How do you maintain an appropriate level of awareness, and stay prepared to act, and react. Trying to remain “hyper-alert” at all times is not practical, and quickly becomes tiresome. Thinking that you will be able to suddenly jump from a low level of awareness to being ready to take immediate physical action to protect yourself or others is also folly. Where can we find some Continue reading “Staying Alert: Cooper’s Color Codes”
In his book “On Killing” Col. David Grossman categorizes the elements of society into three general groups: the sheep, the wolves, and the sheepdogs. The sheep, are the multitudes of average people that go through their day oblivious, and unaware of their surroundings. The wolves, are the bad guys. The predators. The criminals. Those who would take advantage of others, and are only looking Continue reading “On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs”
I believe all of us can imagine a situation where we would be able to shoot someone. Sometimes these images might mirror a scene from a horror movie. The axe murderer who has been terrorizing the city has been seen in your neighborhood tonight. In the month following his release from the asylum to date, seventy-three people have been killed by this maniac hitting them with his axe. Continue reading “When the Time Comes, Can I Pull the Trigger?”
I was hired by a police department in 1983. I realized pretty quickly I didn’t know a lot about being a cop, but I knew enough to know I didn’t know much. So, I went to a lot of training – just about every class I could go to, I did. Because in the very beginning I was a reserve officer, I went to a lot of classes on my own time – the department let me go, it didn’t cost them anything, Continue reading “Why I do Things the Way I do”
Contrary to what some “gunstore cowboys” might tell you, racking the shotgun will not scare away a bad guy. Instead, it will let the bad guy know where you are, it may reduce your ammunition capacity, and based on my own experiences in a variety of real world situations, it is generally not good thing to do. I was told it’s OK to tell cop stories, as long as they make a point. Continue reading ““Racking the Shotgun” – The Myth”
At the range, we get into habits. Draw and fire one round. Draw and fire two rounds. Draw and fire three rounds. Unload & re-holster. These drills are great for the person running the range. The degree and level of control is heavy, and the chance for mistake or injury with new shooters is reduced. As a new shooter, these types of drills will probably serve as the range Continue reading “Delay & Scan Before Re-Holstering”
There is no way to train for every possible scenario. Instead, look to the most common situations encountered in shootings and use those as a basis for your training. From the very beginning, use techniques that will be applicable in high stress situations (train for those things that have most often occurred in actual shootings), and you will be as prepared as possible. Continue reading “Realistic Training for Real Situations”
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The first step is knowing the kind of things that will happen in these high stress situations. When you are in the middle of a shooting and you notice everything is moving in slow motion, and you know there are gunshots going off – but you hear only “pops,” and you can barely feel the recoil of your Continue reading “Firearms Training for Stressful Situations (part 2)”
Stress –
Those in the military assigned to combat roles, or in some circumstances – law enforcement officers assigned to “hot” areas, experience stressful situations several times each day. Often those situations involve the use of a firearm where shots are fired, or there Continue reading “Firearms Training for Stressful Situations (part 1)”
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