S.W.A.T. December 2007 - McKeesport Police Department

Three shooters are
reholstering, but still have
their attention focused
downrange. Second
shooter from left is
reholstering and preparing
to walk off the fi ring line.
The practice of relaxing
after a string of fi re is
purely administrative and
should not be tolerated on
a training range.
One Trainer’s Opinion
» BY ROB PINCUS
BAD
HABITS?
Back in the mid-1970s, the United States had a mandatory top speed limit of 55 miles-per-hour (mph).
Since that time, we’ve learned
a few things about improving
highway safety and the safety of
our vehicles and, of course, we’ve dramatically
improved the effi ciency and
cleanliness of the internal combustion
engine. A lot of things have changed
since that time in the world of fi rearms
and tactical training as well.
Progressive training principles and the
study of what really happens during lethal
critical incidents have dramatically
improved the effi ciency and capabilities
of shooters as well as our gear. Unfortunately,
we still see a lot of gun handling
that is based on what might have made
sense or been a dramatic improvement
three decades ago, but are not the most
effi cient choices today. There is also still
a lot of administrative gun handling seen
on today’s training ranges. It’s time to
take a hard look at some range practices
that some people might still consider appropriate,
some just accept, some don’t
notice, but that many instructors and
students are starting to move away from
or restrict entirely.
I know that this article will raise the
hackles of many shooters, but I also
know that more and more often I have
other instructors and students who are
glad to hear that at the Valhalla Training
Center and many other ranges around
the world, there are people who are
willing to critically examine dogma to
develop the best doctrines possible. If
you insist on driving 55 mph on an interstate
with a 75 mph speed limit, you
could be a danger to yourself and others.
In today’s tactical training environment,
there is no passing lane, so let’s get everyone
up to speed.
“TACTICAL” RELOADS
Years ago, I started forbidding “topping-off”
on any range that I was running.
The so-called “tactical” reload is
just another version of topping off if
you’re not in a real or simulated critical
incident. The fact is that this and several
other bad range habits, many glamorized
by competition shooters or preached by
instructors who have largely missed or
ignored the last 20 years of reality-based
training initiatives, should be understood
in the context that they are meant
for and not repeated constantly on ranges
purporting to be conducting tactical
training.
Back when dinosaurs roamed the
earth, I’ve been told that some instructors
on certain ranges made students
feel bad if they let their gun run dry. In
a world of techniques based on competition
or mechanical shooting skills that
overemphasize precision marksmanship
over speed and effi ciency, that might
make sense. Teaching shooting as an
isolated mechanical skill and not as a
defensive skill that may need to be used
in a dynamic chaotic environment keeps
some techniques from being recognized
as ineffi cient or extremely limited in application.
In the real world that armed professionals
and those serious about self-defense
are training for, the vast majority
of critical incidents that require more
rounds than your gun holds will result
in a slide lock situation. This is bad.
It’s even worse if you’ve been denying
yourself the opportunity to recognize
slide lock during dynamic training and
practice a reload under those conditions
54 S.W.A.T. » DECEMBER 2007 SWATMAG.COM