Slow Down

This article by Tiger McKee really emphasises what I said in my last Post.  Thanks Tiger!

Skill Set: Slow Down

The most common issue we encounter in every class is speed. And I'm not talking about the good kind. Everyone wants to go fast. Constantly, during the entire class, we have to remind students to slow down. It sounds wrong, but during training, practice and even in a fight "fast" is usually a bad thing.

Training – regardless of the level - introduces new skills, techniques and fighting principles. You discover how to use firearms properly, safely and in defense of life. You're modifying or fine tuning existing skills. You're not going to actually learn the material in a two or three day class. Learning requires practice. Training shouldn't be about speed. Get it right while the instructor is watching so you know what and how to practice. Training - new material - needs to be taken slowly, literally one step at a time.

After training comes practice, performing the repetitions necessary to actually learn a skill or set of actions. In other words, practice until you don't have to think about it. The conscious mind says, "reload." The subconscious takes over, performing the reload. To embed a skill into the subconscious literally takes thousands of "good" repetitions. "Bad" reps don't count, and the experts say that every bad rep takes dozens of good ones to erase the bad. The only way to ensure you're "gettin' gooder" is to slow down. Don't think about speed; concentrate on technique.

Good technique reduces or eliminates mistakes. You're acting efficiently. Yes, we're preparing to fight, but in a fight every action must be clean, with no wasted motion or unnecessary actions. You can go really fast, adding unnecessary movements and making a lot of mistakes, but this isn't helping you learn, and it definitely isn't preparing you to fight. A little thing - not getting the magazine positioned properly in your hand - creates a big problem - dropping the only mag you have on the ground while moving to cover. Slow practice creates efficiency.

Practicing slowly teaches you how to react to mistakes. Yes, we just talked about not making mistakes, but the fact is they happen, especially under stress. When a mistake occurs you correct, compensate and continue. Go too fast, make a mistake and you step into a default mode. You stop thinking and start reacting, reverting to "natural" instincts. The problem is most skills we use to fight with firearms are not natural. By working at a moderate pace you are able to identify mistakes sooner and immediately apply corrective actions.

In "No Second Place Winner," Bill Jordan records advice he received from Texas Ranger Captain John Hughes: "If you get into a gunfight don't let yourself feel rushed. Take your time, fast." The only thing you can control in a fight is you. Jordan adds that while this isn't easy advice to follow, everything you need to know about gun fighting is summed up Hughes' words. "When you really understand their full meaning," Jordan adds, "you have come of age." (Pg 107)

During training, slow down. When you practice, slow down and focus on technique and efficiency. In a fight, trust your skills and apply them at the proper speed. Victory will follow.

Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy, located in northern Alabama. 

FIRE AWAY!

Before we get started it is important to state that the following information applies to individuals who have taken a lesson or two from a qualified experience instructor.  If you haven't, than that should be your first step and this post is not for you!

As a firearm trainer/instructor I am often asked by my students this question, "How and what do I need to do to become a better and more advanced shooter?"  The question should be More Efficient and Effective shooter!  My answer is always the same, PRACTICE!  Now let me explain what I mean by PRACTICE.  Practice does not make perfect.  Practice makes habit.  Only perfect practice makes perfect!  In essence what I am talking about is this, just doing something over and over does not perfect the skill that you are trying to develop.  If you are not doing it the right way you are perfecting training scares that will become very difficult to correct.  When you are trying to perfect a skill you need to practice it over and over, doing it the correct way so as to eventually make it what is called a, unconsciously competent movement.  This only happens by doing an enormous amount of repetitions.  By doing these repetitions you are conditioning your mind and body to function as one unit.  I call this a marriage between you physiological and your neurological systems.  You probably have heard it called or referred to as muscle memory.  It is not just enough to do and practice the skill that you are trying to develop you must also have an understanding of why it needs to be done that way.  Understanding the Nuts and Bolts and how and why they apply to the skill.  You see being proficient with a firearm is 90% mental and 10% physical.  Ok, I could go on with this conversations for a few more hours, but I won't!  The purpose for this post is about practicing, Dry Fire Practice and the benefits of it!  I just needed to lay down some facts first.  Remember the key is to do it slow and deliberate (ROBTICLY SLOW) so as to make sure that you are going through each step and not missing anything that applies to the skill or technique, ie, a b c & d not a b & d .  Once the skill/technique has properly been programed into your subconscious you should start increasing the time that it takes to do it.  A shot timer is a very effective tool to help you increase your efficiency  during your D F Practice.  

As most of you know the shooting sports have really gotten expensive.  Ammunition prices are high and have really skyrocketed and so has shooting club memberships and range fees.  One of the ranges that I shoot at has doubled their membership price.  Hum, may not be shooting there any longer! These cost factors have contributed to most people not being able to afford to practice and when they do practice shortens and limits the amount of time they can spend on live fire drills .  Unless you reload your own ammunition, and that has gotten more expensive also, or you have deep pockets, you know what I am talking about.  So how do you maintain and keep you skill level constant so that you don't start to lose it and more importantly your confidences in being able to efficiently and accurately hit your target. Because, after all isn't that the reason you are practicing!

So, let's get started.  First make sure that you have a good understanding of the "Four Cardinal Rules" of firearm safety and that you follow them to the tee.   Second, make sure that there is absolutely NO LIVE AMMUNITION in the room or area that you are conducting the Dry Fire Practice.  Three, make sure that you have cleared the firearm and that you have checked it at least two times, checking the chamber and the magazine well.  Fourth, make sure that the area, (TARGET) that you are aiming at can sustain and capture the bullet should you have a brain fart and get a BANG when you should have gotten a CLICK.  Fifth, if you can not devote 100% of your attention to this 15 minute practice session than hold off until you can.  If for any reason you are interrupted during your practice sessions end it immediately and resume it at another time.   

The three most important objectives and this applies to new and inexperienced shooters as well as to experienced shooters are, Grip, Sight Alignment/Sight Picture and the most important aspect proper Trigger manipulation.  The purpose of Dry Fire practice is to supplement your live fire practice.  With Dry fire practice you can focus on exactly what you will need to do when firing a live firearm.  But, you will not have that conscience concern of the gun going BANG!  That conscience concern is what causes you to anticipate.  Which is a big problem in being able to hit your target accurately.

What you are trying to achieve is Consistency through Repetitions so that you become more Efficient which will make your actions more Effective.  Remember your final goal is to hit what you are shooting at. 

If you are a Glock or a S&W, M&P shooter I would suggest that you look at and invest in one of the Next Level Training SIRT PISTOL (Shot Indicating Re-setting Trigger).  They are a little expensive but you will benefit from the investment.  The biggest advantage with these types of training tools is that you know that when you are conducting your DRY FIRE exercises that there is no possible way you are going to have a ND. 

                                                              

More to follow on this topic in the next post.

Around the Water Cooler: Relative Safety

Good Article, by Rick Grassi, (Tactical Wire)






In response to a piece written here, I was asked about the propriety of buying, carrying, issuing any pistol that requires a pull of the trigger for disassembly. I responded that it was beyond the scope of our operation; I don't care what you buy, carry, issue. The requirement to use a bit of sense when doing so is primary regardless if it's that type of gun or "the safest gun on Earth." This presumes that a machine can be safe. The answer is a bit complicated and goes beyond concepts of faith or some presumption that safety in humans is possible.

We're aware that people make mistakes and sometimes those mistakes have grave consequences. I've made mistakes. If you haven't, there's a good chance you simply haven't lived long enough. If you live a lifetime as long as mine or longer and you don't fall prey to errors in judgment and gunhandling, we'll run your name up to the Vatican in nomination.

I'm not in the running.

There's a story about a Russian member of service (described variously as an NCO and an officer), doing a show-and-tell of Combloc military weapons back in the day. When a Western (some say U.S.) member of service questioned the safety of a particular Soviet practice, the Russian is said to have answered, "Is gun, is NOT safe!"

Whether or not that happened, it reinforces the concept – the gun has to be predictable. If you press the trigger you should expect the hammer/striker to fly forward and, if a cartridge is present, to fire. If it doesn't act predictably in that reasonable, logical way, its utility is suspect.

Ruger makes fine guns. I'm a fan of the company and like every member of the organization that I've met. The SR9, likewise, is a good pistol. It's got enough safety features to make one wonder the purpose of the gun – to be "safe" (non-firing) or to save your life in a fight. The manual safety is fine, the mudflap chamber-loaded indicator is okay, the magazine disconnector less so. Forget the inanity of all gadgets and gizmos. Remember Rule 1: All Guns Are Loaded.

If you act in accordance with Rule 1, those "safety" features are superfluous. The magazine disconnector may or may not be functional and you must visually and physically check the piece. Relying on the magazine disconnector is unwise. Also the mudflap up top is not to be trusted. If it's up, there could potentially -- however unlikely -- be a reason other than a cartridge. If it's not up, I'm still cracking the slide open to affirmatively check. That California bureaucrats liked the "loaded chamber indicator fails to bring cheer – I trust them less than mechanical devices.

You see, like I know people are prone to mistakes I know that mechanical and electronic devices will at some time fail. The more numerous and complicated, the greater the chance of failure.

Guns aren't cars. Decockers, heavy triggers, magazine disconnectors aren't anti-lock braking systems. Even if they were, you still need to know how to brake on slick roads if there is no ABS. Maybe the "99% who shoot and disassemble once per year" need to get a bit of refresher before shooting and disassembling – if they're cops and they shoot only once a year, that's a management issue that will likely lead to tragedy operationally and otherwise – as well as setting the stage for civil liability.

I can't tell agencies not to buy Glocks – and I wouldn't tell them if they'd listen. Likewise, I'll tell agencies that a pattern of failure to train, manage and supervise is fraught with peril. They likely won't listen to that either.

Don't point guns at yourself or others. Lock the slide to the rear, check by sight & feel. Remember "SOS" – remove the SOURCE of ammunition - the magazine. Remove it from the gun and put it aside - in a pocket, on the table, anywhere but in your hands. Next, lock the slide OPEN. Take that opportunity to check the chamber visually and physically. Lower the slide and ensure that the muzzle is in a SAFE direction - a safe direction is one in which an unintended discharge will result in no physical injury and only minor property damage. Once that's completed, it's okay to press the trigger.

If you have or are issued a handgun that requires the slide to be locked open over an empty magazine well to take the gun apart, all the better. If you don't, you can still realize it's a time of some peril – follow the rules you should have been following every time you handled that gun.

-- Rich Grassi 

Good Explanation of the Tueller Principal

THE “21 FOOT RULE”

POSTED ON 03/21/2016 BY JERRY JONES

I try not to allow sarcasm into my writings.  I will try not to today, but can make no promises.  Sometimes, you read things that are just so dumb, the sarcasm writes itself.

Recently, I have read some writings from police administrators, police trainers, and musings in the media in reference to the “21 Foot Rule”.  To put everyone in the readership on a level playing field in our readership, this “21 Foot Rule” is what most of us also know as the Tueller Drill.  In the early 1980’s, Sgt Dennis Tueller conducted studies involving how quickly a subject armed with a knife could cover a given distance, before an officer could react, draw and fire effectively at the knife wielding attacker.

Now, I have been exposed to this drill for most of my career.  The crux of what I carried from it was an attacker can cover that 21 foot pretty quickly, so when dealing with non-compliant suspects, it is wise to have the gun in your hand, and a plan in your head.

Apparently, according to reading some of these “writings”, the “21 foot rule” now has been expanded to shooting everyone with a knife within 21 feet.  At least that is the media portrayal of it at this point.  Many of the writings I have seen by people that I would figure that should know better is that the “21 foot rule” is somehow a magical justification to shoot anyone armed with a knife within that distance.  Strangely, that was never how it was taught to me, and certainly never how I have taught it.

The “21 foot rule” teaches us in my opinion the dangers of edged weapons at closer distances.  It teaches us to that the quickest draw in that situation is to have the gun already in your hand.  But, at least in my exposure to the drill, it has never taught us that you should shoot anyone and everyone that you come into contact with that is armed with an edged weapon at 21 feet or less.  With most police officers skill level, the distance is most likely around 30 feet before it becomes an even playing field.