Training with insight and keen intellect is important. On the topic of ‘Train like you fight’, which I’ve ranted on this forum I the past, it isn’t so much about what you wear during training. But, since I’ve noticed a recurring theme, I will address a few sticking points.
Many of you live in a tactical world, so it is necessary to kit up during training, at times, to insure you can work out of your kit, wear it comfortably, maneuver in it without leaving a yard sale behind you.
Too many of us civilians, who do not live in the tactical world, are kitted up during training like we are going on a raid.
A drop down leg holster, plate carrier and chest rig with a hundred MOLLE attachments are probably not necessary components to your range gear unless your job involves high risk warrants or assaulting on an HVT’s strong hold.
I am a minimalist on the range because, I am a civilian. A good holster that retains my side arm without flopping around, a single mag pouch and an extra mag in my pocket are typically what I run with during training.
Additionally, a Wal-Mart bought, leather thumb break holster is not the way to go either. I am not saying that we should not own a good plate carrier and chest rig, I certainly do, but I do not run day to day operations in it. My range setup closely mimics my day to day wear with a few exceptions to make it easier for me to teach on the line.
Patrick McNamara
SGM, US Army (Ret)
Patrick McNamara spent twenty-two years in the United States Army in a myriad of special operations units. When he worked in the premier Special Missions Unit, he became an impeccable marksman, shooting with accurate, lethal results and tactical effectiveness. McNamara has trained tactical applications of shooting to people of all levels of marksmanship, from varsity level soldiers, and police officers who work the streets to civilians with little to no time behind the trigger.
His military experience quickly taught him that there is more to tactical marksmanship than merely squeezing the trigger. Utilizing his years of experience, McNamara developed a training methodology that is safe, effective and combat relevant and encourages a continuous thought process. This methodology teaches how to maintain safety at all times and choose targets that force accountability, as well as provides courses covering several categories, including individual, collective, on line and standards.
While serving as his Unit’s Marksmanship NCO, he developed his own marksmanship club with NRA, CMP, and USPSA affiliations. Mac ran monthly IPSC matches and ran semi annual military marksmanship championships to encourage marksmanship fundamentals and competitiveness throughout the Army.He retired from the Army’s premier hostage rescue unit as a Sergeant Major and is the author of T.A.P.S. (Tactical Application of Practical Shooting). He also served as the Principle of TMACS Inc.
Gunfighter Moment is a weekly feature brought to you by Alias Training & Security Services. Each week Alias brings us a different Trainer and in turn they offer some words of wisdom.
Tags: Alias Training and Security Services, Pat McNamara, TMACS Inc
Another excellent piece of advise from Mr. McNamara on the importance of minimalist training at the range; however, I think sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words so I’ve included a link to Mr. McNamara’s typical range load-out:
https://soldiersystems.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/img_2046.jpg
Haha.
I already fruckin love this guy lol.
He screams legit.
This can’t be emphasized enough. For most of us training like we fight means wearing our every day carry rig. Why train with a PC and a battle belt in a class when your more likely to end up in a gunfight in Walmart wearing jeans and a t shirt.
http://kyledefoor.tumblr.com/post/105099458023/the-minimalist-originally-posted-jan-31-2010……written in 2010
http://kyledefoor.tumblr.com/post/39690998443/re-boot……check out second to last paragraph….written in 2013
Interesting how the pros seem to come to the same conclusions
It’s not plagiarism, so I fail to see the problem here. This post has obviously been written by Pat McNamara, not Kyle Defoor, so it’s merely a matter of two pros having the same opinion, hardly revolutionary.
Preach it!
Now that I’m our of the Marine Corps I see very little advantage to utilizing my gear from when I was in. My PIG PC with FAST MAG pouches, IFAK, and Dump pouch see very little to any usage. A single pistol mag abd rifle mag in a pouch, or pocket generally suffice. My truck/ range bag contains all my SHTF gear. And a Surefire light and a SOF-T TQ are in my pants/shorts cargo pocket.
If you take all the money you can spend on hardware and put it towards training, your software problems won’t be as bad.
Plus, you will look like a normal, well-adjusted person and not some “3%” fool.
For every gung ho gear whore at the range there is also the hipster/dillweed shooting in shorts, flip flops and low cut halter tops.
Now low cut tops on women can be very nice but not when hot brass goes down the valley and she dances the hot potato while waiving a loaded gun around. Same for open toes shoes.
Now if after said dance, no one is injured or dead…then extraction of brass can be entertaining!
…and in civilian LE you often won’t have the time to assemble all your zooty kit to jump out on a call. Even going on an active shooter call it’s unlikely you’ll be able to take the time to put on all the goodies, instead of grabbing the rifle and shoving a spare mag into a back pocket while running into the school or mall.
Disagree.
I do it very frequently.
Train for it.
Takes me about 6.3927546 seconds to throw on some LBE loaded with a couple mag pouches and a first aid kit. Not much about the situation is going to fundamentally change in the time it takes me to put that on and grab my rifle.
I train for home defense with a carbine. I want to be prepared when a bad guy breaks in while I’m sleeping. So I wear nothing but my briefs with a pmag shoved down the front. Train like you fight.
Ok but seriously, minimalist makes sense if it’s a pistol class, since drawing from concealment in public usually means you’re not wearing a plate carrier or helmet.
But for carbine/rifle use in active shooter, WROL and SHTF situations, if there’s enough time to fetch the weapon then there’s enough to put on some plates, and it’s probably a good idea to do so. I can’t imagine training without those, then expecting to perform well later when wearing them.
“But for carbine/rifle use in active shooter, WROL and SHTF situations, if there’s enough time to fetch the weapon then there’s enough to put on some plates, and it’s probably a good idea to do so. I can’t imagine training without those, then expecting to perform well later when wearing them.”
Unless you are active LE or military, you are lying to yourself and “training” for a fantasy.
How about training for the one thing the 2nd Amendment was written for? If it weren’t for this ‘fantasy’ you would have no right to bear arms.
JB,
You and McNamara can practice the way you want to practice. Others will train for what you believe will only happen in a “fantasy”.
Worry about yourself. The world will be a better place
Pat Macnamara looks like he would tear my intestines and liver out and eat them with little to no provocation.
i absolutly agree, for a CCW class i will dress like i do everyday, but lots of people are training for SHTF, global meltdown of society, so it is nice to get some training whilst wearing a plate carrier and running a carbine or rifle. i agree some people go overboard and even more people arent even fit enough to run 10 yards in all the gear they buy.
I think a lot of it is civvies wanting to dress up and play soldier. Shit, I’m guilty as well. But I agree with what Pat says. I’m not gonna kit up and wear a PC while walking my dog late at night
Wear your plate carrier when you walk the hound. Oh, and consider doing a 2-3 miler with the dog and your PC. Wearing the PC (w/plates) will give you 20-23#’s extra to lug around. It will help with your endurance.
Not only is a PC a protective device it is also a physical training device like a weight vest. Exercise wearing your PC. Walk in it, do push ups in it, shoot in it. Learn to love the weight.
Training is not only shooting. Training includes PT !
Save your gear money and buy more practice ammo and range time.
‘While serving as his Unit’s Marksmanship NCO, he developed his own marksmanship club with NRA, CMP, and USPSA affiliations. Mac ran monthly IPSC matches and ran semi annual military marksmanship championships to encourage marksmanship fundamentals and competitiveness throughout the Army’ -Pat notice Pat M. ran IPSC training to make people better shooters. If your not training 3gun or IPSC/USPSA I can find many women who will far and away out shoot you.
Anyone training in kit for SHTF, the global meltdown of society, or any of that other non-sense is using a fantasy to justify dressing up and playing soldier on the range. You are the exact person this article was written for.
I don’t think there’s any harm in dressing up while going to the range just giggles and to do a little plinking. But I’d definitely say that it’s overboard and completely necessary if you’re doing any serious training. Of course, there’s a rather fine line between just plinking at the range and serious training.
i own a simple plate carrier but i never use it, when i go shoot on my land i use a HSGI belt with a holster,2 mags and a blowout kit in case i or someone gets shot on accident.. i like the idea of owning a plate carrier though. Especially after seeing Yanokovychs goons sniping civilians during the Ukranian revolution. Its scary to see that kinda stuff happen in a developed city like Kiev. Not saying i think thats possible hear in the US but some people believe so. And it takes all kinds of people to make the world round
I think it’s crazy to say crazy will never happen here in the US.