Author: Cheyne

Building The Modern Minute Man: Plates and Carriers

There it is, we have covered what I consider to be the basic equipment to carry every day to be an effective armed citizen and the foundation of what it takes to be a modern minute man. Trust me, I know it is a lot of gear to wear every day, you see why cargo pockets will never go out of vogue for the gun culture. We simply carry too much shit.

This week we are going to dive deep into the murky waters of support gear that will elevate your EDC role to neighborhood support/modern minute man. It will also elevate your tacticool LARP status as well. These articles are going to have to be long format, it is just the nature of what we are dealing with and the gross volume of stuff to cover, so, if you’re reading this on the crapper at work, go ahead and wave your hand to reset the automatic lights, settle in and prepare for those legs to get numb.

I flirted with how to kick this off, personally, I think armor and carriers are a great place to start since, to me at least, not getting shot is more important than shooting someone. Armor won’t stop you from being shot, it will stop that nasty little piece of angry lead from entering your body, at least the vital stuff anyway. If you have looked for even a fraction of a second you know that every company in Gods creation makes armor and carriers now, that’s great, we want people to have the equipment available to best protect themselves and their families, but how do we sort the trash from the gems? Who makes the best? Who has the best price? And who does it with the most style?

If garand thumb taught us anything, it is that looking cool when in full LARP is what matters most. So, armor. When you hear body armor most people think of the 1992 swat cop t.v. show they saw as a kid were they gear up in their soft armor for the raid, those have a place, but generally speaking those are for pistol rounds only. What we are looking for are plates, armor designed to stop rifle threats, at a minimum and as a general rule you want to be able to stop the caliber you carry.

There are different levels of armor plates, you can read up on those on your own but as a general rule you should buy the best you can afford. Lets start with armor first and we will run it on a scale from poors to big chimp energy. As a side note, nothing that I recommend will be inferior wish.com garbage, you can bet your life on all of it, some will just have significant drawbacks which we will get into.

AR500 plate and carrier bundle

Starting at the bottom we have AR500 armor and their steel plates, they are the most budget friendly by far because they are typically running a special every week and those specials usually include the carrier. It is a great company that makes awesome armor that anyone can afford and their bundle options are awesome, they definitely have a carrier and armor to suit your needs.

Pros to steel armor, it is multi hit capable, it is not fragile (if you like to throw your gear around in the truck or after a long day these are great because they can take a serious beating), their plates have a crazy long shelf life, and they come in at really nice prices, typically $200-$300 with a carrier. There are some cons, steel armor has risk of spall (shell fragment that splatters as it hits) so you definitely want to opt for the built up anti spall coating, you 100% must get curved plates, you don’t know suck until you’ve worn flat steel plates for a 6 hour class, their shipping time is usually about 12 weeks out sometimes longer. Mine took about 13 ½ weeks to arrive so you need to be patient. The biggest con is weight, these girls are hefty, with each plate coming in at around 11 lbs. That puts plates alone at 22 lbs not including the carrier and any mags or accessories you were planning to add. It doesn’t sound bad on paper but trust me, that weight will beat you into the ground faster than Mike Tyson. If you are ballin on a budget and don’t have any other choice and just cannot afford to go any higher, you could do a lot worse.

RMA 1155 plates

Our middle of the road offering comes from a company called RMA. Their most popular modes are the 1155s, they are a level 4 polyethylene ceramic blend. These come in about $100 more than the AR500 plates but add better ballistic coverage and save on weight. These little chonks come in at about 8lbs per plate, 6 lbs may not seem like a lot of weight savings but when you’re wearing this in a class, you’ll cut off a leg to save a few ounces.

Pros to these are better ballistic threat coverage, way better lead time with the majority of the time being next day shipping, and a definite weight savings. Cons are going to be the higher price point, they don’t come with a carrier, they are thicker at about an inch, and they are more fragile. You won’t wanna be throwing your carrier around with ceramic plates.

hesco l210 plates

Lastly, big chimp energy, the high rollers, the big ballers. Possibly some of the best armor on the market is made by Hesco. They make a wide array of styles, like everyone, but they seem to always do it better. I want to highlight a specific plate of theirs, the l210 special threat plates. These are an in between from level 3 to level 4, they don’t meet the level 4 requirements but they will stop light armor piercing intermediate cartridges. I encourage you to read up on the levels and NIJ certifications as well as size and cut of armor when you’re done here.

Pros to the l210s are definitely weight, coming in at 5.4 lbs per plate they feel great to wear all day, they’re only .6 inches thick, and they typically ship in 1-2 business days. Cons are going to be that they aren’t full level 4 and they drop M80 ball protection but they pick up light armor penetrating protection, lastly is the price these come in about $400 for just the plates.

Those are my three picks for plates covering a wide array of budgets, but I would like to add a note. This list is not comprehensive, there are a billion options and each of the companies I mentioned each make multiple models. I will tell you this when it comes to plates, buy the best you can afford. If you can buy the 3 lb mac daddy ultralight super hescos with multicurve, buy them. This is not an in depth on each plate or every model from every company, I am giving you three very solid picks and I hope you start doing research about them to make an informed decision. If you have any questions about selection, drop a comment and we will be more than happy to help you out.

Now we are going to shift gear to carriers, why did we cover plates first? Same reason I tell people to buy the contents of a backpack before they buy the bag, you need to know what’s going inside so you can buy the carrier or bag to fit. If we don’t we (guys) will overdo it and get the biggest most ridiculous carrier or bag we can find and it will be too heavy to comfortably do anything in or will have excess wasted space.

Most of the plates out there fall into the medium category, and this is important so pay attention. When you buy a carrier it will ask medium or large, the sizing has nothing to do with your body type and everything to do with plate size. Medium plate carriers fit standard 10”x12” plates. I am a big guy 6’ 3” and 275 lbs and I run a medium plate carrier that has great vital coverage.

testudo gen 2 carrier

So, you know the drill by now poors to big chimp. AR500 will once again take the first slot because they are just so darn affordable and if you bought their armor package it was coming with a carrier anyway, I want to specifically highlight their testudo gen 2 carrier. I was incredibly impressed when I got mine with how rugged and well made it was and I recommend it often. Even if you bought the Gucci plates they would feel right at home in this carrier. The shoulder straps are nicely padded and the cummerbund is adjustable to someone much much bigger than me.

ferro concepts slickster carrier

Mid level will be the ferro concepts slickster which is my favorite carrier and what I personally use right now. These are a bit harder to get your hands on because they are so popular and when you do find one it is a la carte and you have to buy their cummerbund separate. It is an annoyance if you’re looking for a one stop shop but nice for those of us building something specific. I prefer it because of how low profile it is and the scalability from concealed carrier to overt.

spear strandhogg carrier

Lastly there is the first spear strandhogg, at the price of a new Glock this thing is pricey but comes with more sex appeal than Jennifer Aniston. This can be purchased all together or a la carte as money allows and is made with the highest quality materials. One of the biggest perks is it does not use Velcro to secure the cummerbund like the other two do, instead opting for a quick detach interlocking tube design.

No matter your mission there is something in here for you, if this is your first time purchasing armor or a carrier and you really want the best you can get, get the big pimpin plates and save on the carrier. I promise you won’t be disappointed. This topic can be somewhat controversial and really does require research that I just can’t include without making this a book, read up on this stuff, make a selection, if you have questions just drop us a comment and we will be more than happy to steer you through it. These waters are murky, they only get murkier and deeper as we go along.

Setup Saturday: Medical

I know for those of you who have been reading our little series of articles on building the modern minute man, you’re calling bullshit. “Where’s the armor?” “Where’s the rifles?” We are getting to that but the reality is if you have a carry permit and aren’t even carrying when it matters then you’re useless to help anyone.

These past few weeks we have covered the essentials for everyday carry, well, all but one. This last piece is often the most overlooked because it isn’t gucci, it isn’t sexy, and you can’t flex it on the guys at the gun shop, its medical. It is, in my opinion, the most important piece.

NAR IFAK

We carry guns because of this minute chance we may need it, we carry knives because we need them all the time, we carry flashlights because there is 100% chance of darkness every single day, so why wouldn’t we carry medical in the case we may have to help someone? Statistically you have a greater chance of using it than ever needing to use a firearm and in the event you do have to skin that smoke-wagon there is a high probably that someone there will need medical attention. Bad guys notoriously subscribe to the accuracy by volume bible, there may be people there that are shot that should not have been. If we can solve the main problem first and lend a hand to the next we are fulfilling our duty to protect innocent life.

medical AFAK

Let me share a phrase a wise person once told me, “If you are going to carry only one piece of medical gear, carry a tourniquet. If you are going to carry two pieces, carry two tourniquets.” Personally, I don’t like feeling under-gunned or under medicaled (is that a thing?) so I carry an ankle med kit from thetacticalmedic.com. In it are 2 compact hyfin chest seals, nitrile gloves, a rats tourniquet, trauma shears, a sharpie, and a north american rescue compact compression bandage. It is comfortable to wear all day and retain full mobility.

My push for carrying medical has even spread to my friends who are all now at least carrying tourniquets. North American Rescue makes wonderful kits if you are in need because amazon is riddled with Chinese knock offs that will 100% fail. Most popular is the CAT (combat application tourniquet) it is used my militaries all over the globe including ours. Another option is the SOF-T, I however prefer the RATS (rapid application tourniquet) because a CAT will not work on kids but the RATS will. I have heard one place where they will not work, that place is the internet, people will bash them but no one will let me put one around their neck ?.

Ready for the Rosie O’Donnell level of ugly? You knew it was coming, how will you know how to use this stuff when it matters? You’ve gotta get training. Medical training is the least sought out because it isnt sexy at all. Ever see someone get an NPA? Its not likely to make your insta stories. It is however, some of the most important training you can get.

I see a ton of women at medical classes, know why? They don’t have egos. Men tend to only do things we think we will be good at and that we think we can already do. Throw your ego in the trash with your Mariah Carey Christmas cd and go get medical training. We have “Emergency First Aid Fundamentals” classes forming now, get ahold of us to learn more. Dark Angel Medical does some wonderful classes as well. I will leave you with two things, 1. Always aim low with the knife, you can’t put a tourniquet on a taint. And 2. Never seek out trouble, but when presented with the opportunity to be batman, be batman.

Mindset Monday: Awareness, Boyd’s Loop

Monday again, and we have come back around to the first part of our mindset trinity, awareness. This week we are talking about Boyd’s loop or as it is also called, the OODA loop. OODA is just plain fun to say. As humans we go through this process thousands of times a day, from the moment we wake up and make our coffee, to when we lay down at night to go to sleep.

Boyd's Loop

Lt. Colonel John Boyd was an Air Force officer, and fighter pilot with a career that spanned World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. His ideas and tactics also had a great effect on the gulf war in the early 90’s. In the late 1950’s Boyd was known as “forty second Boyd”, and considered the best fighter pilot in the U.S., if not the world. He was called “forty second Boyd because he could beat anyone in simulated air-to-air combat in 40 seconds or less.

Throughout the 1950’s and early 60’s Boyd gave a series of briefings on his observations of dog fights that happened during world war 2. What he found is that fighter pilots that moved through four phases of decision making fastest, where the most successful.

The four phases he looked at where.

  • Observe
  • Orient
  • Decide
  • Act

While we work through this process almost every minute of every day, we want to look at it in the context of a self defense situation. If we have a protector mindset, and are aware of our surroundings and situation then, we are already practicing the first part of Boyd’s loop, Observe.

The second part, orient happens once we see a possible threat. Once we know that we are in a possible defensive situation, Our brains can tell us to do one of two things. The first is run, we orient ourselves away from the problem. The second is that we turn our bodies towards the threat. This is us orienting ourselves, getting ready for the confrontation.

Once we have observed, and oriented ourselves towards the threat, the next part is to decide. in the simplest terms. what do we do? do we find cover, do we give verbal commands, or does the situation call for us to draw our weapon? these and a thousand more are what will go through your mind in a fraction of a second. Your training (hopefully if you are reading this you have some or will get some) will dictate what you decide.

Finally its time to act on your decision. Once you have made your decision you have to commit to what you have chosen to do. In a defensive situation you don’t have the luxury of doing something half way. You don’t want to find yourself frozen and unable to act. In the first mindset class I took, we where told “just do something, even if it ends up being wrong, at least you have started moving”.

Our training should be designed to help us move through this loop as quickly as possible. Unfortunately when we find ourselves in a self defense situation, we are almost always at a disadvantage because the person that is the threat has already moved through their loop and is in the act phase. The good news is that there are things that we can do and train, that will force them to restart their loop and put us back ahead of them. But those are a topic for other posts.

If you want to get into more detail about the Boyd’s Loop (OODA) check out our “Situational awareness, and protector mindset” course. As always make sure to stay up to date with what we are doing by liking our Facebook and instagram.

Setup Saturday: Knives

Knives, carried by men from basically the dawn of time. While todays models vary in shape, size, purpose, and price we can all agree that any man worth his salt is probably carrying one in his pocket right now.

Microtech knife

When I was growing up I didnt know a single person that didnt have one, I got my first pocket knife (a swiss army knife) at age 6 and have carried one ever since. Since most people carry one everyday already how do we pick the best all around knife for handling the majority of tasks that come our way?

From slicing salami to poking someone off of us, what do we look for? My first requirement is a fast opening action, whether that be an out the front microtech, assisted open, or auto deploy such as knives equipped with an emerson wave opener. It has to open effortlessly and with one hand. I prefer the auto deploy models that open as you pull them from the pocket.

Next is blade steel, what is it made from? Now there are whole forums in the knife world on what they are, how they hold an edge, and how easy they are to sharpen. Me? I dont care, its a tool, as long as it comes sharp and has a point im happy.

Lastly, size. How big of a knife you carry is up to you. Certain states have limitations and laws and I encourage you to read up on the laws in your state. Some people like a small blade because they have limited pocket space or they like the light weight benefit. I like bigger knives because they are more capable at multiple tasks.

Crkt knives m21-14dsfg

Personally, I carry a CRKT M21-14DSFG, I got it in the peanut butter tan because it looks hella gucci and was under $100. It has auto deploy, came very sharp, holds a nice edge, has serrations (Id rather have serrations because they add function and cost me nothing), and was affordable. It has a very ridgid secure double lock lockup and is comfortable to hold. It is however thicc as hell and hefty. It wont be the perfect knife for everyone. CRKT makes a billion different models at very nice price points if youre like me and just need a versatile tool.

If, however, you are wearing italian leather and prefer a dash more elegance, a microtech is definitely in your future, the worlds premiere out the front knife and a favorite of John Wick. If you just open boxes and cut rope and banding straps then any walmart special will probably do.

I dont get too wrapped up on pocket knives since picking one is unique to each person, I consider the knife a freebie. Are you carrying one? Happy meal. No? Well you might as well let your wife change that flat tire then.

Woman changes tire

Remember to check out our training courses (there will be new ones added soon), and like our Facebook page and instagram to stay up to date on what’s going on.

Setup Saturday: Flashlights! Light Of My Life

Illumination, flashlights, the light of my life. How do we decide between the VAST array of so called “military grade” “tactical” flashlights and how do we decide which one will work for us? In this instance I know it is going to sound bad but there is only one option for a self defense light, that brand is surefire.

Tactition flashlightIf you are going to trust your life to a light there is no substitute. I carry two flashlights and they each have a purpose. My surefire tactician is a self defense only light and it does not get used to find my car keys. I treat my defensive light like a full magazine, I consider each press of the button a depletion of my lights magazine. The sole purpose of that light is to deploy it in conjunction with a weapon and it must work when I need it.

stiletto flashlightMy second light is a surefire stiletto, this light has a three mode output and is usb rechargable. It is a wonderful choice for those looking for a light to find your keys, walk your dogs, or looking for your dropped phone in the movie theater.

You’re going to say well my (insert brand here) light is just fine, it probably is, for utility tasks. Most companies make great utility lights and as a by product try to take some of the tactical market, because, well, money. Are you looking for a light because you’re a mechanic? Get a usb rechargeable one and be happy.

If you are looking for a true self defense light you can bet your life on? Surefire is the only option. Elitist? Maybe. Don’t wrap up too much on lumen output or price, buy once cry once. Pocket light surefire tactician, pistol light, surefire x300ub, rifle light, surefire m600. They are the most expensive option there is no doubt but the next best light is half the price and less than half as good.

Make sure to watch our training area for new upcoming classes and like our Facebook page to stay up to date.

What Is Your Why: Mindset Monday

WhySO we have gone through some awareness, some confidence, and now it’s time for some purpose. When I say purpose I don’t mean “I am going to go to the store to get some Cheetos”.  I mean what is your “Why”, why do you want to carry a firearm?

When I ask students in my CPL classes, “what is your why”, I normally get one or a combination of a few basic answers. I want to address each one of these 4 basic answers and what I like and dislike about each of them (you will probably see common thread on why I dislike them).

“I want to protect myself/family”. This is a great answer on the surface, and probably the most common. This is what firearms where designed to do. Hammers, hammer nails, screwdrivers, screw in screws, and good guys with guns protect people. The problem with this answer is that most people that give this answer in a CPL class are never going to get anymore training than that class. As instructors we try to prepare our CPL students as best we can to deal with a defensive situation, the fact is that most CPL classes have a limited amount of time and A LOT of material to cover. These classes are meant to give you the absolute basics and fundamentals of shooting, along with the legal basics of carrying a firearm.

“I don’t want to be a victim”. This can have so many different meanings and reasons it would be impossible to go through them all. A firearm is an incredible way to help ensure that you wont fall victim to that asocial violence that we talked about a few weeks ago. That being said there are two main types of people that give this answer. Those that are afraid of becoming a victim, and those that have already been. The first type has the same problems as above, Most people will not complete any more training beyond a basic class because they think that a firearm acts like a magic force field, keeping bad guys away.
The second is a little more complicated. If you are someone that has been victimized in the past, I of course encourage you to learn, train, have confidence, and arm yourself. I would also encourage you make sure that you have sought some counseling as well, before going out there armed (at least with a firearm). Carrying a firearm is a MASSIVE responsibility and should be done devoid of emotion, fear, or ego. Those are things that can lead us to make the wrong decisions at critical moments and get ourselves in serious legal trouble.

“It’s my right”. This is a complicated one for me. On one hand, I obviously believe in the second amendment and agree that everyone has the right to bear arms to protect themselves. On the other, I have a family and I don’t want a bunch of people out on the street carrying that have little or no training on how to properly use their firearm, discriminate targets, or have the mindset to make the critical decision to take a life if necessary. I wrestle with these two opposing views a lot, but what I have come to realize is that a right is a right. I just try to keep in mind that people can become a threat even if they don’t mean to.

“I don’t know”. I love and hate this answer. I love this answer because it is probably the most honest of all of them. When I get this answer I try to help them figure out their “why” throughout the class. the problem comes in where, if you don’t know your “why” then you don’t have a driving force pushing you to learn and train. This can cause you to not have confidence, and hesitate at a critical moment when you shouldn’t have.

I’m sure you can see the pattern in my dislikes, and you will probably see this as a theme throughout all my posts. I am an instructor after all, and fully believe in the value of training. That being said, as much as I would love to meet you, even if you don’t come train with me, find a qualified instructor and get training.remaining

Knowing what your “why” is, is one of the things that can help you to make the hard decisions in a defensive situation. It will also push you to make sure that you have developed the proper skills to achieve your why.

Remember…
Be Aware, Have Confidence, Know Your Purpose.

Setup Saturday: Get Some Training

need trainingChasing the Gucci unicorn, it can be as addictive as crack and twice as expensive. If you’ve been on Instagram or any gun gurus social media you know exactly what I’m talking about, the latest and greatest that the firearms industry has to offer. Here is the deal, most (not all) of those people get that gear sent to them for free to show to you so you will rush out and buy it, it is marketing at its core. In reality people have budgets, mortgages, kids, and car payments so how do we decipher what is a must have versus what am I buying because it looks good on the gram.

Unfortunately, the answer is as varied as each person. My mentor has a saying when asked about a specific piece of gear, “what’s your mission?” Is your mission to carry a gun to protect yourself? Are you in law enforcement looking to setup your new Sam Brown belt? Each person is operating in their own mission and each person has an operational budget for gear. If you are a CEO your operational budget is much greater than mine but is that new wiz bang 6000 necessary for what you do? Or just a way to flex on the poors?

In the past two weeks we have covered carry gun selection as well as belts and holsters. That will get you out in the world as an armed citizen. Extra credit if you booked a class to learn how to fight with that weapon. But what comes next? I see too many people looking for the NEXT gun or the NEXT mod they can have done. There is nothing wrong with that if it is being done with purpose and not just because you liked how your salesman’s gun looked.

gucci glockI’ve been behind that counter, trust me, most of the time we are crying inside when you start talking about stipple patterns, lightening cuts, triggers, and dots. Learn to shoot what you have now, the way it is right now. I understand that we all want nice things, we work hard to buy things that will last and that will work. In today’s disposable world it can sometimes be hard to come by. I also understand that I will recommend things that are considered “Gucci” just ask my friends. There is, however, a difference between buying a quality flashlight once vs adding a red dot to your gun without having first mastered the irons.

I’ve done a full Gucci Glock from the ground up, rmr, comp, trigger, all of it. Do I still have it? Nope. What do I run now? A stock gen 3 Glock 19. What I found is all that fancy techno wizardry added up to me being just as fast as irons, at traditional gun fight distances. Is there a place and purpose? Absolutely, it just wasn’t for what I do.

Stop idolizing the Instagram warriors, the YouTube gunslingers, and the new new in the industry. There is only one mod you can buy that will make you better, faster, and more accurate and that is training, go get some and I promise, the world of gear will become more clear.

Friday Makeup, Tying Em All Together: Finding a firearms Instructor.

tying em togetherSO, it’s Friday and I haven’t posted anything this week for mindset Monday or Tuesday training tip. Well I apologize for that but I have doing some training myself (more on that later so keep reading). I am going to use today to tie em all together! For mindset Monday it was time to talk about confidence in your mindset, one of the ways you get confidence in your mindset is to have confidence in your training (see it all comes together this week).

Having confidence in your training starts with having confidence in your instructor. When I first started training I got really lucky that I found an instructor in my friend Jay at “Michigan Combat Dynamix” that not only knows how to shoot but knows how to be an instructor. It is because of him and the passion for teaching and building on performance that he has,  that made me want to become an instructor. Like I said, I got lucky. there are a lot of firearms instructors out there. Many are like Jay and are in it because they enjoy teaching, but there are many that are just in it for the money. They are trying to capitalize on the massive influx of new gun owners that are out there right now, and they are the ones that we want to try to avoid. I like to think that I am one of the former type, but I will be the first to admit that I may not be the right instructor for everyone. So how do you tell the difference?

The first thing that most people will look for is reviews of the instructor, and those can be helpful but, should never be taken by themselves. How many times have you gone to a restaurant that had good reviews and not been impressed? Reviews can be old, or fake, take them with a grain of salt. I say call them and get answers for yourself.

Safety is most importantLets talk about what I think the first and most important thing to look at when finding a firearms instructor, safety. When looking at an instructor one of the first things to look for is have there been any accidents in their classes? If you can’t find anything online about anything call and ask them. If they are a good instructor they should be able to say no OR if there has been, they should be able to tell you that why it happened, how any damage or injury was mitigated, and what they have done since to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Next ask them what their safety S.O.P (Standard Operating Procedure) is. They should be able to tell you about what their process is if there is an accident or injury. They should be able to tell you about any medical training that they have gone through. Finely they should tell you about the medical and first aid gear that they have with them on the range at all times. Things to look for are tourniquets, chest seals, quick clot gauze, or at the very least kerlex rolled gauze, compression bandages and/or coflex dressing, as well as basic first aid things like band-aids etc.

Medical IFAKAfter safety, I think that the next important thing to look at is the type of training they do.  Are they an instructor that says that you going to burn through 1000 rounds of ammo in a one day class? Or on the reverse, are they telling you that you are going to learn how be a SWAT team member with 50 rounds. The fact right now is that ammo is at a premium so most of us (myself included)  are going to have a hard time parting with any of our ammo, and I think that if they tell you need that many rounds for a one day class then there is a good chance that you are going to be throwing rounds downrange with little actual training value. That being said you can only learn so much from non live fire training. As with anything and even more important in shooting, you HAVE to actually shoot your firearm so that you can verify and improve on the non live fire stuff. Ask them about the course of fire for the class, what types of drills they are going to be doing, and how each drill correlates to the type of class that you want to take. A good instructor should be able to tell you how every round you fire will help you improve.

The last thing is completely subjective and probably the least important of them all. If you have called or emailed and talked to them, do they seem like someone that you WANT to learn from? Personality conflicts do happen, and while I am a firm believer that as long as the first two things we covered are in place then there is a very good chance that you can learn SOMETHING from them. Even if it is one small thing that helps you improve and the rest is how not to do something. If you don’t get a good vibe after talking to them, it’s probably better to not take their class. You will be uncomfortable and it will cause you to not enjoy what you are learning. In the end we are training not only to be better protectors, but hopefully because we enjoy the sport of shooting.

countering the mass shooterNow to why this week has been a little different. This week I did some training through USCCA to be able to teach their “Countering The Mass Shoot Threat” course. With everything going on I felt that this was an important course that I was not able to offer and now I can. This class will go over the data on mass shootings from 1998-2016 (those are all the years that we currently have all the data for)  with a focus on what if anything that has/is being proposed would have stopped them as well as how you, your company, or house of worship can develop a plan to mitigate your risk and any damage done if you find yourself in one of these unfortunate situations. Keep an eye out in the training section of this site and like our Facebook page to find out the new class dates. Also if your company or house of worship doesn’t currently have or has not updated their plans, Please get hold of us to see how we can help.

Setup Saturday: Gun Belts and Holsters

To carry a gun you need quality gun belts and holsters designed to support the weight of a firearm. They work together as the foundation for a secure comfortable carry.

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Grip: Tuesday Training Tip

Tuesday is here and it is time for another Tuesday training tip. Last week we talked about stance, and how it is the foundation that we build everything else on. Today we talk about proper pistol grip and how having proper grip is one of the most important factors in not only hitting your target, but being safe as well.

improper gripWe have all seen the movies and T.V. shows where the good guy is searching for the bad guy and he is holding his pistol kind of like we see here. The problem with this is that if he actually shot the gun the way he is holding it there is a really good chance that.

  • He in no way is going to get an accurate hit.
  • Probably going to end up hitting himself in the face when it recoils.

There are so many wrong ways to hold a gun that if I tried to show them all to you, you would be here for the next year reading, but I wanted to show one of the most well know  wrong ways.

The proper pistol grip is about controlling the pistol. It allows you to manage recoil, deliver your round on target,  get and keep your sights on your target, and in a self-defense situation keep your pistol in your possession. so lets get into how to form the proper grip.

proper grip 2proper grip 1When setting up your grip, the pistol should be placed firmly into your firing hand like you are making a fist, with the web of your hand high and centered on the back strap. The firing hand thumb should be high, to create a space for the support hand. Your index finger needs to be OUTSIDE THE TRIGGER GUARD and placed high up on the frame of the pistol.

proper grip 3The fingers of your support hand wrap firmly around the firing hand with the index finger pressed firmly against the bottom of the trigger guard and the meaty part of your support hand nestled into the open space on the grip left by the firing hand. Your thumbs should be “stacked” firing hand thumb over support hand thumb.

When you look at your grip you should not see any “space” between your palm and the grip of the pistol. We want to make sure that we have total contact between our hands and the pistol. A mantra that my mentor drills into us is “the more of the gun you can touch, the more of the gun you can control”

Now lets talk about grip pressure, or how tight you grip with each hand. I will tell you now, i don’t know and the truth is I don’t care. If you do a search for this topic you will find that EVERYONE has their opinion and everyone THINKS they are right. You will see 50/50, 60% support hand 40% firing hand, 70/30, 80/20, whatever! They are all wrong, yet…they are all right as well. The fact is that it is going to be different for every single person out there, and the only way to know is to get out there and find an instructor, train and shoot. I can tell you that for me it is about 75/25. Once again though you will be different.

If you hold a hammer with two fingers you way still be able to drive that nail, but it isn’t going to be nearly as easy to control, or even as close to as effective as it could be. The same goes for the grip on your firearm. develop a proper grip and you will be safe and a far more effective shooter.

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