Several years back, I took this radiograph on a patient of mine, and I shared it with James Yeager and a few friends in the training community. As luck would have it, the picture and my short narrative, somehow came across Clint Smith’s desk. He shared it through his channels, and before long, this image was all over the interwebs.
Maybe you saw it back then? If you didn’t, let me refresh your memory! This patient came to me, at my dental office, for two reasons (it bears mention at this point that I’m not your regular dentist that does whitening and teaches you how to brush…I mostly address abscesses, rotten teeth, and dental trauma in the Hispanic population of Middle Tennessee) FIRST: he couldn’t open his mouth, and SECOND: he was concerned that whenever he drank water, it came out his nose. Hmm…well, neither of these things is normal, so as is the custom in my office, the patient’s blood pressure and pulse are taken, their medical history is reviewed, and any necessary radiographs are made.
Imagine my surprise when I inquired about the patient’s black eye and small abrasion/laceration beneath his right eye. (In Spanish). “Oh, I got shot.”
“You WHAT?” I exclaimed.
“I got shot in the face. I was minding my own business when a narco hit me with his pistol then shot me. I passed out. I woke up, and decided I needed to get out of there before the narcos realized I was alive. So I got on a few buses and came here, to Nashville.”
After the X-ray, and my clinical exam, it was easy to see what happened. The bullet (a Federal 230 grain Hydrashok) entered the patient’s midface, at a downward angle, and traveled through his maxillary sinus, exiting through the maxillary tuberosity, shattering the first and second molars, and entering his mouth (depositing pieces of jacket along the way), then spiraled through his mouth, into the right mandible, and then fragmented, leaving a large hunk of the jacket entangled just above the substance of his right parotid gland, THEN the remaining core of the projectile went left, further tumbling through his mouth and buccal mucosa, coming to rest in front of the tissue of his left auditory meatus.
So his chief complaints of not being able to open his mouth made sense, since the bullet had effectively, “door chocked,” his jaw from fully opening, mostly due to soft tissue swelling as well as the mechanical presence of the bullet’s core. Also, he had what we call an, “oral antral communication,” meaning the wall between his sinuses in his nose and the space inside of his mouth, were one. Hence, the water when he drinks, coming out his nose.
When this information got out, people said silly things like, “.45…so puny it’ll send the badguys to the dentist!” And other dumb nonsense. But think about this from a defensive gun use perspective (even though THE facts of this case may have been otherwise) where the bullet actually did it’s job! It was delivered to a vital area, did a considerable amount of internal damage, fully deposited all of its energy in the target, and made the recipient lose consciousness, instantly, at least for a indeterminate amount of time (he estimated five minutes or longer). From a civilian self defense perspective, if I was forced to use THAT round delivered to that location, I’d consider that effect, a success! That would give me enough time to run away, call 911, or get to a secure (or more secure area).
Bottom line, handgun projectiles suck at stopping people. But this one, DID, in this instance. It stopped them quite effectively, so much so, that they left the damn country! .45’s aren’t a death ray, but they CAN stop people from doing whatever it was they were doing!
Forgive me for the snarky title. I don’t mean it to be so obtuse sounding, but I feel that the idea of getting a carry permit these days, now that we are in the, “Shall Issue,” era, gives regular people a false sense of confidence in their abilities. EXAMPLE: let’s say that you and your favorite coworkers are standing around the water cooler Monday morning, and debriefing each other on the events of the past weekend. That cut-up from IT, Herbert, is telling everyone about how his ex-girlfriend’s current boyfriend has been threatening him with texts and emails, and telling Herb how he’s going to, “Get what’s coming to him.” Herbert did the right thing…he called the police, filed a harassment complaint, filed for an order of protection from his ex AND her boyfriend, and now, now he’s thinking he needs to get a gun. “I’ll get my carry permit and then I’ll be good to go if Irene’s awful boyfriend, Fritz, decides he’s going to come to my house to kill me.” Oh Herbert, if only it were that easy.
The, “carry permit class,” as it is so commonly called, is exactly that…it’s a state-mandated (READ: devised by politicians) to put a monetary hoop in front of the applicant, and also require them to pass a background check (including fingerprints) and take and pass both a written and practical (shooting) exam to demonstrate minimum proficiency. Just like a, “driver’s test,” that we all had to take to get our driver’s license, that test (nor the driver’s education class) make you a, “good,” driver. If anything, they teach you the basic rules of operation, and remind you that if you hit something with any degree of speed, that you’re going to hurt or kill yourself or someone else. In the permit class, the goal is much the same…keep the fire-hole-end pointed in a safe direction, otherwise you’ll drill a hole in something you didn’t want to, or kill yourself or someone else.
Unfortunately, just like driver’s education and the subsequent driver’s test, that results in a driver’s license doesn’t prepare the novice driver for the rigors and dangers of city traffic, the carry permit class and subsequent written and practical test, doesn’t prepare the novice citizen for the rigors and dangers of defending oneself from human predators. Even if you think it does!
The classroom lecture was taught by a retired OKC Police Officer, Kent Harville. Kent is a Rangemaster Instructor Course graduate, and did a wonderful job of conveying the state mandated material, and intertwining it with a series of relevant stories from his experiences as a law enforcement officer, to bring home his points. It made material that is important to know, yet very dry, interesting. The course was held at the wonderful NASHVILLE ARMORY just off of the freeway (and incidentally, four minutes from my dental practice) of I-65 in Nashville Tennessee. The Nashville Armory has been in business for a few years now, and they run a great, clean, modern facility with a helpful staff, and Kent taught the material with authority.
For the live-fire portion of the class, fifty (50) rounds were fired, in the following course of fire, on a reduced size (half size) B-27 type target. If the entire, “X-ring,” was shot away, the winner would get a prize:
3 yards: 10 rounds on the fire command from the low ready
5 yards: 10 rounds on the fire command from the low ready
7 yards: 10 rounds on the fire command from the low ready
5 yards: 10 rounds on the fire command from the low ready
3 yards: 10 rounds on the fire command from the low ready
Not a difficult course of fire, by any means. I shot the X ring away, but wouldn’t you know it, when the target was reeled in and laid flat, a tiny piece of the, “red,” x ring was still present, having been creased and folded over by the 9mm Federal ball I was shooting. Next time, when doing the old, “Shoot away the red,” carnival trick, I’ll bring a wheelgun and some wadcutters. That red will never know what hit it.
Going over the notes I took in the class, I gleaned the following:
Revolvers…the instructor summed them up as, “Simple, but not easy.” He said that they can be used by most anyone, however, they are not the ideal choice for beginners, especially in the Airweight or Scandium/Titanium configurations, because they are so abusive to the shooter
The Golden Saber, .357 Magnum 125 Grain Jacketed Hollowpoint is a winner. It shoots flat, and the recoil is managable in stainless steel guns.
The course of fire gives a false sense of security (because it is really easy) ALTHOUGH it DOES cover the range(s) at which MOST civilian self-defense shootings occur, that is, 3-7 yards (about the length of a car)
The course (via a recorded DVD presentation) spent more time talking about the effects of alcohol and drugs on human physiology than it did on the principles of marksmanship. This is unfortunate.
I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right…I ALREADY HAVE a Tennessee Handgun Carry Permit.
TAKE HOME:
A permit class isn’t training…a permit class isn’t practice. A permit class is the bare minimum information that state bureaucrats think you need to be able to safely load, unload and carry a pistol, in legal locations, in the state in which you reside. If you want to actually LEARN how to use that gun, you’re going to need training. You don’t have to look far on this site to find great places to train, that will actually prepare you for what you will really encounter on the streets and parking lots of America. Even if you think you, “know all there is to know,” about defensive pistolcraft, shooting under the supervision of a competent instructor who can see things you cannot, relative to technique, is invaluable. I highly recommend you seek out competent instruction…getting the, “paper,” is just a legal hoop you have to jump through!
TOP-JM CUSTOM KYDEX AIWB CLIP holster for the 2-3″ K frame Smith & Wesson. BOTTOM The Keepers Custom Kydex ERRAND for the Smith & Wesson Shield 9mm
These days, you can’t throw a stick without hitting six Kydex holster makers. And that’s anywhere…go to a gun show or a gun trade show and that same stick will hit fifteen. In a world of seemingly cloned look-alike holsters, the two makers I’m talking about here have really distinguished themselves. I’m a huge fan of both of their products.
No surprise to anyone who notices my contrarian bent, but I like to put revolvers in Kydex holsters. Do revolvers carried in Kydex exhibit finish wear quicker than when worn in leather holsters? YES. I don’t really worry about finish wear tremendously. Most guns these days have coatings that retard rusting, and since I use the same gun(s), they get enough preventative maintenance to keep the rust monster at bay. Besides, I use my guns enough, that they get finish wear even being carried in a leather holster! (ANYTHING rubbing on metal will cause finish wear. It just happens and is a function of how much you use/wear your gun and holster) Down here in the South, the weather can get downright sweaty and uncomfortable, and leather holsters do retain moisture. That moisture can get to the finish of the pistol. Kydex isn’t immune to moisture; Kydex holsters will still aggregate sweat and they will also condensate, but they can be quickly wiped dry. Leather has to air dry, which, also speeds holster wear.
What else do I like about Kydex? It requires almost no maintenance. Blow the dust bunnies out of it every few weeks. Wipe it off if it gets dirty or wet. The mouth of a kydex holster doesn’t collapse when you try and reholster your pistol. You can cinch the heck out of your belt, and you won’t smash a Kydex holster down to the point you cannot reholster. Some of my favorite leather IWB’s (Leather Arsenal DDCS and Milt Sparks SS2) WILL lose the capability of the steel reinforcement to keep the mouth of the rig open, under belt pressure, just with time and use. If you train outside, and you’re in the sweaty South, this leather, “wear in,” doesn’t take long. Eventually, the gun cannot be simply returned to the mouth of the empty holster; it has to be twisted or, “sawn,” into place. If you’ve ever had to reholster under stress, you know the last thing you need to be worrying about is getting your pistol safely stowed in an expedient manner. With Kydex, reholstering is easy.
What doesn’t Kydex do well? My old buddy Paul Gomez was a fan of leather IWB holsters, particularly non-boned versions, because he liked to have the maximum amount of leather possible contacting both the pistol itself, AND the body of the wearer. In pressure testing (READ: when two consenting adults put on inert/sims guns in holsters, and sometimes a FIST helmet, and try to beat the stuffing out of each other and shoot each other with the other guy’s gun) Gomez demonstrated the effectiveness of leather over Kydex in defeating gun grabs (disarm) attempts. Kydex DOES draw easier and quicker though. The retention capabilities can largely be remedied through preparation and training, as well as having effective fighting skills to foil the disarm attempt in the first place.
So why holster a revolver in a piece of plastic? The combination of convenience, draw speed, accessibility, and corrosion resistance make Kydex a good choice for an in-extremis personal defense revolver. Tony Mayer at JM Custom Kydex makes some of the most innovative gear around, and unlike many makers, he will bend Kydex around a WHEELGUN for all the Old Heads like me, that still put mileage on their revolvers. Tony offers a revolver variant for nearly all his holsters. Drop him an email if you have an odd barrel length or frame, but he can accommodate all new and old Smith products, as well as the current catalog of Ruger revolvers.
What about the clip? Clip on holsters have a checkered past. Twenty years ago, a clip-on holster was guaranteed to do one thing well…and that was sell at the local gunshop. They didn’t stay, “clipped,” to anything, and were almost certainly going to be attached to the business end of the gun when drawn under stress. I first became aware of the type of holster clip pictured above, when I received my ERRAND from Spencer Keepers. I wear a thick (nearly 1/4″) leather gun belt, when I wear chinos, jeans, or shorts, and that clip holds that belt like the two were welded together. However, it’s easily removed if necessary. The ERRAND even has small serrations on the mouth of the clip, that allow it to work with althletic shorts, scrubs, or for women that wear leggings or yoga pants, all sans belt. So let go of any security fears…the holster isn’t moving. Craig Douglas has tested the holsters with his students in his rigorous ECQC curriculum, and the rigs have stood up to the abuse, clips intact.
One last thing…noise. Many opponents of Kydex talk about the noise. Noise of reholstering, noise of drawing, and such. For regular civilian everyday people like me, this isn’t a concern. Our pistol is a reactive instrument…so if we are drawing, we are reacting to a real threat. The Kydex, “snuck-thunk,” noise isn’t going to matter much since it will probably be immediately followed by one or more gunshots. Nobody will notice the noise. And conversely, nobody will notice the noise when you reholster, either. If anything, the audible and palpable, “click,” of the pistol seating into its home position in the holster, should be reassurance to the user that the weapon is now secure, and safely stowed. So allay your fears and concerns, and embrace the fantastic plastic, to house your round guns!
JM Custom Kydex: http://www.jmcustomkydex.com/
Keepers Custom Kydex, THE ERRAND: http://keepersconcealment.com/shop/
Milt Sparks Holsters: http://www.miltsparks.com/
The Leather Arsenal (Elmer McEvoy):
27549 Middleton Road Middleton, ID 83644 Phone: (208) 585-6212
$40 for these sights…versus up to $160 for some versions of today’s popular night sights. That’s a lot of ammo.
If you’re a regular reader of my musings here, you already know that I am a Tom Givens believer. There is a simple reason for this…Tom’s material works. His lectures are relevant to the Regular Guy Civilian; folks just like me (and probably you). His live fire courses tell you everything you need to know, that is, what you are MOST likely to encounter on the street. There is no secret squirrel night vision component, nor fast-rope shoot house class. I’ve read all of the books Tom has produced over the past 35 years, and most of the articles he has written. His material all has a common core of relevance, yet the work has evolved to adapt to the continuously fluid nature of the criminal (and now terrorist) threat that regular citizens will indubitably encounter, at some point in their daily lives.
At the 2016 Rangemaster Polite Society Tactical Conference, Tom gave a classroom lecture covering low light tips and techniques. One of the big points he made in the talk was for students to take the money that they would spend on night sights, and instead use that money on ammunition for practice (this idea of emphasizing true economy, is pervasive throughout Tom’s philosophy…in summation, “Spend your resources on the things you are most likely to encounter or need”). Some smart mouth in the back is going to say, “But what about the zombie holocaust, national terrorist invasion, etc?” The scenarios won’t change…just the participants! If the world falls apart, people will still need to be on guard from the four chief types of interpersonal, “parking lot violence,” (AKA, “Street Crime”) like robbery, rape, road rage and respect (meaning you looked at someone wrong and now they will attempt to harm or kill you in retaliation so that they don’t lose face in front of their peer group). And, as always, raiders coming into your home uninvited will always be raiders, regardless of their undead status or their mode of dress. Thus, your civilian mission won’t change in the face of any global disaster!
Tom carries a Glock 35 with metal sights on it, and the front sight is painted with bright red/orange paint. He does this for severals reasons, but the chief reason being that in the 60 plus defensive shootings his students have been involved in, the lighting (or lack of lighting) was a factor in the outcome in exactly ZERO cases. Also, bright orange (or whatever color you prefer) sights are simply easier to see, and as we age, the contrasting color only helps more. Tom attributes the false urgency for night sights on defensive guns to the often misquoted crime statistics that are summarized as, “MOST violent crimes occur at night.” The statistics ACTUALLY show that violent crimes most often occur during the hours of darkness, which is 6 PM to 6 AM. Just because it is 2 AM, it isn’t necessarily dark! Tom said, “There have been times where I have seen my sights clearer at 3 AM outside of a well-lit gas station than I have at 3 PM on an overcast day.”
To visually illustrate and demonstrate Tom’s point, I took a facsimile of Tom’s carry piece, a Glock 34 (I don’t own a 35), with metal Sevigny type sights on it, with the front sight painted red, and I took (just the slide) to various locations I frequent regularly, where there is less than optimal lighting, to evaluate if I could see my sights clearly enough to deliver gunfire precisely, at common defensive-gun-use distances. The following pictorial demonstrates the effectiveness of painted, metal sights in less-than-ideal, yet commonly encountered lighting conditions.
This is about as bad a view as I could get with the sights. The thing is, even with tritium vials, when you aim in on a BRIGHT target, with dark behind you, the sights get washed out, and just look like a black bump on the slide, whether they have tritium or not. Something to think about.
15 yard target showing the great accuracy capability of this mean little bastard.
I am a Ruger LCR fan. When Ruger first released these guns, I rented one at my favorite range, and was impressed by the gun’s easy handling, and very usable sights. It was very light for its size; a good deal lighter than the 442/642 Smiths I was accustomed to using.
That grip though. I get it…gun designers aren’t necessarily gun users, and what looks good in AUTOCAD doesn’t always work as awesomely in real life. For the applications I use a small revolver, I expect them to work well in the following roles:
Appendix carry IWB. As a deep cover primary, or as a, “gym carry,” gun when wearing shorts
Pocket carry. For the rare occasion when I need to wear a thick jacket, and carry in an external pocket
Ankle carry. Where my snubs spend most of their time. If I need my revolver when it’s on my ankle, I need it now. Whether it’s a transition from my primary, or a grab (accessibility issue) while I’m seated or driving my truck, I need the machine in my hand NOW. A more hooked grip helps with that motion.
To do what I need the revolver to do, the, “hook,” shape of the grip is a big plus. I have big hands, and getting my hand into a pocket, and wrap it around a gun, takes space. If the gun is hook shaped, that helps. The hook analogy works well for the ankle and AIWB roles, too. If you need to draw, you need that gun now, not later. Unfortunately, the LCR in stock configuration, has the grip profile of a semi colon…it’s nearly vertical. Which means that it is closer to the belt line when carried AIWB, and in the pocket, there isn’t much room for the stock, and the hand. The grab to the grip is hasty and unsure.
One of my mentors, Tom Givens, is a fan of the Eagle Secret Service grips on his Colt Cobra. I noticed the profile of the Colt stocks and the Ruger LCR stocks were similar in Eagle’s photos, so I figured it was worth the investment. The stocks look awesome and feel great…until you start shooting. That rosewood transmits the recoil impact to the base of the thumb like a tack hammer! No bueno. And yes, I know these guns are supposed to be, “Carried much and shot little,” but I like to shoot regularly, especially the guns I hang my family’s well being on, so I want something that I can actually use. So, as you can imagine, the search continues!
This gun is every Steampunk kid’s dream. I’m looking forward to finding some stocks I love for this revolver.
The great gunfighter, and Father of the Smith and Wesson Model 19, Bill Jordan, wrote in his book, “No Second Place Winner,” that if given his choice, he would always pick his Model 19 as his weapon-of-choice for nearly any task. He was of the belief that if you had a Model 19, and you were legendary with it, like he was, you could procure any other equipment you would need… Interesting thought. Like the old saying goes, “Always fear the one-gun-man (He probably knows how to use it)”.
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. Since there is such an expanse of preserved nature there, many other folks and I out that way enjoy hiking in the hills and mountains of Washington State. A few times a year, in the areas where I lived, people would spot a mountain cat of some type. These animals would wander into town, with a voracious appetite. Or, a pack of medium sized, but wily coyotes would terrorize an area, and devour house cats, or maul/kill dogs. At the time, I didn’t have the finances to purchase anything specifically well suited for killing large predators, so I generally used my duty gun, a Smith 681, in a shoulder holster, loaded with the heaviest .357 Magnum loads I could find. And, as was the custom in the area, I kept a Remington 870 loaded with slugs in the truck. I’d keep it handy at the campsite and when out on the trails, since the repellent effect of Brenneke rifled slugs on most anything that breathes, is well known.
Now, after living in Tennessee for 11 years, I’ve learned the South has it’s own brand of predatory critters. Namely black bears and feral hogs. Who’d have thought that a giant pig could be hazardous! So, when I decided that I would explore the woodlands of Tennessee, I figured that a non-long gun solution (since there are tourists out here that freak at the sight of a long gun) was needed. Thus, I procured a Ruger Redhawk in .44 Magnum, with a 5.5″ barrel. The heavy frame of the Redhawk makes the heavy .44 Magnum loads tolerable, at least for a few dozen rounds. The OEM grips are a slightly enlarged version of the Ruger Security Six series, and they are reminiscent of the stocks on an old single action revolver. They tend to, “eat,” at the middle finger of the firing hand, and that makes shooting get uncomfortable after a bit. Sure, you can wear a glove or put duct tape on your hand, but I generally don’t do that. I tried out a number of after-market grip solutions for the Redhawk, but I never found anything that I really liked that well. The Pachmayr product was ill fitting, the Hogue grip was HUGE, and I didn’t really fiddle with anything else after two disappointments in a row. So, I thought that there had to be a better, more ergonomic, and portable solution out there.
Enter the Smith & Wesson Model 69. Built on the venerable, “L frame,” and preceded in history by the Model 586/686 and 581/681 and their various variants, the L frame was a Police and Security favorite from the time it was introduced on the market in 1980. Throughout the years, various gunsmiths experimented with the L frame, producing hybrid guns in 9mm, and even reboring some guns to work with the .44 Magnum’s rare cousin, the .41 Magnum. Later, Smith & Wesson introduced a .44 Special version of the L-frame, that looked like a beefed up version of the Smith Bodyguard. So, in 2014, Smith decided it was time to dust off the old L frame, and make a highly portable, easy to shoot, 4.25″ barreled, 5 shot L frame, and call it the, “Combat Magnum.” I saw one at my local gun shop, and slapped down my debit card immediately. Yes, it sounded kind of tinny when I dry-pressed it, and yes, the barrel isn’t monolithic…it’s a tube screwed into a steel sleeve, and yes it had that ridiculous lock on it, but I didn’t care. I also bought two boxes of .44 Magnum (240 grain hollow points) and set out onto the range to make some noise.
The revolving pistol worked as advertised. It shot to the sights with the heavy .44 Magnums (and I found out later, also with 200 grain .44 Special Gold Dots). The recoil was about the same as any other .44 Magnum I had fired, and not uncomfortable. The factory OEM stocks were comfortable, but not perfect. They could be squeezed to the point that they would spread at the backstrap. Not a deal breaker, but not perfect. The stocks also didn’t have much cushion on the backstrap, so I could definitely feel the, “oomph,” of the recoil transmit to my hand. After 100 rounds, I was ready for a break and some dinner.
Although I don’t find myself anymore in the situation where I have to use, “one gun,” to do most anything, I run these thought experiments for the benefit of others, and for the simple reason that someday, I might become a total nomad dentist, and set out on adventure, a la Indiana Jones, in which case, I may have just one gun to rely on for protection from both man and beast, and also for food harvesting capability, on medium to large game, throughout North America. The Smith 69 could work for that. Just like it’s older cousin, the J frame, the Model 69 is limited by its meager five shot ammo capacity. However, unlike the J frame, the Model 69 can handle some of the heaviest, fastest, most effective game ammo made. Buffalo Bore produces .44 Magnum ammo in anti-personnel, and game hunting ammunition. Several of the hunting rounds have penetration depths that are measured in feet. Guaranteed to perforate and shoot through most unarmored human targets, but effective against the thick hide, muscle and bone of many dangerous animals. The excellent Speer 200 grain Gold Dot Hollowpoint is available in a mild .44 Special loading, and delivers penetration and tissue destruction on par with other large caliber Gold Dot loadings. The recoil is mild and very workable for self-defense purposes, where fast follow up shots are often required. So, by only changing the ammunition in the gun, the performance capabilities of the .44 Magnum can be fully appreciated and utilized for a variety of tasks.
Those nickel plated cases of the Speer Gold Dot. The Gold Dot is nearly considered a universal in the self-defense world. It works well on most human attackers, in virtually every caliber it is available in. (Did you know that Speer even offers a Gold Dot loading in the old .30 Carbine?) These are the Ahrend’s Retro Combat K/L round to Square Butt conversion grips. They look and feel great, but they beat the webbing of the hand up with heavy loads. This is the Hogue, rubber mono-grip, but in the, “K/L round to square butt conversion,” style grip, sans finger grooves. It is a comfortable grip, but a bit sticky for concealment purposes. If you are going to carry this puppy concealed, I would dumb the grip texture down a hair, to make it less adherent to the cover garment. Close up of the ball bearing lock at the crane, which confers more strength to the operating mechanism, which helps lengthen the service life of this medium/large, LARGE bore revolving pistol.
The sights, trigger, cylinder release and lock are all contrasting black, MIM parts. This accounts for the, “tinny,” sound when dry-practicing with this gun. The topstrap here isn’t thin. After firing several hundred rounds over the course of a weekend, no undue wear was noted in the area of the forcing cone, or the topstrap. Other, lighter build .44 Magnums have suffered from flame-cutting issues into the topstrap of the revolvers. Granted, this is early on in the life of the gun, but it’s still going strong today.
I’m a fan of the, “Roper,” type grips on revolvers, for general use and concealment. Yes, they DO tend to beat up the user a bit more than their rubber counterparts, but they wear admirably, and they feel good in the hand. They also conceal well since they don’t grab the cover garment that conceals them. The aforementioned Redhawk, which looks like an absolute pig beast compared to the sveldt lines of the Model 69. I worked a BK grip adapter into this gun, and later found an old K frame Tyler adapter on Ebay to put onto this gun, to reduce the amount of skin I’d lose off of my middle finger on my firing hand when touching off the heavy duty CADILLAC STOPPERS that this gun was designed to handle. Big fun, and I hope that I don’t have arthritis in the future from all of that, “fun.”
Mark Luell of, “Growing Up Guns,” (left) Darryl Bolke (middle) and myself (right), at the 2016 RANGEMASTER Polite Society Tactical Conference.
As I’ve already written about in the past few posts, I recently attended the RANGEMASTER Polite Society Tactical Conference. One class I attended there was presented by Darryl Bolke of Hardwired Tactical Shooting, from Dallas TX. The lecture was entitled, “The Secrets of Highly Successful Gunfighters.”
Darryl talked about the legendary lawmen, of both the distant and recent past. Some of these men had been his mentors, and he made careful notes of the skills he observed these men to have in common. A common thread through all of these men was their capability to deliver extremely accurate fire, under the threat and pressure of tense situations AND/OR incoming gunfire! Having the ability to deliver, on demand, gunshots to either the fist-sized vital zone of the upper chest, or the fist-sized vital zone of the head, are the only predictable ways to cease violent or homicidal human behavior, with pistol projectiles, regardless of caliber.
Darryl also noticed that this unique group of men tended to spend their time in extensive dry-practice (which he uses instead of the term, “dry-fire,” for obvious reasons) live-fire practice on the range, AND in accuracy-intensive competition like NRA Bullseye or PPC matches. If you’re wondering where I’m going with this, it’s that this unique sample group definitely subscribed to the, “accuracy FIRST,” ideal, and it served them well.
Unfortunately, gents like the aforementioned group don’t (or cannot) exist in law enforcement these days due to our hyper-sensitive, politically correct world. Habitual gunfight survivors are cycled out of their duty positions, and modern law enforcement officers simply cannot accrue the body of experience and success that officers of past generations could, and did. Not to denigrate past or current generations of law enforcement officers, but, “They just CAN’T make them like they used to!” In the civilian/armed self-defense world, two gunfighters that stick out in my mind, are Lance Thomas of Santa Monica CA, who successfully defended his high-end watch shop from multiple armed robbers on several occasions, and Second Chance Body Armor inventor (and former pizza delivery driver) Richard Davis, who was also the victor in robbery attempts against multiple armed suspects. I’m sure that there are others, but most victims of serial robberies change their vocation, or at least their location, after having experienced multiple existential threats.
Unfortunately, I missed Darryl’s range block that covered shooting drills relative to his lecture, because my match shooting time ran over due to previous shooters having some kind of conundrum. But I took notes on what I could overhear coming off of the range!
Any of my eleven regular readers knows that I’m a big fan of Claude Werner, AKA The Tactical Professor. Claude (no coincidence) is also a believer in the 100% accuracy club. Below is a baseline performance drill Claude came up with, that has also been used by Super-Cop Greg Ellifritz from Active Response Training, as outlined here, on his blog.
THE TACTICAL PROFESSOR BASELINE PERFORMANCE DRILL (the goal, is 100% accuracy) Claude originally posted this drill here, which I have bold printed in a direct copy, for your enjoyment:
“The objective of this drill is to determine what distance you can make 100 percent hits on the vital area of a silhouette target. My feeling is that we need to work on achieving 100 percent accuracy because errant rounds in our homes or neighborhoods could be a major problem. Since I also think the first shot is the most important, I structured the session with a lot of first shots but also included multi-shot strings. A lot of people ‘walk their rounds’ into the target even with handguns. This is a huge problem and liability.
We don’t count hits on the head in this drill because they are actually misses if you are aiming at the body. The head is more than a foot away from the center of the body, if you hit the head when you’re aiming at the body, it’s just a lucky shot and doesn’t count in terms of performance measurement.”
Required equipment:
Any silhouette target; B-27, B-21, Q, IDPA, IPSC, etc.
Masking tape (preferred) or magic marker to mark the target.
Pistol, 50 rounds of ammunition
Eye and ear protection
Overview
This drill consists of five (5) Sequences of 10 shots each. The Sequences are untimed.
Setup:
Place target at three (3) yards
Start loaded with five (5) rounds only.
Procedure:
The starting position is Low Ready. This means the pistol is aimed at the floor below the target. For double action pistols, you will decock after each Step.
Sequence 1 (10 rounds)
1) Start with handgun held in both hands, aimed at the floor below the target. Spare magazine loaded with 5 rounds or speedloader with 5 rounds or 5 loose rounds on the bench.
2) Bring the pistol up on target and fire 1 shot at the center of target. Followthrough for one second, then return to low ready. Decock, if appropriate.
3) Bring the pistol up on target and fire 2 shots at the center of target. Followthrough for one second, then return to low ready. Decock.
4) Bring the pistol up on target and fire 3 shots at the center of target. After two shots, the pistol will be out of ammunition. Reload it and fire the third shot. Followthrough for one second, then return to low ready. Decock.
5) Bring the pistol up on target and fire 4 shots at the center of target. After the shots, the pistol will be out of ammunition. Hopefully, the slide has locked back if it’s an autoloader.
6) Place your pistol down on the bench.
7) Bring your target back and mark all the hits, preferably with tape but a marker will do.
8) Write on the target how many hitsyou made in the body scoring area. I prefer to not count the outer scoring area as I mentioned in Why I hate the -3 zone. Use this format, (3) X/10, X being the number of hits. For this drill, do not count any hits in the head, they are actually misses.
Sequence 2 (10 rounds)
1) Send the target out to 5 yards.
2) Repeat Sequence 1 but with the target at 5 yards instead of 3 yards.
3) When you write on the target how many hits you made in the scoring area, it will be (5) X/10. The number in parenthesis is the distance in yards.
Sequence 3 (10 rounds)
1) Send the target out to 7 yards.
2) Repeat Sequence 1 with the target at 7 yards.
3) Write on the target how many hits you made at 7 yards. (7) X/10
Sequence 4 (10 rounds)
1) Send the target out to 10 yards.
2) Repeat Sequence 1 with the target at 10 yards.
3) Write on the target how many hits you made at 10 yards. (10) X/10
Sequence 5 (10 rounds)
4) Send the target out to 15 yards.
5) Repeat Sequence 1 with the target at 15 yards.
6) Write on the target how many hits you made at 15 yards. (15) X/10
“When you finish the drill, record your score for each yardage. Make this a part of your practice record. Shooting this exercise will give you a good idea of what your current proficiency level is. That’s an important starting point.”
Well, in the spirit of scientific inquiry, and since some of you like software, and some of you like hardware (and I love you all) I thought that I would run this baseline evaluation test with several guns and make sure that I’m using the guns I should be! I used a paper version of the IDPA target, and I counted anything outside of the (-0) AKA, “down zero,” which is an 8″ diameter circle in the mid/upper chestal region of the target. I added an additional record to the scoring, which is the total number of rounds that actually went onto the bad guy, in even the -1 or -3 areas. You’ll notice in the photo sequence:
This is my ankle gun. A Smith and Wesson Model 640; one of the first ones made in .357 Magnum (although I carry .38’s in it). I dumped one shot out of the down zero at 15 yards, but all of the others were right there. Ammo was 130 grain ball. I plan to do this same test, with 135 grain GDHP (my carry load) in the immediate future. This one wears Uncle Mike’s Boot Grips, which are my favorite J frame grip, ever. They are a rubber copy of the Craig Spegel design, and the latest runs of J frames from the factory feature a rip off/not quite version of these. However, I find the old ones to be the best balance between recoil absorption, grip in the hand, and fabric grab on the overlying cover garment. And they get a nice patina to them after they’ve been buffed by a pant leg for a number of years.
This is my EDC understudy, a S&W M&P 9mm Full size. My carry M&P has Trijicon HD’s, which have a, “drive the dot,” POI. This pistol has Warren Tactical Sights, with the front dot, and I spent a bit of time during the test figuring out at distance if my POI was at the top edge of the sight, or under the dot. I will investigate this further…
This is a, “new to me,” Glock 19 with Heinie Slant Pro sights (in the TOM GIVENS configuration…that is, black sights, with the front blade painted red). Again, I did some fiddling with the POI on this, and as you can see by the vertical stringing, I think I eventually got it nailed down. I marked this 49/50, but when you zoom in and look, the shot actually broke the line, so it really, I suppose, counts.
There are a lot of 1911 fans in the world, and I’m not mad at them. They are a flat, easy to carry gun. I got this particular version as an Undergraduate gift from my Mother. It is a Springfield Armory Custom shop gun. The sliding trigger takes some getting used to after shooting striker fired guns extensively, however if I don’t get jittery, it works great. It runs well, too. This was fired with 230 grain PMC ball, however this particular gun will feed Speer Gold Dot HP’s.
I included this Glock 21 as an homage to my friend Greg Ellifritz, who carries this behemoth on duty. Despite my Size 12 gloves and long fingers, this thing is BIG. I’ve never figured out why that wisp of a man, Rayland Givens carries this huge-ass gun, on JUSTIFIED (the prop guy is probably a Shrek-sized Ogre). This is a First Gen Glock 21 with a conservative home-stipple job. This particular version has old-skool Trijicon night sights on it, which to me, I find really distracting with the BIG white circles around the rear tritium lamps. If I were going to use this gun for serious purposes (and MORE practice) I would dumb down the rear vials with a red Sharpie, and hit the front sight with red nail polish, to really make it pop. It’s easy to forget how, “high,” sights have become in modern times, compared to the old Meprolight and Trijicon offerings of the 90’s. These suckers are LOW. I think that they still offer these types of sights in modern times, but with higher profile sights around, and nobody’s eyes aging in reverse, higher profile makes better sense.
In summary, precision fire from 3, 5, 7 and 10 yards isn’t particularly difficult. Where the rubber truly meets the road for ME, is at 15 and 25 yards. At those longer distances, I really have to slow down, lock into that front sight and get a smooth press to send the projectile into the desired terminus. Botch any one of those segments, and the shot goes wide. Seems simple enough! But alas, as anyone who has hammered on this stuff for hours/days/months/years, “Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear, well, he eats you!” Luckily for folks like me, the lone, armed citizen, shots that long are rare (albeit not unheard of!). Try this drill, see how you fare, especially with your carry guns. And if you have a gun in your safe that you shoot BETTER than your carry gun, maybe look closer at WHY you made that choice. If you aren’t under any kind of work constraint or regulation to carry a specific sidearm, consider changing to something that you can produce 100% accuracy and thus 100% accountability with. And remember the ways of the past masters…as Larry Vickers says in his classes, “Speed is fine, but accuracy is FINAL!” Thanks for reading!
After running this Remington 870 Wingmaster through a block of Tom Givens’ Defensive Shotgun course, I made a few simple changes to the gun, to allow me to run it better. Tom mentioned these modifications in the course, and I did them over the past week. Total investment? $310.00 and that’s in US dollars. A workable, high quality solution doesn’t need to cost $2100.
THING ONE: I ditched the OEM magazine cap with the integrated sling loop, and the OEM magazine tube spring and cheap plastic follower. I replaced the cap, spring and follower with a unit from Wilson Combat/Scattergun Technologies. This magazine, “extension,” allows one more round to fit into the magazine, for a total of five rounds. I leave it loaded with four rounds, to allow the spring to have a bit more, “oomph,” instead of leaving it fully loaded. I keep it, “cruiser ready,” with a loaded magazine tube, hammer down (action unlocked), and the safety off. If I need it, I can pick it up, rack a round in and fire. WHY NOT A LONGER EXTENSION TUBE, YOU ASK? I’m not convinced that the longer tube is the way to go…they are basically unprotected, and hang out underneath the gun where they are susceptible to dents and dings. Dent one deep enough, and you can prevent the follower from traversing the tube, unimpeded, as it should. I’d hate to turn my repeating shotgun into a manually operated (albeit a fast one) single shot weapon. The basic bead works well for me. I do have other guns that have ghost ring, rifle sights, or express sights, but the longest shot in our home is 15 yards. The bead accomplishes that shot at that range, with a minimum of fidgeting, or alignment. If you have a good cheek weld, the bead is right on what will get clobbered when the trigger is pressed. So while advanced sights have their place, until I amass enough wealth to purchase Wayne Manor, the basic bead will work fine.
THING TWO: Five round nylon/elastic shell strip, attached with heavy duty Velcro to the right side of the stock. This configuration gives me 9 rounds in/on the gun, which should be MORE than enough ammo to statistically handle ANY civilian-context threat. This wood stock came from the factory, with a 14″ length of pull. Awhile back, I had Taylor Mock at the Texas Brigade Armory shorten the stock, and refit the recoil pad, to give a total length of pull of 12″. Don’t freak out tall folks…you can still use this length stock, easily. So can your smaller family members.
THING THREE: Federal Flite Control, “Personal Defense,” OO Buckshot. I bought a bunch of this ammunition. It is my new, “go-to,” round. It runs in whatever guns I’ve tried it in, and turns in patterns that I previously thought were only possible with a Vang Comp type modification. Pretty great. The flight control wad makes keeping 9 out of 9 pellets on the bad guy at 25 yards easy. Each of those 9 projectiles MUST be accounted for in a defensive shooting, and keeping them closer to each other, and on the target, makes that easier. You might win the battle, but lose the war, if you effectively down the bad guy, but have an errant pellet hit a family member or a neighbor.
THING FOUR: WHAT, NO LIGHT? In short, no. While I DO have a Surefire forend in my gear box for an 870, I don’t have it mounted on this home defense shotgun. Your experience and opinion may vary, but here’s mine. Surefire forends were designed for law enforcement use. Law enforcement officers find themselves in situations where they need to search for a bad guy inside a structure, or outdoors in low light. I keep my carry handgun, and flashlight available to address situations like a, “bump,” in the night. My family loves in a multi floor, loft type of dwelling, with 180 degrees of floor to ceiling windows. Even with the blinds down, there is still enough ambient light to be able to see well. A flashlight would absolutely confirm the identity of the noise/intruder. With my flashlight, I can illuminate said disturbance, then decide if a firearm solution is necessary. WITH THE SHOTGUN, I cannot illuminate the target and decide if a firearm solution is required…BECAUSE WITH THE INTEGRATED LIGHT, THAT’S ALREADY BEING DONE! With the flashlight/pistol combo, I still have the option to electively point the gun at the possible bad guy. With the shotgun/light system, I do not.
ALSO, my shotgun fits into my home defense system like this: the shotgun is placed in the safe room, where all the occupants of our home will retreat to, in the event of an emergency. If we are behind the door, shotgun at the ready, anyone that forcibly kicks down the door isn’t there to offer us foot massages…in that case, there would be enough light to see that the behemoth that just kicked the door down isn’t Aunt Edna looking for the last of the Girl Scout Thin Mints! Their intent/ability/opportunity to cause grave bodily injury or death to me and my family will be obvious. THE POLICE can brandish/point guns at people that they do not know, or who occupy areas where calls for service have been made to. That’s part of their job…if you’re a good guy in a building where a bad guy is known to be, and the police are searching for him, you WILL get guns pointed at you. Civilians, cannot do that. Sure, you could make the argument that The Castle Doctrine will protect you if someone is an unauthorized party in your own home, but how often are the circumstances, “THAT,” apparent? The chance of a negative outcome, SEEM to be much greater when guns are pointed at questionable/unidentifued threats. So for me, adequate ambient lighting is a good thing, and having a search light separate from the weapon is, too.
CONCLUSION: There is a strange cognitive error that occurs in the civilian defense industry lately. Regular folks look at military and law enforcement equipment and techniques, and then adopt them, prima facie, without considering that the mission of the police, the military and the civilian is EACH a completely unique proposition. There is little overlap between the three missions.
One area of pure overlap is in ammunition selection. I’ve heard Tom Givens, Massad Ayoob and other instructors say that using the same caliber, brand/weight ammunition as the local police force can be a wise move. Here, the purpose of the civilian and the LE antipersonnel ammunition is the same…accurately fire projectiles that will quickly stop a bad guy from causing any further harm, with as few rounds as possible. If you’re being attacked at a gas station by a man demanding your cash and keys with a switchblade held inches from your face, and you shoot him, and he drops the knife and runs away, you’ve accomplished your mission. IF YOU WERE THE POLICE, and the same scenario occurred (hey, nobody said crooks were smart) that would just be the start of your mission, as now the bad guy has to be apprehended. But, as Joe civilian, your part is done. Thus, the ammunition commonality analogy makes sense. The choice of carry pistol could also carry over from LE circles, if one is willing to carry a full-size/G19 or G23 size gun.
The analogy falls apart when the conclusion of, “The local Police carry M4’s loaded with Hornady TAP ammo for active killer threats in the trunk of their squad cars, therefore I, the friendly neighborhood dentist SHOULD ALSO keep an M4 in my trunk, to better prepare for active killer threats!” While a Police patrolman might very well interdict a bad guy trying to hack up patrons of a second-run movie theatre with his M4, the more likely scenario for the civilian user is that the M4 would be stolen from my unattended vehicle, and then end up in the bad guy’s hands. Since the majority of the guns that are taken FROM badguys ARE in fact stolen, it makes good sense for us, the citizen sentinels to keep them out of their hands, as well as we can. So, while the missions are different, the context of equipment utilization can overlap, but it doesn’t, automatically. Be wary, be wise, be safe.
I work in one of the most violent, ethnically diverse areas of Nashville, TN. Everyday, an assortment of crimes take place within earshot of my dental practice. If you lived in an area that rained everyday, you’d always have an umbrella handy, to keep as dry as possible. Conversely, since I work in an area that is physically hazardous, I pack appropriately.
I’ve been carrying a gun as a private citizen for 20 years now, and I spent several of those years carrying in an official capacity as an armored truck guard. I’m, “over,” the allure of whatever is the latest and greatest carry pieces; even with the occasional test gun/experimentation, I always end up coming back to the old standards (what you see in the picture). I have an EDC (Smith M&P 9mm FS), an EDC BUG (Smith 640), and a gym/lounge/check the mail/let the dog out gun (Smith 442). If I go to a place for work where my compatriots will all be using Glock 19’s (or 17’s), I’ll sub out my M&P for the 19. The commonalities between the two pistols overlap enough that the learning curve isn’t difficult to overcome with a short dry-practice/draw refresher. The revolvers work exactly alike, except one is a bit lighter, and works better when worn without a belt (like in gym shorts). I feel it’s better to invest money in practice ammunition and software (training and education) than to carry the latest gadget laden polymer pistol. Once you’ve invested into a carry system, switching to something else is a major investment! Magazines, spare parts, holsters, non-plastic sights (if it’s a Glock), ALL these things take money and time to find and purchase. There are other things to spend time on!
I know that our world is in bedlam, some locales worse than others. Everyone is concerned about active killer events, and we’ve even had one in this area (http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2015/08/05/dispatcher-active-shooter-reported-antioch-theater/31171021/). However, my biggest personal security concern is the big parking lot outside my office, and the twenty footsteps that are required to traverse said parking lot from the front door of my office. And then there is the worry of car jacking, which happens here, regularly, too.
Unfortunately, carrying two guns, spare ammo, a flashlight, less lethal options, and a Spyderco folding knife is the, “new normal,” for many regular enlightened civilian folks like me. I’m under no illusions that calling 911 will get me any kind of help with a degree of urgency. As much as I love our wonderful Metro PD, I know that those ladies and gentlemen are simply tied up dealing with other people’s problems.
There is no, “normal,” life anymore. There is just, “life.” Each of us has to decide if we are going to be a slave to the criminal/terror threat, or if we are going to rise above it, and not compromise our quality of life. The equipment is only a small part of the equation. I’d rather be outfitted with a Speedo and a #2 Dixon Ticonderoga and be physically fit, than to be obese and bristling with weaponry. For me, I’m glad I have the experience and the training to be my own bodyguard. It makes living in our weird world, THAT much easier. I am glad that I am not one of the masses, who walk the Earth, completely unaware of the evil that lurks, just around the next corner.
This poster showing the anatomy of the Remington 870 shotgun hangs in one of the classrooms of the Memphis Police Department’s Firearms Training Unit. Look at that vent rib/Ghost Ring barrel!
I LOVE shooting shotguns. Whether it’s at birds, paper or steel, no other gun is more satisfying for me to shoot. The noise, the smoke, and the on-target effect is dramatic.
I spent two hours this weekend in a block of defensive shotgun instruction with Jedi Master Tom Givens, at the 2016 RANGEMASTER Polite Society Conference in Memphis TN. I have trained with Tom several times in the past, and I really appreciate the utility of his courses. Tom couples a rich curriculum with a thoughtful, entertaining delivery, that is completely, 100% bio available to the lone, armed citizen. If you are looking for some high speed military door kicking shotgun course, or some LE, “Patrol Shotgun,” course, look elsewhere. Tom’s class prepares regular folks for the eventuality of defending themselves from a life-threatening attack in their home or business, with the shotgun. Make no mistake…the curriculum isn’t, “easier,” or any less valuable than the aforementioned genres of classes. The mission of the armed citizen is simply different than the military or LEO user.
The target to Tom’s left has the pleural region obliterated by close range application of birdshot. However, you’ll note the pattern of buckshot at the belt-line of the bad guy…which Tom sent from 25 yards away using the Federal Flight Control 12 gauge buckshot. All nine rounds are still present on the bad guy. The next target over to Tom’s left, with the tight shot group on the bad guy’s pistol, was fired from 15 yards, and it is still fist sized! Amazing!
Tom’s approach to teaching the shotgun is very systematic and delineated. There is an order of operations that must be practiced. Tom said that unlike a handgun, which with careless use can cause an errant hole to appear in an unintended target, shotguns simply destroy things that are unintentionally shot. Prevention is key, and that prevention is actionable through careful, regimented gun handling. Safety was stressed throughout the class. And, like Tom’s other range classes, Tom tells you exactly what he wants you to do (electronic ear protection is invaluable for training classes. If you don’t have them, you need to get them) and then you do it. It’s a game of, “Tactical Simon Says!” If you keep up, and do things the way Tom tells you, you quickly see the majesty and superiority of the shotgun for close-in self defense scenarios. The students that fell behind, or had trouble following directions, were coached back into the right algorithm by Tom or his wonderful wife, Lynn.
Although we only used birdshot for this class, Tom’s full shotgun course uses birdshot, buckshot and rifled slugs. However, Tom demonstrated and explained the wonder of the Federal Flight Control OO Buckshot, at 5 yards, 15 yards, and 25 yards. Even at 25 yards, all nine of the .33 caliber pellets were clearly present on the silhouette targets we were using.
Tom also talked about the rationale behind the shotgun. Lately, in law enforcement (and in the civilian world, as a natural by-product of this) the trend for M4 or AR-15 type rifles use has become far more common than ever before in history. M4’s, are mildly recoiling, and less intimidating to small framed folks, than the 12 gauge. So many uninformed, uniformed folks feel, “better,” with an M4. Even though engagement distances for nearly any domestic law enforcement and certainly any civilian self defense scenario are well within the range performance envelope of the shotgun, many people still opt for the carbines. The, “non-standard response,” drill with the M4 dictates that 5-7 rounds are fired from the carbine into the bad guy to maximize the ballistic effect of the sometimes anemic and not always predictable 5.56x45mm or .223 Remington round. Thus, a standard 28 or 30 round carbine magazine contains what Tom calls, “4-5 servings,” of projectiles. From the shotgun, with Federal Flight Control ammunition (for example) a standard pattern 870 Express, Wingmaster, Police or Tactical has a tubular magazine that contains between 4 and 7 shells, each containing 9 projectiles. This meets or exceeds the projectile delivery capabilities of the carbine!
My go-to shotguns for home/office defense. The stocks are cut down to 12″ LOP. That way they can be used by anyone in my family. As long as I remember to keep my thumb straight, I won’t clobber myself in the face…despite that I am actually 6’4″ tall and could run a slightly longer LOP. The Magpul stock, with no spacers, gives a good, “usable by anyone,” LOP, and so does the Hogue short stock. The 870 on the left in the above photo has the, “DEA Barrel,” but currently (and what I ran in the class) wears an 18″ bead sighted barrel. I like sights that are low on the barrel. That’s my preference, and yours may vary. So I tend to gravitate towards the bead on the pedestal or the bead mounted to the barrel.
Tom covered the various ways that one can carry and transport ammunition for the shotgun and have it ready for immediate use. The two ways that we examined were the stock (butt cuff) carry, or receiver (sidesaddle) carry. Tom prefers butt cuff carry. He feels that having a sidesaddle changes the handling characteristics of the shotgun, making it thicker than he’d like around the middle. He also doesn’t like the mounting system for most sidesaddles which can pinch the receiver excessively, causing difficulties for the action bars to properly traverse the race ways inside the receiver. This can tie up the gun, and that is simply a non-starter. The butt cuff (or, the modern iteration, a nylon and elastic strip, attached with vehicular grade Velcro to the stock of the gun) offers a less obtrusive solution to the sidesaddle. Another feature of the butt cuff that I noticed was that the rounds tend to be less susceptible to the effects of recoil, and thus actually stay in the loops, instead of falling out after long strings of fire, since the shells are located further from the axis of rotation during firing, and hence less susceptible to inertia. My sidesaddles have notoriously dumped rounds (if they aren’t brass, “up,”) with astounding regularity. Nobody wants a garage sale of spare shells at their feet when they need their life-saving equipment close at hand.
There were several different shotguns present in the class, ranging from 28″ barreled 870’s that were meant for bird hunting, to a Winchester Model 1200 Defender. A few students brought guns that were either obsolete for the class purpose, or simply unsuited for the user. One student brought some iteration of the Taurus Judge, in .410, but in shotgun form. The same student also brought an Ithaca 37. Since neither of those guns can be easily combat loaded (that is, have a round dropped directly into the chamber, and run the action forward and be ready to shoot) Tom told the student to leave those guns in their cases and borrow one of his loaner Remington 870’s. Another student brought a shotgun that was nearly as long, as she was tall. She traded that out for another one of Tom’s loaner guns, a 12″ Magpul stocked 870, that was MUCH easier for her to use. Tom lectured specifically on the length of pull of a defensive shotgun…and why too many people use shotguns that have a woefully long LOP that they really cannot use. Tom recommended that any defensive shotgun have a LOP between 12″ and 13″. However, most shotguns come from the factory with a 14″ OR LONGER length of pull. While a stock that long might work great for bird hunting, when the shooter is bladed at a 90 degree angle from the target, in defensive shooting, when our stance is more squared to the target, a shorter stock makes wielding the weapon easier, and more ergonomic. Thus, Tom recommended that if people keep a shotgun in their home or office for defensive purposes, than they should keep the length of pull short enough to allow any family member to use it. Also, people that are very tall can STILL use a short LOP shotgun!
I am a lifelong student. I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on private training tuition over the last 20 years. And I’ve spent over $500K on my graduate education. I know what good training looks like! And while I am always open-minded in classes, there are things that I hear, or learn that I simply choose, “not to incorporate,” into my mental utilization schema. I can honestly say, in the three live-fire classes and the seven classroom presentations I’ve taken from Tom, I’ve never heard him recommend a concept or introduce an idea that I didn’t agree with. Tom’s material works! He has had 62 students successfully navigate the muddy waters of self defense shootings, and he has continually evolved his curriculum to reflect the changing context of the urban environment, as well as adapt to new emerging threats. Tom has been at this for 35 plus years now, and the impact he has made on the self-defense industry is IMMENSE. I always learn something new when I am in Tom’s presence.
The Rangemaster Polite Society Conference is THE best training symposium around. You cannot find a deeper well of knowledge for such a low price, anywhere. The expertise of all of the instructors and the attendees is truly a sight to behold. I have so enjoyed the two Polite Society Conferences that I have attended, that I modeled the Paul-E-Palooza Memorial Training Conference after the Rangemaster conference, and even many of the same instructors teach at both events! As Tom said this past weekend, “I put on a conference to see all my friends!” And that is very true for me, too. Some of the greatest, most honorable people I know on this planet were in attendance, and a good weekend of learning and fellowship was had by all.
