Training When the Weather Turns Cold

Here in Ohio it is definitely fall, and the weather is starting to turn colder, which it will continue to do until everything thaws out next spring.  So, I thought I would dedicate this post to giving some ideas for how to train when the weather is less than perfect.

The best way to train, is just like you would if the weather was perfect.  Cold, windy, overcast day?   Great, put on a coat, and go to the range!  Not only is it more likely you will be the only person there, so you can optimize your training time, but I am a firm believer in training like you will fight.  I will add a caveat here.  I understand that some people view firearms as purely for recreation or sport, and don't really think about them as defensive tools.  If you fall in that category, then maybe you are content with just shooting when it is nice outside, or indoors.

But, if you carry a firearm for defense, do you just carry it outside when it is 75 degrees and sunny?  Then why would that be the only time that you go to the range?  The changing seasons bring new challenges to carry a defensive sidearm, and your training should reflect that.

Odds are that you are wearing more, heavier layers of clothing.  Have you practiced drawing with those extra layers on?  There is a big difference between just sweeping a t-shirt out of the way, as opposed to a winter coat.  The winter coat allows you to conceal a full-sized handgun easier, but also complicates the draw.  So, go to the range wearing your seasonally appropriate outerwear, and practice drawing, and firing in it. Are the sleeves positioned in such a way that you can move adequately to draw and fire?  Or do they restrict your movement?

Equally important, do you wear gloves when your hands get cold?  When is the last time that you tried drawing and shooting your handgun, or even just shooting your handgun, with those gloves on?  Is the trigger guard on your pistol big enough that you can get your gloved finger into position?  Do you know how to index your finger on the trigger to pull slow, steady, and straight to the rear while wearing your gloves?  What about operating the rest of the controls on your pistol with gloves on?  Or performing malfunction drills?  Or reloads?   If you are going to be wearing gloves, these are things you need to consider.

As the days get colder, they also get shorter.  It is not uncommon for people to leave in the morning for work when it is dark, and then get back home after the sun has already set in the evening.  If this sounds like your winter, when is the last time that you tried to do any low-light shooting?  Does your pistol have night sights or a laser to help you properly index your shots before firing them?  Have you taken the time to check the zero if it does?  Are you carrying some sort of hand held flashlight to illuminate any potential targets?

These are all things that people who don't live in tropical paradises need to consider as the seasons change, because they should affect your gear, tactics and training.  You don't necessarily need to go out to the range in a monsoon, but if you do, more power to your.  You will almost certainly be the only person there.  But, when we as humans experience discomfort, like being cold, we tend to start to internalize everything, and just focus on our own misery.  If you go to the range when you are in such a state of mind, it will force you to stop internalizing, and focus on other things, like firearms safety, and how well you are shooting.  So, it adds a little bit of adversity to your range trip, which will help you get outside you comfort zone, and push yourself, to increase your skills.

You can always hop in the car and crank the heater on the way home, so there really is no excuse for not training in less than perfect weather.  It will teach you a lot about your gear, and more importantly, about yourself.

Walk Before You Run

Shooting is actually a fairly complex activity, there are a lot of small things you need to be aware of and control in order to shoot well.  Things like sight alignment and picture, your breathing, your position, trigger control, and follow through.  If you don't take the time to build a solid foundation for your shooting skills, you will not be able to advance them to more advanced methods.

Everyone wants to go to the gun store, buy a gun, and then go straight to the range, and shoot precisely while hanging upside down on spy-rigging under a helicopter.  That actually may be a bit of a stretch, but I think that is the attitude of some shooters.  They don't want to take the time and build that solid foundation.  But the truth is, if you can't shoot accurately during slow fire, you can't do it during rapid fire.  And the same goes for movement, if you can't shoot where you want while you are standing still, you aren't going to be able to do it while you are moving.  So, while you may want to go straight to more advanced techniques and skills for self defense, make sure you have the building blocks to do so.

If you don't know how to build those blocks, or you don't know why your bullets aren't going where you want, find someone who knows how to teach others to shoot that is willing to help you.  Rifle and pistol shooting share most of the same fundamentals, becoming better at one will help you become better at the other.  Shotguns have a few more differences, but becoming a better shooter in any discipline will help you across the board, provided you remember the differences.  But some sort of basic instruction will help inexperienced shooters build a solid foundation so that they can move on to more advanced skills.

I can often look at a student's target, and identify what the problem is just by seeing where their hits are at the range.   Most of the common issues people have when shooting have tell-tale patterns that manifest themselves on the target, and experienced shooters can diagnose them.  If you have problems with more than one of the fundamentals, focus on fixing one of them at a time.  Aiming and trigger control are the two that should be focused on first, because they have the largest effect on downrange results, then you can work on breathing, hold control, and follow through,  And as you become more proficient in one fundamental, you have to keep practicing that fundamental as you move on to the next one.

Only after you have the basics down, should you worry about things like drawing a pistol from a holster and shooting, or shooting on the move.  It is going to take some time, and some rounds downrange in order to get to that point though.  But I will cover more about pushing yourself and your comfort zone at the range in my next post.

Some Magazine Basics

One topic that people seem to confuse on a rather regular basis is what is a magazine, and what is a clip.  In the picture above there are both magazines, and clips.  First are the four magazines, starting from the left, a 30 round AK-variant magazine, a 30 round Magpul Pmag for 5.56 rifles, a 15 round Sig 226 9mm magazine, and a 6 round .45 ACP Glock 36 magazine.  On the right side are two clips, a stripper clip holding 10 5.56x45 cartridges, and a 5 round stripper clip holding 7.62x54R for Mosin Nagant rifles.  When looking at the two groups above, it is easy to see that there are some differences between magazines and clips.

So, what are the functions of each respectively?  The four detachable box magazines are used to hold ammunition in a semi-automatic firearm, and able to be quickly replaced.  They are inserted into the magazine well, and remain in place while operating the firearm.  The clips, on the other hand, are used to reload magazines.  The Mosin Nagant rifle, and the vast majority of other bolt action rifles, have non-detachable box magazines.  This means that they are internal to the rifle, and are usually loaded through the top of the action, with the bolt pulled to the rear.  Instead of having soldiers try to load loose rounds by hand in the heat of battle, most military bolt action rifles had the ability to be loaded with stripper clips.  The bolt was pulled to the rear, the clip placed into some guides cut into the receiver, and then the rounds pushed down into the magazine.

Stripper clips can also be used to reload detachable box magazines.  As you can see in the picture above, there are metal stripper clip guides that can be placed onto magazines.  Then you insert the stripper clips into the guide, and simply push the bullets down into the magazine.  Loading a 30 round AR-style rifle magazine with 3 stripper clips is a whole lot easier and faster than loading 30 loose rounds by hand.  

Magazines really are rather simple mechanical devices, but the picture above shows the components, which are common for either pistol or rifle magazines.  There is the magazine body, a piece of metal or plastic formed to hold the rest of the components.  The magazine follower, which is the usually plastic piece on top of the spring, which is that the last round in the mag pushes against.  The spring itself, which may or may not have a plate on the bottom to help keep it level and from binding, and the base-plate.  

Even though they are so simple, there are a number of things that can cause a magazine to malfunction.  In semi-automatic firearms, a very high percentage of malfunctions are magazine related.  The springs can go bad with use over time, thankfully that is usually very easy and cheap to fix.  The P-mag follower above is an anti-tilt follower, which is why it has the two long pieces of plastic on the sides.  This keeps the follower level while in use, and keeps it from binding, preventing proper feeding.  Not all magazines have that characteristic, so whenever possible, it is desirable to get magazines that do.  For some magazines you can also buy aftermarket anti-tilt followers.  Also, the feed lips which hold the rounds in the magazine at the top, and allow the bullet to line up with the bolt and chamber, can over time spread out due to the constant pressure on them, which can allow double feeds and other malfunctions to happen.  Also the base plate can become damaged, and allow the spring and bullets to fall out of the bottom of the magazine, although that is fairly uncommon, unless the magazine suffers a hard impact, like being thrown on concrete.  

Hopefully this clears up some of the confusion on the magazine vs clip dilemma, and provided some basic knowledge about one of the important aspects of semi-automatic firearms. Next time you think about asking someone to hand you a clip, remember the picture below.

A Secret For Getting a Good Deal on Pistols

Firearms are a very front-end heavy investment, and there is no way around that.  For a self defense handgun, I truly believe that you should buy the best pistol you can afford, after all, you are depending on it to protect your life if you ever need to use it.  Pretty much all of the firearms from reputable makers that I would feel comfortable carrying for defense, are in the $350 and up range, with a couple of exceptions.  And  for someone who isn't a "gun person" that sounds like a lot of money to spend on a pistol.

But the truth of it is, that a pistol from a reputable manufacturer is going to be better made, and have better features.  It will be constructed of better materials, and probably has a good warranty from the maker (you can verify this before buying by seeing what the manufacturer's warranty policy is).  And a firearm from a reputable maker will last a lifetime of shooting for the average user.  So, if I have a $400 handgun, that I use for 40 years, it works out to under a dollar a month of use.  Which is why saving up and buying a quality handgun is always a good idea.

Now, a lot of the more common and popular handgun brands cost five hundred dollars or more, with several thousand dollars being possible.  And that is a lot of money to spend on a handgun, I understand that.  So, I have found a way to get quality made firearms at a much lower cost than retail for a new gun.  Within the used gun market, are what are known as "police trade in guns," and these are often some of the best buys you can make.

When a police department decides to switch out firearms platforms, often their old duty guns get sold to dealers at low cost.  This means that these batches of police trade ins are comprised of firearms that have been in common use with law enforcement in the past decade.  This isn't just limited to pistols either, I have also seen police trade in batches of Ruger Mini-14's, and Remington 870 Police shotguns.  I have also seen most of the sidearms that people commonly want for defensive purposes, like pistols from Sig Sauer, Glock Smith and Wesson semi-automatics and revolvers, Beretta and Kahr.  These firearms often sell cheaper than a normal used gun of the same model, because the dealers buy them in bulk.  Often they sell for half or two-thirds of the new price.  For example, in the past I picked up a $1,000 Sig 226 in 9mm for five hundred dollars.  A lot of these pistols also have night sights on them, because they were used by police departments, and while they aren't as bright as new night sights, they are often still usable.

There are a few downsides to the police trade in firearms.  First of all, is that they generally have some finish wear.  These pistols have generally been carried a lot, and shot very little (usually only for yearly qualifications), so they have holster wear.  I don't really have a problem with these, because my firearms are tools, and they are going to acquire holster wear from use.  The other main problem is that you don't really get choices on what options you get.  If you go on Sig Sauer's website, you will see that they have a lot of different trigger styles, and upgrade packages for the 226.  The 226 that I bought was the normal variant, with their traditional DA/SA trigger.  So, if you want a particular upgraded model, police trade ins probably aren't for you.  You also don't know how many rounds the pistol has had through it, and every so often springs do need replaced in pistols, especially your recoil spring.  But with the money you save, you can spend a few dollars for a new recoil spring.  Another issue is that usually larger dealers buy up the batches of trade ins, so you either need to live close to them, or pay a transfer fee to your local gun store.

Overall, I have found police trade ins to be an excellent value, and a way to buy pistols that I may not be otherwise able to afford.  I can tolerate some finish wear and needing to replace a couple of springs, in able to get a great functioning and shooting firearm.  And here is a picture of some of my favorite police trade in pistols:  The top row is a Smith and Wesson Model 64 revolver, and the aforementioned Sig 226 9mm (you can see some finish wear on the muzzle end of the slide) and the bottom row is a Glock 36, and Sig 220.  Notice that with the Glock finish, and the stainless steel on the Model 64 the finish looks fine.

Weapon mounted vs. handheld light sources

As a civilian, it is very important to be able to identify a threat before you engage your target.  The majority of civilian defensive conditions occur in low-light or night time settings, so having some sort of illumination device handy is important.

Night sights and lasers can both be great additions to a defensive sidearm.  Night sights contain a small amount of a substance called Tritium in them, which glows in the dark.  That allows you to obtain proper sight alignment, even in the dark.  Another added side effect is that if you have them on your nightstand gun, you can use them as a reference point in the middle of the night to know where the pistol is, without the need to fumble around blindly.  The main downside is cost, but usually for $100-150 you can get a set installed on your pistol, and they also make rifle front sight posts and shotgun beads with tritium.  The other downside is that they don't last forever.  Tritium has a relatively short half-life, and so the sights dim over time, and need replaced after 10 or 15 years or so.

Lasers can also have definite advantages for defensive use.  They make a very visible aiming point on your target, and you don't really need to worry about sights.  In target range practice, you should work on mastering aiming with sights before you rely on the laser, but, in at the average ranges in a defense scenario, a laser is a definite advantage.  They also have their downsides.  They are more expensive than night sights, and run off batteries, which can fail when you need them most (which is why you should know how to use your iron sights too).  Also, due to the trajectory at which a bullet travels after it leaves the barrel, which is some variation of a parabolic arch, the laser is only truly on target at a set distance.  Aside from that set distance, some sort of Kentucky windage is needed.  


Now that I have covered some basics on those sighting aids, back to illumination sources.  You have two main options, a weapon-mounted light (WML), or a handheld flashlight, both have advantages and disadvantages, which I will cover.  I am not going to attempt to convey proper methods for using/holding flashlights in this post, that is something best covered in actual training.


The handheld flashlight is the simpler of the two.  Some traits that you want to look for if you are going to buy a flashlight for defensive use are a momentary switch, something durable, with a long battery life.    Surefire, Streamlight and Fenix all make suitable flashlights.  You want something small and light enough to carry and conceal, but not so small that it isn't bright enough to use.  For reference, I often carry a Surefire 6P LED, or a G2.  I prefer flashlights with tail end on/off switches, I find them easier to manipulate properly.  I like them to have a temporary on/off, and as well as a constant on/off capability. That way I can use light sparingly if needed, or leave it on without my hand cramping up from holding it too long.  The main disadvantage of a handheld light is that you need to modify your grip on whatever firearm you are using, be it a handgun or a long-gun.  It is also one more thing that you need to carry and control.  But it can also serve as an improvised weapon in your off-hand, for using hammer-fist strikes or a similar technique at close range.  Also, with the brightness of modern hand held flashlights, you can use them to temporarily blind/disorient the threat.  

WML's seem to be more en vogue these days, sticking with the current "tacti-cool" craze in the firearms industry.  The advantage to them is that they let you keep both hands on your firearm for a more solid grip, if they are set up properly, you don't even need to modify your grip.  And it keeps everything contained in one package, there is nothing additional you need to grab.  One downside is that if you mount a WML on a pistol, it adds bulk and weight onto the sidearm.  If you are carrying the pistol concealed, that is a big consideration.  Make sure that you function test your sidearm with the light on, it order to make sure that it operates properly with the different balance and weight distribution.  You also need to get a specially made holster in order to fit the combo, because you aren't going to have time to put the light on the gun in a lethal situation.  This adds cost, as well as makes concealment more difficult.  For long-guns, WML's make more sense to me, mounted far forward to reduce barrel shadow, and in a position where I can either operate the tail switch with my forward hand, or with a pressure switch running back to where my hand normally is, or both.  Pressure switches can be great, but they can fail, the wiring can go bad, and they have a higher likelihood of getting bumped accidentally when you don't want them to.  However, either on a pistol or long-gun, you need to make sure you buy a quality light that is capable of absorbing repeated recoil without damaging the bulb and internals.  This is especially true for a light you are going to mount on a gun with a high amount of recoil, like a 12 gauge shotgun.

But, the major difference between the two, and biggest disadvantage of the WML is this:  you have to point your gun at something in order to illuminate it.  If that thing is a threat, then that is okay.  But if that thing isn't a threat, then it is a major issue to muzzle someone or something with a loaded firearm.  A cardinal rule of gun safety is "don't point the gun at anything you aren't willing to destroy."  And if you are searching into dark corners with a WML, you are almost certainly violating that rule.  A handheld light can be used independently of the firearm, you can scan the whole area while keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction.  You can illuminate an area in a non-threat scenario, without pulling out your sidearm.   Or by using proper technique, you can use a handheld light to illuminate the area your muzzle is pointing.

I do believe that both systems can serve an important role, but you need to be cognizant of which one is proper for your situation.  When I am out and about, I usually have some sort of handheld light on my person, and use it fairly often for simply illuminating something.  But, at home, my defensive long-guns have WML's on them, which I have trained to use during my time in the Marines, but I also keep a handheld light handy, and which one I will use depends on the situation.

Being able to identify your target, and also being able to control your muzzle are both very important in a high stress threat situation.  I think that having some sort of light source handy, at least during low-light or night time is a good idea, for more reasons than just defensive use.  I hope this has been informative, as always, if anyone has questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.  Shoot straight.

Why Do I Need Extra Ammo?

I hear this question on occasion from students: "Why do I need to carry spare ammo?  I'm a great shot, and I don't go to bad parts of town, that just seems like too much trouble."  So, in this post I am going to try to shed some light on why I believe it is prudent to carry spare ammunition for your defensive sidearm.

The first reason is that you really do not want to run out of ammunition in a gun fight.  That is one of the worst things that can happen.  If you are already developing a defensive mindset, and becoming aware of your surroundings, and carrying a pistol for defense, concealing an extra magazine or two really isn't any harder.  Especially if you are carrying a snub nosed revolver, or a sub-compact semi-auto that has a capacity of 6 or more, this applies.  You may be able to put all of your shots in the 10 ring at a static range, and that shows you have the fundamentals of shooting down very well.  But life gets a lot different when there is someone shooting at you, with bullets cracking over your head, and your body gives you a massive dose of adrenaline and other chemicals into your blood stream.  You get tunnel vision, you lose fine motor skills, you focus on odd aspects of what is going on, your heart-rate increases, you get out of breath easily.  You should be moving, and your target is likely moving.  That makes it significantly harder to be able to put your bullets where you want them.  Additionally, you don't know how many threats you may face, it could be a sole attacker, but criminals rarely work alone.  And there is no guarantee that one or two rounds will stop each threat, and you should shoot until the threat is stopped.

This is one of the reasons that you should push yourself in training, and take yourself out of your comfort zone.  If your range lets you practice draws, shooting on the move, magazine reloads and malfunction drills, take advantage of that.  Don't just stay static on the range and punch holes in paper.  That way you can learn how to do complex things while under stress.

So, maybe you have a high-capacity semi-automatic handgun you carry, and you read that last paragraph thinking "If 17 rounds doesn't get me out of the situation, nothing will."  Well, that is your opinion, however, with any box-magazine fed gun, the magazine is usually the weakest link in the cycle of operation.  Magazines are mechanical and work based on springs, which means they can fail.  And with a non-working magazine, your semi-automatic just turned into a single-shot pistol.  The majority of malfunctions in a semi-automatic are magazine related.  Or what if your magazine release latch somehow got pushed in during all the stress, and your magazine goes flying onto the deck?  It is a lot easier to grab a new magazine from your waistline than scrambling in the mud for it.  Or if the base-plate got knocked off of your magazine while grappling on the ground, and the spring, follower and bullets are now in the mud too?  If for some reason your magazine or ammunition has failed, often the best solution is to replace it. So, having a spare magazine or two to reload with is an excellent idea.

So, maybe after that paragraph, you are thinking "I carry a revolver, so that doesn't apply to me!"  In which case, refer back to the earlier paragraph, because you probably have a 5-6 round capacity.  If you are in the revolver category, it is probably also a good idea to carry your spare rounds in some sort of device made to hold them.  There are speed loaders, speed strips, and moon clips, and you need to find what works best for you, but all of them make the loading process much faster and easier.  You don't want to be fumbling around in your pocket for loose rounds while you are reloading in a threat situation.  For a revolver spare ammo is usually carried on the strong side, in order to facilitate a proper reload, as was taught to the military and police for decades.

For semi-automatic carriers, usually just taking a magazine and throwing it in your pocket is not ideal.  The reason for that is that it means the magazine will not be in a consistent position when you grab it.  Having your magazines in a consistent position will help make your reloads a lot faster.  That way you can build solid muscle memory and know what your body needs to do in order to reload quickly.  So, your magazines should be in a magazine carrier, preferably on your weak side, to facilitate a smooth reload.  I usually buy double magazine pouches, and carry two spare magazines.  That is a personal choice, and I decide if I am going to conceal one magazine, I can conceal two.  But there are single magazine carriers available.  An additional advantage of having the spare magazines on the weak side of the waistline is that it helps balance out the weight I am carrying, and actually makes it more comfortable for me to carry a full sized pistol.  With just the pistol on my belt in a holster, after half a day or so, sometimes it gets uncomfortable, with the magazines opposite the pistol, I don't notice the weight all day.

I believe it is prudent for someone who takes defense seriously to carry at least one reload for their firearm.  I don't think that as a civilian I need to carry the hundreds of rounds that I used to carry as a Marine infantryman in combat zones, however, a spare magazine or two still makes a lot of sense.  If you have any comments or questions about this, please feel free to contact me or leave a comment.

EDIT:  As a response to a comment below, questioning the viability of situations that would require more than 8 rounds, here is an addendum:


Steve,

Thank you for taking the time to read and respond.

Maybe it isn't the far fetched scenario of having to stare down 9 guys like Snake.  Maybe it is one guy that is high on some strong drugs, like PCP, or a determined attacker.

The man who was supposedly on bath salts and eating another man's face was shot 4 times before the threat ended.  And since a police officer shot him, it is fairly safe to assume it was with a service caliber weapon and modern hollowpoint ammo.

In the 1986 Miami FBI shootout, one suspect was shot 6 times, the other 12.  That event is what prompted the FBI to go to more powerful, higher capacity pistols than the .38 revolvers most of their agents carried.

David Brown Jr, in Dallas Texas, killed one police officer and a bystander, before he was shot 9 times and killed by another officer.  He was high on PCP.  Once again, multiple rounds from a service caliber and defensive ammo.

I am aware that all of those examples are police shootings, and maybe you think they don't apply because of it.  But, for information about performance of modern defensive ammo, that is one of the best sources. But one, or two determined attackers, or attackers high on something that makes them feel no pain, can easily take multiple shots before the threat is over.

Shot placement is key, but it is very hard to put a shot in the right place while moving away from the threat and towards cover, and with all that physiological stuff I mentioned before going on.  The areas of the human body that need to be shot for instant incapacitation are rather small.

Some states do have a duty to retreat, and those requirements differ from state to state.  And since I am not a lawyer and can not give legal advice, I am not going to comment on what the law may or may not say.  Lethal threat scenarios are too dynamic and fluid to make a judgement call on something like that unless you have all the information.

But, I think that assuming the 6,7,8, rounds in your pistol is enough may be wishful thinking with the behavior some drugged up criminals exhibit.

I do agree that other sorts of training are very valuable as well.  As a trainer, I am constantly looking for ways to improve my own skills.  "If the only tool you have is a hammer, pretty soon everything starts to look like a nail" applies here.  Beyond all the firearms disciplines, firearms retention, open hand skills, defensive knife skills, and improvised weapon skills are all excellent additions.  And of course, developing an acute defensive mindset is the more important defensive training of all.

Thank you for your response.  If you like what you read in my blog, feel free to share it with your friends.  Hopefully this helped clear up any issues you had.  Take care.

Developing A Defensive Mindset, Part 1

This may sound a bit strange coming from an avid shooter, Marine veteran and firearms instructor, but a firearm is not the most important defensive tool you have at your disposal.  If you are in a bad situation, a firearm may be the only way for you to survive it, however, it is much preferred to avoid the bad situation to begin with, and that is why your brain is the most important self defense tool you have.  


The defensive mindset is something I wish I could talk about more in my classes, but usually the curriculum is  more "hardware" heavy, so I am going to have an ongoing series on this blog, where I talk about some aspects of developing it, and the benefits of doing so.  Now, before I go any further, I am not suggesting that one becomes paranoid, and paranoia is not what I mean when I say "defensive mindset."  According to Dictionary.com, the definition of paranoia is: 

"1. Psychiatry . a mental disorder characterized by systematized delusions and the projection of personal conflicts, which areascribed to the supposed hostility of others, sometimes progressing to disturbances of consciousness and aggressiveacts believed to be performed in self-defense or as amission. 

2. baseless or excessive suspicion of the motives of others."

I am not suggesting that one should become delusional and things that everything is a threat.  If people thought that, then they would stay in their houses all day, except then they would fear the roof would fall on their heads.  If you are genuinely paranoid, you probably should not be carrying a firearm.  

That being said, I think that general awareness of your own surroundings and what is going on around you is a good thing, and really is the first step in developing a defensive mindset.  You can't avoid a situation or defend yourself if you don't know that it is going on.  Thankfully, someone ahead of me took the time to develop a system that makes self awareness easy to understand and learn.  That person was Lt.Col. Jeff Cooper, a Marine officer and veteran of World War 2 and Korea, as well as someone instrumental to the modern use of handguns for defense.  Aside from his "color codes" which I will go over momentarily, he advocated for the scout rifle design, the "Modern Technique" for the pistol, and founded what would eventually become Gunsite Academy in Arizona.  The color codes are published in his book Principals of Personal Defense, which in my opinion is worth reading if you want to work on developing your mindset.  

According to his system there are four colors, or states of awareness, in which people exist.  

The first color is white, which  is also known as "Unaware and Unprepared."  This is, unfortunately, the state of awareness which most people tend to be in most of the time, including while doing tasks such as driving.  While in condition white, you are oblivious to the outside world either through a lack of awareness, or possibly due to task fixation.  But, either way, you have no idea what is going on around you.  If you want to see what people look like in condition white, go sit at an outdoor seating section one night for dinner, and just watch the people who walk by.  Especially with modern portable technology, people can become some fixated that they have no idea what is going on around them.  They can't stop and smell the roses, because they have no idea if the roses are withing 10 feet of them or not.  

White is not a condition you generally want to be in while you are out and about.  Sometimes, it will happen, its human nature.  You may become so fixated on a task that you have no idea what is going on around you.  But you need to be able to know when not to be in condition white, and when you can be in condition white.  If you are walking down an alley at night, or withdrawing a large amount of cash from an ATM by yourself, that is not the time to be in condition white.   To do so means you are not using your brain to avoid potential threats.  

The next color is yellow, which is a relaxed state of alert.   For someone who has been overseas, this becomes pretty much the natural state.  There isn't a specific threat to you, but you are aware of your surroundings.  You aren't so tied up in sending a text that you bump into a wall.  You know where people are around you, and what they are doing.  You walk into a room and look for emergency exit signs.  You simply pay attention to the world.  You don't treat the world or the people around you as a threat, because they aren't.  To do so would be paranoid.  You don't maintain a 21 foot bubble off solitude around you because you saw a Tueller Drill (more on that in a future post) video once.  But you just notice what is going on around you.  Both security professionals and criminals exist in this condition the vast majority of the time. There is a saying that "the only people who check their 6 o'clock are police and military, or criminals and bad guys."  Which is somewhat true.  Most people don't seem to care who is walking behind them, although that could be a very good piece of information to have.  If you just start to notice what is going on around you more in life, you can develop the ability to maintain this mindset for very long periods of time.  

The third color is orange, which means that there is a specific potential threat.  Something made that little voice in the back of your head say "something is not quite right here."   A side note on that little voice, I am a firm believe in listening to it, and that it is usually right.  I think it probably is a holdover from less civilized time when humans were much easier prey, both for each other and animals, and it was an internal warning system.  Pretty much every time I have had that little voice, or gut feeling tell me something wasn't awry, it was correct.  So I listen to mine, although you can judge if you should listen to yours or not.  But when in condition orange, something doesn't seem right.  Maybe someone is acting in a way that makes you uncomfortable, maybe someone you don't know if following you more than just accidentally.  Maybe a car with multiple people and loud music pulls up when you are at the ATM, and the occupants just sit and watch you.  But whatever doesn't seem right to you starts to become your focus.  You mentally prepare a plan for the scenario you think is likely to unfold.  There still is no defensive action taken, aside from focusing on the threat or planning, but you are more alert than in yellow.  

Condition red is condition in which you are aware of a specific threat, and take necessary actions to stop that threat to you.  That could be running away, that could be defending yourself.  But your body has triggered the fight or flight reaction, and you are following it.  It is preferable not to get to condition red, if possible, when you felt uncomfortable before and went to condition orange, you removed yourself from the situation.  In condition red you are focused on the threat, and your survival.  Your body has dumped a whole lot of adrenaline and endorphins into your bloodstream and now you are taking action.  You lose fine motor skills, get tunnel vision, your mouth goes dry and your palms get all sweaty as your heart rate skyrockets.  Its the same feeling you get when you are certain you are about have a car accident, but somehow avoid it.  Condition red is about surviving that specific threat to you, in whatever manner is appropriate, it is virtually always preferable to not have to go into this mode, and to utilize your condition of awareness to avoid specific threats.  Someone has made a threat, shown a weapon, or done something that shows they intend to do you harm.  

The most important part of having a defensive mindset is using it to avoid potential self defense situations.  Unless you have a job that necessitates going into harms way, then don't go to places that are dangerous if you don't have to.  Just because you carry a gun doesn't mean you are superman, and should go walk through dark alleys by yourself at night.  De-escalation and avoidance of self defense situations are always preferred to having to physically defend one's self.  Your pride may be hurt, or you may be inconvenienced, but that is a lot cheaper financially and mentally than if you get into a defensive shooting you don't need to.  If you are going to take self-defense seriously, the "software side" your brain, attitude and state of awareness are infinitely more important than the "hardware" side, which would be your sidearm, bullets, and gear.  Put some real thought and effort into developing the software side.  A lot of people want to go to the range a couple times a year and call themselves prepared, but your most important training can be done inside your own head.  Think of it this way, which component will you use on a daily basis to keep yourself and your loved ones safe?  The hardware, or the software?  Which one do you think needs more work?  Above, I generally paraphrased the color codes, once again, if you want to learn more about developing a defensive mindset, Lt.Col. Cooper's book is a good place to start

  

   

Shooting Indoors vs. Outdoors

A lot of times newer shooters have trouble finding or deciding on where they should go to get some practice in. And finding a good place to shoot should be hard.  One question people ask fairly often is whether its better to shoot indoors or outdoors, so I thought I would offer some advantages and disadvantages to each, to offer some insight into what will work best for you.  This post does focus on dedicated shooting ranges of both varieties.  If you have private land available to you that you can shoot on, that is a great thing, as long as it is done in a safe manner.

I will start by talking about indoor ranges, which, when they are done right, can be pretty awesome.  You are in a comfortable, climate controlled setting, which is also sheltered from the elements.  Indoor ranges almost always have some sort of motorized pulley system to send your target downrange and retrieve it, which can mean more shooting time, because you don't need to wait for a cease fire to put up a fresh target.  Often indoor ranges are attached to gun shops, which means you can window shop while you wait for a lane to open up, they have ammo on hand to buy if you need more, and sometimes they have guns for rent, which is helpful if you want to get a feel for a gun before you buy it.

But, more often than not, the indoor ranges I have seen are less than ideal, and leave a lot to be desired.  The biggest issue that many indoor ranges have is their ventilation system.   If an indoor range is not properly ventilated, then all that smoke, unburnt powder and lead residue from shooting is just hanging in the air.  Obviously that isn't the sort of thing that you want to be breathing into your lungs, so good a good ventilation system is key.  I have been on indoor ranges with great systems, and indoor ranges with terrible or non-working systems.  This is definitely something to look into when choosing an indoor range.

The next issue indoor ranges also have is size/space.  Usually indoor ranges don't allow for real distance shooting.  One hundred yards is about the longest indoor range I have seen, with 25 yards being much more common.  This is perfectly acceptable for pistol shooting, but generally too short for rifle work.  Many indoor ranges also don't allow rifle's to be fired at them, because their backstop (the part of the range that stops the bullets) isn't built to withstand the higher power that rifle cartridges have.  Another point against indoor ranges is that there is generally less space per shooter on the firing line.  Your lane might just be three feet wide.  And then there can be a person on each side of you.  If someone in the next lane over is firing a pistol with a large muzzle blast, it can be uncomfortable to be next to them.  Also, the partitions tend not to be bullet proof, so if the person next to you has poor firearm safety skills, it can be a safety hazard.  The same is true on an outdoor range, but they tend to be more open, and without partitions to block your view of other shooters.

The lighting in indoor ranges also is often not very good the entire distance of the range.  It would be very expensive to have lights all the way down every target lane on even a 25 meter range, so the lighting conditions can shift, depending on your distance to the target.  Also, most indoor ranges tend to amplify the sound of the gunshots, so they are much louder than if fired outdoors.  Hearing protection should always be worn when firing a gun, but ear muffs are almost always needed for an indoor range, because of how much the sound is amplified, in order to protect your hearing.  I haven't found any ear plugs that work well for me indoors, but I have never tried the really expensive ones.

In my experience, outdoor ranges are usually a better place to shoot, and the first reason is space.  You can find ranges out to 1,000 meters and beyond, so that you can really stretch out your shooting distance.  They also generally have more space on the shooting line, do you aren't right next to your shooting neighbor.  Ventilation is provided naturally, and the sound of a gunshot is much quieter because there are no walls for the sound to bounce off of.  Outdoor ranges are also generally less expensive to shoot on, and you get more time on the range.  At indoor ranges you usually pay by the hour or half hour, at an outdoor range it is often a lower fee to begin with, and for the day.  You can also find an outdoor range for rifles, pistols, or shotgun sports.  I have seen a video online for an indoor shotgun sports range, in Germany, but it doesn't seem very practical to me, and it would certainly be expensive.  Outdoor ranges also often allow more target types to be fired on, most indoor ranges only allow paper targets.

Some of the downsides is that often there is not a gun shop attached to the outdoor range, so you need to bring all of your supplies with you.  Which also means you often can not rent guns there.  But, since you have more time and can fire at a more leisurely pace, you can talk to other shooters if you are so inclined, and many would be willing to let you shoot a few rounds through their firearm if you ask nicely (or they may not, but I will often let someone shoot a gun if they ask nicely and handle their own firearms safely).    You also will probably have to wait for a cease fire on the range to replace targets, so that no one is handling firearms with people downrange.  You also may need some sort of optic, like binoculars or a spotting scope, to see where you are hitting on target between cease fires.  The distance to the target is also often set, so you need to shoot a whatever distance all the other shooters are firing at.

The other big "disadvantage" of an outdoor range, isn't really a disadvantage to me.  And that is that you are exposed to the weather and the elements.  There is no A/C or heat, although some outdoor ranges do have overhead structures, to keep the sun or rain off of you.   But I have shot year round, in the snow, rain, and baking sun.  Maybe it is the Marine infantryman in me talking, but you need to train in uncomfortable conditions.

As much as we might like every self defense encounter to happen when it is 75 degrees and sunny out, that is seldom the case.  When people are exposed to the elements, they tend to internalize their attention.  Instead of paying attention to their surroundings, they worry about how cold/hot, wet, and miserable they are, and how soon they can remedy that.  This makes you a more attractive target to someone who wants to do you harm, because you aren't paying attention to the world around you.  So, aside from the practical applications of things like making sure you can hold your gun when it is wet (from rain or sweat), there is another advantage to shooting in the elements.  It forces you to focus on something outward while outside of your comfort zone.  When shooting a gun, your attention should be on how you are interacting with the gun, making sure you are handling it safely, and focusing on good fundamentals of marksmanship to get good hits.  So it also trains you not to internalize with self pity when you are cold and wet, or baking in the sun.  Which will help your situational awareness when outside of your comfort zone.

Maybe everyone else doesn't see it the same way as me, but I see exposure to the elements as one of the biggest advantages of shooting outdoors.  Of course, if you are out in wet conditions, firearms maintenance will take slightly longer, and more detailed attention, that is something I will cover later.  I hope this cleared up somethings for anyone who was having a hard time deciding between shooting indoors or outdoors.  Thanks for reading.

Some Different Target Ideas

While shooting at traditional scoring targets does serve its purpose. I find that after a while it gets kind off boring, so I start looking for new types of things that are both inexpensive, and fun to shoot.  In this post I will cover some of the ideas which I have found through the years.  Now, as I mentioned in the last post, you need to know your target, as well as what lies beyond it.  So, anything that is very hard, and very flat, offers a more significant chance or ricochet.  That is why there are some extra safety rules for shooting at steel targets in matches (usually lead bullets, minimum safe distances and things like that).  As well as the targets either being angled in such a way as to deflect the bullet in a safe direction, or having some other means of distributing the energy in a safe manner (like a "pepper popper" target that falls backwards).   So, make sure whatever target you are shooting, will not send the rounds coming back towards you, or in any other unsafe direction.  That being said, shooting steel in a safe matter is a lot of fun, because it gives audible feedback of a good hit.

One of the characteristics that will make a good type of target stand out is that it gives easily recognizable feedback, which is one area where paper generally fails beyond normal pistol ranges.  That being said when I am shooting at paper targets, I usually shoot either at a human silhouette target, or simple paper plates.  If you read Marshall's findings that he wrote after World War 2, it makes a strong case for why someone who is training for defend themselves with a firearm should shoot at a silhouette or similar target.  You can also find a very good synopsis of the topic in "On Killing," by Ltcol. Dave Grossman.

But, purpose made targets tend to be kind of expensive, which is a reason I like paper plates.  You can buy a couple hundred for a few bucks, and they do a lot of things well.  First of all they are a 9" circle, which is about the same as most standard bullseye pistol targets, so they are a reasonable size target for a pistol.  However, unlike standard pistol targets, they lack aiming reference points, which I like for a couple reasons.  First is that a lot of people have a tendency to try to focus on the target while shooting, which isn't really what you want to do for sighted firing.  You want to be focused on the front sight, the target should be fuzzy in the background.  So, if you take away aiming points on the target, a lot of times people shoot smaller groups, because they focusing on the front sight as long as the target is somewhat lined up.  The other reason is that a fair amount of my firearms training that I do myself is defensive in nature.  In a self-defense situation, there probably will not be aiming references on an assailant, so, why would you have them on your targets?  If you can consistently get a 2-3" group on a paper plate from 7-10 yards with a pistol, then you understand the fundamentals of shooting, and are pretty good at executing them.

One upgrade that you can also use with a paper target are the target stickers that have been out for a few years, that show with a bright color where your shot went.  There are a number of different makers and names for them, but if you go to somewhere that sells firearms, they most likely have them.  These make it possible to see hits on a paper target at further distances, and can really come in handy for sighting in a new scope or set of sights.

One of my favorite targets to shoot for a long time have been clay pigeons, and not just with a shotgun either.  Trap, skeet, sporting clays, or just informal clay sports are a whole lot of fun, but your options aren't limited to that.  You can also use them as a rifle or pistol target.  They are fairly inexpensive (usually under $10 for a box of 90), so you can shoot a lot of them.  They also are easy to sight in on due to their bright orange color, although they have about a 3" diameter, so it takes some skill to hit them.  But they provide very positive feedback when shot.  You can clearly see the clay turn to dust when hit with a rifle or pistol round, which is a bit more exciting that seeing a new hole in a piece of paper.  Also, if you want to have a competition with your friends, see who can get the most hits with a .22 on a clay until it is completely disintegrated.  If you start at the top and work your way down, it may be more than you think.

Another good option, especially for rifles at distance, are balloons.  Not only will a balloon tell you what the wind is doing at the target, it moves the target around to increase the difficulty.  The balloon obviously gives very positive visual feedback as well.    The downside is obviously that they are a single shot target, but, if you want to add a bit of stress, and test your skills for hunting, a balloon can be a great target.  You need to be able to read the wind, be accurate, and hit a moving target within its arc of movement.

Finally you have basic plinking type targets.  Things like old pop or food cans that turn into a moving target when shot with a .22.  Water bottles filled with liquid that provide great visual feedback when hit.  Or a deck of cards that you and your friends can play firearms poke with (put all the cards face up on a target backing, each shooter gets 5 shots, best hand wins).  Or bowling pins. The possibilities are really endless.

Please check with your range safety officer/range master before just putting up random objects as targets, most ranges have rules about what kind of targets are allowed.  And if you are shooting at objects like these on private property, be sure to clean up any debris after you are done shooting.  Always be sure the target is safe to shoot at, and you have a safe backstop as well.  Does anyone else have any fun target ideas that they would like to share?  I am always looking for new ideas.

The Basics of Firearms Safety

Some people seem to think that safe gun handling rules don't always apply to them, and this baffles me.  The basic rules of gun safety are easy to follow as long as you are aware of your movements, and able to control your body.  It is also worth noting that the basic gun safety rules don't just apply to new or less experienced shooters, they apply to everyone.  In my experience often times newer shooters are much more safety conscious, because they haven't been around guns so long to get a laid back attitude towards gun safety, so it is something they are very aware of.

One of the last things that outgoing convoys saw leaving our base in Iraq was "Complacency Kills," spray painted in big letters on a concrete blast barricade.  And I think that simple phrase is an important reminder to someone who routinely does an activity that has an element to danger.  It doesn't just apply to firearms, shooting, or the military.  It applies to sky or scuba diving, working with power tools, or even just our daily commute.  If your attitude towards firearms safety is that you know it all, and you don't need to keep reading  this blog on firearms safety, then you are exactly the kind of person who needs a refresher on gun safety.  In fact, as I write this I will be evaluating my own gun safety habits, and re-affirming good habits.  So, without further ado, the rules in my own language.

1. Never point a firearm at anything you do not wish to destroy.  This is also sometimes stated as "Treat every gun as if it were loaded."  A pet peeve of mine is when someone does something blatantly unsafe with a firearm, like point it at me, and then offers as a weak excuse "But it's unloaded!" Never is a pretty cut and dry word in my book, it is an absolute.  Muzzle awareness seems to be one of the first things to start slipping when complacency sets in.  As long as this rule is followed, the worst thing that can happen is some property damage.  It is always the first rule listed for a reason, because it is the most imperative to firearms safety.  But a few times a year you can open up your newspaper and read about someone being shot with an "unloaded" gun.  Which is of course preposterous, unloaded guns can't shoot.  Whenever you come upon a firearm that you are unsure of the condition of, you should point the firearm in a safe direction and conduct a visual and physical check of the chamber, in order to make sure the weapon is unloaded.  If you don't know how to check the condition, find someone who does know how.  But don't leave the firearm unattended where a child can find it.

2.  Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.  This is one area where new shooters seem to struggle sometimes.  Humans seem to have a natural inclination to put their finger on the trigger when they pick up a gun, it must be instinctive.  But you as a shooter need to train yourself to keep your finger straight along the frame and off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.  Especially with a gun that you are unfamiliar with.  Triggers come in a wide range of weights, and some of them are very light, if you pick up a target rifle with a very light trigger and put your finger on the trigger, you could fire it unintentionally.  So, keeping your finger off the trigger is important.  Many modern sidearms have safety devices that means that the pistol can not fire unless the trigger is pulled correctly, and are also drop safe.  So there is no way for them to just "magically go off by themselves" a human must interact with them in some way in order for them to fire a round.

3.  Keep the firearm unloaded until you are ready to use it.  This coincides with people who get shot by "unloaded" firearms.  If you are not actively using the firearm, it should be unloaded.  With ammunition separate.  If this rule is followed, even if an unauthorized user gains access to the gun, they will not be able to fire it.  I will add as a note here, a firearm that is kept for a defensive purpose is in use, and as such, should be kept loaded.

The fourth semi-official rule is that you should know your target, what lies beyond it, and in between it.  There are some objects that should not be shot at, because of the high risk of ricochets, things like hardened steel straight on, bodies of water, and rocks.  A ricochet can be just as deadly as a round straight out of the barrel, so you need to shoot at a target that will not send the whole bullet, of pieces of it, back towards you. Likewise, you need a safe backstop to shoot into.  Once you pull the trigger, that bullet belongs to you, and you are responsible for what it does.  So you must take the time and effort to make sure you have a safe backstop to shoot into.  What is a safe backstop?  The base of a hill, or a large pile of packed dirt, or some other material that will contain bullets in a safe manner.  The final part is to know what lies in between.  If you are shooting at a distance, you need to make sure no one, or thing is between you and the target that you don't want to shoot.  With a rifle like an AR-15 with raised sights, you need to make sure that you are firing high enough over any obstructions to avoid ricochets.  This also applies to scoped rifles, and rifles on bipods.  To not be aware of your surroundings and shooting lane while shooting is extremely irresponsible, and can have dire consequences.

If these basic safety rules are followed, then you should never have a negligent discharge that causes property damage, or hurts someone that you don't want to.  Hopefully this post has you contemplating your own firearms safety habit.  If you own or use firearms, then safety is your responsibility.  Letting complacency set in or ignoring safety rules can negatively impact your life forever, and following these simple rules really isn't that hard as long as you pay attention.  Shooting is one of the safest sports that there is, and a sport that everyone can enjoy, and as long as we all do our part obeying the safety rules, it will stay that way.

Why a gun?

I guess I am going to tackle one of the basic questions prospective students may have, which is, why would someone would want to own a firearm, or carry one for defense.  The majority of classes we teach are NRA Basic Pistol and Ohio CHL courses, which are great for someone who is either new to shooting and guns, wants to get their Concealed Handgun License in Ohio, or both.  So what makes a firearm so great that someone would carry one for self defense?

I think the thing that a firearm can do for an individual that no other self defense tool can do is that it is one of the ultimate equalizers in a self defense situation.  There is not another self defense tool that can give the advantage to anyone, regardless of size, age, or gender.  A 9 millimeter bullet has the same amount of force on impact whether it is fired by a 6'4" 325 pound 25 year old man, or a 5'1", 95 pound, 78 year old woman.  The same can not be said for a knife, club, punch or any other handheld melee weapon.  There is no other self defense tool that is as effective at stopping a threat that gives the user such an advantage.

Now, there are some less lethal options that also exist, and some people may think that carrying them for self defense makes more sense than a gun.  While I do think that less lethal are valuable tools for police officers, they make less sense for civilians, and are not as effective as firearms.  Probably the most popular less lethal option is Mace, pepper, or OC spray, which can bee a great tool.  But it does have its drawbacks, which I don't think everyone considers.  First of all, it does not effect everyone equally, and can be overcome.  Some people are affected more than other, this also depends on the ingredients and strength of the spray.  But, a routine part of training for those who carry pepper spray as part of their job is to get sprayed, and then conduct a  task before seeking treatment for the spray, which proves it is not always effective at immediately stopping a threat.  The second major drawback is that although there are different types of sprays, even the more concentrated stream form is subject to forces of nature during deployment.  Rain can disrupt deployment, and wind is a major factor.  Just like any other aerosol, most defense sprays perform poorly when deployed into the wind.  And because of this, if you are going to carry a defensive spray, you should be prepared for some of the spray to blow-back on you when it is deployed.  So you need to be able to overcome its effects in order to escape the danger if the threat does not immediately stop.  So, while a defensive spray can be a good less lethal option, it also has problems.

Another less lethal option is a Taser, which also has issues that must be taken into consideration when weighing the options of carrying one or a firearm.  The first is cost, because Tasers are not inexpensive, but then again, neither is a quality made firearm.  The difference is that with a quality made firearm you get a multiple shot device that is capable of ending a threat immediately, and can be used for other activities, like recreational shooting.  A Taser is a single shot weapon unless you carry extra cartridges, so if you miss you have to have a back-up plan, and is rather limited in the scope of activities you can use it for.  It is also expensive to buy extra cartridges to practice and train with for a Taser, which is a drawback.  Tasers do work well when they deploy correctly, but even then there are problems.  Your defensive range is limited to the length of the wires connected to the probe.  And both probes have to properly connect with the target in order to make a complete circuit and deliver their charge.  Thick clothing, or a probe that misses can prevent this from happening.  Also, it only disables the threat far a temporary amount of time, and then the threat can become active again.  During that time you need to be able to escape from the area, but what if that area is your house, in the middle of the night, and you have to grab multiple other family members, like your children, in that 5-30 second window?

So a firearm really is the only defense tool that can level the playing field and immediately stop a threat.  It isn't something that should be used except in the gravest circumstances when a person is in fear for their life, but if you are facing a lethal threat, you need the capability to end it as soon as possible.   Also, it is true that shooting skills require training and practice, and that is why I recommend large amounts of both with high quality sources.  Also, in the vast majority of states, there is now the ability to legally carry one for your defense, and if you are going to carry any sort of self defense tool, please obey and understand all applicable laws for the area in which you are going to be.

But in my personal opinion, someone who wants to take some proactive measures for their defense, and the defense of their loved ones, should consider the legal ownership and carrying of firearms.  It is a grave responsibility and something which anyone considering doing should reflect on, but could mean the difference between life and death.

Aside from how valuable a firearm is for a self-defense tool, I didn't even touch on the other reasons why someone might want to legally own a firearm, like collecting, target shooting, plinking, shotgunning, organized competitions or any other sort of recreational shooting.  But I think I will leave that for another post.

An introductory post

I envision this blog to be a place that our students can continue gaining knowledge outside of the classroom, as a continuing service from us, to law abiding gun owners.  If you have questions that we didn't have time for during a course, something you think of later, or just want to talk about firearms, this is the place where you can do it.  I am not a lawyer, and will not discuss the legal aspects of using a firearm for defense, but other firearms related topics are welcome.  From firearm and ammo selection, to what kinds of holsters work best, ideas for how to conceal your handgun, to the fundamentals of shooting, and a myriad of other topics.  I hope to have new blog posts on a regular basis, so if you have a question, feel free to ask.

So, who am I, and what qualifies me to answer questions?  First of all, I don't claim to be an expert that knows everything about firearms.  There is far more information out there than one person can amass in a lifetime, so first and foremost, I am still a student as well.  I am still constantly seeking new information on new firearms and techniques, attending training courses for myself, and finding new ways to challenge myself to become a better shooter.

I started shooting when I was fifteen years old.  My family was on vacation and I had the chance to do some skeet shooting on the resort.  From the first time I pulled the trigger on that Browning over-under shotgun and sent a Fiocchi target load down-range, I was hooked.  I then branched out from just shotguns and started shooting .22 rifles, then center-fire rifles, and handguns.  I shot whenever possible, and was always looking for new firearms to try out, trying to expand both my skills and knowledge base.  Then a few years ago I joined the Marine Corps where I served in the infantry, which really expanded the types of firearms that I could fire, and the ways in which I could employ them.  I got the chance to fire most of the infantry weapons in the Marine arsenal, from the M-16, to .50 caliber machine guns, and 40mm grenade launchers.  I did two deployments while in the Marines, one each to Iraq and Afghanistan during the Global War on Terrorism.

After the Marines I attended NRA instructor courses, and currently hold ratings in rifle as pistol, as well as being a range safety officer.  Although I am currently working on adding more ratings so that I can instruct courses in other disciplines.

So, for the past decade and more, firearms have played a large roll in my life, and are a hobby and sport that I thoroughly enjoy.  I now really enjoy having the opportunity to teach people how to safely and responsibly shoot firearms, and to share my enjoyment of the shooting sports with them.  My tastes in firearms generally focus more on defense-centered skills than  precision target skills, although I am always willing to expand my horizons and try new types of shooting.

I hope that answered some questions about why I started this blog, and why I enjoy teaching others about firearms so much, and some of my qualifications to do so.  If you have any feedback or questions, please, feel free to contact me.  Thanks for stopping by.