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Walk Back Drills

By on August 4, 2011 in Tactics and Training

I am always looking for new drills to use on the range. I recently tried a “Walk Back Drill” and found it to be challenging and valuable (as any good drill should be). Too often, we tend to choose drills that we are good at instead of drills that humble and challenge us. Walk Back Drills can definitely humble and challenge a shooter. I have found that a walk back drill can be a great way to wind down a day on the range.

Walk Back Drills come in all shapes and sizes but the basic premise is that the shooter starts close to the target and then moves incrementally further from the target with each subsequent part of the drill. The goal is to reach your failure point, which is the point at which you can no longer hit your target. The shooting is generally done off hand. For instance, a shooter might staple an index card to a target backer and shoot with the goal of hitting the index card from 5 yards, 10 yards, 15 yards, and so on (this is well suited for indoor ranges). The shooter might shoot at a 12″ steel gong at 50 yards with a rifle and move back 25 yards with each shot.

One of my favorite ways to wind down a long handgun training session is to do a Walk Back Drill with a pepper popper or reduced size steel silhouette. I start at 25 yards and walk back 5 or 10 yards after each hit. This is similar to a “dot torture/death by dot drill” in that it will force you to really work on the fundamentals of sight alignment and trigger control. It also has the added benefit of teaching you a lot about your ability to use a handgun at extended distances, the relationship of your sights and point of impact at extended distances, and just how well your sights are regulated. Eventually, the target will appear to be far smaller than your front sight but you will find that hits are still attainable. You might be surprised at your ability to hit with handgun at ranges of 100 yards and further.

Walk Back Drills can also be adapted a number of ways to add pressure. You can shoot for speed against another shooter – the first hit wins (it helps to have a “judge” who isn’t shooting or use pepper poppers). You can use par times so that you are shooting against the clock. The drill can also be adapted to large groups by having everyone start at the initial yard line. Anyone who gets a hit moves on and anyone who misses is out of the competition. The group keeps moving back until only one shooter remains.

So next time you are at the range, consider winding up your day with a Walk Back Drill. You will get a chance to work on the fundamentals and you will learn a lot about your skills and gear.

TacStrike

By on August 3, 2011 in Guns, Tactical Gear, Tactics and Training

TacStrike has a lot to offer serious shooters. They offer innovative steel targets, a very cool gear consignment service, and even high end training through their affiliation with Pat Goodale of Practical Firearms Training (PFT).

Targets

The thing that drew me to TacStrike originally was their 1/4 Scale Steel Target System. I know from experience that shooting steel can take your training to the next level. It allows you to be much more efficient on the range than if you are shooting paper. Paper requires pasting, replacement, and gear like staplers and tape. Steel targets can be set up quickly and can take round after round without maintenance during your range time.

The 1/4 Scale Target System is one of the most training friendly and versatile steel targets that I have seen (which is exactly what you would expect from a target designed with Pat Goodale and PFT). It is compact and can be moved by just one person. The target is made from AR 540 steel and it floats in the frame which allows it to soak up the impact of round after round. The 1/4 size silhouette target forces the shooter to concentrate on getting a hit unlike many larger steel targets which are too forgiving of marginal hits. The vertical post that holds the target up is armored to protect it from damage. Everything about this target is well thought out, including the base which can also accept 1×2 or 2×2 boards for use with paper targets.

Gear Consignment

TacStrike also offers a service that I am sure many busy shooters will appreciate – gear consignment. So what do you do when you have a bunch of gear that you don’t use anymore? Well, you could hit the classified section of an online forum and spend your time taking pictures, answering goofy questions from goober after goober, getting low-balled, and standing in line at the post office… or you can just send the gear to TacStrike. They will take pictures, list the gear on their site, handle the shipping, and then cut you a check when your gear sells. Now that is convenient. Of course, since this is a consignment service, that means you can also find some great deals on other people’s unneeded gear. That is a win-win.

Be sure to check out TacStrike’s Youtube channel for videos of their targets in action and their Facebook page for updates on the latest consignment gear.

Three Point Innovations Box-to-Mag Loader

By on July 25, 2011 in Guns, Tactical Gear, Tactics and Training

Your thumbs hate you. They are still bitter about that time you took a carbine course when it is 30 degrees and sleeting. You made them load all those mags until they were raw. Maybe you owe it to them to take a look at the Box-to-Mag Loader from Three Point Innovations.

This is a very clever device that allows you to load ammo directly from the box to your AR-15 magazines. It works with just about any AR-15 magazine and allows you to load an entire 20 round box of ammo in less than 10 seconds. It should be useful for loading loose ammo as well since you can easily just stack it into the Box-to-Mag Loader.

Sadly, it isn’t available yet, but as you can see from the video, they have working prototypes. They will be available for pre-order soon and you can get a discount by joining their newsletter. Check out the Box-to-Mag Loader on the Three Point Innovations website.

Capacity Counts

By on July 19, 2011 in Guns, Tactics and Training

When discussing magazine capacity, it seems to be impossible to avoid oft repeated (and rarely thought about) statements like “If I need more than X number of rounds, I haven’t done my job” or “Large capacity magazines make you ‘spray and pray’ instead of making each shot count.” Who hasn’t heard that “The typical gun fight is over in 1 (or 2, or 3, or 4) shot anyway, so I don’t need anything other than this [insert low capacity handgun here].” All three of these statements are probably repeated in guns shops and on internet forums every hour (usually by someone who is justifying their particular choice in handgun). Saying something often doesn’t make it true and it certainly doesn’t make it any less absurd. Logic has no place where ego and machismo reign.

“If I need more than X number of rounds, I haven’t done my job.” I’ll assume that the job that is being referred to is stopping a threat from harming or killing you or a loved one. This statement might be reasonable if there was a set number of rounds that would incapacitate someone intent on doing you harm. The reality is that one shot stops are nearly mythical (especially with handguns) and that determined attackers can and have soaked up 10 or more rounds of just about every caliber before ceasing their attack. A prudent man plans to shoot accurately and often until the threat is stopped whether that take 1 round or 15.

“Large capacity magazines make you ‘spray and pray’ instead of making each shot count.” This is perhaps the most absurd of the above mentioned gun counter philosophies. Magazine capacity is no more responsible for inaccurate, volume fire than large gas tanks are responsible for people accidentally driving past their destinations or than large refrigerators are responsible for people over eating. Those who miss with all 15 rounds in their magazine under stress, would have also missed with all 5 in their revolver’s cylinder. Should we then take this to its logical end and only carry single shot firearms? After all, wouldn’t we then really make our only shot count? That is, of course, absurd. People miss because of a lapse in training, stress, and lots of reasons other than having too many cartridges in their magazine.

“The typical gun fight is over in 1 (or 2, or 3, or 4) shot anyway, so I don’t need anything other than this [insert low capacity handgun here].” All gunfights are typical except for the ones that aren’t. We have seen groups of terrorists, gangs of home invaders, and “flash mobs” become the norm. These things are not rare and they aren’t always confined to any one part of town. Today’s responsible shooter may face any number of situations that can not be solved without plenty of ammunition.

Capacity counts. I become more convinced of this every day. I see evidence of this when I watch the news and when I learn about natural stress responses. Even a cursory study of modern terminal ballistics confronts me with the fact that capacity counts. I can’t tell you how many rounds are enough any more than you can tell me when or where you will need to use a handgun in defense of your life. I can tell you that having a reload (spare magazine, speed loader, etc) for what ever you carry is a good idea. Practicing your reloads until they are second nature is an even better idea. Taking an honest look at the capacity of the firearm that you carry wouldn’t hurt either.

I am not saying that more ammunition can make up for less skill. I am not saying that all problems can or should be solved by the liberal application of ammo. I am saying that the old “wisdom” deserves to be rethought and that you, as a responsible shooter, should take a long and honest look at your gear and training to determine whether it is sufficient for the situations that you are likely to face.

Just think about it.

Panteao Productions

By on July 16, 2011 in Tactics and Training

Digital technology has greatly improved the production value and usefulness of DVD training courses. Several of the biggest names in the shooting industry have capitalized on this technology to create highly successful instructional DVDs. Now there is a new company, Panteao Productions, that is taking this new digital technology to the next level.

What if you could receive one on one training from respected trainers like Louis Awerbuck, “Super” Dave Harrington, Paul Howe, Travis Haley, Bill Rogers, and others? What if you could access this training from your home computer? What if the training was constantly evolving and adding new instructors? That would be pretty phenomenal and that is exactly what Panteao Productions is offering.

Panteao Productions will offer DVDs and online accessible subscription content in their “Make ready” series. You can order DVDs of the individual trainers or pay a monthly or yearly subscription to watch the HD video content online. The content has tremendous production value and features all kinds of invaluable information on tactics, techniques, and gear from some amazing instructors. The list of instructors and available content is growing monthly.

I think this is a really interesting, innovative, and well executed venture.

You can get a ton of additional information and some really great free content at PanteaoProductions.com.

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