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Archive for the ‘Gunfighter Moment’ Category

Gunfighter Moment – Frank Proctor

Saturday, December 3rd, 2016

Pistol Sight Problems

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Yesterday I was training with some guys and had them shooting what I call Performance Grouping at 50 yards. (we do it at other shorter distances too but 50 yards shots are a very real possibility in the practical applications of pistol shooting) In the exercise I push shooters to put 5 rounds on target as quickly as they can. Being able to group well on small targets is important but I think the time factor is a very real thing in the practical application of pistol shooting. I typically look for shooters to get 5 hits on a piece of 8.5×11 copy paper at 25 yards in 6 seconds or less from the holster.

Back to yesterday at 50 yards. During the exercise a guy came up to me and said…man my front sight is so big I can’t see the target at this distance. That’s a problem folks. We were shooting at 14 x 20 ish steel roughly the size of a man’s chest. I looked through his sights and sure enough the front sight covered the entire target at that distance, makes it hard to aim at what you can’t see. This is a problem that a lot of pistol sights cause especially the night sights. He was using a very popular style of night sight that offers tritum and some bright orange paint. The front sight is .135” wide. In my experience as a pistol shooter and a tactical shooter night sights offer more disability to shooters than capability. The front sights are generally too big and the rear notch is also very big and allows too much room for sight mis-alignment which is the biggest problem for pistol shooters on small targets. Another disadvantage of most night sights is there is no contrast in the font and rear i.e. 3 dots that all look the same. Our eyes see extremely fast but the 3 dot sight slow the eyes down because they have to interpret what they are looking at (which of the 3 dots is the front and which is the rear) From spending a lot of time with my eyes behind a pistol seeing and shooting fast, I have found that a contrast between the 2 sights makes it much easier for the eyes to work at the speed they can. I prefer a black rear and fiber optic front (red for me) I have found a .115 wide front to be very durable and narrow enough that it doesn’t cover a reasonable size target at distance. I’m sure some will bash that the fiber will break and that you have to have night sights for shooting in low light. If installed correctly fiber has lasted as many as 10000 rounds for me. I’m not sure how long it would go because I replaced it at that point. As far as low light shooting: if you have to shoot at night in a defensive or tactical shooting situation, you need a light to ID what you are shooting at, hand held or weapon mounted, either one of those will show you the sights.

That’s what I’ve got for now, rock on and train to win!

-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 Bravo Company USA. Bravo Company is home of the Gunfighters, and each week they bring us a different trainer to offer some words of wisdom.

Gunfighter Moment – Larry Vickers

Saturday, November 26th, 2016

I often say you can learn more about shooting in one day on the range with quality instruction than you will learn in a month reading about it online. The process of zeroing your rifle is a perfect example; the skills and knowledge you gain from actually doing it, instead of reading about it, are immeasurable. You will also learn very quickly with quality range time that a) many of the techniques you might think are valid are actually stupid and b) a whole lot of the gear you might buy and think is cool is trash. Get some training before you go out and waste a bunch of money on equipment that is solely designed to separate neophytes from their money.

LAV out.

Larry Vickers
Vickers Tactical Inc.
Host of TacTV

Larry Vickers of Vickers Tactical is 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.

With over 300,000 subscribers, his Youtube channel features a new firearms video every Friday. 

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

Gunfighter Moment is a weekly feature brought to you by Bravo Company USA. Bravo Company is home of the Gunfighters, and each week they bring us a different trainer to offer some words of wisdom.

BCM Gunfighter Moment : Warrior’s Heart

Saturday, November 19th, 2016

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MISSION 22

Wars do not end for Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Air Men because they have returned home. For the people who have fought our wars, their fight does not end when they step off a plane onto the tarmac outside a war zone.

Today, twenty American veterans kill themselves, everyday, in the United States. Making this singular truth known to all Americans is our purpose. From this truth, Mission 22 inspires others to take up the cause of Veteran’s Suicide by creating or supporting efforts in their communities that can insure the people entrusted with fighting our wars, have the support at home that they need to come home in both their hearts and minds.

Founded by US Army Special Operations Combat Veterans, Mission 22 was started by warriors facing personal battles with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD) during and after their service with the military. When Mission 22 started, twenty two veterans were committing suicide every day. Mission 22 has reached millions of Americans with their message and as Americans learn the truth, they are taking action.

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WARRIOR’S HEART

Co-founded by Mission 22 co-founder, Tom Spooner, Warrior’s Heart is a facility built specifically to treat Post Traumatic Stress and substance abuse issues facing veterans today. Built on the former site of the Purple Sage Ranch, northwest of San Antonio, Texas; Warriors Heart is a private facility with on-premises lodging, private therapy suites, group therapy spaces, fitness areas, recreational spaces, dining, and over 543 acres of Hill Country for exploration and private reflection.

With so much under one roof, Warriors Heart is able to provide physical, emotional, spiritual and cognitive healing for our veterans and first responders in one place. With their official opening on October 15, Warriors Heart is working to heal dozens of Veterans and First Responders who have come to the facility seeking a way to come home and connect with who they are.

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ART THERAPY

From its beginnings, Mission 22 created public and private art pieces that both raised awareness of Veteran suicide as well as helped the creators, combat veterans, on their path to healing. These pieces were designed to live in the everyday, where Americans worked and lived. These pieces were put in place to remind everyone who saw them, that there was a human cost to protecting our nation.

At the Warrior’s Heart facility, Mission 22 maintains a creative workshop space where “clients” can express their experiences and themselves through art. Providing raw materials and the tools to craft them, warriors have crafted personal works that they take with them at the end of their journey or leave on the campus to be displayed throughout the grounds of Warrior’s Heart.

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SERVICE DOGS

Operation Overwatch works with the clinicians at Warriors Heart to train service dogs specifically to what is needed in the treatment process for a veteran or first responder actively in the healing process. Post traumatic stress can be cued by smells, sounds or even the weather. Service dogs can be trained to recognize these triggers and intervene to help their person before an event can occur or to stop an event in progress. Additionally, these Service Dogs can be trained for mobility assistance and as companion dogs. To date, all dogs have either been rescues or “owner surrenders”, and often times clients can relate their personal struggles with that of one of the hand-picked shelter dogs. Group classes and private sessions are offered where clients learn training, husbandry, structure and communication skills vital to not only personal healing, but relationship building as well.

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THE WAR AT HOME MEMORIAL

Conceived of and built by Mission 22, the War at Home Memorial features twenty Coreten steel plates, each with water jet cut silhouettes and dog tags of real American veterans that lost their battle, here at home. Arranged in a phalanx, these are the silhouettes of fathers, brothers, sisters and friends; killed by shots fired from the other side of the planet, in battles that ended long ago.

Debuting to the public at the Warriors Heart Opening, this memorial is unlike others, built in place and seen only by those who go out of their way to pay their respects. The War At Home Memorial has been designed to travel, so that it can find it’s way into the population centers of the United States where it can be seen by everyone and that they can know the truth about Veteran suicide in America today.

To arrange for the War at Home Memorial to come to your city, contact Mission 22 at www.mission22.com/ contact-us-1

Learn more about Warriors Heart and see how you can help here www.warriorsheart.com.

Learn more about Operation Overwatch and service dogs here www.operationoverwatch.org.

Gunfighter Moment – Jeff Gonzales

Saturday, November 12th, 2016

Intermediate Positions

Recently I had the privilege of attending my good friend Pat Roger’s memorial weekend hosted by the Alliance PD to provide some blocks of instruction on the rifle and one of my favorite rifle drills.

Priorities

While getting setup for the rifle drill we spent time reviewing positions and specifically the kneeling position. I love a good kneeling position, but I am surprised by how little work most people put into the positions. First, this is how we look at any of the positions for use on a battlefield, they are designed to help take advantage of available cover. Kneeling is a great intermediate position, high enough to shoot over some taller oddities and low enough to get under some. The mistake people make is thinking a kneeling position is there to increase your accuracy. It is not, it is there to take advantage of cover first and if possible improve your shooting your position second.

Stable shooting platform

Since we focus more on the cover aspect we have to rely on good technique to improve our marksmanship. There are so many different forms of kneeling out there, but don’t get hung up on whether it is a double knee, high knee, speed knee or some other crazy kneeling position. The body is still broken down into two parts, the upper and lower units. So many focus only on the lower unit, how they are kneeling and forget to work their upper unit. Truthfully, it doesn’t matter what type of kneeling position you use as long as you can take advantage of the cover you are trying to use and are stable enough to get your hits on target.

Pulling power

The key to the kneeling position has to do with your upper torso. Most folks just “hold” the weapon in their shoulder pocket. You need to pull the weapon into your pocket and not with just your arms. You need to engage the muscular chain of the upper back region. All those large and intimidating muscles that have tremendous pulling power compared to your wimpy arms. Let’s face it, if all you have to work the rifle is your arms you are missing out, now image recruiting the larger muscle groups to see the range of your effectiveness.

Muscle recruitment

Through years of frolicking about we discovered the benefits of muscle recruitment as it relates to shooting, it is hard to find a better example than kneeling. While you might be able to assume a stable lower unit on the flat range, the battlefield is less forgiving. As long as you are balanced and won’t fall over, you need to concentrate on retractor your shoulder blades, almost pinching them as if you are holding an object between them. That is were you see the stability you need to make hits at the extended ranges. While most folks don’t play with the kneeing at extended ranges you may not have a say in your gunfight. If you have to hit a target at 75, 100 even 200 yards while taking advantage of cover you may have to rely on technique alone.

You can opt to employ other techniques such as resting on objects, sling use or even aftermarket devices to help with recoil, but those are not a replacement for skill. I have seen folks engage targets well outside the normal range, they did so because they took what God gave them and exploited it on the battlefield.

– Jeff Gonzales
Trident Concepts, LLC

Jeff Gonzales of Trident Concepts, LLC is a decorated and respected U.S. Navy SEAL who has worked in a variety of environments and capacities throughout the globe. He specializes in personal protection tactics and training for armed and unarmed conflicts. His motto is “Concepts that meet reality”. Jeff’s goal is not simply to train you, but to better prepare you for the worst-case scenario.

Gunfighter Moment is a weekly feature brought to you by Bravo Company USA. Bravo Company is home of the Gunfighters, and each week they bring us a different trainer to offer some words of wisdom.

BCM Presents Gunfighter Magazine

Monday, November 7th, 2016

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Hartland, WI – November 1, 2016 BCM is proud to announce the release of BCM Presents Gunfighter™ Magazine, available at stores and on newsstands today.

The BCM Gunfighter Program has supported industry-leading marksmanship and tactical applications instructors since its launch in 2013. Including Pat Rogers, Travis Haley, Pat McNamara, Larry Vickers, Kyle Defoor, Frank Proctor, Zach Harrison, John Chapman and Dave Harrington, the program is a commitment by BCM to connect end users with the best training available in the personal defense and tactics industry today.

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BCM Presents Gunfighter™ Magazine is a platform for these same professionals to speak on a range of topics, from mindset to the practical application of skills in real-world settings. Also featuring articles about the origin of the KeyMod modular rail system, a brief history of weapon systems employed by US Marine Raiders during World War II, the Black Powder Graphic Novel series, the Colonel Blade and a piece on Mission 22’s War at Home Memorial, the publication is a singular destination containing some of the best knowledge and wisdom in the field today.

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Pick up your copy online now at http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCMGUNFIGHTER-Magazine-2017-p/gunfighter-magazine-2017.htm

About BCM
BCM (Bravo Company Manufacturing) was founded in 2005 by a veteran United States Marine in Hartland, Wisconsin, where the company maintains its HQ today. BCM builds weapon systems that are manufactured, reinforced and tested to meet the unforgiving needs of law enforcement, military, security and peace keeping professionals in some of the most high stress environments and situations in the world.

Visit BCM online at http://www.BravoCompanyMFG.com

Gunfighter Moment – Mike Glover

Saturday, November 5th, 2016

Redefining The Modern Combat POI

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In Special Forces, nothing is given and everything is earned. Fresh on a team as an 18 Bravo (Special Forces Weapons Sergeant) and hungry to show how valuable I was to the detachment, I wanted to bring the tactical capabilities of my unit a step up. I had seen other 18B’s running pre-deployment range work ups for their teams, but their programs seemed so vanilla and rudimentary. “Ready up” drills and basic lateral shooting with some depth movement; essentially, comfort food drills.

But we were Special Forces. Why wouldn’t we go beyond what was taught in the regular Army?

I laid out a plan to my Team Sergeant. I could make our guys better tacticians as well as better shooters. Starting with marksmanship from static positions at fixed distances, we would progress into both linear and lateral movement, eventually incorporating weapons manipulation on the move and under stress before applying these skills in “real-world” settings.

Taking my team through that process, I got to see first hand, exactly how other pro-end users learn. I would build on that to continually refine my POI (Program of Instruction), through the rest of my career in the US Army but there was a bigger lesson ahead…

When we got in our first gunfight, there were a number of tactics we had trained for on the flat range that proved impractical in combat. Trying to assume a “correct” marksmanship position took a backseat to necessity when the shooting started. Quick and accurate fire came from shooting in natural positions, not fighting the body’s center of gravity and orienting plates to the threat. In real world direct action missions with simultaneous clears, we discovered coming in high gun meant the M4 could be used to push, pin or drive a threat out of a threshold, whereas in the shoot houses, high gun was frowned upon as something SEALs did.

In combat, that hubris went out the window. We were fighting with rifles inside of rooms, dealing with anywhere from zero to fifty people who we had to immediately identify as a shoot or no-shoot so if something didn’t work consistently or wasn’t repeatable under fire, it got dumped. Immediately. End of story. Successful repeated application of a technique in combat was and is the only thing that counts.

Today, the POI I teach is Fundamentals of Gunfighting vs. Fundamentals of Marksmanship. Marksmanship proved to be the easiest technical element of gunfighting, honed with proven isolation drills and repped out consistently for sustainment. However it is the application of marksmanship, combined with immediate target discrimination and maneuver, that pays the bills. Entering a relative unknown and being able to immediately solve problems is the true hard skill that requires consistent good reps under oversight to improve, and that is the point of all of this. Create a path for improvement as a team and individual – because improving to the point where we kill the enemy and they don’t kill us is the whole reason we train.

– Mike Glover
FieldCraft LLC

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www.fieldcraftsurvival.com

Gunfighter Moment is a weekly feature brought to you by Bravo Company USA. Bravo Company is home of the Gunfighters, and each week they bring us a different trainer to offer some words of wisdom.

Gunfighter Moment – Ken Hackathorn

Saturday, October 29th, 2016

Magazine Madness

Of all the issues I see with users of the AR15/M4 weapons platform, two issues create the most problems. First is lack of lubrication. You must keep these firearms lubricated to work properly. Second is the problem of failing to seat the magazine into the weapon securely, when the bolt (moving parts) is forward.

Whether it is military, police, or private sector users, they try to top off their AR by putting a magazine that has 30 or often 31 rounds loaded into their carbine with the moving parts forward and in battery. With 31 rounds it will not lock into the weapon period, and with 30 rounds it will often be nearly impossible to get the magazine catch to engage in the magazine notch without beating the hell out of the magazine. This is especially the case with GI issue magazines. Some newer designs such as the Magpul polymer magazine has enough over travel in the spring that it can often be inserted and latched with 30 rounds in place. Yet, even with the Magpul I see many users fail to get it latched into the carbine properly with 30 rounds loaded.

The result of this failure to get the magazine secured into the weapon is that when the weapon is fired, the bolt carrier will fail to pick up the next round and you’ll get a click instead of a ‘bang’. In some cases the magazine will drop out of the weapon. Either way it is an ‘Operator Malfunction’ that can be easily corrected by first down loading any 30 round AR magazine to 28 rounds, and using a technique to insert the magazine with force, then give the magazine a tug to insure that it is securely latched into the weapon.

For half a century, the method of loading an AR magazine down to 18 rounds in a GI 20 rounder, or 28 rounds in a GI 30 round magazine was to insert the rounds into the magazine with the top round on the right looking at it from the rear. Press down on the top cartridge in the magazine with your thumb until the base of your thumb nail is even with the top of the magazine feed lip. Remember, top round is always on the RIGHT as you can load 31 rounds in the magazine; the 31st round will be on the left.

Now it gets interesting as the ‘Green Machine’ has converted to a magazine with a tan follower that will now have 30 rounds with the top round on the left; so much for 50 years of doing it one way, why not screw up the system? Again, remember it is the ‘Green Machine’; if you have been part of it you understand.

So, if you have the new tan follower GI magazines or Tango Down AR magazines, think top round on the left, thumb nail down to top round.

Now, which AR magazine is best?

Simple, whatever is free.

I like GI magazines with Magpul followers. I have Magul Gen 2 and Gen 3 mags, they are great. Nov 9th is coming, so make sure you have a good supply of quality serviceable 30 round magazines, and load them to 28 rounds.

– 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.

Gunfighter Moment is a weekly feature brought to you by Bravo Company USA. Bravo Company is home of the Gunfighters, and each week they bring us a different trainer to offer some words of wisdom.

Gunfighter Moment – Gunfighter Magazine

Saturday, October 22nd, 2016

Making its debut, “BCM Presents Gunfighter” is a magazine format, showcasing the mindset, skills, experience and tactics of Bravo Company’s lineup of Badasses with a few guests thrown in for good measure.

This isn’t another magalogue. Instead, you’re getting some great content on a variety of training subjects. The list of authors is impressive, to say the least.

They include Pat Rogers, Pat McNamara, Lt Col. Justin Dyal (USMC Ret), Larry Vickers, Travis Haley, Eric Graves, Zach Harrison, Frank Proctor, Al Salvitti, John Chapman, Eric Kincel, Dave Harrinton, Taran Butler, Kyle Defoor, and Magnus Johnson.

Printed by the Outdoor Sportsman Group which also offers Guns and Ammo, you can look for BCM Presents Gunfighter on newsstands everywhere, November 1st. Or, you can order a copy today from, http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCMGUNFIGHTER-Magazine-2017-p