March 2020 Quote
"Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
The late Jeff Cooper is considered the dean of modern handgunning, and popularized the idea that, “Hey, maybe we should hold onto the gun with two hands.” He started Gunsite (the American Pistol Institute), which for many years was the preeminent private firearms training facility in the country, if not the world. I think it still is, but I don’t want to get involved in that argument. I’m biased because I had the privilege of taking part of my military instructor training from Col. Cooper himself.
April Quote
“Become an active participant in your own rescue.”
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Decontamination Ideas
I was talking to my son recently. He is an EMT working at our local hospital. During this pandemic he is taking extra caution to keep himself, and his family, safe. When he does go home (he’s been staying with a single co-worker on his work days) he decontaminates himself. This is nothing elaborate. He has to change his work clothes at work and they are bagged and sanitized. He then goes home with gloves and a mask, wipes down his car, then changes clothes again bagging his civilian clothes, takes a shower taking care to scrub his hair, head, and hands (the most exposed parts of him when he’s working.) Then he is carefully wipes down his boots left outside for the night. This is not too radical, but he feels it necessary to keep his family safe.
This is his standard operating procedures (SIP) for his return home.
The COVID-19 crisis is bad but I feel my sons precautions are sufficient. But what if you needed a more aggressive decon getting into your home? I’ve had a lot of training in CBRN which is Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear warfare. In this training we learn how to operate in hot zones (exposed zones with protective gear on) and how to decontaminate to enter a cool zone.
Here are the zones and what they mean:
Zones
The Hot Zone is EVERYTHING and EVERYWHERE outside of your private dwelling.
The Warm Zone is the area that is under your control just outside your house, such as your driveway, front yard/fenced-in area, front porch, or even your garage.
The Cold Zone is inside the environmentally controlled area of your private dwelling; we can also term this the Safe Zone.
Coming in from a contaminated environment —— Hot Zone —— is a critical process. You need to ensure you don’t contaminate your house —— Cold Zone —— with whatever you bring in from the Hot Zone.
The Warm Zone is a buffer zone between the Hot and Cold Zones. The Warm Zone is essentially the transition corridor in your decontamination process. It is where you shed all potentially contaminated items and ultimately step over into the “clean” environment of the Cold Zone.
The Warm Zone is an added-safety area to have, though it is not critical to your transition once you are more adept at making the transition.
For instance my sons d con procedures make his porch his warm zone. He is able to leave his boots, most clothes, and his mask outside. The last thing he removes is his gloves that he throws into a trash bag that never enters the house. He decons his boots and mask with spray or wipe.
Inside his house he has gloves for re-entering the warm zone where his mask and boots are. He is careful not to let his shed clothes, gloves, mask, and boots enter the cold zone where he heads straight for the shower. Then the warm zone can be de-sanitized until the need to return to the hot zone is needed.
In CBRN a scrub station would be located in the warm zone. Clothes would be sprayed and removed, then the body would be scrubbed before entering the cold zone.
If you felt a need to do this you could build a simple scrub station with a tarp on the ground. A small wading pool could be used as a containment vessel and a hose with a sprayer can be the water source. Soap could be available and a scrub brush. A bleach mixture in a spray bottle can also be available but only for surfaces not clothes or a body. You could fashion a privacy covering with pallets and a tarp. I would only use this in the case of something more contagious or dangerous. These are always things to have in mind for a decontamination station.
I’ve never put a decon station together even to practice. But I am confident I could build something like the above easily.
Putting together a isolation room is also something that can be necessary during a quarantine. We have designated a room on the second floor of our home. We would seal it from the res of the house with plastic sheeting. The room is very close to a bathroom which would be desirable for an isolation room. This particular room also has a window for air flow which is highly desirable. If a patient needs care then a warm zone can be created outside the room where a care giver can don and doff PPE (personal protection equipment).
We put together a pandemic kit several years ago. I would suggest you do the same. The items we mentioned in the article should be included.
Gloves, hand sanitized, sanitizing wipes, N95 masks, disposable gowns, booties, and shower cap. These are only a few things to have on hand. Bleach (or way to make your own), a spray bottle, baby pool, and tarps. Plastic sheeting (at least 4 mil) and duct tape. There may be other things you would want in your kit or items.
Decontamination is something we all need to understand. Cross contaminating is easy to do so plan your procedures with order so that you can keep your cold zone (your home) clean and safe.
Paying attention to possibly contaminated items, gloves, clothes, is the best way to avoid cross contaminating. Keeping yourself and your cold zone clean is also a way of keeping everyone safe. We’ve been told, wash hands often and for at least 20 seconds, sneeze and cough into disposable items (kleenex) or at least into your elbow is also another way to stay clean.
Take the opportunity to make a list of what you have and what you may need for your pandemic kit so that when this is over, and it will be eventually, you can put together a kit to keep you prepared.
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn
This is his standard operating procedures (SIP) for his return home.
The COVID-19 crisis is bad but I feel my sons precautions are sufficient. But what if you needed a more aggressive decon getting into your home? I’ve had a lot of training in CBRN which is Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear warfare. In this training we learn how to operate in hot zones (exposed zones with protective gear on) and how to decontaminate to enter a cool zone.
Here are the zones and what they mean:
Zones
The Hot Zone is EVERYTHING and EVERYWHERE outside of your private dwelling.
The Warm Zone is the area that is under your control just outside your house, such as your driveway, front yard/fenced-in area, front porch, or even your garage.
The Cold Zone is inside the environmentally controlled area of your private dwelling; we can also term this the Safe Zone.
Coming in from a contaminated environment —— Hot Zone —— is a critical process. You need to ensure you don’t contaminate your house —— Cold Zone —— with whatever you bring in from the Hot Zone.
The Warm Zone is a buffer zone between the Hot and Cold Zones. The Warm Zone is essentially the transition corridor in your decontamination process. It is where you shed all potentially contaminated items and ultimately step over into the “clean” environment of the Cold Zone.
The Warm Zone is an added-safety area to have, though it is not critical to your transition once you are more adept at making the transition.
For instance my sons d con procedures make his porch his warm zone. He is able to leave his boots, most clothes, and his mask outside. The last thing he removes is his gloves that he throws into a trash bag that never enters the house. He decons his boots and mask with spray or wipe.
Inside his house he has gloves for re-entering the warm zone where his mask and boots are. He is careful not to let his shed clothes, gloves, mask, and boots enter the cold zone where he heads straight for the shower. Then the warm zone can be de-sanitized until the need to return to the hot zone is needed.
In CBRN a scrub station would be located in the warm zone. Clothes would be sprayed and removed, then the body would be scrubbed before entering the cold zone.
If you felt a need to do this you could build a simple scrub station with a tarp on the ground. A small wading pool could be used as a containment vessel and a hose with a sprayer can be the water source. Soap could be available and a scrub brush. A bleach mixture in a spray bottle can also be available but only for surfaces not clothes or a body. You could fashion a privacy covering with pallets and a tarp. I would only use this in the case of something more contagious or dangerous. These are always things to have in mind for a decontamination station.
I’ve never put a decon station together even to practice. But I am confident I could build something like the above easily.
Putting together a isolation room is also something that can be necessary during a quarantine. We have designated a room on the second floor of our home. We would seal it from the res of the house with plastic sheeting. The room is very close to a bathroom which would be desirable for an isolation room. This particular room also has a window for air flow which is highly desirable. If a patient needs care then a warm zone can be created outside the room where a care giver can don and doff PPE (personal protection equipment).
We put together a pandemic kit several years ago. I would suggest you do the same. The items we mentioned in the article should be included.
Gloves, hand sanitized, sanitizing wipes, N95 masks, disposable gowns, booties, and shower cap. These are only a few things to have on hand. Bleach (or way to make your own), a spray bottle, baby pool, and tarps. Plastic sheeting (at least 4 mil) and duct tape. There may be other things you would want in your kit or items.
Decontamination is something we all need to understand. Cross contaminating is easy to do so plan your procedures with order so that you can keep your cold zone (your home) clean and safe.
Paying attention to possibly contaminated items, gloves, clothes, is the best way to avoid cross contaminating. Keeping yourself and your cold zone clean is also a way of keeping everyone safe. We’ve been told, wash hands often and for at least 20 seconds, sneeze and cough into disposable items (kleenex) or at least into your elbow is also another way to stay clean.
Take the opportunity to make a list of what you have and what you may need for your pandemic kit so that when this is over, and it will be eventually, you can put together a kit to keep you prepared.
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn
Friday, April 10, 2020
Perfect Practice Makes Perfect
A few days ago, I wrote an article with ideas on putting together a training plan. Today I want to give detail on what to include in this training plan. I hesitate to get too detailed because each of us are different. We are all at different skill levels, experience, physical abilities, and gun education. So what will work for me may not work for you. Here are some ideas for how to practice.
When you begin to devise a program for your training, get some! Take some classes. That’s “classes” with an “s”. One class is usually not enough. I will admit, I haven’t been to a class in a few years. As a young instructor I would take a class every year or so to learn new things or to keep up my education. After a few decades of that, I held off on my personal training to about every 3 years. Sometimes I go longer. I read a lot and teaching others can be challenging. As I get olde,r I can see all of it trailing off to less frequent. I know that I don’t know everything, but as you get to a certain level it becomes a matter of practice. When I miss going to the range a few weeks I start to see a difference in my shooting, I know what I need to do, and I do it. Depending where you are in your shooting education and experience this will dictate what you need to do and how you do it. Be honest about your abilities. Remember that it does not matter if a course is “below your level of skill.” While you should take on courses of increasing difficulty over time, instruction is valuable no matter the difficulty level of the course. Just do it. Keep doing it. Having established an instruction-based regimen, here are some ideas for effective, efficient, ongoing self-practice.
When you go to the range for live fire time have a specific plan in mind. Pick a few things to work on. One or two should be enough. If you take on too much not only will you be at the range for many hours, you’ll lose some of what you practice with overload.
Some ideas are:
Concentrate on maintaining proper grip, with an eye toward muzzle/recoil control
Work on clearing specific malfunctions.
Work on maintaining a good sight picture while transitioning between two targets
Work on trigger manipulation
Work on sight picture as you press the trigger
Work on front sight focus and re-acquisitioning sight picture after a shot
Work on realistic stances and postures in different positions.
Work on cheek to stock weld replication with a rifle
These are only a few ideas.
Drills are a big part of my regime. I’ve found particular drills that help me to maintain my accuracy and give me a realistic idea of what I may have to deal with in a confrontation. I will also admit that I probably work to maintain my firefight abilities. This is something that comes from my experience and paranoia. Most people (including me) will probably never be in a real firefight. My training is based solely on my experience as yours should be too. Most personal protection situations are at a fairly close range. But I believe in a mass shooting event that firefight conditions may exist. The chances of any of us being in an active shooter incident is pretty remote. I use this as an excuse to train for it but honestly, the real reason is probably PTSD hyper vigilance driven. Depending on where you shoot will dictate how much you can train. But many of the things I’ve suggested above can be done at an indoor range. Remember to temper your practice and limit yourself to only a few areas of focus. Too much can give you overload and be a waste.
Remember that practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. Do your best to work your drills with exactness. Make sure you are practicing correctly so as to not create problems that you will have to fix later. Do it right to develop good habits.
Prepare your practice session with targets and a plan. I use 4 different “work out” routines that I mix up randomly. This keeps things fresh and not too stale. I have these practice plans written out. You don’t have to do this, but I work on a federal installation in a job that requires checklists. It’s what I do every day. So, for me, a written “checklist” of my shooting plans is something that resonates in my brain. I am a firm believer in the saying that says “A goal not written is only a wish.” Like I said, this is individual to me. I would recommend it, but it has to work for you and your situation. So, I get targets and equipment I will need to do my practice ahead of time. This also gives me a chance to visualize in my head what I’m going to do. Don’t forget multiple targets in your drills. If there is some dry fire that will support my practice as a prerequisite, I ensure that is dome ahead of time. I have “checklists” for my dry fire too. But that is just me.
I only bring the guns I need for that particular work out and no more. If I bring a gun that is not used in that particular work out, then I’ll shoot it. (I love shooting my guns!) This is a distraction from my practicing goals. If you want to shoot other guns, then schedule a different session for fun. But be serious about your practice.
I try to limit my ammunition to what is needed for the drills I’m doing. Otherwise, I put a limit of 50 rounds on myself. If I don’t, I’ll blow through 300 rounds easy. I used to not do this, and it was hard to maintain my ammo storage. I was having to replenish my storage with 2000 or 5000 round buys. Not only is that expensive, it becomes more recreational than educational. Don’t get me wrong, I love bump shooting my 10-22 through 200 rounds! It’s fun and satisfying! (I do NOT own a bump stock, by the way. I use my belt loop as I have for the majority of my life) I think there is a time and place for rec shooting but practice is not time.
The unexpected is to be expected. There are always things that go wrong, you run out of ammo, there is a malfunction, but these are good. This teaches reality in your practice. Often, I will put in snap caps mixed in with my ammo. I know we’re not really training for a firefight, but the reality is you won’t be able to keep track of your rounds no matter how controlled your fire is. If you are getting shot at, that’s pretty much what you’re thinking about. Don’t let running out of ammo throw you off. Be ready for it. I was fighting from a fighting position eons ago and I would always have at least 30 extra 30 round magazines near me at all times. Seldom did I use all 31 mags. I think I ran out only twice. That is not a good feeling. In a typical self-defense situation, you probably won’t go through a full 10 to 15 round magazine. Always have more and always practice mag changes. But I’ve seen law enforcement who experienced a shooting event, and they emptied their weapon even though they could only recall a lesser number of rounds fired. The “fog of war” is real, but preparation and practice can help mitigate that fog.
Competing is a good and fun way to practice with some realistic results. Consider local matches of IDPA or USPA. Check out their activity near you on their web sites.
Once you get into a routine of practice, you’ll miss it if you can’t. It is like exercise. You must plan for it seriously. I feel incomplete if I miss a week. Come up with something you can devote time and resources to. And don’t forget to enjoy!
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn
When you begin to devise a program for your training, get some! Take some classes. That’s “classes” with an “s”. One class is usually not enough. I will admit, I haven’t been to a class in a few years. As a young instructor I would take a class every year or so to learn new things or to keep up my education. After a few decades of that, I held off on my personal training to about every 3 years. Sometimes I go longer. I read a lot and teaching others can be challenging. As I get olde,r I can see all of it trailing off to less frequent. I know that I don’t know everything, but as you get to a certain level it becomes a matter of practice. When I miss going to the range a few weeks I start to see a difference in my shooting, I know what I need to do, and I do it. Depending where you are in your shooting education and experience this will dictate what you need to do and how you do it. Be honest about your abilities. Remember that it does not matter if a course is “below your level of skill.” While you should take on courses of increasing difficulty over time, instruction is valuable no matter the difficulty level of the course. Just do it. Keep doing it. Having established an instruction-based regimen, here are some ideas for effective, efficient, ongoing self-practice.
When you go to the range for live fire time have a specific plan in mind. Pick a few things to work on. One or two should be enough. If you take on too much not only will you be at the range for many hours, you’ll lose some of what you practice with overload.
Some ideas are:
Concentrate on maintaining proper grip, with an eye toward muzzle/recoil control
Work on clearing specific malfunctions.
Work on maintaining a good sight picture while transitioning between two targets
Work on trigger manipulation
Work on sight picture as you press the trigger
Work on front sight focus and re-acquisitioning sight picture after a shot
Work on realistic stances and postures in different positions.
Work on cheek to stock weld replication with a rifle
These are only a few ideas.
Drills are a big part of my regime. I’ve found particular drills that help me to maintain my accuracy and give me a realistic idea of what I may have to deal with in a confrontation. I will also admit that I probably work to maintain my firefight abilities. This is something that comes from my experience and paranoia. Most people (including me) will probably never be in a real firefight. My training is based solely on my experience as yours should be too. Most personal protection situations are at a fairly close range. But I believe in a mass shooting event that firefight conditions may exist. The chances of any of us being in an active shooter incident is pretty remote. I use this as an excuse to train for it but honestly, the real reason is probably PTSD hyper vigilance driven. Depending on where you shoot will dictate how much you can train. But many of the things I’ve suggested above can be done at an indoor range. Remember to temper your practice and limit yourself to only a few areas of focus. Too much can give you overload and be a waste.
Remember that practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. Do your best to work your drills with exactness. Make sure you are practicing correctly so as to not create problems that you will have to fix later. Do it right to develop good habits.
Prepare your practice session with targets and a plan. I use 4 different “work out” routines that I mix up randomly. This keeps things fresh and not too stale. I have these practice plans written out. You don’t have to do this, but I work on a federal installation in a job that requires checklists. It’s what I do every day. So, for me, a written “checklist” of my shooting plans is something that resonates in my brain. I am a firm believer in the saying that says “A goal not written is only a wish.” Like I said, this is individual to me. I would recommend it, but it has to work for you and your situation. So, I get targets and equipment I will need to do my practice ahead of time. This also gives me a chance to visualize in my head what I’m going to do. Don’t forget multiple targets in your drills. If there is some dry fire that will support my practice as a prerequisite, I ensure that is dome ahead of time. I have “checklists” for my dry fire too. But that is just me.
I only bring the guns I need for that particular work out and no more. If I bring a gun that is not used in that particular work out, then I’ll shoot it. (I love shooting my guns!) This is a distraction from my practicing goals. If you want to shoot other guns, then schedule a different session for fun. But be serious about your practice.
I try to limit my ammunition to what is needed for the drills I’m doing. Otherwise, I put a limit of 50 rounds on myself. If I don’t, I’ll blow through 300 rounds easy. I used to not do this, and it was hard to maintain my ammo storage. I was having to replenish my storage with 2000 or 5000 round buys. Not only is that expensive, it becomes more recreational than educational. Don’t get me wrong, I love bump shooting my 10-22 through 200 rounds! It’s fun and satisfying! (I do NOT own a bump stock, by the way. I use my belt loop as I have for the majority of my life) I think there is a time and place for rec shooting but practice is not time.
The unexpected is to be expected. There are always things that go wrong, you run out of ammo, there is a malfunction, but these are good. This teaches reality in your practice. Often, I will put in snap caps mixed in with my ammo. I know we’re not really training for a firefight, but the reality is you won’t be able to keep track of your rounds no matter how controlled your fire is. If you are getting shot at, that’s pretty much what you’re thinking about. Don’t let running out of ammo throw you off. Be ready for it. I was fighting from a fighting position eons ago and I would always have at least 30 extra 30 round magazines near me at all times. Seldom did I use all 31 mags. I think I ran out only twice. That is not a good feeling. In a typical self-defense situation, you probably won’t go through a full 10 to 15 round magazine. Always have more and always practice mag changes. But I’ve seen law enforcement who experienced a shooting event, and they emptied their weapon even though they could only recall a lesser number of rounds fired. The “fog of war” is real, but preparation and practice can help mitigate that fog.
Competing is a good and fun way to practice with some realistic results. Consider local matches of IDPA or USPA. Check out their activity near you on their web sites.
Once you get into a routine of practice, you’ll miss it if you can’t. It is like exercise. You must plan for it seriously. I feel incomplete if I miss a week. Come up with something you can devote time and resources to. And don’t forget to enjoy!
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn
Monday, April 6, 2020
Overwatch: Random Drill For April
Random Drill For April 2020
Weak Hand Shooting
Both police and high-speed military operators have reported in a Close quarters combat (CQB) scenario where they were fighting for their lives that they resorted to what they do fastest and best, which was strong side shooting. It's human nature when the enemy is upon you. But shooting with the weak hand is something we also need to consider and teach, as injury may necessitate weak hand/side shooting.
This drill focuses on weapon manipulations and technique. It can be practiced with limited ammunition. Most weak side shooting drills are static—they're limited to the standing position from a designated distance.
Have your students shoot from the weak side in various shooting positions, including standing, kneeling, or prone. Try various non-traditional positions. Use a four-step barricade to facilitate unorthodox positions.
Instruct officers to use their weak hand to change and load magazines. Work on clearing weapon malfunctions by using dummy rounds. Have officers practice transitioning from rifle to handgun.
Once the shooters have done these tasks from static positions, instruct them to do them while on the move. Don't burn a lot of ammo.
Lt. Robert Parker served with the Omaha (Neb.) PD for 30 years and commanded the Emergency Response Unit. He is responsible for training thousands of law enforcement instructors in NTOA's Patrol Response to Active Shooters courses.
From SWAT Magazine, March 8, 2012
See “Overwatch: Random Drill” page for more drills
Weak Hand Shooting
Both police and high-speed military operators have reported in a Close quarters combat (CQB) scenario where they were fighting for their lives that they resorted to what they do fastest and best, which was strong side shooting. It's human nature when the enemy is upon you. But shooting with the weak hand is something we also need to consider and teach, as injury may necessitate weak hand/side shooting.
This drill focuses on weapon manipulations and technique. It can be practiced with limited ammunition. Most weak side shooting drills are static—they're limited to the standing position from a designated distance.
Have your students shoot from the weak side in various shooting positions, including standing, kneeling, or prone. Try various non-traditional positions. Use a four-step barricade to facilitate unorthodox positions.
Instruct officers to use their weak hand to change and load magazines. Work on clearing weapon malfunctions by using dummy rounds. Have officers practice transitioning from rifle to handgun.
Once the shooters have done these tasks from static positions, instruct them to do them while on the move. Don't burn a lot of ammo.
Lt. Robert Parker served with the Omaha (Neb.) PD for 30 years and commanded the Emergency Response Unit. He is responsible for training thousands of law enforcement instructors in NTOA's Patrol Response to Active Shooters courses.
From SWAT Magazine, March 8, 2012
See “Overwatch: Random Drill” page for more drills
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