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Archive for the ‘Gunfighter Moment’ Category

Gunfighter Moment – Larry Vickers

Saturday, June 14th, 2014

“It takes years to become a professional but only ten minutes to dress like one”

– SGM (ret) Craig Maxim

I heard Max put out that little gem many years ago in Delta and it was true then and even more true now. Sadly, we live in an age where the Internet and social media has given the village idiot a voice – bottom line, not all opinions are worth .02 cents, and my advice would be if you don’t have something of real value to add to the conversation then keep your unwanted and unneeded uninformed opinion to yourself.

I’ll close with another favorite of mine:

“The problem with the Internet is it is full of people with nothing to say that say it anyway.”

– Jeff Cooper

-Larry Vickers
Vickers Tactical Inc.
Host of TacTV

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Larry Vickers of Vickers Tactical in a retired US Army 1st SFOD-Delta combat veteran with years of experience in the firearms industry as a combat marksmanship instructor and industry consultant. In recent years he has hosted tactical firearms related TV shows on the Sportsman Channel with the latest being TacTV of which Bravo Company is a presenting sponsor.Larry Vickers special operations background is one of the most unique in the industry today; he has been directly or indirectly involved in the some of the most significant special operations missions of the last quarter century. During Operation Just Cause he participated in Operation Acid Gambit – the rescue of Kurt Muse from Modelo Prison in Panama City, Panama. As a tactics and marksmanship instructor on active duty he helped train special operations personnel that later captured Saddam Hussein and eliminated his sons Uday and Qusay Hussein. In addition he was directly involved in the design and development of the HK416 for Tier One SOF use which was used by Naval Special Warfare personnel to kill Osama Bin Laden. Larry Vickers has developed various small arms accessories with the most notable being his signature sling manufactured by Blue Force Gear and Glock accessories made by Tangodown. In addition he has maintained strong relationships with premium companies within the tactical firearms industry such as BCM, Aimpoint, Black Hills Ammunition, Wilson Combat and Schmidt & Bender.

Larry Vickers travels the country conducting combat marksmanship classes for law abiding civilians, law enforcement and military and has partnered with Alias Training to coordinate classes to best meet the needs of the students attending the class.

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.

Gunfighter Moment – Pat McNamara

Saturday, May 31st, 2014

I occasionally get push back or skepticism during courses when I have guys utilize the rifle’s safety while doing mag changes up close at say…7-10 yards. So I present them with this situation; you and I are fighting side by side from behind cover. The fight is mid-range. The cover is small. This is close quarters. I am within inches of you while performing a magazine change, or while moving around you to better my position. At times my muzzle may be oriented over your bow. Do you want me to use my rifle’s safety? I’m thinking your answer will be “Yes”.

If we are fighting together in close quarters, not only do I want you to use your safety while working alongside of me, but I am hoping that your safety manipulation is spontaneous.

Push back comes from those too lazy to perform the appropriate amount of meaningful repetitions until safety manipulation becomes an intuitive task or until one can perform this at a subconscious level.

If you can’t think to ‘Safe it’ at seven, what makes you think…you can think to do it instinctively, in close quarters?

Patrick McNamara
SGM, US Army (Ret)

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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.

Gunfighter Moment – Frank Proctor

Saturday, May 24th, 2014

MINIMALIST CARBINE SET UP

Hey y’all here’s a topic that’s near and dear to my heart, setting up the carbine with everything you need and nothing you don’t! One very cool thing about the AR-15 platform is that it’s very modular, far too many times shooters add too many “light weight” accessories and end up with a less than optimal package. Here’s what I think the all purpose carbine needs no more no less.

Good Barrel
Having the ability to shoot 1.5-ish MOA or better with decent ammo and do so for a reasonable duration of fire and last a long time. I have found the BCM and Daniel Defense Hammer forged and chrome lined barrels to hold up better than anything else I’ve used and they provide around 1 MOA accuracy with MK 262. The new ELW bbl from BCM is quickly becoming a favorite, I’m looking forward to the hammer forged version. Also worth noting that I’m a fan of a 1-7 twist for everything and if the bbl is 14.5” or 16” then mid length gas system is the way to go. The difference in smoothness of the recoil impulse is very noticeable!

Rail
At least 9” in length, I think this is important to get leverage on the rifle. For an 11” bbl I would go with a 9 or 10” rail. For a 14.5” bbl I like a 13” rail. For a 16” bbl either a 13” or 15” rail. I’m a huge fan of the new KMR rails from BCM, super light without sacrificing any durability or function. I have also found that the KMR rail stays comfortable to the touch after extended shooting (I ran 3 mags through the gun pretty quickly to test this theory). The grip panels for the KMR help as well and they are super low profile.

Good Trigger
I like a trigger in the 3-3.5 pounds range and am a fan of a single stage trigger. I have used the following triggers with great results in performance and reliability. CMC, Wilson Combat and Geissele.

Pistol Grip
With a more straight up and down rake than a standard A2 pistol grip. I’m currently using the BCM Gunfighter Mod 2 grip and really like it the fact that it is modular also lending it to use by shooters of different hand size.

Charging Handle
I feel that and extended charging handle is beneficial in clearing malfunctions (if they occur) and working around a scope. I have used the Badger latch in the past but when BCM introduced the Gunfighter charging handle I switched and haven’t looked back! I’m running the Mod 4 on all my guns and dig it the most!

Muzzle Device
I’m a huge fan of having something on the end of the bbl that helps minimize the amount of time the gun is away from the target. There are some downsides to a very effective brake, usually they are pretty load and produce over pressure plus they can generate some serious flash. There are several MDs out there that offer some control and flash hiding capability and are fairly mild on the shooter. I have used the PWS and BCM Gunfighter devices a good bit and they both work pretty well. I’m also working on my own design that will provide a bit more control and not obnoxious over pressure, we’ll see how it goes!

Buttstock
I prefer light weight stock that fits tight to the buffer tube and locks up nice. I find that there is too much slop in the standard carbine stock. There are some choices out there that can get pretty heavy and bulky without really bringing anything else to the table. In the past I’ve used the Magpul CTR stock, the B5 SOPMOD stock and now the BCM Gunfighter stock as well as the Troy stock. The BCM is becoming my favorite due to tight fight, low profile and light weight.

Optic
There are many options in this category and based on what your needs are. Here are my opinions. If you are shooting from the muzzle to 200 yards irons are an excellent choice, very light and very close to red dot fast at those ranges. I shoot irons to 300 without any problems however at 300 the sights cover a lot of target and limit what you can see around the target. The red dot sights work very well from the muzzle to 300 yards. I dig the size, weight and battery life of the Aimpoint T1. I think the Eotech is the fastest red dot available a it has a bigger field of view and the large ring really pulls the eyes in. The 1 MOA dot in the Eotech is king at distance also. If you need to shoot small or past 300 yards a 1-4 or 1-6 or 8 power scope will really pay dividends. A couple things I look for there is true 1X, first focal plane on any thing past 1-4X, and a reticle set up in mils.

Light
Any rifle intended for duty or defensive use needs a light. I prefer something small and compact. I have used a Stream Light Protac 1L for a few years and it has worked very well. I’ve also used the Inforce WML and dig it as well. I’ve been very happy with lights in the 100 lumen range, to get much more than that you have to go to a bigger and bulkier light.

Sling
In my opinion and experience a 2 point adjustable sling is the way to go. In my opinion the single point sling keeps the stock of the rifle close to the shoulder and is slightly easier to transition to the opposite shoulder. I think that the 2 point adjustable is a much more usable design for really working with the carbine. Climbing, breaching, dragging or carrying things that require 2 hands are all easier if the rifle is cinched tight to the body or on your back. There are plenty of good options out there in the 2 point sling department but I’m kinda fond of my design!

I’m a huge fan of a light carbine and I think most dudes that have or do carry one for a living will agree. My current BCM carbine is set up with everything I think it needs to go to work (minus and IR laser for night vision work) and weights in at 6 pounds 3 ounces. I also have a carbine set up on a Tennessee Arms Polymer lower receiver that weighs in at 5 pounds 8 ounces, that’s with irons, light and sling. You can check out my guns on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/pages/Way-of-the-Gun. You can also go to my website www.wayofthegun.us.

Thanks for reading and I’ll catch y’all next time!

-Frank Proctor

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Frank Proctor has served over 18 years in the military, the last 11 of those in US Army Special Forces. During his multiple combat tours in Afghanistan & Iraq he had the privilege to serve with and learn from many seasoned veteran Special Forces Operators so their combined years of knowledge and experience has helped him to become a better operator & instructor. While serving as an instructor at the Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat Course he was drawn to competitive shooting. He has since earned the USPSA Grand Master ranking in the Limited Division and Master ranking in the IDPA Stock Service Pistol division. He learned a great deal from shooting in competition and this has helped him to become to become a better tactical shooter. Frank is one of the few individuals able to bring the experiences of U.S. Army Special Forces, Competitive Shooting, and veteran Instructor to every class.

All this experience combines to make Frank Proctor a well-rounded shooter and instructor capable of helping you to achieve your goal of becoming a better shooter.

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.

Gunfighter Moment – Ken Hackathorn

Saturday, May 17th, 2014

If you follow any of the internet forums you will see the argument of whether competition shooting is a plus or minus for ‘Real World’ application. The ‘ game boys’ will argue that competition is the key to success, and the ‘tactical gurus’ promise that gun games will doom you to the flames of Hell. The truth falls somewhere in the middle. First of all, I will make it clear that I am not anti-gun competition. I was a founding member of IPSC, IDPA, and the guy that started three-gun competition in the USA. I have been active in all three, never a ‘great shooter’, but a pretty ‘good’ one back in the day.

The Legendary Ken Hackathorn

Gun games will definitely produce highly skilled shooters. In my classes over past 35 years I have noted that typically the best shooters have come action shooting backgrounds. I think that those shooters who have subjected themselves to the stress of shooting in competition have certainly learned some important lessons about how well they perform when out of their comfort zone. Gun handling, quick accurate shooting, and movement with a weapon are skills that can be mastered via gun games. To bad mouth gun games as not realistic or valid for developing combat marksmanship skills is not wise.

Look at the number of top trainers with Alias Training and you will find most have a gun game history. Jim Cirrillo was one of the top gun fighters of his era…he was also a PPC champ and always said that his competition background was a key to his success in his many shootouts. So, gun games have benefits…..Right. But, they also have some real negatives. If you pursuethem to become really good in your particular discipline, you will have to adopt techniques and practices that can be harmful in the real world. Like everything we do in life…….you are what you practice. The more you practice, the more it becomes subconscious.

Case in point: I had a nice young man in a class recently that was very skilled. He was an active USPSA competitor and very quick and accurate. Every time his relay would finish their drills, he would quickly unload and holster his pistol ( magazine out, slide quickly to the rear and catch the ejected round in his hand). Even though I told each relay to top off their weapons and then holster prior to scoring and pasting targets…He did this every time, and was never ready to shoot when his relay was called to the line the next time. Later in the day as his relay finished and everyone else was reloading and holstering, he was still clearing and unloading his pistol. I finally walked over and asked him, “Why in the Hell do you keep unloading your sidearm when you are finished with a shooting task?” He got red in the face, and then answered ‘habit’. Well, now we can see the negatives of gun games and the many things that you will program as a reflexive response. There are a whole host of things that the well seasoned game boys do that are pure stupid in the real world. Yea, I know that most will tell you that I would not ‘do that’ if it were for real. Ray Charles could a see how bogus that statement is. Remember, you are what you practice. I note that many of the top gun game boys really think that because They are so good and fast on the trigger that in the real world they will automatically win any encounter with the bad guys…..yea, I had a dose of that mindset myself back in the day.

Understand what the good and bad of gun games bring to the table. They are great fun, I recommend that anyone that carries a blaster give them a try, but don’t become a slave to them.

-Ken Hackathorn

Old Guy With A Blaster

Ken Hackathorn has served as a US Army Special Forces Small Arms Instructor, Gunsite Instructor, and NRA Police Firearms Instructor. He is currently an FBI Certified Firearms Instructor, Certified Deputy Sheriff with Washington County SO, Ohio, and a SRT member and Special Response Team trainer. Ken has trained US Military Special Operations forces, Marine FAST and SOTG units and is a contract small arms trainer to FBI SWAT and HRT.

Ken has provided training to Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and been active in small arms training for the past 25 years. He has written firearms related material for Guns & Ammo, Combat Handguns, Soldier Of Fortune, and currently American Handgunner and contributed to at least six other gun/shooting journals. Ken was also a founding member of IPSC and IDPA.

To see Ken’s Training Class Schedule visit aliastraining.com.

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 SSD readers hard earned words of wisdom.

Gunfighter Moment – Larry Vickers

Saturday, May 10th, 2014

Every now and then it helps to remind yourself of the K.I.S.S. Principle and that Murphy is in fact alive and well. Complexity is the enemy in many instances and never more so than when someone is shooting at you with hostile intentions. When it comes to fighting with small arms, keeping it real is always a good idea. Food for thought.

-Larry Vickers
Vickers Tactical Inc.
Host of TacTV

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Larry Vickers of Vickers Tactical in a retired US Army 1st SFOD-Delta combat veteran with years of experience in the firearms industry as a combat marksmanship instructor and industry consultant. In recent years he has hosted tactical firearms related TV shows on the Sportsman Channel with the latest being TacTV of which Bravo Company is a presenting sponsor.Larry Vickers special operations background is one of the most unique in the industry today; he has been directly or indirectly involved in the some of the most significant special operations missions of the last quarter century. During Operation Just Cause he participated in Operation Acid Gambit – the rescue of Kurt Muse from Modelo Prison in Panama City, Panama. As a tactics and marksmanship instructor on active duty he helped train special operations personnel that later captured Saddam Hussein and eliminated his sons Uday and Qusay Hussein. In addition he was directly involved in the design and development of the HK416 for Tier One SOF use which was used by Naval Special Warfare personnel to kill Osama Bin Laden. Larry Vickers has developed various small arms accessories with the most notable being his signature sling manufactured by Blue Force Gear and Glock accessories made by Tangodown. In addition he has maintained strong relationships with premium companies within the tactical firearms industry such as BCM, Aimpoint, Black Hills Ammunition, Wilson Combat and Schmidt & Bender.

Larry Vickers travels the country conducting combat marksmanship classes for law abiding civilians, law enforcement and military and has partnered with Alias Training to coordinate classes to best meet the needs of the students attending the class.

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.

Gunfighter Moment – Mike Pannone

Saturday, May 3rd, 2014

Establishing requirements before capabilities.

Many times I see people trumpeting a capability of a piece of equipment without prior identifying the requirements for application of the tool itself. For instance, I often see people with flashlights that are more concerned with the number of lumen output but have not established the requirements of application and don’t really identify the benefits or drawbacks of that particular light. An extremely high output light is a great tool for certain applications but might not be necessary or ideal for all uses. It is almost uniform with people that carry a CCW to carry a flashlight as well. I believe that’s absolutely the best course of action when carrying even during daylight hours (it’s still dark inside of buildings). That said, do I really need a larger light that is 300-600 lumens with multiple light options and settings on a day to day basis? You might but I don’t see the need for the bulk, the multiple options or an amount of lumens that I could fry an egg with. I need a light I can navigate with, without having excessive night blindness following use and one that is easy to carry.

A defensive light is just a facilitator for target ID and my pistol sights, with a positive friend or foe identification of a minimum of 25 yards. If I have enough light for both given the nature of defensive carry then it has met my needs. Any more is not necessary for that task and purpose I have established, although it might be a benefit for another application. An EDC light is a tool I carry for a specified purpose and I have identified the needs for it and thereby the capabilities required.

I have a small single CR 123 battery 180 lumen light I carry and it is perfect for EDC. I recently shot a covert carry class night portion with 100% satisfaction using a 65 lumen Streamlight Stylus Pro. It gave me all the light I needed even at 25 yards and is extremely easy to manipulate in conjunction with a pistol and magazines. I am not saying 65 lumens is all you need, what I am saying is specifically identify the needs and requirements before you invest in a tool that may not be optimal for the job for which it is intended. I also prefer a light that goes on and off at the same intensity and that is all. I don’t want the chance that I will somehow mistakenly or inadvertently change my settings and not get on demand the amount of light I expect.
More unnecessary lumens, and lots of unneeded options means a larger light and more cost with less ease of portability. Efficiency in application, size, options and price are the goal.

Sometimes the bigger hammer isn’t always the best one for the job.

– Mike Pannone

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Mike Pannone retired from the Army’s premier assault force (1st SFOD-D) after an explosive breaching injury. A year after his retirement America was attacked on 9/11 and he returned to help serve his country as the head marksmanship instructor at the Federal Air Marshals training course and then moved to help stand up the FAMS Seattle field office. In 2003 he left the FAMS to serve as a PSD detail member and then a detail leader for the State Department during 2003 and 2004 in Baghdad and Tikrit.

In 2005 he served as a ground combat advisor of the Joint Counter IED Task Force and participated on combat operations with various units in Al Anbar province. Upon returning he gave IED awareness briefings to departing units and helped stand up a pre-Iraq surge rifle course with the Asymmetric Warfare Group as a lead instructor. With that experience as well as a career of special operations service in Marine Reconnaissance, Army Special Forces and JSOC to draw from he moved to the private sector teaching planning, leadership, marksmanship and tactics as well as authoring and co-authoring several books such as The M4 Handbook, AK Handbook and Tactical Pistol shooting. Mike also consults for several major rifle and accessory manufacturers to help them field the best possible equipment to the warfighter, law enforcement officer and upstanding civilian end user. He is considered a subject matter expert on the AR based Stoner platform in all its derivatives.


www.ctt-solutions.com

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.

Gunfighter Moment – Kyle Defoor

Saturday, April 26th, 2014

Defoor Proformance climbing prep/ PRT prep pull up workout

This is a simple routine designed for use during the workweek with sat/sun off. I came up with this over the years to help guys pass certain PT tests and to prep for mountain excursions. If you perform this work out for a minimum of four weeks you’ll gain at least five reps on your max pull-ups. Once you are able to perform 15 dead hang pull-ups at any time start using the modification piece of the work out for Tuesdays and Thursdays. This will get you to the magical 20 rep place quicker. Once you can do 20 clean, dead hang, no kipping, palm away pull-ups you can go back to the normal Monday, Wednesday, Friday routine and you will maintain 20 pull-ups for as long as you want to.

First, it is extremely important to have the correct grip when you begin this routine. A lot of people have too wide grip when they do pull-ups. Look at any gymnast, professional climber, or anyone who does over 20 reps and they do not have an extreme wide grip. The ideal grip is just slightly wider than shoulder width and palms always facing away. This will also reduce any possibility of injuries due to over training or lack of proper rest.

Second, begin this routine with absolutely no kipping whatsoever. It has become commonplace lately in many exercise regimens to introduce kipping to the pull-up to make people feel better about the number of reps they can perform. All this does is give a false sense of one’s true strength.

Third, know your math when it comes to pull-up pyramids. For example; a pyramid of five is a total of 25 pull-ups, a pyramid of six is a total of 36 pull-ups. Simply multiply the top number by itself to find how many pull-ups are in that pyramid.

Fourth, the most ideal bar is between 2.5 and 2.75″ inches in diameter. Anything smaller is width causes too much hand and low forearm grip strength which can result in an overuse type injury or reduced total rep numbers. One of the best places to find a good bar is on any public or city playground, like Hannibal does.

Lastly, Monday’s workout was not invented by me but by United States Marine Corps Maj. Chuck Armstrong. Years ago I used his complete routine but I found it to be a little bit of overtraining with some individuals and myself. Also, I found the modifications that I made for Wednesday and Fridays workouts to work better for myself and others that I have been mostly around in the past 10 years. Major Armstrong’s complete pull up routine can be found here: http://www.ososb.com/documents/Armstrong_Pull-Up_workout_Program.pdf

The routine

Monday – from USMC Maj. Chuck Armstrong (if you don’t know you should) – 5 max sets of pull-ups with 90 seconds rest in between. My addition- Add up the total reps for the five sets you performed and find the closest pyramid to your total without going over and this will be the pyramid you will perform on Friday.

Wednesday – using 60% (round low for half numbers) of your max number of current pull-ups (set 1 from Mondays workout), do this number all day until you reach 100 total pull-ups.

Friday – pyramid of pull-ups with 10 seconds of rest between sets for each rep done in that set. start pyramid with your 60% number (ex.- if your 60% number is 10, you do a set of 10 first. This takes care of sets 1,2,3, and 4 of a traditional pyramid, your next set would be 5, then 6, 7, etc.

Modified workout additions (once you can do 15 pull-ups):

Tuesday – hang for 1 min, rest 1 min, repeat for 3 total hangs of 1 min

Thursday – using the number that is 75% of your max (set 1 from Monday) do that number of pull-ups 3-5 times throughout the day.

20 pull-ups is a great place to be.

V/R,

Kyle Defoor

“Trainer of Feeders”

Kyle Defoor is one of the world’s most committed and passionate shooting instructors. Literally growing up with a gun in hand he took his talents into the military where he was combat decorated as a SEAL assaulter and sniper. Kyle helped to create and define modern training while along the way personally teaching thousands of military personal and civilians from around the globe. His shooting prowess led to appearances on multiple TV shows including Shooting Gallery, Tactical Arms, and Tactical Impact, and guest appearances on History Channel. Kyle’s outdoor athletic lifestyle includes shooting, ultra running, stand-up paddle surfing and climbing. He now serves as the brand ambassador for Mission Ready Equipment and runs his own company which offers tactical training, wilderness navigation, TV and film consulting, and motivational speaking.

www.kyledefoor.com

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.

Gunfighter Moment – Ken Hackathorn

Saturday, April 19th, 2014

Real “gunners” understand that knowledge and skill with a variety of small arms is mandatory. It should be understood that certain handguns and long guns should be second nature to those that must travel in harms way. Handgun wise the guns that you will be most likely to encounter require attention. These include first and for most the Glock. We live in a Glock world and once you leave CONUS it will be a 9X19mm Glock. The US service pistol, the Beretta M9/92 is a pistol that you should be able to run with ease. In the USA the 1911 remains the most popular selling handgun on the market today. Get to know in strengths and weaknesses and master it’s use. The ‘J’ frame S&W revolver is very proliferate, it is difficult to shoot well under stress, so give it serious attention when at the range. On America’s streets, the Hi Point pistol is found in great numbers as it is favored by the criminal element. While many ‘gunners’ disparage Hi Point firearms, if you have to pick one up and use it, you best know what you are doing. When you leave CONUS you will issued or given a sidearm that you may not be accustom to…do your homework and find out what type of small arms are common in the area you will be working or traveling. CZ 75, H&K USP/P2000/P30, Makarov, and TT33 Tokarev pistols are guns you should be competent with. In long guns, AR15 weapon system skills and use is mandatory and the AK platforms require hands on skill. In some places around the planet guns like the H&K 36, French FAMAS, and British SA80 may be something that you need to study up on. Know the guns that you may have to use in the area you live or travel….don’t always assume you will have the one you want or like.

Remember, guns don’t win fights…..the guy behind it does.

-Ken Hackathorn

The Legendary Ken Hackathorn

Ken Hackathorn has served as a US Army Special Forces Small Arms Instructor, Gunsite Instructor, and NRA Police Firearms Instructor. He is currently an FBI Certified Firearms Instructor, Certified Deputy Sheriff with Washington County SO, Ohio, and a SRT member and Special Response Team trainer. Ken has trained US Military Special Operations forces, Marine FAST and SOTG units and is a contract small arms trainer to FBI SWAT and HRT.

Ken has provided training to Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and been active in small arms training for the past 25 years. He has written firearms related material for Guns & Ammo, Combat Handguns, Soldier Of Fortune, and currently American Handgunner and contributed to at least six other gun/shooting journals. Ken was also a founding member of IPSC and IDPA.

To see Ken’s Training Class Schedule visit aliastraining.com.

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 SSD readers hard earned words of wisdom.