Posted on 04/18/2016 5:29:56 PM PDT by Lazamataz
The following are some thoughts I would like to share based on traveling the world while training various military, law enforcement and civilian personnel in pistol and carbine marksmanship. Some of you may agree, some may disagree, but my goal is to really get you thinking about what I said when you’re done reading this.
Muzzle Brakes
Muzzle brakes are great in a three gun match, but almost completely worthless in the real world. If you ever need to use your carbine while in confined spaces, as part of a tactical entry team, or during nighttime fighting, then you have no business putting one of these on your gun. Period. If you just go to a class and pound a bunch of rounds down range trying to look cool then it is tailor-made for you. So are Ronald McDonald shoes.
Electronic Hearing Protection
I honestly still have people show up to classes without electronic ear protection if you can believe that. This creates a borderline dangerous situation as you have a student who isn't hearing half of what the instructor is saying. Bottom line: if you can't afford good electronic hearing protection then you can't afford to be in the class. Instead, you should stay home and scrounge the neighborhood for soda cans and bottles until you get enough pocket change to buy a pair.
Sacred Cows of Training
Two of these come to mind: students who do tactical reloads nonstop, and those who constantly close the ejection port cover on their carbine. These two techniques are valid at the right time and place, but many of the students I see who are proficient at these sacred cows actually suck as shooters. Here's a tip from your Uncle Larry: work on being able to hit your target first, and then worry about secondary tasks like closing your dust cover. You may find out that in the real world the first makes the second largely unnecessary.
Skill
You can't buy skill. This is where students put every accessory known to man on their carbine, or have the so called 'combat' pistol they are using tuned with a stupid light trigger or some other heinous modification. Try saving your money you spend on stupid gadgets and apply yourself in a more productive way, like mastering sight alignment and trigger control. You will be amazed at how well you can shoot with even a box stock weapon.
Quality Over Quantity
Try to get the most out of every round you fire. You are better off going to the range and shooting 150 rounds and executing well designed drills that hone your skills than shooting five times that amount in a high round count 'entertainment' class where you run around like you’re in a first person shooter video game. In the real world, you’re accountable for every round you fire and only effective hits on target count. The bad guys don't give out style points for your dynamic mag dump in their general direction; they just return the favor with lead.
And last but not least,
Competition Shooting
Competition shooting is fun and exciting, but can actually be hazardous to your long-term health should you ever get in a gun fight and apply some of the 'match winning' techniques to try and win the gunfight. You don't get a staged walk-through in a life-or-death situation, and there is no range officer to tell you to load and make ready. I bring this up because I have seen students in classes who shoot a lot of competition and repeatedly begin a drill with an empty weapon. This in an era when over 40 states have concealed carry! Unreal.
That's all for now. I'm sure I’ve ruffled some feathers with these comments and some of the people reading this are probably cussing me right now. I couldn't possibly care less. Where I came from, we trained to enter hijacked aircraft and save lives- not win matches or impress people with Ninja gun handling skills. My goal is to get you thinking about what I said and hopefully some of you will make changes in how you train that could make the key difference some day when you need it most.
Larry Vickers Vickers Tactical Inc.
I would not have believed it except you said “true story”, so it must have happened.
Or how about the gun store know-it-alls who say that “safeties are fore sissys” and “your safety is your brain”?
I have taken to not arguing with them and just asking them if they have every had any unintended/accidental discharges. So far, the “experts” are averaging 2-3 per “expert”
Good point.
And without my microwave attachment, how the hell do I heat food?
You know, that’s why we’re feared the world over. They can’t comprehend a nation of shooters. You can’t buy skill, true words. That’s what Daisy’s brought us. Even though I’m 64 years old, I may be barely able to jack the slide on my friends recoil guide rod/spring modified Colt Government model, but If you’re peeking out behind a tree at 100 yards you can bet I got a piece of your brain case. Instinctive shooting, you’re not really sighting, and yet you are. .45acp rules, wonder nines, lol. My friend’s son shot his second toe off with a wonder nine. Yeah, I’ve always wondered at that foolishness.
True story!
I disagree with the white noise (electronic) hearing protection for a very simple reason. IF its going down indoors your hearing will be toast inside the first few rounds. While many new shooters begin to rely on the fancy protection, they become too reliant on a sense that will be lost in a real shoot. They will become partly useless.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe in hearing protection; but I am skeptical of technology when “we” will all pretty much be deaf and I would prefer someone at my side or six that trained with muffled hearing and more focus when faced with the loss of a human sense.
My nephew was coming home from deer hunting in my brother-in-law’s truck
and put the gun in the seat w/ the muzzle pointing down towards the floor
and on the way home he somehow managed to hit the trigger,
and fired the 30.06 through the floor and into his daddy’s transmission.
He could not hear for about two days.
“No sight picture, just instinctive shooting.”
Yes, that was the goal. If you watch Annie Oakley in the films, you’ll see her bend that forward left knee toward the target with a slight lean forward. A subtle but very effective technique.
Probably due to daddy's shouting.
The French did not put safeties on some of their rifles. they actually had a good reason for it but me, I had rather have the safety.
Still I will not call the French wrong. Just not my way of doing things.
Classic, lol. You know, that’s why we’re feared the world over. They can’t comprehend a nation of James Garners.
In boot camp one of our drill was to shoot several rounds then crawl under bard wire while they fired over the wire then at the other end of the wire to fire again.
After crawling that hundred feet under the wire my rifle would not cycle because it was packed with sand. After that I have a habit of closing the ejection port after firing.
I dont care if I have to close it a thousand times a day. When I want to shoot my rifle I know it wont be full of sand.
Daisy started out selling windmills for water pumps. They tossed in an air rifle.
People liked the air guns so much they conentrated on making them.
I learned to shoot by breaking beer bottles behind a tavern just off Route 66 using my Daisy that looked like a Winchester model 94.
They never ran me off. I remember thinking, “Keep on drinking.”
That olive oil was probably ‘dieseling’ when it fired.
Larry has hawked muzzle breaks, and the rifle he chose for the pic in this article has one.
L
I was once behind a guy at an outdoor range firing an M1 Garand, and even with good hearing protection, that damn thing was LOUD! I don’t even want to imagine firing that round in an enclosed space.
Anybody got any recommendations for electronic hearing protection? My ears don’t ring as much since I retired but I’m going to try to take up shooting again and I’d like to be up on the tech.
I don’t think there are any of us here hasn’t had our knuckles raked by firing a daisy with the lever forward. Learned a harsh lesson, lol. Same with the pumps, even a worse lesson. A simple reminder about gun safety. I remember my little bro pulling the trigger of the daisy I was holding while watching the tv. missed the tube by about an inch, lesson learned. It had a little bb hole in the skirting thereafter. No loaded bb guns in the house.
The technique is simple, quick and easy to master. The key is to just look down the barrel like shotgun shooting, rather than using the sights. It is as easy and very comparable to pointing your finger at something.
Start with large targets like cans or pine cones and transition to smaller targets as you get the hang of it.
I was only proficient if I tossed my own coin. I would shoot at the top of the arc when the coin was essentially stationary. At my peak, I could hit a nickel about half the time. If lucky on the first shot, I quit, leaving spectators the impression than I could do it every time.
If I missed the first shot, I'd make the statement that it must have been edgewise and try again. It is far easier than one might imagine.
Only enjoy such fun where it is safe to do so!
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