Fellow Texans--It has been a long time since I posted--alot of water under the bridge. I received some shrapnel wounds in a convoy attack, nothing serious, I am recovering well and will be back home in June. This last tour in Iraq was very bloody--alot of ambushes and insurgent activity, as for my Team, we were involved in seven ambushes and 3 assassination attempts on our Principal. We were fortunate, we had no casualties, but had 4 wounded, me included. I was involved in three very violent attacks in which I used my sidearm, the insurgents has gotten very close to our principal (within 50 yds). It opened my eyes to alot of things--which I will be sharing with you guys in the coming weeks.
For this tour, I carried for my Sidearm my STI Ranger II 1911 and my XD Service .45--both which performed flawlessly. I also carried my trusty Glock 9mm for an ankle gun. I tried alot of various loads, some for the first time--the one that really impressed me was Federal's 200gr+P EFMJ Load--this load performs well in both of my guns and accuracy is superb. We collected alot of data of ballistic performance of this load and a few others if anybody is interested.
I have some tactical and mindset observations I will post later.
Take Care
Ranger+P+
Report from the Field
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Ranger+P+
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Report from the Field
The final weapon is the Brain, all else is Supplemental.-John Steinbeck
SPEED/SURPRISE/VIOLENCE OF ACTION
SPEED/SURPRISE/VIOLENCE OF ACTION
Glad you got your job done and are coming home. I hope your injuries heal OK; it sounds as though you gave a lot more than you got (injuries, that is, to the people attacking your principal).
When you feel up to it and have the time, please share your insights and observations, particularly as you believe they may help us Texas CHLers.
Why did you choose the EFMJ round? Or was this chosen for you? I was under the impression that you were PMC and arguably not restricted to ball ammunition, though I cannot say I follow these issues closely (not my scene).
Good luck with your recovery!
When you feel up to it and have the time, please share your insights and observations, particularly as you believe they may help us Texas CHLers.
Why did you choose the EFMJ round? Or was this chosen for you? I was under the impression that you were PMC and arguably not restricted to ball ammunition, though I cannot say I follow these issues closely (not my scene).
Good luck with your recovery!
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jimlongley
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Skiprr
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Rest and heal well.
Join the NRA or upgrade your membership today. Support the Texas Firearms Coalition and subscribe to the Podcast.
I’ve contacted my State Rep, Gary Elkins, about co-sponsoring HB560. Have you contacted your Rep?
NRA Benefactor Life Member
I’ve contacted my State Rep, Gary Elkins, about co-sponsoring HB560. Have you contacted your Rep?
NRA Benefactor Life Member
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Lumberjack98
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Ranger+P+
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Thanks for all the kind words. This is a unique community by far--to learn and be better you must always check your ego at the door--I have found most all the folks here to be humble, down to earth folks.
I will not enamor you with war stories, but I want to tell you of a few skills that will prove invaluable to you as a shootist. First let me say, that all the incidents I was involved in took place at night with little or no light at 30 yards and in. The closest being 7 yards and the farthest being about 30-35 yards.
1. Be able to engage multiple targets with speed and accuracy. The first incident I was involved in was two targets, one at seven yards and another at 16 yards. I had already drawn down on the 1st subject at 7 yards and had a good sight picture. When I saw hand movement, I put two in the closest target, center of mass (both in left lung) and transitioned to the second, both rounds hitting him high center of mass (3" below his adams apple--the first round severed his spinal cord and the second hit the right lung.) Speed counted for alot, but accuracy counted for a whole lot more here... We need to drill on this both from low ready and from holster. Vary your distances.
My preference (and my Teams) is to put minimum two rounds in each target, but as civilians, you have to think about litigation--as my old instructor would say, "Shoot each one once and then see what happens next."
Will write back later--kind of tired right now--my nurse just hit me with my Alice in Wonderland conconction--Happy Trails.
-Ranger
I will not enamor you with war stories, but I want to tell you of a few skills that will prove invaluable to you as a shootist. First let me say, that all the incidents I was involved in took place at night with little or no light at 30 yards and in. The closest being 7 yards and the farthest being about 30-35 yards.
1. Be able to engage multiple targets with speed and accuracy. The first incident I was involved in was two targets, one at seven yards and another at 16 yards. I had already drawn down on the 1st subject at 7 yards and had a good sight picture. When I saw hand movement, I put two in the closest target, center of mass (both in left lung) and transitioned to the second, both rounds hitting him high center of mass (3" below his adams apple--the first round severed his spinal cord and the second hit the right lung.) Speed counted for alot, but accuracy counted for a whole lot more here... We need to drill on this both from low ready and from holster. Vary your distances.
My preference (and my Teams) is to put minimum two rounds in each target, but as civilians, you have to think about litigation--as my old instructor would say, "Shoot each one once and then see what happens next."
Will write back later--kind of tired right now--my nurse just hit me with my Alice in Wonderland conconction--Happy Trails.
-Ranger
The final weapon is the Brain, all else is Supplemental.-John Steinbeck
SPEED/SURPRISE/VIOLENCE OF ACTION
SPEED/SURPRISE/VIOLENCE OF ACTION
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Ranger+P+
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Thanks to all of you for the kind words.
I have had alot of time to think since I have been in here and I have decided to take a back seat to contract work for a while and focus on getting my school off the ground. I may take some consulting jobs here and there--but I want to focus on training folks to stay alive--I firmly believe it is more important than anyhting else I could do at this juncture in my life. The World is not getting any safer--and I think I have alot to contribute.
I wanted to discuss for a moment a drill I think is overlooked alot of times at the range--both with pistol and rifle--Speed Dots.
When I was in the USMC and when I was in training to be a Contractor--Speed Dots were a mainstay drill--it hones accuracy and speed and really gets the juices flowing with hand/eye coordination.
As a contractor, we train with shapes/colors/numbers to increase response time in target discrimination--LETargets.Com has a great selecton of these targets.
We always mixed it up a little to make it more fun--here were some drills we did that maybe can help you out next time you hit the range. Remember: When you go to the Range, always have a plan on what you are going to do--work the plan.
Speed-Dot Drill #1: Number your paper 1 to 10, circling each number.
At 10 yards from Retention, put 1 round in the even numbers only. Repeat with odd numbers. You can repeat entire drill from 15 & 25 yards.
Drill #2: Same Setup--this time have a partner call out a number and you put 1 round in that number. To mix things up, have your partner load your gun while you have your back turned, this will force you to adapt to whatever happens. If you have dummy rounds, you can practice clearing malfunctions and reloads at the same time, if not, just practice reloads--for instance, your partner can load you mag with only 2 rounds, which will force you to reload from slide-lock--good skill to practice!
Drill #3: This was in our course of fire at PMC Training. Draw a Triangle, Rectangle, Circle and Square on your target paper, number them randomly 1-4, color each shape red, blue, yellow, green.
1. 7 yds, from retention, start with back to target. Partner will call out a number --turn and place one round in called target.
2. 10 yds, from low ready, start facing target, partner will call out random shapes, put 1 rd in each shape for 4 rds total.
3. 15 yards, from retention, start with back to target, partner will call out 4 colors, turn and engage with 2 rds to each color.
Drill #4: Hurry Shoot
Number your paper 1-10, as fast and accurately as you can, place 1 rd in each number. Vary with starting from retention and low ready. 10 yards is a good distance to start with.
Tips:
** Let your sight picture dictate the cadence of fire
**Accuracy always takes precedence over speed.
**Focus on front sight and follow thru with each shot.
Take Care Guys--Keep your Powder Dry.
-Ranger+P+
I have had alot of time to think since I have been in here and I have decided to take a back seat to contract work for a while and focus on getting my school off the ground. I may take some consulting jobs here and there--but I want to focus on training folks to stay alive--I firmly believe it is more important than anyhting else I could do at this juncture in my life. The World is not getting any safer--and I think I have alot to contribute.
I wanted to discuss for a moment a drill I think is overlooked alot of times at the range--both with pistol and rifle--Speed Dots.
When I was in the USMC and when I was in training to be a Contractor--Speed Dots were a mainstay drill--it hones accuracy and speed and really gets the juices flowing with hand/eye coordination.
As a contractor, we train with shapes/colors/numbers to increase response time in target discrimination--LETargets.Com has a great selecton of these targets.
We always mixed it up a little to make it more fun--here were some drills we did that maybe can help you out next time you hit the range. Remember: When you go to the Range, always have a plan on what you are going to do--work the plan.
Speed-Dot Drill #1: Number your paper 1 to 10, circling each number.
At 10 yards from Retention, put 1 round in the even numbers only. Repeat with odd numbers. You can repeat entire drill from 15 & 25 yards.
Drill #2: Same Setup--this time have a partner call out a number and you put 1 round in that number. To mix things up, have your partner load your gun while you have your back turned, this will force you to adapt to whatever happens. If you have dummy rounds, you can practice clearing malfunctions and reloads at the same time, if not, just practice reloads--for instance, your partner can load you mag with only 2 rounds, which will force you to reload from slide-lock--good skill to practice!
Drill #3: This was in our course of fire at PMC Training. Draw a Triangle, Rectangle, Circle and Square on your target paper, number them randomly 1-4, color each shape red, blue, yellow, green.
1. 7 yds, from retention, start with back to target. Partner will call out a number --turn and place one round in called target.
2. 10 yds, from low ready, start facing target, partner will call out random shapes, put 1 rd in each shape for 4 rds total.
3. 15 yards, from retention, start with back to target, partner will call out 4 colors, turn and engage with 2 rds to each color.
Drill #4: Hurry Shoot
Number your paper 1-10, as fast and accurately as you can, place 1 rd in each number. Vary with starting from retention and low ready. 10 yards is a good distance to start with.
Tips:
** Let your sight picture dictate the cadence of fire
**Accuracy always takes precedence over speed.
**Focus on front sight and follow thru with each shot.
Take Care Guys--Keep your Powder Dry.
-Ranger+P+
The final weapon is the Brain, all else is Supplemental.-John Steinbeck
SPEED/SURPRISE/VIOLENCE OF ACTION
SPEED/SURPRISE/VIOLENCE OF ACTION
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para driver
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Ranger+P+
Topic author - Member
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Sorry I have not posted in a while--I just got back in CONUS after a long physical rehab--the wounds have healed up nicely and I got a nice momento scar to add to the rest...
I have been working 14 hour days getting my range and school ready for students. Current ETA is September. I will post when I have more concrete facts.
Keep your Head Down
I have been working 14 hour days getting my range and school ready for students. Current ETA is September. I will post when I have more concrete facts.
Keep your Head Down
The final weapon is the Brain, all else is Supplemental.-John Steinbeck
SPEED/SURPRISE/VIOLENCE OF ACTION
SPEED/SURPRISE/VIOLENCE OF ACTION