FIREARMZ - FIREARMS TRAINING AND DEFENSE

October News Letter

2008-10-07T07:31:00.000-05:00

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

Outside Carry verses Concealed Carry

2008-09-21T22:15:00.001-05:00

First let me say I am a concealed carry advocate, but not to the point that I think it should be illegal. It is a long debate in its history and will inevitably be that way for a long time. I have read most all reasons why and why not, trying to reach a conclusion as to which is best and have come to one finally and why I feel the way I do.

Outside carriers say it is their right, granted I will agree with that, it is also you right to take that gun and go blow your brains out, after all who is going to do anything to you for doing it.

OC’ers say that it is faster, well on a square range shooting paper where you know where the target is, yes it is faster.

Oc’ers say that the bad guy may see the gun and decide to chose someone else. Maybe, maybe not.

Oc’ers say that it educates the public, sure it does.

I say it is not so much faster I the real world, in most any circumstance when startled you will react by being shocked orienting your eyes and maybe even your body to what ever it was that startled you, then you will have to formulate a response. The three R’s are how I refer to them. Then in that response phase, it may or may not have drawing a gun factored into it. If you immediately draw the gun and then go to the recognition phase, well in most states that is aggravated assault on who ever you drew and pointed your gun at. Also, if something did happen and as a civilian people may just thing you are the bad guy with the gun and point you out of give your description to the police. In any manner, all of that takes TIME so your 1-second draw stroke may not be so fast after all.

The bad guy may indeed see your gun and go away, after all it is a powerful tool in warding off evil spirits, or he maybe that super duper evil guy that wants your gun and just shoot you or stab you and take it.

On the education subject, I guess there is no real statistical data to go one way or the other, but from the people that I have experienced seem to think it is more freighting to the public than not. It draws unwanted attention form Law Enforcement as well as others. After all how many concealed carry guys do we see being asked to leave Home Depot or Lowes? When the police escort you out, and the police with your gun, what education did they just get, one that says guns are bad and the police are taking you away.

Now knowing we are all human we intermix with the public on a regular basis, in lines at fast food joints, gas stations, malls, and other public areas. No one can protect the gun at all times, carrying openly affords anyone the opportunity to simply reach out and take your gun, for whatever reason.

Concealed carry offers an element of surprise; it is more tactically sound for the civilian.

Comfort is an issue also, if your CCW system is not comfortable you have the wrong support gear.

I personally know of one gun that was snatched from the rear at a mall. I also personally know of at least one incident where being concealed did save the guys life and afford him the opportunity when to act, not react, we all know actions beats reaction every time.

Then there is the John Wayne mentality, I have a gun, I am big and bad don’t mess with me. I have seen it and experienced it more than one time. I know we responsible gun toters would never have that mentality

Some ask where the proof is that all of this can happen; I ask where’s your proof that it hasn’t. It is all-feasible and can obviously be seen as a risk, it just happens to be your choice, make the right choice.

Looks like GAME ON with Mexican Cartels

2008-08-25T20:35:00.000-05:00

Police: Mexican Cartels Give OK to Hit U.S. Targets

EL PASO, Texas — Security is being heightened along the southern U.S. border because of a threat that warring Mexican cartels may send hit men into the United States, authorities said Monday.

Law enforcement officials would not discuss specific security measures being taken at the ports of entry, along the border or in the city of El Paso, Texas.

"We received credible information that drug cartels in Mexico have given permission to hit targets on the U.S. side of the border," El Paso police spokesman Officer Chris Mears said.

Authorities learned of the threat last week.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Chief Officer Rick Lopez said: "CBP is on heightened alert ever since we became aware of the threats in Mexico."

U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Doug Mosier said officials "are reinforcing the importance of vigilance."

Drug cartel violence has claimed thousands of lives in Mexico this year. Nearly 800 people have been killed in Ciudad Juarez, a hardscrabble city of about 1.3 million people across the Rio Grande from El Paso.

The cartels, battling one another and the Mexican government for supremacy and control of lucrative drug and human smuggling routes, have become brazen in their attacks in recent months.

In Juarez this month, masked gunmen stormed a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center and killed eight people. Days later, Red Cross workers stopped treating gunshot victims for several hours after receiving death threats over Red Cross radios. The Red Cross had already stopped responding to emergency calls after 10 p.m. because of security concerns.

Law enforcement officials this year in New Mexico and Texas said they had received a purported cartel hit list identifying 15 to 20 potential targets in those states. Mears said the latest threat contained no specific targets.

The deadly wave of shootings and a rise in kidnappings for ransom in Mexico has prompted some of its citizens, including police officers and a prosecutor, to seek asylum in the U.S.

While the ongoing cartel war has been largely contained in Mexico, more than two dozen gunshot victims have been taken for medical treatment in El Paso, prompting security lockdowns at the county hospital.

Lopez said agents working at the ports, where those gunshot victims have been taken before coming into the U.S., are taking extra security precautions. Ambulances transporting gunshot victims are already being escorted by local law enforcement to the hospital, he said.

Texas Teachers Packin Heat

2008-08-15T10:24:00.000-05:00

HARROLD, Texas — A tiny Texas school district may be the first in the nation to allow teachers and staff to pack guns for protection when classes begin later this month, a newspaper reported.

Trustees at the Harrold Independent School District approved a district policy change last October so employees can carry concealed firearms to deter and protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting teachers follow certain requirements.

In order for teachers and staff to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun; must be authorized to carry by the district; must receive training in crisis management and hostile situations and have to use ammunition that is designed to minimize the risk of ricochet in school halls.

Superintendent David Thweatt said the small community is a 30-minute drive from the sheriff's office, leaving students and teachers without protection. He said the district's lone campus sits 500 feet from heavily trafficked U.S. 287, which could make it a target.

"When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that's when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can't defend themselves? That's like saying 'sic 'em' to a dog," Thweatt said in Friday's online edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Thweatt said officials researched the policy and considered other options for about a year before approving the policy change. He said the district also has various other security measures in place to prevent a school shooting.

"The naysayers think (a shooting) won't happen here. If something were to happen here, I'd much rather be calling a parent to tell them that their child is OK because we were able to protect them," Thweatt said.

Texas law outlaws firearms on school campuses "unless pursuant to the written regulations or written authorization of the institution."

It was unclear how many of the 50 or so teachers and staff members will be armed this fall because Thweatt did not disclose that information, to keep it from students or potential attackers. Wilbarger County Sheriff Larry Lee was out of the office Thursday and did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment, the newspaper said.

Barbara Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas Association of School Boards, said her organization did not know of another district with such a policy. Ken Trump, a Cleveland-based school security expert who advises districts nationwide, including in Texas, said Harrold is the first district with such a policy.

The 110-student district is 150 miles northwest of Fort Worth on the eastern end of Wilbarger County, near the Oklahoma border.

—————

On the Web:

Harrold Independent School District, http://harroldisd.net/
Comments

What caliber??

2008-07-16T21:15:00.000-05:00

Good essay on the effectiveness of handgun calibers; though written in '89 it is still very relevant.

U.S. Department of Justice

Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness

by Special Agent UREY W. PATRICK

FIREARMS TRAINING UNIT
FBI ACADEMY
QUANTICO, VIRGINIA

July 14, 1989

Forward

The selection of effective handgun ammunition for law enforcement is a critical and complex issue. It is critical because of that which is at stake when an officer is required to use his handgun to protect his own life or that of another. It is complex because of the target, a human being, is amazingly endurable and capable of sustaining phenomenal punishment while persisting in a determined course of action. The issue is made even more complex by the dearth of credible research and the wealth of uninformed opinion regarding what is commonly referred to as "stopping power".

In reality, few people have conducted relevant research in this area, and fewer still have produced credible information that is useful for law enforcement agencies in making informed decisions.

This article brings together what is believed to be the most credible information regarding wound ballistics. It cuts through the haze and confusion, and provides common-sense, scientifically supportable, principles by which the effectiveness of law enforcement ammunition may be measured. It is written clearly and concisely. The content is credible and practical. The information contained in this article is not offered as the final word on wound ballistics. It is, however, an important contribution to what should be an ongoing discussion of this most important of issues.

John C. Hall
Unit Chief
Firearms Training Unit

Introduction

The handgun is the primary weapon in law enforcement. It is the one weapon any officer or agent can be expected to have available whenever needed. Its purpose is to apply deadly force to not only protect the life of the officer and the lives of others, but to prevent serious physical harm to them as well.1 When an officer shoots a subject, it is done with the explicit intention of immediately incapacitating that subject in order to stop whatever threat to life or physical safety is posed by the subject. Immediate incapacitation is defined as the sudden2 physical or mental inability to pose any further risk or injury to others.

The concept of immediate incapacitation is the only goal of any law enforcement shooting and is the underlying rationale for decisions regarding weapons, ammunition, calibers and training. While this concept is subject to conflicting theories, widely held misconceptions, and varied opinions generally distorted by personal experiences, it is critical to the analysis and selection of weapons, ammunition and calibers for use by law enforcement officers.3,4

Tactical Realities

Shot placement is an important, and often cited, consideration regarding the suitability of weapons and ammunition. However, considerations of caliber are equally important and cannot be ignored. For example, a bullet through the central nervous system with any caliber of ammunition is likely to be immediately incapacitating.5 Even a .22 rimfire penetrating the brain will cause immediate incapacitation in most cases. Obviously, this does not mean the law enforcement agency should issue .22 rimfires and train for head shots as the primary target. The realities of shooting incidents prohibit such a solution.

Few, if any, shooting incidents will present the officer with an opportunity to take a careful, precisely aimed shot at the subject’s head. Rather, shootings are characterized by their sudden, unexpected occurrence; by rapid and unpredictable movement of both officer and adversary; by limited and partial target opportunities; by poor light and unforeseen obstacles; and by the life or death stress of sudden, close, personal violence. Training is quite properly oriented towards "center of mass" shooting. That is to say, the officer is trained to shoot at the center of whatever is presented for a target. Proper shot placement is a hit in the center of that part of the adversary which is presented, regardless of anatomy or angle.

A review of law enforcement shootings clearly suggests that regardless of the number of rounds fired in a shooting, most of the time only one or two solid torso hits on the adversary can be expected. This expectation is realistic because of the nature of shooting incidents and the extreme difficulty of shooting a handgun with precision under such dire conditions. The probability of multiple hits with a handgun is not high. Experienced officers implicitly recognize that fact, and when potential violence is reasonably anticipated, their preparations are characterized by obtaining as many shoulder weapons as possible. Since most shootings are not anticipated, the officer involved cannot be prepared in advance with heavier armament. As a corollary tactical principle, no law enforcement officer should ever plan to meet an expected attack armed only with a handgun.

The handgun is the primary weapon for defense against unexpected attack. Nevertheless, a majority of shootings occur in manners and circumstances in which the officer either does not have any other weapon available, or cannot get to it. The handgun must be relied upon, and must prevail. Given the idea that one or two torso hits can be reasonably expected in a handgun shooting incident, the ammunition used must maximize the likelihood of immediate incapacitation.

Mechanics of Projectile Wounding

In order to predict the likelihood of incapacitation with any handgun round, an understanding of the mechanics of wounding is necessary. There are four components of projectile wounding.6 Not all of these components relate to incapacitation, but each of them must be considered. They are:

(1) Penetration. The tissue through which the projectile passes, and which it disrupts or destroys.

(2) Permanent Cavity. The volume of space once occupied by tissue that has been destroyed by the passage of the projectile. This is a function of penetration and the frontal area of the projectile. Quite simply, it is the hole left by the passage of the bullet.

(3) Temporary Cavity. The expansion of the permanent cavity by stretching due to the transfer of kinetic energy during the projectile’s passage.

(4) Fragmentation. Projectile pieces or secondary fragments of bone which are impelled outward from the permanent cavity and may sever muscle tissues, blood vessels, etc., apart from the permanent cavity.7,8 Fragmentation is not necessarily present in every projectile wound. It may, or may not, occur and can be considered a secondary effect.9

Projectiles incapacitate by damaging or destroying the central nervous system, or by causing lethal blood loss. To the extent the wound components cause or increase the effects of these two mechanisms, the likelihood of incapacitation increases. Because of the impracticality of training for head shots, this examination of handgun wounding relative to law enforcement use is focused upon torso wounds and the probable results.

Mechanics of Handgun Wounding

All handgun wounds will combine the components of penetration, permanent cavity, and temporary cavity to a greater or lesser degree. Fragmentation, on the other hand, does not reliably occur in handgun wounds due to the relatively low velocities of handgun bullets. Fragmentation occurs reliably in high velocity projectile wounds (impact velocity in excess of 2000 feet per second) inflicted by soft or hollow point bullets.10 In such a case, the permanent cavity is stretched so far, and so fast, that tearing and rupturing can occur in tissues surrounding the wound channel which were weakened by fragmentation damage.11,12 It can significantly increase damage13 in rifle bullet wounds.

Since the highest handgun velocities generally do not exceed 1400-1500 feet per second (fps) at the muzzle, reliable fragmentation could only be achieved by constructing a bullet so frangible as to eliminate any reasonable penetration. Unfortunately, such a bullet will break up too fast to penetrate to vital organs. The best example is the Glaser Safety Slug, a projectile designed to break up on impact and generate a large but shallow temporary cavity. Fackler, when asked to estimate the survival time of someone shot in the front mid-abdomen with a Glaser slug, responded, "About three days, and the cause of death would be peritonitis."14

In cases where some fragmentation has occurred in handgun wounds, the bullet fragments are generally found within one centimeter of the permanent cavity. "The velocity of pistol bullets, even of the new high-velocity loadings, is insufficient to cause the shedding of lead fragments seen with rifle bullets."15 It is obvious that any additional wounding effect caused by such fragmentation in a handgun wound is inconsequential.

Of the remaining factors, temporary cavity is frequently, and grossly, overrated as a wounding factor when analyzing wounds.16 Nevertheless, historically it has been used in some cases as the primary means of assessing the wounding effectiveness of bullets.

The most notable example is the Relative Incapacitation Index (RII) which resulted from a study of handgun effectiveness sponsored by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA). In this study, the assumption was made that the greater the temporary cavity, the greater the wounding effect of the round. This assumption was based on a prior assumption that the tissue bounded by the temporary cavity was damaged or destroyed.17

In the LEAA study, virtually every handgun round available to law enforcement was tested. The temporary cavity was measured, and the rounds were ranked based on the results. The depth of penetration and the permanent cavity were ignored. The result according to the RII is that a bullet which causes a large but shallow temporary cavity is a better incapacitater than a bullet which causes a smaller temporary cavity with deep penetration.

Such conclusions ignore the factors of penetration and permanent cavity. Since vital organs are located deep within the body, it should be obvious that to ignore penetration and permanent cavity is to ignore the only proven means of damaging or disrupting vital organs.

Further, the temporary cavity is caused by the tissue being stretched away from the permanent cavity, not being destroyed. By definition, a cavity is a space18 in which nothing exists. A temporary cavity is only a temporary space caused by tissue being pushed aside. That same space then disappears when the tissue returns to its original configuration.

Frequently, forensic pathologists cannot distinguish the wound track caused by a hollow point bullet (large temporary cavity) from that caused by a solid bullet (very small temporary cavity). There may be no physical difference in the wounds. If there is no fragmentation, remote damage due to temporary cavitation may be minor even with high velocity rifle projectiles.19 Even those who have espoused the significance of temporary cavity agree that it is not a factor in handgun wounds:

"In the case of low-velocity missiles, e.g., pistol bullets, the bullet produces a direct path of destruction with very little lateral extension within the surrounding tissues. Only a small temporary cavity is produced. To cause significant injuries to a structure, a pistol bullet must strike that structure directly. The amount of kinetic energy lost in tissue by a pistol bullet is insufficient to cause remote injuries produced by a high velocity rifle bullet."20

The reason is that most tissue in the human target is elastic in nature. Muscle, blood vessels, lung, bowels, all are capable of substantial stretching with minimal damage. Studies have shown that the outward velocity of the tissues in which the temporary cavity forms is no more than one tenth of the velocity of the projectile.21 This is well within the elasticity limits of tissue such as muscle, blood vessels, and lungs, Only inelastic tissue like liver, or the extremely fragile tissues of the brain, would show significant damage due to temporary cavitation.22

The tissue disruption caused by a handgun bullet is limited to two mechanisms. The first, or crush mechanism is the hole the bullet makes passing through the tissue. The second, or stretch mechanism is the temporary cavity formed by the tissues being driven outward in a radial direction away from the path of the bullet. Of the two, the crush mechanism, the result of penetration and permanent cavity, is the only handgun wounding mechanism which damages tissue.23 To cause significant injuries to a structure within the body using a handgun, the bullet must penetrate the structure. Temporary cavity has no reliable wounding effect in elastic body tissues. Temporary cavitation is nothing more than a stretch of the tissues, generally no larger than 10 times the bullet diameter (in handgun calibers), and elastic tissues sustain little, if any, residual damage.24,25,26

The Human Target

With the exceptions of hits to the brain or upper spinal cord, the concept of reliable and reproducible immediate incapacitation of the human target by gunshot wounds to the torso is a myth.27 The human target is a complex and durable one. A wide variety of psychological, physical, and physiological factors exist, all of them pertinent to the probability of incapacitation. However, except for the location of the wound and the amount of tissue destroyed, none of the factors are within the control of the law enforcement officer.

Physiologically, a determined adversary can be stopped reliably and immediately only by a shot that disrupts the brain or upper spinal cord. Failing a hit to the central nervous system, massive bleeding from holes in the heart or major blood vessels of the torso causing circulatory collapse is the only other way to force incapacitation upon an adversary, and this takes time. For example, there is sufficient oxygen within the brain to support full, voluntary action for 10-15 seconds after the heart has been destroyed.28

In fact, physiological factors may actually play a relatively minor role in achieving rapid incapacitation. Barring central nervous system hits, there is no physiological reason for an individual to be incapacitated by even a fatal wound, until blood loss is sufficient to drop blood pressure and/or the brain is deprived of oxygen. The effects of pain, which could contribute greatly to incapacitation, are commonly delayed in the aftermath of serious injury such as a gunshot wound. The body engages survival patterns, the well known "fight or flight" syndrome. Pain is irrelevant to survival and is commonly suppressed until some time later. In order to be a factor, pain must first be perceived, and second must cause an emotional response. In many individuals, pain is ignored even when perceived, or the response is anger and increased resistance, not surrender.

Psychological factors are probably the most important relative to achieving rapid incapacitation from a gunshot wound to the torso. Awareness of the injury (often delayed by the suppression of pain); fear of injury, death, blood, or pain; intimidation by the weapon or the act of being shot; preconceived notions of what people do when they are shot; or the simple desire to quit can all lead to rapid incapacitation even from minor wounds. However, psychological factors are also the primary cause of incapacitation failures.

The individual may be unaware of the wound and thus has no stimuli to force a reaction. Strong will, survival instinct, or sheer emotion such as rage or hate can keep a grievously injured individual fighting, as is common on the battlefield and in the street. The effects of chemicals can be powerful stimuli preventing incapacitation. Adrenaline alone can be sufficient to keep a mortally wounded adversary functioning. Stimulants, anesthetics, pain killers, or tranquilizers can all prevent incapacitation by suppressing pain, awareness of the injury, or eliminating any concerns over the injury. Drugs such as cocaine, PCP, and heroin are disassociative in nature. One of their effects is that the individual "exists" outside of his body. He sees and experiences what happens to his body, but as an outside observer who can be unaffected by it yet continue to use the body as a tool for fighting or resisting.

Psychological factors such as energy deposit, momentum transfer, size of temporary cavity or calculations such as the RII are irrelevant or erroneous. The impact of the bullet upon the body is no more than the recoil of the weapon. The ratio of bullet mass to target mass is too extreme.

The often referred to "knock-down power" implies the ability of a bullet to move its target. This is nothing more than momentum of the bullet. It is the transfer of momentum that will cause a target to move in response to the blow received. "Isaac Newton proved this to be the case mathematically in the 17th Century, and Benjamin Robins verified it experimentally through the invention and use of the ballistic pendulum to determine muzzle velocity by measurement of the pendulum motion."29

Goddard amply proves the fallacy of "knock-down power" by calculating the heights (and resultant velocities) from which a one pound weight and a ten pound weight must be dropped to equal the momentum of 9mm and .45ACP projectiles at muzzle velocities, respectively. The results are revealing. In order to equal the impact of a 9mm bullet at its muzzle velocity, a one pound weight must be dropped from a height of 5.96 feet, achieving a velocity of 19.6 fps. To equal the impact of a .45ACP bullet, the one pound weight needs a velocity of 27.1 fps and must be dropped from a height of 11.4 feet. A ten pound weight equals the impact of a 9mm bullet when dropped from a height of 0.72 inches (velocity attained is 1.96 fps), and equals the impact of a .45 when dropped from 1.37 inches (achieving a velocity of 2.71 fps).30

A bullet simply cannot knock a man down. If it had the energy to do so, then equal energy would be applied against the shooter and he too would be knocked down. This is simple physics, and has been known for hundreds of years.31 The amount of energy deposited in the body by a bullet is approximately equivalent to being hit with a baseball.32 Tissue damage is the only physical link to incapacitation within the desired time frame, i.e., instantaneously.

The human target can be reliably incapacitated only by disrupting or destroying the brain or upper spinal cord. Absent that, incapacitation is subject to a host of variables, the most important of which are beyond the control of the shooter. Incapacitation becomes an eventual event, not necessarily an immediate one. If the psychological factors which can contribute to incapacitation are present, even a minor wound can be immediately incapacitating. If they are not present, incapacitation can be significantly delayed even with major, unsurvivable wounds.

Field results are a collection of individualistic reactions on the part of each person shot which can be analyzed and reported as percentages. However, no individual responds as a percentage, but as an all or none phenomenon which the officer cannot possibly predict, and which may provide misleading data upon which to predict ammunition performance.

Ammunition Selection Criteria

The critical wounding components for handgun ammunition, in order of importance, are penetration and permanent cavity.33 The bullet must penetrate sufficiently to pass through vital organs and be able to do so from less than optimal angles. For example, a shot from the side through an arm must penetrate at least 10-12 inches to pass through the heart. A bullet fired from the front through the abdomen must penetrate about 7 inches in a slender adult just to reach the major blood vessels in the back of the abdominal cavity. Penetration must be sufficiently deep to reach and pass through vital organs, and the permanent cavity must be large enough to maximize tissue destruction and consequent hemorrhaging.

Several design approaches have been made in handgun ammunition which are intended to increase the wounding effectiveness of the bullet. Most notable of these is the use of a hollow point bullet designed to expand on impact.

Expansion accomplishes several things. On the positive side, it increases the frontal area of the bullet and thereby increases the amount of tissue disintegrated in the bullet’s path. On the negative side, expansion limits penetration. It can prevent the bullet from penetrating to vital organs, especially if the projectile is of relatively light mass and the penetration must be through several inches of fat, muscle, or clothing.34

Increased bullet mass will increase penetration. Increased velocity will increase penetration but only until the bullet begins to deform, at which point increased velocity decreases penetration. Permanent cavity can be increased by the use of expanding bullets, and/or larger diameter bullets, which have adequate penetration. However, in no case should selection of a bullet be made where bullet expansion is necessary to achieve desired performance.35 Handgun bullets expand in the human target only 60-70% of the time at best. Damage to the hollow point by hitting bone, glass, or other intervening obstacles can prevent expansion. Clothing fibers can wrap the nose of the bullet in a cocoon like manner and prevent expansion. Insufficient impact velocity caused by short barrels and/or longer range will prevent expansion, as will simple manufacturing variations. Expansion must never be the basis for bullet selection, but considered a bonus when, and if, it occurs. Bullet selection should be determined based on penetration first, and the unexpanded diameter of the bullet second, as that is all the shooter can reliably expect.

It is essential to bear in mind that the single most critical factor remains penetration. While penetration up to 18 inches is preferable, a handgun bullet MUST reliably penetrate 12 inches of soft body tissue at a minimum, regardless of whether it expands or not. If the bullet does not reliably penetrate to these depths, it is not an effective bullet for law enforcement use.36

Given adequate penetration, a larger diameter bullet will have an edge in wounding effectiveness. It will damage a blood vessel the smaller projectile barely misses. The larger permanent cavity may lead to faster blood loss. Although such an edge clearly exists, its significance cannot be quantified.

An issue that must be addressed is the fear of over penetration widely expressed on the part of law enforcement. The concern that a bullet would pass through the body of a subject and injure an innocent bystander is clearly exaggerated. Any review of law enforcement shootings will reveal that the great majority of shots fired by officers do not hit any subjects at all. It should be obvious that the relatively few shots that do hit a subject are not somehow more dangerous to bystanders than the shots that miss the subject entirely.

Also, a bullet that completely penetrates a subject will give up a great deal of energy doing so. The skin on the exit side of the body is tough and flexible. Experiments have shown that it has the same resistance to bullet passage as approximately four inches of muscle tissue.37

Choosing a bullet because of relatively shallow penetration will seriously compromise weapon effectiveness, and needlessly endanger the lives of the law enforcement officers using it. No law enforcement officer has lost his life because a bullet over penetrated his adversary, and virtually none have ever been sued for hitting an innocent bystander through an adversary. On the other hand, tragically large numbers of officers have been killed because their bullets did not penetrate deeply enough.

The Allure of Shooting Incident Analyses

There is no valid, scientific analysis of actual shooting results in existence, or being pursued to date. It is an unfortunate vacuum because a wealth of data exists, and new data is being sadly generated every day. There are some well publicized, so called analyses of shooting incidents being promoted, however, they are greatly flawed. Conclusions are reached based on samples so small that they are meaningless. The author of one, for example, extols the virtues of his favorite cartridge because he has collected ten cases of one shot stops with it.38 Preconceived notions are made the basic assumptions on which shootings are categorized. Shooting incidents are selectively added to the "data base" with no indication of how many may have been passed over or why. There is no correlation between hits, results, and the location of the hits upon vital organs.

It would be interesting to trace a life-sized anatomical drawing on the back of a target, fire 20 rounds at the "center of mass" of the front, then count how many of these optimal, center of mass hits actually struck the heart, aorta, vena cava, or liver.39 It is rapid hemorrhage from these organs that will best increase the likelihood of incapacitation. Yet nowhere in the popular press extolling these studies of real shootings are we told what the bullets hit.

These so called studies are further promoted as being somehow better and more valid than the work being done by trained researchers, surgeons and forensic labs. They disparage laboratory stuff, claiming that the "street" is the real laboratory and their collection of results from the street is the real measure of caliber effectiveness, as interpreted by them, of course. Yet their data from the street is collected haphazardly, lacking scientific method and controls, with no noticeable attempt to verify the less than reliable accounts of the participants with actual investigative or forensic reports. Cases are subjectively selected (how many are not included because they do not fit the assumptions made?). The numbers of cases cited are statistically meaningless, and the underlying assumptions upon which the collection of information and its interpretation are based are themselves based on myths such as knock-down power, energy transfer, hydrostatic shock, or the temporary cavity methodology of flawed work such as RII.

Further, it appears that many people are predisposed to fall down when shot. This phenomenon is independent of caliber, bullet, or hit location, and is beyond the control of the shooter. It can only be proven in the act, not predicted. It requires only two factors to be effected: a shot and cognition of being shot by the target. Lacking either one, people are not at all predisposed to fall down and don’t. Given this predisposition, the choice of caliber and bullet is essentially irrelevant. People largely fall down when shot, and the apparent predisposition to do so exists with equal force among the good guys as among the bad. The causative factors are most likely psychological in origin. Thousands of books, movies and television shows have educated the general population that when shot, one is supposed to fall down.

The problem, and the reason for seeking a better cartridge for incapacitation, is that individual who is not predisposed to fall down. Or the one who is simply unaware of having been shot by virtue of alcohol, adrenaline, narcotics, or the simple fact that in most cases of grievous injury the body suppresses pain for a period of time. Lacking pain, there may be no physiological effect of being shot that can make one aware of the wound. Thus the real problem: if such an individual is threatening one’s life, how best to compel him to stop by shooting him?

The factors governing incapacitation of the human target are many, and variable. The actual destruction caused by any small arms projectile is too small in magnitude relative to the mass and complexity of the target. If a bullet destroys about 2 ounces of tissue in its passage through the body, that represents 0.07 of one percent of the mass of a 180 pound man. Unless the tissue destroyed is located within the critical areas of the central nervous system, it is physiologically insufficient to force incapacitation upon the unwilling target. It may certainly prove to be lethal, but a body count is no evidence of incapacitation. Probably more people in this country have been killed by .22 rimfires than all other calibers combined, which, based on body count, would compel the use of .22’s for self-defense. The more important question, which is sadly seldom asked, is what did the individual do when hit?

There is a problem in trying to assess calibers by small numbers of shootings. For example, as has been done, if a number of shootings were collected in which only one hit was attained and the percentage of one shot stops was then calculated, it would appear to be a valid system. However, if a large number of people are predisposed to fall down, the actual caliber and bullet are irrelevant. What percentage of those stops were thus preordained by the target? How many of those targets were not at all disposed to fall down? How many multiple shot failures to stop occurred? What is the definition of a stop? What did the successful bullets hit and what did the unsuccessful bullets hit? How many failures were in the vital organs, and how many were not? How many of the successes? What is the number of the sample? How were the cases collected? What verifications were made to validate the information? How can the verifications be checked by independent investigation?

Because of the extreme number of variables within the human target, and within shooting situations in general, even a hundred shootings is statistically insignificant. If anything can happen, then anything will happen, and it is just as likely to occur in your ten shootings as in ten shootings spread over a thousand incidents. Large sample populations are absolutely necessary.

Here is an example that illustrates how erroneous small samples can be. I flipped a penny 20 times. It came up heads five times. A nickel flipped 20 times showed heads 8 times. A dime came up heads 10 times and a quarter 15 times. That means if heads is the desired result, a penny will give it to you 25% of the time, and nickel 40% of the time, a dime 50% of the time and a quarter 75% of the time. If you want heads, flip a quarter. If you want tails, flip a penny. But then I flipped the quarter another 20 times and it showed heads 9 times - 45% of the time. Now this "study" would tell you that perhaps a dime was better for flipping heads. The whole thing is obviously wrong, but shows how small numbers lead to statistical lies. We know the odds of getting a head or tail are 50%, and larger numbers tend to prove it. Calculating the results for all 100 flips regardless of the coin used shows heads came up 48% of the time.

The greater the number and complexity of the variables, the greater the sample needed to give meaningful information, and a coin toss has only one simple variable – it can land heads or it can land tails. The coin population is not complicated by a predisposition to fall one way or the other, by chemical stimuli, psychological factors, shot placement, bone or obstructive obstacles, etc.; all of which require even larger numbers to evidence real differences in effects.

Although no cartridge is certain to work all the time, surely some will work more often than others, and any edge is desirable in one’s self defense. This is simple logic. The incidence of failure to incapacitate will vary with the severity of the wound inflicted.40 It is safe to assume that if a target is always 100% destroyed, then incapacitation will also occur 100% of the time. If 50% of the target is destroyed, incapacitation will occur less reliably. Failure to incapacitate is rare in such a case, but it can happen, and in fact has happened on the battlefield. Incapacitation is still less rare if 25% of the target is destroyed. Now the magnitude of bullet destruction is far less (less than 1% of the target) but the relationship is unavoidable. The round which destroys 0.07% of the target will incapacitate more often than the one which destroys 0.04%. However, only very large numbers of shooting incidents will prove it. The difference may be only 10 out of a thousand, but that difference is an edge, and that edge should be on the officer’s side because one of those ten may be the subject trying to kill him.

To judge a caliber’s effectiveness, consider how many people hit with it failed to fall down and look at where they were hit. Of the successes and failures, analyze how many were hit in vital organs, rather than how many were killed or not, and correlate that with an account of exactly what they did when they were hit. Did they fall down, or did they run, fight, shoot, hide, crawl, stare, shrug, give up and surrender? ONLY falling down is good. All other reactions are failures to incapacitate, evidencing the ability to act with volition, and thus able to choose to continue to try to inflict harm.

Those who disparage science and laboratory methods are either too short sighted or too bound by preconceived (or perhaps proprietary) notions to see the truth. The labs and scientists do not offer sure things. They offer a means of indexing the damage done by a bullet, understanding of the mechanics of damage caused by bullets and the actual effects on the body, and the basis for making an informed choice based on objective criteria and significant statistics.

The differences between bullets may be small, but science can give us the means of identifying that difference. The result is the edge all of law enforcement should be looking for. It is true that the streets are the proving ground, but give me an idea of what you want to prove and I will give you ten shootings from the street to prove it. That is both easy, and irrelevant. If it can happen, it will happen.

Any shooting incident is a unique event, unconstrained by any natural law or physical order to follow a predetermined sequence of events or end in predetermined results. What is needed is an edge that makes the good result more probable than the bad. Science will quantify the information needed to make the choice to gain that edge. Large numbers (thousands or more) from the street will provide the answer to the question "How much of an edge?".41 Even if that edge is only 1%, it is not insignificant because the guy trying to kill you could be in that 1%, and you won’t know it until it is too late.

Conclusions

Physiologically, no caliber or bullet is certain to incapacitate any individual unless the brain is hit. Psychologically, some individuals can be incapacitated by minor or small caliber wounds. Those individuals who are stimulated by fear, adrenaline, drugs, alcohol, and/or sheer will and survival determination may not be incapacitated even if mortally wounded.

The will to survive and to fight despite horrific damage to the body is commonplace on the battlefield, and on the street. Barring a hit to the brain, the only way to force incapacitation is to cause sufficient blood loss that the subject can no longer function, and that takes time. Even if the heart is instantly destroyed, there is sufficient oxygen in the brain to support full and complete voluntary action for 10-15 seconds.

Kinetic energy does not wound. Temporary cavity does not wound. The much discussed "shock" of bullet impact is a fable and "knock down" power is a myth. The critical element is penetration. The bullet must pass through the large, blood bearing organs and be of sufficient diameter to promote rapid bleeding. Penetration less than 12 inches is too little, and, in the words of two of the participants in the 1987 Wound Ballistics Workshop, "too little penetration will get you killed." 42,43 Given desirable and reliable penetration, the only way to increase bullet effectiveness is to increase the severity of the wound by increasing the size of hole made by the bullet. Any bullet which will not penetrate through vital organs from less than optimal angles is not acceptable. Of those that will penetrate, the edge is always with the bigger bullet.44

References/Endnotes

1. FBI Deadly Force Policy.

2. Ideally, immediate incapacitation occurs instantaneously.

3. Fackler, M.L., MD: "What’s Wrong with the Wound Ballistics Literature, and Why", Letterman Army Institute of Research, Presidio of San Francisco, CA, Report No. 239, July, 1987.

4. Fackler, M.L., M.D., Director, Wound Ballistics Laboratory, Letterman Army Institute of Research, Presidio of San Francisco, CA, letter: "Bullet Performance Misconceptions", International Defense Review 3; 369-370, 1987.

5. Wound Ballistic Workshop: "9mm vs. .45 Auto", FBI Academy, Quantico, VA, September, 1987. Conclusion of the Workshop.

6. Josselson, A., MD, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., lecture series to FBI National Academy students, 1982-1983.

7. DiMaio, V.J.M.: Gunshot Wounds, Elsevier Science Publishing Company, New York, NY, 1987: Chapter 3, Wound Ballistics: 41-49.

8. Fackler, M.L., Malinowski, J.A.: "The Wound Profile: A Visual Method for Quantifying Gunshot Wound Components", Journal of Trauma 25, 522-529, 1985.

9. Fackler, M.L., MD: "Missile Caused Wounds", Letterman Army Institute of Research, Presidio of San Francisco, CA, Report No. 231, April 1987.

10. Josselson, A., MD, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., lecture series to FBI National Academy students, 1982-1983.

11. Fackler, M.L., MD: "Ballistic Injury", Annals of Emergency Medicine 15: 12 December 1986.

12. Fackler, M.L., Surinchak, J.S., Malinowski, J.A.; et.al.: "Bullet Fragmentation: A Major Cause of Tissue Disruption", Journal of Trauma 24: 35-39, 1984.

13. Fragmenting rifle bullets in some of Fackler’s experiments have caused damage 9 centimeters from the permanent cavity. Such remote damage is not found in handgun wounds. Fackler stated at the Workshop that when a handgun bullet does fragment the pieces typically are found within one centimeter of the wound track.

14. Fackler, M.L., M.D., Director, Wound Ballistics Laboratory, Letterman Army Institute of Research, Presidio of San Francisco, CA, letter: "Bullet Performance Misconceptions", International Defense Review 3; 369-370, 1987.

15. DiMaio, V.J.M.: Gunshot Wounds, Elsevier Science Publishing Company, New York, NY 1987, page 47.

16. Lindsay, Douglas, MD: "The Idolatry of Velocity, or Lies, Damn Lies, and Ballistics", Journal of Trauma 20: 1068-1069, 1980.

17. Bruchey, W.J., Frank, D.E.: Police Handgun Ammunition Incapacitation Effects, National Institute of Justice Report 100-83. Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, 1984, Vol. 1: Evaluation.

18. Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., Springfield MA, 1986: "An unfilled space within a mass."

19. Fackler, M.L., Surinchak, J.S., Malinowski, J.A.; et.al.: "Bullet Fragmentation: A Major Cause of Tissue Disruption", Journal of Trauma 24: 35-39, 1984.

20. DiMaio, V.J.M.: Gunshot Wounds, Elsevier Science Publishing Company, New York, NY 1987, page 42.

21. Fackler, M.L., Surinchak, J.S., Malinowski, J.A.; et.al.: "Bullet Fragmentation: A Major Cause of Tissue Disruption", Journal of Trauma 24: 35-39, 1984.

22. Fackler, M.L., MD: "Ballistic Injury", Annals of Emergency Medicine 15: 12 December 1986.

23. Wound Ballistic Workshop: "9mm vs. .45 Auto", FBI Academy, Quantico, VA, September, 1987. Conclusion of the Workshop.

24. Fackler, M.L., MD: "Ballistic Injury", Annals of Emergency Medicine 15: 12 December 1986.

25. Fackler, M.L., Malinowski, J.A.: "The Wound Profile: A Visual Method for Quantifying Gunshot Wound Components", Journal of Trauma 25: 522-529, 1985.

26. Lindsay, Douglas, MD: "The Idolatry of Velocity, or Lies, Damn Lies, and Ballistics", Journal of Trauma 20: 1068-1069, 1980.

27. Wound Ballistic Workshop: "9mm vs. .45 Auto", FBI Academy, Quantico, VA, September 1987. Conclusion of the Workshop.

28. Wound Ballistic Workshop: "9mm vs. .45 Auto", FBI Academy, Quantico, VA, September 1987. Conclusion of the Workshop.

29. Goddard, Stanley: "Some Issues for Consideration in Choosing Between 9mm and .45ACP Handguns", Battelle Labs, Ballistic Sciences, Ordnance Systems and Technology Section, Columbus, OH, presented to the FBI Academy, 2/16/88, pages 3-4.

30. Goddard, Stanley: "Some Issues for Consideration in Choosing Between 9mm and .45ACP Handguns", Battelle Labs, Ballistic Sciences, Ordnance Systems and Technology Section, Columbus, OH, presented to the FBI Academy, 2/16/88, pages 3-4.

31. Newton, Sir Isaac, Principia Mathematica, 1687, in which are stated Newton’s Laws of Motion. The Second Law of Motion states that a body will accelerate, or change its speed, at a rate that is proportional to the force acting upon it. In simpler terms, for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. The acceleration will of course be in inverse proportion to the mass of the body. For example, the same force acting upon a body of twice the mass will produce exactly half the acceleration.
32. Lindsay, Douglas, MD, presentation to the Wound Ballistics Workshop, Quantico, VA, 1987.

33. Wound Ballistic Workshop: "9mm vs. .45 Auto", FBI Academy, Quantico, VA, September, 1987. Conclusion of the Workshop.
34. Jones, J.A.: Police Handgun Ammunition. Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences at Dallas, 523D Medical Center Drive, Dallas, TX, 1985.

35. Wound Ballistic Workshop: "9mm vs. .45 Auto", FBI Academy, Quantico, VA, September, 1987. Conclusion of the Workshop.

36. Wound Ballistic Workshop: "9mm vs. .45 Auto", FBI Academy, Quantico, VA, September 1987. Conclusion of the Workshop.

37. Fackler, M.L., M.D., Director, Wound Ballistics Laboratory, Letterman Army Institute of Research, Presidio of San Francisco, CA, letter: "Bullet Performance Misconceptions", International Defense Review 3; 369-370, 1987.

38. He defines a one shot stop as one in which the subject dropped, gave up, or did not run more than 10 feet.

39. This exercise was suggested by Dr. Martin L. Fackler, U.S. Army Wound Ballistics Laboratory, Letterman Army Institute of Research, San Francisco, California, as a way to demonstrate the problematical results of even the best results sought in training, i.e., shots to the center of mass of a target. It illustrates the very small actually critical areas within the relatively vast mass of the human target.

40. Severity is a function of location, depth, and amount of tissue destroyed.

41. The numbers can be held down to reasonable limits by a scientific approach that collects objective information from investigative and forensic sources and sorts it by vital organs struck and target reactions to being hit. The critical questions are what damage was done and what was the reaction of the adversary.

42. Fackler, M.L., MD, presentation to the Wound Ballistics Workshop, Quantico, VA, 1987.

43. Smith, O’Brien C., MD, presentation to the Wound Ballistics Workshop, Quantico, VA, 1987.

44.

Fackler, M.L., MD, presentation to the Wound Ballistics Workshop, Quantico, VA, 1987

Work of the U.S. Government; not subject to copyright in the United States

From www.tacticalforums.com

When comparing well designed duty handgun ammunition, there are minimal differences in penetration depths and temporary cavity effects, as noted below in the gel shots by Doug Carr.

As you increase bullet size and mass from 9 mm/.357 Sig, to .40 S&W, to .45 ACP, more tissue is crushed, resulting in a larger permanent cavity. In addition, the larger bullets often offer better performance through intermediate barriers. For some, the incremental advantages of the larger calibers are offset by weapon platform characteristics. As is quite obvious from the photo above, NONE of the common service pistol calibers generate temporary cavities of sufficient magnitude to cause significant tissue damage.

Keeping in mind that handguns generally offer poor incapacitation potential relative to long guns, bullets with effective terminal performance are available in all of the most commonly used duty pistol calibers. Pick the one that you shoot most accurately, that is most reliable in the type of pistol you choose, and best suits your likely engagement scenarios.

PHOTO NOTES

The bullets used in the picture below of the bare gelatin shows the temporary wound cavitation of various calibers. The bullets were all Federal HST's. Generally, the picture would look exactly the same if Federal Tactical, Speer Gold Dot, or Winchester Ranger Talon were used instead...

The photos illustrating the recovered bullets showing their expansion depict Speer Gold Dot in .357 Sig and Ranger Talons for the other calibers--they represent expansion performance in each caliber.

ECQC 3 and 4 in Atanta

2007-07-02T05:52:00.001-05:00

Extreme Close Quarters Concepts 3/4

Cost $400

Course Description: The ShivWorks Extreme Close Quarter Concepts (ECQC) 3/4 course is a twenty hour block of instruction which builds upon the fundamentals learned in ECQC 1/2. This intermediate course is focused upon tasking the student’s multidisciplinary platform harder than ever by adding multiple opponents armed with handguns. All students will problem solve from an extreme initiative deficit. Particular attention will be given to the timing variable of a secondary hostile and the subsequent decision making based upon the distance envelope. Though not required, it’s highly recommended that the student have completed ECQC 1/2 twice.

Topics:

Day One (four hours)
• Review of Managing Unknown Contacts
• Review of Default Position and Short Elbow System
• Review of In-Fight Weapon Access and the Mountain Goat Drill
• Review and refinement of Gun Grapple fundamentals

Day Two (eight hours)
• Examining conventional movement theory and the Extreme Initiative Deficit (EID)
• Ballistic movement and acceleration
• Introduction to the Modified Take Off (MTO)
• Plyometric Footwork Development
• Angles of Egress
• Orientation Resets and movement under fire
• Directional decision making and initiative

Day Three (eight hours)
• Confined space gun disarms
• Strips, fouls, and redirects
• Cutting the centerline
• Uncooperative Cover usage
• Multiple armed opponent evolutions
• Narrowing the threat field
• Engaging the unexpected offset

Prerequisites: ECQC 1/2. Students should be relatively fit as the anaerobic demands are slightly more than the beginning course. Students are encouraged to bring joint wraps and braces as there is quite a bit of joint, hip, and lower back torque incurred throughout the course work. Shoes or boots with good ankle support are also recommended.

Required Equipment:
• Holster, belt and magazine holder
• Pistol of .38 or greater,
• Two magazines or speed loaders,
• Eye & ear protection,
• Long pants and a heavy sweatshirt or soft body armor,
• Mouthpiece and cup,
• 800 rounds of ammo.

Bring the following equipment if you happen to have it:
Focus Mits
Blow Out/First Aid kit
FIST Helmet
Knee pads
Training knives

Class location and lodging

West Georgia Tactical
3775 West Highway 166
Carrollton, Ga. 30117

Recommended Lodging:
Jameson Inn
700 South Park St.
Carrollton, Ga. 30117
770-834-2600

Tell the hotel you are there for a Firearmz Class and get a discount rate.

SOUTH NARC ATLANTA IN JUNE

2007-05-16T18:42:00.000-05:00

SouthNarc in Atlanta
IEK June 22nd at 6:00PM
ECQC 1 and 2 June 23rd and 24th at 8:30 AM
Cost $400.00 for the entire weekend
In-Extremis Knife, Managing Unknown Contacts & Practical Unarmed Combat

Contact me as soon as possible, this class will fill up very quick!!!!!!!!

770-853-7883

ken@firearmz.net

(Friday evening)

The ShivWorks In-Extremis Knife course is a 4 hour block of instruction which focuses on a non-stylized method that will work with any edged weapon or any improvised weapon as well. The course places the knife or improvised implement within the usage context of realistic criminal assault and provides a simple decision making process for access and application. A heavy emphasis is placed upon disparate confrontations where the defender lacks proportional armament and equal initiative. Pre-fight and In-fight tactics to dissuade, break and recover from violent, criminal assault are practically bridged into tool access and the specifics of edged weapon application.

Topics and curriculum
. Parameters of criminal assault
. Awareness and distraction
. Challenging the potential attacker

*Managing Unknown Contacts
. Preemptive blade access
. Deceptive kinesics
. Default position
. Basic empty hand tools and the F.U.T.
. Theory of in-fight weapon access
. Convulsive draw-stroke and edge orientation
. Angles and application
. Clearing the impeded line
. The pakal jab
. Applying the skill-set to improvised weapons

Extreme Close Quarters Concepts (Saturday & Sunday)

Course Description: The ShivWorks Extreme Close Quarter Concepts (ECQC) course is a two day block of instruction which focuses on a multi-disciplinary approach to building functional, combative handgun skills at zero to five feet. The course is designed to instill core concepts of seamless integration and provide the platform for aggressive problem solving during a life or death struggle. A heavy emphasis is placed upon commonality of body mechanics between skill sub-sets, which means that all combative software is reinforcing. Once the student's skill sets are initially ingrained, the participant will be stress inoculated with force on force drills utilizing Simunitions and protective equipment.

Topics:
Day One
• Diagnostics
• Introduction to the components of the Combative Drawstroke
• Building the #2 position in live-fire
• Firing throughout the horizontal line of presentation
• Off-hand fending positions
• Default position
• Basic empty hand blows
• Theory of in-fight weapon access
• Grounded basics

Day Two
• Challenging the potential attacker
• Preemptive weapon access
• Muzzle aversion within draw-stroke
• Negotiating the F.U.T.
• ECQ Handgun retention in holster
• ECQ handgun retention out of holster
• Handgun recovery
• Handgun striking

Prerequisites: This class is not recommended for beginning shooters and prior documented training or instructor approval is required. Students should be relatively fit as this is a contact class. Most of the latter half of each day will be spent utilizing Simmunition marking cartridges and FIST helmets, to allow the students to gain confidence in applying their newly acquired skills against moving aggressive opponents.

Required Equipment:
• Holster, belt and magazine holder
• Pistol of .38 or greater,
• Two magazines or speed loaders,
• Eye & ear protection,
• Long pants and a heavy sweatshirt or soft body armor,
• Mouthpiece and cup,
• 500 rounds of ammo.

Bring the following equipment if you happen to have it:
Focus Mits
Blow Out/First Aid kit
FIST Helmet

Customized 1911A1

2007-04-14T07:49:00.000-05:00

This is a Springfield 1911A1 that was done by Doc Holt at Specialized Firearms in Lithia Springs Ga.

Concealed Carry

2007-03-08T11:40:00.000-05:00

Visit Concealed Carry

2006 FBI Violent Encounters Report

2007-02-10T19:13:00.000-05:00

NEW 5 YEAR FBI STUDY New findings on how offenders train with, carry and deploy the weapons they use to attack police officers have emerged in a just-published, 5-year study by the FBI. Among other things, the data reveal that most would-be cop killers: --show signs of being armed that officers miss; --have more experience using deadly force in “street combat” than their intended victims; --practice with firearms more often and shoot more accurately; --have no hesitation whatsoever about pulling the trigger. “If you hesitate,” one told the study’s researchers, “you’re dead. You have the instinct or you don’t. If you don’t, you’re in trouble on the street….” These and other weapons-related findings comprise one chapter in a 180-page research summary called “Violent Encounters: A Study of Felonious Assaults on Our Nation’s Law Enforcement Officers.” The study is the third in a series of long investigations into fatal and nonfatal attacks on POs by the FBI team of Dr. Anthony Pinizzotto, clinical forensic psychologist, and Ed Davis, criminal investigative instructor, both with the Bureau’s Behavioral Science Unit, and Charles Miller III, coordinator of the LEOs Killed and Assaulted program. “Violent Encounters” also reports in detail on the personal characteristics of attacked officers and their assaulters, the role of perception in life-threatening confrontations, the myths of memory that can hamper OIS investigations, the suicide-by-cop phenomenon, current training issues, and other matters relevant to officer survival. (Force Science News and our strategic partner PoliceOne.com will be reporting on more findings from this landmark study in future transmissions.) Commenting on the broad-based study, Dr. Bill Lewinski, executive director of the Force Science Research Center at Minnesota State University-Mankato, called it “very challenging and insightful--important work that only a handful of gifted and experienced researchers could accomplish.” From a pool of more than 800 incidents, the researchers selected 40, involving 43 offenders (13 of them admitted gangbangers-drug traffickers) and 50 officers, for in-depth exploration. They visited crime scenes and extensively interviewed surviving officers and attackers alike, most of the latter in prison. Here are highlights of what they learned about weapon selection, familiarity, transport and use by criminals attempting to murder cops, a small portion of the overall research: Weapon Choice Predominately handguns were used in the assaults on officers and all but one were obtained illegally, usually in street transactions or in thefts. In contrast to media myth, none of the firearms in the study was obtained from gun shows. What was available “was the overriding factor in weapon choice,” the report says. Only 1 offender hand-picked a particular gun “because he felt it would do the most damage to a human being.” Researcher Davis, in a presentation and discussion for the International Assn. of Chiefs of Police, noted that none of the attackers interviewed was “hindered by any law--federal, state or local--that has ever been established to prevent gun ownership. They just laughed at gun laws.” Familiarity Several of the offenders began regularly to carry weapons when they were 9 to 12 years old, although the average age was 17 when they first started packing “most of the time.” Gang members especially started young. Nearly 40% of the offenders had some type of formal firearms training, primarily from the military. More than 80% “regularly practiced with handguns, averaging 23 practice sessions a year,” the study reports, usually in informal settings like trash dumps, rural woods, back yards and “street corners in known drug-trafficking areas.” One spoke of being motivated to improve his gun skills by his belief that officers “go to the range two, three times a week [and] practice arms so they can hit anything.” In reality, victim officers in the study averaged just 14 hours of sidearm training and 2.5 qualifications per year. Only 6 of the 50 officers reported practicing regularly with handguns apart from what their department required, and that was mostly in competitive shooting. Overall, the offenders practiced more often than the officers they assaulted, and this “may have helped increase [their] marksmanship skills,” the study says. The offender quoted above about his practice motivation, for example, fired 12 rounds at an officer, striking him 3 times. The officer fired 7 rounds, all misses. More than 40% of the offenders had been involved in actual shooting confrontations before they feloniously assaulted an officer. Ten of these “street combat veterans,” all from “inner-city, drug-trafficking environments,” had taken part in 5 or more “criminal firefight experiences” in their lifetime. One reported that he was 14 when he was first shot on the street, “about 18 before a cop shot me.” Another said getting shot was a pivotal experience “because I made up my mind no one was gonna shoot me again.” Again in contrast, only 8 of the 50 LEO victims had participated in a prior shooting; 1 had been involved in 2 previously, another in 3. Seven of the 8 had killed offenders. Concealment The offenders said they most often hid guns on their person in the front waistband, with the groin area and the small of the back nearly tied for second place. Some occasionally gave their weapons to another person to carry, “most often a female companion.” None regularly used a holster, and about 40% at least sometimes carried a backup weapon. In motor vehicles, they most often kept their firearm readily available on their person, or, less often, under the seat. In residences, most stashed their weapon under a pillow, on a nightstand, under the mattress--somewhere within immediate reach while in bed. Almost all carried when on the move and strong majorities did so when socializing, committing crimes or being at home. About one-third brought weapons with them to work. Interestingly, the offenders in this study more commonly admitted having guns under all these circumstances than did offenders interviewed in the researchers’ earlier 2 surveys, conducted in the 1980s and ’90s. According to Davis, “Male offenders said time and time again that female officers tend to search them more thoroughly than male officers. In prison, most of the offenders were more afraid to carry contraband or weapons when a female CO was on duty.” On the street, however, both male and female officers too often regard female subjects “as less of a threat, assuming that they not going to have a gun,” Davis said. In truth, the researchers concluded that more female offenders are armed today than 20 years ago--“not just female gang associates, but female offenders generally.” Shooting Style Twenty-six of the offenders [about 60%], including all of the street combat veterans, “claimed to be instinctive shooters, pointing and firing the weapon without consciously aligning the sights,” the study says. “They practice getting the gun out and using it,” Davis explained. “They shoot for effect.” Or as one of the offenders put it: “[W]e’re not working with no marksmanship….We just putting it in your direction, you know….It don’t matter…as long as it’s gonna hit you…if it’s up at your head or your chest, down at your legs, whatever….Once I squeeze and you fall, then…if I want to execute you, then I could go from there.” Hit Rate More often than the officers they attacked, offenders delivered at least some rounds on target in their encounters. Nearly 70% of assailants were successful in that regard with handguns, compared to about 40% of the victim officers, the study found. (Efforts of offenders and officers to get on target were considered successful if any rounds struck, regardless of the number fired.) Davis speculated that the offenders might have had an advantage because in all but 3 cases they fired first, usually catching the officer by surprise. Indeed, the report points out, “10 of the total victim officers had been wounded [and thus impaired] before they returned gunfire at their attackers.” Missed Cues Officers would less likely be caught off guard by attackers if they were more observant of indicators of concealed weapons, the study concludes. These particularly include manners of dress, ways of moving and unconscious gestures often related to carrying. “Officers should look for unnatural protrusions or bulges in the waist, back and crotch areas,” the study says, and watch for “shirts that appear rippled or wavy on one side of the body while the fabric on the other side appears smooth.” In warm weather, multilayered clothing inappropriate to the temperature may be a giveaway. On cold or rainy days, a subject’s jacket hood may not be covering his head because it is being used to conceal a handgun. Because they eschew holsters, offenders reported frequently touching a concealed gun with hands or arms “to assure themselves that it is still hidden, secure and accessible” and hasn’t shifted. Such gestures are especially noticeable “whenever individuals change body positions, such as standing, sitting or exiting a vehicle.” If they run, they may need to keep a constant grip on a hidden gun to control it. Just as cops generally blade their body to make their sidearm less accessible, armed criminals “do the same in encounters with LEOs to ensure concealment and easy access.” An irony, Davis noted, is that officers who are assigned to look for concealed weapons, while working off-duty security at night clubs for instance, are often highly proficient at detecting them. “But then when they go back to the street without that specific assignment, they seem to ‘turn off’ that skill,” and thus are startled--sometimes fatally--when a suspect suddenly produces a weapon and attacks. Mind-set Thirty-six of the 50 officers in the study had “experienced hazardous situations where they had the legal authority” to use deadly force “but chose not to shoot.” They averaged 4 such prior incidents before the encounters that the researchers investigated. “It appeared clear that none of these officers were willing to use deadly force against an offender if other options were available,” the researchers concluded. The offenders were of a different mind-set entirely. In fact, Davis said the study team “did not realize how cold blooded the younger generation of offender is. They have been exposed to killing after killing, they fully expect to get killed and they don’t hesitate to shoot anybody, including a police officer. They can go from riding down the street saying what a beautiful day it is to killing in the next instant.” “Offenders typically displayed no moral or ethical restraints in using firearms,” the report states. “In fact, the street combat veterans survived by developing a shoot-first mentality.

Glock 19

2006-12-14T22:41:00.000-05:00

In Rave of the Glock 19

The Glock 19 has got to be one of the greatest civilian close quarters battle hand guns made! Its compactness is great for concealed carry, large magazine capacity and accepting its bigger brother G17’s magazine to enhance magazine capacity in spare magazines is an extra benefit. The trigger on the gun is rather easy to learn and master, with its short re-set and stock 5.5lb break it is as close as you are going to get to a single action gun still classified as a double action with such a short reset. I mentioned stock, leave it the way it came! If there is anything that needs to be done it will be for people with small hands and a grip reduction may be in order. If you can hold the pistol in a firing grip, place the finger print on the trigger and still have a pencil size gap between the trigger finger and the frame, even the grip reduction is not needed.

Stay away from the so called 3.5lb rocket triggers. It may be a good addition for a competition gun but not for a carry gun. You may even want to add after market sights. This is a weak spot in the over all Glock plastic sights. If you decide to replace the stock sights I recommend only using good steel sights. XS Big Dots, Trijicons, Heine, Novak and others make good sight and will vary on personal preference. I have gravitated to the XS and Warren Tactical, even more so to a front tritium and black rear sight. I do like the square ness of the XS and Trijicons rear sight for performing malfunction or stoppage drills. In low light shooting if it is dark enough to need tritium you will also need a good light. Using rear tritium sights will draw you to the rear illuminating sights; the front sight is the most important.

The Tennifer process has got to be one of the toughest finishes going. Glock got that right on all of their guns and you do not have to pay extra for it.

Why the G19 and not the G23? The difference is easy for me. A hole is a hole and as long as it goes where it is suppose to go and goes deep enough who cares the diameter. The 9MM loaded with good ammunition like Winchester Ranger 127+P+ or Blackhills 124 +P it is a death ray (sic). As long as you can put them where they count, in a vital organ!

The Glock 19 will feed properly loaded jacketed hollow points as well as properly loaded ball without custom tuning, if for some reason it doesn’t get it fixed or sell it and get one that does. I personally doubt many have had this problem.

Stuff this puppy in a Milt Sparks Summer Special, Summer Special II and you are ready for personal combat. It is concealed and will stay where you put it. I personally use the kydex spare magazine carriers due to the leather cost. I only carry one, because I have 16 in the gun and 17 in the spare, a real winner for a compact offensive or defensive pistol. In guns of less magazine capacity you may find yourself doing reloads at a most inopportune time, now had you rather be shooting or reloading?

I know the 45 and 40 make bigger holes, the .357 SIG is faster (by a squeak over the Winchester Ranger 127+P+), this may be true but if you cannot control the gun and hit what you are shooting at then it is worthless. The same goes with buying training ammunition, I pay $87.00 for 1000 rounds of 115 grain CCI Blazer. I can train a lot more for my money with the 9MM.

Only here in America do we want to argue that 9MM will not kill you dead enough. Dead is dead people, ok don’t quote me military statistics. Most guys and gals in the military shoot a pistol once or twice a year, 25 or 50 rounds at a silhouette. Hardly well trained in its use or marksmanship now is it? So is it poor performance or poor shooting?

So bottom line is; the Glock 19 is the worlds finest concealed carry close quarters battle tupper ware pistol, stuffed with 127+P+ it is a freaking death ray!

My question is when is some of the American companies going to jump onboard and realize we do not need all of the external safety crap and make a really good shoot able handgun designed specifically for the defensive roll.

The Smith and Wesson M&P will be our next review!

Car Jackings

2006-12-14T22:38:00.000-05:00

Car-jacking - Smart Motorist
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) defines carjacking as the attempted or completed robbery of a motor vehicle by a stranger that includes the use or threat of use of force. According to a DOJ report released in March 1999, between 1992 and 1996 there were an average of 49,000 car jackings each year, up from earlier estimates of about 35,000 each year during the period 1987 to 1992. Earlier reports put carjacking at about 2 percent of all motor vehicle thefts. The latest report shows that car jackings grew from 3 percent of all motor vehicle thefts in 1992 to 3.5 percent in 1996. From 1992 to 1996, in about half of all car jackings the motor vehicle was stolen. In about 90 percent of completed car jackings, weapons were used and in about 70 percent of those car jackings the weapon was a firearm. However, most car jackings did not result in injuries to the victim--only 23 percent of completed car jackings and 10 percent of attempts resulted in injuries. The great majority (92 percent) of all carjacking incidents involved a lone victim; men were more likely to be the victim of car jackings; and urban residents were more likely than suburban or rural residents to be carjacked. Thirty-five percent of completed car jackings were reported to insurers. The DOJ says that most of the carjacking victims said they either had no theft coverage or did not report the theft to their insurers. Further, completed car jackings were less likely than thefts to be reported to insurance companies. A study by the Illinois State Police covering 1994 to 1996 found that most of the 45 car jackings it studied were gang-related. Sixty percent of those involved had known gang affiliations. Their primary motivation appeared to be a need for short-term transportation. The Anti-Car Theft Act, designed to reduce the number of car thefts nationwide and make armed auto theft ("carjacking") a federal crime, became law in 1992. In 1994, the passage of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act made carjacking where death results a federal crime punishable by death.
Car-jacking is nothing more than stealing a car by threat or use of force. Like any other crook, the car-jacker is looking for the easiest target. Some of the things you can do to reduce your chances of becoming a victim are:
· When approaching your car, be aware of your surroundings. If suspicious persons are near your car, walk past and go back to a safe area.
· Have your keys ready when you get in your car, to avoid fumbling in a strange parking lot.
· If the car is unexpectedly unlocked or open, do not get in. Call for help.
· Once in your car, lock all doors and close all windows.
· If approached by a stranger after you are in your car, do not open a door or window, drive away, and sound your horn if you feel threatened.
· While driving, avoid areas that concern you. Keep your car in good repair and full of gas.
· Allow room to maneuver between you and the vehicle in front of you. Do not open doors or windows for strangers.
· If someone attempts to stop you, or causes an accident where you do not believe it is safe to stop, drive to an area you feel safe, such as an occupied gas station, police station, etc.
If an unmarked police car attempts to stop you and you are not sure it is a police officer, obey all traffic signals, signal to the officer your intentions and drive to an area you believe it is safe to stop, such as an open convenience store, police station, etc.
CAR JACKING - stealing a car by force - has captured headlines across the country. Statistically, your chances of being a CAR JACKING victim are very slim, and preventative actions can reduce the risk even more.
If the car jacker has a weapon, give up your car with no questions asked. Your life is worth more than your car.
Keep your car doors locked and windows closed at all times while you are in your vehicle.
Be especially alert at gas stations, shopping malls, convenience and grocery stores, and intersections - all are likely spots for car jackers.
Park in well-lighted areas with good visibility, close to walkways, stores and people.
Approach you car with the key in your hand. Look around your car before getting in, especially underneath the car. And make sure there is no one hiding inside of the car before entering.
If your car is stolen, report it to the police immediately. The sooner the police are notified, the better your chances of recovering your vehicle.
CARJACKINGWhat you can do to protect yourself! - Arlington County Va Police Dept
Before You Go
· Select a safe route. Well lit and well traveled streets are generally safest.
· Have an alternate route in mind in case of problems.
· Keep your vehicle in good repair and be aware of your fuel level, always keep your tank at least half full.
· Travel with a friend when possible - a person alone is more vulnerable.
· Keep doors locked and windows up.
· Keep valuables out of view.
· Keep your car key separate from your house keys.
Don't leave vehicle registration, mail, bills or other items with your home address in the vehicle.
Getting There
· Be aware of activity around you, especially people on foot near your vehicle.
· Be suspicious of people approaching your vehicle for change, directions, handing out flyers, etc.
· If someone asks for assistance (stalled vehicle, etc.) do not get out of your vehicle. Go to a safe location and call the police.
· Travel in the lane closest to the center of the road whenever legally possible.
Leave plenty of room between your vehicle and other vehicles to allow yourself a way out.
Upon Arrival
· Park in well lit and well travelled areas.
· Look around for suspicious persons and possible hiding places (darkened Doorways, etc.) before turning off your engine.
· If in doubt, Do Not get out of your vehicle. Drive away and park someplace else. Report any suspicious activity to police immediately.
· Lock your car and take your keys with you - even for brief errands.
Be especially cautious when using automated teller machines.
Returning To Your Vehicle
· Be aware of persons loitering near your vehicle.
· Be aware of any tampering which may have been done to your parked vehicle.
If you think your vehicle has been tampered with, Do Not get in it. Notify police immediately.
If You Become A Victim...We strongly caution that resisting or attempting to flee may place you in great danger. Your personal safety - not the potential loss of property - must always remain the primary concern! In many cases the robber has displayed or threatened the use of a firearm and therefore may have the ability to inflict serious injury or death. Submission and surrender of the property is usually the most reasonable course of action.
About Car Jacking
Car Jacking is the taking of a motor vehicle in the possession of another by means of force or fear. Security conscious drivers are less likily to be a victim of car jacking than those who are careless. The crimes can take place at any time but more often take place at night, and are committed by young males. Top spots for car jacking include intersections and the parking lots at malls, apartments, businesses and schools., No matter where you are, you are always at risk.
The following precautions will greatly reduce your chances of being victimized
Getting In
· Reduce your chances of being carjacked by walking with purpose, and stay alert.
Approach your car with the key in hand. Look around and inside the car before getting in.
Getting Out
· Park in well-lighted areas, near sidewalks or walkways. Avoid parking near dumpsters, woods, large vans or trucks, or anything else that limits your visibility.
Never leave valuables in plain view even if the car is locked. Put them in the trunk or out of sight.
When on the Road
· Keep doors locked and windows rolled up, no matter how short the distance or how safe the area.
· Look around, especially at places where you slow down or stop, such as garages and parking lots, intersections, self-serve gas stations and car washes, highway entry and exit ramps, and ATMs.
· When coming to a stop, leave enough room to maneuver around other cars, especially if you sense trouble and need to get away.
· Avoid driving alone, if possible. Travel with someone, especially at night.
· Don't stop to assist a stranger whose car has broken down. Help instead by driving to the nearest phone and calling police to help.
Always keep your car well maintained, and make sure you have plenty of gas.
If It Happens To You
· If the carjacker threatens you with a gun or other weapon, give up your car. Don't argue. Your life is worth more than a car.
· Get away as quickly as possible.
Contact the police immediately.

2006-12-04T06:14:00.000-05:00

Underestimated No More: Educated Shiites once dismissed the young cleric as a zatut—an ignorant child. Now his followers are feared for their attacks on Sunni civilians in Baghdad.

Dec. 4, 2006 issue - One way to understand Moqtada al-Sadr is to think of him as a young Mafia don. He aims for respectability, and is willing to kill for it. Yet the extent of his power isn't obvious to the untrained eye. He has no standing army or police force, and the Mahdi Army gunmen he employs have no tanks or aircraft. You could mistake him—at your peril—for a common thug or gang leader. And if he or his people were to kill you for your ignorance, he wouldn't claim credit. But the message would be clear to those who understand the brutal language of the Iraqi Streets.

American soldiers who patrol Sadr's turf in Baghdad understand. They can spot his men. "They look like they're pulling security," says First Lt. Robert Hartley, a 25-year-old who plays cat and mouse with the Mahdi Army in the Iraqi capital. The Sadrists use children and young men as lookouts. When GIs get out of their Humvees to patrol on foot, one of the watchers will fly a kite, or release a flock of pigeons. Some of Sadr's people have even infiltrated top ranks of the Iraqi police. Capt. Tom Kapla, 29, says he knows who they are: "They look at you, and you can tell they want to kill you."
Sadr is a unique force in Iraq: a leader from the majority Shiites who has resisted American occupation from the start. He's a populist, a nationalist and an Islamic radical rolled into one. Part of his power is simply that he's powerful. Large numbers of impoverished Shiites view Sadr as their guardian—the one leader who is willing not just to stand up for them but to strike back on their behalf. "People count on the militias," says Lieutenant Hartley, who deals with Sadr's thugs on a regular basis. "It's like the mob—they keep people safe."
The longer Sadr has survived, the greater his prestige has grown. Iraqis and foreigners who meet him are impressed by the transformation. He's more diplomatic and commands more respect. He used to greet visitors at his Najaf office sitting on pillows on the floor. Now he has a couch set. His concerns are high-minded: he speaks of fuel shortages and cabinet politics. In the past, Sadr was shrugged off as a rabble-rouser and a nuisance. Now he is undeniably one of the most popular leaders in the country. He is also its most dangerous, for he has the means to wage political or actual war against any solution that is not precisely to his liking. He is driven by forces America has long misread in Iraq: religious sentiment, economic resentment and enduring sectarian passions.
And he is now a primary target of Sunni insurgents bent on provoking all-out civil war. Last Thursday, Sunni militants carried out their deadliest attack since 2003. Multiple car bombs, accompanied by mortars, killed more than 200 people in Sadr City, a Shiite slum of 2 million people in Baghdad that is dominated by the Mahdi Army. Shiite forces responded immediately by firing mortars at a revered Sunni mosque in Baghdad, and by torching other holy places. Only the presence of U.S. troops—and a wide curfew over the city—prevented far bloodier revenge attacks.

More than anyone, Sadr personifies the dilemma Washington faces: If American troops leave Iraq quickly, militia leaders like Sadr will be unleashed as never before, and full-scale civil war could follow. But the longer the American occupation lasts, the less popular America gets—and the more popular Sadr and his ilk become.

To many, Sadr's brand of Shiite politics—homegrown, populist and ruthless—seems a natural outgrowth of the ruin left in Saddam Hussein's wake, and a powerful part of what Iraq has become. The United Nations calculates that an unprecedented 3,709 Iraqi civilians were killed in October. Death squads connected to the Mahdi Army, as well as to other Shia and Sunni groups, capture and execute civilians in cold blood, sometimes dragging them out of hospitals or government ministries. Corpses turn up on the street with acid burns on their backs, or electric-drill holes in their knees, stomachs and heads. Among ordinary Iraqis, the United States bears much of the blame for the bloodshed—just for being there. As Sadr put it to NEWSWEEK earlier this year, "The occupation is the decision maker ... any attack is [America's] responsibility."
The story of the U.S. confrontation with Moqtada al-Sadr is, in many ways, the story of American folly in Iraq. It's a story of ignorance and poor planning, missteps and confusion. Key policymakers often disagreed about the importance of Sadr and about how to deal with him. The result was half-measures and hesitation. But the story isn't just about past failures. It also contains lessons—and warnings—about the future.
Little More Than 'Mullah Atari'Moqtada al-Sadr did not appearon anyone's radar screen ahead of the 2003 invasion. Even among Iraqis, although he came from an important clerical family he was seen as a weak figure. Moqtada's father, Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, had been a leading ayatollah, a rival to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani and other top clerics. But gunmen—assumed to be working for Saddam—murdered the elder Sadr along with two of his sons in 1999. Moqtada was 25 at the time.
On the evening after his father's funeral, Moqtada presided over a memorial service at the Safi al-Safa Mosque in Najaf. A storm was raging outside. At about 8 p.m., three men wearing suits and ties swaggered into the mosque. Their jackets bulged where handguns were holstered. They were smirking, recalls Fatah al-Sheikh, a family friend who was present. Everyone in the mosque knew they were Saddam's men. One of the visitors offered Moqtada a package: a brick of bank notes wrapped in crisp white paper. "It was a message from Saddam Hussein," Sheikh recalls. "They wanted to tell Sayyid Moqtada, 'We killed your father.' They wanted to see if Sayyid Moqtada could be bought."

Moqtada declined the money, refused to shake hands and told the men to leave the mosque. A cleric followed the men out, apologized on Moqtada's behalf and accepted the money—knowing that to refuse it would mean a death sentence. Fearing immediate retribution anyway, Moqtada cut short the memorial and canceled two days of official mourning

Sheikh says that for the next four years, Saddam's secret police followed Sadr wherever he went. One hot summer day, Sheikh recalls seeing Sadr leave the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf. Sheikh walked up and said hello. Sadr squeezed Sheikh's hand tight and opened his eyes wide. "He was trying to give me a signal." Then Sheikh saw why: two men dressed in dishdashas, standing behind Sadr and near a Toyota with tinted windows, were watching.

Saddam kept a close eye on Sadr because the young man inherited a wide network of mosques, schools and social centers built up by his father. The network was focused on the impoverished masses of Iraqi Shiites—the sort of people other religious and secular leaders didn't have much time for. Even some educated Shiites dismissed Moqtada as a zatut, or ignorant child. Some called him "Mullah Atari," because he apparently enjoyed videogames as a kid. He certainly lacked his father's stature: in his theological studies, Moqtada never reached beyond the level of bahth al-kharij (pregraduation research), according to a study by the International Crisis Group. But it's clear now that most everybody underestimated him.

The Time Bomb Starts to Tick Top American officials may have been misled, as in so many other things, by depending heavily on well-heeled Iraqi exiles for advice. The outsiders, who had lived for many years in London or Washington or Tehran, disagreed vehemently with each other on what an invasion would mean. But some told Americans what they wanted to hear: you will be greeted as liberators, especially by the Shiites and Kurds long oppressed by Saddam.
American officials listened to Ahmad Chalabi, the well-known scion of a secular Shiite banking family. Another prominent exile was Abdul Majid al-Khoei, who was supposed to be a key guide to the Shia religious community. Both had been away from Iraq for many years, and were strangers to the place they had left behind.
Al-Khoei paid with his life. The London-based exile returned to the holy city of Najaf, where he was born and raised, under U.S. military protection. He quickly organized a local council to get electricity and water flowing again, apparently with CIA money. (The CIA declined to comment.) But al-Khoei's father had been Iraq's top ayatollah—and a bitter rival of Sadr's father—during Saddam's rule. Now the sons were competing for power and influence. Sadr castigated al-Khoei as a U.S. agent, and demanded that he turn over the keys to the tomb of Imam Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law. A gilded cage surrounding the tomb contains a box for pilgrims' donations, a huge and vital source of income for religious leaders.
As al-Khoei and a colleague visited the shrine on the morning of April 10, 2003, an angry mob attacked them with grenades, guns and swords. "Long live Moqtada al-Sadr!" the mob cried out. Al-Khoei was stabbed repeatedly, then tied up and dragged to the doorstep of Sadr's headquarters in Najaf, where he was still alive. A subsequent investigation by an Iraqi judge found that Sadr himself gave the order to finish him off: "Take him away and kill him in your own special way."

Yet it wasn't clear at the time of the killing what Sadr's personal role was, and "we didn't want one of our first acts in country to be taking out one of the most popular leaders," says a U.S. military officer familiar with Army intelligence on Sadr. The officer, who did not want to be named discussing intelligence matters, says the Army was worried about provoking riots. When Sadr's father was killed in 1999, Saddam violently crushed protests by angry Shia mobs. "We thought that tens of thousands would take to the streets in Nasiriya, Karbala and Baghdad. It always comes back to that—not enough guys on the ground."

One courageous Iraqi judge, Raid Juhi, doggedly investigated the case. He exhumed the bodies of al-Khoei and his colleague, and wrote up a confidential arrest warrant for Sadr in August 2003. "From that moment through April 2004, the issue was whether we were going to enforce the arrest warrant," says Dan Senor, a senior official in the Coalition Provisional Authority at the time.
The CPA, the Pentagon and the military on the ground were in disagreement. The Marines in southern Iraq were particularly wary of stirring up trouble. As it was, the United States was preparing to hand off the area around Najaf to a multinational force with troops from Spain and Central America. Still, the Coalition had a secret arrest plan, and momentum toward nabbing Sadr was building. "The pivotal moment was Aug. 19, 2003," says Senor. "We were down to figuring out the mechanisms of ensuring that the operation was seen as Iraqi, executed on an Iraqi arrest warrant. I remember it was late afternoon and we had just received a snowflake from [U.S. Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld ... with nine different questions, rehashing how we were going to do this, to make sure it was not seen as an American operation." (A "snowflake" was a Rumsfeld memo.)
Suddenly word came that insurgents had detonated a massive truck bomb at the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad. Senor recalls rushing to the scene with Hume Horan, a top U.S. diplomat and Arabist. Horan leaned over to Senor and said, "We should take down Sadr now, when no one's looking." But there was enough chaos to deal with already. The U.N. bombing was "a huge distraction," says Senor, "and the Sadr operation was forgotten."
Taking On Iraq's New Taliban The U.S. invasion had destroyed an economy already crippled by years of international sanctions. Countless young men were unemployed, invigorated by the atmosphere of violent change but also poor and fearful. They wanted to be part of the new order—whatever it would be. The country was also awash in guns and other weapons, including those looted from Saddam's vast and unsecured arms depots. The Sadrist network was perfectly positioned to capitalize on the situation. Sadr himself wasdetermined to lead a national movement—using a potent mixture of anti-occupation militancy and millennial preaching about the coming of the mysterious 12th imam, who Shiites believe will save mankind. "Moqtada is absolutely hooked on the concept of the reappearance of the Mahdi," says Amatzia Baram, the director of the Ezri Center at Haifa University.

The first sighting of black-clad militiamen identifying themselves as part of Mahdi Army seems to have come in September 2003 in the southern town of Kufah. "I do not care what the Americans have to say about this, and I never did," said Sadr when asked about the new militia by reporters later that month. "Only the Iraqi people can choose who they want to protect their country." The U.S. military, fighting an ever-growing insurgency by the minority Sunnis, who had lost power with Saddam's downfall, didn't want to instigate a two-front war. But that left the United States without a strategy. If American forces weren't going to fight Sadr, it made sense to try to entice him into a political process. But other Iraqi leaders, including prominent Shiites, may have opposed that idea.

In the winter of 2004, a senior adviser to Ambassador Paul Bremer, the American proconsul in Iraq, was traveling in the south, meeting with friendly clerics and community leaders. "I could see how frightened they were of [Sadr] and his Mahdi Army," recalls the aide, Larry Diamond. "I was driven past an area, a kind of compound where his black-clad army was training for the upcoming revolution to seize power and take over. It just dawned on me that these people were going to make this place an authoritarian hell of a new sort, Taliban style, and would murder a lot of our allies in the process."
Diamond went to Bremer and gave him his assessment: the United States urgently needed to act against Sadr. Bremer responded that he was waiting for a new plan from Coalition forces. "I first wanted to go after him when he had probably fewer than 200 followers," Bremer recalled in an interview with NEWSWEEK last week. "I couldn't make it happen ... the Marines were resisting doing anything." But in the meantime, on March 28, 2004, Bremer suspended publication of Sadr's newspaper after it ran an editorial praising the 9/11 attacks on America as a "blessing from God."
The response was swift: mass demonstrations, which led to the first of two Sadr uprisings in 2004. In a final meeting between Diamond and Bremer on April 1, Diamond pressed the point that the United States needed more troops in Iraq. It was around 8 p.m., and Bremer's dinner was sitting on a tray uneaten. He looked exhausted. "And he just didn't want to hear it," says Diamond. "In retrospect, I think he had gone to the well on this issue of more troops during 2003, had gotten nowhere ... and had just resigned himself to the fact that these troops just weren't going to come. I think the tragedy is that everyone just gave up."
When fighting did break out, American forces hammered the Mahdi Army in Baghdad and Najaf—first in the spring and then again, after a broken ceasefire, in the late summer. Some of the worst fighting came in August, as Sadr's militiamen made their stand around the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf. They turned the area into a no-go zone, sniping at any sign of movement. U.S. forces retaliated by laying waste to large swaths of central Najaf. In the end, Ayatollah Sistani brought his influence to bear on the renegade cleric and encouraged a ceasefire. Attempts to enforce the arrest warrant against Sadr and several aides were dropped, and Sadr's forces disarmed in Najaf or headed out of town. They were badly bloodied, and some militants were shellshocked. Others bragged about how they had fought back tanks with AK-47s, or disabled Humvees with a single grenade. Scores of militiamen were dead, but Sadr's prestige was, if anything, enhanced: he had fought the mighty United States to a stalemate.

Getting Sadr Inside The TentSadr needed a new strategy, however. He wasn't strong enough to defeat the occupier head-on, nor could he eliminate his Iraqi rivals. So he took up what he calls "political resistance"—working from within the system. Chalabi played an important role here. Washington's favorite Iraqi had found that he had little popularity in his homeland, so he was seeking alliances. Chalabi also felt, as did many other Iraqis and Americans, that it was better to bring Sadr inside the process than to have him trying to destroy it. "Sadr is respected because of his lineage and because he speaks for the disenfranchised, the scared and the angry," says a Chalabi aide, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject. "In that sort of situation, it makes absolute sense to try to get him inside the system."

Sadr made the most of the opening. Politicians in his Sadr bloc won 23 of 275 seats in the January 2005 elections and, after fresh voting nearly a year later, now hold 30 seats. In both cases, because of divisions between other large Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni parties, Sadr was able to play kingmaker. Two prime ministers since 2005—Ibrahim Jaafari and the current Iraqi leader, Nuri al-Maliki—have depended on his swing votes for their majority. But Sadr himself stayed out of government, and kept his distance. That way he could pursue a dual strategy—rebuilding his militia even as he capitalized on his control of key ministries, like Health and Transportation, to provide services to the poor and jobs to his followers.
The Sunni insurgents were pursuing a new strategy, too. In early 2004, U.S. forces had intercepted a worried letter from the Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, to Osama bin Laden. Zarqawi fretted that his fight against American forces was going poorly. But he had a plan: "If we succeed in dragging [the Shiites] into the arena of sectarian war, it will become possible to awaken the inattentive Sunnis as they feel imminent danger," he wrote.
Throughout 2005, Sunni insurgents launched increasingly vicious attacks on Shiite civilians and holy places. Sistani regularly called on his followers to exercise restraint, which they did with remarkable forbearance. But Sadr, who had long positioned himself as an Iraqi nationalist—and who had cooperated with Sunni fighters in the early stages of the insurgency—now publicly called for Sunnis to disavow Zarqawi. New battle lines were being drawn.
The turning point came on Feb. 22, 2006, when assailants bombed the golden-domed Askariya Shrine in Samarra. This was the burial place of the 10th and 11th imams, and one of the holiest sites of the Shia faith. After the Samarra bombing, many Shiites felt compelled to lash back. Caught in a vicious street fight against Sunnis, they decided that they'd rather have a dirty brawler in their corner (like Sadr) than a gray-bearded holy man (like Sistani). "We have courage, large amounts of ammunition, good leaders, and it is a religious duty," says Ali Mijbil, a 26-year-old mechanic who serves in the Mahdi Army. "So why don't we fight them? We've been kept under Sunni rule for more than 14 centuries. It is the proper time to rule ourselves now."

Sadr still insists his main fight is with foreign invaders. He's the one Shia leader who has opposed the U.S. occupation from the beginning, and who has continued to call for a strict timetable for American withdrawal. An overwhelming majority of Iraqis now agree with him. A September poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org found that 63 percent of 501 Iraqi Shiites surveyed supported attacks against Americans. Even in Baghdad, where ethnic tensions are worst, Shiites agree with Sunnis on one thing: the poll found that 80 percent of the capital's Shiites wanted U.S. forces to leave within a year. That number has changed dramatically in a matter of months. A January poll found that most Shiites wanted U.S.-led troops to be reduced only "as the security situation improves."

In Washington, some politicians still talk about "victory," while others aim only to stabilize the country and leave with some semblance of dignity. Many in the U.S. capital are dusting off yesterday's proposals for tomorrow's problems—more training, more troops, disarming the militias, more stability in Baghdad. The GOP presidential front runner for 2008, John McCain, would prefer to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq by 20,000, at least temporarily. He has also called for Sadr to be "taken out." But it may be too late.
The movement may now be more important than the man. Sadr "is faced with a common problem," says Toby Dodge of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "He can't control the use of his brand name, the use of his legitimacy." Some elder followers of Sadr's father have broken away, disillusioned with the son. And some young toughs seem to be freelancing where they can. Renegade factions could eventually threaten Sadr's power. If he were to fall, "you'll end up with 30 different movements," says Vali Nasr, a scholar and author who has briefed the Bush administration on Iraq. "There are 30 chieftains who have a tremendous amount of local power. If you remove him, there will be a scramble for who will inherit this movement ... It's a great danger doing that. You may actually make your life much more difficult."
How the Mahdi Army Works For now, Sadr and his Mahdi Army have the initiative. They can stir up trouble without much fear of retribution. A case in point: When kidnappers grabbed an Iraqi-American translator in Baghdad last month, U.S. soldiers sealed off the Sadr City neighborhood where they believed he was being held. But Prime Minister Maliki—who depends on Sadr for political support—quickly ordered the Americans to remove their roadblocks. Maliki has also forced the U.S. military to release men picked up during raids in Sadr City on suspicion of belonging to Shiite death squads.
When the U.S. fails to respond to provocation, it loses credibility. And when it does respond, it can also lose. Last week, before the massive car-bomb attacks, U.S. and Iraqi forces carried out a pinprick raid in Sadr City to get intelligence on the kidnapped military translator, Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie. Like so many other U.S. military strikes in Iraq, however, it came at a price. American forces captured seven militiamen, including one who might have information on al-Taayie. But police said a young boy was among three people killed in the raid. A member of Parliament from Sadr's movement promptly showed up at the morgue, and held the corpse of the boy in his arms as he railed against the American occupation.

U.S. forces have tried hard to win hearts and minds. They've spent $120.9 million on completed construction projects in Sadr City, for instance—building new sewers and power lines—and projects worth an additional $197 million are underway. But the United States doesn't always get credit for the good works. When the Americans doled out cash to construct four health clinics in Sadr City during the past year, Sadr's men quickly removed any hint of U.S. involvement. They also put up signs giving all credit to their boss, according to Lt. Zeroy Lawson, an Army intelligence officer who works in the area.

The Mahdi Army has other sources of cash. It's taken control of gas stations throughout large parts of Baghdad, and dominates the Shia trade in propane-gas canisters, which Iraqis use for cooking. Sometimes the militiamen sell the propane at a premium, earning healthy profits; at other times they sell it at well below market rates, earning gratitude from the poor and unemployed.
A key source of Sadr's income is Muslim tithes—or khoms—collected at mosques. But his militiamen also run extortion and protection rackets—demanding money to keep certain businesses and individuals "safe." One Iraqi in a tough neighborhood, who did not want to reveal his name out of fear, says he pays the local Mahdi Army the equivalent of $13 a month for protection.
Analysts believe that Iran has also provided support to Sadr, but not much. Tehran began supplying Shia insurgents, including the Mahdi Army, with a special type of roadside bomb, using a shaped charge, in May 2005. These are often disguised as rocks and are easy to manufacture locally. But diplomats say they are made to the exact design perfected by Iranian intelligence and supplied to Lebanese Hizbullah in the 1980s.
Yet Tehran's main Shiite clients in Iraq are rivals of Sadr, who is often critical of Persian influence. Sadr worries that Iran may be trying to infiltrate his movement, and he's almost surely right. Fatah al-Sheikh, who is close to Sadr, says the boss sent a private letter to loyal imams around Baghdad in the past two weeks identifying 10 followers he believed were suspect. They had been using the Mahdi Army name, but Sadr believes they're really tools of Iranian intelligence, says Sheikh.

Sadr has tried to distance himself from atrocities, insisting that they're carried out by renegades or impostors. Many Sunnis, to whom Sadr has become a dark symbol of Shiite perfidy, don't buy it. "If he says, 'Kill Alusi,' I will be killed," says Mithal al-Alusi, a moderate Sunni member of Parliament. "If he says, 'Don't kill Alusi,' I will not be killed ... Nobody can go against his orders or wishes." The Association of Muslim Scholars, which is loosely linked with Sunni insurgents, says the Mahdi Army has attacked some 200 Sunni mosques, and killed more than 260 imams and mosque workers.

All the killings will be remembered, and it will be a miracle if they go unanswered. Memories of martyrdom—and the desire for revenge—can last forever. Last Friday marked the anniversary, on the Islamic calendar, of the killing of Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr and his two eldest sons. After the previous day's bombings, Moqtada told government officials that he was out of the country. But that seems to have been a feint—to keep possible enemies off balance. In fact, he appeared at the Kufah Mosque, where his father used to lead worshipers in chants of "No, no to America; no, no to Israel; no, no to the Devil!"
As word spread that Moqtada would lead prayers, people crowded into the mosque, most of them clad in black as a sign of mourning. Sadr asked worshipers to pray for his dead relatives, and also for those who had been killed in Sadr City. He again called for the United States to set a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. He urged a top Sunni sheik to issue three fatwas: one against the killing of Shiites, another against joining Al Qaeda and the third to rebuild the shrine in Samarra. He compared his father's followers to those of the Prophet Muhammad. "After the prophet died," he intoned, "some of his followers deviated from his teachings, and the same has happened with followers of my father." The "cursed trio"—Americans, British and Israelis—were trying to divide Iraq. "We Iraqis—Sunnis and Shia—will always be brothers."
No one in Iraq talks about arresting Sadr for the murder of al-Khoei anymore. That seems like ages ago—back when Sadr's armed supporters were estimated in the hundreds, compared with many thousands today. Now diplomats speak of trying to keep Sadr inside the political system, hoping he can tame his followers. He's a militant Islamist and anti-occupation, they say, but he's also a nationalist, and not as close to Iran as some of his rivals. Nobody knows whether Sadr is dissembling when he speaks about Iraqi unity, or preparing for all-out war. What is clear—more today than ever before—is that it's time to stop underestimating him.

This story was written by Jeffrey Bartholet with reporting from Kevin Peraino and Sarah Childress in Baghdad; Michael Hastings in Amman; Dan Ephron, Michael Hirsh and John Barry in Washington; Christopher Dickey in Paris; Melinda Liu in Beijing; Rod Nordland, Stryker McGuire, Mark Hosenball and Rebecca Hall in London; Babak Dehghanpisheh in Beirut; Scott Johnson in Cape Town; Christian Carylin Tokyo, and Malcolm Beith and Karen Fragala Smith in New York

FIREARMZ AR15 CLASSES

2006-11-26T20:02:00.000-05:00

FIREARMZ

Firearmz has a new corricilum for the urban carbine class designed around the M16/M4 Carbine. Check out the web site to leanr more

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OC Spray Class

2006-11-26T19:59:00.000-05:00

OC Spray Class

WHAT: OC/Pepper Spray Training Course by Paul Gomez
WHERE: West Georgia Tactical Inc. Carrollton Georgia
WHEN: 12pm until 5pm, Saturday 9 December 2006
COST: $75

Having been involved in OC/Pepper Spray training since 1996, I have been routinely disappointed with various aspects of OC training. This presentation is the result of an ongoing project of synthesis and analysis designed to provide the best material concerning the use of oleoresin capsicum. It is the basis for an upcoming video project with Ronin Productions/ Paladin Press.
Topics covered include:
Defense Spray Facts
Defense Spray Formulations
Canisters Design
Firing Mechanisms
Delivery Systems
Tactical Use of Defense Sprays
Hazards & Limitations of Defense Spray Drawing
Stance & Deployment of Defense Sprays Exposure
Post Exposure Cleansing Techniques
Legalities of Pepper Spray Use
Unarmed defenses to allow access and use of spray
Realistic effects of OC
Exposure is not mandatory, but strongly encouraged. Paulegomez@gmail.com 225.921.5900 or Ken at 770-853-7883.

2006-11-26T19:49:00.000-05:00

FIREARMS LUBRICATION

When people clean their weapons the questions always comes up. How much lube do I put on it? Well my answer is to much is always better than to little. You can run a gun wet and dirty but dry and dirty does not work well.

Buying the all ready assembled gun cleaning kits to me is a waste of money. You get a lot better results by putting your own kit together. You have a higher quality kit with no extra junk cluttering everything up.

This is what I do:
I thoroughly dry clean my guns first with a good brush and rag getting rid of all of the loose deposits in the gun. I then use either Mil-Comm MC25 or Simple Green cleaner to thoroughly remove any further deposits. Be sure to have a good brush, such as the military weapons cleaning brush with a small and large bristle end. I use a brass cleaning rod and bronze brush for the barrel. I also have a stainless steel weapons brush and dental pick for those extremely tough deposits that do not want to come off very easy.

I then lube the gun with Mil-Comm TW25 Grease. I apply this to all parts on the slide rails and any other place I see visible metal to metal wear marks. For all of those small hard to get to places I use the Mil-Comm MC2500 semi liquid lube. For my everyday carry I only use enough to make it all look wet to the eye. If I am going to a class where I will shoot large volumes of ammo in a short period I will use a little bit more.

Wipe off all excess and do a function check to make sure everything is working correctly. I might add that while you have your gun apart and have it clean do a thorough inspection of all parts and replace anything that is worn or broken.

Dekalb Georgia Police Chief is NUTS!!!

2006-10-05T17:12:00.000-05:00

The Associated Press

ATLANTA- DeKalb County police killed a suspect they were chasing early Tuesday, marking the department's 10th fatal shooting this year.

The toll is more than three times the number of fatal shootings by police in all of last year in the county of 700,000 residents. It also exceeds the seven so far this year in New York City. Los Angeles had report nine fatal shootings by police as of September.

The incident Tuesday began as officers chased two people wanted in connection with the killing of a man and a carjacking, said Jason Gagnon, spokesman for police in the county that includes a portion of Atlanta and its eastern suburbs. The suspects' car spun out of control and the driver fired at officers, Gagnon said.

"When he fired, the officers had no other choice than to fire back for their safety," he said. He said the driver died at the scene and the second person in the car was taken to a hospital.

Several rounds were fired, he said.

The four officers involved in the shooting will be placed on routine administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, Gagnon said.

DeKalb Police Chief Nick Marinelli has blamed the rise in fatal police shootings in part on loose gun laws in the South and more aggressive criminals. One DeKalb officer has been killed this year, shot to death along with a suspect on June 29.

I suggest that the guy if as far off his rocker as his commissioner. The only things causing more crime in the metro area period is Katrina over flows that have decided to stay here, the gang culture, illegal aliens and the RAP Industry moving to the ATL. The gun laws in Georgia have not changed for many years (not enough to mention) and the Chief blames his increase in crime on the loose gun laws. His Police Department has shot 10 people this year because they were probably doing something that they needed to be shot!!!!

So I suggest that the Chief take a much harder look at things instead sucoming to media pressure and making stupid comments, sounds like Bloomberg moving south to me. Other agencies in the metro area (some larger) have not experienced such a jump, they also have rhe same gun laws as Dekalb. Maybe they have a diffrent culture base??

What do you think?

Remember 9/11

2006-09-11T07:37:00.000-05:00

REMEMBER 9/11

And every day afterward

Today being the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks where Muslim Extremist killed almost 3000 citizens. What should we be thinking and doing?

We should remember those who died and remember the ones who killed them. As we reflect on that day and the families who lost loved ones we need to be more embolden to win the War on Terror (WOT). The liberal left of America would have you believe that this is something we can win by negotiation and peace talks. They also say we should give these monsters the benefits of American Law and equal rights as someone that has committed a civil violation. These animals are the Muslim Extremist and will only be defeated by direct action. They only understand death and we should be proud to deliver it to them.

As our Law Enforcement and Intelligence Community continue to do their jobs to collect information, our soldiers serve in harms way, there is always someone trying to tie their hands. These people have sworn war against our country and our way of life and they must be destroyed. Even members of our own government can not see past the election, some plain do not get it and when it gets really bad they will be the first to cry why we didn’t do better.

Our government needs to let the troops take the gloves off and fight this war. The reason we are such a great nation if directly linked to the bold men in the past that did the right things: we fought World War II like a war, mass bombings, engage and kill the enemy and yes even state sponsored assignations. The Japanese were defeated thru the use of the nuclear bomb because someone understood war and it is the governments’ responsibility to defend this country against other nations or groups that would do us ill.

Unless we continue the same determined oath as our fore fathers we are doomed to lose this WOT. Now is not the time to coddle the enemy or their supporters, it is time to fight a war on what ever continent in any city and at all cost kill the enemy.

The Clinton era did us more harm in National Security than we will recover any time soon, we must continue to support the current administration to battle the WOT. Because the liberal left has no idea and have no drive to win. Their sole motivation is to win elections so they can control. They are more interested in controlling US Citizens that the borders or terrorist. The right wing republicans are not far away from the same thing but are the closest things we have to someone willing to fight this war.

So on this anniversary remember those who dies that day, each Law Enforcement Officer who has died in the line of duty in the WOT, and remember every soldier .who has given their life in defense o this country and those that are still in foreign nations willing to give theirs.

God Bless America

Remember those who died.

Remember those who killed them!!!!

South Narc ECQC and Paul Gomez Urban AK 47 Class in Georgia October 27th

2006-09-08T18:37:00.000-05:00

Paul Gomez Urban AK47 Class
October 27, 2006
0730-1800
Bremen Georgia

This fast paced class concentrates on the use of semi-automatic versions of the Avtomat Kalashnikova in the close range arena typical of civilian defensive scenarios. The emphasis is on quick threat engagement from the standing position, plus the use of alternate firing positions for taking advantage of cover. Topics covered include tactical ready positions, weapon retention, transitioning to a handgun, semi-auto speed shooting, and engagement of single and multiple targets at distances from muzzle contact to 100 meters.
Taught by Paul Gomez, Urban AK is the class for every person who owns an AK variant and is interested in its effective and responsible use.
This class is designed exclusively for long arms of the AK design. Only AK variants (and Mini 14) are acceptable for this class. Contact the instructor for clarification if you are in doubt regarding the suitability of your gun.

Cost is $175.00 (½ deposit required)
500 rounds of rifle ammo
100 rounds of pistol ammo

Call Ken or email for more information or registration.

SouthNarc - ShivWorks
In-Extremis Knife Course (IEK)
October 27, 2006 at 6.00 PM
Bremen, Georgia 30110

These classes will be held at the Bremen Police Department Range. As you send your deposit I will in turn email directions and lodging information. For those that have already registered your hotels are still closest to the range. The rangeis 3 miles from exit 11 on I-20.

The ShivWorks In-Extremis Knife course is a 4 hour block of instruction which focuses on a non-stylized method that will work with any edged weapon or any improvised weapon as well. The course places the knife or improvised implement within the usage context of realistic criminal assault and provides a simple decision making process for access and application. A heavy emphasis is placed upon disparate confrontations where the defender lacks proportional armament and equal initiative. Pre-fight and In-fight tactics to dissuade, break and recover from violent, criminal assault are practically bridged into tool access
and the specifics of edged weapon application.

Topics and curriculum
· Parameters of criminal assault
· Awareness and distraction
· Challenging the potential attacker
· Preemptive blade access
· Deceptive kinesics
· Default position
· Basic empty hand tools and the F.U.T.
· Theory of in-fight weapon access
· Convulsive draw-stroke and edge orientation
· Angles and application
· Clearing the impeded line
· The pakal jab
· Applying the skill-set to improvised weapons

DEPOSITS ARE REQUIRED BY 50% OF THE COST
TOTAL COST: $100.00
Take both all three days for $400.00

50% DEPOSIT RESERVES YOUR SPOT, THIS IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE!!!!!!
Make your checks payable to CRAIG DOUGLAS and mail it to:

FIREARMZ L.L.C
P.O. BOX 344
TEMPLE, GA. 30179

Please also verify this registration by e-mailing Ken@FIREARMZ.net. We are accepting the deposits for payment on his behalf. For additional information or questions, please contact Ken directly at 770-853-7883 OR EMAIL AT KEN@FIREARMZ.NET

SouthNarc Extreme Close Quarters Concepts (ECQ) I & II
"DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND"
October 28 - 29, 2006
Location: Carrollton, Georgia

THE CLASS IN JANURARY FILLED COMPLETELY UP AND RAN OVER A BIT. RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW!!!

$400.OO FOR THE ENTIRE WEEKEND (includes October 27th In-Extremis Knife Course (IEK) - see above)

THAT SAVES YOU $75.00. THAT'S ONE EVENING OF IN-EXTREMIS KNIFE FIGHTING ANDTWO DAYS OF EXTREME CLOSE QUARTERS CONCEPTS BEING HELD AT A PRIVATE RANGE IN WEST GEORGIA (CARROLLTON/BOWDON AREA)

The ShivWorks Extreme Close Quarter Concepts (ECQC) course is a one or two day block of instruction which focuses on a multi-disciplinary approach to building functional, combative handgun skills at zero to five feet. The course is designed to instill core concepts of seamless integration and provide the platform for aggressive problem solving during a life or death struggle. A heavy emphasis is placed upon commonality of body mechanics between skill sub-sets, which means that all combative software is reinforcing. Once the student's skill sets are initially ingrained, the participant will be stress inoculated with force on force drills utilizing Simunitions and protective equipment.
Topics:

Day One
" Diagnostics
" Introduction to the components of the Combative Drawstroke
" Building the #2 position in live-fire
" Firing throughout the horizontal line of presentation
" Off-hand fending positions
" Default position
" Basic empty hand blows
" Theory of in-fight weapon access
" Grounded basics
Day Two
" Challenging the potential attacker
" Preemptive weapon access
" Muzzle aversion within draw-stroke
" Negotiating the F.U.T.
" ECQ Handgun retention in holster
" ECQ handgun retention out of holster
" Handgun recovery
" Handgun striking

Prerequisites: This class is not recommended for beginning shooters and prior documented training or instructor approval is required. Students should be relatively fit as this is a contact class. Most of the latter half of each day will be spent utilizing Simunition marking cartridges and FIST helmets, to allow the students to gain confidence in applying their newly acquired skills against moving aggressive opponents.

Required Equipment: Holster, pistol, two magazines, eye & ear protection, heavy sweatshirt or soft body armor, mouthpiece and cup, 600 rounds of ammo.

DEPOSITS ARE REQUIRED BY 50% OF THE COST
Cost: $375.00 Total (2-Days)

Length: Approx. 8 hours per day

REGISTRATION: Please make your checks payable to Craig Douglas and mail them to FIREARMZ,
P.O. Box 344,
Temple, GA 30179.

Please specify if you are just taking the 2 day course or if you will also be attending the October 27th class. Please also verify this registration by e-mailing Ken@FIREARMZ.net. We are accepting the deposits for payment on his behalf.
_________________
FIREARMZ "YOUR SOURCE FOR PROFESSIONAL FIREARMS TRAINING AND PERSONAL PROTECTION"
WWW.FIREARMZ.NET
770-853-7883

Wild Bills Concealment Holster Review

2006-08-02T17:40:00.000-05:00

Wild Bills Summer Heat Holster

I seen these on line and they looked pretty impressive and the description was equally appealing so I ordered my son one for his new 1911. The web site also stated they were ready to ship, so I was in luck. I placed the order for all to be in tan. I included in my order these were for my son and I received a phone call the next day informing me that if I wanted them quick they would have to be black. So I conceded and took the black. I was told they would ship the following morning. One week went by and no holster or magazine carriers. I placed three phone calls and numerous emails asking where they were. No replies back!!!!!!

Well my son arrived and I called Milt Sparks and had a holster shipped (it arrived in 3 days). Yesterday I took my son back to the air port for his return trip to Iraq and today the holster and magazine carriers arrived.

I was less than impressed with the products. The holster has the rough side of the leather in and smooth out. This will make wear on the gun worse and the smooth leather will let the holster slide around in the pants. The band that is supposed to be in the top of the holster to keep it open for easy one handed re-holstering is very weak and it collapses under the tension of the pants against my body. The leather is extremely thin; the sight rail is molded verses sewn. The magazine carriers are equally shoddy in the thickness of the leather.

Over I found the following things wrong with the over all experience:

1. No customer service.
2. Late shipping.
3. Poor quality.

For $10.00 more you can have a quality holster from Milt Sparks with customer service and a much superior holster.

Air-Soft and SIMS Training

2006-06-27T17:25:00.000-05:00

Air soft and SIMS Training has become a major factor in dynamic firearms training. They both offer rapid decision making, dynamic movement (by every party) and add a bit of confusion and stress. One thing this brings out is that your fundamentals have got to be mastered. If the fundamentals are not mastered you will find yourself having to think about things you should have already been doing. Draw stroke, movement, reloads, stoppage drills, painting the zone and scanning have got to already be re-active. I can attest that if you do not train to move, get off that X you won’t do it at any point, you have to add this to your training and it has to be reactionary, moving to cover or making a lot of distance. Just remember we cannot run as fast as a 350 fps piece of plastic much less an 850 fps piece of lead. Make it dynamic, get your movement down right and if all possible go to cover.

Keep your eyes on the threat, taking the eyes off the threat to reload or perform a stoppage drill and you look up and he is either on you or you have no idea where he went. Learn to see what you have to shoot and shoot it to the ground.

Once your threat is on the ground and you know it’s safe, scan. Look left, right and check the six to make sure bad guys do not still need to be shot. When you do this scan be sure you pay attention, do not just do lip service to it, look and know what is there. We some times add something to the background and ask the student what you saw. Most cannot tell you and it’s not something small, maybe a target stand with something on it.

Once that is done get the gun topped off!!!!

If it is a situation where you have been hit with the adversaries round, don’t just stop. This trains your mind that if you are hit you are supposed to stop, lie down and die. Keep the fight going for at least a few rounds as not to train yourself to perform bad habits. Then go thru the 360 scan. Always train to win, keep your mind focused on winning.

Video tape your air soft and SIMS training as well as your gun training. You will notice that you do not always perform as we thought we did. The video will tell you exactly what you did. Even in dry firing video tape it, review the tapes and critique yourself. I have thought I had done certain things and would have sworn I did it that way, and after looking at a video, say holy hit I did that or didn’t do it.

Master the fundamentals!! Once that is done everything else will just fall into place a little bit easier.

DRAW STROKE

2006-06-24T19:53:00.000-05:00

Draw Stroke
I am posting some pictures with my preferred draw stroke. It is a 4 count draw stroke as learned from South Narc.

Count 1, with a solid fighting stance we obtain a grip on the pistol, the non-firing hand comes to the center of the chest.

Count 2, bring the gun up the center of the body, keeoing the elbow and shoulder high, letting the thumb of the firing hand rest at the pectorial index, the muzzle will be slightly canted down at an angle. This position is used to shoot from retention, you can use it in a stack and it is a extremely secure retention position for close quarters shooting (0 to 5 feet).

Count 3, brings the gun up high into the line of sight, the gun appears from your point of view to be on the center line how ever if you look at it from an opposing view it will be under your dominant eye, this is where the support hand meets the grip.

Count 4, is any where from here to full extension. Remember you want to extend the gun in approximation to the adversary to prevent a gun grab or fouling the gun.Remember the sooner you get the sights into the line of sight the faster you can make accurate shots on target.
Here is what it looks like from the adversary point of view.

MY THOUGHTS ON PERSONAL PROTECTION BEFORE THE TOOL

2006-06-22T19:46:00.000-05:00

Before we run out and buy the latest of the new self proclaiming wonder guns, knives and rifles there is something we must look at and train for first. You and your brain has got to be the ultimate weapon in any fight. So we must first rain our self mentally and physically, especially us older guys, guns, knives and all are secondary.

I am going to use Jeff Coopers “Principals of Personal Defense” as written in his book titled the same. Just not as long as he has written it, so if you have not read the book I would recommend it HIGHLY!

There are five principals listed:

Alertness; stay alert, know what is going on around you, who is there and why they’re there. Action beats re-action every time, we must always strive to be the active guy and not re-acting to the assailants actions. That puts us at a significant disadvantage yet most people do it day to day. We constantly walk around with our head in our PDA’s, cell phone or fumbling with something and totally oblivious to our surroundings. Train yourself to stay alert, not paranoid but a good sense of being ALERT. Look around, pay attention, know the environment and what should be there and should not. Avoidance is the best way to win.

Decisiveness; be decisive, most men today cannot make a decision to do anything quickly. We are trained to have a meeting, to schedule another meeting or we have to go discuss it with the significant other. In the time that you are being confronted with a emergency situation like your life being at stake is not a time to have a meeting. You have to make a decision and make it happen at that moment. You have to be confident in what you are doing in order to do that and if you see it happening while in the alert mode you are acting or avoiding it all together.

Aggressiveness; yes we have also been raised in a passive society, to be kind polite and courteous. I personally met a guy that was robbed at gun point, when the bad guy said give me your money, he replied, ok how much do you want. Not that is a polite guy!!! Once you have made that decision it has to be aggressive, don’t thumb a guy on the noggin and think that will end it all for you. Put on the war face, look aggressive, and provide an explosive counter attack. Once the fight is on be aggressive and continue to fight regardless of pain or fear, you must fight to win!!!

Speed; be swift in your actions, you may lose the fight but don’t lose any time about doing it. Combined all of the above and following items with training will allow you to be victorious. Be fast and aggressive.

Coolness; be calm and collected as possible, keep your head and wits about you. Pay attention (alert), decisive, aggressive and keep it all together. You cannot just fly in a mad flurry, know what you are doing, this comes from training. Introduce yourself to some stress, boxing, paint ball, something that requires thought under pressure.

Ruthlessness; be ruthless, this person trying to kill you has no pitty for you. Make that decision to be ruthless as anyone can be, in this fight everything is fair, only losing is unfair. That will mostly be on your shoulder to train in these areas and be victorious. It is not as easy as you think to go from normal peace loving dad to a ruthless kick ass machine in the flip of a switch.

Surprise; let the attack be a surprise, never tell someone what you are going to do. Do not telegraph your actions, use your head and keep it to yourself and all of a sudden act. Let them be on the reactionary side of the equation. You can and will dominate the situation, just continue doing it.

I know I have not done Col. Cooper any justice by piece meaning his writings but I am sure some of you have never heard of it before and may be interested.

Another excellent book to obtain and read is MSG Paul Howe (RET), Leadership and Training for the Fight, this is an excellent read!!
Both of these books deal with yourself mostly and what you have to do. No excuses about I didn’t know or no one showed me, because if you take it serious enough you will seek it out and learn, train and be prepared.

Ken Forbus
WWW.FIREARMZ.NET

Cut out the bull shit!!!!grw

2006-06-21T06:59:00.000-05:00

As we see the news today it has to make us wonder what our government is doing? The news is full of US Troops shoot innocent civilians in Iraq, US Troops do this, they do that and before an investigation is even conducted our own congressmen are calling them murderers!!! This is piss poor politics and the soldier, marine or which ever American it is should have the benefit of the doubt.

Shit happens in war or even a battle, everything is dynamic, loud, and fearful and if you’re stupid enough to hang around to watch well you must have a reason and probably should be shot at.

When the two soldiers from the 101^st were abducted and later found mutilated, IMMEDIATELY the US Command should have started some serious operations aimed at killing every one that may have been involved. We should have kicked every door, every car, every barn, and every hut within 5 miles of that spot and killed everyone with a weapon as soon as that happened. As Paul Howe said in his book Leadership and Training for the Fight, look your commander in the eyes and ask this question, “How many people are you willing to kill, to bring us all back alive?” If there is not a clear and positive answer well you may need to worry a little bit.

I had personally rather see 100 Iraqi die vs. one American!!!!!! Our military leaders, congress and others look at it as an acceptable loss. I support the war but leaders need to stop their self serving ticket punching agenda. If you read and hear stories of US Action Guys they have seen grown men use their very own children as human shields, hide between a woman’s legs to shoot, all because they know the weakness of the American Government and the self-serving media.

It is high time they turn the small unit leaders loose and let them work with available intelligence and get the job done. I am writing this in reference to an article I read where two US Servicemen were killed by gun fire from their own Iraqi Civil defense Force Team. Another US Soldier should have killed the Iraqi Team!!!! How ever if they had all you would have seen was the headlines, Americans Kill Iraqi Civil Defense Force members.

The only reason we have ever lost is the shit heads that are self-serving ticket puncher who want to follow the politically correct rules. Politics do not save lives when there are bullets flying, at this point politics have failed and violence of action is what wins. We have won the hearts and minds of those that are willing to won over, the rest are all enemy combatants. Troops should be allowed to engage the enemy and destroy them; the doubt should always be in favor of the US Fighting Man. No one else in the world is using the righteous rules, only American Soldiers pay the price and that’s stupid as all hell.

All we do is worry about what the rest of the world is going to think of us, who really gives a rats ass. No we are not mass murdering Gestapo and we should not be committing atrocities but we should have the freedom to defend and win without wondering if someone is going to press murder charges against us as we see several soldiers and marines being accuse of.

The doubt should always go to the American Fighting Man!!!!!!!!!

Soutn Narc Extreme Close Quarters Concepts

2006-06-14T17:31:00.000-05:00

“DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND”

SOUTHNARC IS COMING BACK IN

OCTOBER 2006

THE CLASS IN JANURARY FILLED COMPLETELY UP AND RAN OVER A BIT. RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW!!!

$400.OO FOR THE ENTIRE WEEKEND

THAT SAVES YOU $75.00

THAT'S ONE EVENING OF

IN-EXTREMIS KNIFE FIGHTING

AND

TWO DAYS OF

EXTREME CLOSE QUARTERS CONCEPTS

BEING HELD AT A PRIVATE RANGE IN

WEST GEORGIA

(CARROLLTON/BOWDON AREA)

DATE: October 28^th and 29th, 2006

ECQC I & II

The ShivWorks Extreme Close Quarter Concepts (ECQC) course is a one or two day block of instruction which focuses on a multi-disciplinary approach to building functional, combative handgun skills at zero to five feet. The course is designed to instill core concepts of seamless integration and provide the platform for aggressive problem solving during a life or death struggle. A heavy emphasis is placed upon commonality of body mechanics between skill sub-sets, which means that all combative software is reinforcing. Once the student's skill sets are initially ingrained, the participant will be stress inoculated with force on force drills utilizing Simunitions and protective equipment.

Topics:

Day One

Diagnostics
Introduction to the components of the Combative Drawstroke
Building the #2 position in live-fire
Firing throughout the horizontal line of presentation
Off-hand fending positions
Default position
Basic empty hand blows
Theory of in-fight weapon access
Grounded basics

Day Two

Challenging the potential attacker
Preemptive weapon access
Muzzle aversion within draw-stroke
Negotiating the F.U.T.
ECQ Handgun retention in holster
ECQ handgun retention out of holster
Handgun recovery
Handgun striking

Prerequisites: This class is not recommended for beginning shooters and prior documented training or instructor approval is required. Students should be relatively fit as this is a contact class. Most of the latter half of each day will be spent utilizing Simunition marking cartridges and FIST helmets, to allow the students to gain confidence in applying their newly acquired skills against moving aggressive opponents.

Required Equipment: Holster, pistol, two magazines, eye & ear protection, heavy sweatshirt or soft body armor, mouthpiece and cup, 600 rounds of ammo.

Cost: $375.00 Total for both days.
Length: eight hours per day

Please make your checks payable to Craig Douglas. We are accepting the deposits for payment on his behalf. Please read the registration page and follow the directions as indicated. Thank you.

October 27^th 6.00 PM

ShivWorks

In-Extremis Knife Course (IEK)

The ShivWorks In-Extremis Knife course is a 4 hour block of instruction

which focuses on a non-stylized method that will work with any edged weapon or

any improvised weapon as well. The course places the knife or improvised

implement within the usage context of realistic criminal assault and provides a

simple decision making process for access and application. A heavy emphasis is

placed upon disparate confrontations where the defender lacks proportional

armament and equal initiative. Pre-fight and In-fight tactics to dissuade, break

and recover from violent, criminal assault are practically bridged into tool access

and the specifics of edged weapon application.

Topics and curriculum

· Parameters of criminal assault

· Awareness and distraction

· Challenging the potential attacker

· Preemptive blade access

· Deceptive kinesics

· Default position

· Basic empty hand tools and the F.U.T.

· Theory of in-fight weapon access

· Convulsive draw-stroke and edge orientation

· Angles and application

· Clearing the impeded line

· The pakal jab

· Applying the skill-set to improvised weapons

$100.00

Take both all three days for $400.00

50%DEPOSIT RESERVES YOUR SPOT, THIS IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE!!!!!!

MAIL ALL DEPOSITS TO: CRAIG DOUGLAS
C/O FIREARMZ L.L.C
P.O. BOX 344
TEMPLE, GA. 30179

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT KEN @ 770-853-7883 OR EMAIL ME AT KEN@FIREARMZ.NET

FIREARMZ TRAINING AND DEFENSE
P.O. BOX 344
TEMPLE, GEORGIA 30179
770-853-7883
"PROVIDING YOU WITH PROFESSIONAL REALISTIC TRAINING YOU CAN RELY ON"

WWW.FIREARMZ.NET

Andy Stanfords actical Dynamics Class in Georgia

2006-04-17T21:36:00.000-05:00

TACTICAL DYNAMICS
by Andy Stanford and Paul Gomez
May 6 and 7, 2006
Carrollton, Georgia

Registrations being accepted for Options For Personal Security (Andy Stanford and Paul Gomez) on May 6th and 7th for Tactical Dynamics Class. The class description and cost is listed below.

Time-tested skills required to prevail in common real world scenarios.

Without a thorough grounding in tactics, shooting skills are often largely irrelevant. Most people don't plan to fail, they fail to plan! In actual violent confrontations, marksmanship and gun handling skill are only part of the solution. This fast paced 2-day course gives you a veritable play book of highly effective home, street, vehicle, and team tactics, and provides the practice required to ingrain them. Both live-fire and force-on-force exercises provide plenty of repetition at the proven principles and procedures taught, with movement and communication stressed throughout. Topics include stealth and dynamic structure clearing, firing from inside and around a vehicle, coordination with partners and teammates, and wounded shooter techniques. Students will gain a SWAT-level understanding of these and other critical subjects. This course can also be tailored to focus on one or more particular areas, for instance team and/or vehicle tactics.

Ammunition Requirement: 1000

Tuition: $335.00

Register at the Options For Personal Security web site or call 877-636-4677

Immigration

2006-04-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

"In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American...
...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Teddy Roosevelt

With out one alegance we have a nation of traitors and trun coats. To be here you must accept the American way of life, it's values and it safety and security. You must learn the language, culture and fly the American Flag. You do not have to let go of your heritage, I have many friends of Irish, Italian, Mexican and African desent and they speak there native language, eat their native foods and such. In the end they are Americans and support America. Protesting inthe streets of America about our laws while toting a foreign flag is not acceptable.

“THAT BUMP IN THE NIGHT”

2006-04-01T21:59:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard that bump in the night while lying in bed and wonder what it was that you heard? Perhaps a window breaks and burglar alarm goes off?

What should you do? Get up and go search the house? Call 911? Actually different noises or occurrences will call for different reactions. Foremost we need a plan and everyone in the home should be knowledgeable about the plan and their role. With everyone knowing what’s going on there is much less confusion. A scared child running around and asking a thousand questions can cause panic and chaos in a plan. Rehearse the plan and ensure it goes as efficiently as possible and that all gear and operations are in place and WORK.

If you hear that little bump that you are not sure of, get up and take an advantage point in the door, hall, or at the top of the stairs. Wait, look, listen and get more of an idea of what it was that you heard. If it was the cat or dog it will be easy to determine. On the other hand, if it turns out to be an intruder you need to take other actions.

Most of us are not experienced police officers or Special Forces Operators. Searching or clearing a home in the middle of the night is a very dangerous thing to do. If you go searching for the intruder, don’t be surprised or startled when you find him. By seeking out your intruder you may possibly become disabled or possibly killed. If this happens who will be there to protect the rest of the family? So lets take a look at other options.

Look at your home and see where most of the family is during the mostly likely periods that a robbery/burglary may occur. Usually this is in the night. Bedrooms are a good place to begin. Whichever room you pick, be sure that you will have a cell phone, chemical (snap light), good flashlight, and spare house key and you firearm. Everyone in the family should be summoned to the safe room, the door closed and locked; children should be gathered in a closet or a safe area with cover and away from the room entry. The main operator should also have cover and be able to have a clear view of the entrance to the room. Dial 911 and notify the operator that you have a suspected entry. Answer all questions that the operator may ask and remain on the line or at least have the phone still connected laying close to you so that the operator may hear and record all verbal commands. If someone should get close or try to enter the room; in a clear, loud, authoritive voice, tell them that if they try to enter the room you have firearms and will shoot them. If they try to enter the room, shoot them and shoot them to the ground! You warned them and they failed to heed to your warnings, which will all be recorded and may very well become important later.

Stay in that safe room until the police arrive. Tell the operator where you are in the home and that you will throw a chemical light out the window to the police officers. Attach your house key to this light. Let the police come in and clear your home.

Once the house is cleared the police will come to your door. They will identify themselves and you should not approach with a gun in hand. Secure the weapon and then go to the door.

Whenever dealing with an intruder in the home or anywhere else, it is imperative that you have the mindset to win. Be authoritive, hide any fear and aggressiveness is your friend. Keep the attitude that “this is my house, my family and you have no right to invade my space and put my family at risk”. Of all aspects practice the scenarios, keep a warrior mindset, and have the will to win at all cost.

Remember anytime that you are going to use a firearm you must always make sure of your target. It could be a family member that has gotten up and is getting a drink, sleep walking or just couldn’t sleep. Know your target and what is beyond.

Buying that first gun.

2006-03-30T17:20:00.000-05:00

Working full time with and around guns I have noticed that people rely a lot on the internet, gun rag magazines and their friends for advice. While all of these are a good beginning source don't let them be the sole determining aspect of your purchase.

Determine the specific use you want the firearm for: personal protection, target, recreation/plinking. Then decide the caliber requirements, 9MM should be the smallest primary gun caliber for personal protection, .22 make good target pistols and are widely used for plinking. The ammunition is inexpensive and can be obtained at almost any gun store.

Semi-automatic or revolver? For plinking and target shoting it will end up as a personal preference. As for personal protection I recommend a good semi-automatic. Todays quality (Glock, SIG, HK) semi-auto pistols are as relaible as any thing going. The extra magazine capacity is a plus and reloading is easier and faster than a revolver.

Next thing to do is go to your local gun range and rent various types of handguns to try. In the Atlanta area Ed's Guns and Tackle (http://www.edsguns.com/) has a variety of the most popular handguns and rent them rather inexpensively, if you buy one from them the day you rent one they will even wave the rental fee, range fee and give you $25.00 more in range credit.

After you have chosen your new gun get some training. It is very important to start out in the right direction. I know most of us growing up in the south had someone show us how to shoot a gun. That doesn't mean it was exactly the right way, new laws and liability issues have risen since then. You will enjoy your new gun and get more form it if you learn the right way.

It always amazes me that one will spend $550.00 for a new gun and not invest a 5th of that in good sound training. They will then turen and purchase a $15.00 holster, a flappy old belt and no spare magazine carrier to go with it. Your gun and your life is worth how much???

Yes your support gear is just as important as the gun. The ultimate weapon is the brain use it wisely . As the old carpenters say "measure twice and cut once".

Smith and Wesson Revolvers Broken????

2006-03-29T08:33:00.000-05:00

N.C. wants Smith & Wesson to replace faulty revolvers
The Associated Press
Mar 18, 2006

Faced with problems ranging from misfires to barrels breaking off, the state has asked gun maker Smith & Wesson to replace hundreds of sidearms carried by probation and corrections officers.

None of the revolvers have failed in the line of duty, and for now, the department is keeping the guns in service. But in testing, about one in four revolvers didn't fire when the trigger was pulled. In some cases, the barrel of some models broke off when the gun was fired.

"In one sense it's funny," said Chief Deputy Correction Secretary Dan Stieneke. "In another, it's alarming."

So far, the state Correction Department has asked the Massachusetts-based gun maker to replace only 500 Model 64 revolvers bought in 2004, though there have also been problems with two other models. But officials could wind up asking Smith & Wesson to provide replacements for all 5,000 of the department's revolvers.

At a meeting last month at a shooting range in Smithfield, Smith & Wesson representative got a live demonstration of the problems. During test firing of about three dozen revolvers, four misfired, meaning nothing happened when the trigger was pulled. The barrel also broke off a different model when it was fired, something that has happened 14 times in practice firings since 2003.

"On the one hand, statistically (the revolvers' performance) is not bad, but it's just the safety issue," Stieneke said. "That kind of failure gets people's attention."

Officials at Springfield, Mass.-based Smith & Wesson, one of the world's largest gun makers, did not return repeated calls seeking comment.

For at least two decades, state prison officials have used Smith & Wesson revolvers. They are assigned to probation officers and correction officers who work outside of prison walls, patrolling perimeters and escorting inmates. The guns are not carried by officers who work inside prisons, where there is too great a risk of inmates getting a gun.

The guns cost about $320 each, meaning it would cost the state more than $1.5 million to replace them all. That doesn't include the cost of buying new ammunition, holsters and other accessories, plus retraining officers to use a new model of gun.

"We're at a point where if we have to make a quick switch, it's going to cost millions of dollars, and it's going to take a lot of training and effort to get back up to speed," Stieneke said.

Many law enforcement agencies have moved away from revolvers in recent years, switching to semiautomatic pistols, something Stieneke is considering.

www.newsobserver.com/158/v-print/story/419536.html

XS Sights

2006-03-25T21:30:00.000-05:00

XS BIG DOT SIGHT SYSTEM REVIEW

Recently at the Rangemaster Indoor Tactical Conference I had the opportunity to talk to Dave Biggers the V.P. Sales & Marketing guy for this company and he sent me a pair of the big dot sights for a G19 and a SIG P226 to try out and let new shooters use as their first sighting system.

Instillation was basically a no brainier, instructions were clear and easy to follow and I experienced no difficulty in doing it. The next thing I did was read the instructions on how to align the front sight with the rear V. at different distances. It seemed pretty simple and logical.

So today after an IDPA Match I stuck around to give them a whirl on the G19. Starting off at 3 yards it was very simple. Remember these are not bull’s-eye sights; they are made for fast acquisition and getting off fast shots in a hurry. At 15 yards and in you simply cover the determined point of impact with the big dot. Drop the big white dot down to the top of the rear v and press. Great accurate hits, as a matter of fact one ragged hole of a five shot group. The sights were easy and fast to acquire and align.

Moving on back to about 10 yards it was still very easy to acquire and align the sights. Groups were not as tight but still more than adequate for self defense. Fast five shot groups consistently ran in the 2 inch size or less. Remember now this is out of the holster and on target shooting. No long waits to get a super sight picture.

When I got back to the 20 yard line was when I first started noticing a difference. I had to slow down a bit to get good hits. Instead of covering the target I had to bring the front sight down so that the called point of impact was on the top of the front sight rather than covered. The slower hits were due to me being unfamiliar to the sights but got a bit faster as I shot. I am also sure it will improve as I work with them more. I was able to put only about 100 rounds with the sights today but will definitely be shooting them more to determine there applicability.

Security: Power To The People

2006-03-20T21:03:00.000-05:00

Security: Power To The People (by John Robb)

The myth of American omnipotence fell in the Iraqi desert, laid low by an agile new enemy. We have a chance now to rethink the systems that protected us in the past. It's one we cannot miss.

The next decade holds mind-bending promise for American business. Globalization is prying open vast new markets. Technology is plowing ahead, fueling--and transforming--entire industries, creating services we never thought possible. Clever people worldwide are capitalizing every which way. But because globalization and technology are morally neutral forces, they can also drive change of a different sort. We saw this very clearly on September 11 and are seeing it now in Iraq and in conflicts around the world. In short, despite the aura of limitless possibility, our lives are evolving in ways we can control only if we recognize the new landscape. It's time to take an unblinking look.

We have entered the age of the faceless, agile enemy. From London to Madrid and Nigeria to Russia, stateless terrorist groups have emerged to score blow after blow against us. Driven by cultural fragmentation, schooled in the most sophisticated technologies, and fueled by transnational crime, these groups are forcing corporations and individuals to develop new ways of defending themselves. The end result of this struggle will be a new, more resilient approach to national security, one built not around the state but around private citizens and companies. That new system will change how we live and work--for the better, in many ways--but the road getting there may seem long at times.

Open-Source Warfare
The conflict in Iraq has foreshadowed the future of global security in much the same way that the Spanish Civil War prefigured World War II. Unlike previous insurgencies, the one in Iraq is comprised of 75 to 100 small, diverse, and autonomous groups of zealots, patriots, and criminals alike. These groups, of course, have access to the same tools we do--from satellite phones to engineering degrees--and use them every bit as well. But their single most important asset is their organizational structure, an open-source community network very similar to what we now see in the software industry. It is an extremely innovative structure, sadly, and results in decision-making cycles much shorter than those of the U.S. military. Indeed, because the insurgents in Iraq lack a recognizable center of gravity--a leadership structure or an ideology--they are nearly immune to the application of conventional military force. Like Microsoft, the software superpower, the United States hasn't found its match in a competitor similar to itself, but rather in a loose, self-tuning network.
The second insight Iraq gives us is that the convergence of international crime and terrorism will provide ample fuel and a global platform for these new enemies. Al Qaeda's attack on Madrid, for example, was funded by the sale of the drug Ecstasy. And Moisés Naím, in his new book, Illicit, details how globalization has fostered the development of a huge criminal economy that boasts a technologically leveraged global supply chain (like Wal-Mart's) and can handle everything from human trafficking (Eastern Europe) to illicit drugs (Asia and South America), pirated goods (Southeast Asia), arms (Central Asia), and money laundering (everywhere). Naím puts the value of that economy at between $2 trillion and $3 trillion a year. He says it is expanding at seven times the rate of legitimate world trade.
This terrorist-criminal symbiosis becomes even more powerful when considered next to the most disturbing sign coming out of Iraq: The terrorists have developed the ability to fight nation-states strategically--without weapons of mass destruction. This new method is called "systems disruption," a simple way of attacking the critical networks (electricity, oil, gas, water, communications, and transportation) that underpin modern life. Such disruptions are designed to erode the target state's legitimacy, to drive it to failure by keeping it from providing the services it must deliver in order to command the allegiance of its citizens. Over the past two years, attacks on the oil and electricity networks in Iraq have reduced and held delivery of these critical services below prewar levels, with a disastrous effect on the country, its people, and its economy.
The early examples of systems disruption in Iraq and elsewhere are ominous. If these techniques are even lightly applied to the fragile electrical and oil-gas systems in Russia, Saudi Arabia, or anywhere in the target-rich West, we could see a rapid onset of economic and political chaos unmatched since the advent of blitzkrieg. (India's January arrest of militants with explosives in Hyderabad suggests that the country's high-tech industry could be a new target.) It's even worse when we consider the asymmetry of the economics involved: One small attack on an oil pipeline in southeast Iraq, conducted for an estimated $2,000, cost the Iraqi government more than $500 million in lost oil revenues. That is a return on investment of 25,000,000%.
Now that the tipping point has been reached, the rise of global virtual states--with their thriving criminal economies, innovative networks, and hyperefficient war craft--will rapidly undermine public confidence in our national-security systems. In fact, this process has already begun. We've seen disruption of our oil supply in Iraq, Nigeria, Venezuela, and Colombia; the market's fear of more contributes mightily to the current high prices. But as those disruptions continue, the damage will spill over into the very structure of our society. Our profligate Defense Department, reeling from its inability to defend our borders on September 11 or to pacify even a small country like Iraq, will increasingly be seen as obsolete. The myth of the American superpower will be exposed as such.
Then, inevitably, there will be a series of attacks on U.S. soil. The first casualty of these will be another institution, the ultrabureaucratic Department of Homeland Security, which, despite its new extra-legal surveillance powers, will prove unable to isolate and defuse the threats against us. (Its one big idea for keeping the global insurgency at bay--building a fence between Mexico and the United States, proposed in a recent congressional immigration bill--will prove as effective as the Maginot Line and the Great Wall of China.)
But the metaphorical targets of September 11 are largely behind us. The strikes of the future will be strategic, pinpointing the systems we rely on, and they will leave entire sections of the country without energy and communications for protracted periods. But the frustration and economic pain that result will have a curious side effect: They will spur development of an entirely new, decentralized security system, one that devolves power and responsibility to a mix of private companies, individuals, and local governments. This structure is already visible in the legions of private contractors in Iraq, as well as in New York's amazingly effective counterterrorist intelligence unit. But as we look out to 2016, the long-term implications are clearer.
Security will become a function of where you live and whom you work for, much as health care is allocated already. Wealthy individuals and multinational corporations will be the first to bail out of our collective system, opting instead to hire private military companies, such as Blackwater and Triple Canopy, to protect their homes and facilities and establish a protective perimeter around daily life. Parallel transportation networks--evolving out of the time-share aircraft companies such as
Warren Buffett's NetJets--will cater to this group, leapfrogging its members from one secure, well-appointed lily pad to the next. Members of the middle class will follow, taking matters into their own hands by forming suburban collectives to share the costs of security--as they do now with education--and shore up delivery of critical services. These "armored suburbs" will deploy and maintain backup generators and communications links; they will be patrolled by civilian police auxiliaries that have received corporate training and boast their own state-of-the-art emergency-response systems. As for those without the means to build their own defense, they will have to make do with the remains of the national system. They will gravitate to America's cities, where they will be subject to ubiquitous surveillance and marginal or nonexistent services. For the poor, there will be no other refuge.
Until, that is, the next wave of adaptive innovation takes hold. For all of these changes may prove to be exactly the kind of creative destruction we need to move beyond the current, failed state of affairs. By 2016 and beyond, real long-term solutions will emerge. Cities, most acutely affected by the new disruptions, will move fastest to become self-reliant, drawing from a wellspring of new ideas the market will put forward. These will range from building-based solar systems from firms such as Energy Innovations to privatized disaster and counterterrorist responses. We will also see the emergence of packaged software that combines real-time information (the status of first-responder units and facilities) with interactive content (information from citizens) and rich sources of data (satellite maps). Corporate communications monopolies will crumble as cities build their own emergency wireless networks using simple products from companies such as Proxim.
Self-Reliance
By 2016, we may see the trials of the previous decade as progress in disguise. The grassroots security effort will do more than just insulate our gas lines and high schools. It will also spur positive social change: So-called green systems will quickly shed their tree-hugger status and be seen as vital components of our economic and personal security. Even those civilian police auxiliaries could turn out to be a good thing in the long run: Their proliferation--and the technology they'll adopt--will lead to major reductions in crime.
Some towns and cities will go even further. In an effort to bar the door against expanding criminal networks, certain communities will move to regulate, tax, and control everything from illegal immigration to illicit drugs, despite federal pressure to do otherwise. A newly vigilant and networked public will push for much greater levels of transparency in government and corporate operations, using the Internet to expose, publish, and patch potential security flaws. Over time, this new transparency, and the wider participation it entails, will lead to radical improvements in government and corporate efficiency.
On the national level, we'll see a withering of the security apparatus, but quite possibly a flowering in other areas. Energy independence and the obsolescence of conventional war with other countries will reduce tensions between the United States and the rest of the world. The end of oil will also force corrupt states, now propped up by energy income, to make the reforms they need to be accepted internationally, improving life for their people.
Perhaps the most important global shift will be the rise of grassroots action and cross-connected communities. Like the Internet, these new networks will develop slowly at first. After a period of exponential growth, however, they will quickly become all but ubiquitous--and astonishingly powerful, perhaps as powerful as the networks arrayed against us. And so we will all become security consultants, taking an active role in deciding how it is bought, structured, and applied. That's a great responsibility and, with luck, an enormous opportunity. Choose wisely.

John Robb was a mission commander for a "black" counterterrorism unit that worked with Delta Force and Seal Team 6 before becoming the first Internet analyst at Forrester Research and a key architect in the rise of Web logs and RSS. He is writing a book on the logic of terrorism.

Choosing a Defensive Handgun

2006-03-19T21:59:00.000-05:00

“CHOSING A DEVENSIVE HANDGUN”

There are as many varied opinions on how to choose a handgun for defensive/personal combative purposes as there are on whose got the best major league ball team. I suggest that before the process even begins that you get your mind in the fight then move on to a weapon.

In saying that lets look at what a defensive handgun needs do or be capable of doing. It has to be as close as to 100 percent reliable as mechanically possible, it has to deliver a projectile of sufficient weight and speed to penetrate deep enough to reach vital organs, and it has to contain as many rounds of ammunition as you can get. Now it must also properly fit your hand, have only as much recoil as you can control and shoot well, ammunition needs to be widely available, and accurate enough to hit an 8 inch paper plate at 25 meters.

There are many great pistols on the market today, some are old reliable designs and some are new and un-proven. I urge you to go to a range rent different pistols and try them out. Some of the brands I recommend are Sig Sauer, Glock, Beretta as well as Heckler and Koch. These four brands have over the years proven them selves time and time again in personal and military combat. You will find people out there that will tell you that this gun or that gun is the best; most of this is pure personal speculation or experience.

I do not advocate anyone specific gun, each one that you pick up will have their own little peculiarities that will have to be over come. Anyone that says they do not, well reach over and press the delete key on them. It just isn’t true because everyone has different size hands, sensitivity to recoil, body shape and personal levels of income. As far as safety in the different manufactures; well safety is ultimately your responsibility, your willingness to seek appropriate training and develop a safe attitude. Stupidity and carelessness is rampid!!!

The following pistols that I recommend are listed due to personal experience/observation. They are not listed in any specific order.

Glock- mid level priced, extremely reliable and comes in an assortment of calibers and sizes. I personally choose the Glock 19 or Glock 17. Utterly reliable with no external levers to manipulate in order to shoot, holds plenty of ammunition, and light weight polymer frame construction.

Sig Sauer – A little more expensive and requires a bit more training to operate under pressure. It has a de-cocker on it so getting used to it takes a bit more training. The Sig P228/P229/P226 is my choices due to availability in an array of calibers and reliability. The new guns have a stainless steel slide and usually an aluminum alloy frame and are pretty light weight.

Beretta- Again available in a variety of calibers and reliable. I chose the M9 or 92F Series. They have proven themselves worthy in law enforcement and military service (current U.S. issue for our military).

Heckler and Koch- a little bit more cost involved here and I am not sure why but I do like the HK Compact guns for personal carry. They are a well made gun! I do not choose the full size pistols due to their size and bulk just personal opinion there.

As for caliber, well this will sure raise a few eye brows. I carry all 9MM guns for the following reasons.

Ammunition availability and cost ($87.00 per 1000 compared to $190.00 per 1000 for 40 or .357 SIG and $220.00 per 1000 for 45 ACP). This allows me to shoot more often and stay trained. 9MM is available almost any where.

Low recoil allows me to shoot faster and more accurately and reduce wear on my guns.

Magazine capacity is high; usually 15 to 17 rounds in the gun and 20 and 32 round magazines are available.

Shot placement is more important than making big holes.

If you can and want to shoot bigger bullets nothing wrong with that.

For training or simply more information on defensive shooting please feel free to visit the web site WWW.FIREARMZ.NET or email ken@firearmz.net.

NEWSLETTER - UPCOMING EVENTS

2006-03-19T01:15:00.000-05:00

MAY 2006
5th 2006 AK 47 Class with Paul Gomez

This fast paced class concentrates on the use of semi-automatic versions of the Avtomat Kalashnikova in the close range arena typical of civilian defensive scenarios. The emphasis is on quick threat engagement from the standing position, plus the use of alternate firing positions for taking advantage of cover. Topics covered include tactical ready positions, weapon retention, transitioning to a handgun, semi-auto speed shooting, and engagement of single and multiple targets at distances from muzzle contact to 100 meters.
Taught by Paul Gomez, Urban AK is the class for every person who owns an AK variant and is interested in its effective and responsible use.
This class is designed exclusively for long arms of the AK design. Only AK variants are acceptable for this class. Contact the instructor for clarification if you are in doubt regarding the suitability of your gun.
Cost is $175.00 (½ deposit required)500 rounds of rifle ammo200 rounds of pistol ammo
To register send deposit to:Paul GomezC/O FirearmzP.O. Box 344Temple, Ga. 30179

May 6 and 7, 2006 www.opstraining.com
TACTICAL DYNAMICSby Andy Stanford
Registrations being accepted for Options For Personal Security (Andy Stanford and Paul Gomez) on May 6th and 7th for Tactical Dynamics Class. The class description and cost is listed below.

Time-tested skills required to prevail in common real world scenarios.
Without a thorough grounding in tactics, shooting skills are often largely irrelevant. Most people don't plan to fail, they fail to plan! In actual violent confrontations, marksmanship and gun handling skill are only part of the solution. This fast paced 2-day course gives you a veritable play book of highly effective home, street, vehicle, and team tactics, and provides the practice required to ingrain them. Both live-fire and force-on-force exercises provide plenty of repetition at the proven principles and procedures taught, with movement and communication stressed throughout. Topics include stealth and dynamic structure clearing, firing from inside and around a vehicle, coordination with partners and teammates, and wounded shooter techniques. Students will gain a SWAT-level understanding of these and other critical subjects. This course can also be tailored to focus on one or more particular areas, for instance team and/or vehicle tactics.
Ammunition Requirement: 1000
Tuition: $335.00Register by calling OPS toll free phone number 1-877-636-4677

JULY, 2006
15th and 16th Tom Givens Range Masters Combative Pistol I at Little River.
WWW.RANGEMASTER.COM

This is an intensive weekend course that covers all of the essential skills involved in fighting with a handgun. There is an all day session Saturday and Sunday, plus an evening session on Saturday.
Topics covered in this course will include:
Rapid presentation from concealed carry
Effective gun handling techniques, designed to work under stress
Rapid reloading techniques
Movement skills, including effectively engaging targets on the move
Disability drills, including drawing and reloading with one hand
Precision shooting at mid-ranges
Effective scanning techniques, locating additional threats
Low light firing techniques, both with/without a flashlight
Proper defensive mindset and more.
Expect to fire about 800-1000 rounds of ammunition.
You will need a good handgun, holster, belt, and magazine pouch, at least three magazines, a ball cap and concealment garment (vest, jacket, windbreaker, etc), eye and ear protection, and rain gear (we train rain or shine). A cooler with soft drinks and snacks is a very good idea.
You will need a quality handgun and gear. It is a good idea to bring a second gun just like your primary, in case something breaks on your primary gun. Please bring good quality ammunition. You will shoot better, your gun will function better, and you will learn faster.
Your primary instructor will be Tom Givens, of Rangemaster. Tom’s credentials can be viewed under Staff Qualifications. He will be assisted by other Rangemaster staff.
Tuition is $325.00. Call 901-370-5600 to enroll by credit card or mail check to Rangemaster, 2611 S. Mendenhall, Memphis, Tn, 38115.

A deposit of $100.00 will hold a space, balance due 15 days before class.

NEWSLETTER February 1, 2006

2006-03-19T01:12:00.000-05:00

SERVICE GUN MAINTENANCE

We see articles all the time about how tough guns are. Service guns especially are built generally tough how ever that does not excuse a good maintenance schedule.

At minimum once a month the gun needs to be field stripped, degreased and re-lubricated. If we shoot our service pistol we need to clean it. This is the tool that we stake our life on and taking care of it is a must. It does not take very long if you follow a few tips that has worked for me over the years.

Items needed:
Mil-Comm Cleaner Degreaser
Mil-Comm Grease
Mil-Comm Oil
Old Tooth Brush
Brake Cleaner
Q-Tips
Bore Snake for the appropriate caliber
Clean cotton cloth or paper towels

Ensure you have no ammunition in the gun or in the room. SAFETY!!!
Field strip the gun, using Mil-Comm Cleaner Degreaser and an old tooth brush scrub the slide thoroughly, ensuring that all grease, oil, and dirt are loosened. Take the can of brake cleaner (go out side) and spray the entire slide until it is totally degreased ( brake cleaner also displaces moisture really well). The brake cleaner will evaporate rapidly and you will have a squeaky clean slide. Perform the same steps on the frame and action. As for the barrel I use the Mil-Comm Cleaner Degreaser to scrub the out side of the barrel, then I use the bore snake, after dropping the little weight thru the barrel I will place my foot on it holding it firmly to the floor, the other end has a loop in it that I put a finger in, grasping the barrel I vigorously run the barrel up and down the bore snake a few times and it comes very clean.

As for lubrication I place a small dab of the Mil-Comm Grease on a clean surface, taking a Q-Tip I smear a slight (by slight I mean just so it is looking wet) coat on all worn surfaces I can get to. Including the slide and frame rails, and barrel where wear is showing. I then use the Mil-Comm Oil to place a small drop on all moving parts I cannot get the grease too.

Before any reassembly be sure to check all screws, springs, levers and any other components that could be broken or worn severely.

DRY FIRING

Let’s talk about dry firing. Can dry firing damage my gun? If you are talking about rim fire guns I would say that you need to purchase a snap cap. As for modern center fire defensive hand guns dry firing MAY after many, many, many dry fires cause a spring or firing pin to break. The benefits of dry firing FAR out weigh a broken spring or firing pin.

Think about what we are getting when we dry fire. The idea of hand guns is to align the front and rear sight, press the trigger straight to the rear with the minimum amount of movement possible. How many experience low right or left shots, high or low center, left or right center? Chances are this is from jerking, pushing, and milking and poor trigger control. When you we have small explosion 18 inches in front of our face it is hard to detect these errors. However if we are dry firing (without that explosion) we are much more likely to pick up the sight moving during the trigger press, then we do a little bit of analyzing and we will find our problem.

Firearms Training Classes

2004-08-07T22:21:00.000-05:00

As I and my fiance have recently started a Firearms Training Company here in Georgia we appropiately call it Firearmz. This is something I have long wanted to do and with her help it is now a reality in the beginning. She is a valuable asset in everything I do, she motivates me, supports me and is always there to help, without her it would still be a dream. Lisa I love you and thanks for all the things you do for me, you are my inspiration.

I sometimes am a inattentive person, I have a tendency to zone into my own little thought process and venture off into dreamdom, she has a way of bringing me back to reality and getting things on track. Thanks and I luv you.

To visit Lisa's work and to check out our web site visit www.firearmz.net

Firearmz; Firearms Training and Defense

2004-08-05T20:34:00.000-05:00

Firearmz is a Professional Training Group located in West Georgia. If you are a pro gun type of person and own one or two it is very imporatnt that you take a course in safety, operation and care of the firearm. If you should chose to use one for defensive purposes you must remember no one is born with all the neccessary skills to perform this naturally. It takes training, practise and self confidence. Firearmz is one place you can get this training. Visit us at http://www.firearmz.net