Training Concepts
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Competency Based Training
Article By: Leo H. Dispatched to a suspicious person call, Officer Friendly, a popular seven-year veteran and incident report writer without peer, found himself in a deadly force encounter behind a local convenience store. The shadow he encountered raised a weapon. Friendly drew. His hands shook. His grip faltered. The fundamentals he’d “qualified” on six… Continue reading
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Are You Prepared for THE Gunfight?
Article by: William G. What is a gunfight? It is a situation when one or more persons, using weapons (specifically guns) that can inflict greatly bodily harm or death, are actively trying to use said weapons to inflict great bodily harm or death on you; and in which you use your own gun to stop… Continue reading
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Don’t Be a Dummy – Why the ‘Ball and Dummy’ Drill is a Helpful Tool and Other Thoughts
Article By: Sam H. & Leo H. Spend enough time on ranges with cops, military, and armed citizens, and you start to see the same movie play over and over: shooters get labeled as “untrainable,” “recoil shy,” or “just not a gun person,” when in reality they’ve never had a coach who can demonstrate what… Continue reading
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The Secrets of Life, and the young Firearms Instructor – A letter to my friend, the Captain
A friend of mine, who is a younger aged Captain with a metro agency in the belly of the beast, called me to ask my opinion on a pistol mounted optic technique. Tony is a very articulate, enthusiastic, and analytical man. He asks very well thought out, reasoned, and intelligent questions. I spent hours on… Continue reading
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The Instructor’s Mirror: Why Your Resistance to USPSA Limits Your Students
Article By Sam H. After 20 years as a Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor and a veteran of the force, I’ve seen a persistent, frustrating disconnect in our community. We spend thousands on the latest optics and “gucci” duty gear, yet we often steer our officers away from the most accessible, high-volume stress test available: practical… Continue reading
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There’s a Fudd on the Firing Line
Article By: Leo H. Every range has one. The retired legend with the battered ball cap, still running the same 7-yard, single-target drill from 1993… and calling it “tactics.” He’s not a villain; he’s a Fudd—a career firearms instructor frozen in time, resisting modern, evidence-based police training like it’s some YouTube marvel’s current trend. The problem… Continue reading
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BODY WORN CAMERAS (BWCs)
Article By: Terry B. Body-worn cameras (BWCs) are valuable tools, but they also create real cognitive, investigative, and legal pitfalls if they’re misunderstood or over-relied on. Here are the main problems—especially relevant for high-stress use-of-force events: 1. Camera = Human Perception BWCs record what the lens sees, not what the officer experienced. That gap matters: • Cameras don’t capture depth perception, peripheral vision,… Continue reading
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Chasing Rabbits
Written by: William G. Perhaps a hookah smoking caterpillar has given you a call. Go ask Alice. I think she’ll know what I am raving about tonight while I’m on this airplane. I have carried a variety of guns on duty over the last three decades. Some issue, some personal. At times, I carried some… Continue reading
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Cold On Demand, or Cold in the Morgue – Shooter’s Choice
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… Continue reading
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Part II: The Misinterpretation of the “Reasonable Officer” Standard
Article By: Terry B. Introduction The “reasonable officer” standard is the backbone of constitutional use‑of‑force analysis in the United States. Established in Graham v. Connor (1989), it requires that force be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, not with the clarity of hindsight. Despite its clarity, the standard is routinely… Continue reading
Thinking Man's Corner 