Two Is One

When it comes to the combative arts consistency is key. Consistency leads to predictable results. Apply the fundamentals of marksmanship – obtain the sight picture you need, press the trigger smoothly, and follow through, preparing to shoot again if necessary – and the results are accurate hits on target. Proper technique for reloading or clearing malfunctions allows us to perform these actions efficiently.

Consistency is also crucial when it comes to your pistol, or other weapons. Having a pistol that works every time, fits your hand, and has a good trigger and a set of sights you can see is mandatory. Once you determine what works put together another one just like it.

Having two of the same handgun may seem like overkill but it’s really a matter of being prepared. Your pistol breaks, requiring you to send it back to the factory for repairs, which sometimes takes longer than we would like. Doing without your favorite handgun may be just an inconvenience for training and practice.

However, if you are forced to fight not having your pistol could diminish your capabilities. In a fight we need every advantage possible. As long as you’re familiar with how to operate it you can fight with any weapon, but using the one you’re most familiar and intimate with means better performance. More importantly fighting with your weapon creates confidence, which is essential to success in combat.

Should it be necessary to fight then your pistol will be taken away until legal proceedings are completed, which could be several years. Having another pistol just like you’re the one you’ve given up equips you for any possible future situations, and mentally it’s a great comfort to have the “same” weapon ready on the hip.

I would much rather own a pair twin pistols than three completely different handguns. Redundancy means one consistent set of finely honed skills and commonality between gear. The sights and triggers are the very same, mags and holsters are interchangeable, they use one caliber of ammo and I can swap out parts. This simplifies life and fighting.

Once you determine what weapon and modifications work for you, then get another one of ‘em. Buy lots of ammo and magazines, and train and practice until you can operate the weapons at a subconscious level. (Keep in mind the best way to obtain this skill level is dry practice.)

I’m not saying you shouldn’t own different style pistols, and you definitely need to be able to grab up any type firearm and fight with it. What I am saying, and there is no debating this, for fighting you will do best by sticking to one type weapon. Victory is based on results, and you get the best results by doing the same thing, over and over, very well.

Bill McLennan Leather

 

I like leather holsters, belts, and mag pouches, and it takes an artist to create leather gear that works well and looks good. Assembly line products function well, but there is a difference between that and a piece of gear that was created by someone who worked with care through each step of the process. For this type leather Bill McLennan, www.texasholsters.com, is at the top of the list.

Bill was one of the original “Death Cheaters,” a nickname for instructors at the Thunder Ranch Texas (TRT) location. I met him during my first class there, and after I became an instructor there I got to know him well during hours spent around the “campfire” at the instructors’ bunkhouse after classes. He is a true Texas gentleman, one of the most knowledgeable men I know when it comes to art of gunfightin’, and a gun-leather artist.

After many years of teaching, in San Antone as their P.D.’s rangemaster and the majority of classes at TRT, he’s seen a lot of gear, and as he says on his website after watching thousands of students and their holsters the ones he builds “work or I wouldn’t build them.” Bill’s designs and skills are heavily influenced by the work of Bruce Nelson, Milt Sparks and Tony Kanaly, and Thad Rybka. (Search the ‘net and you’ll figure out that these are solid people to have as mentors.)

Texas Holsters has a limited product line, which is the way Bill likes it. He makes holsters for 1911′s, the Glock 22 and 27, S&W 2 inch J frames, and 4 inch barrel K and N frame Smiths. They come in smooth-side out or my favorite, rough side out, and any color as long as it’s natural color leather; he doesn’t dye or work with “drum” dyed leather. Bill offers a couple of outside the waistband style holsters, which work well for concealed carry, and inside-the-waistband models for more concealment.

A good holster requires the proper belt, and Bill offers these as well as mag pouches, slings, and nice cuffs for shotguns and lever actions. I own several examples of Bill’s work, and for carry they fit and function as it should. Bill’s leather also looks good, which is why I use it for my Sunday go to meetin’ leather. After all, there are times when my work leather, which sees constant use and abuse, just doesn’t meet the dress code.

Check out Bill’s website, and if you see something you like get with him at texasholsters@gmail.com. But I have to warn you, Bill is through and through Texas, which means he doesn’t have a lot of time for idle chit-chat, so for my sake don’t waste any of his time. On Bill’s website it says: “Gun Leather: made by hand, by one man, one piece at a time.” For fine leather that will withstand actual use and looks good this is the way it should be.

Wild Things Tactical

The tactical clothing of today traces its roots back to outdoor sports, especially “alpine” style mountaineering, an aggressive method of attacking a climbing objective carrying only the bare essentials, operating without any additional support or bases.

If you need it, you hump it. This sport requires lightweight clothing that provides protection against harsh terrain, water, wind and cold while allowing climbers to perform complicated physical tasks. As this gear became more mainstream the hunting and tactical communities recognized its advantages.

Today these high-tech materials and designs from the extreme sports have been successfully adapted for everything from suburban bicycling to the most rigorous forms of combative and tactical training.

A perfect example of the evolution from sport to tactical is Wild Things, a company started in 1981 by two climbers focused on making rugged lightweight climbing gear. Wild Things Tactical (WTT) is a line of gear specifically for combative applications. For example WTT’s Hard Shell Jacket, the SO 1.0, is designed to be worn over body armor and helmets, yet still create a slim profile.

All zippers are waterproof, including the pockets. There are two open-air mesh pockets inside, along with vent zippers on the sides. The hood is fully adjustable and has a laminated brim, a feature I consider essential. I usually wear a beanie cap in the cold. A hood without a brim will constantly slide forward and cover up my eyes.

The Hard Shell pants are made to the same specs as the coat, and cut to be close fitting. A slim profile allows you to move more naturally without snagging and catching on objects in your environment. A gusseted crotch makes kneeling and squatting easy. They also have suspender loops, a mandatory feature on my outer pants.

The waist of my outer shell must be loose enough that I can get to the gear on my belt underneath the pants or the pockets of my regular pants. With the outer pair this loose I need galluses to keep them from dropping down to my ankles. The pants have zippers up to the knees so getting the pants off and on over boots is easy.

WTT produces jackets and pants in a variety of different styles and weights. Their SO 1.0 Soft Shell jacket is constructed from a “four-way stretch nylon/spandex blended fabric” with a “hydrophobic polyester fleece” lining. Each sleeve has a shoulder and forearm pocket, and the sides have pit zips.

The stow-away hood can also be worn over a helmet and is cut to provide the wearer with as wide a field of view as possible. This jacket stands alone, or you can layer it under the Hard Shell for protection from anything shy of artic like conditions.

There’s no tellin’ the weather when trouble comes knockin.’ Don’t let the climate and terrain become a threat or a negative aspect to deal with when faced with dangerous situations. Protecting ourselves from the climate and environment is an easy option, and can provide an immense advantage over a less-equipped adversary.

Injury Drills

Hand and arm injuries are common during fights. You injure your hand hitting someone. The arm doesn’t work after blocking a strike from a baseball bat. A knife cut disables tendons and muscles.

You broke something after being thrown to the ground. Part of our training and practice with firearms is learning how to operate them with only one hand and arm so if injured we still stay in the fight.

An area that normally isn’t addressed is the situation where you still have partial use of the injured limb or hand. A study of gunfights will reveal where a shooter lost a finger or part of a hand but still used it to reload. The hand is completely disabled but their arm continued to support a rifle. Single hand manipulations are a necessary skill, but we also need to make use of partially functioning arms and hands. Just ’cause it hurts don’t mean it’s out of the fight.

The best way I’ve found to simulate partial hand injuries is with heavy bulky gloves. Thick oversize gloves create a loss of dexterity, providing a sense of loss and simulating a wound. To replicate different type wounds tape different fingers or thumb together. Tape the thumb to the hand, which takes it out of operation and forces you to use the four remaining fingers. Taping the three smallest fingers together creates a completely different type handicap.

By being creative you can simulate all types of injuries. Use Popsicle sticks to tape up your trigger finger, forcing you to press the shot off with your second finger. Stuffing small rubber balls inside a glove creates a different sensation and difficulty to overcome. (Rocks are better, but rougher on the hands.)

A ninety or forty five-degree section of PVC pipe taped to your elbow joint allows only partial use of that arm. The same thing can be done with knee joints, using straight or angled sections of pipe. A really large oversize bulky boot creates a sense of what an injured foot may feel like.

Our actual body parts don’t feel pain. To indicate injury they transmit signals to the brain, where we “feel” pain. You can train to ignore pain, fighting and pressing on despite being wounded. Athletes do it all the time. Imagine what you can do when lives depend on ignoring an injury. A limb, hand, or foot that isn’t functioning will however affect our performance. The key is to modify your skills as necessary, which requires training and practice in advance. Preparation prevents me from having to be creative in the middle of the fight, a distinct advantage.

To practice these skills use dummy ammo and work dry. Safety is in effect at all times. The muzzle is pointing in a safe direction and fingers are only on the trigger when appropriate. After lots of dry practice working start moving and using cover. Finally go to the range – with a partner – and make sure when you press the trigger you hit the target. In a fight, don’t stop until you win.

Games vs. Fights

Fighting against an armed threat intent on puttin’ the hurt to you is a long way from competing in a game. Both will probably involve shooting, moving, using cover and manipulation of your weapon. The difference is in a game you can lose and still go home. Losing in a fight is a permanent problem.

There are some techniques that cross over between the two, then there are also skills that may work in a competition but don’t fit for fighting, and vice versa. For example in a competition you don’t have to worry about anyone trying to grab your weapon to disarm you or take advantage of the time spent performing an empty reload. Maintaining visual contact with a target in a match may not be a factor. In a fight losing sight of a threat the situation can make a dangerous even more so.

There is a lot to be said for time. Time is a determining factor in a match, and normally a precious commodity in an armed confrontation. But time isn’t our only consideration when determining what technique works best. Reloading technique “A” is a fraction of a second quicker than technique “B.” This method of reloading the pistol works well in a match because it’s faster, in a fight we want to be quick, so this is the technique to use. The problem with this logic is that technique “A” is quicker but puts the pistol, hands and arms in a bad location and difficult position to defend against a disarming attempt by the threat. We know most fights occur at close distance so being able to prevent a threat from taking your pistol away, or keep them from gaining physical control over you, is important.

There are situations in fighting where time isn’t the only consideration. Your techniques have to apply in close quarters confrontations. The skills must work under adverse conditions like low-light environments, or when you hands are slick with sweat or blood. In fights wounds to the hands and arms are common, so your techniques for operating the weapon with both hands must translate over easily for manipulating the firearm with only one hand.

This isn’t to say competing in matches is a bad thing. When I used to have time, which wasn’t very often, I enjoyed the scenarios and shooting. I rarely won because I concentrated on tactics as opposed to time, but it was great practice. Any shooting is good shooting; just remember to keep all things in perspective. Just because a technique works well in a game under controlled conditions doesn’t mean it’s the best choice for fighting.

When lives depend on your actions you must make sure your skills are chosen considering every angle. Practice, and plenty of it is necessary to learn, especially when trying to reprogram a response or technique. Always be ready for the unexpected, which occurs constantly in a fight. Prepare, practice, and perform.

Revolver Stocks

To operate a pistol effectively the weapon has to fit your hand; a proper grip is especially important with revolvers. The good thing is that revolver stocks, what most people call “grips,” come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials. Working through the different type stocks allows you to determine what style works best for you.

Stocks come in smooth, no finger groves on the front, with finger groves, slim and thick, and with the grip extended on the bottom to provide more area for your hand to grip. You can get stocks made of composite material, in rubber, and of course wood.

When it comes to outfitting my revolvers with stocks looks are not a major concern. My focus is function, and under all conditions, wet, wearing gloves, or with only one hand.

Lately I’ve brought some revolvers out of the safe to start shooting more. I need to put proper stocks on them, had recently received my new Brownells catalog, http://www.brownells.com/ and a few days later hit the shop. First on the list is a couple of J frame S&W’s. A rubber Pachmayr grip without finger grooves feels great on a 640-1, a J frame .357. It’s a little larger grip than normal, but with full load .357′s I need the size to control the pistol. For my snubbie .38 I picked one of Ahrends’ Boot stocks, cut from cocobolo wood and without finger grooves. This small grip is ideal for concealed carry, especially in an ankle holster. Future plans include some of Ahrends’ Retro Target Stocks for a pair of K frame model 13′s I’m putting together as twins.

My favorite S&W’s are the K frames. The size of the frame fits my hand and the .357 is a proven round when it comes to stopping power. My Model 13, a three-inch that’s been reworked by the S&W Performance Center, has Spegel stocks, which have finger grooves that actually feel right in my hands. I can’t remember where the Spegel stocks came from, but the website is: http://www.craigspegel.com/.

There are also stocks that convert your round-butt revolver into a square-butt. For shootin’ I prefer the square-butt stocks; with my hand size and shape they provide a good consistent grip. The round-butt revolvers are generally preferred for concealed carry because they don’t print as much due to the shape of the frame’s grip.

The proper stocks on your revolver are key to finger placement on the trigger. Having the correct grip and finger placement, basically the proper geometry between your hand and the pistol, makes it possible to press even a heavy trigger smoothly.

You’ll also need to make sure your pistol’s stocks will allow you to use a speed-loader. I have seen stocks that were too large, blocking the loader from centering on the cylinder for loading.

Proper fit for revolvers is critical to performance. If you carry a revolver find the grip that works for you. And as always, make sure you practice it, a lot.

Experience

“Are you experienced?” The question of experience is very subjective, especially when it comes to fighting with firearms. For example we’ll have people call to inquire about instruction, and they start out by stating they are experienced shooters and have been shooting for X amount of years, but that doesn’t’ really say anything about experience.

Example: Shooter A has been shooting for ten years, however never understands the fundamentals of marksmanship. They can hit the target, but not consistently and with tight groups. Shooter B fires for a day, receiving the proper instruction on marksmanship, and actually can not hit more accurately than shooter A. Time often has little or nothing to do with experience.

The value of experience also depends on quality. Ten empty reloads performed properly are better than one hundred reloads done haphazardly without thought to technique. Out of those hundred you may have a few good ones, where everything flows right and seems to occur without effort, but the other ninety something you did wrong will cancel the good ones out, and require more reloads done correctly to erase the bad. When you break it down into numbers one good performance equals ten bad ones. Mental focus is critical to training and practice.

Another important aspect to keep in mind is that your brain doesn’t and can’t distinguish between good and bad repetitions. There’s no filter running to ignore the bad. This means that every time we perform an action we want to make sure it’s a good ‘un. Then, when it comes time to execute your skills under stress – someone’s trying to put the hurt to you and now it’s show time – you’ll perform properly.

There are many elements to fighting you cannot learn on your own. For instance resetting the trigger after firing a shot is an important element to shooting multiple shots accurately and efficiently. (To reset the trigger we release it, but only to the point that the internal components are reset and ready to fire again, avoiding letting any slack out of the trigger or losing contact between the trigger and finger.) This is a basic fundamental part of shooting, yet most people don’t know what trigger reset is. It’s one of those things you don’t know you don’t know. Once you’ve been shown how it works, understand the reasons you want to use it, and have actually learned to reset the trigger after every shot, it becomes a simple action that occurs without conscious thought. Now you are starting to experience the process of shooting properly, and so can become experienced through repetition.

To be experienced means you know what to do, how to do it, why you’re doing it this way, are aware of it occurring as you are actually doing it, and if necessary what to fix when things go wrong. This is a result of proper repetition. It’s not just experience, which can be good or bad, that’s important. Knowledge and ability are what we seek.

Flash Mobs

They call them “flash mobs,” the term used for large groups that gather using social media to coordinate locations and time to
perform premeditated violence on a large scale.

When we think about defense against a violent threat we train and practice to deal with multiple threats, but finding yourself and family in the middle of hundreds of people set on attacking anyone is a completely different situation. Being ready is the key, but preparing for this type scenario is going to require a different approach from our normal thought process.

This new shift in attacks puts violence anywhere that large groups of victims are, with the most recent I’m aware of occurring at the Wisconsin State Fair, when hundreds of people gathered to attack those leaving the fair.

As armed citizens our first response to trouble is avoidance and escape. In order to do this you have to be know your environment and maintain a state of constant awareness, looking for a possible problem before it develops into something dangerous. With flash mobs this is especially critical. When something doesn’t feel, look or smell right, pay attention. Once you’re in trouble it’s hard to disengage, especially if you’re surrounded by it.

The key is to have a plan. Have plan A, B, C, and what I call plan X for the unexpected. Finding yourself in the middle of large groups bent on violence, especially when you have younger or elderly family members with you means this task is even more difficult. Moving out of an area, creating distance and time, and using cover are all skills that have to be in place before it’s trouble time.

Being aware of where your exits are and alternative escape routes is critical. You have to know your terrain. When trouble erupts you won’t have time to check your smart phone for an alternative route. Planning times to arrive and leave an event is a good idea. Leaving early is better than getting caught in the herd, where your direction of movement and alternative options are limited.

I’ve been in situations before when I couldn’t have gone anywhere if necessary; a Rolling Stones concert where it was all I could do to keep on my feet as people were pressed against a chain link fence, which eventually gave way, causing a massive surge, Mardi Gras in New Orleans on Bourbon Street was so crowded I could have lifted my feet off the ground and I would have been held erect and flowing along with the crowd. These were when I was younger; now days I avoid this type thing.

Imagine water, the example Bruce Lee often used. It can be soft and flowing smoothly, or it can come barreling down on you with a force that won’t be changed. Don’t get caught in the flood.

Dealing With Downed Threats

A question that commonly comes up, especially with armed citizens, is dealing with a downed threat. The armed professional receives instruction on this aspect of the fight, and it is their job to apprehend threats. For the armed citizen the rule, with very few exceptions, is never approach a downed threat.

The most dangerous time in a confrontation is when we are close to the threat. That’s why we train to create distance, reducing our chances of being injured regardless of the threat’s weapon, and use cover, positioning something protective between the threat and us. And just because the threat may go down or retreats doesn’t mean the fight is over. There may likely be other threats in the area, the downed threat continues to fight or comes back around a corner; approaching a downed threat distracts you from scanning, creating distance and using cover.

Getting within arms reach of the threat is dangerous. They may be playing opossum. In the FBI’s publication “Violent Encounters, A Study of Felonious Assaults on Our Nations’ Law Enforcement Officers,” there is a case where the threat lured the officer in and then “leg swept him (the officer) in an apparent well-rehearsed disarming move,” while at the same time grabbing the officer’s weapon, partially drawing it out of the holster. Bad guys practice just like we do, sometimes more, and they know a lot of tricks. Don’t approach a down threat. As an armed citizen it is not my job to disarm the threat, secure them for custody, or apply medical attention.

There may be times when I’m forced to move towards the threat. For example the threat is between the exit and me; I have to go past him to get out of there. I’m in one end of the house, Gretchen in the other, and I need to get to her, going past the downed threat. When you must move towards the threat it is done cautiously and tactically, scanning while moving, ready to respond instantly to signs of additional trouble.

The same is true for armed professionals except there are other variables to worry about as well. For example far too many times you see every officer on scene rushing in to go hands on with the threat without co-ordination and communication. Officers should be communicating and covering for one another with clear angles of fire. For those in the military there are additional concerns, which we won’t get into here for obvious reasons. The key, regardless of who you are, is not to let yourself become complacent. Always be ready for the unexpected.

What we do after the physical portion of the fight is over is just as critical and tactical as all the things we’ve done up to that that point. After the shootin’ is there is still plenty to be done, and it’s not time to get creative. The key with all fighting skills is to think about and practice them in advance.

Fundamentals by Tiger

When I began training, practicing, and eventually teaching, one of the things that had been drilled into my head was that fundamentals win fights. I spent as much time as possible at Thunder Ranch, where I eventually became an instructor. “Fundamentals win fights,” was a phrase you heard from everyone at TR Texas, and that was how classes were taught.

In a way I understood this, and worked diligently on my own with marksmanship, manipulations, movement and the use of cover and other skills.

The more I teach and work on my own skills the more I understand how important this is. For example this last weekend we ran a Pocket Pistol class, followed by a course on moving targets, using pistols. These two one-day courses focused on techniques specific to each subject. The pocket pistol class examined the various ways of carry, manipulations, and the main tactic, which is using that weapon to create the time and distance needed to get out of Dodge.

The moving target class focused on the two techniques of engaging movers, the ambush and tracking methods. There were numerous lessons in each of these courses but the main theme that everyone in class kept bringing up is the importance of the fundamentals. The fundamentals are one of those things that will keep constantly keep popping up as you train/practice.

Lets look at reloading. You may be able to reload really well while standing still. But can you reload while moving, or from prone on the ground? Can you reload while moving and keeping protective cover between you and the threat? Every time you add something new to the equation it’s like stepping back to square one. It’s not enough to be able to reload; you have to learn how to reload under a variety of conditions.

Reloading now includes the ability to reload no matter what the conditions may be. Even if you only one have one hand, it’s dark, and you’re moving on a slippery surface while someone is trying to put the hurt on you.

I think most people get confused when you say fundamental, underestimating the term. Just because reloading is a fundamental skill doesn’t mean it will be easy to perform under combative conditions. Like a man once said, “It ain’t complicated, but that donna make it easy.” You have to get to the point where you are able to reload without thinking about reloading and regardless of conditions.

The same thing applies to all fighting skills. Don’t get caught in a rut. Work on making your practice challenging and beneficial. As always, the best way to practice most of your skills is dry work. It takes a long time to develop these skills and even more to master them, if that’s possible. But, don’t let this stop you from getting started.

Everything we do takes place in small steps, and there are a lot of steps to learning to fight with a firearm, so start heading that way now.