WARRIOR TALK NEWS

Individual Movement Techniques for Rural Patrolling - Part 2

By JD Lester – Suarez International Staff Instructor

 

Previously I wrote on the techniques for individual movement that we might be required to use during rural patrolling. I will expand on some of the factors that affect IMT as well as some other points of consideration in this article.

Volume and Effectiveness of Enemy Fire - IMT is not always used due to volume and effectiveness of enemy fire. It can be used both reactive and also proactive, I covered the reactive use in the last article so this time we will concern ourselves with the proactive use of the techniques. 

A few examples of proactively using IMT are listed below:  

• We have seen the bad guys first and want to initiate the contact so we simply go prone and high crawl to a more advantageous position with less chance of our movement attracting attention.  This will work equally well if we decide to "let’m pass" and do not become decisively engaged.
• If we are going to occupy a surveillance or ambush position we do not want to silhouette ourselves getting into position so we stop short and crawl into the position.  
• Crossing a linear danger area needs to be done as quickly as possible to avoid detection so the rush or more of a "careful hurry" is applicable to use once you have found the most suitable crossing site.  

 

Micro Terrain - The use of micro terrain allows us to decrease the ability of the bad guys to visually detect us while moving or static. The use of the micro terrain in the open area photographs below gives a good visual example of this. 

Standing tall in the open can attract bullets just like leaving your flashlight on while clearing a structure.  

 

Taking a knee at short halts, and if available, use of micro terrain can reduce the ability of the bad guy to spot you. 

During long halts going prone keeps the silhouette to the minimum.

This is the same position as the previous photo from the 12 o’clock.



Fighting Load - My fighting load in this example is pretty spartan, by using the Terrorist Interdiction Bag (TIB), it allows me to quickly tailor a load to a specific mission and get on with what I need to do.

On my belt are the essential 1st line items of equipment , one rifle mag, one pistol mag and my RMR'd G17 AIWB.

The uniform I chose to wear was a set of ACU's that had some sand box wear and a mix of green, tan, and pearl grey dye applied. It blended nicely in the wood line, but no so well in the open area. I tend to not walk out in the open areas as it is easier to be spotted and can make for a lot of reactive IMT.

The boots are some comfortable and sturdy desert boots that have good tread and provide ankle support. The lighter colored soles are another good feature. Sticking with the HEAT (hippy earth tone) camo concept applies to footwear also. I have busted more than one hide site by spotting a couple of solid black boot soles that caught my eye. So unless you have a lot of controlled burns in your area that keep the ground charred, the black boots can get you busted.

 Also note in the photos in Part 1 & Part 2, I have a few target inticators that really stood out in the enviroment I was operating in. The colored patchs, headgear, watch, red zipper pull on the TIB and eye pro are easily seen which provides target indicators for the bad guys. A more suitable type of headgear would be a bush hat to break up the outline of my head and changing eyepro or incorporating one of the camo veils.   

  

Route Selection - We want to take the most covered and concealed route possible to the objective, giving us a better probability of a successful patrol.

As mentioned above avoiding open areas is prefferred to help us remain undetected. Other areas that should be given the same consideration during planning and execution are roads, trails, streams, and pipelines which are all natural lines of drift. You can still use them as navigation aids to hand rail just ensure you have enough stand off from them to remain undetected by any Listening / Observation Posts (LP/OP).

 Armies and police forces the world over are very prone to establishing check points on roads and rivers because it is logistically easy to do. So avoid the Lines of Communications (LOC) however, know where they are should you need to use one to rapidly egress the area. (Speed vs Security) 

Cover - Once again know what it is and what only provides concealment.

 

 

An example of good cover. In this situation firing over the cover rather than around it provided the best field of fire for this overwatch position.

 

In this photo I have pretty good concealment sans the target indicators I mentioned pereviously.

I hope this article has sparked some intrest in this subject and gets some warriors to training. Click here to get your kit dirty with some good training.

 

 

 

Technology And Owning The Dark - 2

The method most basic, for using a Night Vision Monocular in conjunction with a handgun goes like this.  Hold the monocular in your support side hand and bring it up to your non-dominant eye.  How close will be up to you, but understand that there is a glow given off by the unit and holding too far away will not only illuminate your face but also reduce your visual acuity through the unit.  Adjust the optic so you can hold it as close as possible. This will remain in place as you move through the area.

It is suggested that you attach a neck lanyard so that if you needed both hands free you could drop it on the lanyard and instantly be able to operate whatever you needed with the support hand without loss of the unit.

When moving, you can bring the pistol into a compressed ready such as SUL, or a modification of SUL.  This allows you to move efficiently without excessive exertion, or projection of the pistol into unknown areas. 

The main point to remember is that in total darkness, if you are equipped with night vision, you can see things you normally could not and thus move with an ease that would not be available otherwise.

Although we are assuming that you can see and your adversary cannot - to a certain degree - remember that night vision, like body armor, is quite common and the opposition may also be equipped with it. 

As well, other target indicators such as sound, smell, shine, etc., remain a concern so be quiet and stealthy. The idea here is to start and finish the gunfight without the other guy knowing you are even on the same planet as him.

When the need to engage is presented, bring the pistol up in the usual one-handed shooting position.  Notice that my TSD Glock is canted slightly in what we jokingly refer to as a "half homie".  This is actually a bullseye shooting position known as the McMillan Tilt, invented by Marine Olympic pistol champion Bill McMillan. I won't go into the benefits of this here, but try it for yourself.  If it works use it.  It works well for me.

Now to the matter of the eyes.  Keep them both open of course.  If the target is within three yards, just point shoot him.  If you need more precision such as if taking a small part of the target, such as a head shot, you will need to refine what you see.   Here is how.

If using tritium sights, pick up the dots with the shooting eye and keep scanning the target with the non shooting eye.  The two images will come together via the binocular capability of the eyes.  It will need to be learned and developed, but is quite fast into use. The only disadvantage of the tritiums is that they do produce a glow that can be picked up in total darkness.  Nothing is free so consider the advantages as well as liabilities of tritium sights.

Using the MRDS/RMR, as in our TSD Combat Systems packages is even easier, and the dot appears as a bright green dot centered on the threat using the same methods. The MRDS/RMR does not produce the shine/glow that tritium does.

Finally is the use of the laser.  Ideally you would have an IR laser mounted on the pistol, so that you could refine alignment without any notice given to the opposition.  While there are IR pistol mountable lasers, I have a Surefire X400 mounted on my TSD Glock.  The reason is that there is a need for a white light in these scenarios and currently there are no factory produced white light units with IR lasers.

Unless you will be using a head mounted NVD, you have one hand to hold up the NVD and the other for the pistol.  Nothing is free to go get the flashlight on your belt.  So I sacrifice stealth at the moment of shooting for greater flexibility in application. With the visible laser, simply align everything and only activate the laser the instant before firing so you do not compromise your position with it.

More studies on the practical combative application of night vision technology for the individual coming soon.

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Technology and Owning The Darkness

The city had been stalked by a rapist. This guy was good. We thought he was an ex-military guy or an ex-cop. He left no physical evidence, and managed to hit every night for the last ten days regardless of how many units had been deployed to the area and how many days off had been cancelled.But it was not hard to avoid those “high profile” patrols. They drove around giving a very good, and loud, rendition of the “illusion of security”.

That was the modern administration’s answer to violence – to look like you were really trying hard until the bad guy got tired and went away .I had been out on foot in the alley. One of those coincidences of happenstance and good preparation I suppose. There had been a call of a suspicious person, right where I was on foot.

Initially, I thought a resident had seen me moving through the alley. I had a plain black raid jacket with the “POLICE” lettering sufficiently and purposely worn off so it covered all the shiny bullshit I was required to wear. I donned it when out on foot and probably looked more like a burglar than a police officer. I called in via my radio that it was Code 4…meaning it was only me. Dispatch acknowledged and I kept walking, silently in the dark. Then I heard it.

I wasn’t sure what it was, but it was one of those sounds that simply do not belong. I stopped and took a knee, listening hard. There it was again. Some sort of metallic and non-rhythmic sound. Definitely man-made. I moved toward the sound..trying hard to not make any myself.

A night vision unit!? Yes.

In those days I had my side business working and had a much better rate of disposable income than the average line officer (much to the dismay of ever-heavier administrators). One of the things I added to my kit was a third generation night vision monocular. I bought it from Cory Trapp and paid the princely sum of $900 back in the mid 1990s.

I looked at the problem with a very practical eye. I needed to be able to see in the dark, that much was obvious. But my goal was not simply observation, but also being able to act upon what I saw. In my context it would mean either shooting, or going hands on violently and proactively. I needed to both be able to shoot with the NVD, but also to be able to secure it if I needed to hit someone or to load/fix the pistol.

Securing the unit in a pouch seemed the most protective but I knew I would not have the time to do that. I settled on a neck lanyard made from 550 cord. I rigged the monocular with a lanyard around my neck so I could use it as needed and then drop it and have hands-free as needed as well.

My Glock 24 had a white light mount on it but the intention was to not use it to search, but only at the last moment when I knew what I had, lest the light alert my prey…I mean…the suspect.

I had developed a way to use the Trijicon Tritium sights in conjunction with the NVD (Night Vision Device). I would hold the monocular over my left eye. With it I would scan the area I was examining. If I saw a target that needed to be shot, I would bring the pistol up and look for the tritium dots with my right eye. I found that the binocular characteristics of human vision would integrate the three dots against the blackness with the green illuminated scene my left eye was picking up. This would yield three dots hovering over the targeted zone.

There was absolutely nothing defensive or reactive about this and the intention was to be able to hunt bad guys in the dark with zero warning. If I could have added a sound suppressor, I would have. That was 1995!

It is now 2013, almost twenty years later. Technology today has surpassed what I had back then. While I am a minimalist when it comes to techniques, I am also firmly in the camp that we should use modern technology. There is a tendency in the Civilian Tactical Community to want to minimize more than just techniques. I think that is a mistake.

Why send a letter when we have email?

Why carry a bag of coins when we have credit cards?

Why walk when you can drive a BMW?

Why rely on antiquated equipment, or worse, purposely handicap yourself in a fight, when there are easier things?

We need to identify the fight. A reactive fight is something we get into. A proactive fight is something we go to. And yes my friends, there are those two angles regardless of your profession. In this discussion we will focus on the PROACTIVE FIGHT, meaning that you go and look for the fight. There is little use for flashlights, much less, night vision in an unexpected reactive gunfight. 

One scenario - your door gets kicked in at 0400 HRS. Its dark as a rhinoceros rectum. You hear footsteps and voices through your house. Any light you turn on will make you a target for the enemy that you cannot see.

Here is your First Option - Turn the lights on...or a flashlight, and exchange gunfire with them on equal footing. From experiments we have done, a bad guy need only fire toward the light...he doesn't care how many it takes to dump you.

Your Second Option - Use night vision technology and alternative sighting tools, such as IR lasers, to locate, move to contact with, and eliminate the adversary unseen. Which one is safer for you?

Owning the night is not about having the brightest flashlight or the newest flashlight technique. While lights are desirable in their niche, the technology has moved beyond them being the only thing available. To really own the dark, the modern defender will utilize some form of night vision in conjunction with his other tools. Body armor is already a common addition to many defender’s kit bags. It should be the same with modern night fighting technology.

Today there are IR visible lasers available to everyone, as well as high quality Gen 3 Night Vision Units. As well, there are handheld Infrared Viewers that used to be limited to helicopter use in my time. Like anything else, quality will cost and the top quality units are not for those on food stamps.

In addition, there are ways we have developed to use the RMR/Red Dot systems in conjunction with the NVD that make my 1995 system look like a Wright Brothers plane compared to a modern fighter. If you are ready to take the first step to really owning the darkness, take a hard look at the night vision technology and the IR laser technology. The epiphany will be like the first time you realize that you could win the fight decisively without being seen or shot.

“Night vision devices let you own the night. Flashlights just let you borrow some of it for a little while.”

Chris Upchurch – SI Staff Instructor.

In a few minutes I was on him. He was dressed in black like me. He had a large screw driver in his hands and was working quietly to pry open the window of a residence. I watched him in the green hue of the NVD, and brought my Glock up silently, the three tritium dots hovering like three fireflies in formation on the center of his back.

For a moment I was tempted to do as my friends in the “surveillance detail” often did…yell “Hey” and then shoot him in the chest as he wheeled around. But I had exceeded my quota for at least the next year so I brought the pistol back down slowly.

I loaded my left leg and swung the hardest Muay Thai kick I have ever sent. I heard his femur break with a gratifying crack.

As he screamed, I slowly pressed my mic, “Three L Seven I need Code Three back Up…..”.

 

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Individual Movement Techniques for Rural Patrolling

By JD Lester – Suarez International Staff Instructor

"I’m Up, He Sees Me, I’m Down!”

This phrase has been used in military training to drive home the relevance of exposure time during the practical application of moving under direct fire.  Where this phrase becomes applicable to us is its use as “reminder dialogue” in training, which can also carry over to the fight.  It is very similar to talking yourself through an After Action Assessment after the gunfight. 
 With the widespread use of low powered variable optics and red dot optics which allow for quick target acquisition, limiting our exposure time has become very important.  Having an optic on a gun reduces the OODA loop of the bad guy due to the reflexive nature of their use: no sight alignment is required in the shooting solution which results in less time to acquire, sight and fire.  I think over time the cadence of the phrase has changed to reflect technology. If this phrase was being used during the revolutionary war and civil war era’s fighting, the soldier probably could cover a bit more distance than today.

Individual Movement Techniques (IMT)

3-5 Second Rush – The Rush is a full-on sprint to close as much distance to a piece of suitable cover in the least amount of exposure time. It is usually used in an open area that provides little or no cover or for covering short distances between scattered pieces of cover.  The distance covered will vary due to several things, physical ability, fighting load, effects of the bad guy’s fire, and terrain to mention a few. Rushing with the rifle at "High Noon" lends itself to fighting using the underarm assault position to engage an unexpected threat. It also allows for a natural arm swing while running with the arm not holding the rifle. This is where the phrase "I’m Up, He Sees Me, I’m Down" comes into play most often. It gives you that measurement in your brain for about how long you have been exposed. 

 
                                                                                                            

High Crawl – The High Crawl starts from the prone. The rifle is cradled in the arms and you use the knees and elbows to power the body. This technique is not as fast as the rush, however, it keeps you lower to the ground and helps you displace from where the bad guy last had sight of you after your last bound. This technique, used in conjunction with micro terrain, can get you the rest of the way to good cover. The High Crawl is also relatively easy to fight from.   

  
Low Crawl – The Low Crawl also starts from the prone. The rifle is grasped by the sling and sling attachment point with the forend lying on your forearm. This technique is best suited for when none of the above techniques will work due to terrain, lack of cover, or effectiveness and volume of fire. The head is turned to the side, the arms are used to pull and the feet and legs to push the body. Basically you use your head to dig a trench for the body. Not required but a ballistic helmet could be considered a good piece of kit (comfort item) for this technique. This technique is the slowest which provides the lowest silhouette and is the hardest to defend due to the head being turned to one side. This can be modified for our use by not turning the head to the side since we probably won’t have a ballistic helmet we can scan and have better situational awareness.
 

Note: Personal protective gear such as quality elbow and knee pads are not necessary to accomplish any of the individual movement techniques however, those items are highly reccomended. The uniform I am wearing in the photos has pockets designed to hold a thin foam pad for each knee and elbow.   

Factors that affect IMT

Volume and Effectiveness of Enemy Fire – The effectiveness of the bad guy’s fire will factor heavily on the IMT that you use.  An example of this is when the enemy fire is sporadic and not effective, a series of rushes might be all that is needed to get you to cover or allow you to disengage from the contact. 

Terrain - Terrain affects everything from rate of march to the different types of equipment that it takes to operate effectively. Be prepared to deal with what is in your area or any area you might end up in.

Micro Terrain - Know how to identify Micro Terrain and use it to your advantage. That small depression or washout in a field might provide you with adequate cover or at least occlude you from the view of the bad guy.

Fighting Load - This is dictated by your mission. If you are living out of your rucksack, you need to drop ruck and fight. Having all your kit with you when you die from lack of mobility doesn’t do you any good. This is where 1st 2nd and 3rd line kit becomes very important. Peel it off as necessary to fight and win.

Points to Consider

Route Selection - We select routes to take us to and from our objective usually based on a map reconnaissance.  Don’t be a slave to your map. The terrain on the ground usually is not as it is depicted on the map unless you have some really good mapping assets.  Adjust your route to provide you the best cover and concealment and keep your patrol safe.

Speed vs Security During Movement - Sacrificing security for speed sometimes may be necessary to make a hard time or exfiltrate an area and put some distance between you and the bad guys. However, doing the hard thing right over the easy thing wrong is usually the best course of action. Getting on a trail or road because you are wet, cold, tired, and hungry could be a bad decision.  “Bad decisions lead to last decisions.” 

Cover - As you are moving through an area you should be selecting points of cover that you can move to should you become engaged right now.  This is applicable to everyday movement as well as actively patrolling an area. Knowing what is good cover and what is not should be high on the list of good things to know. If you are able to conduct some weapons effects testing it behooves you to know what your ammo and the potential bad guy’s ammo will and will not punch through. 

Lastly, get out and train with the kit that you plan on using. It will let you know what needs changing and what works well.

 

 

Hippy Earth Tones Camouflage (H.E.A.T. Camo)

Catchy name don't you think? No, TSD is not going to make or sell clothing. Tried that when we sold Woolrich and 5.11 and it is too much drama for what it is worth. The matter at hand arose this last weekend when we held the Small Unit Tactics class in Kingman, AZ.

We had twenty guys attending. Some wore the very popular and effective Multicam camouflage. A couple of guys wore some derivatives of MARPAT, ACU, and various other "Green" camo. And we had several that were wearing civilian outdoor clothing, but in what I would term "muted earth tones". These were various shades of drab green, gray, brown and tan. Nothing blue or red - nothing white or black. And the tans were more brown than sand...so they were not "light".

This is not Urban camo to blend into groups. The objective is to sport a drab colored image based on shades of grey, brown, green, tan. Nothing blue...nothing red...nor any derivatives such as bluish grey or pinkish salmon. The idea is that the clothes blend into the woods/weeds, yet can go into the city as well. The wood/weeds takes precedence over the city in terms of colors.

Patterns would also be contraindicated unless there are plaid plants or stripped trees in your AO.


In any case we had students do a walk back from 100 to 350 yards as the other students watched them for contrast, effectiveness in blending with the area, and how easy it was to see them. Not scientific I suppose, but good enough for what our purposes where.

Anything moving is easy to see as nothing moves like a man. As well, a human head is distinctive and different from anything in nature. But aside from that what the class saw was that the Hippy Earthtones difused light and allowed the wearers to be nearly as "camouflaged" as the multicam wearing guys. Don't believe me? Ask they guys in class that saw what I am writing about.

The advantage of the Hippy Earthtones over the Multicam is this. If it is probable that one may need to go from rural weeds to city streets and back, the multicam would be contraindicated as while it would camouflage well in one zone, it would call attention to the wearer in another. The Hippy Earthtones would work well in both.

FIELD RIFLE SHOOTING - KNEELING

Kneeling position is the next in our series.  It is about as accurate, all things being equal, as squatting.  Classic Kneeling is assumed as follows. You drop into a kneeling position with the leg approximately 90 degrees apart forming a right angle.  Your butt rests on the heel of your foot.  This last part is crucial, without which you may as well just stand. The bottom foot maybe flat, or on the toe as the situation requires. The forward arm is bent and the triceps just above the elbow rests on the knee.

An interesting attribute of kneeling is the ability to adapt to high or low angle shots.  Although this is something rarely done on flat range training venues, we shoot at all angles and distances and even have a training site where we can suspend steel targets from a cliff so we can shoot at rising angles as well as declining angles.

Two areas will affect this.  One is the hand position of the fore end.  Farther out will decrese the angle while closer in to the magazine will increase it.  As well the bottom foot can be articulated from "on the toe" to "on the flat", or even to a pseudo-sitting to raise the angle of the shot.

 

FIELD RIFLE SHOOTING - SQUATTING

It was during the era of the LA Riots.  My partner and I were moving down an alley in Los Angeles, moving to a position to intercept some bank robbers.  It was dark, about 2200 HRS, and our investigation had tracked them down to a house our team was setting up on.  On the other side of the alley...in the street, shots rang out.  It didn't have anything to do with us.  It was only a drive by shooting by some offended gang member shooting at another gang member.  All it really meant was that we would need to move fast before the sirens and LAPD units alerted the bank robbers.  But as trained men do when shots are fired close by, we went to ground. My partner took a knee directly atop a broken beer bottle, and had to be taken off scene for treatment.  That was 1992...or 1993 before knee pads were in common usage.

The Squatting Position, for those that can pull it off, solves issues like that faced by my partner...lowering the profile on a hostile surface that you do not want to touch.

The Squatting also serves as an alternative to kneeling.  It is faster in and out of than kneeling.  It is not as accurate as kneeling due to the body being in minimal contact with the ground.  Nonetheless, we have found it to be useful to about 300 yards.

To assume it, stand about 40 degrees to the target and simply squat down as if you were going to do a #2 in the woods. The hamstrings will be resting on the calves, and the back of both elbows (actually the triceps muscles) will be resting on the knees. See the photos. This is importnat without which attempting a squatting position is doomed to failure.  The feet must remain flat on the deck.

The main detractor of the squat's utility is not a large belly as some would think, but rather a lack of flexibility in three areas.  A lack of flexibility incidentally which will also limit the sue of kneeling and sitting.  Those areas are the ankle, the hips, and the lower back.  A lack of flexibility there is undesirable, not only from a fighting POV, but also simply from a health perspective.

FIELD RIFLE SHOOTING - PRONE

In my rifle classes I often say that rifle is a physical weapon.  I am actually not the author of that phrase.  It belongs to Jeff Cooper. Jeff disdained the shooting bench as the crutch of the lazy and advocated field shooting positions.  So do we.  Shooting positions are not as fun as doing multiple magazine dumps into a whithering poster of a sci-fi character, but if the focus is on training the rifleman, then the demands of field shooting requires learning them.

First is the prone position.  This is the most accurate and desirable of all the shooting positions.  We have students take shots out to 1000 yards in the introductory sniper courses and out to 400 and 500 yards in the rifle gunfighting courses from prone.  The limits to prone are the terrain.  It demands relatively flat surfaces and is contraindicated for shooting at angles.  As well, intervening vegetation that obscures the target will limit the use of prone in the field. 

Points to Consider For Prone Shooting -

1).  Line up with the rifle, and not at an angle to it.  This will insure the rifle recoils straight back and not at unpredictable angles. Establish natural point of aim by closing the eyes and relaxing, then opening them and rechecking alignment on target.  If you are misaligned, move the entire body into alignment and not just the rifle.

2). Use the magazine as a monopod.  Those that tell you doing so will malfunction the rifle are wrong...or they are using substandard magazines. The goal is as much bone support as possible with the least amount of muscle strength necessary to maintain the position.

3). Focus on the fundamentals of marksmanship, specifically the natural point of aim, and breathing.  Use the Respiratory Pause method of breathing.  Inhale and exhale.  On the exhale you are at full relaxation and have approximately six to ten seconds before you will need to breathe again.  That is when the shot is fired.  When operating the trigger, smooth and easy is the key, and  maintain everything in place AS THE RIFLE RECOILS.   

All of this should be worked dry extensively before it is taken out into the field.  In the next installment we will examine the sitting position.

IN STEEL WE LEARN THE TRUTH

Force on force training has brought the defensive shooting world, kicking and screaming, into a modern age.  This renaissance of training development has never been seen before and I attribute it to several things.  One is the proliferation of Concealed Carry around the world, and second is the willingness of some instructors to step away from the traditional world of the shooting range and involve themselves in force on force training. 

The same thing happened about a decade ago with the martial arts world when the Gracie family challenged any and all martial artists to a no-holds barred match that morphed into what we now know as UFC.  All manner of sacred cows died in that cage-like ring, as  fighting notions held
to be true for centuries and never challenged were quickly proven false, as their proponents lapsed into unconsciousness on the ground with a tight Brazilian arm around their necks.

Force on force has done something the very same thing in the world of defensive shooting. Once the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, no one who experienced it would ever look at training the same way again. 

Yet every few years the lessons of the past begin to be forgotten anew.  You can see it in the discussions on the various internet forums.  It begins as a more pronounced focus on the minutia of range drills and of shooting groups, as well as discussions of mechanical points of which trigger works best at this game or that game with regards to the use of the pistol.  That would be fine if everyone simply admitted that they had no interest in defensive shooting and rather, that their
focus was on winning gun games. Or on using firearms training to feel good about themselves. But that is not the case. This type of thinking is put forth as the way to win a street fight.

I see this phenomena every few years because American shooters are two things: Exclusively hardware focused instead of software focused, and they are also lazy and soft and would rather marvel at a tight group from a new gun than on a stellar performance against an uncooperative
opponent in a force on force session. If that is you, you can get upset with me and complain to the editor, or you can read further and see how you can not only change that, but become a better “gun” fighter as well.  

It is very empowering to go to the range with special “shooting clothes”, special hat and sunglasses, and practice the "hammers" taught at that seminar you attended...just like your favorite gun guru does everyday of his life. It makes you feel good about yourself, and that is the object of the exercise after all, no?

But that will not help you one bit in a gunfight. If you haven't done force on force, or you don't train the lessons of force of force, going to the range, and going through these shooting rituals is like sitting in your AMC Pacer with a copy of Ferrari Annual and pretending you are driving the
real thing. Silly at best and tragic at worst. 

But what if I told you that you could have that Ferrari and all it would cost you was a different outlook, an open mind, and a little time? 

Primarily, your focus has to change from seeking empowerment, to seeking true fighting skill. That and an open mind to accept that maybe what you have been training is not the be-all, end-all of
gunfighting skills.  And finally a little time to unlearn and relearn. Relearn skills for reality.

Training for reality is not like a "martial artist" showing up to "demonstrate" in a splendidly pressed
uniform and doing some classical ancient sword kata against unseen enemies with technical perfection.  Nor is it the expert hitting the bag with gymnastic like precision while wearing the
fashionable “fighting clothes”.  

Most gun school training is exactly like that isn’t it.  Totally ego-focused and designed to make the participant feel good about himself.  You can train for ego (to feel good about how good you are), or you can train to win the fight (by training to really fight well) - but you can't do both.  Schools seem not to be in the business of teaching anyone to really fight, they are in the business of “empowering” people or teaching people to "feel good" about themselves.

The main reason why more gun guys don't actually train to win the fight, by fighting, is the same reason so many martial arts schools don't do any actual full contact fighting in order to train their students to win hand to hand fights.  After a full-contact fight, both sides look like they were mugged. Training like this is humbling, because everyone gets hit, but it will get you far more ready for the real thing on the street, than hours of empowerment by hitting a heavy bag.

All these guys really know how to do is to shoot well against a piece of cardboard in an artificial time limit.  One might ask if those skills do not offer some benefit on the street, and therefore are worth pursuing? I say a definite negative. When guys that have spend extensive time training for the range (not to mention extensive amounts of money and ammunition) come to our "training
venue", they suddenly realize that a gunfight is not like the shooting range.  As a result many of them do worse than a novice there for the first time since they are so married to their range
protocols that it takes them much more time to unlearn and finally let go of "the useless" and accept what they actually need to do to prevail.

Shocking isn’t it?

In the old world of the sword, there was a saying - In Ferro Veritas, or In Steel We Learn the Truth. Meaning that when it counts, all the theory and bluster is irrelevant.  It will come down to whether you can show it or you cannot.

The results, the “Truth” if you will of what we see in the force on force crucible is that the majority of shooting training, done with the idea of “self defense” is virtually worthless in a real street fight.  In Steel We Learn The Truth.

 

The Quest For Mediocrity

I want to introduce you to an imaginary man - John Smith. John Smith is a private citizen. That means that he is not hampered by political directives at federal, state or local levels. But John thinks he is "just a civilian". John has sought mediocrity his entire life. It is what he was trained for since birth....don't make waves...be a nice guy...you can't do this...you can't do that. And sadly, he believed it all and grew up to be...a good boy.

Then John realized he'd better buy a pistol and carry it because his neighbor was robbed, beaten, raped and brutalized, and the police did not come in time for anything but the report.

So he went to the local gunstore and allowed the over-sized cigar smoking salesman to patronize him into buying a double action only Smith and Wesson because it had several safeties and a real heavy and long trigger pull. "It was great for a mediocrity-seeking civilian like John", announced the salesman as he wiped doughnut juice on his Police Revolver Club t-shirt.

John asked about the Glocks and M&Ps, and that SIG with the Red Dot on it that looked so modern and cool. "Oh no...those are for professionals son....you are a civilian...you don't need anything like that".

 

Money was not the issue, but being a mediocrity seeker, and not wanting to be guilty of the sin of arguing, or being presumptuos about his status as a man, he bought the Smith and Wesson and went home. He did go to a free handgun clinic at the local range after he passed his CCW class. But he was a civilian and did not need to go to one of those "commando schools", or learn how to kill things like that ad said. And he certainly didn't need to lift those intimidating weights which he read were bad for you anyway.  He was a civilian and didn't like carrying a gun in the first place. And he rarely did.

So John went on with his life doing his best to avoid bad things, bad places and bad people. But one day, as much as he tried, trouble came to him. He found himself at church when some crazy wild eyed bearded guy decided today was his jihad day and began shooting people as he yelled "Allah Akbar!". The congregation was also full of mediocrity seekers and those that did not get shot outright, ran away like properly conditioned civilians should.

But John was torn about running with the rest of the herd, or fighting. He knew that he needed to do something, but that "something" was nothing he had any skill for.  Still, he drew his pistol and tried to aim it but it felt strange in his hands....after all civilians did not need to train like Delta Force so John spent his free time playing tennis, and catching butterflies with his wife instead. Speakimng of his wife, at that moment a round from the terrorist caught his frozen wife in the face and dropped her...as he turned to see her fall three rounds hit him in the chest, two piercing his heart.....and the last thought that he had before he lapsed into blissfully unconscious death was,

"......but I am just a civilian". 

 

You want that for yourself?  No?  Look...you can be a warrior, or you can be a sissy. That is that. Remember when you were ten years old? What did you play? Did you play nice guy butterfly collector? Were you enthraled by Mister Rogers? Did you daydream about getting along with everyone?

NO!!

You played games where you were the hero....YOU killed the freaking dragon! YOU saved the maiden! YOU saved the day. Your games, like all normal little boys weree filled with storming castles, sinking ships, and blowing up enemy planes.

So what happened to you? You became.....socialized and civilized. You became...domesticated because you thought that was what you were supposed to become.

NO I SAY!!!

Become the warrior your heritage calls you to be - whether your profession is an accountant or a dentist or a teacher...or a gunfighter. A man is a warrior because he says he is, and he lives it everyday.

Be the warrior in your heart. Live as a warrior. Watch how your life changes!

Book Of Five Rings - Modern Application

Miyamoto Musashi is thought of in many circles as one of the best swordsmen to have ever lived.  In actuality, there have been many other men both before and after who have killed many more men in combat than Musashi’s humble score of 60.  But undocumented knowledge does not outlive
the one who possesses it.  Nonetheless, what Musashi did, that perhaps his colleagues of the sword failed to do, was to document his findings in the form of a book – Go Rin No Sho, or as we know it,
The Book Of Five Rings.

Read literally, it is a simple book intended for a young swordsman in ancient Japan.  Yet, there
is a great deal of “between the lines” information for one who reads it with a warrior’s eye.  The amount of operational information the book yields is equal to volumes several times it size.  It captures an old warrior’s perceptions of the world, and of what he thought was important for warriors to know.  It is important to know that Musashi was writing at an advanced age and for him, there would not be any more battles.  A warrior in his prime might be expected to hold something back lest his enemies get hold of his methods.  Additionally, Musashi intended the volume for his son, thus the key points which he mentions as important take on an even
more serious tone as they are intended to perhaps save the life of one important to the writer.

Much of the book is specific to combat in old Japan, yet old Musashi has much to teach our 21st Century men-at-arms.  We wear Glocks now instead of katana, but fighting is fighting regardless of the history, and the lessons of Musashi still apply today. 

Musashi divides his book into parts.  Namely Ground, Water, Fire, Wind, and Void.  A full  discussion of the modern applications of Musashi’s work would take a great deal more space than is
permissible in a magazine article, so we are keeping to the most poignant lessons.

Ground Book

Musashi writes, “Know the smallest things and the biggest things, the shallowest and the deepest things. As if it were a straight road mapped out on the ground”.  The entire Ground book is intended to teach planning.

In my youth as I first began the study of the martial arts, I learned that those who are destined to win, study first, then fight.  Those destined to lose, fight first and then study why they lost.  Outcomes in combat cannot be predicted, yet we can certainly “stack the deck” in our favor as much
as possible. 

We can train ourselves so that we have a realistic understanding of our capabilities and skills. 
We can study the dynamics of conflict so that we have a basic understanding of how combat develops and unfolds.  It is important to do this with 21st Century focus since men do not fight the same way to day as they did back in ancient Japan.  

Musashi compares the way of the warrior to the way of the carpenter.  The carpenter plans
everything out with great specificity. We must do the same.  How many of you readers have a plan in the event of a violent home invasion?  How about an attempted car jacking, or other violent assault?  If you are a family man, have you made plans with your family in case of one of these events?  Don’t be like the deer in the headlights frozen by the savagery of the world.  Be prepared.  Be like the carpenter who plans everything as much as he can.  In other words, avoid leaving anything to chance.

Water Book

Musashi’s second book is titled the Water Book.  “Water adopts the shape of its receptacle, it
is sometimes a trickle and sometimes a wild sea.  Water has a clear blue color.  By the clarity, things of the Ichi school are shown in this book”. 

One of the most difficult things to teach is adaptability.  The wise fighter knows how to pick what fits.  His goal is to hit his adversary, not to execute a certain technique. Adaptability, knowing what
fits in each confrontation, whether at the outset, or in mid-fight is essential.  This ability to become a tactical chameleon will only come from exposure to various fight systems.  Witness how poorly narrowly trained fighters do in mixed martial arts, or UFC fights. It is the fighters who have trained in all conceivable methods, from ground grappling to kick boxing, and all ranges in between that do well.  And that is only for a combat sport in the controlled environment of a ring/cage, where there are no weapons and no reinforcements standing in the wings ready to kick your skull in at the first opportunity.  Study everything, absorb what is useful, and do not limit yourself to any one system.  

Fire Book

“This book is about fighting.  The spirit of fire is fierce, whether the fire be small or big: and so it is with battles.”  

I once saw a very well trained “martial artist” get his rear end handed to him by an untrained yet much fiercer street thug who had no concern over getting killed, much less beaten up.  Its not enough to be in great physical shape, nor to be trained by all the masters of the day.  If you lack a warrior’s ferocity, you will be wasting your time. 

This doesn’t mean that you have to live like Musashi, never washing lest you let down your guard, living in a cave, etc.  What it means is that getting your mind right in terms of the fight is essentially important above all else.  Musashi writes, “The way of the warrior is the resolute acceptance of death”.  We must understand that the ancient Japanese warriors had a fatalistic approach to
things.  They trained to die, whereas the European warriors did not.  Nevertheless, both had this resolute acceptance of the worst case situation. That is not say that we seek this out, but we must “make friends” with the idea so that in the midst of the fight we are not distracted by thoughts of self-preservation.  We will certainly preserve our lives, but we will do so in strength, not by having a wandering attention.  The resolute acceptance of death allows a purity of focus in combat that is remarkable.

Wind Book

“In strategy you must know the Ways of other schools, so I have written about various other traditions of strategy in this the Wind Book.” 

Musashi focused much of his study on the ways of his adversaries.  This concept is not limited
to Musashi, as commentators as geographically and culturally diverse as Clausewitz and Sun Tsu have written like admonishments.  In terms of us today, who are our adversaries?  Gang members, organized criminals, cult-oriented terrorists? 

Learn who they are.  Learn how they operate, how they dress, what they do.  You won’t be facing a fencer from another sword school, or an “exponent” of a boxing school who will  announce themselves and bow like it was some Hollywood flick.  The opponents you face today will come by surprise, and kill you without a second thought or any doubt that they themselves are doing what is right.

“Some of the world's strategists are concerned only with sword fencing, and limit their training to flourishing the long sword and carriage of the body. But is dexterity alone sufficient to win? This is not the essence of the Way.”

Without the ever present thought that the study is of life and death, and the result of losing is your death or that of your loved ones, it is NOT a “martial” art.

“In my doctrine, I dislike preconceived, narrow spirit. You must study this well.”  The lesson is
clear.  Do not be limited in your studies.  If you study Tae Kwon Do, add Wing Chun and Brazilian Ju Jitsu to the mix to be come less "narrowly focused".  If you focus on unarmed fighting, learn the knife and the gun. If you are a gun man, study JKD. Narrow mindedness kills.

“Anyway, cutting down the enemy is the Way of strategy, and there is no need for many refinements of it.” 

I’ve seen some martial arts teachers try to romanticize or beautify combat.  I think that those of us who have been-there-done-that know this is a foolish thing.  Combat has an ugliness, a reality, and a finality about it that cuts through all the dogma, doctrine, style disputes, and all the miscellaneous clap-trap that clogs our collective combative consciousness and professional journals. It is simple, violent and animalistic.  Understanding and accepting this is an important part of development.  

Book of the Void

Musashi writes, “To attain the Way of strategy as a warrior you must study fully other martial arts and not deviate even a little from the Way of the warrior. With your spirit settled, accumulate practice day by day, and hour by hour. Polish the twofold spirit heart and mind, and sharpen the
twofold gaze perception and sight. When your spirit is not in the least clouded, when the clouds of bewilderment clear away, there is the true void”.

This passage typifies the Book of the Void.  As I read it for today’s fighter there are two aspects to this, one mental (Musashi calls it “spiritual”), and the other one technical.

Mental - was once asked after a particularly violent gunfight if I was scared during the event.  I answered truthfully that I had not been.  I qualified my answer by adding that I was not scared because I was particularly brave, nor was it because I was particularly stupid.  Rather, I was not scared because I was too busy winning the fight to think about it either way.   I had trained myself to fight as well as I could, and had a firm understanding of the rules of engagement as they existed
at the time.  Additionally, I had a fall back plan for any after-action eventuality that I might have faced.  Thus I had a focused “spirit”.

I am no longer involved directly in “the business”, and now focus on teaching others.  One of the
principles that I try to hammer into my students is the concept of Purity of Focus.  I believe this purity of focus is indicative of the spiritual void that Musashi writes of.

Technical -  A few years ago I wrote a piece for Black Belt titled Enough is Enough discussing how having too many ways, or too many techniques was not an asset but a liability. A technique that either is not natural or too complicated will not physically memorized. If it is not physically memorized, it will never be used in a fight.

This concept of physical memorization and subconscious programming is not new. The Japanese sword master Yagyu Tajima No Kami wrote: Learning and knowledge are meant to be forgotten, and it is only when this is realized, that you feel perfectly comfortable. The body will move as if automatically, without conscious effort on the part of the swordsman himself.  All of the training is there, but the mind is utterly unconscious of it.” 

Yagyu was, of course, writing about swordsmanship, but the concept is just as valid for modern combatives. 

Although The Book Of Five Rings was written many centuries ago, the study of personal combat, when boiled down to its essentials has remained surprisingly unchanged. Musashi’s book is one man’s perception of those essential elements as experienced through a lifetime of combat. 
As such, it is essential study for today’s modern warriors.

Fit To Fight

I spoke with a man today who wanted to attend classes, but said he was too old (55!) and out of shape to do anything but “target shoot”, and didn’t think he could take being "banged around". I asked him what he was expecting out of training and he replied, “to be a better shot”.  He also admitted to already being a very good shot to begin with.  

There is a myth prevalent in the shooting community that all the physicality one needs to win a fight is the ability to pull a trigger.  This notion was professed by certain gun gurus who scoffed at, what they called, “the cult of the body”, as they sat on the couch and sipped their sixth scotch of the day.

Listen folks, if all you want to be is a "shooter" you probably don’t need any training at all. Just buy a little bit of ammo and go out and burn it until your accuracy makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over. Or better yet, go to an Olympic shooting coach and have him tune you up to put them all on top of each other at 25 yards.  But don’t for one minute think that alone will help you at all in a real street fight.

If you are interested in winning an actual fight, then read on.  Everything we teach is for fighting,
in other words - killing the other guy before he kills you - and only coincidentally has anything to do with shooting.

I think in many shooters there is a “laziness factor”, and an “ego-gratification factor”. Its easier to go to the range and fire controlled pairs between puffs of the cigarette and bites of the doughnuts. But I ask, how will that “shooter” do against a 25 year old powerlifter that grabs him by the collars and throws him against a brick wall? Or how will his "ticker" handle the alarm reaction when, and if, he is able to get his pistol out and he has to shoot for blood?

One of the preeminent concepts in our Combative Technique is the "complete arsenal". This means that the individual should have developed his physical abilities as far as his age and medical condition will allow. Now that doesn’t mean that you can say, “I am 45, and now I don’t have to do anything anymore because I am old”. 

To the contrary, it means that as much as your true physical condition will allow, you need to keep up with your physicality now more than ever. Sure there are disparity of force issues, and if you have one of those at play, and it is extreme enough, you can shoot anyone you want to.  But the reality of the fight is that you may not get that chance.  Bad guys are not stupid.

Let me put something on the table for your consideration - if you are too out of breath to fight, or too weak to fight, or whatever, you will not do yourself, nor anyone else any good...least of all those for  whom you are responsible.  And before anyone starts reaching back for their canned “can’t” excuses I will bring out two gents as examples of guys who would be more justified than anyone in saying “I can’t”, who had it worse than many reading this, and yet managed the fight.

One was a man nicknamed “Geezer” (a regular at my online forum warriortalk.com until he was reassigned by the Lord a few years ago). This guy had bad legs, walked with a cane, and to top it all off had a pacemaker!  Hardly the young, power lifting stalwart, yet he attended knife training, and multiple force on force classes.  And he did very well I might add. He could not get off the X to, well, save his life. Yet he didn’t fall back on the “target shooter” mentality.  He realized that he needed to
improvise with what he still had left.  He devised and refined a way to use his cane as a distraction.

He would launch the cane at the target and a blink of an eye later, the same target would be  peppered with bullets. He caused me a little concern one day when he launched his cane at a young lad working as his "aggressor" at a force on force class and nearly flattened him. He never complained about being old,  frail, or weak, and would have taken offense at anyone even suggesting such a thing.

Another was a man that wanted to attend an AK class I was teaching.  He advised that he had
"some issues", and sent me a short video of him shooting.  He had only a couple of fingers between both hands and yet was running his 1911 45 very well in the first video.  In the second video, he was working "shoot - reload - shoot" drills with an AK rifle. He wanted to know if he would be OK to come to class.  After I got up from the floor, I called him and said, "Hell Yes!!"

The softest and least physical among you is probably in better physical shape than he is, yet he came to class and tested himself! So as far as I am concerned, excuses are just a substitute for laziness. 

There is a third gent. This man is a good friend of mine, but he rarely trains. He is 7 years younger than I and weighs close to 300 pounds. He is a good man, a family man, and just had his third child and his first heart attack. He can shoot a one hole group with any of his handguns in slow fire, but just walking forward to tape targets  winds him like a set of wind sprints.  He is certainly not in the physical situation the previous other guys were in.  There is no medical reason for him to be as he is.  Heck, with his size, he could be an NFL animal that hardened convicts would cross the street to avoid!

What made him how he is? Self-indulgence, complacency, and lack of discipline. Can he protect anyone? Unless he is able to ambush an attacker without having to physically exert himself, the answer is no.  No matter how good a shot he is.

And even if he were to prevail in the fight, will his body even be able to handle the adrenal dump of a life and death fight??

Does that describes you? Why would you choose that for yourself?? Set down the TV remote, throw out the doughnuts and cigarettes, get your rear-end out on the street and get to training...physical training. Start off slow...BUT START OFF!!

I think the most important issues are as follows:

1). Do something physical...every day.

2). Stay fresh on your exercises.  Don’t push beyond what is reasonable  

3). Variety rules. Run one day, lift weights the next, go for a hike the third day, swim on day four.

4). Cut the smokes, sweets, and the excess beer.

5). Depending on your age and physical conditioning, prioritize Anaerobic, Strength, and Aerobic training as needed.

6). Eat like a Warrior and not like Jabba The Hut.

Remember, the adversary, your enemy, who will administer your "final exam" on the street will not be some out of shape church administrator, or a pimple-faced 90 pound punk.  He will be a capable criminal or terrorist, a warrior for evil who is training right now to kill you and your whole family.

Will you be up to the fight?

Beating the Heat and Humidity in the Deep South

Alex Nieuwland - Suarez International Staff Instructor

Life is pretty good, here in Columbia, SC, but during the summer the heat and humidity combine to form conditions that can be dangerous to the ill-prepared. When the summer sun starts beating down, and the humidity makes the air feel like you could cut it with a knife, it’s easy to exceed the body’s capacity to cool itself. When this happens, dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke can be the result. None of those are conducive to a good training experience, to put it mildly, so it is important to take good care of yourself. 

Dr. Meade already touched on this in his article on what to bring to a gun class, which is recommended reading for anyone attending SI training. However, I thought I’d share some refinements that I’ve made to my heat survival system this summer here. 

The night before I go to the range, I will fill my 100-oz hydration pack half full with sports drink and freeze it. I place it into the freezer so the cap is up, and blow into the valve to clear it, and the hose, of liquid. I’m careful not to blow too much air into the bladder, because the expanding water can pop the bladder if the bladder is already completely full.

On the morning I go to the range, I just take the pack out of the freezer and take it with me, along with plenty of drinking water and sports drink. By the time I get to the range, it has thawed out enough for me to unscrew the cap and fill the bladder the rest of the way with water. This gives me the dilute sports drink that I like to drink all day during these conditions. Worn on my back, the ice actively cools me as it melts. Every time it runs out of liquid, I fill it back up again. I’ve considered taking a bag of ice to the range, and adding ice to the bladder once the original clump of ice is gone, but I haven’t done that yet. You should be aware, as Dr. Brzowski pointed out in his article on preparing for a TMCO class, that the sugar load from sports drinks can actually cause diarrhea. That’s why I use dilute sports drink.

The other thing I do, is to wear a hat and a sniper veil around my neck, and to soak both in water whenever they dry out. The sniper veil is VERY effective at lowering the apparent temperature. I fold it into a triangle, then fold that over into a 3” wide package, and wear it around my neck. To soak them, I put the hat into a plastic bowl and the middle of the folded sniper veil into the hat, and then pour water into the bowl. This preserves water, and keeps water from dripping into my eyes and onto whatever I’m working with by putting the water only in the skull portion of the hat and the part of the sniper veil that goes on the back of my neck.

Once installed on my neck, the (cold) water from the sniper veil immediately cools me down, and starts soaking into my (cotton) shirt. This gives me the appearance of having sweated a LOT, and has the same effect as sweat would: the evaporating water cools me down. However, my body did not have to produce this “sweat”, thus keeping more water and electrolytes inside my body, which is a good thing. I also tried a shemagh for this purpose, but found the sniper veil a lot more comfortable. This probably has to do with the more open structure of the sniper veil.

This past weekend, I worked for two days as a safety officer at a match at my local range. We always have this match on the fourth weekend of August. My new system helped me stay more comfortable than ever before.

If you’d like to join the discussion on Warrior Talk, and share your heat-beating habits, you can do so here.

Combat Fit - Sprints

Running all out for short stretch.  This chest bursting air-deficit stuff not just fast jogging.  Look up a youtube of the Olympic 100 m and you will get an idea.

Tactical benefits - If you can outrun, speedwise, that which you wish to kill, or that which wishes to kill you, it is a good thing.  Consider that the old lions that can't catch the gazelles tend to die. 

Physical benefits - If there was ever a paleo exercise, this is it.  It will produce the anaerobic capability of a monster while not giving up any amount of muscles.  Look at a marathon runner and then at a sprinter.  They both run.  Who looks like they could kick ass better?

I sprint 100 yard increments about three times per week.  There is a nice hill near the hacienda that is about a 10 degree angle.  I get to the bottom and make sure I am warmed up.  Then I sprint up as fast as I can.  I wear toe shoes.

At the top I swear, turn around and walk back to the starting point.  I repeat for ten sprints.

If you are more an image of a sumo wrestler than a runner, be careful not to hurt yourself.  If you have not sprinted in a while do a few sessions at 75%.  But once you have it down, step on the gas and haul ass.

Try that and see what it does for you

 

CQB - Shooting Through Walls

Undoubtedly an extremely controversial topic, we used to work it routinely.  It involves the concept of shooting an adversary directly through an interior wall.

As I recall, and this is back I think early 1990s...a SWAT guy was shot by a bad guy through the wall, which brought up the discusion.  In police, and sadly I suspect in your world as well, a great deal of learning takes place once something bad happens.

In any case...it was as if nobody had ever thought of that back then so of course, the experimentation was on.

The hard part is that urban dwellings may as well be made of paper for all the protection they offer. In fact, if one was to look at it that way it would lead to clearer thinking with tactics.  Some guys use that as an indictment of the "stack" tactic, but that is wrong in my opinion.  the constraints of the interior environment do place certain limits on how one can move, and specially on how a team can move.

Problem = How to keep a team dispersed but at the same time set the stage for a quick multiple man entry through a door?

Answer = There is no good answer and everything will be a compromise. The best solution is to do it fast, hard, and with as much surprise as possible so by the time the bad guy thinks of it, he is already dead.  Not always easy to do. But back to shooting through the wall.

For example, your partner is moving into a room and takes fire at the door from the extreme left side of the room.  You bring up your rifle or pistol and shoot from the area adjacent toe door to the extreme left area of the apparent room at face/upper chest level, then lowering your muzzle to where a man may go if he takes a knee, bring your shots back toward the starting point.

Think of writing a long "C" with your shots.

What is needed -

1).  Certainty that the adversary is in the room alone.  The only thing worse than missing a shot on a bad guy is shooting a non-combatant. 

2).  The ability to penetrate the interior wall.  This is easily done with anything anyone would care to carry on a sling or in a holster.  Note - Furniture may affect performance.

3).  An understanding of human nature.  When shots are fired, most people will drop their profile.

One thing to add.  This is an ammo heavy exercise and a mere 5 shots or even 7 shots will be quickly insufficient.  This was were we learned to stage the pistol magazine, as well where a 20 round or 33 round pistol magazine is useful, and where a 30 round stick in a long gun is even better.

Information Triage - The Second "O" in OODA

I recall the old days before computers in the police cars. We got real time information as it was happening relayed by the dispatchers. These "tactical air traffic controllers" would have the witness of the crime in progress on telling them what was up in one ear and they would be relaying it to us, moving us to our targets as it was happening.

Eventually, things moved toward the Mobile Digital Terminals and Computer Aided Dispatch and all of that changed. During the time of live dispatching, I or my team and I were able to respond to robberies in progress as a matter of course. Once the MDT/CAD system came on line, that stopped happening as the system was organized to gather the information, input it to the system, and then, and only then, send it out to the field.

The order of the information changed as well. In the past, one would get the crime, the location, descriptions, and then who was assigned. So the type of crime alerted everyone. The location got all thinking about where this was happening, likely approach avenues as well as escapes...and also those not otherwise engaged would roll that way as well. Descritions were third in importance as they often had predictable similarities.

Finally...of least importance was the responsible unit who would handle the scene...either investigatory or tactical. With CAD it was all farckled up with Assigned unit, the crime, descriptions and finally the location. No...don't ask me why it was not changed as I would have to go into the nocturnal activities of the patrol commander and the dispatch department head which would be distasteful...but I digress.

Information is constantly flowing your way and it is the ability to discern the important bits of information from the irrelevant that makes for quick tactical thinking. This is the Orient in OODA, and if you can snipe at those vital bits of info while ignoring those with little or no value, you will be a tactical monster and be able to pick out what is happening and kill the bad guy before others even have an idea that you are no longer in discussion with them.

"See what others cannot see... ...move when others are still sleeping."

Gabe Suarez

After an encounter....see a doctor!!!

Dr. John Meade

Director of Tactical Medicine, Suarez International

In the most recent set of developments in the prosecution of George Zimmerman for shooting & killing Trayvon Martin, we see the release of some of Zimmerman's medical information. Let's analyze this in light of the advice we in Suarez International give our students about what to say & do after a fight for your life.

Specifically, let me address certain medicolegal issues from the multiple perspectives, including those of an Emergency Physician, reserve cop, and SI Instructor.

I have selected a few quotes from published news stories to illustrate my points.

Also today, a trove of documents are being examined by lawyers for both the defense and prosecution as part of discovery in Zimmerman's trial -- including 67 CDs worth of documents, video of Martin on the night of the shooting, his autopsy report and videos of Zimmerman's questioning by police.

Some people still believe that the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship is inviolate. Sorry, but when you are involved in any violent encounter, everything you say to me "can and will be used against you in a court of law". Not just what you say, but how you say it, as well as what you don't say. Even more, my opinion about the whole situation will carry a huge amount of sway with a judge and jury. As a presumably objective person without particular interest in a case, and as a certified expert, I will be impelled to not only testify as to facts, but my interpretation of everything. If I believe you, good for you. If I think you are lying or exaggerating, bad for you. If you luck out with a doctor who believes in self-defense, bonus! If you happen to get some bleeding-heart liberal doc who hates guns, you better play up your victim status.

The morning after the shooting, on Feb. 27, Zimmerman sought treatment at the offices of a general physician at a family practice near Sanford, Fla. The doctor notes Zimmerman sought an appointment to get legal clearance to return to work. 

Zimmerman refused emergency medical care after the event. Much was made of this in the press, saying that if he was beaten in such a manner that he was in fear for his life, how did he not need to go to the Emergency Dept? It helped contribute to the surge of opinion against him, undermining his claim of self-defense. 

I think many of us alpha-types tend to minimize our injuries and illnesses. We joke about them, and say "it will buff right out". We want to continue being the same tough guy that survived, or in fact triumphed, in the immediately preceding lethal force encounter. It suits our egos to downplay any injury, and we don't want to appear weak. 

Instead, we need to understand that different rules apply to different portions of the encounter. While actually in a fight, we must indeed ignore our own pain and bleeding in order to win. Once the fight is over, we have a different battle on our hands. The battle to ensure that we are viewed as the victim who turned the tables on the aggressor, and survived. This may mean actually pointing out every little bump, bruise, strain and emotional discomfort to support our cause. 

A medical report compiled by the family physician of Trayvon Martin shooter George Zimmerman and obtained exclusively by ABC News found that Zimmerman was diagnosed with a "closed fracture" of his nose, a pair of black eyes, two lacerations to the back of his head and a minor back injury the day after he fatally shot Martin during an alleged altercation.

You will note that the day after the shooting, Zimmerman was found to have several significant injuries, and these seem to support his claim that he was being beaten aggressively by Martin. Why would he downplay these things initially? Denial? Macho? Wanting to put it behind him and move on with his routine? Yeah, how is that working out for him?

Am I telling you to lie or pretend to be hurt when you are not? No, as a physician, I despise having a patient lie to me. As I mentioned before, my opinion will be part of whatever proceedings happen down the line, so you don't want me to have a negative one about you.

What I am telling you is that we who tend to internalize our feelings, hide our pain, and be the strong silent types are our own worst enemies at a certain point. After the shooting, or stabbing, or empty hand incident, we must realize we are still in a fight, but with a different set of rules. It is time to ask for medical evaluation and treatment immediately!

What can you gain by this? First, you tend to limit the amount of in-depth questioning that the officers and detectives can do with you. You give your very brief information to the cops, and say that you need to go to the hospital. When they try to ask more, you say you want to be helpful but you really need to go to the hospital and would prefer to have your attorney present after that for any more discussion. No cop wants the liability of delaying emergency medical care for someone.

Secondly, you gain the fact that you are making it clear that you suffered legitimate injuries. If you don't have a cut or bruise, perhaps you are just feeling lightheaded, having chest pain, nausea, or "are all shaken up from this". Again, I am not telling you to lie. After such an encounter, it would be shocking if you didn't have some combination of adrenaline-induced shakiness, hypertension or weakness. Just go. And don't do like Zimmerman, and end up seeing his family doctor's physician assistant the next day, where it is documented you really just wanted a note to be allowed to return to work. Go to the Emergency Department, and have it documented you are there as a crime victim!

Lastly, when you see the doctor, you need to avoid minimizing your concerns. Imagine you are making a case for your own disability hearing. You don't need to try to get an Oscar for Best Performance by a Crime Victim, but you need to ensure that the medical report that is written contains the information that will help your case. If you are asked if you hurt anywhere, list them out! Even if it is documented only as a list of places that you hurt without apparent injury, it is recognized that early injuries might not show. The doctor want to refer you to an ENT doctor to check out your broken nose? Go! A couple days off from work is reasonable, so ask for it!

Don't allow your toughness to make it tough on you afterwards! In our Trauma Medicine for the CCW Operator classes (TMCO) we train you how to survive all aspects of the fight, from the pre-fight clues, to the actual encounter, to the after-fight medical care. We also cover this material on “How to interact with the police afterwards” in great detail. Sign up for a TMCO class near you!

CQB - Fighting In Structures - DVD

CQB - FIGHTING IN STRUCTURES - DVD

 

This is the "secret stuff" everyone wants to know but almost nobody teaches.  And then, only to SWAT personnel.  Marksmanship and CCW knowledge alone may keep you safe from a mugger on a street corner, but when you find yourself fighting inside your house, those rudimentary skills will be found exceedingly lacking.

 

In this DVD, Suarez shares lessons learned from 15 years of High Risk Warrant Service, Drug Raids, Covert Tactical Entries, Hostage Rescue, Hunting Barricaded Criminals, Clearing Industrial and Residential Buildings, and other police special operations both  alone and with his SWAT team. 

 

Originally filmed at Suarez HQ, in a class for the Suarez International instructional staff, CQB Fighting In Structures deals with the missing subject matter that will link all your skill sets and make you a dangerous man with a gun.  The almost FIVE HOURS of material is specifically aimed at teaching the skills and tactics for the Single Operator, or the Small Team.  The first disc discusses all of the tactics in a very down to earth, and easy to remember manner.  No questions are left unanswered as Suarez details how to clear corners, doors, hallway intersections and other architectural features found in dwellings all over the world.   The second and third discs deal with hands on examples of what is discussed in Disc One including the deployment, management and tactics of a small CQB team.

 

Destined to be both a classic work, as well as one of the most controversial DVDs we have ever released, CQB Fighting In Structures is now available.

 

DVD Format

Approximately Five Hours in Three Discs

MORE INFORMATION HERE

From The DVD -

 

THE CORNER - Staple of Tactical Movement -

You find corners everywhere in modern and ancient architecture. Knowing how to negotiate one is the fundamental skill.  There are corners and there are architectural features that are made up of corners.  A door is basically two corners with a tight opening.  An intersection of two hallways is a double corner.  You can find more examples. 

First is recognition of the corner and identification of it being Right or left Sided Corner.  We show you ways to deal with each one of those two possibilities. Then Identify the “Apex” of the corner.  This is the corner's edge which you will use to pivot your movement on.   Identify “Line Of Danger”.  This is the imaginary line that is created by the opposite wall and where you must be careful the closer you get to it.

Once this is done, its easy to Determine A Path of Angular Search.  Eyes, Muzzle, and  Target are kept in alignment in some Situationally Appropriate Ready. Move naturally and not in some crab-walking mode.  There are direct correlations between “taking the corner” and the Force On Force/Get-Off-The-X methods you already know.

Once you can do a corner smoothly and safely, all other architectural obstacles will have an answer.

BUY THE DVD

COMMENT ON THIS AT WARRIORTALK

Training to Win

By Alex Nieuwland – Suarez International Staff Instructor

As my fellow Staff Instructor Chris Upchurch likes to say: “If I could make you a certified badass in 2 days, I’d charge you a LOT more money!” He is right, of course. There is only so much we can do, even in a 2-day Suarez International training course, to tilt the odds into your favor.  

I think of training to maximize the odds of winning your gunfight as a 3-step learning cycle. Some folks seem unfamiliar with this learning cycle, so I thought I would post it here.

Step 1 is gathering credible information. To the consternation of some, watching TV and playing Modern Warfare is NOT considered credible information when it comes to actually winning gunfights in the real world. Attending a Suarez International course IS credible information. Watching the course DVD before the course makes it easier to absorb the information, but is no substitute for actually doing the exercises in class. During the class, focus on doing the exercises correctly, rather than rapidly. Speed AND performing the task at hand correctly every time only comes with practice. Bring a notepad and a pen, so you will remember what to practice during Step 2. 

Step 1 is like making the down payment on a particular skill. Step 2 is making payments in the form of regular practice to keep the repoman away, and eventually own that skill. This is why taking detailed notes during class is very helpful. Practice can be done by yourself or with a training partner. And if you can tell me who got voted off the island, or who can’t dance, you’ve definitely got time to do some more dry fire practice. 

Step 3 (testing) is where things, hopefully, all come together. In my area, Steel Challenge, IDPA and USPSA matches make for useful testing venues of some of the skill set. The $15 to $25 match fee is money well spent, because the stages or scenarios are often much more elaborate than what you could set up for yourself. You can read more about maximizing your return on investment from IDPA matches here. Steel Challenge is great for testing your fundamentals without the added complication of moving while shooting. USPSA matches allow me to use my primary carry gun (a Glock 19 with an RMR) from my AIWB holster, as long as I do so in their race gun division. Whenever I score better than a USPSA competitor using an actual race gun, I know he’s having a pretty bad day. The true reason for Step 3, however, is not to humiliate gun gamers (that’s merely an occasional unintentional side-effect), but to identify problems in our skill sets. This is credible information that leads to more practice, followed by more testing, and so the cycle continues.

Every time you complete a cycle, you will be more dangerous. Hopefully, when your actual test of this skill set comes, it will be just like you practiced, but it all starts with credible information and a notepad. 

Click here to find a Suarez International course near you.

Buyer Beware: The Chopped S&W Model K-200

On Warrior Talk and on this blog, we typically only discuss good equipment. If we were to discuss all the junk that is out there, we would have little time left to do anything else. There is, however, a sub-category of revolver that everyone looking at used revolvers needs to be able to recognize: the chopped S&W Model K-200.

You need to know how to recognize these revolvers, because they may not be safe to fire due to incorrect caliber conversions. They are no longer manufactured, but there once you know what to look for, they are easy to spot. If you spot one at a gun show, you can have some fun trying to determine how much the seller is willing to lie to you for a couple of measly dollars.

Just to clarify: I think S&W makes the best revolvers available. The reason the chopped S&W Model K-200 is a bad gun has nothing to do with Smith and Wesson, and everything to do with greed and bad gunsmithing.

A Model K-200 is a double-action S&W K-frame revolver chambered for .38 S&W with a 200-grain bullet. They are similar to the Victory model, except for their caliber. Around 568,204 of these guns were made by S&W for British forces during 1940-1945 (see: Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson by Jim Supica and Richard Nahas).

The .38 S&W caliber was adopted by the British army after WWI, replacing its large-bore revolver caliber to make training new recruits easier (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.38-200). It is less powerful than the more common .38 Special caliber, and uses a shorter case that is wider at its base (more on that later).

In and of itself, there’s nothing wrong with unaltered K-200 revolvers. Many have beautiful markings that speak of their martial history during WWII. If these guns could talk, they would maybe tell of daring RAF raids over occupied Europe, or perhaps boring guard duty some English harbor. As a weapon, they are about as useful as a Smith & Wesson Model 10.

So what is the problem? The problem is that some folks just can’t resist the temptation to make a quick buck by selling an improper product.

During the 50s and 60s, many K-200 revolvers were re-imported and improperly converted to snub-nosed .38 Special revolvers so they could be more easily sold. Nowadays, they are frequently seen in gun shows, gun stores, and seasoned warriors’ sock drawers. 

Here’s a good example:

 

Let’s look at what an unscrupulous gunsmith has done to this revolver:

• Chopped the 4, 5 or 6” barrel, removing the point where the front of the ejector rod locked up, and the original caliber designation on the side of the barrel.
• Soldered on a new front sight.
• Replaced the grips with imitation-stag grips made from the grips of another Victory revolver (S/N under grip did not match S/N on revolver).
• Removed the Black Magic (similar to Parkerizing) finish, and blued the revolver.
• Removed the lanyard loop and filled in the hole (see round spot in front of serial number). 
• Honed out charge holes to accept the longer .38 Special cases.

To properly convert these revolvers from .38 S&W to .38 Special, both the cylinder and barrel should have been replaced due to the different case and bullet dimensions between these calibers. This was almost never done. Instead, the charge holes were usually honed out to accept the longer .38 Special cases.

The close-up of the charge holes clearly show where the charge holes were originally cut to accept .38 S&W cases, and where the charge holes were subsequently honed out to accept the longer .38 Special cases. This means that .38 Special cartridge cases will fit in the charge holes length-wise, but are not supported by the cylinder wall. Charge holes like this are a dead give-away of an improperly converted revolver. Trying to use .38 Special ammunition results in split cases. Trying to use the ejector to eject these split cases can result in a bent the ejector rod. Even using this particular revolver with .38 S&W is questionable because of the missing lock-up point.

This revolver actually reveals its original caliber in the proof mark under the barrel: .38” by .767” are the case diameters of the .38 S&W case. Sometimes, the “new” caliber can be found stamped on the side of the barrel as part of the improper conversion.

The V serial prefix reveals that this revolver from 1942 is not even drop safe. In December 1944, a new style hammer block was introduced to make this model drop safe. These guns are designated by an “SV” serial prefix (see: Standard Catalog of S&W).

Net, a chopped Model K-200 used with .38 Special ammo may cause high pressure gas to escape from the rear of the cylinder due to split cases, is hard to reload due to the stuck split cases, and may not be drop safe. Know how to recognize them, avoid buying one, and don’t let anyone you care about use one for anything serious.

Scope Reticles 101

     Which scope do you recommend? I get asked this question several times a month. I wish the answer was as simple as the question. There are several factors we should consider before making a choice. The next few questions will help clarify the proper response to the question.

     What gun is it going on? Is it a semi auto 22 or a 300 WM bull barrel target rifle? Is it a 30-30 lever gun or an AK? The type of gun and the caliber are important factors in the scope and reticle choice. What do you plan to do with the gun? Self-defense has different requirements than hunting or target shooting. What caliber is the rifle? A 22 rim fire runs out of energy past 300 yards. What are the external ballistics of the round?  How fast does it loose velocity?

     It makes no sense to put an optic designed to shoot a thousand yards on a rifle/ cartridge that is not accurate at that distance. Here is an example. The 7.62x 39 cartridge velocity is approximately 1150 fps at 500 yards; at 600 it falls below 1000 fps. Generally 1000 fps is about the speed at which rifle bullets become unstable. This instability causes the bullet to yaw and wobble. The wobble changes the flight path. Based on my experience unstable flight path can vary greatly. I am talking about variation by feet, not inches. If you add in weather and wind factors the variation is increased. So a 7.62x39 or a 30-30 would not be a good rifle for a 6-20 x 50 target scope. A 1-4 or 2-7 or a low power fixed scope would be a better choice for these calibers.

     On the other end of the spectrum is the 338 Lapua. This round at 1000 yards still has a velocity of 1680fps. This means the cartridge is accurate well past 1500 yards. Installing an Eotech red dot or a 3-9 power scope is limiting the capabilities of the cartridge. Generally speaking having 1 power of magnification per hundred yards is good if you are shooting man size targets.  If the man ducks behind cover or goes prone you may need more magnification to find and shoot this now smaller target. Higher power will also aide in range estimation. On the down side, higher power can amplify movement as the shooter moves the gun. It can also be difficult to shoot through the mirage on a high power setting.

    Now that we have the basics as to what we want to do with the gun/ammo scope combination (also called the weapon system). We can look at reticles for the scopes. There are hundreds of different reticles available for scopes. The early scopes had crosshairs and nothing else. Since the invention of crosshairs in scopes man has looked at ways to improve the basic idea by adding thicker lines or removing a portion of the crosshairs (also called stadia lines). Today scopes have 4 categories of reticles.

       Standard Reticles Fine, Crosshairs or Duplex

       Illuminated Reticles; Eotech, Aimpoint or Trijicon

       Hold Over recticles; a bullet drop compensator type

       Ranging reticles; Mil-dot or MOA hash marks

      (Combinations of 2 or more can also be found.)

 

    This article will examine standard reticles and illuminated reticles.

    The standard reticles group includes the t-post, target dot reticles. The stadia lines may be tapered or have two different widths. Standard recticles are used to zero a rifle at a specific distance. That is about as basic as it gets. The turrets on the basic scopes normally do not have numbers or revolution marks to adjust them to different zero points. They are meant to be zeroed and left alone. These types of scopes work well on rim fire and hunting rifles designed for 200 yards or less. With some practice the shooter can use them for longer shots by holding over on the target. They have no value in ranging to the target and adjusting for wind or weather changes.

     The variable power scope with a duplex type reticle can be used for ranging by using the points where the stadia line reduces from thick to thin. This method works by adjusting the magnification so that a known object will fit the reticle between the horizontal line and the point where the vertical line changes width. This requires practice and the shooter should develop a range card to record this information.

     Here is an example. Your target is a deer.  It’s size from the top of the shoulder to the bottom of the belly is 18 inches. Now use the zoom to set the horizontal line on the top of the deer’s back and the point on the vertical line at his belly. Now determine the power setting. Reference this number to your range card and read the distance to target. Then you can use the hold over you established during practice to make a hit. For this to work the shooter must put in the time to gather the information and build the range card. This same principal works for many different types or styles of reticles.

    The newest style of reticle is an illuminated reticle. There are 3 sources of illumination, battery power, fiber optics, and tritium.  Combinations of the three can also be found. The most simple of these is the battery power models with a round dot in the center of the lens. The red dot reticle can vary in size, shape and clarity. With variable power scopes and red dot scopes the quality of the glass can vary. Better quality glass will result in a crisp edge to the dot type reticle.

     Try this little test. Pick up a cheap red dot and turn the power up to its highest setting. Notice the dot is not perfectly round; it can look like a star. Or it may have streamers coming from the center. While taking a sight picture rotate the red dot. See if the streamers rotate with the scope body. No streamers means the glass is of high quality. Another test is to take the red dot scope into the full sun and check to see if the dot is visible. In some of the economy models the dot will almost disappear. Next look at in in very low light. The dot should be visible but not so bright that you can’t see the target past the sight. The size of the dot makes a difference as well.

     An EO Tech has a 1 min dot in a 65 min circle. These are designed to use the small dot for accuracy and the large circle for speed. The Aimpoint models have a 3.5 min or 8 min dot. For a rifle or carbine I like the 3.5 min dot. Why the smaller dot on a carbine? The dot covers up 3.5 inches of the target at 100 yards or 7 inches at 200 yards. I can still make a head shot at 200 yards with it. The 8 min dot would be 16 inches at 200 thus making a head shot hard.  The average head is 8 inches wide. The Leupold Delta sight uses an illuminated triangle instead of a round dot. This gives the shooter an option: fast shooting at close range when referencing the entire triangle on target or using the top point of the triangle if a more precise shot is needed. I recommend zeroing the rifle at 200 yards to the top point of the triangle or the top edge of the round dot. Bushnell has a multiple reticle red dot that has a circle dot, a small dot and “T” style reticle. The shooter can select all three if needed.

     Battery life is a big factor when using a red dot scope. The first models lasted about 24 hours before the battery died. The latest model Trijicon RMR will run more than a year before the battery dies. The Leupold has a motion sensor that shuts down after 5 minutes of no movement. The standard red dot sights do not have any magnification. Therefore, long range precision is no better than when using sights.  If these are used on a rifle the shooter is limiting the performance of the weapon system. Power failure while using battery powered sights is the main reason for having back up iron sights on a gun. The other option is to use the scope itself as a huge ghost ring and put the target in the center and press the trigger.

     Fiber optic illuminated red dot sights have the advantage of not needing a battery for illumination. No battery means no power failure. A benefit of the fiber optic system is the brightness level automatically adjusts to the ambient light. This also means it is always on. A few models even have a shade so the shooter can block some of the ambient light to reduce the reticle brightness. There are 3 styles of reticles for fiber optic scopes, a solid round circle, a triangle and a chevron (an inverted “V”). There are also color options of red, green and amber. I have used all three and I like the green the best. The red can disappear on a red target or on the red dirt here in Georgia. The green is a fluorescent green that has a good contrast in foliage. Also green is in the middle of the light spectrum and is easier for the brain to pick up. The amber blends in on fall days with flat light or in reduced light. To me green is the easiest color to pick up in a wide variety of light conditions. The size of the reticle is just as important on a fiber optic scope as it is on a red dot scope. Fiber optic scopes have one big advantage; the availability of magnification with them. There are fixed power and variable power scopes available with fiber optic reticles.

       There are a limited number of scopes with tritium illuminated reticles. They work well in low light but are not bright enough by themselves to work in sun light. Normally these are combined with fiber optics to give the shooter a sight in very low or no light. One down side to tritium is they do not last forever. The half- life is 12 years.

     For a fighting rifle I would only use a scope that will continue to work when the battery dies. If the battery dies and I can’t use the scope my effectiveness as a rifleman just diminished. We should all have the knowledge and skill to point shoot the rifle in CQB without the use of any sight system.

     We covered the 2 basic types of reticles in this article. Both have their good points and drawbacks. Remember any time you get to look through a scope outdoors take the opportunity to learn about the scopes. Learning experiences are valuable specially if they are free.  Part two of this article will cover hold over style reticles and ranging reticles.

Please join me for the Guerrilla Sniper I in Blakley GA March 8-10

 

Scott Vandiver

SI Staff Instructor

www.centerfiretraining.com

 

The Breathing - Trigger Connection

Continuing with the discussions on marksmanship, we have covered issues such as cheekweld and length of pull as primarily ignored by the AK community. Ignorance of them will yield fun bumpfiring at a gravel pit perhaps, but poor marksmanship if true riflery is the goal.

Another important pair of aspects are the issues of breathing and trigger press. One is strictly skill related, the other is skill and gear related.

Breathing is a muscular action, whether voluntary or involuntary. The muscular action of breathing, or of holding the breath in creates movement, which is the bane of a stable shooting platform. Not an issue in run-and-gun CQB, but a crucial consideration for accurate shooting outside CQB.

In sniper school we teach the natural respiratory pause. We breathe normally...maybe taking a deep breath or two, and then allowing the air to expell naturally from the lungs without forcing it. At the point that the lungs feel "empty", you will have between 6 to 10 seconds of oxygenated blood flowing before the breathing must resume. Its during that period of time where, maintaining the visual focus on the sights or reticule, you begin pressing the trigger.

That is the timing. Focus visually on the sights or reticule. Keeping that in place, establish the respiratory pause. And keeping that in place, work the trigger in the alloted and rather long time period.

Trigger work begins with trigger characteristics. Some triggers are horrible. Take the stock M16 three round burst trigger. It is manageable, but horrible to work with. Sadly, soldiers or police officers that are issued such a weapon can do little to improve it. But the civilian that complains about his trigger has a great many options. I find it amazing that those with poor triggers on their AK rifles fail to simply fix them. Even more amazing is that so-called "custom" AK rifles are sold routinely with finger breaking trigger slap (the trigger popping back into position hard after a shot).

The simple answer is to have a proper trigger added to your rifle. Like most things in life, some will agree and others will bemoan the system in question. But like most things in life, follow the money. With a proper trigger, and using the first joint of the trigger finger, having established a solid shooting position and respiratory pause, we continue.

Begin pressure on the trigger smoothly and evenly. This fisrt part should be simple but what most people do is all the preceding and then pull hard on thje trigger as if to "get it over with". The result usually is a missed shot. Instead, press smoothly and evenly, without rushing. At some point the pressure will suffice and the shot will break. When that happens, your job is to keep everything as it was prior to the shot breaking. That is...staying in position, keeping the face on the stock, etc., during recoil. Do not allow the shot to disintegrate your shooting platform or focus. That last is called "follow through" and is a part of trigger control and much as the breathing.

Learn to do these things and you will amaze yourself at just how accurate your Kalashnikov rifle can be. Ignore these things, and no matter how many rounds you send downrange, you will never understand the rifle.

Home Invasion Countermeasures



By Alex Nieuwland, Suarez International Staff Instructor

In my area of operations, home invasion is gaining in popularity as a tactic used by criminals. Apparently, cold burglaries with very precise information are preferred, but if that won’t work home invasion is considered as a perfectly acceptable alternative.

Recently, I started looking for more information on countering this specific tactic. Most of what I found was well-meaning but impractical advice or products. There was, however, some good along with the bad that I thought was worth passing on.

Types of home invasion
We typically think about home invasions as starting with a kicked-in door. That is not necessarily the case. Home invasions can be subdivided by their means of gaining entry: force, deception, stealth, garage, and carjacking. Force is what we commonly think of when we think of home invasions: a kick to the door knob. Deception means a ruse is used to get an occupant of the house to willingly open the door. Stealth means picking or “bumping” the lock, or entering though an unlocked door. Garage means gaining entry through the open garage door. And finally, there have been cases where home invasion victims were carjacked before being forced to drive to their own homes.

By thinking about home invasions in this light, we can better prepare our defenses against them. I also found some countermeasures that were new to me:

The surprise doorstop
While you may have resolved to never open your locked house door for a stranger if there is any doubt about their intentions, never is a long time, and not every occupant of the home (your spouse?) may have bought into that. The surprise doorstop is some kind of device attached to the floor behind the door that allows the door to be opened a few inches while preventing someone from opening it further and entering through it. Unlike a door chain it is not apparent to the criminal until the criminal tries to force the door open further, showing his true intentions, and initiating the rest of your countermeasures.

The fatal funnel
Most readers will probably be familiar with the “safe room” concept, wherein one of the rooms in the house is hardened and equipped to act as the keep of your castle. Typically, a solid reinforced door is suggested for this purpose. Instead, a strengthened matte glass door could be used. If the home invaders try to force it, it would provide additional physical evidence that they were not satisfied with the valuables in the portion of your house already under their control, but wanted YOU and your family. At the same time, it would position the (backlit) home invaders in the kill zone of an ambush with a well-protected and well-armed defender on the inside of the door and a bullet trap in or on the wall facing the door on the outside.

To my mind, the shotgun would be the most suitable type of weapon for this application due to its ability to put multiple projectiles into the target with a single shot. A shotgun, however, is not the “wall of death” some claim it is. For example, at 7 yards, all of the pellets from my 18.5” barreled shotgun are still well within an 8” circle, so your marksmanship skills are still essential to your success.

The fatal funnel concept can be extended to other choke points in your house. For example, if there is a narrow doorway leading from your hallway to the rest of the house, an unexpected locked glass door or locked security gate would be unwelcome news to any home invaders forcing their way in.

Final thoughts: active countermeasures
Unfortunately, we live in a world where some don’t respect basic rules of human interaction. They’ll come to your house and try to do harm to you and your family for reasons we sometimes can’t even begin to fathom. How the story ends when they come knocking depends on you

In America, unlike in most countries around the world, homeowners are in a strong position when it comes to home invasions, particularly in states with castle doctrine. My state (South Carolina) is one of those states. The barriers around our homes, and even the walls of our homes themselves, don’t need to be 4 feet thick and 20 feet high with bars on the windows. What they need to do in the case of home invasions, is provide us enough warning to deploy our active countermeasures.

This is where most of the well-meaning advice proves to be impractical. Some suggest carrying a can of bear spray at all times or keeping a firearm locked up in your safe room. In my area of operations, I can expect the home invaders to be armed and bear spray would leave me seriously outgunned. Lone law enforcement officers don’t use non-lethal force in the face of a deadly threat, and I’m not planning on it either. In addition, as I’m sitting here typing this, there’s a pretty good chance one or more forceful home invaders could get to me, before I got to my safe room. So a locked up firearm inside my safe room just isn’t going to cut it by itself either.

Is bear spray or a locked up firearm really going to improve your situation if home invaders kicked in your doors right now? If the honest answer is “Probably not”, I’d like to recommend you carry your carry gun(s) concealed (loaded, of course), including when you are in and around your house, get excellent training and practice until it’s a deeply ingrained habit. The same skills that are taught in the Suarez International handgun gunfighting curriculum for use outside your house are still applicable inside your house.

In addition, there is a whole Suarez International class (CQB: Fighting in Structures) dedicated to teaching civilians how to search structures that may (or may not) contain armed bad guys and how to neutralize them. Yes, it’s dangerous, particularly if you are by yourself, but it can be done and in some cases it should be done.

Finally, shotguns are highly effective at the distances found inside homes. This Veterans Day, I will be teaching a one-day Dynamics of the Shotgun class in Columbia, SC that would make an excellent primer on the use of a shotgun for self defense.

Join the discussion on Warrior Talk here to add your views, experiences and other comments.

Update added on September 20:

Earlier today, a Tulsa homeowner used his shotgun on a stealthy home invader. The criminal, who may have attempted a forceful home invasion yesterday afternoon, died at the scene.

The Best Defense is a Good Offense……

By

Don Robison

Suarez International Tier 1 Staff Instructor

 

It’s a bit cliché’ but often said that the best defense is a good offense.  What does that mean?  To me; that means always be on the offensive.  All over the internet we hear people expounding the idea of the “defensive mindset”; I say hogwash.  A defensive mindset is the mindset of a person who doesn’t plan or take measures to better ensure their safety or the safety of their loved ones; they sit around waiting for something to happen so they can defend themselves against it.  A person with an offensive mindset is always thinking, they are always planning ahead and doing things to mitigate the risk of being attacked. 

What kind of a person are you?  The defensive mindset person pulls into a gas station hops out of their car and fills up with gas.  The offensive mindset person pulls into a gas station takes a look around and assess their surroundings, looking for possible problem people, areas, and avenues of approach and formulates a plan of action for the what if scenarios.

It’s 1 a.m.; you need to stop at a gas station along the interstate because you are down to an eighth of a tank of gas. You find a gas station and pull in to the end pump and get out of your car and start pumping gas.  Out of the shadow on the end of the building a young misunderstood youth walks to the back of your car without you noticing and demands your wallet or he is going to kill you.  You have three choices fight, flight, or comply with his request and hope he goes away. The gas hose is behind you cluttering your exit route and you didn’t notice that the gas station had put trash cans and displays between the pumps.  You’ve been to some training classes so you’re going to fight.  You waited until something happened and then were forced to work out a plan to defend yourself.

Let’s look at what you did wrong in the above scenario.

1. You didn’t assess the area you were pulling into.
2. You pulled into the pump on the dark side of the building where those up to no good have good concealment.
3. You had poor situational awareness of your surroundings after you exited the car.
4. You left yourself really only two options; comply or fight.

I won’t say comply is never a good idea because there are always exceptions. I also don’t think starting the fight from behind the OODA loop is a good option either. Trading punches, slashes or bullets is never truly a win, even if you come out on top. Your victory cost you more than it should have cost you and how is your family going to fair while you’re recovering from the trading physical damage?   In the above scenario a lack of attention backed you into a bad scenario where you didn’t need to put yourself. In my opinion; this is a defensive mindset.  You waited until something happened and then worked out how to defend yourself.

 

It’s 1 a.m.; you need to stop at a gas station along the interstate because you are down to a quarter tank of gas. You find a gas station and pull in to the parking lot.  As you pull in you’re looking around the area and notice the only pump open is the one on the end nearest a dark corner of the building and there are some misunderstood youths hanging out by the store entrance.  You decide to drive to the gas station up the street and not possibly place yourself in a situation where you’re uncomfortable.

Let’s look at this scenario and see what you did right.

1. You assessed the area before you fully committed yourself to it.
2. You decided to go somewhere else rather than put yourself unknowingly in a bad situation.

What are the downsides to following this option? You can only do it so many times before you have no choice but to use whatever gas station you find yourself at or you run out of gas. Me personally; I start looking for a gas station just as the needle moves below a half tank and try to stop before it reaches a quarter. I like to give myself options.

It’s 1 a.m.; you need to find a gas station along the interstate because you just went below a half tank of gas and want to find a station before you reach a quarter tank. You find a gas station and pull in to the parking lot.  As you pull in you’re looking around the area and notice the only pump open is the one on the end nearest a dark corner of the building and there are some misunderstood youths hanging out by the store entrance.  You also notice that there are tire displays set up between the pumps so you decide to go to the next station. Upon pulling into the second station you find a middle pump open and there is nothing blocking you from moving between the pumps. You also notice some shady characters hanging out at the entrance and the end of the building. This is the only other gas station for 100 miles so you decide this is the station you need to use.  Before you get out of the car you take a moment to decide what avenue of approach you would use if you wanted to rob someone and take notice of what the shady characters are doing, where they are and if they are paying any “special” attention to you. You get out of the car and begin to pump your gas while keeping a scan going looking to see if there is any change in the attitude of those hanging out. You’ve positioned yourself so that you can get back into your car and drive off if you detect something out of place early. You’ve also placed yourself so that you can exit on foot between the pumps if you need to create distance and can’t get into your car.  With a little prior planning you’ve given yourself several options.

What did you do and what are your options?

1. You assessed the situation at both stations and decided on your best option.
2. You positioned yourself to be able to scan the area and continually assess what is going on around you; you increased your situational awareness.
3. By giving yourself the extra space you have an increased chance at stopping someone with a stern word before they can get close enough to be a significant danger to you.
4. You gave yourself two routes to escape should you choose flight over fight or comply if someone does get closer than you would like.
5. By giving yourself the extra space to scan you have also given yourself increased time if you decide you need to go to a weapon. You’ve also given yourself time to get a weapon in your hand first; discreetly of course.

 

From my perspective those who advocate good situational awareness, don’t go to stupid places, do stupid things, hang out with stupid people (the 3S rule) and plan ahead aren’t setting the stage for a defensive mindset, but are actually setting the stage for an offensive mindset.  Anytime you are proactive in thwarting possible threats you are putting up an offensive posture.  If you’re sitting around until something happens so you can defend yourself; you’re in a defensive posture.  Who do you want to be?

Short Circuiting The OODA Loop

Short Circuiting The OODA Loop

The call had come in of a trespasser using the laundry at an apartment building. It was the sort of call we all rolled our eyes and cursed the ever liberal city council of Santa Monica for drawing all the stinking bums from Los Angeles county.

Regardless, patterns of movement established through years or knowledge tended to keep you safe so bullshit call or not, I parked my war wagon a few doors down and walked up to the laundry room adjacent to the alley.

He was standing there washing his clothes. A typical LA street dweller…but something about him was different. I could not put it into words if you had frozen the frame and asked me to describe it. It was the way he moved maybe…or his build – not overly muscled, but not malnourished. Something told me at the instant he turned to look at me that I was in serious danger.

The transient was in his mid thirties, and walked over to me, hand out stretched as if to offer it in handshake. “Hello officer, I knew you’d be coming by”, he said as he approached. I could see he was not armed and both his hands were in view. But damn something felt totally wrong. As he moved the last few steps toward me, his eyes shifted to my holstered Glock and he reached for it in a lunge. ……..


The OODA Loop, or Boyd’s cycle, is much used and abused in the training, combatives world today. Some trainers go as far as to totally plagiarize Boyd without any attribution given, while others, with zero practical experience, seek to adapt his theories with no basis for the adaption. Sadly, in the land of free speech, just because one can speak his mind does not mean one’s words have any worth…mine included for that matter. But the worth attributed to a man’s words is based in part, on what he has actually done, and in the context that he is speaking.

So if a man is making a statement, and bases the validity of that statement on say…his Pro Football experiences, one would assume that if the problem at hand is similar to what a quarterback for a Pro Team faces, his assumptions are valid…but maybe not so much if the issue is a single man lifting a weight, or surfing a big wave…or fighting another man in a ring.

We know that we all process information as Boyd discussed in his studies. That cannot really be changed. But some of those processes can be short cut. Specifically I am referring to the Orientation phase of the OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act). Let me explain.

In a book by Malcolm Gladwell titled Blink, the author discusses how we make those split second, gut-based decisions. He calls it Rapid Cognition. No, its not a gun book. Rather it is a business book. The sort of book that more struggling gun instructors should read...if they wanted to stop struggling and actually become successful. But back to the point. Gladwell mentions that we make split second decisions on a daily basis. He tells of a meeting between Wall Street traders and USMC Generals and how they were so much alike in their ability to make snap judgments and decisions (one with lives the other with money) that is was amazing to watch them interact.

The problem Gladwell mentions, is when we seek to put words to the feeling…or when we try to analyze what we are seeing or feeling. Observation can certainly be heightened by, as Nike says, “Just Doing It”. The Decision, and Action phases are a matter of training and willingness (topics not strange to WTers.), but it is the Orientation Phase…the area where we seek to make sense of what we are seeing, that we can make up the most time.

And by simply accepting the initial impression we get from a particular individual or location, without stopping to be able to preemptively “articulate to the jury” why we feel that way, we may very well be able to move faster through the cycles. And as one member here is fond of saying, speed is, in point of fact, life.

Oh, the rest of the story? Yes, of course.

I more felt the situation than saw it. I actually had some fear after it was all over as to how I would explain it. As he reached for my gun, I dropped my front leg back and swept my right hand up and over with the C Cell Maglite I carried in my sap pocket. That light had not worked in years and I carried it simply because they had outlawed saps. It hit him hard on the crown of the head with the sound a watermelon might make as it drops from the plastic Safeway bag onto your driveway.

He went down hard, unconscious and bleeding and so fast I was still not certain of what had happened or why. He was still alive, although barely. I had hit him that hard. Turns out he was a parolee at large that had assaulted and disarmed a police officer a few years before.


Listen and act upon your first impressions gents…they will rarely be wrong.