“Tag: shooting drill”

When a life-threatening encounter occurs, are your skills up to the task?

Evolution can be defined as any process of growth or development. Applying this to a training doctrine, we have seen a continual evolution of the Modern Technique since Jeff Cooper came down from the mountain and introduced it to the world through the training program at a place now referred to simply as Gunsite.

Back in the Dark Ages, we called it a speed rock, a name that came from the FBI, as I recall. At Gunsite, we call it shooting from retention; shooting one-handed at very close range with the pistol tucked back in along the rib cage.

We use head shots for a couple of reasons in our classes at Gunsite. The tactical reason is the need to shut an attacker down, instantly, by delivering a well-placed shot to the central-nervous system.

Former police officer, SWAT team member, firearm trainer and author Dave Spaulding is one of the good guys. He is retiring from teaching on the road, where his Handgun Combatives training program has been in high demand for many years, but there remains a wealth of information in his written works and on his handguncombatives.com website.

When practicing with both a rifle and a handgun, it is important to hone not only your marksmanship skills, but also your ability to transition from rifle to handgun in a safe and efficient manner.

Simply alternating your handgun from one hand to the other between rounds helps to develop your skills with both hands while conserving ammunition.

As far as I can tell, ammunition remains expensive and in short supply, so here’s another drill that consumes only 10 rounds. But there’s a problem: It’s a bit addictive and you may want to shoot it several times and with several variations.

Jeff Cooper called it the Baja California shot, a hit landing low-left from the point-of-aim due to jerking the trigger. Imagine shooting at a map of the United States and you’ll get the idea. True for a right-handed shooter, I suppose we could call it the Florida shot for a left-handed shooter, although I never heard the Colonel describe it that way.