Self Defense: Pistol Training Hacks

17 SELF DEFENSE
PISTOL TRAINING
HACKS FROM TOP MILITARY,
LAW ENFORCEMENT,
AND COMPETITIVE
SHOOTING INSTRUCTORS
ANDREW CURTISS
KEN JAVES
GREG LAPIN
ERIC LEID
MAC MACKINZIE
SHANNON SMITH
JAMES WASHINGTON
Brought to you by DryFireTrainingCards.com and UpgradedShooter.com

CONTENTS
03

MARKSMANSHIP FUNDAMENTALS FOR RIFLE AND PISTOL
BY KEN JAVES
07

WHY YOU NEED AMBIDEXTROUS SHOOTING SKILLS
BY GREG LAPIN
10

GUNFIGHTING WITHOUT BULLETS:
MUZZLE STRIKES, BUTT STROKES AND THE HATCHET
BY ANDREW CURTISS
16

TRAINING PISTOL GRIP FOR MORE SPEED AND ACCURACY
BY SHANNON SMITH
19

ONE HANDED PISTOL: HOW AND WHY
BY JAMES WASHINGTON
22

ACCURACY IS FINE: SPEED IS FINAL!
BY SHANNON SMITH
25

BACKUP PISTOLS: GOOD, BAD AND UGLY
BY JAMES WASHINGTON
28

POINT SHOOTING
BY ERIC LEID
31

POCKET PISTOLS FOR SELF DEFENSE
BY MAC MACKINZIE
34

TRAINING AN EFFICIENT DRAW
BY JAMES WASHINGTON
PHOTO: PIXABAY-IBROPALIC. (ALIEN GEAR HOLSTER)
STAFF OUR LAWYERS INSIST WE MAKE THE FOLLOWING DISCLAIMER: You may die in an emergency, even if you follow this training to the letter. You might get
hurt doing some of the exercises suggested, hurt someone else, or be subject to civil or criminal liability if you do anything mentioned in this newsletter.
Verify that the actions mentioned are legal where you are before even considering them. This is presented as a tool to help increase your chance of
DAVID MORRIS and “OX” Publishers surviving natural and manmade disasters. While we guarantee your satisfaction with the information, we can not guarantee your survival or well-being.
The author provides information about his experiences and preparations and gives general information. He is not an accountant, doctor, investment
CHRIS GRAHAM Editor advisor or attorney and is not in the business of advising individuals on their specific situation. If you need specific professional assistance, please
www.chrisgrahamauthor.com contact a local professional.
JOHN HIGGS Copy Editor ©COPYRIGHT 2018 TACTICS AND PREPAREDNESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS PUBLICATION CONTAINS MATERIAL PROTECTED UNDER INTERNATIONAL
www.junkyard-dog.net AND FEDERAL COPYRIGHT LAWS AND TREATIES. ANY UNAUTHORIZED REPRINT OR USE OF THIS MATERIAL IS PROHIBITED. NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION
MAY BE REPRODUCED OR TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS, ELECTRONIC OR MECHANICAL, INCLUDING PHOTOCOPYING, RECORDING, OR
BETTY SHONTS Graphic Designer BY ANY INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR / PUBLISHER.
2 www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS

The term “Marksmanship Fundamentals” should be familiar to anyone with formal
firearms training and is well documented in many books and videos on the topic
of marksmanship.
T
he actual number of fundamentals var- fundamental for familiarity’s sake; but more erture / notch (for iron sights) or the optic’s
ies based on what firearms religion importantly, I want to discuss when we can reticle and the aiming eye. This relationship
you subscribe to (anywhere from four take shortcuts with the fundamentals, de- is critical to aiming and must remain consis-
to eight that I’ve seen) and what does and termine when each one is necessary or not, tent from shot to shot. Improper sight align-
what does not constitute a “fundamental” and improve the overall efficiency of the ment when using an optic is commonly
has been the topic of many a lively discus- firing process to reduce the time required referred to as “scope shadow” and occurs
sion amongst my peer group. I consider any to engage or increase the number of projec- when the shooting eye is looking through
process that cannot be broken down into tiles delivered to the target in the same time the tube at an angle. For dot optics the dot
sub-processes or components and is neces- period. must be in the center of the tube or win-
sary for the accurate delivery of a projectile dow. Errors in sight alignment result in an-
or multiple projectiles to a target, to be a DEFINITION OF FUNDAMENTALS gular dispersion, which means the distance
marksmanship fundamental. My goal for this Sight Alignment: This is the relationship from the point of aim to the impact will in-
article is to present a brief review of each between the front sight post, rear sight ap- crease as the range to the target increases. If
MARKSMANSHIP FUNDAMENTALS
FOR RIFLE AND PISTOL BY: KEN JAVES
PHOTOS COURTESY KEN JAVES
www.shibumitactical.blogspot.com
17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 3

sight alignment is performed correctly only

parallel dispersion will occur, which relates
only to the distance the weapon physically
moves or to errors in sight picture.This will
typically be much smaller than an angular BREAKING
WRIST UP
(AN NO F
OR
error.
PUCIPATILOW T
TI OL
G ECOIL)
SH NG R HRO
I
L RN
ING ECO UGH

Sight Picture:
E G
The placement of the tip of the front sight HEIPATIN
post (or reticle) in relation to the target TIC
IL )
while maintaining sight alignment. Sight Pic- (AN
ture is usually applied in relation to the tar-
get or threat and when referring to Center
of Mass. It is the center of the largest portion TOO MUCH OR
of the target that is available to the shooter TOO LITTLE THUMBING
to give the highest probability of a hit. TRIGGER FINGER
Trigger Control:
S
The goal of proper trigger control is to
WI QUE
smoothly manipulate the trigger to the TH EZ
rear until the shot breaks, without disturb- TR ING
IGG H
ing sight alignment or the sight picture. The
ER AND
press should be biomechanically aligned JERKING BREAKING PU
with the forearm and not place any side- LL
to-side pressure on the trigger or weapon. WRIST DOWN
Pressure should be continuously applied OR RELAXING
through the breaking of the shot as “flinging” TOO SOON
the finger off the trigger can have the same
detrimental effects as jerking it to the rear.
Stance: HANDGUN ACCURACY ISSUE CHART, FOR A RIGHT HANDED SHOOTER

There are many different shooting stances (A LEFT HANDED SHOOTER CAN USE A FLIPPED IMAGE OF THIS CHART TO DIAGNOSE ACCURACY ISSUES.)
and variations thereof, however, the most THIS CHART IS A GENERAL REFERENCE AND DOES NOT INCLUDE SHOOTER’S OTHER ISSUES SUCH AS VISION
commonly referenced are: Standing, Kneel-
ing and Prone. A separate article could be
written about each stance, its proper ap-
plication, performance and variations. I will
THE GOAL OF PROPER TRIGGER CONTROL IS TO
just cover a few basic concepts and consid- SMOOTHLY MANIPULATE THE TRIGGER TO THE REAR
erations that are common to all. The stance UNTIL THE SHOT BREAKS, WITHOUT DISTURBING
must provide a stable shooting platform to
minimize the amount of perceived move- SIGHT ALIGNMENT OR THE SIGHT PICTURE.
ment in the firearm, aid in recoil control
and allow the shooter to perform the oth- Grip: Breathing:
er marksmanship fundamentals to ensure How the hands are placed on the firearm. The movement of the chest cavity can have
an accurate shot. I like to describe various This may be the only interface between the an adverse effect on stability depending on
stances using a ground-up approach. I look shooter and weapon (pistols in particular). which stance is being used. Typically, when
at where the feet are positioned, knees, hips The right grip should support the weapon, firing a rifle from the prone or kneeling po-
and shoulders in relation to the rest of the aid in sight alignment, place the firing hand sitions, the shot is fired during the “natural
stance and the target, elbows and hands in a position to naturally manipulate the respiratory pause,” a point at the bottom of
(and anything else that may be contacting trigger straight to the rear, effectively manip- the breathing cycle where almost all of the
the weapon: face, shoulder pocket, bar- ulate safety mechanisms, activate lights and air in the shooter’s lungs is exhaled. This
ricade, etc). For combat, tactical or action lasers, assist in recoil management and sup- provides an easy reference point for shot
competition shooting a balance must be port the chosen stance. The hands provide to shot consistency and reduces the move-
struck between the stability a stance pro- an enormous amount of tactile feedback to ment of the shoulder. However, the eyes are
vides and the mobility and field of view the the shooter and their proper placement and the most sensitive organ in the body to oxy-
shooter needs for survivability or efficiency application of the grip can have a huge im- gen levels in the bloodstream. If the exhale
of putting rounds on target. pact on speed and accuracy. is held too long vision will suffer and the

THE BEST, MOST ACCURATE RESULTS WILL BE

ACHIEVED WHEN ALL OF THE FUNDAMENTALS ARE
APPLIED AS CORRECTLY AS POSSIBLE.
refresh rate of the chemical transmitters the continued application of all marksman- the system and determine when we can sac-
in the eyes can slow to the point that the ship fundamentals during and after the shot. rifice certain fundamentals and which ones
sights can move without the shooter notic- Maintaining sight alignment as the weapon are essential given the circumstances.
ing. The shooter has about 6-8 seconds be- settles back to the original sight picture
fore vision starts to degrade, depending on also allows for more rapid follow-up shots. Proximity to the Target/Threat:
the individual.This time can be extended by No matter how instantaneous it may seem, The saying,“proximity negates skill” (where
using the natural respiratory pause at the there is still a period of time during which a monkey with a crowbar in an elevator
top of the breathing cycle. This may not be the bullet is travelling down the length of could best even the most highly trained in-
ideal for the prone position, due to the in- the barrel after ignition. Any disturbance in dividual), applies here as well.The closer the
stability it causes in the position. However, the sights or position of the weapon can re- threat is the fewer fundamentals have to be
it works well when standing. Inflating the sult in thrown shots. Although most thrown applied to get effective hits (8 inch circle
chest cavity can also aid in supporting the shots are due to disturbing the weapon just for the purposes of this exercise). Inside of
weight of the arms and weapon. Unfortu- prior to the break of the trigger (anticipa- 10 yards sight alignment becomes far more
nately, there is rarely the luxury of stopping, tion) it is still possible to change the point forgiving. With most pistols the front sight
setting a perfect breathing pattern and per- of impact due to improper follow through can be run to the extremes of the rear sight
forming a breath hold in a combat situation. during the firing process. notch and still hold an 8 inch group at that
The best a shooter may be able to do is be distance. Sight picture can also be sacrificed
aware of their breathing and they may ac- “Cheating” the Fundamentals: to an extent, as long as the front sight is
tually have to force themselves to breathe Ideally, we want to apply all of the above somewhere within the circle, effective hits
between shots or during movement. Being marksmanship fundamentals perfectly ev- can be achieved. Trigger control becomes
able to control breathing in this type of situ- ery single shot in order to guarantee the less critical as the distance to the threat is
ation can go a long way to controlling the most accurate bullet placement. However, reduced as well.Watch any slow motion vid-
shooter’s mental state as well, by reducing given time or situational constraints we eo of a professional shooter engaging close
heart rate and giving the psyche a feeling of may not have the ability or opportunity to targets rapidly and the trigger manipulation
control over the situation. achieve that level of perfection and may hardly resembles the slow, steady, press to
have to settle for the option that gives ac- the rear discussed above and yet they still
Follow Through: ceptable effects in the appropriate amount manage to obtain a high level of accuracy.
Follow through is generally described as of time. Now let’s look at how we can cheat Breath control has an insignificant effect as

SHOOT well, unless you’ve stopped breathing com-
pletely for some reason. Grip (for pistol) and
poor when sacrificing Grip and Stance.
2. Sight Alignment can be sacrificed at
300%
Stance (for rifle) become the fundamental close distances or on large targets and vi-
techniques that counter errors in Sight sual verification of sight alignment can be
Alignment, Sight Picture, and Trigger Con- sacrificed if a proper index is established
trol. A good grip on the pistol will naturally through Grip and Stance. An index is es-
BETTER
index and align the sights to allow sufficient tablished over time and repetition and is
accuracy and proper biomechanical tension unique to each shooter/weapon combina-
will aid in recoil control, allow the trigger to tion.
be manipulated quickly without throwing 3. Trigger Control can be sacrificed if
IN 21 DAYS OR YOUR shots outside of the 8 inch target zone, and

provide for automatic Follow-Through as
proper Grip and Stance are applied. In my
opinion, far too much emphasis is placed on
MONEY BACK... the weapon will naturally settle to point of

aim between shots. Stance and natural body
trigger control for most combative-type car-
bine and pistol work. Except in the most ex-
FOR LESS THAN THE alignment/natural point of aim assist with treme examples it is unlikely that the force
COST OF A BOX OF
establishing sufficient Sight Picture at close generated by the trigger finger is sufficient
distances as well as aiding recoil control and to move a 4.5lb pistol or 10lb carbine ap-
PRACTICE AMMO!
index. Most of the control for the weapon is preciably as long as proper Grip and Stance
coming from the upper body at this point, are utilized. Anticipation of the shot and re-
so positioning of the shoulders, arms, head, sulting recoil causes muscular contractions
and hands to support the weapon becomes in the hand and upper body resulting in
the more important component of stance. I errors that are commonly misdiagnosed as
routinely demonstrate this by standing on poor trigger control; but that is a topic for
one foot and engaging targets, sacrificing another day.
the stability of my lower half is balanced by
ensuring I have good control over my weap- CONCLUSION
on through proper use of the upper body. There are a number of factors, known as
As distance to the threat increases or the Marksmanship Fundamentals, which
target size decreases, the number of funda- the shooter can influence no matter what
mentals that have to be applied to achieve weapon platform is in use. The best, most
effective hits increases to ensure we have accurate results will be achieved when
sufficient stability and control of the weap- all of the fundamentals are applied as cor-
on. Time is almost always directly linked to rectly as possible. However, due to time
distance as well, so as distance increases constraints, proximity of the threat or other
the time allotted to apply the fundamentals environmental conditions that prevent per-
also increases. This would allow the oppor- fect application of the fundamentals it is es-
tunity to find a suitable piece of ground or sential to understand what can be given up,
cover, apply the appropriate stance, align yet still provide acceptable results given the
DRY FIRE TRAINING CARDS – the sights on the target, check grip, control
breathing and apply proper trigger control
situation. Hopefully this article helped shed
some light on the topic and dispel some
THE BEST WAY TO KEEP YOUR and follow-through. common misconceptions concerning the
SHOOTING SKILLS IN PEAK Fundamental Balance:

application of techniques fundamental to
hitting the target or eliminating the threat.
CONDITION ALL YEAR LONG As you can see from the above proximity
example, depending on the situation, some
3
52 dry fire training exercises and drills that cover: fundamentals will override others in impor-
• firearms fundamentals tance during the firing process.The key is to BIO
• advanced concepts determine which fundamental will have the Ken Javes (www.shibumitactical.com)
• dry fire exercise drills most effect given the circumstances. Gen- has over 19 years of military and security
• dry fire complex movement drills erally speaking the below guidelines apply contracting experience to include multiple
• low-light drills
(keep in mind there are differences in ap- combat and contract deployments to South
They are a force multiplier that will allow you to create
muscle memory and hardwire perfect form into your plication between rifle and pistol shooting): West Asia. He has served with Marine
subconscious mind faster (and cheaper) than what is 1. Grip, Stance and Breathing can be sac- Infantry and Force Reconnaissance units.
humanly possible with just live fire or traditional dry rificed as long as the shooter applies good He possesses instructor certifications from
fire alone. Sight Alignment, Sight Picture and Trig- multiple agencies and organizations, and
ger Control. Realize that follow-up shots has trained with some of the top military
DryFireCards.com/tnp will be slower and recoil control will be and competitive shooters in the country.

I’ve been carrying a gun for a living now for just under 15 years both conducting
operations and providing training.
W
hether you call it lucky or unlucky, structors. Surely they knew what they were
I’ve experienced my share of gun- talking about. But when it came time to demo
fights and, whether due to the skill and have the students shoot the drill, short-
of myself and my teammates or good luck, I comings were apparent. Let’s just say this
am still here. One topic that comes up with a turned out to be unnecessarily slow at best.
lot of the shooters I train is shooting from the There are military personnel and tactical law
support side, weak side, non-dominant side, enforcement teams that say they reverse their
non-preferred side or whatever you want to grips on their rifles to make better use of cov-
call it. Ask yourself this: If people can argue er, depending on which side of an obstacle
this much about what you call it, what do you they are coming around. Making the best use
think they have to say about the actual utiliza- of cover is a great thing, but I have noticed
tion of the various possible techniques? many more shooters say they do this than ac-
When I started out, a couple of my train- tually do it. Even with no more pressure than
ers preached switching hands with your pis- two way simunition fire added, few people I
tol based on which side of cover you were have seen actually transition to the other side
shooting around. At the time, I didn’t really of the body in this way. Years later, I learned
know any better. Hell, these guys were in- from experience that the best way to have
TRAIN to clear malfunctions and
conduct reloads with your support side.
WHY YOU NEED
AMBIDEXTROUS
SHOOTING SKILLS BY: GREG LAPIN PHOTOS COURTESY GREG LAPIN www.vatatrainingcenter.com
EVERY TIME you go out and train, you should

practice one-hand only from both sides (pistol and rifle).

AMBIDEXTROUS SHOOTING SKILLS
the bad guy stop shooting at you is to shoot today specifically because of the skills we are
them. Notice I didn’t say shoot at them. So, talking about. As a police officer he respond-
good use of cover is important, but precision ed to a domestic disturbance call. While he
and speed also remain important. was confronting the husband and prepar-
Does transitioning to your support side ing to take him into custody, the wife shot
have a place in the modern gunfighter’s tool- him. He drew his primary pistol and was
box? I say yes; it’s all a matter of time, place shot again, in his arm. He fell and dropped his
and purpose. Let’s examine pistol skills first. pistol. The husband retreated and returned
Having the ability to operate your pistol seconds later with a pistol. Shot once in
both strong and support hand as well as the lower back and once in his strong-side
being proficient with one-handed reloads, arm, my friend drew his ankle gun with his
one-handed malfunction drills and general support hand and was able to successfully
one-handed manipulation (with either hand) engage both people, saving himself and win-
is important. I have heard people make the ning the fight.
argument that if you get injured so badly in There are few guarantees how the human
one arm that it us unusable, you will not have body will react to being shot. I believe that
the will to fight. I believe that if that is your luck and caliber play their part, but that does
line of thought, then you will not have the not mean that you shouldn’t train to prevail
will to fight. But for me, I am going home to in the worst possible scenarios. Learning
kiss my wife and kids at the end of the day. I how to run your pistol, rifle or both, while
have never been shot, but in addition to the wounded, is a very important skill that no
scores of recorded cases, I have a few friends one who carries a gun for defensive purposes
who have received these types of injuries and should go without.
prevailed.A couple of them were catastrophi- Transitioning to your support side has an-
cally injured and could not continue to fight, other benefit as well, although this one is al-
but others were able to continue defending most exclusive to the rifle. As I mentioned
themselves and won their fights. above, while using a rifle, if you are utilizing
I have one friend who is most likely alive cover or concealment on your firing side you
will have to expose more of your body. This
The ability to operate your pistol is also where transitioning sides can be ben-
with both strong and support eficial. Now, let’s think back to my initial ex-
amples from some of my first trainers. Who
hand, as well as proficiency in reading this article can shoot as fast and ac-
one-handed reloads, one-handed curately with their support side as they can
with their strong side? Who feels that they
malfunction drills and general can shoot fast enough and accurately enough
one-handed manipulation to make the transition of sides a tactical ben-
(with either hand) can efit and not something that may endanger
you or your team? I believe that even some
SAVE YOUR LIFE.

of the best shooters and operators do not do
this well and with enough effectiveness in a
dynamic environment to deliberately choose
to shoot from their support side. Everyone
is different, and there are some true freaks of
nature out there who can do this well with
little training, but everybody can develop
these skills with enough good training.
Here is something else to consider. What
happens when you run dry or the gun goes
click instead of bang? Every time you go out
and train, you should practice one-hand only
from both sides (pistol and rifle). Some folks
are already training their support side shoot-
ing skills, but how much do they train to clear
malfunctions and conduct reloads with their
support side? Like so many other shooting
skills, this can be perfected and refreshed dry

NAME OF ARTICLE HERE
THE “SHOULDER BUMP” TECHNIQUE

maintains positive control over the rifle with the strong side hand while
shifting the rifle to the support side shoulder. This allows the shooter to use
the maximum amount of protection for the body behind support side cover.
and confirmed live. I have also noticed that inant eye (unless you are cross
training experienced shooters to shoot with dominant), but your manipu-
their support side dominant sometimes helps lations, trigger control and
break plateaus and improve their standard whether or not you have to reload or clear est critique.Training on your support side
skills. a malfunction is carried out as if firing a rifle is good. Doing it because you believe that
Let’s look at another way to maximize our normally. The ability to do this helps mini- when shooting a pistol around a left corner
tactical and training advantages. mize the amount of your body that you must you should automatically use your left hand
Years ago, I was introduced to a technique expose from cover if coming around cover is not good. Be critical of the information you
called the “shoulder bump” by a guy with on your support side. The other added ben- receive. Analyze it, test it and see if it makes
a lot of successful operational experience. efit of using the shoulder bump is that your sense. If it makes sense, does it fit your spe-
Maintain positive control of your rifle with hands never leave the gun. If you are mov- cific needs? Everything we do should fit into
your strong side hand (some people will have ing through a structure, you can quickly shift two categories. Is it safe and is it tactically
to extend their sling) but now simply drive shoulders to the preferred side. If an enemy sound? You are responsible for determining
the rifle forward out of your shoulder pocket presents themselves, you cannot be caught that your firearms training and employment
and shift it over to your support side shoul- while trying to switch your hands around is safe, legal and practical. Stay deadly, my
der. The exact position will vary somewhat. on your rifle. It can be a superior method of friends. 3
It is shooter, rifle and body armor specific, maximizing cover and utilizing your support
but you will have to play with it to see what side shoulder. BIO
works best for you. If you had to loosen your New tactics and techniques are important. Greg Lapin was a detective in the New Or-
sling and you want this technique to be avail- The world and the threats we face are ever leans Police Department’s Criminal Investi-
able to you, you will need to leave it loosened. evolving, so our skills need to adapt as well. gative Bureau. He served on US Government
I have pulled security on corners and hall- This does not mean that every new tactic protective security details in high-threat re-
ways while waiting for my teammates using and technique is valid and worthwhile. Re- gions and conducted classified operations
this technique and believe it is comfortable gardless of what badass unit your instructor in non-permissive environments. He is a
and easy to maintain for long periods of time. comes from, practice what he recommends principal of VATA Training Center in Slidell,
Yes, you will be shooting with your non-dom- precisely, give it a fair chance and an hon- LA (www.vatatrainingcenter.com).

S T R I K E S ,
MUZZLE OKES
BUTT STR HATCHET”
GUNFIGHTING AND “THE
WITHOUT BULLETS
There are occasions in Close Quarters Combat when use of deadly force may not
BY: ANDREW CURTISS PHOTOS COURTESY ANDY CURTISS www.knife-and-h2h-combat.com
be the most appropriate option for the mission.
I
n addition, even the best maintained to survive. In addition, operators who rou- often expect. There are generally no ranks,
weapons may occasionally have a stop- tinely engage in Close Quarters Battle (CQB) no pajamas, no bowing and no weird theo-
page and Murphy’s law being what it is, or Room Clearing occasionally face conflict ries about cultivating a mysterious internal
usually at the most inconvenient time such as suddenly or at such extreme close ranges that energy and throwing it at an enemy. Combat-
in the middle of battle. We should not expect action must be taken to inhibit the opponent ives are generally simple and effective proven
our weapons to function flawlessly all the while buying time to determine if firing (de- techniques that are often derived from the
time. A stoppage to our primary or second- livering deadly
HANDGUN GRIPS
ary weapon will happen at the most inconve- force) is appropri-
nient time.Disengaging is not an option. Nei- ate. The problem
ther is relying on team mates who are already is that although
heavily engaged. You must fight to stay alive. many people are
Without a functioning weapon, one option trained and pro-
that may keep you in the fight is to fall back ficient in basic
on your training in armed combatives. firearms handling
When it comes to worst case scenarios and marksman-
and emergency situations, finding yourself ship, many are
engaged in close quarters armed combat and untrained when
having a primary or secondary weapon go it comes to armed
down is at the top of the list.This means your combatives.
tool has either malfunctioned catastrophical- Combatives are
ly or you are out of ammunition. In either case, not the traditional
you are still engaged in close quarters combat form of martial
and must continue to push the fight in order arts that people THE PISTOL GRIP THE HAMMER GRIP

GUNFIGHTING WITHOUT BULLETS
all at once. The stance should allow the abil-

ity to attack, retreat, angle and evade as well
as to defend against a direct impact or charge.
Footwork
The footwork is similar to boxing in that
one steps first in the direction of attack or
defense and then slides the other foot in trail
while maintaining a good stance. Angles are
executed by the use of pivoting on the balls
of the feet. Movement is synchronized with
the attack or defense itself.
Grip
Using the pistol as an impact weapon gen-
erally uses one of two variations. The “pistol
grip” is the most readily applied as it is the
natural firing grip. This grip can best apply
thrusting attacks using the muzzle of the
weapon. Attacks may thrust straight out us-
ing an inverted fist-type strike or one may su-
ATTACKS MAY pinate or twist their weapon hand snapping
THRUST STRAIGHT it at the point of impact. These strikes can ei-
ther be done as a hard thrusting method or a
OUT USING AN sharp snapping method where one retracts
INVERTED FIST- the weapon almost as quickly as it was thrust
TYPE STRIKE OR out. The latter is comparable to a boxer’s jab.
ONE MAY SUPINATE These strikes can be delivered two-handed
or one-handed to free a non-firing hand for
OR TWIST THEIR other needs. Keep your trigger finger off the
WEAPON HAND trigger and outside of the trigger guard when
SNAPPING IT AT THE using a firearm as an impact weapon.
POINT OF IMPACT.
The Hammer Grip
This grip provides the person wielding the
classical martial arts. Combatives, however, vital areas of the body and also to be poised weapon with maximum destructive power
are designed with one purpose in mind—to for attack. The chin is slightly tucked and the and takes advantage of the weight distribu-
survive. It doesn’t take years of training and body positioned hunched slightly forward. tion of the pistol to increase striking leverage.
conditioning to be able to execute successful One school of thought says that the weight is The technique is extremely easy and requires
combative techniques. Although training and proportioned on the balls of the feet distrib- only gross motor function. Much like that of
conditioning will increase the effectiveness uted at 60 percent on the front and 40 per- a rifle, these attacks can be applied using the
of combative techniques, they are designed cent on the rear.
for simplicity. Another school of
thought has the
PISTOL COMBATIVES weight distributed
What happens when an attacker pounces on on the balls of the
you from concealment and fouls your reload? feet and at a 50/50
What if you were unable to immediately de- percentage. Either
termine if he is armed or if deadly force is stance provides
appropriate? good balance and
mobility. The key
Stance to a good stance
The basic stance is feet spread shoulder is the ability to
width or slightly wider.The non-dominant leg remain well-bal-
is forward, thus keeping the power side in anced, sure-footed Using the Hammer Grip, Hatchet
the rear. Toes are directed toward the threat, and mobile in a
Strikes are used by snapping the
elbow in a chopping manner.
as are the hips.The guard is up to protect the 360 degree radius,

USING THE HAMMER GRIP FOR GRAPPLING

1 1. STRIKE TO BLOCK THE WEAPON ARM.
2. HOOK THE NECK.
3. PULL ATTACKER DOWN AND USE KNEE STRIKES.
3
motions X, T, C or 8. Hatchet Strikes are used the more fluid and proficient they can be- of firing being involved. Rifles generally fall
by snapping the elbow in a chopping manner. come with any technique. Training and repe- under two basic designs. You either have a
tition are the two things that will make these standard stock rifle (e.g. an M1 or an M14) or
Hooking, Trapping and Locking techniques efficient. a pistol grip (e.g. an AR or an AK). The design
Because of the unique shape of the pistol Pistol strikes can be focused on targets on is important because it will determine how
used in a Hammer grip it can be applied in a the head or body. Caution must be applied. one would grip the weapon.There are gener-
variety of ways for grappling. Here are three These techniques can cause death or severe ally two basic and fundamental grips when
basic examples. By striking and then hooking injury. A pistol is a limited weapon. Marine handling a rifle as a combative, bludgeoning
the neck you can pull your adversary in for a Colonel Jeff Cooper used to say that,“The val- weapon. The pistol grip style rifle provides a
barrage of knee strikes and finish with an el- ue of a pistol is as a tool to use to fight your unique advantage in that it allows the flex-
bow. A defender can trap the hand and wrist way to a rifle.” So let’s discuss some rifle work. ibility to be handled in both ways. The stan-
with a lock and drag his opponent. dard stock design does not allow for the same
There are many, many options, methods RIFLE COMBATIVES variation of grips.
and techniques that can be applied to pistol The rifle is a preferred tool in a use of force
combatives. The key to remember is that the or deadly force scenario. Rifle Combatives are Grips
pistol is simply an extension of the empty the techniques that one would use to neu- The first grip applies to both types of weap-
hand. The more one practices and rehearses, tralize an enemy without the integrated act ons and is known to many as the “Pugil Grip.”
TRAP THE HAND AND WRIST WITH A LOCK AND DRAG THE OPPONENT DOWN.
This is named after the popular Pugil Stick.

The U.S. Military uses Pugil Sticks to train
combatants in Rifle Combatives in Basic
Combat Training. This grip requires that the
wielder grasp the rifle by the thinnest portion
of the butt stock with the strong side hand
in a “Coke Can” or “Saber Grip.” The support
side hand is spaced forward of the strong side
hand approximately shoulder width apart;
generally grasping the rifle forend with the
“Coke Can” style or “Saber Grip.”The variation
of this is to simply invert either the strong
side or support side hand in a reverse Coke
1 Can Grip or Saber Grip.
The next fundamental grip applies to the
The “Pugil Grip” requires the wielder
pistol grip rifles only.This grip entails the per-
to grasp the rifle by the thinnest part
son wielding the weapon to maintain control
of the buttstock with the strong side
over it with their strong side (dominant) hand
hand, and the support hand in a
on the pistol grip. The support side or weak
“Coke Can” or “Saber Grip.”
RIFLE GRIPS side hand may grasp the rifle on the forend in
a Coke Can Grip or Saber Grip.This hand may
also be reversed.
Stance
Stance is very important and can be likened
to the adage of a pyramid and its base. In or-
der for the pyramid to be structurally stable it
needs a strong foundation. For rifle combat-
ives the basic stance is feet spread shoulder
2 width or slightly wider.The non dominant leg
This method is for rifle with pistol grips. The dominant hand maintains hold of the pistol grip and is forward; thus keeping the power side in
the other hand is in the “Coke Can” or “Saber Grip.” the rear. Toes are directed toward the threat
as are the hips.The guard is up to protect the
The rifle can

easily be utilized
to defend against
an attacker’s
grab, as seen in
this sequence.
1 2
THE KEY TO A GOOD STANCE IS THE ABILITY

TO REMAIN WELL BALANCED, SURE FOOTED
AND MOBILE IN A 360 DEGREE RADIUS. 4 DEFEND
vital areas of the body and also to be poised

for attack. The chin is slightly tucked and the
body positioned hunched slightly forward. As
mentioned previously for the pistol stance,
one school of thought says that the weight is
proportioned on the balls of the feet distrib-
uted at 6o percent on the front and 40 percent
on the rear. Another school of thought has the
weight distributed on the balls of the feet and
at a 50/50 percentage. Either stance provides
good balance and mobility. The key to a good
stance is the ability to remain well balanced,
sure footed and mobile in a 360 degree radius.
The stance should allow the ability to attack,
retreat, angle and evade as well as to defend
against a direct impact or charge.
THE “X” MOTION Footwork

The footwork is similar to boxing in that one
steps first in the direction of attack or defense
and then slides the other foot in trail while
maintaining a good stance. Angles are execut-
ed by the use of pivoting on the balls of the
feet. Movement is synchronized with the at-
tack or defense itself.
Basic attacks
Attacks can generally be broken down into
two categories; slashes and thrusts. This can
easily be explained with the analogy of the X,
T, C and figure 8 motions.
Thrusting attacks
These are linear attacks and are broken down
by either muzzle strikes or butt strokes. These
are either executed with an overhand or un-
THE “T” MOTION SLASH ATTACKS derhand attack from either the strong or sup-
THINK OF A STANDARD
FIREARM AS A
WEAPON—EVEN IN
THE EVENT THAT IT NO
LONGER FUNCTIONS
AS INTENDED—WHEN
URGENTLY NEEDED AS AN
IMPACT DEVICE.
THE “C” MOTION THE “FIGURE 8” MOTION
BUTT STROKE
MUZZLE LUNGE THRUST ATTACKS

port sides. These are further broken down
into areas of attack being high, low or center.
The Muzzle Lunge is executed by thrusting REVERSE BUTT STROKE
the muzzle into the selected target area. The
Butt Stroke utilizes the butt of the weapon 1 2
in an uppercut, horizontal hook motion or
smash.
For further information one may reference BLOCKS
the U.S. Army FM 21-150 published in 1992, 1. high block 2. outside block
FM 3-25.150 or MCRP 3-02B. Rex Applegate’s 3. low block 4. inside block
Kill or Get Killed and Marine Corps FMFRP 3 4
12-80 are also excellent references for this
subject matter. My goal is to stimulate your
mind to think of a standard firearm as a weap-
on—even in the event that it no longer func-
tions as intended—when urgently needed as
an impact device. If your rifle has a stoppage,
you may transition to a pistol. If armed with
a pistol, use it as a tool to make your way to a
functioning rifle. Never forget that either tool
can deliver lethal force with or without bul-
lets. Drills make skills. Go out and drill these
techniques. Use only inert weapons for com-
bative training. 3
BIO
Andrew Curtiss is a former member of the U.S.
Army 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne). He
deployed around the world and is a profession-
al Mixed Martial Arts athlete. He was the 1995
amateur runner-up for NAKAs World Champi-
onship Kickboxing and National Karate Cham-
pion for various divisions (AIKA). Andrew holds
blackbelts in Karate, Taekwondo and Brazilian
vs. KNIFE ATTACK

Jiu-Jitsu. He is a Defensive Tactics Instructor for
the United States State Department and author
of Combat Application Techniques, and 1984
Redux: Say Hello to Big Brother and Eco-
nomic Collapse. Instagram: ACurtiss78. Andy is USING BASIC SLASH ATTACKS, YOU CAN DEFEND YOURSELF QUITE EFFICIENTLY.
available for training and consulting. HERE THE AUTHOR PARRIES A KNIFE-WIELDING ATTACKER.

TRAINING
3
PISTOL
GRIP M OR
FOR ANDE
SPEED ACY
ACCUR
BY: SHANNON SMITH
I think grip is the least understood

aspect of practical shooting.
I
don’t call it a fundamental, as I don’t con- Glocks. [Ed.: No, it isn’t a misprint. 2011 is the this for now. That means when I reach my
sider it a fundamental. But fundamentals name manufacturer STI gave to its custom final firing position the gun ignites instantly.
vary from instructor to instructor. They line of 21st century 1911 competition pis- There is no verification of sight picture.There
aren’t typically right or wrong, often just in tols.] I know without a doubt what a proper is no conversation with yourself about how
how we define things. I look at our goal first; grip on those guns feels like and can instantly great of a sight picture you have. I am work-
our goal is to hit a target with a bullet fired tell during the draw stroke if it is proper or ing the trigger during extension with the goal
from our pistol (or rifle, or bazooka or what- not. of the gun firing at the exact moment I reach
ever.) With proper sight picture and trigger With my competition gear and 2011, I can full extension. Because my foundation (grip,
control I can hit a target holding the pistol draw from hands relaxed to a 10-yard target stance and draw) is flawless, it frees me up
upside down, laying on a picnic table with in the sixes. In competition jargon that means mentally to work that trigger and fire at ex-
one hand while holding my breath. So, by my six tenths of a second, technically high sixes tension. I’m firing because I know I’m that
definition, sight picture and trigger control for me. With a G17 out of kydex or even level good and I know where the gun is going to
are the only fundamentals. Nothing else really two, I can do eights or nines. Getting into le- be and when it is going to be there because
matters if your goal is to hit the target. git carry options, G42 from appendix or four I’m that good. You have to instill that level of
Grip is part of what I call the Foundation. o’clock, I’m more like 1.5 seconds. confidence in yourself (based on what you
Foundation is: Grip, Stance and Draw. Of the The two things that make a fast draw fast consistently demonstrate in training perfor-
foundation, grip is the most important by far are reaction to the stimulus and firing at ex- mance.)
and the grip is vitally important for many rea- tension. The stimulus in the competition or The can’t be a little bit pregnant concept
sons. You either have a proper grip or you training world is the buzzer. In the real world enters here. Your grip has to be perfect for
don’t.There is no in between. It takes a while it would be whatever action caused you to this to work. If my grip is off by 1/8th of an
to learn, feel and develop a proper grip with fear for your life and decide to engage. We’ll inch, that will result in a miss at ten yards on
a given firearm. I shoot primarily 2011s and deal with the firing at extension portion of a man-sized target when firing at extension.

TRAINING PISTOL GRIP
I’ve actually measured it. In fact, it should Sight Picture which is your sight alignment in grip and immediately re-grip. Then continue
probably be measured in millimeters, not relation to the target. backing it up until you reach your desired
inches, but that’s all I had at hand. The point start position. Hands relaxed, interview po-
is, it isn’t very much. CORRECTING WITH NPA DRILL sition, rifle ready, whatever position(s) you
If you do not have proper sight alignment work from. The goal is getting that perfect
PERFECT GRIP upon opening your eyes, we need to fix the grip on a consistent basis. 50 or even 100
The key points for a “perfect grip” are: a very grip. I like to work on correcting this by work- dryfire draws per day doesn’t really take that
high purchase with the strong hand. Strong ing it in reverse. We start with a perfect grip long and will pay huge benefits in your shoot-
thumb over weak thumb. High grip with the on the gun in our freestyle stance aimed at ing.
weak hand as well. Weak hand gripping the the target. From there, bring the gun back to
strong hand fingers and weak wrist forward your high ready position while you maintain NPA DRILL LIVE
and locked. Most of your grip pressure com- your focus on the spot on the target and not This should be done in a controlled environ-
ing from the weak hand, leaving the strong changing your grip pressure or hand position. ment with a qualified instructor and you will
hand and trigger finger relaxed for better ma- Then present the gun back to target and see get best results after following the dry regi-
nipulation. if the alignment holds, and you present to an men first. I am hesitant to suggest you shoot
I did a little video with a friend in the acceptable spot on the target. Do a few reps live fire with your eyes closed, but it can
gun industry while working with another of that. We are looking for consistent success easily be done safely with a qualified train-
company six years ago. That video has over here before we move on. ing partner positioned for safety. I do it with
800,000 views and I have no idea why, but Next, from our final firing position, we are my students in every class I teach. It’s a little
it is my grip instruction, and my perspective going to reverse back through the high ready weird at first, but students quickly figure out
on this hasn’t changed much over the years. and place the gun in the holster, but never it really is not that big of a deal.
It can be viewed on YouTube here: https:// change or release your strong-hand grip on The drill is the same live fire as it is dry
youtu.be/KJrA7wMXuuQ I find it pretty the gun. Then bring the gun back out of the fire. I recommend a 3-10 yard target. Identify-
difficult to describe a “perfect grip” for a holster, present to target and see if the aligning the spot on the target is vitally important.
pistol with words on paper only, but the ment and sight picture remain acceptable. Then gently close your eyes, draw, fire one
video will give you more detail.
A model I call the Shooters Triangle is the
relationship of your extended gun, shoulders,
and head. I find this spatial relationship to be
pretty repeatable. When we have a decent
stance, then draw and present the gun to tar-
get we should expect the gun to be aimed
at the target with acceptable combat accu-
racy.Why should we expect that? Because we
have a perfect grip and we are that damned
good once we have put in the training.
NPA DRILL
Your Natural Point of Aim is where your body
naturally wants to aim. This is where our
Shooters Triangle comes into play. For this
dryfire drill we will be standing facing the tar-
get in our normal stance with unloaded pistol IT TAKES A WHILE
holstered. A big key to success on this drill is TO LEARN, FEEL AND
picking a spot on the target. Aim small, miss
small. Pre-draw stroke, I am shooting lasers
DEVELOP A PROPER
out my eyeballs focusing on a spot in the high GRIP WITH A GIVEN
center of the chest of the target.Then I’m go- FIREARM.
ing to close my eyes, draw the gun, present to
target and freeze! Then open my eyes and see Again, looking for consistency I’d like to get round when you reach your final firing posi-
what I’ve got. There are two things I’m look- 8-10 of these successful in a row before mov- tion and leave the gun on target! Then open
ing for here: First is Sight Alignment. That is ing on. your eyes and see what we have. Leaving
the relationship of your front sight and your If all this is consistently working for you the gun on target is important, so we know
rear sight. If, when you open your eyes, your then your presentation is pretty solid, and where to make corrections.
front post is not in your rear notch you have your grip is staying consistent. Our next chal- I have students do the drill dryfire on the
a grip problem. Hence the importance of the lenge is attaining that grip on the draw stroke. range on the actual targets we’ll be shoot-
grip. The second thing we are looking for is Again working in reverse I’ll just let go of the ing, then immediately go into a live fire drill.

TRAINING PISTOL GRIP
I have never had a student not get rounds on Sure, I’m not aiming in the NRA “equal height, I’m going to be off and I’ll index the gun off
target consistently using my instruction tech- equal light” sense, but I am aiming. I’m aiming target to more quickly get on target. If I’m
niques. It doesn’t have to be a long drawn out via my NPA, Shooters Triangle, Grip, Stance, clocked a bit too far counter clockwise on
drill. You should be able to get on target in and Presentation, and with either technique, the grip for example, That will result in the
just a couple rounds, then be able to get 8-10 you are responsible for all your shots do or gun pointing to far right as I present to tar-
consistent shots. That’s enough to prove the fail to do. get, so I will purposefully present the gun to
point. Without a proper grip, this will not work. the left of the target area knowing the gun is
What’s the point you ask? The NPA drill em- YOU have to believe that YOU are good pointed a bit right thereby speeding up my
phasizes the importance of a perfect grip to enough to make this work. Good Dryfire and time to target and ability to work the trigger.
the student. With the increasing prevalence live fire training make that happen. If you Never forget that you are responsible for
of cameras in the world, we are seeing more have a proper grip, the gun will be aligned the safe and legal handling and storage of
and more gunfights on camera than ever be- on target. Handling the gun until it becomes your weapons and mastering grip is one of
fore and interviews of shooters afterward of- an extension of you is the goal.Wherever you the biggest steps to elevating your skill. 3
ten reveals they were target focused, not sight look and present, that is where the gun goes
focused.That is reality in many scenarios, and with sights aligned when it gets there. This
at the distances we have described, this can confidence frees you up to get on that trig- BIO
achieve combat accuracy results. ger sooner than ever, igniting the gun at the Shannon Smith is a National Champion
As we advance through the training and instant it lands in the acceptable zone of the across multiple handgun disciplines, mem-
I push students to shoot a faster first shot, I target. ber of the US National Team, and a full
often find them “aiming” way too much and Of course, you are going to miss your grip time instructor/part owner of Universal
slowing them down. This is where I remind from time to time. It happens to all of us. At Shooting Academy (www.UniversalShoot-
them they just hit the target with their eyes this point you have two options. Fix it dur- ingAcademy. com) in central Florida. He is
closed. They don’t need traditional aiming ing your presentation or you’ll have to use a also a veteran of the US Army’s 2nd Rang-
(with time consuming and redundant eye more traditional sight picture, as your index er Battalion. You may reach him through
movements) to hit a target of that size at that will be off. I’m to the point that when I miss ShannonSmithShooting on the web, FB,
distance. I call it a kinesthetic level of aiming. my grip I can instantly tell which direction YouTube and IG.
PHTO BY OLEG VOLK WWW. A-HUMAN-RIGHT.COM
HANDLING
THE GUN
UNTIL IT
BECOMES AN
EXTENSION
OF YOU IS
THE GOAL.

ONE
HANDED
PISTOL
BY: JAMES WASHINGTON
Many people look at one hand shooting as

HOW
AND
WHY
PHOTOS BY OLEG VOLK www.a-human-right.com
something exclusive to law enforcement officers

and military personnel, but with this being the
golden age for citizens with Concealed Carry
Weapons (CCW) permits (in the USA) many law
abiding citizens are in a position to fight back and
protect themselves.
M
oreover, statistics have shown ents, we owe it to those in our charge to
violent crimes have slightly in- prepare ourselves for those unfortunate
creased on average, with 15,696 moments in our lives.
murders, 90,185 rapes, 327,374 robberies The 1986 FBI Miami shootout, where
and approximately $390 million in losses federal agent Edmundo Mireles was forced
during 2015. Violence on the streets of to operate and fire his Remington 870 shot-
America is a source of consternation and gun after sustaining injuries to his forearm
as responsible citizens, and especially par- is a modern reminder why one hand skills

ONE HANDED PISTOL
are necessary. Agent Mireles eventually ended and locking your shoulder into the bottom done in a few simple steps with the use of a
the fight with his service revolver one hand- of your jawline, with a slight lean and flex in shot-timer and a firing range.
ed. Furthermore, two other agents, Gordon your torso you can establish a secure shoot- I prefer not to cant my pistol when shoot-
McNeill and John Hanlon also sustained dis- ing platform. You also want to roll to the balls ing with one hand. When extending to full
abling hits to their strong hands in the same of your feet to incorporate agility for moving presentation from the two to the three po-
engagement. off the line of force and to cover an escape sition, keeping the gun vertical allows for a
Another important point to remember is route. This position allows you the stability similar press-out to the threat. Once at full
that one hand shooting is not just done for you need to aggressively control recoil and extension, my sights are level and aligned in
incidents when one arm is injured. If we are drive the gun back onto the target for follow the same way they have been for the tens of
with our spouse, children and other family up shots. Even good two-hand shooters have thousands of times they have been during
members or friends who may not be trained a tendency to tighten their grip while press- dry practice and live fire over the decades
for and experienced with violent encounters, ing the trigger to the rear on occasion. This is of training. During those times you have dis-
our support hand will come into place to lo- even more common when shooting with one covered exactly how much movement your
cate, guide or control them. At the onset of hand. Without the support hand, “milking” front sight can have in your rear notch so that
the event they may move right onto the line the grip is common and more missed shots you can make hits at different distances and
of force, putting themselves in jeopardy and are registered. Maintain steady grip pressure times. This time and space relationship, devel-
preventing you from engaging and neutraliz- and operate the trigger finger completely oped on the range, will give you something to
ing, thus allowing the violence to extend lon- independently of other fingers and indepen- fall back on during violent encounters, even
ger than it needs to. dently of the hand. [Ed. Like milking a cow, though you might feel that you are going
In law enforcement we are given the test, the shooter squeezes the lower part of the Mach 2 with your hair on fire or downshifted
then train for the test and wait for the test to grip, which moves the front sight away from into super slow motion, depending on how
be given again. When this test does not pres- the intended point of impact on the target] your body chemical dump affects you. Fur-
ent itself in the following 6-18 months, one This leads us to the next issue in one hand thermore, with your sights vertical, the recoil
handed shooting is usually the first casualty in shooting. To cant or not to cant, by keep- from your pistol and the sight recovery will
any firearms training program. In the security
field, this is so rarely taught that I am tempted
to say it is never taught. I can only recall a One handed
single block of instruction being given in this
area in the two years of working private se- pistolcraft may be
curity prior to serving twenty years in law necessary with
enforcement and eight years as a private secu-
rity contractor. In the law enforcement com-
an injured hand or
munity injured officer training is not much arm or if you must
more than an afterthought or a short block of simultaneously
instruction mandated by the state. This usual-
ly amounts to an hour of training once a year perform another
and a stage of fire in the qualification test that task with your
requires the use of the officer’s support hand.
We need to find the techniques that best
other hand.
work for us when we take into account body
style, build and prior injuries. One hand
shooting is not an exception to this, and we
will look at the two most common holds for
shooting with a single hand. Our focus here is
armed citizens or off-duty armed profession-
als on the streets of America, dropping our
kids off at school or social events, the daily
drive to work and gym or running to the gro-
cery store to pick up last minute items for din-
ner. We will not address body armor and bal-
listic plates where we might feel the need to
square up to a threat to get the most lifesaving
value from the protection worn. When you ing the weapon vertical. The answer to this be similar to your normal two hand recoil,
are by yourself, and not holding a position in question is simple and usually comes down with a slightly higher climb of the muzzle.
a tactical formation, a different technique may to which one you prefer. However, as men- I have found that if I cant my pistol, the
be better. tioned before, we need to quantify which po- placement of the sights on the target will
By blading your shooting side forward sition is best for the individual. This can be change at different distances. Similar to an AR

ONE HANDED PISTOL
rifle with a 50 yard zero, when a right handed well within the five yard shooting stage of a for this drill set your shot-timer on delay, then
shooter cants the sights to the middle line state mandated qualification course. We want load and make ready your pistol. On the sig-
the rounds will hit high left. When I practice to always train for the extreme cases so that nal, you will draw and engage the two steel
one hand shooting at 25 yards I am forced to the fight is easy. Rather than just training to plates at eight yards with two rounds each
change my hold to get center hits on 12 inch averages, we have to prove which technique and then transition to the six inch plate at
static steel plates. This is something I don’t will work best for you by running common 12 yards and engage with a single round. I
have to do with a vertical hold. The recoil drills and reviewing the par-times and splits. will alter the order in which I engage the first
from the canted hold has a tendency to pull As mentioned before, when you are shoot- plates to work on draws and transition mov-
across my face and on recovery when I drive ing one handed, most people only train at dis- ing in both directions.
the front sight back onto the target the front tances of five yards or so. At close distances, When I am critiquing a technique to deter-
sight is buried below the slide of the pistol discovering what technique is best can be mine what works best for me I will run it one
forcing me to take more time to realign the difficult to determine. Once distances are ex- way during a drill five or six times and use
sight for follow up shots. tended to 12, 15 and 25 yards the differences the average of the three fastest times. I will
That said, I know some solid shooters who will begin to reveal which works best for then tweak the technique and repeat the pro-
use the canted hold (usually less than 45 de- each shooter. As an instructor, I have my way cess to determine which is best for me. This
grees) for one hand shooting and they do of driving guns that work best for me, but I will usually be repeated for two to three trips
understand the differences to the range before I decide on which tech-
a shooter’s build, flexibility nique I will incorporate permanently into my
and strength will have on training.
certain techniques. The The next step in this process is on the next
ability to adjust and make training day when I practice one hand shoot-
a system work for differ- ing. I will set a par-time on the shot timer and
ent shooters is what breeds strive to make the time consistently before
success and confidence. lowering the par-time. By lowering the par-
One drill I like to run time it forces me to get on the gas pedal and
to gauge and understand push until I reach a time that I can only make
the different tempo of my 80 percent of the attempts. I always conclude
two hand and one hand the training on a good note; meaning I only
shooting is the down, but end the day after a successful run, even if it
not out drill. I will set two means slowing down slightly.
steel 12 inch round static The key to performing at your highest level
plates eight yards away on is consistency and commitment to your goals.
four foot uprights, three Set your bar high and train hard to achieve
yards to the left and right that level. One handed pistolcraft may be
of the start box. I will then necessary with an injured hand or arm or if
place a six inch steel plate you must simultaneously perform another
12 yards away and directly task with your other hand. Once you have
in front of the shooters developed safe and efficient one hand shoot-
box, on a two foot up- ing skills with your dominant hand, you can
right. When you are trying expand your skills with non-dominant hand
to establish your baseline training. Draws, reloads, immediate action,
and remedial action can all be safely per-
formed with either hand alone. Master them
If we are with our spouse, dry and under the supervision of a compe-
children and other family tent instructor before working them solo.
Firearms manipulation is unforgiving and er-
members or friends who rors can cost a life. 3
may not be trained for BIO
and experienced with James Washington served as a patrol officer,
violent encounters, our field training officer, firearms instructor

and police sergeant. He served on the FBI
support hand will come Gang Task Force in Chicago for six years
and is a firearms & tactics instructor for
into place to locate, multiple agencies and armed citizens. www.
guide or control them. high-desert-defensive-shooting-school.net

Accuracy is fine - speed is final! That’s probably
not the way you’ve heard that sentence before.
I
t’s normally reversed and originally attrib- many years to cut loose and push the speed guy with an antifreeze can in his hand asking
uted to Wyatt Earp I think, though many envelope. This is likely due to overbearing for a little bit of gas, because he ran out and
tactical instructors have used it over the safety concerns or a previous lack of access has no money. You politely say no. He then
years. Why reverse it? to ranges where you’re allowed to cut loose, produces a large knife and advances on you.
I have been shooting in competition for miss the center of the target, miss the target— Behind him is a clear background. Would you
almost 20 years and teaching professionally Hell, miss the berm. It happens and training rather have a skill set to draw and hit him in
for 12. Early in my years as a shooter and in- that never creates a safe environment to push the thigh or knee in 1.51 seconds or have a
structor we often said, “slow down, get your those limits is incomplete. Give me the 15 to skill to hit him center mass in 2.6 seconds?
hits, speed will come” or some words to that 25-year-old who grew up on video games, has Maybe you’re alone in the back of the lo-
effect to a new or struggling shooter. Why? great hand-eye coordination, flying around cal 7-11 grabbing a six-pack of Yuengling
It took me a while to figure it out and come the range with great foot speed but can’t hit beer when a drug crazed, shotgun wielding
around, but it’s vastly easier to teach accuracy the broad side of a barn from the inside. I can ex boyfriend of the clerk bursts in blazing. He
than it is to teach speed. Aligning your sights teach that guy how to hit the target while kills her and is then looking for anyone else in
and pulling the trigger slowly is easy to teach maintaining his speed! the store. You are not near an exit and there
and easy to do. The big challenge is pulling Why is this important for the tactician or is no cover. You’ve had time to draw and get
the trigger quickly without moving the gun concealed carry practitioner and why would ready. As he’s coming down the isle at you,
off target. I say, speed is final? Allow me to offer a couple how many rounds would you like to get off
During my years of instructing, it has been of scenarios to get you thinking and to for- between his neck and pelvis in the two sec-
way more difficult to get the 35 to 60-year-old mulate your own answer:You are at the gas onds it takes him to close the distance from
who has been shooting in some fashion for station pumping gas. You’re approached by a 25 to 5 feet? One round? Two? Five? Six? Ten?
ACCURACY IS FINE
SPEED IS FINAL! BY: SHANNON SMITH

PHOTOS COURTESY www.universalshootingacademy.com

START WITH DRY-FIRE

DRILLS, AND THEN
LIVE-FIRE
EXERCISES.
WHY TRAIN SPEED? GEAR CONSIDERATIONS train. I said,“Alright dude, let’s do this.” He did
You can guess where I stand on these ques- I can draw and deliver multiple rounds on tar- great throughout the class. Not a fast draw,
tions. As we used to say in the airborne get faster with my .40 2011 out of a speed rig but he worked with what he had. He had
world when posed with a problem, “You than I can with my G17 from Kydex, which made the decision to carry and was getting
have the rest of your life to correct the situ- I can do faster than my G42 from inside the the training to be better. Good for him.
ation.” As to the questions posed above, I waistband. Shocking, I know, but you have I see a lot of amazing appendix draws on
would much rather hit the assailant sooner to take into consideration what and how YouTube. G17 w/ light riding high AIWB in
rather than later, regardless of bullet place- you carry to develop a standard for speed. A what I call the WWE holster as it looks like
ment. Getting rounds on target ASAP is my J-frame from the ankle isn’t going to be fast the championship belt all under a super light
main goal in a self defense situation. While to draw nor deliver multiple rounds (not to t-shirt; usually an Affliction t-shirt. If that is
he’s rolling around on the ground from an mention the fact you only have five.) But if how you—for real, no BS—carry, then good
exploded kneecap I can continue to en- that’s what you have to roll with due to work for you. I live in Florida. It’s eleventy-billion
gage center mass should it be necessary. I or wardrobe considerations it’s way better degrees, seven months out of the year. Most
certainly wouldn’t want to give up a half than nothing. days, I wear cargo shorts and a tee-shirt. Car-
a second or a full second to the bad guy. Thunderwear is another option. I had a rying a full size gun is not impossible but I
Even if they suck, they could still get lucky. student show up for a tactical class with a don’t find it practical. 99 percent of the time
As to the second scenario, I would want Springfield XD. I didn’t see any gear, holster I carry a G42 in a Blade Tech IWB either ap-
to deliver as many rounds as necessary to or anything. I asked him if he needed to bor- pendix or 4 o’clock along with a spare maga-
stop the threat. Hopped up on adrenalin or row or buy something and he said no, he was zine in a Snag Mag. Carry position depends
drugs, caliber has limited importance and a using Thunderwear. It’s a pouch that holds on what I’m wearing and where I’m going.
traditional well placed shot may not do it your gun. It goes around your waist under
either. You will need to shut him down ei- your pants and the gun rides in your pelvic CREATE A STANDARD
ther neurologically or structurally. That will region. Dumb, right? I thought so too. But It is difficult to put a time standard on a skill
usually require multiple rounds on target. it turns out this guy was a dentist. He wore set with varying types of gear. Two seconds
Quick trigger manipulation while maintain- scrubs to work, shirt tucked in, no belt, just for a draw from hands relaxed to a single shot
ing solid fundamentals will be required. Fire underwear under his scrubs. He said that’s center mass on a 15 foot target is probably a
quickly and accurately. how he carries and that’s how he wanted to good place to start. Obviously, the G17 from

SPEED IS FINAL!
Based on your skill level, I would set a par acceptable scoring zone—use it. Our goal is
time for four, six or even eight seconds. From speed here, not a one-hole group. Let it loose!
concealed and hands relaxed at your sides Your life could literally depend on speed.
on the buzzer, you will draw, present the gun You are solely responsible for your safety and
to target and execute a good trigger pull to a skills. Inappropriate gun handling is danger-
target placed at 10 or 15 feet. (I use one-third ous, but producing your pistol too slowly or
size targets in my man cave.) That should be firing too slowly for the circumstance is dan-
more than ample time to guarantee a perfect gerous too.
grip, presentation and trigger pull. The key
to presenting the gun with sights aligned is Live Fire Trigger Speed Drill – From
a good grip, and could be the foundation of high ready, six rounds to a 15-foot tar-
another full article. get. Goal is holding C or -1 Zone in two
You and Jesus…remember? When you ex- seconds or less. 10 runs each time you
ecute the trigger pull, whether you are using have a live fire range session.
a target focus or sight focus (another possible
full article) you must ensure your sight does LIVE FIRE EXPERIMENT
not leave the target when the hammer or We run a competition at my range, Univer-
DRAWING FROM CONCEALMENT CAN BE striker falls. sal Shooting Academy (USA) we call Defen-
SLOWER THAN DRAWING FROM OPEN Next, reduce the time by half and go for sive Pistol League. It’s centered around guns
CARRY, SO IT’S IMPERATIVE YOU DRILL, more reps. Then, reduce the time by half and configurations that folks actually carry. It
DRILL, AND DRILL FOR SPEED! again with the goal of being under two sec- gives our clients an opportunity to work their
appendix should be much faster and the J- onds. It may take a while to reach this goal, guns and gear in a somewhat stressful and
frame from the ankle will be much slower. but you need to have goals. competitive environment. As you know, most
Similarly I would say two seconds is a solid ranges won’t let you draw from appendix,
time for five or six rounds center mass to a Dryfire Draw Workout – 25 reps at pocket, purse or whatever you choose. Here
15ft target starting from a high-ready posi- super slow Mo speed. 25 reps at half at USA you can. In preparation for this article
tion.Again this depends a bit on what you are speed. 50 reps at full speed. Four times and knowing the two scenarios I would be
shooting but .25-.30 splits would be solid. per week. Log your times so you can ad- talking about, I set them up at a match on
just, increase or decrease as needed for the weekend after Thanksgiving. Below is a
TAKE ME HOME the next workout. chart showing shooter ability level as subjec-
There are many areas to work on and increase tively judged by me, and time for each drill.
speed, but we have identified and been work- Next is our trigger speed drill, live fire. This It should give you some base line on skills
ing with two scenarios so we’ll talk about is basic fundamentals of marksmanship ex- out there and maybe an idea where you fit
those. Draw time and trigger speed. ecuted at a high rate of speed. From a high in. Keep in mind, what I call novice is rela-
Draw time is simply governed by hand ready position on the audible start signal you tive.These are not novice shooters in general,
speed and basic gun manipulation. It is easily will extend and present to a 10-15-foot dis- they are novice relative to skill sets on my
improved upon in dryfire. My standard saying tance target firing six rounds as fast as you range. 3
about dryfire is,“It’s only you and Jesus in the can physically pull the trigger. We’re working
room.You are the only two people that know with a target focus here and we’d like to hold
if you are working the drill correctly, so don’t shots within the C Zone of an IPSC Target DRILL NOVICE EXPERIENCED MEDIAN
just go through the motions during dryfire, or -1 Zone of an IDPA target within a total Draw to 1 2.38 1.51 2.00
pay attention and focus each and every rep- time of two seconds.Trigger control (another shot
etition. possible full article) requires a straight back 6 round 2.84 1.46 2.38
Ensure your firearm is empty! Best manipulation: constant, consistent, smooth rapid
practices are to also ensure no ammuni- application of pressure.
tion is even in the same room, and still only If you find you can’t keep the shots in the
point in a safe direction.) You will need a desired area, you will need to manipulate BIO
shot timer that can be set with a par time. Its the trigger more carefully. Notice I didn’t say Shannon Smith is a National Champion
a good idea to own one anyway for your live slower. Pulling the trigger has nothing to do across multiple handgun disciplines, mem-
fire practice, but if you don’t have one there with speed, it has to do with technique. You ber of the US National Team, and a full
are apps you can download that will work. can pull the trigger correctly quickly.You just time instructor/part owner of Universal
I come from the crawl, walk, run school of need proper training and practice. Shooting Academy (www.UniversalShoot-
learning and like to execute every drill in If your accuracy is pretty good, but you ingAcademy.com) in central Florida. He is
super slow motion. I not only do this when can’t meet the time standard, you simply need also a veteran of the US Army’s 2nd Rang-
learning a new skill, but I go back to it even to pick up your trigger speed. Yeah, your ac- er Battalion. You may reach him through
on standard drills after 20 years. I believe it curacy may suffer a bit as you increase speed, ShannonSmithShooting on the web, FB,
helps ingrain the feel and basic movements. but this is not a bullseye drill. We have a huge YouTube and IG.

OLEG VOLK - WWW.A-HUMAN-RIGHT.COM
Shooting the Smith
& Wesson M&P 9mm.
BACKUP PISTOLS
GOOD, BAD AND UGLY
BSHONTS
We all have our opinions concerning
the carrying of backup guns.
T
hose that are for or against the prac- be made that a backup gun might have saved
tice use statistics and historical events lives.
for their arguments. Those that argue I think one has to make this decision based
against the practice use statistics that state on the environment they will find themselves
the average shooting lasts for three shots, at working in. In the case of law enforcement
three yards, for three seconds, thus nullify- officers, a backup gun is without a doubt the
ing the need for a backup gun. Then, mostly smart thing to have. There are plenty of cases
from the law enforcement perspective, look to show that backup guns have saved the
at historical events like the 1963 “Onion lives of law enforcement officers nationwide,
Field” event in California in which an LAPD whether it was during shootings or physical Good, bad or ugly - there are many choices from
officer was held at gunpoint by a subject who confrontations with multiple offenders. compact semiautos, J-frame revolvers, and ultra-
was able to get his partner to surrender his I have known hardcore narcotic and gang concealable but small caliber handguns. From top to
weapon as well. One officer was executed, specialist coppers who carry two guns wher- bottom: CZ RAMI 9mm, S&W 442, Kel-Tec P-32.
the second escaped disarmed. Consider the ever they go, on duty and off in case they
1991 killing of a constable in Nacogdoches, were “made” while on the town. I have al- would require anything possible to give you
Texas. He pulled over a vehicle with three ways made it a point not to play anywhere I the upper-hand. We will limit our scope to
men inside. The constable grew suspicious worked, but have had occasions where I ran the average off duty officer and CCW citizens,
of the suspects and requested to see what into those situations while socializing and particularly those in states that only allow
was inside the trunk of the vehicle. The sus- where I was at a slight disadvantage numeri- CCW carriers to possess one gun at a time.
pects disarmed the constable, then killed him cally. Fortunately, none of these times result- First, let us look at what makes a good
with his own pistol. In both of these cases ed in a confrontation for me, but many have backup gun. Without a doubt, comfort is one
and many more, an informed argument can for others and I understand how those times of the most important issues when it comes

ALL IMAGES THIS PAGE - BSHONTS
There are plenty of concealable handguns on the market that can serve as a reliable
backup. Above, from left to right: Colt Detective Special .38 Spl., S&W Model 640 .357
Magnum, S&W Model 66 .357 Magnum, Taurus 617 .357 Magnum.
to committed, every day carry. breezeway in Cabrini Green (Ed: Notorious

However, often times this need Chicago public housing). That’s not counting
to be comfortable trumps the the fact that he was able to chase the offend-
need to be in possession of a le- er up five flights of stairs before he started
gitimate-caliber gun. I am a firm feeling pain in that leg, but was still able to
believer in diameter and weight, walk to the curb and wait for an ambulance
maybe not to the extent that I to arrive.
am with my hunting rifles, but You are able to find small-frame reliable
even though humans are thin guns in 9mm and .40 calibers that allow for
skinned with low bone density comfortable carry, yet have high shootability
you still need direct penetration factors, which brings us to the next require-
with both large temporary and ment: When the time comes to deploy your
permanent wound channels. weapon to defend yourself and possibly
This cannot be as reliable with those you love, you’re going to need a gun
the sub-calibers that some de- that you can drive hard and fast. Once again,
cide to carry as a defense gun. we see that comfort, though important, can-
Yeah, I hear the stories about not be the sole deciding factor. I am with-
Concealability isn’t everything. Is the gun too small how dangerous the .22LR can be, but I also out a doubt a semi-auto pistol guy, but with
for your hand? Can you make fast follow-up shots know nearly a dozen guys with .22LR bul- larger hands I can’t shoot small, sub-compact
with it? Is the caliber effective to stop an attacker? lets lodged in their bodies somewhere. This pistols. My smallest compact pistol is a Smith
(Top inset, Freedom Arms .22 Magnum. Above inset: includes a personal friend who has walked and Wesson M&P 9mm, but with hand size
Colt Mustang .380.) around with a 22 bullet in his lower leg since being a handicap, I have become a huge fan
1988, after he was shot while standing in a of the Ruger SP101, 2.25 inch revolver, so that

BACKUP PISTOLS
I can have the ability to drive the gun hard if
ALL IMAGES THIS PAGE - BSHONTS

needed, while it still gives me carry comfort.
The revolver also gives you additional tacti-
cal applications by not having a slide as part
of its cycle of operation. You can fire revolv-
ers from a pocket, extremely close to the
body without having to cant the weapon, es-
pecially if you have a revolver that is hammer-
less or has a shrouded hammer. Often times,
the conversation reverts to the shortcom-
ing of the revolver reload. I think that most
of us can agree that from a concealed carry
perspective, the revolver reload will always
be slower. However, looking at the average
shooting statistics we are back to 3 shots, 3
yards in 3 seconds.
Furthermore, revolvers are a little more
forgiving when drawing from an alternative
carry position other than the strong side belt
carry. If one fails to get that perfect draw
stroke the revolver can still be fired with ac- HOW AND WHERE WILL YOU CARRY YOUR BACKUP?
curacy and speed beyond contact distances
without having to adjust your grip for the gun
to operate properly. Those of us who train on
a regular basis know that even from a duty
holster, when you start adding speed and
movement, establishing a firm final firing grip
perfectly is not guaranteed.
Let’s get down to brass tacks and discuss
the important elements of the backup gun
carry issue. Because of the carry options,
you will have to decide where on your per-
son you want to carry your backup gun:
Strong side pocket, ankle holster, appendix tant and that is training and mindset. When force is necessary. Transitioning from con-
carry, special overpriced 5-11 undershirt you decide the best place for you to carry tact distance to three yards, while engaging a
carry—or one that I hate the most—small your gun, it is then time to train. In train- second offender, then to five yards while en-
of the back (SOB) carry, which is a perfect ing, you can confirm proper carry of your gaging another offender with solid rapid hits
name for it in my belief. SOB carry forces weapon or fix it. Can you quickly get to your is worthwhile. Conducting a fast reload and
you to open yourself up, on your strong side gun and safely draw it to make accurate hits then addressing your threats in the immedi-
to alternate attacks. During classes, I like to from a holster? I highly recommend using ate area is something to practice.
break down attack and response cycles into a holster and not gangster carry with it just These are techniques you need to learn
quarter second intervals. Explaining that stuck in your waistline. I’ve been around po- before you are assaulted in real life. The es-
the average person can fire four rounds in a lice officers most of my life and have heard sential tools for survival need to be taught by
second, breaking down to one round every stories of how the gun just wasn’t in the qualified instructors and safely practiced on
quarter second. The additional time it takes right place when they reached for it or that a regular basis. Just as important, you need
to move your hand past the traditional strong it made a very memorable sound when it hit to know your state’s laws concerning the ele-
side carry to the small of the back and then the ground. Your training has to be dynamic ments of self-defense and review them regu-
returning to that strong side carry position enough to discover any shortcoming in your larly because case law changes. 3
will cost you a quarter second going each carry method.
way. With this in mind, the disadvantage of To train seriously, you have to stay away BIO
ankle carry can also be seen. This gives your from most indoor ranges because of their James Washington served as a patrol officer,
attacker a half second more, which means prohibition against movement, drawing from field training officer, firearms instructor
two rounds inbound. Additionally, about half concealment and firing multiple shots. This and police sergeant. He served on the FBI
of the violent armed attacks are done with is just the starting point for safe shooters to Gang Task Force in Chicago for six years
multiple offenders, which means speed is conduct serious training. Being able to grab and is a firearms & tactics instructor for
paramount. a target that represents a possible offender multiple agencies and armed citizens. www.
This brings us back to what is most impor- and firing, all while moving off the line of high-desert-defensive-shooting-school.net

PHOTO BY OLEG VOLK WWW.A-HUMAN-RIGHT.COM
POINT
SHOOTING BY: ERIC LEID
Everything old is new again. –Peter Allen
T
his is a phrase I like to use often, es- Section II, US Army Field Manual 23-25, Com- fair amount of practice to be considered com-
pecially when I see or hear something bat Training With Pistols & Revolvers as fol- bat effective. We can see by the simple de-
posed as a new or revolutionary idea. lows: sign or complete lack of sights on early flint-
Firearms and tactical training are no excep- When a soldier points, he instinctively lock, wheel-lock and black powder cap and
tions. Recently I had a discussion about the points at the feature on the object on which ball pistols that pistoleros of those eras likely
relevance of point shooting in modern fire- his eyes are focused. An impulse from the used point shooting techniques that evolved
arms doctrine. With the evolution of premi- brain causes the arm and hand to stop from trial and error.
um tritium sights and even slide mounted red when the finger reaches the proper position. Even noted subject matter experts such as
dot sights on pistols it would seem that quick When the eyes are shifted to a new object or Eric Sykes, William Fairbairn and Rex Apple-
aimed fire is within the capability of even feature, the finger, hand, and arm also shift gate of World War II era Special Operations
mediocre shooters, but is it possible to make to this point. It is this inherent trait that can Executive (SOE) and Office of Strategic Ser-
substantial hits on target quickly without us- be used by the soldier to rapidly and accu- vices (OSS) training fame advocated point
ing your sights? Are there advantages to this rately engage targets. shooting. Through their combined experi-
skill? How much time will it take to develop? This is a pretty general description, and one ence with the Shanghai Municipal Police in
“Point shooting” is described in Chapter 2, can only assume that it would still require a the turn of the last century and their revolu-

POINT SHOOTING
I’ve been a martial arts enthusiast since I

was a kid growing up in the 1970s. And like
a lot of kids I idolized Bruce Lee. One of his
most useful quotes is: “Absorb what is use-
Perfect score on the ful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely
your own.” That is precisely how my personal
author’s qualification shooting style has evolved.
course of fire. He I consider my shooting techniques in two
delivered precision categories, “performance shooting” and “de-

fensive shooting.” Performance shooting is
aimed shots at 25 what I consider tactical, qualification and
yards, point shooting competition shooting. Typically this would
include a full size duty or competition gun,
at 3 yards and holster, mag pouches and appropriate cloth-
blended techniques ing and gear and possibly personal protective
in between to meet
equipment (PPE). In defensive shooting, I’m
typically carrying a small framed pistol with
time constraints. holsters and mag pouches designed more for
Photo courtesy of the author. concealment than speed or security, and of
course, wearing street clothing.
For performance shooting, we teach the
“four point draw.” It has been demonstrated
as an effective way to break down the steps
tionary development and use of shoot hous- After retiring from the Army, I worked as for this critical task. Position one is to break
es, they determined that point shooting was a police officer in a mid-size North Georgia the bail/defeat the retention device and es-
the fastest and most reliable technique to de- City. The local sheriff’s department had con- tablish the grip while the non-firing hand
liver effective shots on target in close combat. tracted one well established tactical training simultaneously moves to center-chest. In
In the course of my shooting career, I’ve company whose fundamental doctrine was position two we clear the holster and orient
seen several variations on this theme. In both based on TTP’s (tactics, techniques and pro- the pistol towards the threat, angling the slide
the Marine Corps and the army I’ve seen this cedures) developed by the Israeli Defense outboard slightly to prevent the reciprocat-
concept presented as “quick-fire”, quick- Force. After four days of defensive tactics ing slide from catching our clothing. Here
kill” and “reflexive fire”; essentially point training we conducted a range training evolu- we can engage the target by point shooting
the pistol as you would point your finger tion in “Israeli Combat Shooting.” The tech- if we are within grappling range much the
and press the trigger without disturbing the nique taught was a pretty radical departure same as the “speed rock” or “shooting from
weapon’s orientation. For rifle you would from what I was accustomed to. In the initial retention” techniques. At position three we
come to full presentation (the high ready) steps, the shooter squats, draws, bringing his marry up the support hand with the firing
and engage your target while looking over elbows high, and basically spirals the pistol hand establishing our two handed firing
your sights. At close range and with a little towards the target acquiring the support grip. Again, here we can fire if necessary by
practice, both techniques prove reasonably hand grip, and discharges the pistol once it “point shooting” if a threat is at point blank
effective. These techniques were very useful gets to full extension. The shooter focuses on range. Position four is bringing the pistol to
in days before everyone had weapon mount- the target, not using his sights at all. The chief full extension as we acquire our sights. No-
ed lights, lasers and red dots on their rifles. instructor and his assistants were all very ad- tice that at positions two, three and four we
When I got out of the Marine Corps in ept at this style of shooting. As full time and can point shoot if necessary. What would
1991, a buddy of mine invited me to come part time officers, they stated that they could make that determination? Your proximity
down and check out the range operations of shoot qualifying scores on their agencies’ to the threat or target and the proficiency
the Detroit suburb where he was an instruc- qualification course using these techniques. with which you can deliver this type of fire.
tor. The technique they used was to draw, The instructor also caveated that in Israel In fact, at farther distances like 25 yards, I
raise the arm with locked wrist and elbow they carry in condition 2 (loaded magazine, slow down my cadence slightly to ensure I
(as one would do as if throwing a bowling no round in chamber), and fire one handed, pick up a clean sight picture for clean hits.
ball for example) and as soon as the pistol slingshoting the slide to chamber a round At closer distance, 15-7 yards I pick up my
was in the line of sight, squeeze the whole as the pistol is rotated out to full extension sight picture, but in the interest of speed my
hand to fire a shot. I found this method to and breaking the shot.* The “Israeli Combat sight picture will be less than perfect, with a
rely on mostly gross motor skills and was Shooting” technique no doubt works well for larger “wobble area” in my sight picture, but
easy to teach and learn. This of course was these folks, but after a fair period of trial and still good enough for hits in the hydraulics of
far removed from what I had learned in the error I felt I was giving up too much of my the upper thoracic cavity. Seven yards and
USMC Rifle and Pistol Coaches course, but it own personal skill to relearn this particular in, I’m essentially using the same draw stroke
did seem to be effective at close range. technique. motion but firing immediately as my pistol

necessary to stop the threat. All this is done

while moving forward, backward or laterally
and then scanning for additional threats. I
can establish a two handed grip at any time
to address additional threats if necessary. If
I am inside grappling range, I’ll use my sup-
port hand to cover or deflect a blow, or push
off to increase my reactionary gap, draw and
again fire using the “speed rock” or “shooting
from retention” technique. Again, moving
forward, back or laterally, scanning for addi-
tional threats.
There is a good chance that you have been
admonished “never” to point shoot at some
time in your training.You may even work for
an agency that forbids point shooting, citing
liability concerns. I think it is worth noting,
however, that you are responsible for damage
PHOTO BY OLEG VOLK WWW.A-HUMAN-RIGHT.COM
done by every round that comes out of your

weapon regardless of how you brought the
weapon to bear against your target. You will
also be the one to suffer the consequences
if you are unable to stop an attacker in time.
I also think it is worth sharing that many of
the agencies that forbid point shooting for
their employees have stages of fire in their
qualification courses of fire where their em-
ployees are nearly obligated to point shoot
short range, fast time limit stages of fire to
pass.
I suggest that you use proximity to threat
as your guide as to when to point shoot
CLOSE RANGES OR or use aimed fire. I try to use sighted fire
UNUSAL POSITIONS whenever I can (and call my shots as well).

At closer ranges, speed may be an increased
MAY MEAN YOU factor and this is where point shooting really
CAN’T GET A PROPER shines if it is a skill you have developed. As
always, (perfect) practice makes perfect. It is
SIGHT PICTURE. beneficial to put in substantial training time
for precisely aimed fire before considering
comes to full extension, either using the rect- want to chance short-stroking the trigger. any point shooting training. Get those qual-
angular outline of the back of my Glock as In performance shooting, we are often op- ity repetitions that you’ll need to perform
a sight reference or not using my sights at erating as a member of a team and have a under pressure and maintain an accurate un-
all. If you’ve put the amount of repetitions in sector or lane to clear or a position of domi- derstanding of where the limits of your per-
necessary for a good one-second draw stroke, nance to establish. Defensive shooting is formance capability are today. 3
you may be surprised to find that you can more dynamic with fewer known variables.
still land a solid hit without using your sights. As a result, I change some of the techniques. BIO
Also worth noting is my trigger manipulation I carry a Glock 43 in appendix carry. I use Eric Leid has more than 25 years of mili-
changes based on my proximity to the threat my support hand to clear my clothing while tary and law enforcement experience, the
as well. For longer shots I’ll use a smooth my firing hand establishes my firing grip. I majority of which was as a U.S. Army
press with a short reset before breaking the focus my eyes center of mass on the threat Ranger and Ranger Instructor. Currently,
next shot. At closer ranges I’ll use a faster and come to full presentation with my strong Mr. Leid works as an independent contrac-
press and nearer to full range of motion on hand only and fire as soon as the pistol comes tor providing training and “operational
the trigger. At closer ranges it may be neces- into my line of sight (without actually look- support” to U.S. Government agencies in
sary to fire multiple shots quickly, and I don’t ing through my sights), and as many times high-threat zones.
EDITOR’S NOTE: TOP-TIER ISRAELI UNITS CARRY “CONDITION ONE” CLOSED BOLT WEAPONS (ROUND IN THE CHAMBER, SAFETY ON) JUST AS AMERICAN UNITS TYPICALLY DO.

Glock 26 9mm.
POCKET PISTOLS
SELF
Carrying firearms for personal protection is
FOR a tremendous responsibility.
I
n some states obtaining a concealed after taking a six hour course,
DEFENSE
cealed carry license is an uncom- passing a simple live fire qualifica-
plicated process, while in states tion and submitting an application
that are less respectful of the Second and fingerprint card.
Amendment to the US Constitution, Once you have confirmed you are
you may have a better chance of in compliance with your state’s laws,
winning a lottery than getting is- what should you carry? How about
BY: MAC MACKINZIE sued a concealed handgun license. a .50 caliber Desert Eagle, tucked
The great state of Texas, for example, away in your waist band? Better
permits citizens to legally carry con- than one, how about two? Let’s get

POCKET PISTOLS
real. I have been working armed, either as a and allows for a very simple, full wrap-around carried it as a backup in an SOB holster in
U.S. Marine, firearms instructor or personal with my support hand. Seven rounds of 9mm case I had to draw with my support hand. It
protection specialist for more than 22 years is adequate and gives me enough ammo to is extremely reliable and durable.You can use
and carrying a firearm has been a way of life.I fight my way to an AR-15 in my truck. Spring- high capacity magazines from other models
used to say,“What is wrong with our country? field has done well with their XD series of such as the G19 or G17 to give you that ex-
Our calibers and bayonets are getting smaller weapons. I believe they took some of the best tra magazine capacity capability. If you just
and shorter after every war.” But, I have to ad- features Glock had perfected and implement- want to stick with the original stock maga-
mit that the older I get, the smaller my carry ed them in this handgun with some of their zine it will give you 10 rounds of 9mm. The
weapon of choice is becoming. The assign- own creative ideas as well. The only thing I only thing that bothered me about carrying
ment or situation will still be the determin- don’t like about this handgun is the grip safe- this handgun was that at times it felt cumber-
ing factor in what I will carry, of course. If I some, as if I was a carrying a full size Glock.
am working as a personal protection officer I also felt more recoil directed toward the
at home in Texas, protecting a high profile cli- palm of my strong hand (especially with a
ent, then I will go with my favorite:The Glock .40 caliber G27). Recoil management is still
23 with an extended magazine and two spare an important fundamental for follow up shots
magazines. While I am on the range training so at times I found myself readjusting my grip
new shooters I still favor my trusted Glock 17 due to the width of the grip in a shorter size.
with high capacity magazines and plus-two It is, however, still one of my favorites for con-
extensions.When I free up some time and get cealed carry.
a chance to shoot at my local IDPA match I
enjoy shooting my Glock 19 with the same TAURUS 850B2UL .38 REVOLVER
set up as my G23 to reinforce training funda- I carried a Taurus 850B2UL .38 for many
mentals for my duty configuration while do- years as a backup. Yes, a revolver. The Tau-
ing it with a more cost effective caliber. I am rus was affordable, lightweight and durable.
a Glock fan. I have put well over 1000 rounds through
Colonel Jeff Cooper, one of the pioneers it without a single problem. The concealed
of modern tactical firearms training, used to hammer forces this handgun to be fired as a
make the point that the value of a pistol is a double action only. That means the hammer
tool that can be used to fight your way to a
rifle. He’s not wrong. A pistol is a weapon of
A pistol is a weapon is forward. The shooter must pull the trigger
in a smooth controlled fashion allowing the
limited value, but it certainly has higher value of limited value, but it hammer to come back to full extension and
for self-defense when you have one immedi- then forward again, striking the firing pin
ately accessible without potential attackers certainly has higher value and discharging a round. Some old revolv-
for self-defense when you

knowing it. So what’s the best self-defense ers are strictly single action. That means the
pistol? The one that you actually have on you external hammer must be pulled manually
(that performs reliably). I have found light-
weight, durable small frame handguns to be
have one immediately by the shooter. Upon pulling the trigger it
releases the hammer which strikes the firing
a favorite for every day carry. Whether you
are a police officer, soldier or citizen, I am
accessible without pin. Having to manually cock the hammer
on a single action revolver would require
sure you will agree that a small 9mm in your potential attackers fine motor skills during the elevated levels
knowing it. So what’s the

hand will do more for you in an emergency of stress of a gunfight. I don’t recommend
than your favorite full size .40 or .45 that is at carrying a single action revolver for self-de-
home with a dozen spare mags in a holster
rig that is inconvenient enough to put on that
best self-defense pistol? fense.
These are my favorite pocket pistols, but
you don’t bother bringing it out every time
you go out.
The one that you actually they are not the only options. There are
some small double action (semi-automatic)
Some of my favorite pocket pistols include: have on you. pistols that can fill this role well; the single
stack 9mm Smith and Wesson 3914 would
SPRINGFIELD ARMORY XD-S 9MM ty. I believe it is an unnecessary redundancy. be a good example. For shooters who like
I know it’s not a Glock, but I really like this On several occasions I have observed some 1911 style .45s or carry one on duty, there
little handgun. It is comfortable to carry on a of my students struggling to lock the slide to are some excellent small frame .45 1911s
regular basis. On several occasions I even for- the rear safely due to having to get a full grip that can be used in this fashion. The point
got I had it on, it rides that well. The simple, on that grip safety. is to have a weapon small, light and com-
single stack magazine frame makes this weap- fortable enough to carry all the time with-
on very easy to carry. I like the feel and the GLOCK 26 9MM out hesitation that still delivers an adequate
grip it allows me to obtain. The entire frame I have carried a Glock 26 for many years as fighting caliber and performance.
sits almost perfectly within my strong hand a personal weapon. On several occasions I Shot placement is always more important

PHOTO COURTESY TAURUS INTERNATIONAL WWW.TAURUSUSA.COM
POCKET PISTOLS
left: Springfield Armory XD-S 9mm.

below: Taurus 850B2UL .38 Spl.
PHOTO COURTESY SPRINGFIELD ARMORY WWW.SPRINGFIELD-ARMORY.COM
Shot placement is always

more important than caliber.
than caliber. If I hit an assailant in the ass cellence and recognize the life and death slowly until achieving perfect precision.
with a .45, chances are he is going to survive consequences of firearms skills, we must ac- Consider re-holstering to be slow practice
and continue to attack me. If I shoot him knowledge are best described as minimally for perfect precision also. Both should be ex-
in the medulla oblongata with almost any adequate. Most state concealed handgun pro- ecuted with your eyes on your target. Make
caliber, my chances of immediately terminat- ficiency requirements for citizens are not any certain your finger never enters the trigger
ing his attack are pretty good. In my experi- better. Shooting with your uncle Bob who guard and any safeties are not deactivated
ence, hitting anyone with any caliber tends has been shooting and hunting for 20 years until sights are aligned on target and make
to change their mindset about hurting you may inadvertently reinforce unsafe habits or certain your finger is removed from the trig-
pretty quickly, though you need to be pre- inefficient techniques. ger and any safeties are activated before the
pared for a worst case encounter. Conduct live safety training with an NRA weapon comes off target. Practice a covert
If you are carrying a pocket pistol; that certified instructor in your area before train- draw for when you may have the option of
is, a pistol in your pocket, extra precautions ing on your own. All instructors are not great, inconspicuously drawing the weapon (such
must be taken to guarantee safety. I do not but there is great training available within a as under a restaurant table) and a dynamic
recommend carrying a pistol in your pocket day’s drive anywhere in the country. Be cau- draw for when drawing quickly but safely is
without a holster designed for the pocket tious of the tactical lessons taught by individ- critical. Once your draw is well honed, prac-
that can safely contain it without hindering uals who have never been in a gunfight (and tice it at least weekly and add in different
your draw. This is especially important with won). Commit to training on a regular basis. positions such as starting with your hands
Glocks and similar pistols (see the MIC hol- Well planned dry fire training can be the ma- down to your sides or in an interview stance,
ster or the SEALed Mindset ConSEAL hol- jority of your training. There is no need to drawing standing, seated or drawing while
ster for a creative idea with both pros and practice live any skill you have not already moving to cover, etc. Be safe, train hard, sem-
cons). Do not carry anything else in the same mastered dry.This enhances safety and saves per fi. 3
pocket. Do not sacrifice safety.The benefit of a ton of money. You are responsible for your
a pocket pistol is convenience. The cost is a own safety and you are responsible for com- BIO
less efficient draw stroke than you may have plying with all relevant laws. Mac Mackinzie is a former ANGLICO Ma-
from a well-designed belt holster. After receiving live safety instruction, prac- rine, competitive shooter, personal security
The final, but most important piece of the tice your draw stroke dry (unloaded) every specialist, security manager and project
puzzle is training. Shooting for defensive day for at least a week. Check whether you manager. He has trained hundreds of citi-
purposes is a complex and perishable skill. are “printing” or not (whether someone zens and personnel from military, security
Much of the DOD and many law enforce- else can make out the shape of the weapon and law enforcement agencies worldwide.
ment agencies provide minimal handgun through your clothing). Each session can be He is director of Critical Defense Group
training that, as individuals who pursue ex- as short as five minutes. Practice extremely (www.criticaldefensegroup.com)

ESTABLISH A
FIRM, FINAL
FIRING GRIP.
AFTER PROPERLY
LINKING THE GRIP,
EXTENSION BEGINS
AND THE ARMS ARE
EXTENDED OUT TO
THE SHOOTER’S
STRONGEST POINT.
TRAINING AN
EFFICIENT DRAW
When it comes to a fight it is always best to get off
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF 30-10PISTOL.COM
to a good start, set the tempo and fight your fight.
S
ince we are going to be looking at the tiple shoot and no shoot targets positioned gagement or he will have to fight through
issue of the draw stroke from a lawful, closely together and adhering to basic skills recoil to acquire and realign his sights to get
defensive point of view, action beats developed over time will help you through accurate hits. His hesitation will aid you in
reaction, but we must be prepared for react- these moments. regaining some of the time lost during the ini-
ing to deadly force incidents and not initiat- Once a deadly force incident has been initi- tiation of the assault if you were unable to see
ing them. However, if we practice situational ated, first control the mind to allow the body and avoid the incident as it developed.
awareness in order to see and avoid, our train- to perform as trained. When this is done we Now you must make the most of this op-
ing can be drilled with this fact in mind and are able to draw on our training by instinc- portunity by returning a high volume of ac-
we will be equipped mentally to overcome tively moving off the line of force (if we are curate fire to neutralize the threat. This can
the reactionary gap. A fast, smooth and ef- not moving as the lead member of a stick or only be done by a fast, consistent and prop-
ficient draw stroke honed by hours of dry stack during a team movement.) This forces erly practiced draw stroke that has been re-
practice and live range time with a timer, mul- the aggressor to pause and reorient his en- hearsed over time with real-world relevant

WHEN SEATED BEHIND A DESK, YOUR DRAWSTROKE MUST EXTEND THE

DISTANCE THAT IT IS MOVED VERTICALLY BEFORE ROTATING THE MUZZLE IN THE
DIRECTION OF THE TARGET AS MUCH AS IS NECESSARY TO CLEAR THE DESK.
drills and compressed times. We all have rounds into the threat—I like to break the ach and then conclude with ten more draws
heard the saying,“slow is smooth and smooth draw down into a three step process. The with the support hand mid-sternum. If you
is fast.” I see quite a few people with robotic first step is the grip. Before the gun is re- do this, you did not practice your draw thirty
draws because in their mind’s eye they are moved from the holster we must first estab- times, but rather three different draws ten
being smooth and equating this with being lish a firm, final firing grip. Place the web of times each.
fast. Well, I don’t buy that. I believe fast is fast the shooting hand high on the tang, the mid- If your support hand is indexed in a dis-
and you must know what fast looks like in or- dle, index and pinky finger wrapped firmly tinctly different location, this affects the link
der to become fast. This is done by watching around the grip and the index finger straight up of the support hand and the shooting
the top shooters from all the shooting sports along the outside of the holster where the hand during the second phase of the draw
train and compete. Jim Rohn once said,“Any- slide is located. Just as important as the hand stroke.This will cause the support hand to be
thing you want to accomplish in life you must that grips the gun is the support hand. either too high or low on the gun. At this
make it a study.” The support hand must instinctively index point, one of two things must occur. Either,
With that in mind, how do we become fast? to the same place on your body every single during the press out process you will have
Training academies have drilled into us that time. When you are practicing your draws, to make adjustments in your grip to properly
the combat draw stroke is a five step process. don’t do ten draws with the support hand align the sights or you must fix the grip in
Because we should be concerned about the just above your belt, another ten draws with the low ready while the gun is still close to
end product—an accurate high volume of your support hand at the top of your stom- the center of the body by the sternum. This

shooting and is used at distances from 10 feet

to just outside contact distances. Proper grip
and indexing hard with the thumbs into the
threat until the front sight is observed just
above the mid-stomach is paramount. Each
situation will be unique, so you will want to
use the appropriate sight gear to end the en-
counter.
Taking all of the above into account, we
need to develop a few drills to allow us to
record and track our training progress. I like
to use IPSC/USPSA targets for a large portion
of my training drills because of the “A” and
“C” markings. I never allow “D” Zone hits to
count, but rather use this area to determine
how far off shooters are from their goals. I
also like to use Action Target’s eight-inch stat-
ic steel plates to cut down on maintenance
time on the range.
The first drill I like to warm up with and
gauge performance with is the one-second
drill. Set the eight-inch steel target at 10 yards
and the shot timer to 2.5 seconds. Using the
delay setting on the timer, draw and fire one
round at the eight-inch static steel. After get-
ting five hits in a row, reduce the time by a
quarter of a second and repeat for another
five consecutive hits. After getting down to
1.5 seconds reduce the time by a tenth of a
second for three consecutive hits. Once the
timer is down to one second, take a five min-
ute break and then come back to attempt a
Execute a perfect drawstroke, drop to the right knee, one second draw with a hit. If I am unable to
pressing the trigger to threshold as soon as sights are accomplish this in three attempts I will then
aligned on target and a decision to fire has been made. bump the time up by a tenth of a second until
I can get three consecutive hits while main-
taining total control.
is an unnatural and unpracticed technique the grip, extension begins and the arms are This drill is practiced once a week on the
that will extend the time the first shot will extended out to the shooter’s strongest point. range, but also on my dry-practice training
break. Either of these choices now forces This will be different for each shooter and de- days as a warm up. Remember, no matter
you to pause your engagements and allows pends on body type, build and any previous what drills you perform on the range or in
the threat to extend the reactionary gap. Al- injuries. I often see shooters over extending dry-practice always maintain control and in-
though this may only cause you to pause for a their arms and thus reducing their ability to crementally build up your skills. 3
second, you must remember that the average displace recoil through the arms and shoul-
human being is capable of firing 4 rounds per ders. BIO
second. Therefore, each quarter second of If the decision to fire has been made, then James Washington is a firearms and tactics
delay equals one less round inbound. during the extension process, the eye focus trainer with multiple agencies. He has
The third phase of the draw stroke is the goes from the target to the front sight, while served as a sergeant with the Northwest-
press out or extension. This phase begins af- the finger rolls all of the slack out of the trig- ern University Police Department and has
ter the link up of the second stage. If you ger. I use sight gears to determine the speed more than ten years of service with the Chi-
begin the extension prior to linking the and tempo of an engagement. Sight Gear 1 is cago Housing Authority Police, serving six
strong and support hands together you will perfect sight alignment and is used for longer of those years detailed to an FBI Gang Task
force the support hand to try and catch up or precise shots. Sight Gear 2 is a flash sight Force. The author is the 2003 Pan Ameri-
with the strong hand insuring an improper picture, where the front sight wobbles in the can Brazilian Jiu Jitsu champion and 2003,
link up, forcing you to delay engagement or rear sight notch and is used to get combat 2005 Arnold Schwarzenegger / Gracie Clas-
not be able to aggressively apply numerous hits during intermediate distance engage- sic submission tournament champion
shots into the threat. After properly linking ments. Sight Gear 3 is front sight proximity (www.highdesert-defensive-shooting-school.net).

Self Defense: Pistol Training Hacks

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Self Defense: Pistol Training Hacks

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Self Defense: Pistol Training Hacks

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

17 SELF DEFENSE

Brought to you by DryFireTrainingCards.com and UpgradedShooter.com

2 www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS

17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 3

sight alignment is performed correctly only

ING ECO UGH

Stance: HANDGUN ACCURACY ISSUE CHART, FOR A RIGHT HANDED SHOOTER

4 www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS

THE BEST, MOST ACCURATE RESULTS WILL BE

17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 5

IN 21 DAYS OR YOUR shots outside of the 8 inch target zone, and

MONEY BACK... the weapon will naturally settle to point of

SHOOTING SKILLS IN PEAK Fundamental Balance:

6 www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS

EVERY TIME you go out and train, you should

17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 7

SAVE YOUR LIFE.

8 www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS

THE “SHOULDER BUMP” TECHNIQUE

17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 9

be the most appropriate option for the mission.

10 www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS

all at once. The stance should allow the abil-

17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 11

USING THE HAMMER GRIP FOR GRAPPLING

This is named after the popular Pugil Stick.

The rifle can

THE KEY TO A GOOD STANCE IS THE ABILITY

vital areas of the body and also to be poised

THE “X” MOTION Footwork

MUZZLE LUNGE THRUST ATTACKS

vs. KNIFE ATTACK

17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 15

I think grip is the least understood

16 www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS

17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 17

18 www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS

Many people look at one hand shooting as

something exclusive to law enforcement officers

17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 19

20 www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS

violent encounters, our field training officer, firearms instructor

17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 21

SPEED IS FINAL! BY: SHANNON SMITH

22 www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS

START WITH DRY-FIRE

17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 23

24 www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS

17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 25

to committed, every day carry. breezeway in Cabrini Green (Ed: Notorious

26 www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS

I can have the ability to drive the gun hard if

ALL IMAGES THIS PAGE - BSHONTS

17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 27

Everything old is new again. –Peter Allen

28 www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS

I’ve been a martial arts enthusiast since I

delivered precision categories, “performance shooting” and “de-

17 SELF-DEFENSE PISTOL TRAINING HACKS www.DryFireTrainingCards.com www.UpgradedShooter.com 29