Making Ready
There was an interesting confluence of events over the weekend. The first was the anniversary of Patrick Rogers' death. A good number of experienced private sector trainers were influenced by Rogers and likely connected to each other by him. The other was an email question early Sunday morning about the process of making ready. What do those two things have to do with each other? Pat was big on the concept of "process." Having a [...]
PUTTING LEARNED SKILLS TO USE | Gunsight And Dunton Ranch
Back in the early 1970s Colonel Jeff Cooper started the American Pistol Institute, now known as Gunsite Academy. Today Gunsite is known worldwide for firearms training, from a quality facility with top notch instructors and staff. Some of the best warriors have attended and continue to train there. Recently [...]
IN-YOUR-FACE PISTOL RELOADS | Trendy But Unsafe
Pistol ready positions and reload positions are an ongoing topic of debate. We’ve undoubtedly come a long way since the cup-and-saucer grip or emptying brass into the support hand during revolver reloads. We all recognize our tactics and training must maintain a high standard and we cannot afford to [...]
RELIC TO THE RESCUE | Century Old Self-Defense Pistol
In the category of “Non-Fake News,” gun sales in the last two years have broken all previous records. Many of these guns have been sold to first time gun buyers suggesting that more Americans now believe that our government may not be able (nor inclined) to protect them in [...]
DOUBLE-DEUCE DRILLS | Real-Deal Rimfire Training
I have used subcaliber training to very good effect over the years. However, my approach was best summed up as using the reduced cost of .22 Long Rifle to allow a blunt-force smashing of maximum reps of key skills. When the ammo drought set in, I went into [...]
GUNS ACROSS THE BORDER | What Border Lawmen Used a Century Ago
Twice a year gun writer Dick Williams organizes a three-day theme shoot. Recently I attended one of these events at Gunsite. The theme was what handguns peace officers working on the Southern border used in the period of 1900-1917. The class would cover single and double-action revolvers and semiautomatics [...]
USED SERVICE WEAPONS FIND NEW LIFE | Police Trade-In Bonanza
I don’t know about you, but there is just something about a former service weapon. That it protected and served gives nobility to such a piece, every bit of wear on the finish humbly calling out as time spent honorably. Whether it ever was drawn in desperation or anger [...]
BUILDING A BETTER MOUSETRAP | Handgun Sitting Positions
Long-range handgunning rarely receives much training effort. Consequently shooter’s ability at distance is often pretty erratic. The standard training approach, often thrown in quickly if time allows, is to have the shooter take a knee or go prone. I’ve seen a great many shooters who actually shoot worse from kneeling [...]
RUNNING A WHEELGUN — Revolvers for Today’s World
In late 1972, I was hitchhiking home, on leave. Not many troops wore uniforms in public in those days, but I was in Class A’s, with spit-shined jump boots, ‘cuz dad was a retired Airborne Command Sergeant Major and asked me to. As I passed a small gun store, The [...]
STANDOFF HANDGUN DRILLS Accuracy at Situational Speed
As you look at the news and recent attacks you can see a clear trend of bad guys clueing in to the effectiveness of long guns. Whether the attack is on a church, a school, an event or an office the trendline suggests that the man or woman in a [...]
AMERICAN GENIUS Nighthawk Custom Hi-Power
When it comes to firearms designers, one stands out above all others—John Moses Browning. Born in Ogden, Utah in 1855, he made his first firearm at the tender age of 13 and received his first patent at age 24. During his life he designed or made improvements to lever-action rifles—including [...]