Thinking Man's Corner

Article by: William G.

We have touched on this before, but I was recently doing some YouTube research, and saw something I just cannot wrap my head around. The person was recording themself shooting a “test.” Before they started, they did a bunch of practice draws, and made sure to get their dot just right for them. Then they set off the timer, and mentally rehearsed the full allotted time, waiting for the second beep. After all this, they stamped and dug their feet in and wallowed out a nice little indentation on the ground, and finally were ready to test their “skill.” This is not a test. This is practice, and not good practice at that. Yet, I see this all the time. 

If you want to actually test yourself, you do it cold on demand, or as close to that as possible. No warm up draws. No prepping your dot. No adjusting the target to be perfectly square to you. Show up, have your buddy pick the course, and don’t discuss it. Report to the line with your eye and ear protection in place, and follow the commands. Then you have a real idea of what you can do. Anything else is just fooling yourself.

Last night I texted my shooting partner, and told him to report to the range at 2pm the next day. He showed up with his new carry gun, a Platypus Commander, and a MEUSOC clone. Without discussing it, we set up some IPSC targets, and reported to the 3 yard line with our standard carry gear. In his case it was the Platypus in an IWB leather holster, and a spare mag in a kydex holder. Mine was similar, but a custom 1911 Government in 45 Auto, and the same type holster and mag pouch (just different makers). 

This time I picked the course, and it was the standard FBI qual. Next time he will pick whatever course he chooses, and the targets. We both shot the course cold, and the score was the score, mistakes and all. After that was out of the way, I shot his new Platypus, and he shot his MEUSOC clone, then I did too. It gave me a chance to try some new guns and holsters, and both of us a chance to see what our skills were, cold on demand, that day. Once we were through with that, we went to our standard practice session. 

(For those that are familiar with the FBI qual, there are not any called head shots. Yet, there is one in my target. That is a mistake I have to own, because I let that round get away from me at the 15. I can blame it on a bunch of things, but in the end, it is a failure of me executing the fundamentals at that time, on that stage. Cold on demand looks different. Pass or fail…….)

Standard fare for most practice sessions is: the Mozambique Drill (failure drill for the politically correct – yes, they are technically different by text book definition, but I enjoy the old ways and terminology), at varying distances, some 50 yard draw and single shots to both an IPSC full-size, and IPSC A zone steel target, and the “around the world drill.” The main range I use is a 50 yard long, by 25 yard wide bay. I normally set it up with a C zone IPSC at 10 yards dead center in front of the shooter, a 4” diamond about 12 yards to the left of the shooter, the full size IPSC at 50 yards – with the A zone steel a few yards to the right of that. Then on the right size of the range, about 40 yards back is a 8” steel circle, closer to the shooter is another 8” steel circle about 20 yards away, and finally 3 steel circles above each other (6” bottom, 4” middle, and 2” top) about 10 yards away at an angle. We start with whichever target is called, and work either clockwise or counter clockwise from there. It is interesting to see how the lighting at the time works with the sights or optic you are using. Shadows, angle, and the color paint on the target are all factors as well. 

Having a partner call the rules for this invites learning experiences. You can add movement, one hand shooting, multiple rounds per target, an increasing or decreasing number of rounds per target, positional shooting, or a lot of other factors to not get in the habit of shooting the same thing over and over. You can either perform, or you can’t. It is an honest assessment, fun, and a learning experience each time. 

Another thing thing that my partner has started doing is immediately upon getting to the range, he dresses up on the 50 yard line, and draws a snub nose 22 magnum from the pocket, and shoots the IPSC steel at 50 yards for the 7 rounds in the cylinder. He frequents a place that the furthest shot is 50 yards, and he always has the snub, if nothing else. It gives him confidence in his ability to make the hits, even with the small gun with bad sights, and heavy trigger. I do not consider this a warm up, as it is a pocket drawn snub, and doesn’t interfere with a duty size auto from the waist. Regardless, he doesn’t prep for it. Puts on his ear pro, steps out of his vehicle, draws, fires, records the results. He either hits or he does not. Honest, simple, pass or fail. 

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that what you shoot on a qual course that you prepped for is a true measure if your abilities. Just like spending a week and thousands of rounds just to prep for the final test only prepares you for that specific test. Yes, the skill has to be learned. Yes, repetition is necessary. Yes, you have to know what is required for the test. However, once you have underwent that training, it is up to you to practice between then and the next qualification. 

Mike Waidelich of Bakersfield PD use to make his officers show up within a specified amount of time, and immediately shoot his 10 round qual course, cold on demand. No warm up, no excuses. Perform, or go home. (You can research the Old Bakersfield Qual, and there have been many discussions and articles about it. Great course, and highly recommend you put it into the rotation of skill checks/quals you randomly test yourself on – or include it in your agency training days.) Jeff Cooper gave you one try to rank on the El Presidente as a display of cold skill, when he wanted to gauge your abilities for a specific reason (in my case, it was to be allowed to escort the Countess into town for errands). Frank Repass of Orlando PD/NASA had his one shot qual courses. Leo H. uses individual Task Oriented Qualifications. Scott Reitz says that gun fighting is a brutally honest business, and he is right (about that, most everything, and anything having to do with legal and righteous use of force). Be brutally honest with yourself, because your life and that of others depends on it. If you do not like your performance; practice, train, and repeat until your skill is where you want it to be. Then press on, and exceed your baseline. Always improving, because you can never have enough. 

(This gun has a short, flat trigger. My friend is used to a long curved trigger. Something as small as a different length and shape, can change how your hand interfaces with the gun. You will not know based off feel alone in dry handling. You have to get out and shoot. Also, gear will react different when you do not dictate how you use it. When you are put into different situations, the gear works or not, or you see potential issues. That is a benefit. Seeing where a problem may occur before it does in the real world, so that it is fixed before it counts for realssies this time.)

So, how did the MESUOC and Platypus shoot? Pretty good. I liked both. I would like to try the Platypus with an optic on it, as I think that will get some extra performance out of it, and the mild recoil will make it even faster with the dot. The MEUSOC is as rugged and brutally American as the US Marines it was made for. There was one malfunction with each. A WWII era magazine on the MEUSOC, and a 124gr steel case round on the Platypus. Other than that, they both were great. Tried a new leather IWB with a single clip instead of loops, and I am NOT a fan. I can see it flexing too much, and drawing the gun with the holster.  Cold Quals are a good way to test gear along with your skill. Regardless of how you choose to practice, or what you carry, get out and test it on a regular basis.

Remember, that the gun on your hip right now, the very round in the chamber; you may have to use it in a blood confrontation before you go to sleep tonight. Can you perform cold on demand? Shooter ready? Standby….