"That is my safety, sir.":
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.
My daughter has a break-action shotgun for trap shooting - no safeties. Of course one walks around with it open, so...!
The instructor that helped two of my kids (never shot real guns before, just bb guns) was impressed with their trigger control, leaving their fingers on the guard until the last moment. (I was beaming with pride!).
The first time my daughter ever shot a shotgun she hit 7/10 of the first clay targets. (Here first shot was just firing into the air to get a feel for the kick!)
How about a cross dominant shooter? I didn’t even know that was my problem til ten years ago. I shoot more accurately as a lefty, but lack strength in my left hand. I compensate with capacity and shoot right handed.. I prefer a silencer over electronic hearing.. But that’s cuz I like to hear what’s going on around me...
Yeah, I don’t hear ya. While hunting deer in a box stand with my cousin, my head was just slightly outside the stand window when he fired his muzzle-breaked 7 mm mag 3 feet to my right. Between that incident and bleeding 20 thousand pigs, I can’t hear ya now. Both are historical facts. If any freeper needs pig blood, I can help.
I once forgot to plug my Silencios in whilst on the firing line. Guy next to me had a Garand. It’s got quite a bark. Got those plugs back in taco pronto. Can’t even begin to imagine what it was like to be in one of those WWII engagements.
Practice , Practice, Practice.
A gallon of sweat on the tactical range, will save pints of blood in the field.
I forgot who told me that...
5.56mm
“Learned the same Quick Kill Skills at Ft. Ord, it is amazing how accurate you can be without sighting, breathing and squeezing . I remember the instructor would shoot a cotton ball out of a washer that was tossed in the air and hit it 75 % of the time.”
I never did hit a single one of those flying disks. I’m just not a bird hunter. I tore up the pop up targets though. You see, that BB gun I learned to shoot had no rear sights.
I also had a trick I learned with that BB gun. I would place the trigger finger along the receiver parallel to the bore. Just point your finger at the target and use your second finger to operate the trigger. Takes a bit getting used to but it can work well if you can master it. Actually taught a couple of the range NCOs how to do it.
Put a 110 grain lead hollow point in the rascal and I concur, nasty-nasty round!
That’s what I keep in it for home defense. I use Privy 110 gr at the range with it. Great little rifle!
The Howard Light Impact Sport hearing protection is what I would consider the current standard for Electronic Ears.
Why the hell did he have a round chambered when it was stowed in the vehicle?
Thanks. Marked in Amazon for later investigation.
For some reason Midway had those on sale for a week and I bought four at 420 each! They are indeed the best type of sound protection at the range. But because they also amplify sounds I keep a set beside the bed, for the unlucky intruder to be dispatched without harming my hearing.
Oops! Make that $20 each. Darn old fingers.
I recently found a cheaper set that fit my ears better, called Rifleman ACH.
They don’t have any reputation at all but they work perfectly for me.
Breakfast is served. Not sure how to do the eggs, though.
VIDEO—You’ll Never Use Your Skillet Again After Watching This Guy Use An M16 Rifle To COOK BACON
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