When we train, regardless if it is with tools (firearms, knives, sticks) or not, our training should reveal our flaws; either in actual technique, our mentality or our gear.
Revealing flaws in our gear and how we “load out” with our rigs to fight is something I can tell you from experience can not only make your life easier but also be LIFE SAVING.
In training with your rifle load out, ask yourself these questions:
Does my rig allow me to move quickly?
Does my rig allow me to reload quickly?
Is my rig relatively “quiet” or do I sound like a coke can filled with rocks when I move?
Is my rig “flexible” in all fighting Positions? (ie sitting, prone, one knee)
Does my rig hinder my ability to take cover?
Can I access my trauma/med kit quickly and easily?
The part about “Military Costume Play” is so true.
So often guys buy gear and dress themselves up and their firearms not from a practical fighting perspective, but because they are trying to look like the latest tacti-cool douchebag on the cover of Soldier of Fortune.
Remove your head from your ass and get PRACTI-COOL, NOT TACTI-COOL in your Training!
“Carry the biggest gun you can tote comfortably and shoot accurately. The reason being is if it is not Comfortable you will leave it at home in the gun safe instead of having it in your pants when you need it and if you can’t shoot it accurately, well, what are we really talking about carrying a gun for?” –Clint Smith, Thunder Ranch.
It all comes down to manual of arms and PRACTICE.
Yeah six rounds of .44 Mag should do the trick against any foe, two or four legged.
IF you can put the rounds where you need them to be ACCURATELY under STRESS.
1. “No wise man ever took a handgun to a gunfight.”
Earp obviously knew the advantage of weapon superiority. If you know your opponent is armed with a handgun, bring a shotgun, or rifle. Give yourself every advantage possible. You don’t want to fight fair. You fight to win. Something to think about for home defense.
2. “The most important lesson I ever learned was the winner of a gunplay usually was the one who took his time. The second was if I hoped to live on the frontier, I would shun flashy trick-shooting, grandstand play, as I would poison. In all my life as a frontier peace officer, I did not know a really proficient gunfighter who had anything but contempt for the gun fanner, or man who literally shot from the hip.”
The saying “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” applies here. Also, a fast miss never neutralized anyone. Guns have sights on them for a reason. Use them! Pick up your front sight during combat shooting. As Gunsite, famous fighting school preaches, “front sight, press” is the key to winning armed confrontations.
3. “Fast is Fine, But Accuracy is Everything…”
Again, a fast miss never helped anyone.
Take the time to use your front sight for making solid hits. The spray and pray mentality is useless with today’s high-capacity semi-autos.
4. “The most important lesson I learned was the winner of a gunplay usually was the one who took his time.”
This is related to #3. Take your time, but do it quickly, ensuring a smooth draw. Pick your front sight up and press your trigger smoothly, not jerking your shot, missing your adversary.
5. “Shooting at a man who is returning the compliment means going into action with the greatest speed of which a man’s muscles are capable, but mentally unflustered by an urge to hurry, or the need for complicated nervous and muscular actions which trick shooting involves.”
All this means is don’t lose your head. Easier said than done, but a cool head will prevail. Focus on the mechanics of a smooth draw and calculated shot. Fast shooting is useless in the “spray and pray” fashion. Remember your training. We all revert to training under stress … which emphasizes how vital proper training is.
If you’re not formally trained, do it. Training is the most important accessory you can buy, more than any gun, or ammo.
Frame by frame lesson on a smooth AIWB (Appendix-Inside-The-Waistband) Draw.
I think the most important lesson here is in Frame #1: Notice the trigger finger goes to the “high register” position of the gun on the outside of the holster. That way when the gun is deployed, the finger is nowhere near the trigger.
Two most important things in a good drawstroke:
Trigger Finger at High Register away from the triggerguard
Muzzle Discipline (NEVER “Cover” a body part with your muzzle)
I first heard this from a Military Drill Instructor while on the firing line a long time ago and it stuck with me.
I apply it to just about every area of my life now, but especially FIREARMS TRAINING HABITS.
To me, it is the essence of WHY we should re-evaluate our combat training frequently. What could be worse than practicing the WRONG technique to the point we get GOOD at DOING IT WRONG!
On a frequent basis, we have to ask ourselves:
Are our techniques relevant to the threat level we face?
Are they Realistic?
Are they Efficient?
It also folds over to the small minutia of training, the little things we might overlook or do so often that we don’t even think about them.
Things like:
Reloading
Clearing Malfunctions
Shouldering the Rifle
Holstering
Clearing our cover garment (CCL Pistol/Revolver)
I will give you a great example on what I mean when I say “minutia”.
When I first started pistol training with a buddy of mine, we were out on the range and after we had just finished a course of fire, my Glock locked back to slide lock, empty. Since we were about to take a break, I simply hit the slide release lever and holstered my gun. My buddy looked at me comically and asked me “Would you do that in a gunfight?” I looked back at him and immediately a light bulb went off! Instantly I realized my error and what he was driving at.
When we are running drills we must do EVERYTHING as we would in a real fight, even the small details. If your gun runs dry, reload it. But reload it the same way, EVERY TIME. If you choose to use the slide release, do it, if you overhand charge, do that, but do it THE SAME WAY, EVERY TIME!
Now for some, who do not have the luxury of the great outdoors, away from civilization like me and who must practice at your Strict local NRA or IDPA Range, where over zealous Gun Safety nuts abound, this may be hard to do, but still, understanding the mental concept and working on it even in dry fire can get you far.
In this quest to become a better warrior, the devil is always in the details.
The challenge as I see it is to challenge yourself every day.
Don’t wait for somebody else to challenge you! Take a minute and apply the above motto to every area of your life and you will see what I mean!
The Tactical Hermit 
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