2 Drills for the Advanced Gun Fighter

This past Saturday I taught one of my Advanced Defensive Pistol courses. I had a really great group of students – one of those special classes – special in a good way, not in a bad way, if you know what I mean.

I can truthfully say there isn’t a person who attended the class who I wouldn’t be proud/comfortable to have by my side in a gunfight and I certainly don’t make that assertion lightly.

Today, I thought I’d share with you some of the drills we did at the class, a few of which you can practice on your own in the comfort of home. One of the first drills we did at the beginning of the day was a “Close Quarters Push-Off” drill.

The way this drill works…

Is that you’re standing about arms-length away from the target. When the “threat” command is given, the shooter pushes away from the target with their left hand while moving backwards and drawing and firing the gun.

We know the majority of gunfights are close range, so this drill teaches you to push off with your left hand simulating that you’re slapping away a knife, or hitting the person to stun them giving you time to draw and shoot.

You can practice this drill in your own home by pasting a target on the wall, hitting the target, then backing off and drawing and “firing.” Just make sure you have a safe and empty gun and you know your backstop.

The second drill is what I call the “End of the World Drill.” This drill takes place in a 360 degree shooting range and numbered targets are in a circle around the range. I walk the students into the very middle of the range and have them close their eyes and tell them that it’s the end of the world and they’re surrounded by zombies, Obama supporters and their mother-in-law.

I then spin them around a few times to disorient them…

And then I call the first number, which they must quickly find and shoot. Then I quickly yell at second number and they must charge in that direction and shoot too. I do this with multiple numbers until they’re running all around the circle engaging different threats from different directions.

Typing it here does not do the drill justice, but let’s just say by the time it’s done they’re huffing and puffing and they’re much better trained to quickly acquire threats that may come from all around them.

Probably the most difficult drill of the day, which every student accomplished, was clearing a “double feed” malfunction one-handed. (With both the strong and weak hand.) If I had to guess, not one in a million gun owners knows how to clear a double feed one handed, and I’d explain here, but it’s really something you have to seen in person, otherwise I’d totally confuse you.

With that being said, you should always be improving your self-defense skills, so if you’ve never practiced close quarters combat drills, or never been in a 360 range or never cleared a double-feed one handed, try and learn those skills in the future because life is strange and you never know when you’ll need them.

Quick Draw vs. Slow Draw

Today’s article is actually being written for my father-in-law, but I thought you’d find it interesting. Let me explain:

My father-in-law is a computer wizard. All I can really tell you is that he builds super computers for Oracle, and after about the first 30 seconds of explaining his job to me I had no idea what he was talking about.

This means he’s a very inquisitive guy and loves numbers and statistics and pretty much everything I don’t like. Well, apparently, the other day he was reading a gun article where someone was saying it was better to draw the gun slowly and that quick drawing was bad because it drew attention to the person, etc. etc. etc…. And my father-in-law asked me to find the statistics on this and wanted my opinion about which draw I thought was better.

And even though he’s committing the sin of living in California, he did play a pretty important part in producing my wife, so I decided to see what I could find out for him regarding quick draw vs. slow draw.

After much digging…

I can tell you that Officers in Baltimore County Maryland have a hit ratio of 64%… 77% of shootings occur in some type of low light… And that when one officer is involved in a shooting he averages a 51% hit ratio… but if it’s a multiple officer shooting the hit ratio drops to 23%.

In other words, I found a lot of statistics, but nothing on quick draw vs. slow draw. So here’s what I can tell you from my own experience. The two times in my life when I had to draw my firearm it couldn’t come out fast enough. If someone is coming at you with a knife at an ATM machine, that gun should come out lightning fast. If a guy is approaching your car with a gun, you better draw quick.

I read a story last month about a criminal with a knife charging a guy and his girlfriend in a restaurant parking lot. The guy drew quickly, his girlfriend ducked and he shot over her to kill the attacker.

On the other hand…

There are instances where slow draw may be appropriate. For example, if you’re in a restaurant and all of the sudden a guy pulls out a gun to rob the register it’s probably not a good idea to whip out your gun and start shooting. Let the guy rob the place and give a good description for police.

Or if you’re standing in line at the bank and the guy in the line next to you throws on a ski mask and takes out a shotgun to rob the place you may want to remain still. But, if he starts shooting people then you know it’s more than a robbery and you better draw that gun quickly and deal with him.

The bottom line is, quick draw vs. slow draw depends purely on the circumstances. One day you may find yourself in a position where you have to slowly draw the gun under a restaurant table to see what the robber is going to do.

But if I had to guess, I’d bet the majority of times a gun is drawn it’s coming out quick, which is why I believe if you carry concealed you better be able to draw your gun and get it on target in 2 seconds or less.

Should you have optics on your rifle?

This Saturday I’m teaching a defensive rifle course. And if it’s like most courses, I’ll have folks show up with a wide variety of optics on their rifles and most will be surprised to see that I use iron sights and I don’t use any optics at all.

There are many reasons for this. One of the main reasons is because I’m a simple man… a minimalist if you will. I like my guns simple and I don’t like to put a bunch of accessories on them if I don’t need them.

Luckily, I’m not out in the mountains of Afghanistan where I might have to take a 300-yard shot and my eyesight is good, so I do just fine without a red dot for my defensive rifle purposes. (In other words, I don’t pretend I’m Rambo, I realize my rifle is for my urban environment.)

Another reason I’m not a huge fan of optics is because I’ve seen them fail many times.

In fact, here are two instances from the last two rifle courses. In one case, I saw a guy staring at his red dot and pushing a bunch of buttons with a funny look on his face. He said his battery was dead so he went to change his batteries. He seemed to be back there for a long time and finally came back to say he had accidentally purchased the wrong batteries for his red dot so it was now useless to him.

In the other instance, the fellow was doing the same thing, staring at his red dot making a funny face, but this guy did bring the right batteries.

Remember, these were classes, where it’s no big deal if you run out of batteries, but if that was a life or death situation, obviously things could have gone downhill very quickly. That’s why, if you use any type of optic on your rifle you must have back up iron sights.

Even more importantly, both your optic and your iron sights must be zeroed.

If you’re too lazy to zero your iron sights and your batteries go dead, then I’d be very careful taking any shots because you don’t know where the bullets headed, and, as you’re well aware, you’re responsible for every round that leaves your gun.

But if you really want an optic on your gun, I’d go with Aimpoint if I were you. Their batteries last for a long time and you should only have to replace them every 5 years, even though I recommend getting fresh batteries every year, no matter what.

And if you really want to break the bank and pretend you’re Rambo, then go with an ACOG. It will probably cost you more than you paid for your rifle, but it should last you forever and you can certainly bet your life on it.

Running With Your Gun

When I was with the Agency I was probably in the best shape of my life. However, these days I still run over 2 miles every morning, but that’s about it. I don’t lift weights or do any other exercises.

The truth is, I don’t even like running. I know some folks who are all into running and sign up for marathons and the whole nine yards, but not me. I only run because I feel like it gives me energy for the rest of my day and helps me be more productive.

Of course, when it comes to running one of the most common questions I get asked is what do I do with my gun? Well, for running, I believe there are two really good options. The first option is the fanny pack. My wife likes the fanny pack, however I do not use this option and don’t plan to anytime soon. But if that’s the only way you can carry a gun when you’re exercising, by all means do it.

The Belly Band…

When I’m running my 2 miles every morning I use a Belly Band. If you’re not familiar with the Belly Band it’s basically a long elastic band that you put around your waist. It has a space for your gun and a space for your magazine.

The Belly Band goes underneath your shirt, so you need to make sure to wear a loose fitting shirt so the gun won’t print through. In other words, the super tight spandex shirts won’t cut it if you’re wearing a Belly Band.

Also, when it comes to the location of where to actually wear the band I’ve seen people wear it a million different ways and it’s all up to you. Some folks wear the band around their hips right at the waistline and prefer to carry the gun in the “appendix” position.

I don’t like to do this…

Because I don’t think it’s a good idea to have the gun pointing at my body and legs. Other people like to carry the gun at their waistline in the 3 o’ clock traditional position. This is more where I prefer to carry it.

One of the most important factors you need to consider when choosing a position is how easily can you access the gun? If I were you, I would put on the Belly Band and with a safe and empty weapon, practice your draw a few times. If you’re having trouble getting the gun out, you need to try something different.

Also, if you choose to use the Belly Band, you don’t want to let the world know you’re carrying a gun. I’ve known people who like to touch the gun every two seconds just to make sure it’s there. This is a dead giveaway you’re carrying a gun, so resist the temptation. (Resist this temptation no matter where you’re carrying the gun.)


Lastly, I’ve attached a picture to show you what the Belly Band looks like with the Ruger LCP that I run with. I’ve put the band on over my shirt and a little higher on my body just to make things easier.

Stay safe while exercising.

When do Home Invasions Occur?

Do you know what time of day the majority of home invasions occur?

Well, it isn’t during the night when you’re home asleep. Instead, most home invasions occur during the day while people are at work. I bring this up because this morning I got a call from my brother who lives in Salt Lake City, UT.

He called to tell me that he was finally getting an alarm for his house. The reason is that he works for the city and knows a lot of guys in the police department and he hears about all of the home invasions that occur during the day.

Of course, Salt Lake City is not an anomaly, home invasions occur during the day in every city across this country. In fact, when I was working for the Agency, I remember hearing about an employee who got arrested for breaking into homes during the day. Apparently, he was some kind of pervert and would break into the homes and steal women’s clothes and underwear.

Now…

The good news about home invasions during the day is that most people are at work, so you may lose some possessions, but no harm will come to you. However, with summer being here, that’s changing for a lot of households.

Kids are home for the summer and some of them may not leave the house at all. (Especially if you happen to have teenage boys who are addicted to video games and won’t leave the house until they’re forced to return to school in September.)

If you’re one of the families that are going to be home during the day now, it is critical you put some home security in place, if you don’t have it already. If money is tight you don’t have to do anything drastic, but alarm systems are rather inexpensive these days and you can have the alarm on while you’re in the house during the day.

If you really can’t afford an alarm system…

A cheap alternative is a doorstopper alarm. I use these all of the time when I am traveling and staying in hotels.

In addition to getting an alarm, make sure your house looks occupied. Park a car in your driveway, but make sure the garage is closed. Most criminals just want quick loot and won’t bother you if they think you’re at home. However, the true psychopaths will, which is why you need the alarm and, of course, a firearm.

Personally, I carry a gun in my pocket when I’m at home. I realize most people probably don’t want to do that, so at least have a firearm close by in a quick opening safe.

An alarm, a gun and an occupied-looking home are truly simple measures that anyone can take. With the economy still in the dumps and people desperate for money, home invasions aren’t going away anytime soon, so please take care of yourself and your family this summer.

A “Murderous” Shooting Drill

A while back I was training with well-known instructor Louis Awerbuck. If you’re not familiar with Louis, he used to be the Chief Rangemaster at Gunsite and Colonel Jeff Cooper was his mentor. Well, on the day I was training with Louis I was shooting pretty well and after one of the drills I went up to him and asked him what I could do to improve my shooting.

His response was, “what do you mean? You’re shooting good.” I was. But I’m always looking for continuous improvement and I’ll be trying to improve my shooting until the day I die.

So I told him to give me a drill, something difficult to work on. And he says to me, “you want to know a murderous drill that will wreck your self-confidence?” Well, I couldn’t resist a proposal like that so obviously I said yes.

Here’s the drill that he gave me, which he said Colonel Cooper came up with…

From 25 yards, you have 2.5 seconds to get 1 shot into an 8-inch circle… drawing from concealment. If you ever find yourself getting too cocky and you want a humbling experience, I highly recommend you try this drill.
Just this past weekend I found myself at the NRA shooting range doing just that. It’s a great drill because your draw and your trigger control have to be almost perfect. There is very little room for error in this drill.

And if you do try this drill and don’t succeed the first few times, keep trying. As Louis stated, a huge part of shooting is psychological. Far too many people give up too easily and don’t have enough confidence in themselves.

In fact…

I’m very fortunate to see just how psychological shooting is every time I teach a defensive pistol course. I’ll have a brand new shooter who’s only picked up a gun once or twice in their lives. When they arrive at the course I can see their nervousness and their face is basically saying, “please don’t let this class be scary and intimidating.”

But by the time the day is over they’re often shooting amazingly well and it’s great to see the grin on their face and the huge boost of confidence they have, knowing that they’re better prepared to protect themselves and their loved ones.

So, if you have a free moment this weekend, head down to the shooting range, wreck your self-confidence for a bit, and become a better shooter in the process.

Snake Charmers and Guns

 

Last week, the Washington Post ran an article about a serpent-handling pastor who died of a snakebite. The pastor, Mack Wolford, believed that Christians were supposed to handle poisonous snakes to test their faith in God. And if, by chance, they were bitten by one of the snakes, they trusted in God that he would heal them.

As I just mentioned, the pastor was bitten by one of his snakes and he died 11 hours later from the poison. Now, before I tell you what this has to do with guns, let me say I’m very thankful we live in a country that has freedom of religion. I think it’s great this pastor was able to practice his religion freely and to die doing what he believed was right.

On the other hand, it also reminds me of an old joke that just so happens to involve a man getting bitten by a snake. The joke goes that a man was hiking in the mountains when a rattlesnake bit him. He keeled over in pain as soon as he was bit and fell to the side of the mountain trail. A few minutes passed by and a woman approached and asked him what was wrong.

The man explained that a snake had bitten him.

The woman said she was a nurse and she could get him fixed up immediately. The man told her that he was a religious fellow and that God would heal him and that she should keep on hiking.

About 10 more minutes went by and another man came huffing up the trail. He saw the man in pain and asked what happened. As soon as he found out about the snakebite, the new hiker said he was a surgeon and could fix up his leg in seconds. The man who’d been bitten told him to keep on walking because he knew God would heal him.

Two minutes later another fellow approached. He immediately knew the man had been bitten by a snake and told him he could help him because he happened to work for National Geographic and was one of the world’s foremost snake experts. But again, the snake expert was told to keep on moving because God would take care of it.

Well, eventually, the man died on the trail from the snakebite.

When he got to heaven he was pretty ticked off and said, “God, I went to church every Sunday, I read the Bible every day, why in the world didn’t you save me?”

God says to the man, “I tried to. I sent you a nurse, a doctor, and a snake expert and you turned them all down.”
 
So what in the world does this have to do with guns?

Well, here’s the way I look at it. Just like we’re blessed to live in a country with freedom of religion, we’re also blessed to live in a country that allows us the right to bear arms.

But sometimes when I get home from a long day of training I’m so exhausted that I would love to just plop down on my bed and not unpack or clean any of my guns. However, I never do that because if I did, and that happened to be the night when someone invaded my home and killed me, here’s how the conversation with God would probably go.

Jason: “I can’t believe you let me get killed. I go to church every Sunday, I read the scriptures nightly, I don’t freak out when Amanda spends all our money on shoes instead of important things like guns and ammo, so why did I die?”

God: “You’re an idiot. I gave you the right to bear arms.”

Okay, it might not go exactly like that, but my point is, the next time you’re tempted to go to bed without having your self-defense firearm in your bedroom, resist the temptation. And, if for some reason you don’t have a gun yet for home defense, try and change that as soon as possible. Because it’s up to us to protect ourselves and we’re lucky to live in a country that’s given us the freedom to do so.