do with the weapon used to take control, but more to do with accessibility and intent. You see, they would of had a "harder" time getting firearms with out raising suspicion with their visa's (and how did a few get in the country when they was on the "Terrorist Watch List"). They did not want to use firearms on the plane! First, a funny thing happens to an airplane at altitude, when a bullet punches a hole into the fuseflage of the plane, it has a tendancy to "suck" items out and cause grave damage. Remember, they wanted to the plane to use as a "missle" to strike an intended target. Which bring's up a point that seldom get's discussed a lot. During my time in the military I had the pleasure of meeting with and training with several "Air Marshal's". These men and women are top notch and true professionals. I can tell you, from training with them, if there would of been one on the plane it NEVER would of made it to the target. They are shooter's on pare with any special forces out there or competitor. So, what wasn't there one on any of the planes? It was long standing policy that they only flew on international flight's, up untill the 90's (after Desert Storm) and the terrorist threat's against the United States became more severe, then they was "charged" with being on "high profile threat domestic" flights. What else is seldom discussed is that when the two term Administration before 9/11 took office, they "CUT" deep the intelligents and "Air Marshal" service's to balance the budget. There was not that many, the one's we had was over tact's and was not at the standard they once was. Sorrowly it took the 9/11 attack to bring this into light and now they are back and better than before.
Secondly, there is the simple fact that one of the hostages, can and would of, taken the firearm from the terrorist and then eliminated the scum from the earth. We, American's have firearms,bred into our very fabric from the foundation of this country. Someone on those planes would know how to use the firearm effectively. This is well known through out the world! Because we have the 2nd Amendment right in the Constitution, this is the reason we have never been invaded since the war of 1812 (british burned Washington D.C.). The Japanese believed that American's have a firearm in every home and they know how to use it, "a rifle behind every blade of grass". The russian's believed up to the 90's that we mandated that our youth take part in organization's to learn not only how to shoot, but how to live off the land and fight (Boys and Girl Scouts of America).
Having the 2nd Amendment, is what keeps this Country from being invaded and lends itself to assist in the temptation of Terrorist organization from becoming more aggessive here. Though, you are starting to see more "domestic terrorist" incident's taking place (it is this author's opinion, that these are only called "domestic" in a political sense and being quelled for those reasons). These attack's are not accidents, they are purposely driven. They are "feeling out our defenses", same way a patrol does in time of battle. Take the time to become trained and educated on the use of firearms, this is our patriotic duty to this great country, besides what other right gives you the power, to stand up and say no, I will not be a victim. We will not tolerate people who want to oppress us.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Your position is key
The word "position" is used in the firearm community to describe the stance one takes when engaging in shooting activity. For the sake of this blog piece I will just talk about defensive handgun use. There are muliple shooting positions and ways to do them, but if you break them down it come down to three. The Isosceles, Weaver and the Chapman stances. One thing to keep in mind up front. Though there are fundamentals that need adheard to to be a more constistant shooter, we are all built differently and must adjust the position for ourselves. What may work for one person, may not work for another, could be do to body style, an old injury, or just not as comfortable. As with all things, there are pro's and con's to each. I will address them briefly and offer some tips that may help some who are struggling. One thing I will say now, seek some training from a qualified, "competent" instructor to help not just teach you, but break it down so you understand.
The Weaver and the Chapman are both named after the person who came up with and used the position. The Isosceles, is so named because of the shape the arms make which resemble the triangle. No matter the stance you take, we must remember that it all start's at ground level. I see a great many students seem to forget that the feet should be comfortable distance apart and that the weight should rest mainly on the ball of your feet. This will place you into the firearm and assist with recoil. You also should work on your natural point of aim. Basicly, you want to be lined up with your target, naturally. How do we do this? You can do this at home, with a safe backstop and an empty pistol. Take up your position, and aim the safe, empty pistol at a target. Now close your eyes, then open them. Did the pistol move? Resist temptation to move the pistol back on target with muscles, instead simple adjust your feet, in or out untill it comes back in line. Then close your eyes and open to check and see if lined up. Once you have your feet adjusted, to where you close your eyes and open them and remain on target you are good to go. If you will do this a few times a week, you will train your body/brain that when you pick up the pistol, and take a stance it will be natural. This in turn will help you be more accurate and more consistant. Okay, now we have our feet in correct place, now we want to bend are knee's naturally, this helps with recoil as well as blood flow. Now let's take a look at the stance's for our upper body.
The Weaver, was created by Jack Weaver a law enforcement officer back in the 60's. Up to this time, everyone was pretty much using the old standard of shooting one handed. Col. Jeff Cooper held a shoot at Big Bear, California every year. Mr. Weaver came and beat everyone with his new position. Col. Cooper then adopted and became the biggest promoter and Instructor for it and is the very foundation of GUNSITE school. Let's look at the stance. We get a good two handed grip (I wrote about in another Blog), extend your arms out. Now we take and bend our support elbow straight down, like we are resting it on our ribcage, at the same time we pull the pistol inward. Our strong arm is pressing outward, with a slight flex in the elbow. This gives us isometric support in controling recoil. To make this position work best, one foot needs to be placed forward (usually the support side) into more of a boxer stance. This will also "blade" our body more to the side of our target. This stance is often favored by people with strong chest and shoulders. The Pro's are it "blade's" us from target, is usually quicker and handle recoil better. The Con of this is it takes a lot of practice and there is a slight loss of mobility from the boxer type stance. but try it, I have taught many people it and they favor it, but be warned the isometrics will make your tired quicker.
The Chapman, was created by pistol champion Ray Chapman. Mr. Chapman won several regional, state and national titles using his method. In essence, Mr. Chapman used the weaver type stance, with one modification, he thrust his shooting arm straight out, making it more rigid. He also would lay his head more over onto his shoulder, in essence making his arm and shoulder a "rifle stock". This method works a little better for people with some shoulder injury than the weaver. The Pro's are that is it very consistent, strong position. The con's as with the weaver is lack of mobility, and does take a little while to become comfortable with it. If you are cross eyes dominate it take's a lot of practice with both to become comfortable with it.
The Isosceles, is named after the triangle our arms form. This is a more natural and basic way of shooting the pistol with both hands and why it is taught first to many new shooters. This position became popular in the 80's by competive shooters and was quickly adopted by the military. For this position we get a good two hand grip, then we press both arms out in front. One big mistake people make is they lock the elbows in this position, this will cause tendonitis in your elbow's (caller shooters elbow, like tennis elbow). We want are elbow's slightly bent to prevent this and assist with recoil. There is a more modern technique called the Modified Isosceles, this has the elbow's break outward slightly, which in turn makes are elbows shock absorbers. The other big differance with this stance is that is squares us up with our target. So natural point of is more natural. The Pro's is that this is the easiest and quickest to learn, and provides more mobility. The con is that it is usually harder for people to learn to master recoil control.
In all position's the head should still be head erect, to ensure that the eye is naturally centered, to focus on the front sight more clearly. The back should be straight, but the whole body should be leaned forward. The rule of thumb is that the chest should be past the belly button. Though this may feel slightly unnatural at first, you will find a big differance in managing recoil by doing this. In essence we are setting our body up to accept and handle the recoil of the pistol, rather than just holding it in front of us. This is what I call "getting into the pistol", you want to be aggressive, because let's face it, if you need to do it in a life/death encounter you will be more aggresive. You Do Not want to be standing straight up and down. The weight of your body will set on your heals and thus you are not balanced when the shot happens. Another thing you do not want to do is be "leaned backward", this is usually seen by someone who has not had any training and is scared of the pistol going off. If you see a person do this, be an ambassador and stop and nicely explain the problems and issues. Which are they will loose balance, do not have proper muzzle control, there grip will not be substantial to handle the pistol, and long period of doing this will cause back injury.
I hope this helps explain a few things and a few tips to help you out. Feel free to leave a comment.
Train as if your life is worth it!
In e
The Weaver and the Chapman are both named after the person who came up with and used the position. The Isosceles, is so named because of the shape the arms make which resemble the triangle. No matter the stance you take, we must remember that it all start's at ground level. I see a great many students seem to forget that the feet should be comfortable distance apart and that the weight should rest mainly on the ball of your feet. This will place you into the firearm and assist with recoil. You also should work on your natural point of aim. Basicly, you want to be lined up with your target, naturally. How do we do this? You can do this at home, with a safe backstop and an empty pistol. Take up your position, and aim the safe, empty pistol at a target. Now close your eyes, then open them. Did the pistol move? Resist temptation to move the pistol back on target with muscles, instead simple adjust your feet, in or out untill it comes back in line. Then close your eyes and open to check and see if lined up. Once you have your feet adjusted, to where you close your eyes and open them and remain on target you are good to go. If you will do this a few times a week, you will train your body/brain that when you pick up the pistol, and take a stance it will be natural. This in turn will help you be more accurate and more consistant. Okay, now we have our feet in correct place, now we want to bend are knee's naturally, this helps with recoil as well as blood flow. Now let's take a look at the stance's for our upper body.
The Weaver, was created by Jack Weaver a law enforcement officer back in the 60's. Up to this time, everyone was pretty much using the old standard of shooting one handed. Col. Jeff Cooper held a shoot at Big Bear, California every year. Mr. Weaver came and beat everyone with his new position. Col. Cooper then adopted and became the biggest promoter and Instructor for it and is the very foundation of GUNSITE school. Let's look at the stance. We get a good two handed grip (I wrote about in another Blog), extend your arms out. Now we take and bend our support elbow straight down, like we are resting it on our ribcage, at the same time we pull the pistol inward. Our strong arm is pressing outward, with a slight flex in the elbow. This gives us isometric support in controling recoil. To make this position work best, one foot needs to be placed forward (usually the support side) into more of a boxer stance. This will also "blade" our body more to the side of our target. This stance is often favored by people with strong chest and shoulders. The Pro's are it "blade's" us from target, is usually quicker and handle recoil better. The Con of this is it takes a lot of practice and there is a slight loss of mobility from the boxer type stance. but try it, I have taught many people it and they favor it, but be warned the isometrics will make your tired quicker.
The Chapman, was created by pistol champion Ray Chapman. Mr. Chapman won several regional, state and national titles using his method. In essence, Mr. Chapman used the weaver type stance, with one modification, he thrust his shooting arm straight out, making it more rigid. He also would lay his head more over onto his shoulder, in essence making his arm and shoulder a "rifle stock". This method works a little better for people with some shoulder injury than the weaver. The Pro's are that is it very consistent, strong position. The con's as with the weaver is lack of mobility, and does take a little while to become comfortable with it. If you are cross eyes dominate it take's a lot of practice with both to become comfortable with it.
The Isosceles, is named after the triangle our arms form. This is a more natural and basic way of shooting the pistol with both hands and why it is taught first to many new shooters. This position became popular in the 80's by competive shooters and was quickly adopted by the military. For this position we get a good two hand grip, then we press both arms out in front. One big mistake people make is they lock the elbows in this position, this will cause tendonitis in your elbow's (caller shooters elbow, like tennis elbow). We want are elbow's slightly bent to prevent this and assist with recoil. There is a more modern technique called the Modified Isosceles, this has the elbow's break outward slightly, which in turn makes are elbows shock absorbers. The other big differance with this stance is that is squares us up with our target. So natural point of is more natural. The Pro's is that this is the easiest and quickest to learn, and provides more mobility. The con is that it is usually harder for people to learn to master recoil control.
In all position's the head should still be head erect, to ensure that the eye is naturally centered, to focus on the front sight more clearly. The back should be straight, but the whole body should be leaned forward. The rule of thumb is that the chest should be past the belly button. Though this may feel slightly unnatural at first, you will find a big differance in managing recoil by doing this. In essence we are setting our body up to accept and handle the recoil of the pistol, rather than just holding it in front of us. This is what I call "getting into the pistol", you want to be aggressive, because let's face it, if you need to do it in a life/death encounter you will be more aggresive. You Do Not want to be standing straight up and down. The weight of your body will set on your heals and thus you are not balanced when the shot happens. Another thing you do not want to do is be "leaned backward", this is usually seen by someone who has not had any training and is scared of the pistol going off. If you see a person do this, be an ambassador and stop and nicely explain the problems and issues. Which are they will loose balance, do not have proper muzzle control, there grip will not be substantial to handle the pistol, and long period of doing this will cause back injury.
I hope this helps explain a few things and a few tips to help you out. Feel free to leave a comment.
Train as if your life is worth it!
In e
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Awareness Mindset training
Awareness as we all know is the key to surviving a personal protection encounter. This will give you the time and distance that you need to give your the precious time to react and/or set up any tactics you need. As an Instructor I take pains in providing quality, effective training to my clients. We all love going to the range and working on our skill set with the pistol, or the DoJo and working on our empty hands defenses. But, we really do not think about it but everyday we have the oppurtunity to strengthen our awarness/mindset. In this article I will give you some tips and drills to do to help make it better. What you will find is that though you are looking for the bad things, you will start to notice a lot more of the precious and beauty of our world.
When I Instruct I teach that Mindset and Awareness are actually two different things. Mindset is the decisive desicion you make to lead a active defensive lifestyle. This is the key to all the other skill set's you have. If you do not do this then the rest of all you do in this field is just going through motion with no purpose. Just as a martial artist practices a kata without applying the purpose of each application of move, it turns into a dance with no music. The Mindset will give you the melody you need to practice or live the lifestyle in a good tempo. Mindset includes but not limited to, visualization, planning, preparing.
Visualization- Instead of going to the range and looking at a target and shooting, visualize the situation (remember there are no numbers or bullseye on criminals).
Planning- This is the thought process as you go through your everyday life of thinking what will I do with what I have, if this happens. A plan has to be flexible, but having one will get you started if something does happen. It is easier to burst into a sprint from a job, than from a stagnat location.
Preparing- This is taking the above two and realizing that it could be reality, and taking the necessary precautions and having the rescue equipment you will need if the event happens. Would you go skydiving without a parachute?
Now that we discussed the mindset and you have committed to the lifestyle, we will need some tool's to help us become better. Just as going to the range and working on our marksmanship, we must apply some level of training to help us become more aware of things happening around us. Below are a few drill's that will help strengthen your memory and awareness. Keep in mind that these like all muscle memory take time to build, take it little bit at a time, then you will be doing automatic.
Guest appearance drill- Pick a day or an hour,everytime someone comes in a door, stop what your doing and take in who came in and what they are doing (may be your next best friend).
Doorway drill- Take a day or hour, everytime you enter a door, step in and go directly to one side or the other. Then take in who all are in the room and what they are doing.
Stop light drill- Whenever you are driving and come to a stop light, while you are waiting for the green, with ever car that passes in front count how many people are wearing seatbelts. You will be amazed how much more you will notice.
Fridge drill- Everytime you see someone open a refrigerator, notice what they look like and what they are taking out of it.
Desk drill- This is one that has worked well for a few of my friends. As you sit at your desk working on computer, use your peripheral vision and notice anytime someone passes or approaches. As you get it challenge yourself next to use peripheral vision to notice color's they have on.
Coffee Cup drill- Everytime you see a colleague pick up there "mug", count how long they sip it (1missippi, 2missippi, etc...), if you have a friend at work who is working on skills, then take turns, during and hour and everytime they take a sip, they place the "mug" in different location, then after an hour have them ask you how many you noticed, then recipicate.
K.I.M. (keep in memory) game- Place 10 random items on a table, look at them for a minute. Then cover it up, now on paper describe the items you seen.
There are many more that can be done, but these can get you started being aware of what is taking place around you. The common denominator is that we are seeing something, we then take it in, and notice what is in the person's HAND'S. If you do these drill's several time a week, in a short time you will be doing it on automatic. I hope that this has helped and creates as good of awareness skill set as your marksman ship.
Stay aware, train like you want to live.
Todd
When I Instruct I teach that Mindset and Awareness are actually two different things. Mindset is the decisive desicion you make to lead a active defensive lifestyle. This is the key to all the other skill set's you have. If you do not do this then the rest of all you do in this field is just going through motion with no purpose. Just as a martial artist practices a kata without applying the purpose of each application of move, it turns into a dance with no music. The Mindset will give you the melody you need to practice or live the lifestyle in a good tempo. Mindset includes but not limited to, visualization, planning, preparing.
Visualization- Instead of going to the range and looking at a target and shooting, visualize the situation (remember there are no numbers or bullseye on criminals).
Planning- This is the thought process as you go through your everyday life of thinking what will I do with what I have, if this happens. A plan has to be flexible, but having one will get you started if something does happen. It is easier to burst into a sprint from a job, than from a stagnat location.
Preparing- This is taking the above two and realizing that it could be reality, and taking the necessary precautions and having the rescue equipment you will need if the event happens. Would you go skydiving without a parachute?
Now that we discussed the mindset and you have committed to the lifestyle, we will need some tool's to help us become better. Just as going to the range and working on our marksmanship, we must apply some level of training to help us become more aware of things happening around us. Below are a few drill's that will help strengthen your memory and awareness. Keep in mind that these like all muscle memory take time to build, take it little bit at a time, then you will be doing automatic.
Guest appearance drill- Pick a day or an hour,everytime someone comes in a door, stop what your doing and take in who came in and what they are doing (may be your next best friend).
Doorway drill- Take a day or hour, everytime you enter a door, step in and go directly to one side or the other. Then take in who all are in the room and what they are doing.
Stop light drill- Whenever you are driving and come to a stop light, while you are waiting for the green, with ever car that passes in front count how many people are wearing seatbelts. You will be amazed how much more you will notice.
Fridge drill- Everytime you see someone open a refrigerator, notice what they look like and what they are taking out of it.
Desk drill- This is one that has worked well for a few of my friends. As you sit at your desk working on computer, use your peripheral vision and notice anytime someone passes or approaches. As you get it challenge yourself next to use peripheral vision to notice color's they have on.
Coffee Cup drill- Everytime you see a colleague pick up there "mug", count how long they sip it (1missippi, 2missippi, etc...), if you have a friend at work who is working on skills, then take turns, during and hour and everytime they take a sip, they place the "mug" in different location, then after an hour have them ask you how many you noticed, then recipicate.
K.I.M. (keep in memory) game- Place 10 random items on a table, look at them for a minute. Then cover it up, now on paper describe the items you seen.
There are many more that can be done, but these can get you started being aware of what is taking place around you. The common denominator is that we are seeing something, we then take it in, and notice what is in the person's HAND'S. If you do these drill's several time a week, in a short time you will be doing it on automatic. I hope that this has helped and creates as good of awareness skill set as your marksman ship.
Stay aware, train like you want to live.
Todd
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Shooter's Log- "training date"
There is a lot of great training aid's out there for the Armed Citizen's. Some of them are designed for specific item's or task's, others offer general assistance for the shooter to practice. But of all the item's out there and have been around there is one that is used the least and add's the greatest value for a person to practice, and become more efficient. Rifle shooter's have used this method for long time but again for some reason I do not see a great many shooters utilizing this tool, which is odd because it is rather inexpensive but valuable for what you recieve from it.
I am talking about a shooter's log. This tool as I have already said, is invaluable once you use them. I was interduced to them when I went into the Marine Corps, and at first didn't see the real benefit, untill few months later I started going through it on a deployment, and seen pattern of my shooting and ways to improve it. Once I left the Marine Corps I stopped using it for a while, untill I took up traditional archery and brought this concept into my learning to master it, and it made a big differance. I started "coaching" shooter's off and on, and would suggest to them to use them and explain how (as I will here). After few years, I noticed a trend, those shooter's that took my advise and used the "log", performed far better than those that did not. This just cemented how valuable this tool was to both new shooters and experianced.
A "log" can be as eligant or simple as you want it to be. From a simple small spiral notebook from a "dollar" store, to a designed precise folder. What is important is the material that you have in the book. You have to look at it as a computer. The only information you will get out of it, is going to depend on the material that you put into it. Take the time and record the information, you will be suprised how a little note will jog your memory years later, but I will discuss more of this later. Let's look at what or how a "log" should be set up.
Training data- You want plenty of room for record information, as well as, keep it "clean" which will assit in remembering, I recommend a whole page (if using a small note book) or a select section for you designed.
Date- Ensure that you have the Date on the form, this will help give your brain a referance and keep you organized.
Range- you want the distance to the target you are shooting here. What most people start to see is at a certain distance they start to have more issues.
Target- log what target you was shooting at. Some see a trend to they shoot better on some than others.
Pistol- If you have more than one, record which one you are using.
Caliber- place the caliber you are using, I go even further and place what ammunition I am using for referance, as some ammunition shooter better out of certain pistol's.
Drill/Skill- This area I put what "detail" I am working on. This does few things for the shooter. One, it make you think of what you want to work on special for that segment. Two, it gives you structure during the training time you have (instead of just shooting 50 bullets). Three, it will give you feedback later of what you worked on.
Notes- I then have a huge section (box) for notes also there is a simple target with bulls eye. This is where the majority of information will be recorded. The things that felt good or bad, what I changed that seem to work, and/or possbile what to work on next time. On the target, is where I "plot" the shots as my training progress's (more on that in minute).
Okay, we now have our heading set up on the logbook let's look at how to do it. Once all headers are filled in and we settled on a drill/skill to work on (for this let's use "Todd's Trigger" drill). We have everything set up we are shooting at a regular paper with a 2" dot in the middle. We load our pistol with three rounds, we then come up on target, we purposely extend our trigger finger through the trigger more than normal, and press off 3 accurate shots then empty and make clear. Now, if all is done corretly we should have three tight holes low and left. I pick up my ink pen, I jot down a 1=through, then on the "target" in log, put a little "1" where the impacts are. I then paste the target. I come back, load up 3 rounds, then I pull my finger out to the right and press off three accurate rounds, empty and show clear. We should have three tight rounds to the right or low/right. I will then pick up my ink pen and record 2=out, then on "target" in log, put a little "2" where those impacts are. I am also noting any issues, like maybe grip slipping, or sights seem blured today, or note perhaps a cut I have on my finger which is changing how I press the trigger.
Once, I am done with the drill I am working on, I will move to the next and it will have it's own section/page. As you can see it is not hard, but will give you feedback. Once I am all done shooting for the day, I will make time to ponder the information. What felt good and what did not. The key is to find out the "why", then note it. Sometimes, this is done later that night or a few day's later, but the point is you want to make time to study your information, then this will help give and idea of what to work on for the next time. Let's face it ammunition is expensive, our time to train is never enough, and a good instructor/coach is ususally hard to find. This is something that can help you become better. Also, the next time you see a good instructor/coach, ask him/her to look over the "log". If it is done correctly, this will show them the information they need to help you, it is just as if they was right there. I hope this tip helps you and gives you another tool in the box to making you a better shooter.
Stay Alert, Articulate well and train smart,
Todd
Note: I tried uploading a copy of my log, but the brower didn't let me, leave a comment and I will send you a copy.
I am talking about a shooter's log. This tool as I have already said, is invaluable once you use them. I was interduced to them when I went into the Marine Corps, and at first didn't see the real benefit, untill few months later I started going through it on a deployment, and seen pattern of my shooting and ways to improve it. Once I left the Marine Corps I stopped using it for a while, untill I took up traditional archery and brought this concept into my learning to master it, and it made a big differance. I started "coaching" shooter's off and on, and would suggest to them to use them and explain how (as I will here). After few years, I noticed a trend, those shooter's that took my advise and used the "log", performed far better than those that did not. This just cemented how valuable this tool was to both new shooters and experianced.
A "log" can be as eligant or simple as you want it to be. From a simple small spiral notebook from a "dollar" store, to a designed precise folder. What is important is the material that you have in the book. You have to look at it as a computer. The only information you will get out of it, is going to depend on the material that you put into it. Take the time and record the information, you will be suprised how a little note will jog your memory years later, but I will discuss more of this later. Let's look at what or how a "log" should be set up.
Training data- You want plenty of room for record information, as well as, keep it "clean" which will assit in remembering, I recommend a whole page (if using a small note book) or a select section for you designed.
Date- Ensure that you have the Date on the form, this will help give your brain a referance and keep you organized.
Range- you want the distance to the target you are shooting here. What most people start to see is at a certain distance they start to have more issues.
Target- log what target you was shooting at. Some see a trend to they shoot better on some than others.
Pistol- If you have more than one, record which one you are using.
Caliber- place the caliber you are using, I go even further and place what ammunition I am using for referance, as some ammunition shooter better out of certain pistol's.
Drill/Skill- This area I put what "detail" I am working on. This does few things for the shooter. One, it make you think of what you want to work on special for that segment. Two, it gives you structure during the training time you have (instead of just shooting 50 bullets). Three, it will give you feedback later of what you worked on.
Notes- I then have a huge section (box) for notes also there is a simple target with bulls eye. This is where the majority of information will be recorded. The things that felt good or bad, what I changed that seem to work, and/or possbile what to work on next time. On the target, is where I "plot" the shots as my training progress's (more on that in minute).
Okay, we now have our heading set up on the logbook let's look at how to do it. Once all headers are filled in and we settled on a drill/skill to work on (for this let's use "Todd's Trigger" drill). We have everything set up we are shooting at a regular paper with a 2" dot in the middle. We load our pistol with three rounds, we then come up on target, we purposely extend our trigger finger through the trigger more than normal, and press off 3 accurate shots then empty and make clear. Now, if all is done corretly we should have three tight holes low and left. I pick up my ink pen, I jot down a 1=through, then on the "target" in log, put a little "1" where the impacts are. I then paste the target. I come back, load up 3 rounds, then I pull my finger out to the right and press off three accurate rounds, empty and show clear. We should have three tight rounds to the right or low/right. I will then pick up my ink pen and record 2=out, then on "target" in log, put a little "2" where those impacts are. I am also noting any issues, like maybe grip slipping, or sights seem blured today, or note perhaps a cut I have on my finger which is changing how I press the trigger.
Once, I am done with the drill I am working on, I will move to the next and it will have it's own section/page. As you can see it is not hard, but will give you feedback. Once I am all done shooting for the day, I will make time to ponder the information. What felt good and what did not. The key is to find out the "why", then note it. Sometimes, this is done later that night or a few day's later, but the point is you want to make time to study your information, then this will help give and idea of what to work on for the next time. Let's face it ammunition is expensive, our time to train is never enough, and a good instructor/coach is ususally hard to find. This is something that can help you become better. Also, the next time you see a good instructor/coach, ask him/her to look over the "log". If it is done correctly, this will show them the information they need to help you, it is just as if they was right there. I hope this tip helps you and gives you another tool in the box to making you a better shooter.
Stay Alert, Articulate well and train smart,
Todd
Note: I tried uploading a copy of my log, but the brower didn't let me, leave a comment and I will send you a copy.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
A Paper that Changed the World
Think about what this day July 4th, means to us Citizens of the United States of America? Think of the courage of our ancestors during this trying time? We often do not stop and ponder this, the very lives they put on the line, for a dream, something better, a commitment to a document that would change the world and become a beacon for freedom for all. We at time's take the rights our founding fathers have engrained into a parchment for granted it seems to me. We have an obligation not just to ourselves but to our children. We must take time to not just read the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, but also understand the era and people who have had enough of being dominated.
We are a country of people who came from different walks of life, religion's, class's and creed's. We have always had different opinions and belief's. However, we also realize that we need to come together and bond over item's that are bigger and more important than what we as individuals want. We are a country of unity, compassion and compromise. At the same time we are a nation of people who are not afraid to stand and speak our mind on what is just and right. A nation who wants to resolve through diplomacy, and yet are willing to shed our blood for the sanctity of the preservation of liberty. We hold the pursuit of happiness as value more important than the security of need's.
Our founding fathers came together in time of tyranny. They did not just represent their own values but those of all of this nation. They came together, discussed intently the issues of the times and the actions of which to take. After many failed attempts to appeal and communicate with the injustice's of the time, they appointed a Sub-Committee to draft a document of declaration. The sub-committee came up with several draft's, then they submitted a final one, all of which was drawn up by Thomas Jefferson. This final draft was signed by the congress of the time and was sent off. This document would change the very world as we know it today.
This document with ink and parchment would declare that people have a right to be free, and was sealed in blood with that of patriots and free men. This is what gave us the fortitude to stand and unite. Think about it a small group of people standing up to the World Power of the time. Not only demonstrating the desire to be free, but to beat the power and gain means of a new nation, cemented with the common man's use of the firearm of the time (we are a nation of riflemen). As any great thing that last, this did not happen overnight and took trial and error. The adoption of the Articles of the Confederation would give us guidance through the Revalution. Though it did not provide all that would be needed for a nation to not only survive but thrive.
A new document would need to be born. A document that would become the most important document drafted by man for freedom. This would be the Constitution of the United States of America! With this the unalienable rights of free people would be cemented forever for this nation, and become the living/breathing bible of liberty. This paper gives us our rights, and show's the responsiblity that we as free men and women have to uphold it for those that will be here long after we have gone.
The 4th of July for all American's is a day that should consist of more than cook out's and gatherings. Take a few minutes of this day and refamiliarise yourself with it. Cherish the fabric of liberty that we have and pass the history and legacy on to those who shall come behind us. If we forget what it took to get here and do not take the time to ensure that are offspring share the same value as we have for it, it shall fade away into history. Along with that the very freedom's we have had shall not be enjoyed by our grandchildren.
We are a country of people who came from different walks of life, religion's, class's and creed's. We have always had different opinions and belief's. However, we also realize that we need to come together and bond over item's that are bigger and more important than what we as individuals want. We are a country of unity, compassion and compromise. At the same time we are a nation of people who are not afraid to stand and speak our mind on what is just and right. A nation who wants to resolve through diplomacy, and yet are willing to shed our blood for the sanctity of the preservation of liberty. We hold the pursuit of happiness as value more important than the security of need's.
Our founding fathers came together in time of tyranny. They did not just represent their own values but those of all of this nation. They came together, discussed intently the issues of the times and the actions of which to take. After many failed attempts to appeal and communicate with the injustice's of the time, they appointed a Sub-Committee to draft a document of declaration. The sub-committee came up with several draft's, then they submitted a final one, all of which was drawn up by Thomas Jefferson. This final draft was signed by the congress of the time and was sent off. This document would change the very world as we know it today.
This document with ink and parchment would declare that people have a right to be free, and was sealed in blood with that of patriots and free men. This is what gave us the fortitude to stand and unite. Think about it a small group of people standing up to the World Power of the time. Not only demonstrating the desire to be free, but to beat the power and gain means of a new nation, cemented with the common man's use of the firearm of the time (we are a nation of riflemen). As any great thing that last, this did not happen overnight and took trial and error. The adoption of the Articles of the Confederation would give us guidance through the Revalution. Though it did not provide all that would be needed for a nation to not only survive but thrive.
A new document would need to be born. A document that would become the most important document drafted by man for freedom. This would be the Constitution of the United States of America! With this the unalienable rights of free people would be cemented forever for this nation, and become the living/breathing bible of liberty. This paper gives us our rights, and show's the responsiblity that we as free men and women have to uphold it for those that will be here long after we have gone.
The 4th of July for all American's is a day that should consist of more than cook out's and gatherings. Take a few minutes of this day and refamiliarise yourself with it. Cherish the fabric of liberty that we have and pass the history and legacy on to those who shall come behind us. If we forget what it took to get here and do not take the time to ensure that are offspring share the same value as we have for it, it shall fade away into history. Along with that the very freedom's we have had shall not be enjoyed by our grandchildren.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Conceal Carry Commandment's
For many carrying a concealed firearm is new to them. If they are properly trained then they understand the great responsibility and standard of higher care that they are held to. They know that there is a lot to this, that goes rather deep and a whole lot to know. There is a great many things that one should know and do, below I offer these, I know not if they are carved in stone or not, but they should be carved into the brain. The following is based on my own experiances, as well as, from my mentor and living legend Massad Ayoob. Mr. Ayoob first wrote these back in 2009 and appeared as "Ten Commandments of Concealed Carry" in Harris publications. I had the honor and privedge of discussing these with Massad after I attended his MAG20 class (I strongly urge everyone who carry's legally to attend this class).
1- If you choose to carry, always carry, as much as possible. If the need comes you will have to defend yourself or those under your care, do you think it will be when you choose? Criminal's attack when the prey least expect it as do other vile critters. They have the luxury of picking and choosing their chosen prey and when to pounce. Could that "quick" run to the store be the time? Could just poping in for a quick burger with family be the time a disgrentled employee show's up? Is it possible that sitting with family enjoying a movie at a theater be the time a person who has no care for life decides to take it away? I am not trying to scare you, just reality of the world we live in, we must choose not to be a victim. Along with this, you want to carry as much as possible so you can "fine" tune and adjust it to your lifestyle. You will find that once you do, that you will feel "naked" without it. Imagine the first time you got a cell phone, at first it was a nuisance, in a short time, you stopped and looked till you found it before you left the home.
2- If your not prepared to use it, don't carry it. This is of course something that you must consider and decide long before you carry. There is nothing that you can put on to keep evil away, there is no magic, untill force field technology gets perfected. It doesn't matter if it is a knife, firearm, stun gun or hammer, you must have come to terms with the possible use of this rescue tool if the time comes. If properly trained, then you understand what will follow once you have to use the tool. Not just the legal aftermath, but the psychological and social as well. You must remember, criminal's do not fear the firearm or tool. They have their own and are familiar with them. What they truly fear is the potential prey who has come to terms with these issue's and have commited that if it comes, they will do what is necassary. We hope and pray we never have to be in the situation, but if it does come, we must have the decision of action already dealt with.
3- Do not allow the firearm to make you reckless. "with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail" is an old saying. Just because you have the firearm does not make you superman/superwoman. As already stated, those who carry legally are held to a higher standard of care". You are expected to know the law and the narrow scope of applying the rescue tool justifiably. This does not give you any special power, you are not a deputized law enforcement officer. Everything that you do will be measured by a magnifing glass, so make sure that you conduct yourself accordingly. Carrying a firearm is the last resort, and should be also the "brake" that should always be present in your mind before you go and get into the mix of a situation, it should always be present in the thought process.
4- Carry Legally. You are a lawabiding citizen, who has taken the time and responsiblity of seeking training and taking the time to obtain your license. You need to ask yourself this, "why did I find the need to get my conceal carry license and/or why do I feel the need to carry a firearm?". It will be different for everyone, but I would assume that you want the ability to protect yourself and those under your care if the need arised. Now, I want you to stop and think what you would do if a greater power took that away, forever! This is what will happen if you do not carry Legally, many times I have stated that we will be held to a higher standard of care and breaking the law is not what reasonable, prudent people do. The very law's of our great nation, give us the right to do this, unlike so many other countries. The law is not a serpent out slithering around looking and tempting you to become a felon. It is you who make the decision to give up this right by becoming a felon.
5- Know what you are doing. This applies just not with applying marksmanship skills, nor just carrying method. But goes along with understanding the law's that will be applied to you. You need to know the narrow scope of the law that you will be measured to if the situation ever transpires. There is all kinds of myth's out there that range from "just drag them inside" to "just say you was in fear of your life", it is not that simple. If someone tell's you this, are you willing to take their advice which will decide where you will sleep the next 20 years of your life? You have to know not only how to carry and use the rescue tool's, but you can justifiably use them. Would you give someone CPR who had a cut on their finger? Apply what is appropriate for the time. Having this knowledge and applying it comes with research and training. Study intently and understand why this person went to prison, yet this one did not. Your training should be not just in how to shoot, but when to shoot as well. FYI, I recommend first aid training as well, because you may have to render aid to yourself and/or your loved one. Having a guitar doesn't make you a rockstar, just as having a firearm doesn't make you prepared. Train!
6- Concealed means hidden from view. Remember just as you have a right to have the firearm, other citizens have the equal right not to see or be threatened by it. You want to keep it concealed for various reasons. Legally, most states have a "brandishing" or "threatening" laws, to protect all of us from such acts. So we want to ensure that someone doesn't feel this way and we become charged with breaking law (see #5 above). Tactically, we want to have the firearm concealed to keep this advantage in our favor. Picture if you will, you are in a convienant store, a criminal comes in to rob it, as you reach for something on top shelf they see your firearm. Who do you think they will eliminate first? We do not want anyone to know we are carrying. I also look at it as the first step in keeping it from unauthorized people. I do not want someon to be tempted to reach for it.
7- Be familiar with firearms. You have decided to carry a firearm for your protection and/or that of the ones you love. You want to know deeply how to manipulate it safely. If the time comes that you will need it, it will be within seconds. You want it to be second nature and extention of yourself. You want to know it intimately, how to load, unload, clear malfunction, how to fire it. I strongly urge that after you become familiar with your firearm, that you seek out being familiar with some different ones also. Have a working knowledge of single and double action revolvers, remember you may be in a situation to where you may have to pick one of those up too.
8- Study the fine points. Like signing a contract or buying something you need to read the fine print before you commit to something (see #5). Take sometime and understand the finer points of the laws in your area. Understanding them will help with other places that it is different. This will help you stay legal and comprehend what is just. The principle "ignorance of the law is no excuse", should be branded in your brain.
9- The firearm you carry should be adequate. The firearm/ammunition you carry should have a "track record" for stopping a threat. Remember, if you are ever in a situation to where you shoot a person, you will have to articulate why you did what you did, as well as, why you used what you did. If chosen carry method is not used by law enforcement then you might want to rethink it.
10- Make sure common sense is "Common". Use sound reasoning, logic and ethics as you would do at all times. Carrying a firearm you have the power of what? You literally have the power at your side of life and death. Why do you think that you have to get training and apply for a license to carry? Because this grave power belongs only in the hand of responsible people that understand the consequences of it. A person who values life and the safety of others. At all times use common sense.
I hope that this might give you some insight and guidance in carrying. Once again I want to thank Mr. Ayoob for putting this in an important article back in 2009, as well as, all his hard ground breaking work. My friend stay safe, train well and be aware.
1- If you choose to carry, always carry, as much as possible. If the need comes you will have to defend yourself or those under your care, do you think it will be when you choose? Criminal's attack when the prey least expect it as do other vile critters. They have the luxury of picking and choosing their chosen prey and when to pounce. Could that "quick" run to the store be the time? Could just poping in for a quick burger with family be the time a disgrentled employee show's up? Is it possible that sitting with family enjoying a movie at a theater be the time a person who has no care for life decides to take it away? I am not trying to scare you, just reality of the world we live in, we must choose not to be a victim. Along with this, you want to carry as much as possible so you can "fine" tune and adjust it to your lifestyle. You will find that once you do, that you will feel "naked" without it. Imagine the first time you got a cell phone, at first it was a nuisance, in a short time, you stopped and looked till you found it before you left the home.
2- If your not prepared to use it, don't carry it. This is of course something that you must consider and decide long before you carry. There is nothing that you can put on to keep evil away, there is no magic, untill force field technology gets perfected. It doesn't matter if it is a knife, firearm, stun gun or hammer, you must have come to terms with the possible use of this rescue tool if the time comes. If properly trained, then you understand what will follow once you have to use the tool. Not just the legal aftermath, but the psychological and social as well. You must remember, criminal's do not fear the firearm or tool. They have their own and are familiar with them. What they truly fear is the potential prey who has come to terms with these issue's and have commited that if it comes, they will do what is necassary. We hope and pray we never have to be in the situation, but if it does come, we must have the decision of action already dealt with.
3- Do not allow the firearm to make you reckless. "with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail" is an old saying. Just because you have the firearm does not make you superman/superwoman. As already stated, those who carry legally are held to a higher standard of care". You are expected to know the law and the narrow scope of applying the rescue tool justifiably. This does not give you any special power, you are not a deputized law enforcement officer. Everything that you do will be measured by a magnifing glass, so make sure that you conduct yourself accordingly. Carrying a firearm is the last resort, and should be also the "brake" that should always be present in your mind before you go and get into the mix of a situation, it should always be present in the thought process.
4- Carry Legally. You are a lawabiding citizen, who has taken the time and responsiblity of seeking training and taking the time to obtain your license. You need to ask yourself this, "why did I find the need to get my conceal carry license and/or why do I feel the need to carry a firearm?". It will be different for everyone, but I would assume that you want the ability to protect yourself and those under your care if the need arised. Now, I want you to stop and think what you would do if a greater power took that away, forever! This is what will happen if you do not carry Legally, many times I have stated that we will be held to a higher standard of care and breaking the law is not what reasonable, prudent people do. The very law's of our great nation, give us the right to do this, unlike so many other countries. The law is not a serpent out slithering around looking and tempting you to become a felon. It is you who make the decision to give up this right by becoming a felon.
5- Know what you are doing. This applies just not with applying marksmanship skills, nor just carrying method. But goes along with understanding the law's that will be applied to you. You need to know the narrow scope of the law that you will be measured to if the situation ever transpires. There is all kinds of myth's out there that range from "just drag them inside" to "just say you was in fear of your life", it is not that simple. If someone tell's you this, are you willing to take their advice which will decide where you will sleep the next 20 years of your life? You have to know not only how to carry and use the rescue tool's, but you can justifiably use them. Would you give someone CPR who had a cut on their finger? Apply what is appropriate for the time. Having this knowledge and applying it comes with research and training. Study intently and understand why this person went to prison, yet this one did not. Your training should be not just in how to shoot, but when to shoot as well. FYI, I recommend first aid training as well, because you may have to render aid to yourself and/or your loved one. Having a guitar doesn't make you a rockstar, just as having a firearm doesn't make you prepared. Train!
6- Concealed means hidden from view. Remember just as you have a right to have the firearm, other citizens have the equal right not to see or be threatened by it. You want to keep it concealed for various reasons. Legally, most states have a "brandishing" or "threatening" laws, to protect all of us from such acts. So we want to ensure that someone doesn't feel this way and we become charged with breaking law (see #5 above). Tactically, we want to have the firearm concealed to keep this advantage in our favor. Picture if you will, you are in a convienant store, a criminal comes in to rob it, as you reach for something on top shelf they see your firearm. Who do you think they will eliminate first? We do not want anyone to know we are carrying. I also look at it as the first step in keeping it from unauthorized people. I do not want someon to be tempted to reach for it.
7- Be familiar with firearms. You have decided to carry a firearm for your protection and/or that of the ones you love. You want to know deeply how to manipulate it safely. If the time comes that you will need it, it will be within seconds. You want it to be second nature and extention of yourself. You want to know it intimately, how to load, unload, clear malfunction, how to fire it. I strongly urge that after you become familiar with your firearm, that you seek out being familiar with some different ones also. Have a working knowledge of single and double action revolvers, remember you may be in a situation to where you may have to pick one of those up too.
8- Study the fine points. Like signing a contract or buying something you need to read the fine print before you commit to something (see #5). Take sometime and understand the finer points of the laws in your area. Understanding them will help with other places that it is different. This will help you stay legal and comprehend what is just. The principle "ignorance of the law is no excuse", should be branded in your brain.
9- The firearm you carry should be adequate. The firearm/ammunition you carry should have a "track record" for stopping a threat. Remember, if you are ever in a situation to where you shoot a person, you will have to articulate why you did what you did, as well as, why you used what you did. If chosen carry method is not used by law enforcement then you might want to rethink it.
10- Make sure common sense is "Common". Use sound reasoning, logic and ethics as you would do at all times. Carrying a firearm you have the power of what? You literally have the power at your side of life and death. Why do you think that you have to get training and apply for a license to carry? Because this grave power belongs only in the hand of responsible people that understand the consequences of it. A person who values life and the safety of others. At all times use common sense.
I hope that this might give you some insight and guidance in carrying. Once again I want to thank Mr. Ayoob for putting this in an important article back in 2009, as well as, all his hard ground breaking work. My friend stay safe, train well and be aware.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Grip- It's just not for hands anymore
The Grip is often overlooked when it comes to the presentation and shooting of the pistol. A great many people just grab and pick up the pistol, then apply the other hand and begin to shoot, then wonder often why the impacts are not getting better. I often state in my basic pistol classes, that the pistol is the hardest firearm to shoot well. There is a great many reason's for this and one of them is that unlike others, you are only connected to the pistol with your hands with no other support, (Hovering out in front of the body). So, the better we can make our grip on the pistol the more it will help with consistency, as well as, manage recoil for a follow up shot.
I will address shooting a semi-automatic in my view, because this is the most common pistol used today, (I will follow this up with picture's, once I get a new camera). Note, that understanding this is critical, especially for a new shooter, befor they spend there hard earned money on a pistol that is not correct for them. Just because it is easy to conceal does not mean it can be shot well. As, always the firearm rules will apply. First, with an uloaded firearm (only you know that it is unloaded after you check), point in safe direction, then feel your grip with the strong hand. Does it fit in the palm of your hand? Does your hand sit high against the "tang" of the pistol? Is there room for your support hand?
Now lift the pistol up with a one hand grip, and obtain good sight alignment, now look down at how the pistol sit's in your hand, is it in the "V" or off to one side? The rule of thumb is, that it should line up with the "V", for good support, the real trick is, how does it line up with the Ulna and Radius of the arm? In essence you want your wrist locked, and the bones supporting the pistol. Then you have good structure, which in turn will give your consitency. Now, this is the "perfect" way, however we are all built differently, with different hands and build, but we will disuss this in a second. I don't want you to change anything, I want you to feel how it fits in your hand now. Next, only after you of course ensure that it is unloaded. I want you to put your trigger finger on the trigger, and apply slight take up (tension), don't shoot it, just put tension on the trigger. As, you apply pressure, is there any added pressue on your front strap fingers? Look at your trigger finger on how it address's the frame of the pistol. Does it make contact with it? Do you really have to reach for the trigger? Do you have to "fight" to draw your finger into the trigger for the sweet spot? Does your overall strong hand stay in contact with the pistol front/back strap? Next, as long as can be done safely, dry fire the pistol. Nice and slow, press the trigger to the rear till it breaks, then hold it. How does it feel, is your finger "cramped to make it go off? Look at all the same, remember we want the shot to break with out changing anything and this is where it all begins, the grip. All the above is sizing, can you make any pistol shoot well, sure. But, with the correct pistol you will shoot great and appear easily, why struggle?
One of the biggest issue's I see people have, is when they grip the pistol, they "torque" on left grip panel, with the tips of there fingers (they shoot low/left). We want the pressure of our strong hand to press the front strap of the pistol back into the back strap into the palm of the hand, STRAIGHT back. You want the hand high, create a bubble of skin under the "tang". Now, take your thumb and point it up. This will open the void that needs filled. Take your support hand, where the ball of your thumb meets hand and lay that high on the grip, then point the thumb toward the target, along the slide. This will cause the support hand to cant foward, and lock the support wrist. Now the support hand fingers should wrap around the strong hand fingers, and grip more of a side to side. Apply tight grip, just as you would if swinging a hammer. I find that if you concentrate on applying more "pinky" pressure it helps tighten the grip. I do not advocate placing the support hand index finger on the trigger guard, the reason why, is because unless your get trained properly, you will be steering the pistol off target, then you are compensating for a problem that shouldn't be there anyway.
The hands can only do so much, so let us bring in some help. I find that if you press the pistol out all the way, you have more of a tendancy to "rock" in your grip. But, if your just slightly break it back toward your chest, your grip will tighten (try it with a piece of paper and have someone pull it out). This is called a chest press, and brings in the pectoral muscles and the deltoid muscles. Which gives us even more control, especially with recoil management. next time on the range, Shoot three rounds like normal. Then apply the chest press principles for 3 shot's. You will find that you will have more control over the pistol and shoot a tighter group.
The next thing to do to help with the grip, is improve your stance. What many people do not realize is that if you really want to focus on something, human being bend over a little, (watch people and you will see it is true). This increase's our focus. So, if we bend into the shot, get our chest just ahead of our belly button (push butt out), we are getting more of our body behind the pistol (mass weight), and we increase our focus which means better front sight control. This will assist you in managing recoil, as well as, increase balance, which in turn tightens your grip on the pistol.
Stay alert, articulate well, train often.
I will address shooting a semi-automatic in my view, because this is the most common pistol used today, (I will follow this up with picture's, once I get a new camera). Note, that understanding this is critical, especially for a new shooter, befor they spend there hard earned money on a pistol that is not correct for them. Just because it is easy to conceal does not mean it can be shot well. As, always the firearm rules will apply. First, with an uloaded firearm (only you know that it is unloaded after you check), point in safe direction, then feel your grip with the strong hand. Does it fit in the palm of your hand? Does your hand sit high against the "tang" of the pistol? Is there room for your support hand?
Now lift the pistol up with a one hand grip, and obtain good sight alignment, now look down at how the pistol sit's in your hand, is it in the "V" or off to one side? The rule of thumb is, that it should line up with the "V", for good support, the real trick is, how does it line up with the Ulna and Radius of the arm? In essence you want your wrist locked, and the bones supporting the pistol. Then you have good structure, which in turn will give your consitency. Now, this is the "perfect" way, however we are all built differently, with different hands and build, but we will disuss this in a second. I don't want you to change anything, I want you to feel how it fits in your hand now. Next, only after you of course ensure that it is unloaded. I want you to put your trigger finger on the trigger, and apply slight take up (tension), don't shoot it, just put tension on the trigger. As, you apply pressure, is there any added pressue on your front strap fingers? Look at your trigger finger on how it address's the frame of the pistol. Does it make contact with it? Do you really have to reach for the trigger? Do you have to "fight" to draw your finger into the trigger for the sweet spot? Does your overall strong hand stay in contact with the pistol front/back strap? Next, as long as can be done safely, dry fire the pistol. Nice and slow, press the trigger to the rear till it breaks, then hold it. How does it feel, is your finger "cramped to make it go off? Look at all the same, remember we want the shot to break with out changing anything and this is where it all begins, the grip. All the above is sizing, can you make any pistol shoot well, sure. But, with the correct pistol you will shoot great and appear easily, why struggle?
One of the biggest issue's I see people have, is when they grip the pistol, they "torque" on left grip panel, with the tips of there fingers (they shoot low/left). We want the pressure of our strong hand to press the front strap of the pistol back into the back strap into the palm of the hand, STRAIGHT back. You want the hand high, create a bubble of skin under the "tang". Now, take your thumb and point it up. This will open the void that needs filled. Take your support hand, where the ball of your thumb meets hand and lay that high on the grip, then point the thumb toward the target, along the slide. This will cause the support hand to cant foward, and lock the support wrist. Now the support hand fingers should wrap around the strong hand fingers, and grip more of a side to side. Apply tight grip, just as you would if swinging a hammer. I find that if you concentrate on applying more "pinky" pressure it helps tighten the grip. I do not advocate placing the support hand index finger on the trigger guard, the reason why, is because unless your get trained properly, you will be steering the pistol off target, then you are compensating for a problem that shouldn't be there anyway.
The hands can only do so much, so let us bring in some help. I find that if you press the pistol out all the way, you have more of a tendancy to "rock" in your grip. But, if your just slightly break it back toward your chest, your grip will tighten (try it with a piece of paper and have someone pull it out). This is called a chest press, and brings in the pectoral muscles and the deltoid muscles. Which gives us even more control, especially with recoil management. next time on the range, Shoot three rounds like normal. Then apply the chest press principles for 3 shot's. You will find that you will have more control over the pistol and shoot a tighter group.
The next thing to do to help with the grip, is improve your stance. What many people do not realize is that if you really want to focus on something, human being bend over a little, (watch people and you will see it is true). This increase's our focus. So, if we bend into the shot, get our chest just ahead of our belly button (push butt out), we are getting more of our body behind the pistol (mass weight), and we increase our focus which means better front sight control. This will assist you in managing recoil, as well as, increase balance, which in turn tightens your grip on the pistol.
Stay alert, articulate well, train often.
Monday, June 15, 2015
A.C.T. Mindset
Armed Citizen Tactical mindset (A.C.T. mindset) this is something I coined about a decade ago, I am sure I am not the only instructor who has stated something along these lines. This is the armed citizen using the training tool's that they should of learned and continually improving situation's to there advantage. As we have discussed in several articles the most important tool's that a person can have in their defensive arsenal are: Awareness, time and distance. With out these your chances of defending yourself and/or your family drop dramatically. As well as, the ability to increase your mantle of innocense, by articulating the actions you took to avoid the situation.
I hesitate to use the word "tactical", because in todays world it bring's up people in black duty gear charging into room's doing dynamic actions. But in reality everything that you do, to avoid a armed incident is a tactic. From using a shopping cart as a barricade, to changing the direction you are taking to a vehicle, when your awareness tell's you something is starting to fall into place. The key is to learn how to see things starting to happen and realize what item are around and to use them into your favor.
One aspect of this mindset that I try and get across to students, especially in advanced class's, is to use the greatest tool you have, your brain. The best defense is a strong offense. Unfortanately, this creates some legal issues. But that doesn't mean we can not take an offensive mindest and start to plan for a situation. Having a plan, which must always be flexible is crucial. When things start to materialize you have a basis to springboard off of. A good example that I relate in one training segment, is how would you handle a situation in a restraunt if you was sitting in a booth, verse's a chair? Think about it, this creates a little different tactic. Would you be better off leaning over and "springing" out from the side? What if you have company sitting next to you? How would you communicate this with the group/spouse you are with? As you can see this alone, hold's it own set of tactics that must be worked out ahead of time.
As many of you know the human brain does not act the same in times of duress as it does normally. A discussion on this alone could and does fill volume's of book's. What we need to understand is that we loose fine motor skill's and the a momentary pause of rationalizing. This happens because we must "switch on" from being passive to becomine reactive and aggresive. As an armed citizen you will be reacting to a situation, instead of having the time to act. This is where planning and training comes into play. You will expericance fear and panic. This is natural, and why we must do this. This is why professional's train till they fail or make a mistake, and amatuers train till they get it right. A professional know's that when it happen's time is against him/her and that having a plan and acting upon it, accepting and dealing with the stress and panic in training, is what will keep the field level.
What I advise is pick one thing you do in your everyday life and make a log. Then spend some time (a week) pondering and developing a good plan. Then seek training or advice and train on it. A classic example, besides, the ones above, that I get back from students is: You are sitting at a table in a restraunt with your family, a situation begin's to start, what will you do? Initially, you will come up with a quick plan and think it works. But, stop and look at it from all angles and you will find (while you have the time) you forgot about the backstop if the bullet over penetrates, what if you are holding your child on your strong holster side? There will always be a dynamic, and that is why you need to look at it now and get a idea worked out. I go as far as drawing diagrams for the situation. Most of this comes from my military background, but it is a very usefull tool, especially when everything in your life is at stake.
The A.C.T. mindset is as with all things conceal carry a lifestyle change. This will help you overcome some of the issues that comes with it. You can start by applying the following to a situation you pick-out:
1. What am I triggering on?
2. What is my immediate response of others under my care?
3. What will be my response of action?
4. Can I articulate why I took this action?
5. Where will my impact's go in I miss or over penetrate?
6. What tool's can become cover/concealment?
7. What obstacles can I use to buy time and distance?
Stay safe, plan right, train properly
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Learning, shouldn't be in the moment!
Waiting untill you need to do something is not the time to learn how to do it! Ever heard someone say "I will do it when I have too?" Well, as some people find out in life the hard (bad) way, when you need something you don't have time for trial and error. A good example is all the reality survival show's on TV. These people come to the show and do not know how to make FIRE! Now if you had an idea that you was going to be in a situation where you would have to make fire out of nothing, would you not take the time and learn how to do it NOW? I mean we are not talking about just for comfort, but for actually living! As I have said many times, we live in a great country, where we have so much that we don't have to worry about, but many take too much for granted. We live in a society now where people want things now. Without any thought of what it takes and or took to create and make it happen.
Personal Protection is not a game of chance, it is a reality of life and death. We need to learn how to survive if and/or when the situation takes place. Taking the time to not only be responsible and take training and initiative to train continually is a great start. But, there is more to it, the biggest aspect to me is the thought process that should go into tactics and training. Taking the time to train and take realistic training to put you within a controled environment so you can experiance the dynamics of what is going to happen, will go a long way.
In the next few blog's I am going to break things down that should help shed some light on things to ponder or implement. I am not going to make you an expert, that only comes with proper training and practice. Just as learning to read as a child, you didn't do it once, but over multitude of repetition's. Through perfect practice. I will post on this blog things that in my opinion have made it better for me and my students. Things like:
ACT mindset
Perfect Practice
In the Study
Me Log
Are just a few I will share with you, to hopefully give you some knowledge. I want everyone to be prepared, in the event something was to happen. Remember it can happen to anyone, if you accept that and plan accordingly then when it does, you will be prepared. You don't want to be in a situation where you or your family life is on the line and you are "now I have to do this to do.." RRRRRRRR, too late.
I want to share a example that has been with me since I read about it in Mr. Heston's Biography. It was during the Rodney King Riots in L.A., I don't have to remind you that this is a very anti-gun state. It was during this time, that many people was scared. Several wealthy people called Mr. Heston and asked "Hey Chuck it is getting crazy out there you have any extra guns we can borrow?" Mr. Heston then said, "Yes it is crazy out there, didn't you vote to keep the guns from peoples hands".
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Off Body carry
Off Body Carry
By Todd R. Mendenhall
At a local Mall, I sat sipping a cup of coffee, as my wife did some shopping. Being a student of human behavior, I enjoy watching people in there daily activities. Soon, an older lady sat down at a table in front of me and placed her bag on top of the table. We exchanged smiles and greetings and she checked her phone. I noticed that her bag had a special side zipper compartment, which to me screamed “conceal carry”. Soon, she took a sip of her beverage and realized she forgot something for it. She stood, walked 15 feet over to the condiment counter, and “dressed” her drink, which took a minute then on her way back stopped and talked with an acquaintance for about 8 minutes. The whole time between there laughs, I would glance back at the unattended bag. She finally, came back to the bag and her phone of which she proceeded to scroll through it. The birth of the article was started on Off-carry there.
When I say “off-carry” what am I talking about? Off-Carry is the carrying of a concealed firearm in a place that is not directly on your person/body. It is usually associated with ladies carrying in a purse; however, it is often used by gentleman as well, in form of laptop bags, Note bags, briefcases and other forms. There may be times that off-carry is the only true option one has. As with all forms of “carry” there are things that must be adhered to. This article is not going to make you an “expert” nor will it substitute training from an instructor. Carrying off the body brings with it some special things to consider. Following are some things to think about.
Safety- Is the “bag” your going to carry the firearm in, built for it? Just taking a firearm and throwing it in a “bag” for personal protection is an accident waiting to happen. Your conceal carry course should of included the need to carry in a holster. The “bag” is the same way. The firearm trigger housing should be secure to keep unwanted things from getting into that area. As well as, keeping the firearm oriented in a consistent place in the need for access.
Access- The “bag” should be designed so you can quickly and effectively access the firearm if the need arises. It should be pointed out, that accessing an off-carry firearm takes longer than various on-carry options. So awareness should be higher, we will touch on that little later. As part of one of my instructor courses we was trained and had to “qualify” drawing and engaging with a conceal carry purse. Yes, there is a certain technique to use, so it can be done safely and quickly. On an off-carry bag, there is a need to secure it closed, do to the nature of carry. I see zippers as the biggest means of doing this. As explained in one of our courses, if an incident a rises, the human body looses the use of fine motor skills. So, one should train to minimize the use of these. For the zipper access, I suggest a “lanyard”, can be of Para cord or other material be attached to the clip of the zipper. This will give you more control and quicker access if your awareness warrants it.
Awareness- As with any situation this is critical, as again is pointed out in one of our courses. You need to have time to gain access to your firearm in need arises. It will take longer to gain access to an off-carry firearm than it will one that is on your person. So you should be aware and have time on your side. Instead of just pulling a garment open or up, to access your firearm. You have to orient the “bag”, open the compartment, to gain access. This as will all things in self defense must be practiced. So, you can see, especially when carrying in this mode, you need to be able to actually use tactics to ensure a favorable outcome.
Security- “You have a responsibility to keep firearms from unauthorized people”! Ever heard this before? This is YOUR responsibility if you carry! You must keep anyone from not only taking your firearm (bag), but keep others from gaining access to it. As I finish this article on 12-30-2014 there was an unfortunate example of this. As a lady was looking at some item in a big box store, her child accessed her pistol in her purse and shot her. This should drive home the responsibility you have in off-carry. Though the “bag” is on a table, floor, cart, passenger seat it is still your responsibility whatever happens. I have seen some “bags” with locks on them, to keep others from accessing them. This is a personal choice that must be weighed. It is my opinion that these are not a good option. One, if you are carrying a firearm for protection, you just limited your reaction time if the need arises, not good. Two, it clouds your sense of responsibility. What I mean by this, is you will start to believe it is okay to leave it in there alone, no one will get into it (like putting a loaded firearm on the top shelf thinking “kids” can’t get to it, we know better right). In my opinion, putting a lock on an off-carry bag is the same as having a trigger lock on an on-carry firearm. The only true way to ensure security, to maintain presence of access of the firearm at all times.
Carry- “What is the best way to carry it?” There are a few differences of opinion on what the best way to carry is, let’s look at both options for a bag. Across the body- this gives more security of the bag and anything within it. If someone wants the bag, they will have to “rip” the strap (a good CCL bag will have a cable in the strap), and/or pull you to the ground. On the Shoulder- This is more comfortable carry which provides easier access to material inside however is “stripped” from the body easier, with less chance of being drug to the ground. You must decide for yourself what way will work for you. If you do carry over a shoulder, I do suggest you have a hand on the actual handbag at all times. I have come across a new design of conceal carry purse, that is innovative and helps eliminate some of the above which is displayed below by Warrior-Creek with there permission.
They also have other options which might be worth looking at.
Hopefully, you have gained some sense of awareness that comes with this form of carry. There is more to it than just throwing a firearm into a bag or purse and going on your business. I suggest doing what we teach with regular on-carry before going out the door and practice few times. There is a lot of information out there, some good, but don’t just take “you tube” video training or another persons word for it. Do some research, take a course that will address, as well as instruct you in the “how and why”. Be safe, keep training and always aware.
Todd R. Mendenhall
Instructor I.S.C.A.P.E.
Friday, May 8, 2015
Revolver: coming full circle
Standing on the firing line, some of the students was becoming impatient. They have had there semi-automatic pistols loaded and made ready for a full 20 seconds (to them and hour). I could see the anticipation of there breathing as they was awaiting the commands. Once the other student was ready, and the line was ready the shooting began. After all the string's of fire was complete and the range was clear and cold, the students began to gather their gear and go back to the classroom. As I passed one table, one student looked at the "slower" one and said, "you should really upgrade to the 21st century", half joking. The other student kind of smiled and kept at the task. I then decided and impromtu discussion should take place here, for the benefit of the students. I stopped them all and had them come into a school circle on the range. I then asked, "what is the most reliable pistol they have ever shot?". The class was made up of mainly younger men, and two ladies, one was closer to my age (that young).
While they was stating a few "name brand" pistol's, I began to clear and lay out a few different models on the table.
After they was done,I said "which one would you put in a new person hand and have them defend your life, of the ones on the table?" There was a look of confusion, then one asked "which would you?" I reached over and picked up the open cylinder revolver, raised it to my chest and said "this one". The looks of doubt was all about.
I then began to fill the students in as to why this was my personal opinion of the choice. I pointed out a few key things for them to thing about;
1) For well over a hundred years, the double action revolver has in essence been unchanged. That is because it works!
2) The Double action revolver is the most reliable pistol, (you could see some defensive looks, almost feel some chest raise as they was ready to defend there brands). This is the only pistol that you can load, set in safe area, come back months or years, pick it up and it will fire! There is no spring of the magazine to get week, or lack of lubrication ont he slide to dry out.
3) I pointed out that with this design you can place it in "single action", to acquire a more precise shot on a small target. Instead of having just one set trigger.
4) The double action revovler has a fixed barrel. You don't have to be a gunsmith or designer, to grasp that a fixed barrel will be more accurate than one that moves.
5) The mechanics of the revolver are a whole lot simpler that those of a semi-automatic.
6) The manipulation of the pistol is far easier. All that is needed is to be able to open the cylinder, insert cartridges, close and shoot.
7) Being manipulation is simpler, those with small hands, or arthritis find it a joy.
8) A person will have better muzzle control,as there is no "fighting" of the slide to lock back.
9) There is no safety on the pistol, as well as, no doubt if loaded or not. Pop open cylinder and can see, at same time makes the pistol clear.
10) If you experiance a malfuction there is one simple immediate action drill, press the trigger again.
After I was done, you could see the light bulbs burning bright on the new found information of the old "wheel gun". I told them I am just giving you information to think about. That there is no free lunch as that the revolver does have a few limitions. One being that if you experiance a "squib load" or if it does lock up, you now have a club. Many cite that the revolver is limited on capacity, and a great many of them agreed with that statement. I then said "what is quicker performing a reload on a semi-automatic or grabbing a "pre-loaded" pistol?" Majority said the reload was the quickest. I then gave them a demonstration of both since I normally carry a semi-automatic with spare magazine and a snub nose revolver. We did not run any timer, but I did a reload and then went to the other pistol 3 times. Afterward, they all said that giong to other pistol was quicker and they was stunned.
We live in the golden age of personal protection pistols. A person has there choice of sights, trigger, magazine, grip designs made by hundreds of fine manufactures. You can buy a inexspensive pistol and it will for the most part be reliable, accurate and if maintained last to be handed down to your children. But in this age of "poly", do not overlook the revolver option (you can even get one of those in poly too). It served our military and law enforcement a long time and saved many of there lives. If someone is struggling with a semi-automatic, educate then on the Revolver option.
Stay aware, train right
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Training is good gear test?
Ever ask yourself, am I using the right gear or am I just using what I have? There is a world differance especially when it comes to conceal carry. When it comes to this one size does not fit all. This is the nice part of it, you can customize it to your physical ability and disadvantages. But a great many people do not. They settle for what they purchased or what a "friend" told them. You have to take that with a grain of salt, because we are unique in our own way. Size, Shape, clothing options, sex (men and ladies are built differently), all come into play. Then there is the simple fact of how can you effectively tell if the firearm and/or gear is correct for you. Yes, you can and should do safe drill's are home (applying the 4 firearms safety rules, you remember them?). You can go to the range and do drill's and training. But the question is this, are you training to the standard of your ability or the limitation of your gear?
Taking training class is a great way to find all this out! I inform people who are very limited in firearm knowledge for conceal carry, take a class before you purchase a pistol. If is cheaper to take a $100.00 class and become educated, then spending $500.00 or more on a pistol that you find out is not right for you. I have had a lot of students who, say "I wish I would of known that before I bought the pistol". Besides the obvious education knowledge you will get, you get a chance to test gear and firearms. I always have time after the "official" class range time, so students can try other holsters, pistols and ammunition. It is amazing how friendly the community is, just about everyone is like "here, shoot it". You get a chance that firearm stores and ranges cannot offer, do to overhead and limitations.
During training the instructor will ensure you are meeting the standard and skill set. You will find the flaw's of a certian firearm, or gear. Perhaps a simple change is all that is needed, or that you become educated why it will or will not work for you. Have had many cases in some classes where students thought they had the best holster for them, but when doing training, the holster came off the belt, or the belt broke. Far better to find it out now than when it really matters. Many times, people find that a slight adjustment in a certain technique was all that was needed (one's that somehow get missed in video learning). One occasion had a student that could not hit the target effectively, upon investigation, it was found that the ammunition that was being used was not as accurate as other ammunition (wonder how long and how much that would of cost on their own to find out?). One a few other occasions the students found out that their gear was great standing, but when put in common position, was the worst for it. The key is that an Instructor should not just tell you, but mentor you in training so you make the discovery yourself, which really drives it home.
Taking training once a year can not only discover the weakness in your system of protection. But, it can also at the same time vindicate it. It will dust off the cobb webs and build your confidence on the things that are working great. If it is, don't change a thing, ask the Instructor what can I do to make the weakness stronger. You are paying a professional, they should and are more than happy to help and guide you to success.
Stay aware, train properly and be viligant.
Todd
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Firearm safety is Education
Firearm Safety is Education
Firearm Safety is Education
The great President F.D.R. said on his first inauguration speech, “What do we have to fear, but fear itself”. This historical quote is a classic and is as valuable today as it was during that period in our nation’s history. This statement rings of education, that if we truly understand something, we in essence take away the power that the “fear” of it has, and our mind and eyes become more opened and we begin to tame the item we are scared of. Much of safety in any form is common sense, but unfortunately we live in a time where sense is not so common. We should never take anything for granted or grow to become complacent. There are two things’ which lead to firearm accidents; do you know what they are? Lack of knowledge (ignorance) and Complacency are the two.
Ignorance or lack of knowledge if you like, is what we see in new people introduced to firearms without any form of structure training. We see them on the range or in a shop, they “sweep” the muzzle at things they should not, they handle the firearm in a manner that it should not be handled. They just do not know yet how to do it and respect it. This one is easy to fix, if we take the time to “train” them as to what and why of firearm safety fundamentals. One should never take a new person to the range and say, “Okay, it’s loaded, hold it like this and pull the trigger”. This in itself is an injury waiting to happen. Take the time either informally or formally and educate them, which will “take away the fear” and injury.
Complacency is the lack of applying the knowledge that you posses to the task at hand. You have the knowledge and understanding, but you allowed your discipline in applying it become lacks. This is the harder of the two to fix, because many people feel that it will not happen to them or “I have done it this way for years”. It is a learned bad behavior or the laziness of applying safety discipline. Sometimes people just get caught up in the moment and do not notice they are doing it. Sometimes it is the repetition of things over that begin to cause us to become lazy. It takes focus and attention which is why frequent breaks are important. We must begin to “self-trigger” on this and stop for a few minutes.
Luckily, we have the luxury of having structured formal training. There are a few of us whom learned firearm education the hard way. Either by our family member taking us out to the range or hunting, then when they feel we are mature enough allow us to handle the firearm, then when we make a mistake, we get “rapped” on the side of the head and scolded. The other is through the graces of the military,where the drill instructor is more than happen to point out our short comings in a manner we will remember. It does not matter if you have education through the hard school or a class in a controlled formal inviting environment, you have training. In 1871, an organization was formed for the primary purpose of training people in firearm safety and fundamental’s of marksmanship. That was the National Rifle Association (N.R.A.), though it is reconized today as our guardian angels of the right to keep and bear arms, keeping politicians at bay from the 2nd amendment. The primary focus of the Association was and always will be the training and education of people to firearms. It was the N.R.A. who developed the three main firearm safety rules, can you name them?
1. Always keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction.
2. Always keep the finger off the trigger, till sights are on target.
3. Always keep the firearm unloaded, untill you are ready to use it.
These three fundamentals of firearm safety are pretty simple, yet people will often break at least one of them, why? One reason is people become involved with fixing ans issue and loose sight of where the muzzle should be. Another is that most firearms are designed to be egronomic and it takes a concious effort to keep the finger off the trigger.
I can guarantee to you, if nothing else at a minimum you follow these three rules (laws), you will not have an injury from a firearm.
Along with those three, there is actually three more for a total of six (yes I went to public school). The reason why the basic three is taught that way it human’s on average will remember three easier than a whole list, called the rule of 3. The next three as with the first, is common sense, but need’s to be understood, so they really sink in.
1) Treat every firearm as if it is loaded.
2) Never have ammunition around when cleaning or dry fire practicing.
3) Once dry fire practice is over, IT IS OVER!
Warning, next picture is little graphic!
Injury cause by assuming it was unloaded!
Treat every firearm as if it is loaded- never assume (we know what that means) that it is. Anytime you pick a firearm up, check it! Ensure the chamber is empty and clear. Some say this is redundant, I say it is a great habit and every time you do are you not practicing and created a safe behavior and habit. If you do it every time, it will be second nature to you.
Never have ammunition around when cleaning- If we applied the rules we learned so far with this one, how can we have any accidents when cleaning? Every year there are scores of people who have “accidents” because of this. There is no reason for it, period! When you’re going to clean your firearm, follow protocol, then take any ammunition you have and place it in another room or area. This is not only to keep a cartridge from jumping into the firearm, but help keep that curiosity of “what-if” down, and we know what happen to the cat. Also, it keeps your cleaning material from getting onto your ammunition and we know what happens then, right?
Once dry fire practice is over, IT’S OVER! - Dry fire practice is often under rated by the vast majority of people. It is cheap, easily done when following safety rules and can be done almost any where. It develops muscle memory and good practices.
Find a safe back stop area of your home, put up a post-it note. Follow the safety rules, the firearm unloaded and clear ammunition in another room. Then practice, where working on trigger press, sights picture, malfunction drills, or even drawing is gone over. When you are done put the firearm away. If you intend to load the firearm either for personal defense, think of doing the following;
1) After loading the firearm, tell yourself three times out loud, “this firearm is loaded”
2) Set it down and back away for few minutes.
3) Come back pick up the firearm and do a press check, to reconfirm loaded, then store either in safe or holster.
Why? We all experience times when practice doesn’t go so well. Then after few minutes of thinking you figure it out and pick it back up, this is why I suggest doing what I said, to keep from having and accident. Telling yourself three time’s out loud it is loaded, let’s you and anyone else around know. Stepping away for few minutes allows it to sink in. Then you come back and confirm really drives it home, and reaffirms your defensive mindset.
We live in an era of communication. More than ever we have to ability to research and become informed on just about anything at the tap of our fingers. There is a lot of good information out there, and as always some that is totally wrong. When it comes to firearm education, there is nothing that can substitute a good qualified instructor. He or She should be able to break down the information to your level so you can grasp it and know it. I urge any and even my students to take more training even after the basic level. It has nothing to do with me being an Instructor I even encourage students to take other people’s training to get a different perspective. Can a person learn on there own the firearm safety and marksmanship? Absolutely, however your journey will be slow, take up more time and harder learning. A good Instructor will mentor you, seeing your grow and become more proficient. Taking formal training at times brings freshness back into your firearm craft. It ensures your not developing bad habits and should introduce you to something different for your level of training, (yes, once a year I still seek out and take training, I have even been known to sit in a basic class too). The other big reason is judicious. If you are in the unfortunate situation of an accident or defensive incident, can you articulate why you did what you had done? Taking formal training is discoverable evidence that will demonstrate or back what you did and why. I hope you are never in the situation where you have to articulate why you had to take action in defense of yourself, but if you are would it not be nice to have a way to demonstrate it with certifications? Any good instructor that you take training from should be willing to explain the training you went through if the need comes.
I have more than enough examples which may come at a future time.
“What can you fear that you understand”, I have said on more than one occasion. Proper training, coupled with wisdom and discipline of responsibility will allow you to train, practice and foster the firearm both enjoyably and safely. I often tell people before you spend your hard earned money, research the instructor and the training. Is it right for you? Will it fill what you need? Is the instructor teaching what I need right now? Can I sit in on a class for a while? These are just a few things to think about.
Stay Safe, Stay alert, and get trained.
Todd R. Mendenhall
N.R.A. Instructor
Chief Instructor I.S.C.A.P.E.
The great President F.D.R. said on his first inauguration speech, “What do we have to fear, but fear itself”. This historical quote is a classic and is as valuable today as it was during that period in our nation’s history. This statement rings of education, that if we truly understand something, we in essence take away the power that the “fear” of it has, and our mind and eyes become more opened and we begin to tame the item we are scared of. Much of safety in any form is common sense, but unfortunately we live in a time where sense is not so common. We should never take anything for granted or grow to become complacent. There are two things’ which lead to firearm accidents; do you know what they are? Lack of knowledge (ignorance) and Complacency are the two.
Ignorance or lack of knowledge if you like, is what we see in new people introduced to firearms without any form of structure training. We see them on the range or in a shop, they “sweep” the muzzle at things they should not, they handle the firearm in a manner that it should not be handled. They just do not know yet how to do it and respect it. This one is easy to fix, if we take the time to “train” them as to what and why of firearm safety fundamentals. One should never take a new person to the range and say, “Okay, it’s loaded, hold it like this and pull the trigger”. This in itself is an injury waiting to happen. Take the time either informally or formally and educate them, which will “take away the fear” and injury.
Complacency is the lack of applying the knowledge that you posses to the task at hand. You have the knowledge and understanding, but you allowed your discipline in applying it become lacks. This is the harder of the two to fix, because many people feel that it will not happen to them or “I have done it this way for years”. It is a learned bad behavior or the laziness of applying safety discipline. Sometimes people just get caught up in the moment and do not notice they are doing it. Sometimes it is the repetition of things over that begin to cause us to become lazy. It takes focus and attention which is why frequent breaks are important. We must begin to “self-trigger” on this and stop for a few minutes.
Luckily, we have the luxury of having structured formal training. There are a few of us whom learned firearm education the hard way. Either by our family member taking us out to the range or hunting, then when they feel we are mature enough allow us to handle the firearm, then when we make a mistake, we get “rapped” on the side of the head and scolded. The other is through the graces of the military,where the drill instructor is more than happen to point out our short comings in a manner we will remember. It does not matter if you have education through the hard school or a class in a controlled formal inviting environment, you have training. In 1871, an organization was formed for the primary purpose of training people in firearm safety and fundamental’s of marksmanship. That was the National Rifle Association (N.R.A.), though it is reconized today as our guardian angels of the right to keep and bear arms, keeping politicians at bay from the 2nd amendment. The primary focus of the Association was and always will be the training and education of people to firearms. It was the N.R.A. who developed the three main firearm safety rules, can you name them?
1. Always keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction.
2. Always keep the finger off the trigger, till sights are on target.
3. Always keep the firearm unloaded, untill you are ready to use it.
These three fundamentals of firearm safety are pretty simple, yet people will often break at least one of them, why? One reason is people become involved with fixing ans issue and loose sight of where the muzzle should be. Another is that most firearms are designed to be egronomic and it takes a concious effort to keep the finger off the trigger.
I can guarantee to you, if nothing else at a minimum you follow these three rules (laws), you will not have an injury from a firearm.
Along with those three, there is actually three more for a total of six (yes I went to public school). The reason why the basic three is taught that way it human’s on average will remember three easier than a whole list, called the rule of 3. The next three as with the first, is common sense, but need’s to be understood, so they really sink in.
1) Treat every firearm as if it is loaded.
2) Never have ammunition around when cleaning or dry fire practicing.
3) Once dry fire practice is over, IT IS OVER!
Warning, next picture is little graphic!
Injury cause by assuming it was unloaded!
Treat every firearm as if it is loaded- never assume (we know what that means) that it is. Anytime you pick a firearm up, check it! Ensure the chamber is empty and clear. Some say this is redundant, I say it is a great habit and every time you do are you not practicing and created a safe behavior and habit. If you do it every time, it will be second nature to you.
Never have ammunition around when cleaning- If we applied the rules we learned so far with this one, how can we have any accidents when cleaning? Every year there are scores of people who have “accidents” because of this. There is no reason for it, period! When you’re going to clean your firearm, follow protocol, then take any ammunition you have and place it in another room or area. This is not only to keep a cartridge from jumping into the firearm, but help keep that curiosity of “what-if” down, and we know what happen to the cat. Also, it keeps your cleaning material from getting onto your ammunition and we know what happens then, right?
Once dry fire practice is over, IT’S OVER! - Dry fire practice is often under rated by the vast majority of people. It is cheap, easily done when following safety rules and can be done almost any where. It develops muscle memory and good practices.
Find a safe back stop area of your home, put up a post-it note. Follow the safety rules, the firearm unloaded and clear ammunition in another room. Then practice, where working on trigger press, sights picture, malfunction drills, or even drawing is gone over. When you are done put the firearm away. If you intend to load the firearm either for personal defense, think of doing the following;
1) After loading the firearm, tell yourself three times out loud, “this firearm is loaded”
2) Set it down and back away for few minutes.
3) Come back pick up the firearm and do a press check, to reconfirm loaded, then store either in safe or holster.
Why? We all experience times when practice doesn’t go so well. Then after few minutes of thinking you figure it out and pick it back up, this is why I suggest doing what I said, to keep from having and accident. Telling yourself three time’s out loud it is loaded, let’s you and anyone else around know. Stepping away for few minutes allows it to sink in. Then you come back and confirm really drives it home, and reaffirms your defensive mindset.
We live in an era of communication. More than ever we have to ability to research and become informed on just about anything at the tap of our fingers. There is a lot of good information out there, and as always some that is totally wrong. When it comes to firearm education, there is nothing that can substitute a good qualified instructor. He or She should be able to break down the information to your level so you can grasp it and know it. I urge any and even my students to take more training even after the basic level. It has nothing to do with me being an Instructor I even encourage students to take other people’s training to get a different perspective. Can a person learn on there own the firearm safety and marksmanship? Absolutely, however your journey will be slow, take up more time and harder learning. A good Instructor will mentor you, seeing your grow and become more proficient. Taking formal training at times brings freshness back into your firearm craft. It ensures your not developing bad habits and should introduce you to something different for your level of training, (yes, once a year I still seek out and take training, I have even been known to sit in a basic class too). The other big reason is judicious. If you are in the unfortunate situation of an accident or defensive incident, can you articulate why you did what you had done? Taking formal training is discoverable evidence that will demonstrate or back what you did and why. I hope you are never in the situation where you have to articulate why you had to take action in defense of yourself, but if you are would it not be nice to have a way to demonstrate it with certifications? Any good instructor that you take training from should be willing to explain the training you went through if the need comes.
I have more than enough examples which may come at a future time.
“What can you fear that you understand”, I have said on more than one occasion. Proper training, coupled with wisdom and discipline of responsibility will allow you to train, practice and foster the firearm both enjoyably and safely. I often tell people before you spend your hard earned money, research the instructor and the training. Is it right for you? Will it fill what you need? Is the instructor teaching what I need right now? Can I sit in on a class for a while? These are just a few things to think about.
Stay Safe, Stay alert, and get trained.
Todd R. Mendenhall
N.R.A. Instructor
Chief Instructor I.S.C.A.P.E.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)