Memorial Day

A salute to those who serve and have served and especially to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice!  God Bless!

THANK YOU!

Good article from Tom Givens of RANGEMASTER

Metrics vs Mediocrity by Tom Givens  of Rangemaster.    

There is a small, but vocal, segment in the defensive training community that discourages the use of stopwatches or electronic timers, and belittles attempts to quantify skill at arms with scored courses and drills. I read some drivel from a couple of these guys on Facebook recently, and was really disturbed by the level of antagonism they showed toward striving for competency with a deadly weapon. They actually used terms like “good enough”, and advised to take one firearms class and move on to other things. In fact, they described anyone who actually bothered to measure performance as a “hobbyist”, and from their tone it was obvious they use that term derisively. Let’s see, someone is trying to kill me, and I’m legally accountable for every bullet I launch, so bare minimum training is “good enough”? WTF?

Shooting skill, particularly with a handgun, is perishable. Competent initial training has to be followed by regular sustainment training to have any hope of solid performance under high stress. Let’s look at a couple of examples from the police training world. Yes, I understand not everyone is a cop, but police agencies track these things and the information is available to us.
The New York City Police Department has their officers fire 50 rounds of ammunition, twice a year. Part of their qualification course is not even timed. Every year, their hit ratio runs about 10%-20% in the field. In one year, they fired 1,293 shots on the streets of New York to hit 64 suspects and 11 innocent bystanders. That’s “good enough” for some, but I’d like to see them do better.

The Los Angeles Police Department, on the other hand, requires officers to shoot every 30 days. Their qualification course uses a smaller target and has reasonable time limits, which are strictly enforced by turning targets, which disappear when the time limit expires. The department as a whole has about a 55% hit ratio. The Metro Division, which gets even more focus on firearms training, has an 85% hit ratio. Coincidence?

Let’s say, just for the sake of discussion, we have a silhouette target that has an 8 inch circle in the upper chest to simulate the vital zone of an attacker, and this target is at 5 yards, a typical civilian engagement distance. The task at hand is to draw from concealment and hit this circle with three rounds. We have two shooters complete this task. Both shooters place all three hits inside the “vital zone”, so they are equal, right? Good enough?

The difference is, Shooter A got his hits in 1.8 seconds, while Shooter B took 3.5 seconds to get his hits. Shooter A is clearly a better shooter. If Shooter B is serious about self defense, he will strive to become better, which in this case, means faster, so that he has a realistic chance of getting his hits in a defensive shooting incident before he is hit, himself.

Without a reasonable target (in this case the 8 inch circle) and without a time measurement (stopwatch/timer), there is no way to asses skill, measure progress, or diagnose and address deficiencies. The adult teaching model is Explain, Demonstrate, Practice and Test. Without Testing, there is no measure of learning, and you are only engaging in ballistic masturbation. It may make you feel better in the short term, but you aren’t accomplishing anything.

These same pundits rail against scored drills, calling them meaningless measures of precision. Actually, scored courses or drills serve many important functions and are critical to development as a defensive shooter. Here are some of the reasons they are important.

1. We need an objective view of the student’s skill, not a subjective view. The target and timer don’t lie.

2. We can compare the student’s performance to a historical standard, set by measuring the performance of a number of students before him. Thus, we know if we need to remediate or move forward.

3. We can precisely quantify and track progress, essential to skill building.

4. We can instill the timing issues necessary for shooting at the right cadence as target size/distance varies.

5. We can get the student accustomed to working under stress.

6. We can help the student build confidence. Not measuring skill leads to false confidence. Students always think they are doing better than they are. Actually scoring, and incorporating both accuracy and speed in the scoring, shows true skill level, and allows real confidence.

7. Training and practice build skill. Skill builds confidence. Confidence leads to coolness. Coolness prevents panic. This is what wins fights.

In the extreme stress of a real life shooting incident, skill degrades. However, the more skill one has, the less skill one tends to lose (see #7 above). The less skill one has, the more skill one tends to lose under duress. This is why “good enough” is not good enough. Also, the Mother of retention of any physical skill under duress is structured repetition. To have a higher skill level, one had to practice more (structured repetition). I have debriefed a number of people after shootings, and not one of them has ever said to me, “When the bullets starting coming my way, I wished I hadn’t trained as hard.”

As an example, one of our students, who we will call John, has taken several classes with us, including our Instructor Development Course. In that course, students are held to high accuracy and speed standards, and those who do not make the required scores do not get certificates. This January, John was forced to shoot a man under highly stressful circumstances, including total surprise. John fired four rounds and got four upper torso hits, ending the threat to him and his family. That’s the goal, not just to be “good enough.”

Tom Givens 

Rangemaster – Self Defense and Firearms Training for the Real World 

Recent Training Day

Hi folks, yesterday I attended the first day of a three day IALEFI Master Instructor class.  Thanks to my former training administrator Captain Mike Boyle who was nice enough to invite me to the event.  This event was held at our training center, NJF&W.  It was great getting back there to do some handgun exercises.  I initially had plans on attending the full three days but due to somethings that were out of my control that's not going to happen.  I am still trying to work something out so that I might be able to get there  on Wed. for a few hours of the rifle class.  Definitely will miss the shotgun class.  I'm pissed because I really love the shotgun.  That is on the agenda for today.  Yesterday was an all day venue for use of the handgun in CQB.  This class was designed to test your ability and skills in very uncomfortable shooting positions.  To say the least, my old body paid the price, but it was well worth the effort.  The instructor for this venue was Numa J Landry, formerly with the Alexandria, Va. P.D.  He now has his own training company, Dynamic Defense Tactic, LLP.  He is an excellent instructor and provided an excellent learning experience.  Remember, when you go to a class you are there to learn.  Training is what you do on your own once you have practiced and understand the skills learned.  I have previously attended two IALEFI Master Instructor three day classes.  I recommend them highly to all L.E. Firearms Instructors. 

                                                    




                                                   

                                                                                                        

                                                         

Class 4/29/17

The following comment was sent to me from one of the students that was in the class I recently conducted.  Since he took the time to write in I thought that I would share it.  Thanks Kurt!

Dominic Rocco's Intermediate Pistol class was informative, enjoyable, and well-paced in align to our classes skill set.

Dom & ROTAC we're extremely professional, experienced, and made us feel comfortable handling multiple drills immediately. His constructive criticism helped me adjust when practicing alone at the range, or showing friends what we learned.

I look forward to working with Dom in the future this summer, and highly recommend him to anyone just beginning or wishes to learn or stay consistent in self defense.

Thank you Dominic!

Kurt Gibson Jr

Philly Off Shore Entertainment, LLC

Where There's Smoke

Skill Set: Where There's Smoke

This week we're taking a break from pistol manipulations.

The "Big" question for self-defense is, "When should I use my weapon?" Everyone's heard the saying, "Where there's smoke there's fire." When you smell smoke there's a fire somewhere. How does this apply to self-defense? An uncontrolled fire needs to be extinguished. The question is, should you put out the fire or call a fireman?

-- You're cooking up dinner. The phone rings, you're distracted and while talking the pan on the stove catches fire. You grab the fire extinguisher and put it out.

-- While walking in a dark parking garage a stranger approaches. He's glancing around but always coming back to you. His body language is telling you there could be danger. You create distance; draw your pistol and issue verbal commands. "Stop! Do not come any closer." He quickly leaves.

These are examples of "small" fires that present immediate danger. You have the skills and tools to solve the problem.

You pull into the driveway of your home and instantly realize there's a fire inside. You know nobody is home, and you're not going to risk your life to save the big-screen television. But, what if there are family members trapped inside the house? You get your family outside to safety without worrying about the fire. Let the professionals handle that. Or, it may be necessary to battle the blaze in order to get to your family.

On the drive home you see a building on fire, blazing with lots of heat. This is something you can't handle, it's beyond your skills and you definitely don't have the equipment needed to control or extinguish the fire. You call 911 to notify the authorities. The same logic applies when you and the family are at the mall shopping and you hear shooting, screaming and suddenly everyone is running. Get the family to safety and dial 911.

The examples above are fairly simple. Unfortunately not all the problems you face will be that cut and dried. What if there are people in the building you don't know? Are your ready and willing to risk your life to save others? I have a responsibility to protect and save my family, and if necessary I'm ready and willing to sacrifice my life for them. There is no obligation or duty for me to protect others -- except maybe morally I feel it's a worthy cause. Now it's time to start answering the hard questions. Who are you willing to risk your life for?

When it comes to using your weapon you need to consider several factors. What is your responsibility and/or obligation? Do you know exactly what's going on? Are you going to actually contribute to solving the problem, or will your involvement create more trouble for those who are trying to put out the fire?

Being prepared means understanding the nature of the problem. Where is the trouble going to come from and what will it look like? Next, you start coming up with solutions, answering as many of the questions as possible in advance, prior to trouble appearing. Then, keep in mind that the nature of the problem and its solution will still require you to think in order to make the right decisions in a timely fashion.

Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy, located in northern Alabama. He is the author of "The Book of Two Guns" 

Good advise from Tiger McKee

The following article has a lot of beneficial information in it.  I will be addressing this type of information during the shoot house venue of my class which is coming up on the 29th of April.  This four hour class will provide a lot of valuable information and skill building techniques.  For information on the class page down to the post which gives the details. Hopefully, see you then!

Skill Set: Where There's Smoke

This week we're taking a break from pistol manipulations.

The "Big" question for self-defense is, "When should I use my weapon?" Everyone's heard the saying, "Where there's smoke there's fire." When you smell smoke there's a fire somewhere. How does this apply to self-defense? An uncontrolled fire needs to be extinguished. The question is, should you put out the fire or call a fireman?

-- You're cooking up dinner. The phone rings, you're distracted and while talking the pan on the stove catches fire. You grab the fire extinguisher and put it out.

-- While walking in a dark parking garage a stranger approaches. He's glancing around but always coming back to you. His body language is telling you there could be danger. You create distance; draw your pistol and issue verbal commands. "Stop! Do not come any closer." He quickly leaves.

These are examples of "small" fires that present immediate danger. You have the skills and tools to solve the problem.

You pull into the driveway of your home and instantly realize there's a fire inside. You know nobody is home, and you're not going to risk your life to save the big-screen television. But, what if there are family members trapped inside the house? You get your family outside to safety without worrying about the fire. Let the professionals handle that. Or, it may be necessary to battle the blaze in order to get to your family.

On the drive home you see a building on fire, blazing with lots of heat. This is something you can't handle, it's beyond your skills and you definitely don't have the equipment needed to control or extinguish the fire. You call 911 to notify the authorities. The same logic applies when you and the family are at the mall shopping and you hear shooting, screaming and suddenly everyone is running. Get the family to safety and dial 911.

The examples above are fairly simple. Unfortunately not all the problems you face will be that cut and dried. What if there are people in the building you don't know? Are your ready and willing to risk your life to save others? I have a responsibility to protect and save my family, and if necessary I'm ready and willing to sacrifice my life for them. There is no obligation or duty for me to protect others -- except maybe morally I feel it's a worthy cause. Now it's time to start answering the hard questions. Who are you willing to risk your life for?

When it comes to using your weapon you need to consider several factors. What is your responsibility and/or obligation? Do you know exactly what's going on? Are you going to actually contribute to solving the problem, or will your involvement create more trouble for those who are trying to put out the fire?

Being prepared means understanding the nature of the problem. Where is the trouble going to come from and what will it look like? Next, you start coming up with solutions, answering as many of the questions as possible in advance, prior to trouble appearing. Then, keep in mind that the nature of the problem and its solution will still require you to think in order to make the right decisions in a timely fashion.

Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy, located in northern Alabama. He is the author of "The Book of Two Guns" 

Training review....Larry Vicker's 3 day class

Hi everyone, just finished up with a 3 day intense training program that was provided by Mr. Larry Vicker's (Aztec Training Services) and his assistant Mr. Raymond Pescatore, (Sub MOA).  The purpose of this post is to give you a little insight regarding the benefits that are obtained from excellent trainers! With the exception of an hour break each day for lunch, these were three days full of action packed, petal to the metal non-stop drills.  If you think that you are a good shooter, this training will definitely make you realize that you might not be as good as you think you are!  The fact that the only day that was what one might consider to be perfect for outdoor training was the first day, the second and third day because of the weather made it a lot more challenging and demanding. In plain English IT SUCKED!  Especially day two which was one of the most nasty days we have had this winter.  

The three day class was comprised of the following:
1 day handgun
1 day rifle
1 day CQB, utilizing a shoot house

I have taken a lot of training classes from a lot of the top trainers that are in the field of training law enforcement personnel.  The training that Larry and Ray provided will greatly enhance your skill ability whether you are are in law enforcement, military, or a civilian.  Larry's background, experience and knowledge enables him to provide a top shelf training program.  He is straight forward and does not pull punches.  That meaning, he tells it like it is!  If you are thin skinned than this might not be the class for you.  

I won't  talk too much about the various drills and venues of the class, but I will tell that most of the handgun drills were shot using an NRA B-8 target which has a 5.5" bulls eye.  Yes, you guessed it, that's what your going for from 2 to 20 yards and that includes strong hand and weak hand only drills.
The drills were shot slow deliberate and times.

Also, there were some handgun drills using a steel silhouette from 25 to 60 yards and that also incorporated the use of strong and weak hand shooting.   

The rifle course was shot from the 50 yard line and in to about the 5 yard line.  
Both the handgun and rifle drills were shot using precise and rapid fire timed drills.  The time drills will really get your heart rate pumping and your adrenaline flowing!

The CQB drills were shot with either your handgun or rifle.  Your choice.

To say that we shot a lot of rounds would be an understatement, and was evident by the amount of brass that had to be cleaned up the last day.

This class was a blast and more importantly, a beneficial learning experience. To rate it on a scale from 1 to 10, I give it a 10+.  If Larry has a class scheduled somewhere near you I would suggest that you try your best to attend it.

Thank you Larry and Ray for a great class and good time!  

From left to right, Ray, Larry, & Dom