October News Letter
FIREARMZ
OCTOBER NEWS LETTER
A lot of us purchase guns and gear, visit the range weekly, monthly or less frequently. Then we get on the internet and talk about our 2nd Amendment Rights. Consider this: You also have an obligation to be proficient with said gun and gear. If you are not willing to take the high road and get some good training, it will eventually be mandated by the Government. We talk about how we can shoot itty-bitty groups at the range; I have learned that these groups are like fish stories, except the size of the group shrinks rather than getting bigger as they are told. Your five shot, one-inch group from three yards in five seconds is not impressive! Your four-inch group of three rounds in .50 seconds while conducting lateral movement, with a threat assessment, and 360-degree scan afterwards… is.
Throughout history man has discovered and investigated certain things like the internal programming of how we react when startled by something unknown. The first thing we do is React. This reaction is usually when we lower our center of gravity, shrinking our head into our shoulders somewhat. Simultaneously, we orient our body, at a minimum visually with the eyes and head, to the noise or what ever it was that startled us in the first place. Usually, we orient our entire body in that direction. This gives us the Recognition phase; we want to recognize what it is that has startled us. It is human nature to want to see what it is and this allows us to Respond appropriately. For example, we may see a car that has backfired and calls for no response or it may be a support structure that has started giving way, definite cause for a response. That response may be to move away, to shove another individual out of the way, or to duck in order for an object to miss us.
In a self-defense situation these three R’s will also be there; knowing how to utilize them is important to our survival. How often do we hear in shootings that people thought the sound of gunfire was just construction or some other harmless bang? Gunfire is gunfire until you can positively identify what it is and you should act accordingly. We will react, recognize, and respond to what startles us and in a fashion that is similar to others. Can we train out of this? Sure we can but very few of us have the time, money, and facilities to do it, so we need to make these instinctive actions and put them in our favor.
Let’s face it, we do not walk around with our hands on our guns waiting for that occasion we have to shoot someone. We do not walk around constantly alert of our entire surroundings. We do not see everything in advance or we would have no need for seat belts, emergency rooms, or ambulances. We would just see it coming and avoid it or get it fixed in advance. As some of us like to proclaim that we will simply draw and shoot our adversary, the modern video camera has shown us differently. It shows that we will follow the three R’s and when we get to that response phase we may draw the gun. If you are in the middle of the mall and hear a loud noise that you could possibly identify as a gun shot, you would not immediately draw your weapon, and for several reasons. One - you do not know what it is. Two - if it was a gunshot, people that did not see it would automatically assume it was you, the man with the gun, doing the shooting. Therefore, to think we are a Super Delta Force Ninja on the internet is ok, but in real life, you’re human and we will continue to do things humanly for the near future.
This is why it is important to train in a realistic manner and realism is difficult to fake. Therefore, the range and force-on-force scenarios while utilizing our everyday gear and keeping it in contest with our mission are about the best we can do at this point. Square range drills involving a solid draw stroke, presentation, accuracy, movement, speedy reloads and malfunction clearances are all part of the system. Force-on-force involves all of the above but with a live adversary and a little more stress.
RELOADS
People are always comparing reloads; hand over the slide vs. slide lock. I can see some merit to both but I lean toward the hand over slide method. It is true that the slide lock may be faster on the square range and in administrative scenarios but in the real world we need to focus on the things that work under stress and in the broadest of circumstances. This is by far the hand over slide method; it is consistent with our malfunctions drills as well so we are streamlining the training. When you’re out at extension and you get that slide lock, the support hand should immediately leave the gun and go for the new magazine. The shooting hand thumb should simultaneously position to reach the magazine as the shooting hand comes back to the center line of the body slightly rolling outward just under the eye line. At that point (maybe a bit quicker depending upon individual ability), insert the fresh magazine forcefully until it is seated and locked into place, immediately rolling the support hand upward and grasping the slide and pulling it to its rearward-most travel and letting go (if you roll the support hand up correctly the support hand will always be behind the ejection port). Acquire a full two handed grip (if that is necessary to make the shot), moving the gun back up and out to the target.
Note: If you shoot one of the guns that lets the slide go forward when a fresh magazine goes in and is seated, unless you have experienced an issue like the slide not picking up a round when it goes forward or it does it sometimes and sometimes not, don’t worry about it. If you have experienced one of the issues, you need to fix the gun or live with racking it every time. This is caused by the slide lock spring being weak. Think about how it sits and constantly applies the spring force. It is always applying pressure in the downward direction, so over time it weakens and does not take much force to make it fall back in the down position. This can also create a problem if you bump the gun on something while the slide is back, allowing it to go forward prematurely.
Upcoming Training
October 2008
One Day of Training with your handgun
October 25th
0730 until ???
Cost $105.00
Make deposits at paypal ken@firearmz.net
or mail check to:
Ken Forbus
P.O. Box 344
Temple, Ga. 30179
We will be able to accommodate about 15 people.
You will need:
Holster
Magazine carriers
Handgun
Magazines (at least 2)
Eye and hearing protection
300 rounds of range type ammo, reloads are fine as long as they work in your gun.
October 26th
Couples Class
0730 until ?????
Cost $105.00 per couple
Make deposits at paypal ken@firearmz.net
or mail check to:
Ken Forbus
P.O. Box 344
Temple, Ga. 30179
We will be able to accommodate about 15 people.
You will need (per person):
Holster
Magazine carriers
Handgun
Magazines (at least 2)
Eye and hearing protection
300 rounds of range type ammo, reloads are fine as long as they work in your gun.
November 8th and 9th
Basic Handgun Class
http://www.firearmz.net/calendar.html
Nov. 22nd and 23rd
Fighting Handgun
http://www.firearmz.net/calendar.html
December 6th and 7th
Basic Carbine
http://www.firearmz.net/calendar.html
January 3rd and 4th
Basic Handgun
http://www.firearmz.net/calendar.html
January 16th, 17th, and 18th
SouthNarc/Shivworks
Practical Unarmed Combat and Extreme Close Quarters Concepts 1 and 2
Cost $400.00
http://www.georgiapacking.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19526&highlight=
You can contact one of the FIREARMZ Staff at:
ken@firearmz.net or evan@firearmz.net or visit or website at www.firearmz.net
OCTOBER NEWS LETTER
A lot of us purchase guns and gear, visit the range weekly, monthly or less frequently. Then we get on the internet and talk about our 2nd Amendment Rights. Consider this: You also have an obligation to be proficient with said gun and gear. If you are not willing to take the high road and get some good training, it will eventually be mandated by the Government. We talk about how we can shoot itty-bitty groups at the range; I have learned that these groups are like fish stories, except the size of the group shrinks rather than getting bigger as they are told. Your five shot, one-inch group from three yards in five seconds is not impressive! Your four-inch group of three rounds in .50 seconds while conducting lateral movement, with a threat assessment, and 360-degree scan afterwards… is.
Throughout history man has discovered and investigated certain things like the internal programming of how we react when startled by something unknown. The first thing we do is React. This reaction is usually when we lower our center of gravity, shrinking our head into our shoulders somewhat. Simultaneously, we orient our body, at a minimum visually with the eyes and head, to the noise or what ever it was that startled us in the first place. Usually, we orient our entire body in that direction. This gives us the Recognition phase; we want to recognize what it is that has startled us. It is human nature to want to see what it is and this allows us to Respond appropriately. For example, we may see a car that has backfired and calls for no response or it may be a support structure that has started giving way, definite cause for a response. That response may be to move away, to shove another individual out of the way, or to duck in order for an object to miss us.
In a self-defense situation these three R’s will also be there; knowing how to utilize them is important to our survival. How often do we hear in shootings that people thought the sound of gunfire was just construction or some other harmless bang? Gunfire is gunfire until you can positively identify what it is and you should act accordingly. We will react, recognize, and respond to what startles us and in a fashion that is similar to others. Can we train out of this? Sure we can but very few of us have the time, money, and facilities to do it, so we need to make these instinctive actions and put them in our favor.
Let’s face it, we do not walk around with our hands on our guns waiting for that occasion we have to shoot someone. We do not walk around constantly alert of our entire surroundings. We do not see everything in advance or we would have no need for seat belts, emergency rooms, or ambulances. We would just see it coming and avoid it or get it fixed in advance. As some of us like to proclaim that we will simply draw and shoot our adversary, the modern video camera has shown us differently. It shows that we will follow the three R’s and when we get to that response phase we may draw the gun. If you are in the middle of the mall and hear a loud noise that you could possibly identify as a gun shot, you would not immediately draw your weapon, and for several reasons. One - you do not know what it is. Two - if it was a gunshot, people that did not see it would automatically assume it was you, the man with the gun, doing the shooting. Therefore, to think we are a Super Delta Force Ninja on the internet is ok, but in real life, you’re human and we will continue to do things humanly for the near future.
This is why it is important to train in a realistic manner and realism is difficult to fake. Therefore, the range and force-on-force scenarios while utilizing our everyday gear and keeping it in contest with our mission are about the best we can do at this point. Square range drills involving a solid draw stroke, presentation, accuracy, movement, speedy reloads and malfunction clearances are all part of the system. Force-on-force involves all of the above but with a live adversary and a little more stress.
RELOADS
People are always comparing reloads; hand over the slide vs. slide lock. I can see some merit to both but I lean toward the hand over slide method. It is true that the slide lock may be faster on the square range and in administrative scenarios but in the real world we need to focus on the things that work under stress and in the broadest of circumstances. This is by far the hand over slide method; it is consistent with our malfunctions drills as well so we are streamlining the training. When you’re out at extension and you get that slide lock, the support hand should immediately leave the gun and go for the new magazine. The shooting hand thumb should simultaneously position to reach the magazine as the shooting hand comes back to the center line of the body slightly rolling outward just under the eye line. At that point (maybe a bit quicker depending upon individual ability), insert the fresh magazine forcefully until it is seated and locked into place, immediately rolling the support hand upward and grasping the slide and pulling it to its rearward-most travel and letting go (if you roll the support hand up correctly the support hand will always be behind the ejection port). Acquire a full two handed grip (if that is necessary to make the shot), moving the gun back up and out to the target.
Note: If you shoot one of the guns that lets the slide go forward when a fresh magazine goes in and is seated, unless you have experienced an issue like the slide not picking up a round when it goes forward or it does it sometimes and sometimes not, don’t worry about it. If you have experienced one of the issues, you need to fix the gun or live with racking it every time. This is caused by the slide lock spring being weak. Think about how it sits and constantly applies the spring force. It is always applying pressure in the downward direction, so over time it weakens and does not take much force to make it fall back in the down position. This can also create a problem if you bump the gun on something while the slide is back, allowing it to go forward prematurely.
Upcoming Training
October 2008
One Day of Training with your handgun
October 25th
0730 until ???
Cost $105.00
Make deposits at paypal ken@firearmz.net
or mail check to:
Ken Forbus
P.O. Box 344
Temple, Ga. 30179
We will be able to accommodate about 15 people.
You will need:
Holster
Magazine carriers
Handgun
Magazines (at least 2)
Eye and hearing protection
300 rounds of range type ammo, reloads are fine as long as they work in your gun.
October 26th
Couples Class
0730 until ?????
Cost $105.00 per couple
Make deposits at paypal ken@firearmz.net
or mail check to:
Ken Forbus
P.O. Box 344
Temple, Ga. 30179
We will be able to accommodate about 15 people.
You will need (per person):
Holster
Magazine carriers
Handgun
Magazines (at least 2)
Eye and hearing protection
300 rounds of range type ammo, reloads are fine as long as they work in your gun.
November 8th and 9th
Basic Handgun Class
http://www.firearmz.net/calendar.html
Nov. 22nd and 23rd
Fighting Handgun
http://www.firearmz.net/calendar.html
December 6th and 7th
Basic Carbine
http://www.firearmz.net/calendar.html
January 3rd and 4th
Basic Handgun
http://www.firearmz.net/calendar.html
January 16th, 17th, and 18th
SouthNarc/Shivworks
Practical Unarmed Combat and Extreme Close Quarters Concepts 1 and 2
Cost $400.00
http://www.georgiapacking.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19526&highlight=
You can contact one of the FIREARMZ Staff at:
ken@firearmz.net or evan@firearmz.net or visit or website at www.firearmz.net
posted by Firearmz at 7:31 AM
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