AMERICAN COP | Through The Centuries
My first trip to the American Pistol Institute (now known as Gunsite) was in 1976, shortly after it was founded by Jeff Cooper. When asked how many times I have been there I honestly answer, “I don’t know.” In addition to classes and industry events, I normally go to Gunsite twice a year. These trips are special, themed events coordinated by Dick Williams. Just a few of the past events include Handgun Passions, Past and [...]
DESIGNATED MARKSMEN | The Need And The Training
The Designated Marksman (DM) concept is nothing new. “Sharpshooters” were used as far back as the American Revolution, with better shots assigned to target officers. My father jumped on D-Day with the 101st Airborne. One private carried an ‘03 Springfield with a Weaver 4X scope, and was used to shoot [...]
WHEELGUN WISDOM | Running Double-Action Revolvers
I had the privilege of instructing the "revolver day" of a New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy's Firearms Instructor Course recently. There were 14 cops in the class and experience ranged from a few years to one gent with 27 years in the bag. None of them had carried 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 [...]
TERMINATING TERRORISTS | The Head-Shot Triad
In my years of firearms training, I have frequently encountered failure, Mozambique, or standard response (two to the body, one to the head) drills in the private training sector and as part of some police courses of fire, but no head-shot-first phases. Perhaps that has something to do with [...]
CHASING THE DOT | Training With Bushnell’s Red Dot Sights
Mounting red dot sights (RDS) on handgun is nothing new, it’s been done for at least a couple of decades. In the beginning it was first widely accepted by competitors in the shooting sports. Tails of short battery life and recoil knocking them out of adjustment abounded. The nonbelievers [...]
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 [...]
INTERMEDIATE SNIPER WEAPONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT
Comparisons are often drawn between law enforcement (LE) and military snipers. Law enforcement snipers are dealing with significantly shorter ranges compared to their military counterparts. Although trained to do rural operations, most law enforcement sniper ops are urban in nature. Law enforcement snipers operate almost exclusively with their tactical [...]
BALLISTIC BREACHING WITH A SHOTGUN
Speed is essential in any dynamic entry. Breaching must be both rapid and effective. There are a variety of methods mechanical, thermal, explosive and ballistic that may be employed depending on what is to be breached and the tactical situation. SHOTGUN BREACHING From a military perspective, since combat has migrated [...]
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 [...]
