With the increased interest in "tactical" shooting, and many relatively new firearms owners buying military-style (aka modern sporting) rifles and service caliber pistols, the private training sector has exploded. The opportunities available to the general public to learn and train modern weaponcraft under the eye of an experienced operator and instructor are unprecedented. Unfortunately, most people spend their money on the stuff rather than on the training and practice. As a result, they are largely unprepared to properly utilize the stuff they've acquired.
I have been discussing this with a number of colleagues and wanted to share some thoughts on one of the most important but also fairly dangerous manipulations to practice when using live rounds, and that is of weapon transitions. Most people when asked about weapon transitions immediately think of switching from rifle to sidearm due to a malfunction or exhausting available ammunition. This is an extremely narrow perspective. Transitions and transition practice should include all available weapons, from rifles and handguns, to knives and fists. In a personal defense scenario, utilizing the appropriate level of force to neutralize the threat is paramount. This requires not only proficiency at arms, but a level of comfort with kit that only comes through careful dedicated practice of techniques learned from experienced trainers and instructors.
The first point I would like to discuss regarding transitions is that of training scars. Assuming you have taken the initiative to learn a variety of techniques, those techniques must be put into context. In a gunfight, magazines will fall to the ground. Unspent cartridges may be ejected to ensure there is a round in the chamber. Pistols may be tossed rather than re-holstered when they run dry or when targets outside (or inside) their range present. The point here is that while it is easy to say "train as you fight," that begs the question, "how will you fight?" If you haven't been in the scenario, and haven't engaged in extensive force-on-force training, that is a big unknown. So, we must be ever vigilant to avoid developing bad habits; this requires an individual to 1) be humble, introspective, and self-critical, and 2) an individual to seek out experienced trainers, coaches, and practice partners to observe and provide critical and positive feedback. A favorite example is the desire to look at where an unspent cartridge goes on the range, or picking up a magazine that was dropped or fumbled. The cost of that round or magazine is not worth your life. We must train ourselves to remain tactically sound; head up, eyes up, gun up, move.. and overcome the inevitable shedding of kit or other distractions during a dynamic event.
The second point is that transition drills can be dangerous. Weapons being slung and un-slung, holstered and re-holstered.. if an individual tries to go too fast too soon they will hurt themselves. It is guaranteed. The internet is chock full of examples of people who have shot themselves or others as a result of going too fast too soon, on a static square range! Just like shooting foul shots in basketball or stroking a cue ball on the pool table, these motor skills are learned after thousands of slow, deliberate repetitions. When live rounds are introduced, the strict adherence to safety rules is even more important, as is the requirement to start off as slow as possible, thinking about each step, and often breaking the transition into parts, practicing each part individually before building up to the full action. Just as a pianist will learn and practice sections of a piece before playing it through, just as a chess player will educate themselves and practice the opening, middle game and end game separately, so must the modern weapon handler approach this new skill set with an analytic mind in order to achieve full potential in a safe and productive manner.
In a following post, I will discuss the specifics of a standard rifle-pistol-rifle transition drill that can be performed dry in the home and live on the range, and some procedures that apply to both practice and application that will ensure safety at all times.
I have been discussing this with a number of colleagues and wanted to share some thoughts on one of the most important but also fairly dangerous manipulations to practice when using live rounds, and that is of weapon transitions. Most people when asked about weapon transitions immediately think of switching from rifle to sidearm due to a malfunction or exhausting available ammunition. This is an extremely narrow perspective. Transitions and transition practice should include all available weapons, from rifles and handguns, to knives and fists. In a personal defense scenario, utilizing the appropriate level of force to neutralize the threat is paramount. This requires not only proficiency at arms, but a level of comfort with kit that only comes through careful dedicated practice of techniques learned from experienced trainers and instructors.
The first point I would like to discuss regarding transitions is that of training scars. Assuming you have taken the initiative to learn a variety of techniques, those techniques must be put into context. In a gunfight, magazines will fall to the ground. Unspent cartridges may be ejected to ensure there is a round in the chamber. Pistols may be tossed rather than re-holstered when they run dry or when targets outside (or inside) their range present. The point here is that while it is easy to say "train as you fight," that begs the question, "how will you fight?" If you haven't been in the scenario, and haven't engaged in extensive force-on-force training, that is a big unknown. So, we must be ever vigilant to avoid developing bad habits; this requires an individual to 1) be humble, introspective, and self-critical, and 2) an individual to seek out experienced trainers, coaches, and practice partners to observe and provide critical and positive feedback. A favorite example is the desire to look at where an unspent cartridge goes on the range, or picking up a magazine that was dropped or fumbled. The cost of that round or magazine is not worth your life. We must train ourselves to remain tactically sound; head up, eyes up, gun up, move.. and overcome the inevitable shedding of kit or other distractions during a dynamic event.
The second point is that transition drills can be dangerous. Weapons being slung and un-slung, holstered and re-holstered.. if an individual tries to go too fast too soon they will hurt themselves. It is guaranteed. The internet is chock full of examples of people who have shot themselves or others as a result of going too fast too soon, on a static square range! Just like shooting foul shots in basketball or stroking a cue ball on the pool table, these motor skills are learned after thousands of slow, deliberate repetitions. When live rounds are introduced, the strict adherence to safety rules is even more important, as is the requirement to start off as slow as possible, thinking about each step, and often breaking the transition into parts, practicing each part individually before building up to the full action. Just as a pianist will learn and practice sections of a piece before playing it through, just as a chess player will educate themselves and practice the opening, middle game and end game separately, so must the modern weapon handler approach this new skill set with an analytic mind in order to achieve full potential in a safe and productive manner.
In a following post, I will discuss the specifics of a standard rifle-pistol-rifle transition drill that can be performed dry in the home and live on the range, and some procedures that apply to both practice and application that will ensure safety at all times.
