The new FBI qualification course

Every government agency likes to think they’re the best. So whether or not you’re a fan of the FBI, there is one thing the Bureau is good at… and that’s keeping statistics on shootings.

Over the years, the FBI has documented and studied thousands of shootings, and in January of this year the FBI changed its qualification course based on the feedback of these shootings.

In short, the old course involved shooting at far distances as much as 50 yards, but the new course focuses on close quarters shooting since the majority of gunfights occur at seven yards or less.

So if you’re looking for a good course of fire and want to see if you have what it takes to join the FBI, I’ve included the FBI’s new qualification course below:

Target used is the QIT-99
Course consists of a total of 60 rounds
Each round counts as one point

Any hits inside the target area count

You must draw from concealment for every string of shots
Passing score for Agents is 48 out of 60

Stage 1: 3 yard line

-3 rounds in 3 seconds using your strong hand only

-3 rounds in 3 seconds using your strong hand only

-3 rounds using strong hand only, switch hands, 3 rounds using support hand only all in 8 seconds

Total of 12 rounds for Stage 1

Stage 2: 5 yard line

(From here on out, all shooting is done with two hands)

-3 rounds in 3 seconds

-3 rounds in 3 seconds

-3 rounds in 3 seconds

-3 rounds in 3 seconds

Total of 12 rounds for Stage 2

Stage 3: 7 yard line

-4 rounds in 4 seconds

-4 rounds in 4 seconds

-Have two magazines loaded with four rounds each. Fire four rounds, reload, fire another four rounds in 8 seconds. 

Total of 16 rounds for Stage 3

Stage 4: 15 yard line

-3 rounds in 6 seconds

-3 rounds in 6 seconds

-4 rounds in 8 seconds

Total of 10 rounds for Stage 4

Stage 5: 25 yard line

(This stage involves the use of a barricade/cover)

-Move to cover and fire 2 rounds standing, then 3 rounds kneeling all in 15 seconds

-Move to cover and fire 2 rounds standing, then 3 rounds kneeling all in 15 seconds

Total of 10 rounds for Stage 5

Later this week I plan to go to the shooting range and shoot this new qualification, and the next time you go to the range, consider giving it a try as well. 

Judge reminds us of the #1 reason we own guns 

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is known for being extremely liberal. And it should come as no surprise that many of the Ninth Circuit districts are in the state of California.

In fact, when I was in the police academy years ago I had to take many legal classes to learn the law. I remember the lawyer teaching these classes calling the Ninth Circuit “the circuit where all the idiot decisions get made.”

One of those decisions was made years ago. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the Second Amendment did not grant an individual the right to bear arms. Thankfully, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that it does.

But here’s the reason I tell you about the Ninth Circuit:

As the Court majority ruled that individuals did not have a right to bear arms, here is what one of the judges wrote in dissent. 

“All too many of the other great tragedies of history – Stalin’s atrocities, the killing fields of Cambodia, the Holocaust, to name but a few – were perpetrated by armed troops against unarmed populations. Many could well have been avoided or mitigated, had the perpetrators known their intended victims were equipped with a rifle and twenty bullets apiece, as the Militia Act required here. If a few hundred Jewish fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto could hold off the Wehrmacht for almost a month with only a handful of weapons, six million Jews armed with rifles could not so easily have been herded into cattle cars.

My excellent colleagues have forgotten these bitter lessons of history. The prospect of tyranny may not grab the headlines the way vivid stories of gun crime routinely do. But few saw the Third Reich coming until it was too late. 

The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed – where the government refuses to stand for reelection and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once.

Well, there’s not much to say after that. The judge said it brilliantly. I enjoy shooting just as much as anyone, but I don’t forget the real reason I have firearms. And after reading the Judge’s words it still amazes me there are people in this country who are anti-gun and who think “it could never happen here.”

Maybe the next time you run across one of these people you should give them a copy of the Judge’s words… or you should tell them to thank you because it’s your guns and mine that keeps intact their freedom to spout their opposing views.

Eyes open or closed?

Depending on which firearms instructor you talk with, you’ll either hear insistence that you’re supposed to shoot with both eyes open or that it’s alright to shoot with one eye open while the other eye is closed. So who is right?

Well, it all depends on you. Just like every one of us has different size hands, fingers and bodies, each of us also has different vision. You see, the majority of people are right eye dominant and right handed or left eye dominant and left handed. This means they’re more likely to be able to shoot with both eyes open because their dominant eye is on the same side as their dominant hand.

However, there are a small percentage of folks…

Myself included, who are cross-eye dominant. For instance, I am right handed but left eye dominant. And when you try to shoot with both eyes open and you’re cross dominant you’ll see double, which doesn’t exactly make it easy to hit the target.

This is why I close my right eye when I shoot and (very) slightly tilt my head to the right so I can align the sights. It doesn’t affect my accuracy and if you’re cross-eye dominant I recommend that you tilt your head too.

I’ve heard many times before that the reason you don’t want to shoot with only one eye is because it narrows your field of vision. Yes, that is true, but it narrows it for only a split second. You see, I don’t walk around with my right eye closed all day long, I only close it when I’m about to take a shot.

And in the times in my life when I had to draw my gun, I remember getting on the threat and closing my eye and not having any problems at all. Thankfully I didn’t have to shoot and I obviously quickly opened my right eye when the threat was over.

So don’t worry too much about whether you shoot with one eye open or two.

Figure out what works best for you and then worry about hitting the targets. If I were a betting man, I’d say there are plenty of people who shoot much better with one eye closed than folks who shoot with both eyes open.

And don’t forget, if you’re still wondering which eye is your dominant eye, here is the simple test you do: Hold your hands up (palms facing out) and lay one hand’s fingers and thumb on top of the other hand’s fingers and thumb, making a small triangle with your thumbs and index fingers.  Your arms should be fully extended and the triangle should be in the middle of your body.

Slowly bring the triangle towards your face and whatever eye the triangle gravitates towards is your dominant eye. Trust me, this works, and if you don’t already know which eye is your dominant one figure it out today and then figure out if you want to shoot with one eye open or two.  

A “survival item” to store with your gun

If the “stuff” ever truly hits the fan there’s more that you will need than just food, water, guns, and ammo. It’s the reason I write this letter to you each week and it’s probably the most important thing you need of all – I’m talking about knowledge. Yes, I know that’s a cliché, but don’t worry, I’m not going to start getting all philosophical on you.

Instead, I’m going to tell you about a book you should consider buying. If the power grid goes down and riots break out in the streets your knowledge and this simple book sitting on your shelf may make a huge difference in your survival. And notice I said “sitting on the shelf.” You want a physical copy of this book (and all survival books). You don’t want a copy sitting on some device that could run out of battery and will likely have no service when everything goes down.

The book I’m referring to is Gunsmithing the AR-15 by Patrick Sweeney. In my opinion, the AR-15 is the best overall “survival gun”, and if you don’t already own one, I wouldn’t wait too much longer. Even though none of the gun laws have passed, it’s still dangerous to wait, because you don’t want to be one of the millions of Americans who realizes they need one when it’s too late.

The reason I recommend getting the Gunsmithing the AR-15 book is because it’s a good reference guide to keep on hand. I’m certainly no gunsmith and I don’t know every little nuance about the AR. However, this book covers almost every maintenance and repair topic you’ll likely ever need to know.

At times, the book can be dry…

But I promise you, if your rifle breaks and you need some Gas Rings for it, that section of the book will likely turn into the most exciting reading of your life. 

But don’t get just the AR-15 book. You should have reference guides for every gun you own. I realize right now many people get online and simply search for help when they need to disassemble a gun or when they need to do some minor repairs.

However, you should prepare right now, just in case you don’t have the Internet or your smart phone when you need it. Simply get online today, and print off the directions or repair information you need for your guns or buy the various books.

Then put these directions or books in a waterproof Ziploc bag and store them in your gun case. You may never need them but at least they’re close by. Plus, if something happens to your gun while at the range, you can look in your gun case and start troubleshooting right there.

An Almost Deadly Mistake

I want to share with you an email from a gentleman named Roger. I got Roger’s permission to share this and I think it’s important for every gun owner to read.

Here’s what Roger sent me…

Jason,

After 56 years, I thought I understood the 4 rules about safe use of a firearm:

1) Always treat a gun as if it were loaded. Duh...
2) Always point a gun in a safe direction.  Yeah Duh...
3) Know your target and beyond. Super Duh...
4) Keep your finger off the trigger unless you intend to shoot. Of course!

Not until the other morning did I fully understand how important and inspired
they really are.

Just like every night, I take out my Glock, put in a full mag, lock and load one
round, eject the mag, put in a second full mag, and place it close but in a safe
location.

Then every morning I get up, eject the mag, rack the slide to eject the loaded
round, rack the slide several more times to make sure it's unloaded, pull
the trigger, replace the loaded mag, and then put the gun away locked up.

Now, the other morning I was a little groggy and started the unloading procedure.
In my grogginess I forgot to remove the mag when I racked the slide in order to
eject the loaded round and when I pulled the trigger there was still a round in the gun. I had my first accidental discharge. Shot a hole right through the mattress!

Suffice it to say, it scared me to death! Luckily my wife was gone to work having
just left 30 minutes prior. What if she hadn't had to work that morning? I realized then that I had broken all four of those dumb gun safety rules! I took about an hour contemplating the whole situation as it really shook me up.

I have a new found understanding of the rules importance and a new dedication to their
strict observance!

Stay safe,

Roger (I have removed his last name)

Well, there is no need to criticize, I’m sure Roger will never do that again. Obviously, everyone hopes to never have an accidental discharge, but as this proves, they unfortunately do happen. Also, I’m really glad Roger’s wife was at work and nobody was injured.

Since safe gun handling is so critical, I’m going to share with you what I do when loading and unloading my gun. First, I have a bulletproof panel that I use every single time. When I unload the gun I make sure it’s pointed at the panel so if I ever had an accidental discharge it would go into the panel and nowhere else.  

The second thing I do may sound corny, but here it is: When I am loading or unloading the gun, or even when I am removing it from my holster to put it in a safe, I watch the muzzle as if a snake were about to jump out of it and if it catches me off guard it could kill me. 

In other words, I closely watch the muzzle to ensure I am not pointing it anywhere it shouldn’t be. I don’t take my eyes off of the muzzle until it’s in the safe, pointed directly at the bulletproof panel or is loaded or unloaded.  

Also, if you don’t already own one yet, I highly recommend you get yourself a bulletproof panel. There are many places online you can get these and they’re a very smart investment for all gun owners.