A follow up from my last post. As you can imagine, the agents I work with have been talking non stop about the Buffalo shooting. Like the vast majority of men, they are full of bullshit and always think their skills are better than they are. As their primary firearms instructor, I know who “could make the shot” and who couldn’t. The most difficult job for any instructor is dealing with ego, it is a bitch.
In the spirt of posting views not my own, I going to post this article. I severely disagree with the author’s opinion on head shots. Yes, they are about the the surest way to stop a active shooter, however, based on my experience, taking a head shot on paper is a hell of lot different than in real life. In combat situations, with adrenaline running high, only the most skilled person can make that shot. In real life, heads are constantly moving , not stationary like most action movies.
“Our Servicemen and women are serving throughout the world as guardians of peace–many of them away from their homes, their friends and their families. They are visible evidence of our determination to meet any threat to the peace with measured strength and high resolve. They are also evidence of a harsh but inescapable truth–that the survival of freedom requires great cost and commitment, and great personal sacrifice.”
According to ABC News , a deputy responding the Texas elementary murders loss his own daughter and a Border Patrol agent lost his grand daughter. For my brothers and the parents of the murdered children, God be with you.
Every teacher I know needs armed protection, that is why I am volunteering today to help provide security for today’s senior graduation. You don’t have to be armed to help, your eyes are the best protection. It way past time for citizens to take back control.
A lot of talk about responsibility and accountability. Here’s an old fashioned concept … be accountable to and for your own damn self first … be “as advertised” before you start advertising.
Don’t deceive others with a high opinion - low commitment life.
Be honest with everyone about who and what you are capable of if others must rely upon you.
First and foremost be honest with yourself and do the work necessary to be worthy of those responsibilities of life and limb.
In the end, reality always has the last word … and reality crucifies illusions.
Timely thought. I had a conversation with one of my officers this week who’s considering buying a new pistol. He was trying to decide between a few models, all over $2k, for a new duty gun. Please understand, I fully support spending your OT check on high quality firearms or whatever you want. However, I reminded him how he has wanted to improve his pistol skill set. I suggested he’d be further along to his goal by buying a $500 G17, attending a 3 day high quality pistol class (like TPC) for $800 and spending $500 for the ammo for the class. Then using the remainder of the money he would have spent on the high end 1911 for USPSA match fees and ammo once a month for the next year to stay current (and improve). I reminded him, that path is how the guys with the proficiency he’s chasing got to where they are.
That aid: I fully expect to be signing off on his new Wilson or STI by the end of June (sigh).
Very wise advice. I agree. I see this all the time, the hunt for gear and gadgets to somehow make you a better shooter. This is fools errand and will only lead to failure. As you said, quality training tops any whiz bang super shooter.
Since WW1, 645 thousand Americans have died in our wars. Sometime today offered up a very solemn thought for those who died. The price of freedom, isn’t free.
Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.
At its heart, I find Memorial Day a rather somber occasion. I dwell on thoughts of those who aren’t with us anymore except in spirit; but it’s their spirit I cherish in spite of the feeling of loss. It’s not just the buddies I have who’ve paid the ultimate sacrifice. I think of others who succumbed to the “other”…some service related and some of old age. Regardless, they all served something bigger than themselves And for that, I raise a toast.
One of the most important battles in modern history:
On D-Day, Allied troops landed on the beaches code-named Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword and Gold, carried by 7,000 boats. On that single day, 4,414 Allied soldiers lost their lives, 2,501 of them Americans. More than 5,000 were wounded.
The best setup for home defense is an autoload shotgun with a 1000 lumen tactical light, and the best handgun is a 9mm semi-auto with a 1000 lumen tactical light. See the theme here? No fancy bullshit, just iron sights, and your tac light are better than any laser or red dot because it’s simple. It blinds the hell out of any assailant and serves as your front sight focus. In just about every case, you will be less than 15ft from your assailant, iron sights will do just fine.
For the shotgun at close range, birdshot might be more effective than OO buckshot. It will hold its mass and penetrate soft tissue just fine, but is less likely to punch through the drywall and hit one of your kids sleeping in the next room. There is also less recoil from birdshot which gives you a faster second shot on target as well. Finally, the sound of a shotgun racking a round into the chamber on the other side of a closed door cannot be mistaken for any other sound in Nature. The bad guy’s nerves may melt like ice cream just knowing that he is facing a 12 gauge, can’t miss blast in a confined space.
If you recently purchased a handgun for self defense and family protection, you need to realize defensive shooting is a martial art. Like any martial art it takes consist practice to achieve an elementary base. Please don’t fall into the ego trap I see so many untrained do: “I have agun now, its loaded, I can handle anything”.
Some good advise from Mr. Webb:
1. Once you’ve learned the basics of shooting with your dominant eye, start practicing with both eyes open (for situational awareness).
2. Take a combat pistol course from a qualified instructor. Yes, it’s more expensive than most, but you don’t buy parachutes at Bob’s Discount Chutes the same way you should not expect to get great training at the firearms version of Rex Kwan Do, as seen in the classic movie Napoleon Dynamite. “Grab my wrist. No, the other wrist!”
3. Visualize your top 3 likely scenarios (home intruder, carjacking, etc.) and practice them in your head over and over. When I say imagine it, I mean think of the stress involved and really place yourself in that terribly stressful scenario.
4. Then practice drawing your weapon and dry firing these scenarios (with a clear and safe weapon). Visualize and dry fire 10x a day for 60 days to build a foundation of muscle memory.
5. As in business, there’s always ongoing education. I’d take at least 3-4 courses a year to keep building on your foundation for at least 4 years.
