The Tactical Wire

22/08/2024

"It was and is a simple plan really, based on existing training and known skills. It’s what I had at the time. To this day, I have not changed my mind about my active shooter plan and if I were in a situation like this as a legally armed citizen, I would respond much the same. Some will think I’m crazy, but I long ago made up my mind that children, the future of our society, are worth dying for and that I will do whatever I can to see that they live to become adults."

Dave Spaulding (Handgun Combatives) on preparing for that worst case scenario.



The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire John David Benner

In 1984, James Huberty entered a San Ysidro, Calif. McDonald’s with several fi****ms and began to kill its patrons for no apparent reason. In one of the largest mass killings in history, he shot 40 people, killing 21. Experts pontificated on the possible reasons for his actions, but no one really ...

20/08/2024

"The course is fired at three yards for phases one through four, with two other strings of fire at seven yards. All the close strings of fire are shot with one hand on the gun. Half of the shooting is in “the wrong hand,” as the primary hand is covering the holstered primary gun ... It is, after all, a back-up gun. ... The way I failed the course was to shoot Phase Five out of sequence."



The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire Smith & Wesson Inc. Lipsey's Guns

The S&W/Lipseys “Ultimate Carry” revolver line has made a splash as one of the most cost-effective upgrades to the snub defense revolver in Smith & Wesson history. They made a point to hit all the needed upgrades without breaking the bank. 

08/08/2024

"If you can rotate your magazines, you can check the springs – and the magazine body, follower, floor plate – and inspect your ammo. It gives you the opportunity to clean whatever mess accumulated in the magazines from being worn."

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire

A question that routinely comes up when a new user gets an auto pistol – whether a police trainee or armed citizen – is “how long can the magazine stay loaded without compromising reliability?” – or words to that effect.

06/08/2024

"Gear’s important enough. A 20-year-old clown with a low-cost rifle, a cheap drone from the “big box store” and a rangefinder used for golf shouldn’t have a technology edge over a federal agency with a budget of $3.62 billion. That they spent less than 1% on technology upgrades likewise seems careless ... I well recall the wags at our department remarking that we had “160 years of tradition unhampered by progress.” It’s much the same."

Agency problems, local, state - and clearly federal - are long standing, unchanging. For individuals, preparation and wariness trumps gear, while ensuring your gear works.

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire

In cleaning up after a storm, I reclaimed an epiphany from earlier in life: no matter how well I rake the yard, I’ll inevitably find something I simply missed. It seems like the more oriented to the detail I am, the more likely I’ll overlook something.

02/08/2024

Dave Spaulding (Handgun Combatives) explains proper grip of the auto pistol, from the Tuesday feature.

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire

I recently sat with several professional fi****ms instructors and listened to them debate the correct grip for the semi-automatic pistol. One advocated thumbs forward and another pushed for thumbs up. One even made the case for the thumbs being held away from the frame, so they wouldn’t apply undu...

02/08/2024

Our Thursday feature from Greg Moats -- a history of the Cooper-promoted Yaqui Slide holster.

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire

The last half of the 1970’s was an exciting time to be a pistol enthusiast. Jeff Cooper moved to Arizona and opened the American Pistol Institute (now Gunsite Academy), IPSC was formed at the Columbia conference, a new periodical (American Handgunner) dedicated to our interests hit the newsstand, ...

30/07/2024

"Am I advocating point shooting? I don’t see a big difference between the two techniques. If a person practices using their front sight to confirm proper body manipulation and muzzle alignment when delivering their pistol to target, but then during the actual event they focus on the threat, does it really matter as long as the gun arrives where it’s needed? The truth is that it’s more likely that the shot will be missed due to improper trigger control than to sight alignment/picture."

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire Handgun Combatives

I recently sat with several professional fi****ms instructors and listened to them debate the correct grip for the semi-automatic pistol. One advocated thumbs forward and another pushed for thumbs up. One even made the case for the thumbs being held away from the frame, so they wouldn’t apply undu...

25/07/2024

"For this excursion into the snubnosed auto, I selected my trusted Ta**us USA GX4 at the low end of cost and the Shadow Systems CR920 at the upper end. The CR920 was hampered with an optic – the Holosun SCS Carry. Fitting so low in the slide, there’s the least amount of mechanical offset – and the gun’s primary focus is close range work."



G***K The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire Galco Holsters Academy Sports + Outdoors

The question was long ago raised, “what good is a short revolver?” There’s no such thing as a stupid question, but that one gets perilously close. Now the era of the “micro-compact” auto has generated a line of products blurring the line between “truly tiny,” “kinda’ small,” and ...

23/07/2024

"Instead of worrying about the extent of the injury, other injured parties or the existence of other active threats, it was a focus on the mundane, an attempt to balance the mind ... The “badassed” moment on camera was likewise no set-up or theatrics, it was simply human. Common as lies in election year, it was no more than survival euphoria. That’s the same image you see in the smiling cop in the news photo after the cataclysmic shoot-out in 1973."

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire Massad Ayoob Group

aftereffect noun; an unpleasant effect that follows an event or accident, sometimes continuing for a long time or happening some time after it … a result of a condition or event -- (Cambridge Dictionary)

16/07/2024

"Like several others have expressed, I’m thankful the damage was kept to a minimum. I’m devastated at the single innocent fatality (as of this writing) ... Be careful of your words. Think before you type – or speak. If in doubt, remember – you have the right to remain silent. I regret the times I failed to take that advice."

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire

The events of the weekend have people in turmoil -- like it seems to be all the time, except a little different. The discussions revolve around “security failures,” “violent rhetoric,” and ballistics. 

09/07/2024

"I believe it is important for today’s instructors to understand how the human body functions and how it can and will affect performance. A few years back, I had a new instructor tell me, “I don’t need to know all of that scientific stuff, my job is to teach folks how to run their gun.” How do you do this properly if you don’t comprehend how the human body works? It would be like training a pilot but leaving out the part about how an airplane stays aloft!"

Dave Spaulding on efficiency of movement -


The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire Handgun Combatives

Like many jocks of college age, I minored in Sports Physiology with an emphasis on coaching. My major, believe it or not, was secondary education. My athletic career was coming to an end and I wanted to stay involved. In my case it was Track and Field as I attended college on a scholarship in the sa...

02/07/2024

"As the internet curmudgeon pointed out, even in a “workspace” reload, he caught people gazing down at the empty magazine well. The gun wasn’t raised high enough. When you’re rushed, you move the gun “close enough” to being picture perfect and push for speed."

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire KR Training

In 2018, prompted by information from Kathy Jackson and Karl Rehn, I began to explore the ex*****on of pistol loading consistent with Rule 2. I concluded that maintaining the safest available muzzle direction – knowing that we’re seldom on a firing range – was more critical than some perceived...

25/06/2024

"Darryl Bolke described revolvers as “deliberate guns:” you have to get the problem solved with the ammo that’s in the gun ... I suggest that all defensive handguns are “deliberate guns” and that each single round could well be the fight-stopping round. That depends less on caliber-bullet weight-projectile type, and more on precise placement of the round in the target ... I tell you this as a recovering “caliber commando.”"

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire

People want to believe in “handgun stopping power.” In my day, before “magic bullets,” it was summarized by either velocity or bullet mass (projectile weight and diameter).  When both velocity and mass were hot-rodded simultaneously, there were some spectacular results.

20/06/2024

"To have the ability to adapt, one must have skills they can call on that are anchored to a level of auto pilot or what is known within the law enforcement community as "unconscious competence," something few truly achieve. Why? Because it takes a long time and a lot of work."

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire Handgun Combatives

One of the trends I saw towards the end of Handgun Combatives (as a training company) was an increased interest in foundational level courses. “Foundational” should not be viewed as "basic," something many ill-informed combative shooters seem to do, due to their desire to be seen as more "advanc...

18/06/2024

"Seeing what’s happened to others allows you to develop countermeasures. Not taking time to analyze what went wrong isn’t simply “Monday morning quarterbacking” if it’s insightful analysis; how to keep this event from occurring again. Of course, we are always fighting the last war; the next war hasn’t yet arrived ... But going through the mental exercise of determining countermeasures “greases the skids” to better allow access to that analysis on the fly – in real time."

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire

When it comes to learning from past mistakes, it seems that the community is more prone to buying gear that “should” help solve the problem. The fact is that training is hard; people are exposed to the human tendency to err, they feel it makes them look foolish and they’d prefer to stay in the...

13/06/2024

"A consideration for police agencies issuing or authorizing the carry and use of sidearms with optical sights is how each individual should get them ready for their shift. Similar to the “make ready” process in training, it’s a forced habit; process is critical. It’s like a preflight of the aircraft, checking your SCUBA gear before a dive – any mission critical endeavor ... Consider the pistol-mounted optical sight. An addition to the pistol, it has to be checked before going on duty – whether you’re a cop or an armed citizen."

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire Shadow Systems Springfield Armory

I remember a time when a cop going to work grabbed that 2 ¼” Sam Browne belt with holstered handgun, spare ammo, cuffs-in-cuff-case, nightstick ring off of the hook and put it around his waist. Taking time to thread the belt keepers on and snap them up – to keep under belt and gun belt together...

11/06/2024

Some belly bands, some flashlights -

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire Mission First Tactical Hamre Forge NEXTORCH Worldwide

For the “equipment solves my problems” crowd, remember that “stuff” never takes care of you. As for the rest of us, we have the “what can help me solve my problems?” stuff. I recently received gear from a couple of different companies.

04/06/2024

"I shot some ICE-qualification style “bent-elbow” close quarters shooting – still on a B-8 repair center, all from the holster. The drill is draw to a single, followed by a draw to a pair and finishing with a draw to three hits. I was preparing for the concern that hot gas erupting from the comp cut would injure the shooter or create some kind of issue – needlessly, as it turned out. "

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire Springfield Armory DeSantis Gunhide Garmin

Overnight, Springfield Armory released the latest version of the Hellcat Pro pistol, the Hellcat Pro Comp. The 3.7” hammer forged steel/Melonite treated barrel is interrupted by a “compensator” cut at 12 o’clock near the muzzle. The slide is likewise cut to allow burning gasses to vent, redu...

30/05/2024

"Condition Three guns are always more dangerous because people tend to treat them as Condition Three guns. And you can’t tell – absent some gizmo that alerts to a loaded chamber (don’t trust gadgets) or cracking that slide open to check ... There have been more unintended discharges accompanied with a weak “It wasn’t loaded!” exclamation than any other kind. Part of that is that pesky empty chamber ...It’s not. It never is. So why carry it that way?

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire

I was taken in by yet another social media video about the carry of a defense sidearm without a round in the chamber. I thought we’d dispensed with that nonsense long ago, but we’re back.

23/05/2024

"Hopefully, the difference between drills and standards is apparent. Both are designed to build and test skills, but they should never be confused with what will occur in armed conflict. In a gunfight expect nothing, plan on everything potentially failing and be prepared to move on to a contingency plan."

Handgun Combatives The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire Gunsite Academy

A few years ago, I was teaching a combative pistol course to a group of law enforcement professionals and legally armed citizens. Although many instructors call basic handgun skills “fundamentals,” I prefer to use the word “essentials” since shooters must have these skills to use a handgun f...

21/05/2024

"Like any such speculation, my guesses are nearly as good as anyone’s – but it’s just that. I have to believe that a manufacturer produces something that the members of the company agreed would sell. In some cases, an enthusiasts’ industry as it is, the folks at the company think that the new product is “cool” or it fills a perceived need they have."

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire Shadow Systems C**t Ta**us Fi****ms Smith & Wesson Inc. Heritage Fi****ms

Our Managing Editor was at the NRA Annual Meetings and Expo and he reported on the sights and sounds of the convention. I wanted to take a remote view of the new products to ‘read a few tea leaves.’

21/05/2024

"Hamlin didn’t waste any time after he was elected EVP, re-appointing Randy Kozuch as the Executive Director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) and appointed Joe De Bergalis, Jr. as the Executive Director of General Operations."

From The Outdoor Wire

The Shooting Wire

16/05/2024

"The current LEOKA report shows some reduction in officer fatalities while there’s an increase in officer assaults ... That tells us more about the level of trauma med care than it does about the battlefield. I feel a lot of the lessons paid for in blood and misery are being lost ... Memory-holed."

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire Gunsite Academy

Two weeks ago, I ran a story here about sustainment. It was mostly about physical skills. If you recall, we approach all this from a triangle – the Combat Triad: Marksmanship, Gunhandling and Mindset. For today, a couple of days after FBI released the 2023 “Law Enforcement Officers Killed and As...

14/05/2024

Shadow Systems' smallest pistol under the Holosun SCS Carry optic - an accurate package.

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire Federal Premium Hornady Black Hills Ammunition

I wanted to check velocity out of the shorter 3.4” barrel as well as check deviation from the sixteen yard zero when shooting from a rest at 25 yards.

07/05/2024

Dave Spaulding makes a personalized Lone Wolf Distributors DUSK-19 pistol - with help from Bowie Tactical Concepts, AMERIGLO, Holosun.

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire

Do you remember the great government ordered lock down? During this time frame, I started to build what are known as “Gucci Glocks,” guns either partially or completely constructed with after- market components. I did this just for something to do, it was never a money-making endeavor. In the en...

02/05/2024

"There are different skills with different means of acquisition and retention – walking upstairs is an example of a skill executed without conscious effort after first learning it (unless something happens). That’s a “long-term memory,” involving balance and some rhythm. Other skills require practice and application.""

The Shooting Wire The Outdoor Wire Bryan Eastridge

“Back in the day,” I expressed to the bosses an assertion that had arisen in a national trainers’ conference: “Qualification isn’t training.” Their response was that the pre-POST organization governing training statewide said that “fi****ms qualification is training and they’re count...

30/04/2024

"The first rounds fired out of the gun were for-the-record annual semi-auto qualification under terms of the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act. I also used a holster that was, while similar in various ways to holsters I’d used before, was different in that it featured a thumb break safety strap ... On the line at the range, my verbal self-help messages consisted of “Don’t shoot yourself.”"

The Outdoor Wire The Shooting Wire G***K Federal Premium Hornady DeSantis Gunhide

I received a manufacturer’s sample gun on a Wednesday afternoon. I got it home, field stripped it and ensured I had proper lubrication where it needed it, along with a short inspection.

25/04/2024

Planning prevents poor performance - and ex*****on. A "look before you leap" sermon.
(TALO image)

The Outdoor Wire The Shooting Wire G***K

I’m not sure that matters; PMOs are here to stay, regardless of police agency adoption. A question that should be raised is “what’s the smart way to do this?”

23/04/2024

The Shadow Systems CR920 Foundation micro-9mm with the Holosun SCS-CARRY optic (no replaceable battery, solar recharge) -- a nice combination.

The Outdoor Wire The Shooting Wire

Continuing with coverage of the smallest Shadow systems pistol – the subcompact “covert role” pistol, CR920, in the Foundation (no-frills format) – seen here and here, we make use of one of the selling points of the Shadow Systems line – optics mounting.

18/04/2024

"The RMRcc has a thinner, low-profile design that helps reduce the potential for snagging. Although smaller, the RMRcc maintains all the features of the larger RMR: easy-to-use buttons, an always available 2032 battery with up to 4 years of illumination (I would change it once a year just to be sure) and a wide variety of mounting plates to fit most popular compact, concealed carry pistols."

Trijicon, Inc. The Outdoor Wire The Shooting Wire

In a recent edition of the TACTICAL WIRE, I offered my thoughts on the new Trijicon RMR HD. An improved carry optic based on customer feedback, it is still a duty pistol size device. Of all the comments and questions I received after the article was published, the most asked was “what carry optic ...