Guns

KR Training November 2016 Newsletter – and giveaway!

/ hsoi

The KR Training November 2016 newsletter is up.

If you are a KR alumni, please take our alumni survey and get a $5 gift certificate good for any class. One of of every 50 people will get a $50 gift certificate! It’s just a couple minutes of your time, with a good chance of winning. Plus, your responses help us know what you want, what you like, and what we can do better.

We’re getting ready for the 2017 season, with many classes already on the schedule.

Lots of great stuff ahead.

See you at the range.

Regarding the events of January 5, 2015 – an interview with Massad Ayoob

/ hsoi

Noted trainer and legal expert, Massad Ayoob, interviewed me regarding my event from January 5, 2015.

You can read his interview here.

For the record, here’s my original recounting of the events (the interview contains new information, based upon the questions Mas asked me).

Disclosure: Mas and I know each other, and I have taken and passed his MAG-20 Range and MAG-20 Classroom (thus MAG-40 equivalency, just taken at separate times). Because he knew me and because of my unique situation and context, he wanted to interview me about the incident.

The Ugly Truth

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If you listen to politicians and the mainstream media, where do criminals get their guns? The “gun show loophole”? The Internet?

And of course, the way to “stop gun violence” is through more background checks (e.g. “no fly, no buy”), assault weapons bans, etc.. Right?

The truth is of course something completely different.

ABC 13 out of Houston, Texas investigated.  (h/t Phil Wong)

To get our data, we sent surveys to every killer who used a gun to murder someone in Harris County since 2014. We wanted to know how they got their gun, what they paid, and how often, if ever, they went through a background check.

It may not be the most scientific of surveys, but it’s a pretty good way to go. I mean, why not actually ask the people who committed the crime what the crime was they committed! Nothing like getting the information direct from the source.

Here’s a relevant finding:

Nearly 90 percent of our survey respondents got their weapons outside the legal regulated gun market. None shopped at a gun show – and most traded for their weapons or got them from a friend for free.

Another finding? The overwhelming majority used handguns.

Basically this means things like expanding background checks (heck, ANY background checks) and assault weapons bans (heck, ANY sort of ban) will stop virtually NOTHING. Well correction: it will stop the law-abiding citizenry, who are the so-called “good people” of society. The criminals? The “bad-people”? the ones that are murdering and killing? It won’t stop them one bit.

You know what will stop them?

In the article is a video of an interview with Cedric Jones, a murderer serving time for his crime.

There ain’t gonna be no law to stop you from carrying a gun. It’s not. There’s been laws, they didn’t stop me from carrying a gun. It’s all about me staying alive. A law ain’t gonna stop me. I ain’t worry about no law. I’m worried about this dude come and shoot me.

Let his words sink in.

He knows about the laws. He doesn’t care about the laws.

What does he care about?

Not getting himself shot and killed.

So you tell me.

What do you think a criminal fears?

What do you think will actually stop a criminal?

You might find the answer repugnant, but Truth isn’t always pretty. That’s why it’s called the Ugly Truth.

Pressure

/ hsoi

A few days ago I taught a private lesson to some new(ish) shooters.

I ran the students through the KR Training Basic Pistol 2 curriculum. At the end, the students shot a version of the Texas Handgun License test. I say a version because we have them shoot on a better (tougher) target. But one thing we don’t change? The use of time limits.

One thing we do at the end of all KR Training classes is go around the room and ask the students for something they learned. One of the students told me how the use of the timer added some pressure and that really changed things for them. This student has prior knowledge and understanding in the realities of self-defense – that it’s not an open-ended situation, that it’s quick, and time is a significant factor. This was the first time they ever shot against a timer, and it really added stress and pressure.

It was hard, it was stressful, but they appreciated it. They walked away with a deeper understanding of realities, and themselves.

But you know… some people still want to say that using timers is a bad thing. They’re welcome to their opinion. I’m glad my students want to improve.

The Will to Survive

/ hsoi

Greg Ellifritz writes up what he took from a lecture:

… by retired police Lieutenant Brian Murphy. Lt. Murphy [who] was the first officer on the scene of the Sikh temple active killer massacre in Wisconsin back in 2012. Lt. Murphy was shot FIFTEEN TIMES in the incident. He survived and created a lecture to share the lessons he learned during the challenging event.

While this comes from the context of law enforcement, this lecture contains vital lessons FOR EVERYONE. If you’re in law enforcement, certainly there are important lessons to take home and put into practice. If you are a private citizen, carry a gun, understand and take responsibility for your life and the lives of others (e.g. your family), there are important lessons here. And if you are a private citizen that hasn’t thought much about their own safety, other than perhaps that the police will save you, there are important lessons here as well.

For law enforcement, I’ll let Greg’s words stand for themselves. He’s a cop, I’m not. He can speak better to this end.

For private citizens that take responsibility for their own safety, especially if they carry a gun. I’ll just list a few points:

  • Even if you’re highly trained, you’re still human and shit still goes wrong.
  • There are no promises nor guarantees, and your fight is unlikely to proceed like your fantasies.
  • Knowing the two above points, you can and should plan, educate, and train accordingly. As well, be humble.
  • Greg’s point #7 – What’s important now – is a vital concept to adopt.
  • Greg’s point #8 — Survivors manage pain well. I think about the pain I was in at the gym this morning. I knew there’d be even more pain to proceed squatting 300# with the same crush-grip, but I did it anyways and pushed through. This isn’t to boast or show how manly I am, but for sure enduring hard times, pain, and agony in other areas of my life have helped me deal with pain in other areas of my life. Being strong (in all senses of the word) is useful.

And for those who haven’t thought much about their own personal safety and perhaps only count on the police and luck to keep them safe, a few points:

  • “In total, it took an extremely competent officer 33 seconds to deploy and fire his rifle. During that entire time period, the killer was firing more bullets into Murphy.” Thirty-three seconds is a very long time, and it’s a miracle Lt. Murphy survived.
  • “The killer in this incident shot two people outside the church and then went inside to shoot several more. While he was shooting people inside the church, several victims called 911. Lt. Murphy was closest to the location and arrived first. He saw two lifeless bodies on the front sidewalk, but he did not see the shooter” Lt. Murphy was the closest officer and fastest to arrive, yet many people still died – because it takes time for the problem to start, for people to recognize it, for people to gain the wherewithal to call 911, to relay the message, for the dispatcher to put out the call, for officers to respond and start to travel, then to arrive, then to be able to assess the scene and determine what to do, then start to do something about it. This all takes time. Precious time.
  • “For what it’s worth, the officers responding to this incident were better trained and equipped than 99% of police officers in the USA. They still made some very serious errors. Lt. Murphy was nearly killed. That happened to the best of the best. If you are working in a department that has no training and poor equipment, why do you think you would perform better?” While Greg’s comment is towards fellow LEO, think about that for a moment people – people have this (mis)conception that police are highly trained, elite fighting squads. The horrible reality is, they aren’t. Even if they are, there’s no guarantee the event will resolve like a Hollywood hero.

But for me, the biggest thing from this?

Lt. Murphy survived.

He didn’t give up.

He fought.

He lived.

Do you want to improve?

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

A few weeks ago there was some hoopla around the use of timers. Two of the articles involved in the mix were Tom Givens’ article on “Metrics vs. Mediocrity” and Grant Cunningham’s on “Meaningless Increments of precision – and why you should avoid them”. There were other statements, especially in comment threads. People took sides, lots of defense of “my chosen doctrine” ensued, and in the end I’m not sure anything useful was accomplished.

From where I sit, I think there’s validity in all raised points.

Progress?

The first premise we must agree upon is a desire to progress, to improve, to get better. If you don’t care about making progress, then there’s no further discussion. But if you do want to get better, the next thing you have to do is answer the question: what is “better”?

In determining “what is better?”, we must have some scale by which to determime if something is better or worse than something else. This scale depends upon the context. For example, I could determine if I’m getting better at my job because I’m getting promotions, I’m earning more money, I can perform the tasks of my job in less time. I can determine if I’m losing weight because I step on the scale and see a decrease in my weight. I can tell I’m getting stronger because there’s more weight on the bar when I bench press.

In the context of shooting, how can I determine if I’m better than before? First we must identify the qualities of “better shooter”. I think most can agree upon two qualities: speed and accuracy. If you can shoot faster and more accurate, that’s better.

How can we measure accuracy? The use of a good target. Are you “hitting the bullseye”? Are you keeping all your shots within a 6″ circle? a 4″ circle? 3″? A B-27 is not a good target, but it is better than just plinking into a pond. Even a 6″ paper plate can make for a reasonable target. It often comes down to context (more on that below).

How can we measure speed? You could do it by feel, but I’m not sure that’s very accurate or quantifiable. You could “race” against someone else, and while a little better than guessing, it’s still not a stable metric. So what are we left with? A stopwatch or shot timer. Sorry, but there’s no escaping that measuring the amount of time involved matters, because whether you’re playing a game (IPSC, IDPA) or in the context of self-defense, time matters – and getting things done faster helps you win.

But I think there’s more to it than simple targets and timers.

You need some sort of standard of measurement. This is simply a way to ensure you make apples-to-apples comparisons over time. In this context, it would be something like settling on a course of fire such as the “3 Seconds or Less” test or maybe the Rangemaster Core Skills or El Presidente – something that is well-established in terms of the course of fire and thus repeatable, and that measures both speed and accuracy. Then when you track your progress over time, you can see if you are making progress or not. Are you achieving a higher score? Better times?

But how to choose a standard of measurement? And how to know if your progress is meaningful? You need a goal.

This goal could be a specific one (shooting 2″ groups at 15 yards, or a 2 second Bill Drill), or it could be just a general guiding principle. By this I mean, maybe you are trying to get better for competition, or maybe you’re trying to get better for self-defense. It is important to have some sort of guide to help you know what road to go down, and how to value and utilize your metrics. It’s good to collect data, but you need something through which to interpret that data to make it meaningful.

For example, let’s say you have a 1.7 second concealment draw (full carry gear, IWB holster, normal clothing, etc.). In the grand scheme, 1.7 seconds is pretty good. However, many would agree that 1.5 seconds is a better number. Should you chase this 0.2 second improvement? I would say it depends upon your goal. Let’s say you also have a 4.0 second reload; that’s pretty slow. Knowing this, and given you have a finite amount of time and energy to devote to skill improvement, where should you spend your time? One could argue if you were working on improving your shooting in the context of IDPA, getting your reload to 3.0 or even 2.5 seconds would do more to improve your IDPA performance (score) than trying to get that 0.2 seconds on your draw, given the way the game is played and scored. However, if your context was self-defense – a context where reloads almost never happen, but a fast and accurate draw-to-first-shot is critical – it could be argued getting that 1.5 second (or maybe even a 1.25 second) concealment draw could be a much better use of your time.

Metrics Matter

I cannot abide with the “no timer” crowd, nor do I think metrics are meaningless. However, what we must do is use our metrics to guide our focus. If you’ve got a 1.5 second concealment draw, 0.2 second splits, 1.7 second reload, and other such “good” performance, I see nothing wrong with trying to get a 1.3 second, 0.15 second, and 1.4 seconds on those same skills – when has “being faster” and “being more accurate” been a bad thing? And we can only know if we’re getting better in these things through measuring them.

However, we could also take a step back and realize that perhaps we are “good enough” in these areas and it may be time to focus our energies in other areas. The data may show that we should focus on a particular skill (e.g. weak-handed shooting, reloads). Or maybe the general gun skills are good enough, so instead of spending more money on ammo and gun classes, spending that same time and money taking a force-on-force class, or a tactics class. How are your empty-hand skills? Or how about a medical class or a defensive driving class! If you’re a gamer, a class on stage planning and match performance.

But the only way to know for sure is to measure, and to measure with goals to provide guidance. And no, we can’t measure everything via methods as cut-and-dry as a target and timer, but we do need to be honest and as objective as possible in our self-assessments to ensure we actually are getting better (things like timers and targets just force us to be honest and have no delusions).

We have to look at the complete picture. Metrics are good, but they are just a means to the end. We need our goals to guide us. This is how we improve.

A little work

/ hsoi

In light of my “Getting To Work” post… I’ve started to get to work.

I happen to be at the KR Training ranch today, so I did a little range work.

Started with Rangemaster Bullseye. Wasn’t worth recording the scores. Basically, I know I can shoot at least a 270 (90%), and so if I don’t, I’m not going to bother recording the score. But I will take notes on my performance. Here it was pretty simple: both runs, just continue to work at 15 and 25 yards. I also found myself shooting high at 15 (and always 15 for some odd reason). Sight picture issues for sure.

After a couple runs of that, I did 2 runs of the “3 Seconds or Less” drill. First was just to change gears and clean it. Second was to not worry about points or score but to use it as some particular shooting strings and push myself faster to see what falls apart. I made some good times, but also got C-zone hits. Still, it was enlightening.

Then I ran Rangemaster Core Skills a couple times. Shot over 100 score each time, but each run had its issues. I made good time the first run but a lot of C-zone hits. Worse time next run, but better accuracy.

Big things I saw:

  • I am getting better at one-handed shooting – better than I think I can do, so I need to just keep doing this to build confidence at faster speeds.
  • I need to get better at “fast” shooting at distances, like 7-15 yards.

I spoke with Karl. His suggestion was because I can shoot fast (e.g. 0.1x second splits at 3 yards) that I do have the physical ability to run the trigger fast. So that’s not a problem. That I should do a bunch of shooting at 3 yards to really learn the rhythm of 0.2 second splits. While doing this, just “watch the movie” – just keep watching the front sight, really working to keep your eyes open, and just taking in what the eyes are seeing, learning that information. Then back up to 4 yards and run 0.2x splits and all A-zone hits. After that is determined solid, back up to 5 yards, and repeat. Just keep doing this until the wheels start to fall off (e.g. when you get D-zone hits), then maybe back up a bit (to the point where you were getting C-zones) and start to figure out what’s going on and work at that point until you are getting A’s. Then back up another yard, and just keep going.

While there’s still lots of things for me to do (15+ yard accuracy, reloads, etc.), this is identifying something that’s been something I’ve been seeing since this summer but only now am quantifying it as something to focus on.

More work.

 

Getting to work

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After being less than satisfied with my performance at the Rangemaster Advanced Instructor course a couple weeks ago, I’ve been examining my performance. There’s a couple things in play: 1. hardware, 2. software.

Hardware

Guns and ammo I think played a small part. Small.

Gun

I was using my “backup” M&P9. I noticed this gun, despite supposing to have an Apex Tactical DCAEK trigger, while it had a very nice travel and reset also had a very hard break. My primary M&P9 had been in the shop for some long overdue TLC, and I got it back just prior to class – didn’t have a chance to shoot it and verify it before class, so I didn’t use it in class. The trigger on that, certainly Apex DCAEK, is a hair longer on the reset but the press and break is a little smoother and “rolling”.

I finally got to put a pull-weight gauge to them. My primary? 5.25 lbs. The backup? 7.25 lbs. Whoa. That’s not good – worse than factory! I’m going to investigate this at another time, but suffice it to say that while the weight isn’t a problem, the break is a problem. Difficult to convey here, but for sure that HARD break contributed to difficulties when you needed a more precision trigger press (e.g. fast mashing at 3 yards and you don’t notice it, but trying to be precise at 25 yards and for sure it gets in the way).

As well, there’s the whole auto-forward “undocumented feature” I keep lamenting about. This just keeps getting in my way. If I don’t think about it, then it has the inconsistent and problematic behavior. If then I do think about it, it causes me to pause and stutter (more on this below). Either way, somehow it gets in the way. I’m tired of it.

In discussing with a friend of mine, I wondered if weak magazine springs could be involved. So right after class I ordered brand new mag springs for all my practice magazines. I used them, and still auto-forwards sporadically, tho IIRC I had no failures to strip (but give it time…). The old springs were only about 1 – 1.5 coils compressed, so not bad but for sure the new springs are noticeably better.

But then, I got to dry fire a SIG 320. That’s the factory trigger? Oh lawdy lawdy.

Ammo

During the Rangemaster class, I shot Freedom Munitions 9mm 124 grain round-nose remanufactured. Have shot thousands upon thousands of rounds of FM ammo, it’s generally fine. However, I noticed sometimes at longer distances there’d be one weird flier, but I shrugged it off as me sucking. Interesting data point was Karl (i.e. USPSA GM and far more experienced and capable than I am) happened to be shooting the same ammo. Karl remarked to me observing weird ammo behaviors. So… hrm.

So the other morning while out at KR Training, I brought out a solid benchrest and a bunch of ammo:

  • Freedom Munitions 9mm 124gr RN reman
  • Blazer Brass 9mm 124gr FMJ
  • PMC 115gr FMJ
  • American Eagle 124gr FMJ
  • Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P GDHP
  • Speer Gold Dot 147gr GDHP

I had also ordered some Freedom Munitions 147gr RN and HP, but it still hasn’t shipped.

See, I did some reading on the FM ammo as it pertains to accuracy. Seems some questions exist, because of the use of plated bullets and then issues of (too much) velocity, crimp, etc. and how that could be a factor. It might be one thing to use plated when you handload, but when its an automated machine cranking them out, consistency may waver. It’s one reason I ordered the 147’s from FM to see how a lower velocity might come into play. Karl ordered some of their match ammo to see how it fares. To be continued…

I used my primary M&P, shooting multiple strings from 25 yards benchrest. I also did some runs of the Rangemaster Bullseye Course.

Summary? While I’d still love to collect more data, it does start to look like the FM may not be as accurate out to distances, compared to all the other ammo I shot. But it’s only a leaning – I’d really want to continue collecting data.

I’ll still happily shoot it, because cost and volume and it’s still generally just fine. But it’s the sort of thing where if I know I’m going to be doing something at longer distances where precision matters (e.g.  having to pass a qualification that will have 25 yard shooting with a tight target, e.g. B-8), I may use another ammo.

Only slightly…only slightly

Do I think guns and ammo played a part in my performance? Yes. But only a small part, like maybe < 5%.

But it’s still 100% on me, because it’s my gun, my ammo, my choices.

Software

This is really where it’s at – me and my skills.

The biggest thing I realized about my class performance was I wasn’t “just shooting”. I was thinking too much, worried too much, concerned about so many things that shouldn’t matter, and not just shooting, not just trusting the (new) level of my ability.

So in my first real range time since class, it was all about shooting the Rangemaster Core Skills. Just shut up and do it cold.

I scored a 108.

That’s the best I’ve shot on it, and I could have broken 110 had I not brain-farted on one string.

I went back in my records. I realize I’ve only shot Core Skills a handful of times. So I put all of my data into a spreadsheet on my iPhone so I could more easily track my times and scores.

First time I shot it? scored an 80, and was dropping points at 15 and 25 yards, plus the 1-handed.

I shot a 97.91 at the Advanced Instructor class, with 197 points and slow times.

This last time was a 191 points and a 35.31 on time.  Note: to get a 125 score, it’s shoot clean (200 points) in 32 seconds.

Seeing all the numbers in a spreadsheet, I could see where things are per string. For sure I’m getting better at longer distances, both in time and accuracy – this makes me VERY happy since it’s where I’ve been putting in a lot of work. I can see where I blow things, e.g. this last run on the “3 chest 2 head” I brain farted and shot 2 then transitioned…DUH…transition back then continue. But the important thing is seeing where I’m improving and where I can continue to improve. Frankly, one cool surprise is watching my WHO improving (going from like 5.31 and dropping shots, to 3.59 clean). Still slow, but better.

But the real big thing? I just shot. I had the pressure of someone else watching me, but I just turned off and performed. A big part? Just trusting – do right, watch the front sight, crush grip the hell out of the gun, press the trigger, move move move, don’t worry about the hits because if you do everything right they will be there. I’ve still got a ways to go, but I’m happy to be identifying my problems so I can work on them.

I did end the day with another run of the drill and blew it – had stupid things happen. A draw and got hung up in my clothing. At 15 yards firing 3 shots and thinking “wait… it’s 4 shots right?” Ed chimes in “it’s 4 shots” – damnit, bang. Or getting ahead of myself on the reload and totally flubbing the whole string. I didn’t bother recording this run. Brain had faded.

My goals? Being able to score 125 on this test, then being able to score at least 125 cold, on-demand, consistently. As well, being able to shoot the Rangemaster Bullseye, cold, on-demand, consistently with at least a 285. I can break 285, just not consistent enough.

Onwards

So the hardware? Whatever. I’ll keep shooting my M&P and my Freedom Munitions, but I cannot deny my SIG 320 interest growing stronger every day.

The software? Continue to work on things: concealment draw, reload, 15-25 yard shooting (esp. now shooting them under time pressures and on smaller targets), SHO & WHO. All the good things.

There’s always a place you can improve.

Experiments

/ hsoi

So I’m out at KR Training today.

Because of some scheduling and carpooling, I have the good fortune of having the morning to do some experimenting and exploration.

Remember my curiousity about my M&P’s? and some ammo wonderings?

Going to go explore. How deep I can explore all depends how things go and how time and the day rolls. But whatever I do, I’ll be reporting.

Stay tuned…

Boobs are not a credential

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

If there’s one thing the Internet has given us, it’s easy access to boobs – and I’m not just talking about breasts.

In the past few days, I experienced three specific incidents that motivated me to write.

First, there was a women advocating “unique” shot placement when using a gun in self-defense… against a woman: aiming for the pelvis, specifically the uterus. You can read the whole thing here (note: Melody Lauer posted, but it’s not Melody advocating this approach). This is terrible advice on many levels (would require its own article to explain, but thankfully you can read the comments on the original posting). Much of the authority for the argument comes from “being female”.

Second, via Facebook’s “someone you follow was tagged” feature, I came across a woman who takes a popular approach towards gaining “likes” and “followers”: showing her boobs; or at least short-shorts, tank-tops, and ample cleavage with the camera angles just right to titillate the viewer. Oh yes, and guns. In one picture, she stands pulling up her shirt ever so slightly, not just to show off her flat stomach, but also the 1911 she carries appendix style. The caption begins with “I get asked what holster I used to conceal carry”, and goes downhill from there. Not only a poor holster choice, but she also proudly exclaims how she doesn’t carry cocked and locked, but maybe sometimes chambered with the hammer down “if walking in a dark alley”. And she further claims that with “training and situational awareness you can still have plenty of time to draw and shoot”. The post continues on with a mixture of good and bad advice – mostly bad. I’m not sure from where she draws her authority, but for sure with thousands of followers, someone is going to listen to her advice.

Third, in a Facebook “discussion” I only saw via screenshot after the fact, a man stated “If you have to shoot, shoot to kill. Dead people can’t take you to court.” This statement was rebutted by none other than Andrew Branca. The original poster then replied telling Andrew that he needed to talk to a lawyer about self defense, that he needed to do some research first, and that he should read self-defense laws. He even suggested the NRA had people Andrew could talk to about this topic. Hrm. I’m not sure where the gentleman received his authority to speak, but maybe he could talk to Andrew.

This isn’t just in the realm of self-defense. Another world I inhabit is fitness: weightlifting, powerlifting, bodybuilding, and such activities. You see it all the time where some “food babe” or dude with “ripped abz” and hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers doles out advice. But upon what authority? What makes them a subject matter expert? Why should people listen to them?

It’s important to vet your sources (including me). There’s nothing wrong with letting people say whatever they want, but YOU need to be pickier about who you listen to and how much weight you give to what they have to say. Why should I listen to this person? What background do they have that makes them an authority and/or subject matter expert (SME)? And does that supposed position actually make the person an SME? For example, many people believe police officers are experts on law and how to shoot, merely because they’re a cop. But the reality is, some are, many aren’t. Vet your sources (including me).

There is nothing wrong with looking at beautiful plumage. We’re animals, and all animals are attracted to beautiful plumage. There are times when plumage is the correct and applicable criterion for the task at hand. But when it comes to matters of your life – be it your health or fitness, or what you do in the gym or for self-defense and how to handle a gun – please… stop looking at the boobs.