Commentary – The fringes of life . . . .

 

Over time we all reach the fringes of our life . . . . Good days and bad. Days of awareness and days lost in the fog of confused memories, people “known” but not remembered with an intimate knowledge that all that we have known is slipping and fading into that next chapter of our ultimate existence . . . .

I serve a group of folks passing through this stage with the sure knowledge they are not that far ahead of me in the “race”. Once a month or so I take them communion, sit and chat, hold their hands and pray, comfort where I can . . . . Saturday was another such day for me.

Delores is now widowed with kids, grandkids and a very comfortable apartment in our local assisted living community. I provided this same service for years for her and her husband until his kidneys, heart and a weakened body had simply had enough. His loss is still felt by her. She’s the “healthy one” in my group – some problems and macular degeneration take their toll but our conversations are light, filled with shared news of kids, family, friends . . . . It’s a good talk. Communion and shared prayers remind us both of the purpose of my visit – yet final fringes are still distant for her . . . . they are there, yet not pressing . . . .

Roberta lives a few doors down the hallway. My knocks and doorbell rings remain unanswered. Finally I open the door and see her sleeping in her rocker – at least I hope it’s sleep. I talk to her, slowly raising my voice so as to not frighten her. Eyes flutter open, a small smile appears and tremors begin to take control of her body. They are worse than the last time, she looks drawn, tired . . . . Her hearing has also declined again and as I read the gospels for the day I have to speak up, go a bit slower and talk directly at her. “Those were lovely readings” she says, her smile back. Communion followed by the Our Father while holding her hands finish the “official visit” while fetching a glass of juice and the TV remote ends the personal side. Roberta’s fringes are becoming more and more tattered yet there is a gentle acceptance of what is surely coming down her path. . . .

Barb is leaned in her recliner in the TV room. This is her normal spot surrounded by the bustle of the facility and sounds of everything from the Three Stooges to Jeopardy. There is constant stimulation. Our conversations have grown much shorter over the last couple of years. While there is perkiness in her voice, the depth and understanding of the conversation has faded. Communion and prayers make for a short stay, yet both of us seem satisfied. The fringes of her life are diminishing slowly, yet as with all of us, it is a relentless process.

Howard always has a smile. I interrupt a snack of Doritos – he smiles and returns them to a storage compartment under a seat on his walker. We chat about weather; he shows me an ear of corn from his rented property. It’s actually pretty impressive given our lack of moisture this year. His window is filled with recently greened grass, a bird feeder and the traffic of a moderately busy side-street. “How ya doin Howard?” “Not bad for 97 I guess – I’ll make it to 100 easy!” I suspect he will. Communion and prayer continue a life spent on the land and in a church – both the house of God.

Joe is new to the facility – and old customer of my past internet business. He’s unable to receive communion but desperately wants visitors. We chat, he struggles for a thought with the look that says “I know what the hell I want to say – where are the words?!?!?!?” We cover the usual – weather, how well they are taking care of him. His frustrations. Prayers and a firm grip bring some comfort as his life’s fringes are quickly tattering . . . .

Roberta M. is gently crying in the corner in her recliner. Her mouth has been fixed open for months, her response to people a bare minimum. I rub her arm, let her know I’m there, explain my purpose – the tears and crying slowly end – her focus on our shared devotion. Communion is a small speck of Host placed on her tongue. Hands joined in the Lord’s Prayer – she finds her way to the present, joins in the prayer and is peaceful . . . . at least for a spell. I am not sure where she goes afterwards – towards the end of her life’s fringe – caught between here and “there”. . . .

Theresa sits in her chair nearby. She feels angry. She refuses to speak, acknowledging me only with a sideways glance. Yet, communion is accepted and we share the words of the Lord’s Prayer as well. Yet, her burdens do not feel lighter. I pray for her peace . . . .

Finally – Liz. She is not of our parish, yet is a good friend. I sat with her husband the day she was admitted – both of our tears flowing freely. Well over 50 years together, now separated by health, constant confusion and physical weakness – she to move about and him to help her. His voice a mixture of guilt and resignation. Sadness, frustration, anger . . . . It is the future I fear most staring me in the face.

Liz is on the edge of panic – Ken has not appeared for the day. She remembers that he had been sick . . . . now she wonders if he’s coming, if he’s OK. She is on the very razor’s edge of panic . . . . She’s assured that he’s on his way (he had not arrived by the time I left) . . . . I wrap an arm around her – will some of my strength to fill her . . . . The edges of her life are filled with confusion, fear, frustration . . . . I pray for her peace as well.

This is part of the tapestry of all our lives. Some end swiftly and surely while others linger and finally fade . . . . It is our path, our life, our individual tapestry . . . .

And as the years pass . . . . our fringes become frayed . . . .

A gentle reminder to live each and every day. They are – indeed – a precious gift.

Training – Hands, hands . . . . what the heck do I do with my hands????

 

A few posts back I described Focal Point shooting and how useful it is to reduce the time it takes to engage a threat. Since I was focused on the draw, I honestly didn’t pay much attention to my support arm – an oversight made obvious my friends Keads’ and OldNOFO’s gentle questioning in the comments that went something like: “Why is your support arm so high and far away from your body???”

In fact OldNFO was so curious he actually gave me a call – what a great surprise.

Phone rings: “Keller!!!”

Deep Texas Twang: “Bill??? It’s me, xxxxx, you know OldNFO!” (Have you ever noticed that ALL PILOTS talk like Chuck Yeager??)

And that started be best ½ hour of the day! We have never met, nor had we ever chatted in the past. We covered my thoughts on hand/arm position in short order and then got down to the business of two retired vets getting to know each other. It’s always a good thing to make a new friend – this was no exception! I look forward to our next chat!

So on to the topic at hand – hands, hands . . . . what the heck do I do with my hands??

Perhaps it should be obvious but just to cover the most basic element of support hand/arm position – KEEP YOU DAMN HAND/ARM AWAY FROM THE MUZZLE OF YOUR WEAPON!!!!! Second – these are simply my opinions – other instructors, for other types of training will have their thoughts, ideas and expectations. Listen to them! Over time you will find your own base set of physical mechanics that fit your body, your way of moving, your level of training. The majority of my students are new shooters, unfamiliar with weapons or personal defense, so I have chosen three positions that I encourage them to explore and begin with, to give them a very basic set of defensive positions for their support arm.

These would be: Close Chest, Forearm Vertical and Upper-Arm Extended.

Close Chest: This is the position that the NRA teaches for dominant-arm shooting only. Your support arm’s fist is clenched and placed center chest. This provides the shooter the ability to stiffen their upper body and provide greater support for their extended dominant arm as they shoot. And, it keeps your support hand well away from your weapon’s muzzle.

Forearm Vertical: The shooter takes the forearm of their support arm and places it close to their body in a vertical/horizontal/slanted position to block their attacker. Both the Close Chest and Forearm Vertical position provide the shooter good protection and keeps their arm close to the body so that it stands less of a chance to become something the attacker can grab and use to their advantage.

Upper-Arm Extended: Bend your support arm at a 90 degree angle and hold your support arm horizontal in front of you. This distance, the distance your Upper-Arm Extended provides you maximum “retention” of your support arm. It gives you a great deal of flexibility to block your attacker while not providing them the ability to grab your arm and push/shove you off balance. Once you begin to extend your support arm, you provide your attacker an open invitation to simply reach, grab and pull.

Remember, an attack will likely be within 3 yards, last less than 3 seconds and require you to defend yourself with your support arm while you draw and engage your threat with 3 rounds or less. While there is certainly nothing wrong with working on your fully extended, two handed, solid sight alignment, good sight picture shooting, please - remember - this is an IDEAL situation and one you are not likely to experience.

Gun fights are quick, personal, violent – and at close quarters.

Train that way, learn to defend your “off side” to gain much needed time to draw and engage your attacker . . .

You may well get but a single chance . . . .

Training – Your Range Gun

 

Way back in January I put up a post about purchasing your first gun – “So you want to buy a gun . . . now what?” The purpose was to walk a new shooter through the process of evaluating a number of different styles of weapons as their personal defensive weapon. There is, however, another criterion that has kinda poked its head up recently – how “range friendly” is it??

Two stories (you knew one was comin’, right??)

In my last defensive pistol class June brought her very small .380 semi-automatic pistol. This is her carry weapon and there is no better choice a shooter can make than to really ring out their carry weapon on the range – in a class – that requires hundreds of rounds, hundreds of draws and hundreds of magazine changes. We both learned a lot – for example the small, lightweight clip-on holsters look cool, but have a tendency to detach with the draw and remain firmly mounted on the weapon as you bring it up to engage a threat. A 7+1 small semi-automatic weapon makes for a crap load of magazine changes. The practice is great but the distraction of short engagements can be a real . . . . well . . . . distraction.

My good friend Brad sent me a note the other day. He’d attended one of the many 4-hour CCW courses here in Iowa and was ready to buy his carry weapon. He was trying to choose between a couple different .380 semi-automatic pistols for ease of carry. I replied that “we needed to talk” before his purchase and chat about a “range gun”  –  I have not heard from him yet. But, to the best of my knowledge, this is his first experience with carrying a weapon. I’ve made my standard “pitch” to him about the courses I offer but have not seen him. I may or perhaps not – time, money, kids . . . . lots of distractions to get in the way. Regardless, assuming he actually purchases a .380 – I am hopeful he will find a significant amount of time for the range.

What these two folks have in common is a small caliber weapon, well suited for personal carry but . . . . IMNSHO . . . . NOT well suited for serious range time to truly learn the skills they may well need to save the lives of their family, their friends or perhaps their own.

So, what do I want in a range gun??

I want a range gun to have a number of features:

• Sizable capacity – 10 rounds minimum on up.
• Multiple magazines – minimum of three – more is better
• It should be easily “simulated” by a similar sized .22 Cal pistol
• It should be VERY RELIABLE – new shooters that are discouraged by their weapon are much more difficult to teach or just stop shooting altogether
• It should be usable for their initial carry weapon
• I am very fond of 9mm Cal weapons – cheaper ammunition yet solid stopping power
• It should fit a carry holster that closely mimics their carry weapon’s holster
• It should be “beefy” enough for the toughest course – 1,000+ rounds per day
• Maintenance should be simple – again – new shooters – minimum frustration

I’m sure there are other items to consider, feel free to add what you think in the comments.

There are a number of platforms that meet these criteria. It should be no secret by now I am very happy with a Glock as a range weapon. Yes, I know – “trigger . . . .”, “polymer . . . .”, “Doesn’t begin with a 4 . . . .” – heavy sigh. Consider this – this is a “beginner weapon”, a first-timer’s gun – I believe a Glock is hard to beat. My choice – a Glock 17 or 19; either will shoot all day long, have high enough capacity to run multiple drills and can easily pump out 1,000+ rounds in a single day. In fact, my G-17 has been my current carry weapon since my LC9 took a dump and I wanted more capacity than my G-36.

I have had a number of folks use Springfield’s XDM platform or Smith and Wesson’s M&P platform – I give both high marks. The idea here is to get a weapon in the new shooter’s hand that can be used to teach “The Draw”, speed reloads, tactical reloads, clearing malfunctions, a broad assortment of training drills, meet the basic needs of multiple training courses and the expectations of the associated instructors.

And, while you’re at it, the weapon should nicely fill the niche of your personal defensive weapon.

Bottom line – get a range weapon . . . .

Train with it – frequently . . . .

Learn your new craft, take it seriously, focus on it, read about it, take courses from a broad range of knowledgeable instructors, become deadly with your new tool . . . . .

And some day it may save your life or that of your spouse, child or friend . . . .

Training – A Range Day

 

So you’re going to the range – yippee, skippy. Why??

“I’m gonna practice!” Ah . . . . it’s so much clearer now . . . . what ya gonna practice??

“MMmmmm – making small groups . . . . or adjustin’ my sights . . . . tryin’ out a new gun . . . . or some other equally vague comment . . .”

So, with .45 Cal ammunition in the neighborhood of $.45 a round and 9mm in the region of $.34 a round . . . . . really, you’re just makin’ holes or tryin’ guns?? Really???

Perhaps a different approach. Rather that tell you what to do, let me describe my morning, the reason for my plan today, changes I made and the AAR to fully evaluate my range time.

My Plan: I go to the range with a plan in my mind, specific things I wanted to work on. Today I wanted to spend a bit of warm up time with my Ruger .22/45 then switch to my Glock 17 and work on marksmanship, longer range for a couple of magazines to see how I was doing there and finally to go through the drills I taught at the last course: 2-hand full extension, 1-hand ¾ Hip, 1-hand ½ Hip, Close Hip and the Zipper.

What I did: I followed the plan, but all the way through with the .22/45 and with nearly two hours under my belt (and the lawn waiting at home), I took a pass on the 9mm practice.

Targets: I use a variety of different targets –a half dozen 3x5 cards stapled on the cardboard, a 6” plate for the head and 8-1/2 x 11 for the body, law enforcement targets. Honestly, I’m not fond of traditional bull’s-eye type targets, I’ve long-since stopped using them. They have a tendency to have a shooter focus on their grouping rather than the dozens of other things that are going on to make combat effective hits, so I let them be.

Recently I’ve become fond of “Law Enforcement Targets” paper targets. They have just about everything you can think of. I’ve settled two versions.

An FBI Q target:

The cost of this target is currently $34 per 100.

And a SWAT training target:

The cost for this target is currently $38 per 100.

Both targets offer the advantage of command drills, marksmanship drills and a way to evaluate combat effective hits. For their cost, they are well worth the extra money.

Weapons: I took by two favorite range guns – my Glock 17 (currently my carry gun as well) and one of my Ruger .22/45s. I carry in a strong-side, IWB leather holster from Blackhawk. This holster will easily accommodate both of these weapons nicely. So, for all the drill work with the .22/45, a draw from concealment with a 3-4 round engagement was used.

Yes, I know – the grip is a slightly different cant and the .22/45 uses thumb safety like on a 1911. I accept that and train with it. It costs me nothing to flick a “safety” on the Glock and keeps that muscle memory alive for the times I carry my 1911. Other than that the weight, fit, feel of the grip are similar enough to provide solid training for the draw stroke of my Glock 17.

Just a quick word about conversion kits – I just don’t like them. I have a couple of friends that have them for their Glocks and they seem to spend as much time with their pocket knives popping non-ejected casings from the chamber as they do working their training plan. My plan today for the .22/45 ran 180 rounds without a single failure. I’ll take it.

The Plan: The target today was the SEB silhouette with the circles, squares and rectangles. First I wanted to “warm up” and work on marksmanship a bit with the 6 shapes. All shooting was done from the low ready, 10 rounds per shape. Here are the results:

5-Triangle: 5-yards, 10 rounds 8/10 or 80%

6-Triangle: 7-yards, 10 rounds 8/10 or 80%

3-Square: 10-yards, 10 rounds 9/10 or 90%

1-Circle: 10-yards, 10 rounds 8/10 or 80%

4-Square: 50-feet, 10 rounds 8/10 or 80%

5-Circle: 50-feet, 10 rounds 3/10 or 30% (something about “went to shit” comes to mind.

Lower Square – center-line: 75-feet, 10 rounds 3/10 (see line above . . . .)

Square – Center Mass 50 yards, 2-hand grip, Aimed Fire, Standing 10 rounds 7/10 or 70%

Not bad with going to hell at 75-feet and 50-feet on the 5-Circle. This will give me a comparison for my next trip shooting these same drills. Is 100% possible on all shapes?? Sure. But remember, defensive shooting is a balance between speed and accuracy. If you focus so hard on 100% that your engagement times become exceptionally long, you are teaching your body to be “slower and more accurate” rather than quick and sure.

One other training tool – your smart phone. Take photos of your target between drills (before you tape it up) so you can keep it for your records and do an analysis similar to what I am doing here. My target, after this process and before taping looked like this:

Pretty easy to see the hits, count and record them and provide a secondary way to track your progress.

From here, I moved to the shooting drills. I did six of them.

1: 21ft – 20 rounds, 2-handed, full extension, top of weapon slightly lower than traditional aimed fire.

Results: 19/20 or 95%

2: 21ft – 20 rounds, 1-handed, ¾ Hip

Results: 18/20 or 90%

3: 21ft - 20 rounds, 1-handed, ½ Hip

Results: 15/20 or 75%

Note here that for the ½ Hip and Close Hip the ability to use our peripheral vision to assist in aiming your weapon diminishes – and your hit rate will suffer as well.

4: 21ft - 20 rounds, 1-handed, Close Hip

Results: 11/20 or 55%

Simply body index is not the best aiming method in the world and this shows it. Yet, what would happen if we would keep this type of shooting where it belongs – 15 feet or less.

5: 15ft – 20 rounds, 1-handed, Close Hip

Results: 19/20 or 95%

6: 15ft – 20 rounds, 1-handed, Zipper (engage at Close Hip then continue to engage as you extend to Full Extension)

Result: 18/20 or 90%

By the time I finished this set of drills, the old Pathfinder on my wrist said I had spent nearly 2-hours on the range. There was simply no time for a repeat performance with my Glock 17. The lawn was waiting, I still needed gas – my range day was over. Yet, I felt good. I was happy with the results, found some areas that always seems to need polishing and had a nice batch of data to take home and review. Not bad, not bad at all.

My suggestion to you, especially new shooters – making holes is fun, but with a little forethought, a little extra work and a little more attention you can easily turn your “drilling holes” session to a solid training session that can quickly advance your skills.

Kilted to Kick Cancer

 

It seems to be beyond my ability to set up my own “Team” so please click on the KTKC banner and you can contribute to OldNFO on my behalf.

Kilted to Kick Cancer focuses on Prostate cancer.  I’ve been down that particular road, last checkup was in April – my 9th annual follow up.  All has remained clear – I am truly grateful.

Since I’m officially in the C.O.G. group (Crotchety Old Guy), my last birthday was my 62nd.  How the hell did that happen.  Regardless, for you “young guys” approaching your late 40s and early 50s – my story.

I was having a hard time peeing.  I could get the job done – after 2-3 minutes.  Nothing serious, nothing painful – just an annoyance.  My annual check up that August put my PSA at 5 – high enough to raise a flag in my Doctor’s mind so he sent me to an Urologist.  I was re-tested, same result.  Less alarm in him, I was 52 – “getting up there”.  I said fine, fall – busy schedule – holidays only 4 months away, lets wait and retest after the first of the year.  OK, no problem.

February 2003 – sitting across from the Doc, he’s not smiling.  Same result – a tad over 5 – time for a biopsy.  Really??  Yep, he wanted to be on the safe side.  Heavy sigh – OK.  6 weeks later I walk into his exam room.  On the “work bench” are 20 shiny 18” long, hollow stainless steel needles and Jackie with a smile on her face.  She explains the procedure to me.  YOU HAVE TO BE F’ING KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!  But, she wasn’t.  Thumb nail sketch – rectal probe, hole for needle, ultrasonic for “aiming”, bowel wall, 20 samples – through the wall – 10 down each side of the prostate.  YOU HAVE TO BE F’ING KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!!  All that said, as uncomfortable as it sounds – is was painless for me.  Some pressure, “uncomfortable”, but no pain at all. 

The waiting sucks.  We’d done this before with Susie nearly 20 years earlier.  Honestly, it was easier because it was me and not her.  It was NOT easier on her.  I set the appointment to get the results for the following week – Susie had to work and couldn’t come.

Went to the Doc’s office, he was not happy.  Good guy, very direct – “Bill, you have cancer.  About 25% of each side of your Prostate is involved.”

Well shit!!  Not really what I wanted to hear.  I had three options – targeted radiation, “rice” inserts that provided continual radiation, or removal.  Well shit!!   He had no recommendation, suggested I research it (he knows me too well) and we’d get together the next week.  Alrighty – off I go to call Susie and give her the news.  Well Shit!!!  She did not take it well, flashed on her year to hell-and-back – basically did all the things I did when her Doc told me she had inoperable cancer.  Well shit!!!

I’m a geek.  I spent the next week pretty much non stop researching this new visitor to my life.  I finally chose to have it the Prostate removed rather that radiation and follow up chemo.  The Doc was fine with it so a date was set – my birthday, April 14th 2003.  Yippee!!  I had one request – 90 days after my surgery was was to be on a trek at Philmont with our scout troop.  It was too late for a replacement – the Doc needed to paste me together so I could make the trek.  No problem he said.  Well, let’s rock and roll!

Surgery went fine.  The only “hitch” was a 40% chance of total incontinence.  YOU GOTTA BE SHITTING ME!!!!  Nope says the Doc – nerve bundles – sharp scalpels – “slips” – 40% chance.  Well shit!!!  I tell him he needed to have a good day in the OR – says he’ll do his best!

The surgery went fine, I don’t pee all over when I sit,stand or walk – thanks much Doc!!  However I could be a poster boy for ED.  Yet . . . . dead??  ED??  Dead??  ED??  MMmmmmm . . . . I’m doin’ OK!  And, 90 days later I geared up and my good friend Glenn and I hit the trail with our troop – 62 miles, 7 days, 9,000ish feet – it was a great trek!

So now I look back on the past 9 checkups.  One to go and I will part ways with the Doc - he will forever have my thanks.  I am grateful to be a “survivor”.  Not sure why the good Lord saw fit to give me a hand, I question myself on that nearly daily.  But, it was not my day and I thank Him for letting me meet my grand kids and spend more years with my wife.

Some final thoughts:

• GET A FRICKIN’ PSA TEST EVERY YEAR.
• Let your Doc do the “digit dance” to test the size of your prostate
• If your Doc says he wants a biopsy – GET THE DAMM THING DONE
• If he says you have cancer – IT’S NOT NECESSARILY THE END OF THE WORLD
• Be aggressive
• Fight

And, support a great cause.  Click the button, make a donation.

You could be next . . . .

Training – Seconds Count . . . . seconds count . . . .

 

One of the scenarios I use in my Defensive Pistol Course is “the Wal-Mart Parking Lot”. I don’t mean to pick on Wal-Mart – nor do I mean to imply that their security is worse than anyone else or that they are dangerous places. What I do mean to imply is that such places are rich with prey for a predator intent on an easy victim.

Such parking lots provide a broad range of opportunities to stalk a victim, to conceal their approach and to provide a moment when a predator can attack quickly and easily . . . .

Seconds count . . . . .

Tenths of Seconds count . . . .

During an attack like this, distance equal time. The more the distance between you and the predator, the greater the chance you go home that evening. The closer the distance, the closer you are to a Ziploc. Really, it’s that simple. In an earlier post I linked to, what appears to be, the source for the “21 feet – 2-seconds” rule of thumb. If the predator is within 21 feet, you have two seconds to respond to defend yourself. Can you Draw-Aim-Fire in that amount of time? What can you do, as the “prey” to either shave time from your D.A.F. response? Set’s chat about that a bit.

Obviously, you very first choice would be to not find yourself under such an attack. Beef up your “scan and assess” process, pay attention, park close to the doors, park in well light areas, go when the store is busy and during the day if possible. Listen to your gut . . . . if something feels off, IT IS!! Return to the store, walk towards other people, put your hand on your weapon . . . . MOVE, DO SOMETHING, GET OFF THE DIME, THE “X”, YOUR ASS. Choice, movement, action will force a predator to react, adjust, reacquire and decide whether to continue the stalk and attack or to take a pass for today.

All that said, and despite your best efforts – you may well find yourself in the “Red Zone” with no choice but to fight. Now we are within the 2-second window. How do you gain time (now measured in tenths of seconds) to execute your D.A.F. response?

Movement: ACT FIRST!!! CHOOSE, MOVE, GET OFF THE “X”. Your best directions are at a 45 degree angle away from the predator, NOT straight back. Why? To shoot you while you are moving straight back simply meant they need to lower their weapon a tad while you retreat – no big deal.

If you back-peddle away you are moving while being completely blind (even though your kids are sure you have eyes in the back of your head). You can easily trip, loose your balance and end up on your ass – prey for the feast.

Moving at an angle forces the predator to continually change their sight picture. It allows you to use some peripheral vision to see where you are going. And it is much easier to be sure footed while moving at an angle than running backwards.

MOVE!!!

Draw: I did a whole post on “The Draw” awhile back. The biggest thing you can do to shave tenths off here is to dry fire, dry fire, dry fire . . . . Train as you would fight – if it’s winter, your practice should be in your typical winter gear. Shed the gloves, grasp and clear, draw and rotate . . . . .

And let’s just stop there a bit. . . . .

You have practiced your draw – dressed appropriately – and worked out all the kinks. Shedding gloves, solid grasp and clear, smooth draw, good holster, good holster placement (or other method of carry – purse, carry pocket in your coat). This training, this muscle memory has the opportunity to buy you a couple more tenths of seconds.

Now what . . . . is that it??

Let’s look at aiming for a bit.

Traditional Aiming – Sight Alignment, Sight Picture: Here too, I have offered my thoughts on Sight Alignment and Sight picture in a post. It’s not rocket science – and it hasn’t really changed in the two centuries that accurate firearms have been available. It has ALL been said. I am confident that you have spent hours on the range working on two items as well. We all have. They are tremendously valuable. They can save your life.

And . . . .

Within the “Red Zone” . . . .

They can cause you to lose it as well.

Some cautions: I’m going to explore “Focal Point Shooting”. “Point Shooting” is probably as old as the very first firearms. My first real exposure to modern Point Shooting was when I took the Suarez International Point Shooting Progression course this past April. It did a great deal to marry together many techniques I have been taught over the years. You can read my review of the course HERE.

There are real limits to this type of shooting - while less that optimal for those predators moving in on you when they are beyond 21 feet, within that distance – this skill set is a life saver. And that is how I teach it and how I would encourage you to practice it. My standard distance is 15 feet. It is for close quarter combat – not long distance, aimed fire.

15 feet . . . . seconds ticking away . . . . down to 1.5 seconds to respond . . . . now what???

In the late 30s there was an unlikely duo working the streets of Shanghai, China - W.E. Fairbairn and E.A. Sykes. During their time together they engaged in the neighborhood of 600 gunfights at various distances – from up-close and personal to engagements of longer distances. They trained local police forces, made recommendations of weapons as well as shooting ranges and the types of targets that should be used. As WWII grew they went their separate ways but each undertook the training of various special operations groups for the allied forces in the use of the handgun as an effective defensive and offensive weapon. Their thoughts were captured in a book they penned entitled “Shooting to Live”. It’s a short, concise and very clear text on close quarter combat with a handgun. Buy it – read it – you will find it well worth your time.

For the purposes of this post, with a predator within the 15 foot range . . . there are three methods of engagement that are well worth talking about, practicing on the range and incorporating in your toolkit of close quarter combat: “Close Hip”, “Half Hip” and “Three Quarter Hip”.

Close Hip:

While it’s not a perfect photo of the position, this is the “Close Hip” position:

The one fault with this image is that obviously the weapon is NOT parallel with the ground. That said, it is a good illustration of “Close Hip”. Your garment has been cleared, your weapon drawn, your elbow locked and driven DOWN – rotating your weapon to a position parallel to the ground. Your forearm is tucked firmly into your side. Your weapon is snugged into your body. This position offer many benefits in a CQC situation. The first is speed. With your Focal Point on the center mass of the predator, your body indexed on the predator – at the 15 foot distance you can engage your predator fully confident that you will be able to get a combat effective hit that will either stop the threat, change their mind or, at the very least, buy you enough time to press off additional rounds and their approach continues.

This is also a position that provides good retention of your weapon against a predator that may see an advantage is taking your weapon to use it against you.

“Half Hip:

If you have the luxury of time (threat still within 15 feet) you may begin extending your weapon towards the threat to increase accuracy and to move towards a two-handed shooting grip.

Notice in this position that my support arm is up in a defensive position, my weapon has been extended toward the threat, parallel to the ground. It is still in a position to press off additional rounds, I can begin to see it in my peripheral vision so indexing becomes more accurate and I can make additional combat effective hits in an attempt to terminate the attack.

“Three Quarter Hip”:

Fairbairen-Sykes determined that the Three Quarter Hip was the most common position of engagement for the majority of their gunfights.

Again, my support arm is up in a defensive position, though my weapon is not nearly fully extended, it is quite easy to use the top of the slide to index on the threat making combat effective hits a much easier task. A caution though – as you move from Close Hip, to Half Hip to Three Quarter Hip – retention becomes more and more of an issue. PAY ATTENTION!! Your weapon should be pried from your dead, still warm hands – not handed over as a gift.

One other thing to note – as you drive towards the Focal Point you are holding on the predator’s center mass – you will notice that the barrel of your weapon rises as your arm extends. By simply staying focusing on the predator’s center mass and pressing off rounds as you extend you will stitch a line of damage up the predator’s body. Suarez (and Roger Phelps, the instructor, in particular) calls this the “Zipper” – it’s a good name.

By incorporating these three shooting positions into your tool kit you provide yourself the ability to get the first hit in this age old dual between predator and prey. With a day’s instruction on the range, virtually all the folks were able to make solid, combat effective hits in the two second range. They trimmed many tenths of seconds off their engagement time when they set aside the standard two-handed, sight alignment, sight picture shot and worked on the Fairbairn-Sykes positions.

I would encourage you to work with this method, try it out, consider the Suarez Point Shooting Progression course to refine it – Roger Phelps does a great job!

Seconds Count . . . . .

Tenths of Seconds Count . . . .

It’s your job to be ready . . . .

A warm welcome to Tammy–“Mom with a Gun”

 

A warm welcome to Tammy – host of “Mom with a Gun”.  She’s a mom, paralegal, writer, novelist and mediator.  Sounds like she covers plenty of ground.  Take some time to visit her site – you won’t be disappointed!

Bill