Five Tips to Improve Your Shooting Skills
If you’re happy just going to the range every once in a while and making “expensive noise”, as an instructor once told me, then this article is not for you. If, on the other hand, you truly want to improve your skills, no matter what level you’re currently at, then hopefully this article will provide some helpful tips for you. Let’s dive in.
Master Instructor Chuck Haggard demonstrates a concept in front of students at the Tactical Anatomy Summit in Nashville, Tennessee
Get training. I don’t care how good you think you are. “I was in the military.” “I’ve been shooting my whole life.” “My uncle was a Navy SEAL and he taught me everything I need to know.” “I train all the time; I go to the range every week.” These are just some of the many excuses that are heard over and over again.
Here’s the truth: If you truly want to improve your skills, you’re going to need to swallow your pride and take a class from a professional firearms instructor. Professional firearms instructors know the safety rules inside and out and can not only explain them to you, but ensure that you actually understand them. And believe me, there’s a difference between knowing and understanding. They also know the fundamentals of shooting inside and out. They will be able to diagnose and correct problems on the spot. And they will be able to identify your bad habits that are either unsafe or preventing your progress.
Lastly, there are classes for all levels of skill. Some of my favorite classes are “beginner” classes; I learn something new every time. If you don’t know who to train with or what class to take, feel free to reach out via my Contact page; I’d be happy to lead you in the right direction. Or review my About page for an extensive list of classes and instructors I have personally trained with.
Plan your practice sessions. Create a plan for your range session. Know exactly what you are going to work on. Write it down and take it with you to the range. Shoot the drills you pre-planned and record your results. If you need help finding drills to do, Greg Ellifritz has shared many on his website (Or better yet, if you subscribe to his Patreon, he sends out a Weekend Shooting Drills every Saturday). Other great resources include Pistol Training and Tom Givens’ monthly Rangemaster Newsletter (which you should definitely read!).
Don’t get me wrong, it can be fun to just go to the range and blast away. But understand that is neither training nor practice. If you are serious about improving your skills, you need a plan.
Space out your practice sessions. This may seem counterintuitive, but allow me to explain. If you practice every single day, you will see improvement. You will also fight a lot of frustration which may inevitably lead to thinking “I’m not getting any better.” The reason for this is incremental progress versus significant progress, a concept I first learned about from a blog post by Cecil Burch.
With incremental progress, you are chipping away at goals in micro-increments. For example, you may do a drill one day in x amount of time, and the next day you shave .04 seconds off of your time, and then the next day you shave another .02 seconds off of your time. Does that seem like a lot of progress if your goal is to shave a full second off of your time? This is what leads to frustration. “I’m never going to be able to…”
Spacing out your practice sessions allows your brain to rest and recover. You will still see the incremental progress; and, you will be much less frustrated about it.
Dry fire (or dry practice). You may have heard this one before, but regular dry practice will lead to the most significant improvement. Again, it doesn’t matter what level you’re at. I have assigned dry fire homework to brand new students who were still figuring out how to hold a handgun. For them it was 1. Pick up the gun. 2. Build the grip. 3. State out loud, “This is how I hold my gun.” 4. Set it down and do it again ten times.
And the best shooters in the world do regular dry practice. It might be working on the draw stroke; it might be vision drills; it might be movement stuff. Sure, they shoot thousands and thousands of rounds a year in live fire. But the true progress comes from dry practice sessions, which can be done much more frequently and with less expense to the wallet.
How much dry practice should you do? That depends on your goals, your lifestyle, and how much time you’re willing to sacrifice. For me, three 5-10 minute focused sessions a week seems to work well. Your mileage may vary. You could also look at it as a ratio of dry/live fire sessions. For example, if you do three dry practice sessions per week and live fire once every two weeks, you’re at a 6:1 ratio. Five times a week and you’re at 10:1. Etc.
Record your sessions. This is sort of a double entendre. If you can, literally record yourself practicing. It’s 2025; I’m betting you have a smart phone. I’m betting you have it with you right now. And I’m betting it has a camera. Take it out, press record and then forget it’s there while you do your practice. Save the video so you can review it later and analyze it; or show it to an instructor who can provide you with good feedback and tips for improvement. You may find having a small, portable tripod helps with this.
The other meaning here is to write it down. Studies have shown there are benefits to physically putting pen to paper versus typing or using an app. I’m not a neuroscientist, but there is something about the act of writing things down that aids in memory retention and goal-setting and achievement.
BONUS: I have created a tool for you to do just that. It’s a specially designed notebook for recording your practice sessions.
The Dry Fire Journal is a specially designed notebook for logging your practice sessions (and it can also be used for recording your live fire sessions).
There you go; five tips to improve your shooting skills. Get training to learn the skills and identify what you need to practice. Plan out your practice sessions so you know exactly what you’re working on. Spread your practice sessions out so you don’t get overloaded or frustrated. Do more dry practice than live fire. And write it all down so you can set goals and track your progress.
What Type of Ear Protection is Right for You?
If you shoot firearms, you need ear protection. If you do so frequently, you should probably invest in good quality ear protection. Here are some of the most popular options, with pros and cons for each.
First up is “foamies”. I don’t know if that’s the official name, but that’s what everyone calls them. Foam ear plugs offer a high noise reduction rating (NRR). They work by conforming to the shape of your ear canal, forming a seal that acts as a protection barrier. I usually keep a jar of these in my range bag as an emergency backup or to give to friends.
Pros: High NRR; inexpensive; disposable
Cons: Difficult to hear conversations/surrounding environment
Walkers Foam Ear Plugs in bulk
Next up is passive over-the-ears, or ear muffs. As the name implies, these consist of two over-the-ear cups that form a seal against the head. They are connected by a band that wraps over the top of the head. The quality of the band is important, both for comfort as well as getting a good seal to protect your ears.
Pros: High NRR; inexpensive
Cons: Can be uncomfortable over extended periods; may be difficult to use with long guns
An inexpensive set of Walker’s Over-the-Ear muffs
A step above over-the-ears is active or electronic over-the-ears ear protection. Active over-the-ears have the same form factor as passive with the addition of external microphones and internal speakers. The microphones detect loud noises and reduce the sound to tolerable levels. The speakers allow you to hear things like range commands from an instructor or what the couple four stalls over is arguing about.
Pros: Medium NRR; increased awareness of general surroundings
Cons: At least twice the cost of passive ear pro (and on up!); can be uncomfortable for extended periods; may be difficult to use with long guns
I have owned and used the Peltor Sport Tactical 500 electronic over-the-ear muffs for many years. They are worth every penny.
Lastly, we have active or electronic in-ear ear protection. Electronic in-ear protection offers the comfort of foamies with the benefits of electronic over-the-ear protection. It’s kind of the “best of both worlds”. They sit in the ear, more like ear buds than plugs, which creates a tighter seal, thus providing higher NRR than over-the-ears. And the electronics shut down loud noises while allowing you to hear normal sounds in your environment.
Pros: NRR close to foamies; comfortable
Cons: Can be expensive; must be fitted properly
These Pro Ears Stealth 28 HTs are my current go-to ear protection. They are very comfortable, the controls are simple, and they fit in your pocket.
Speaking of ear buds, DON’T use ear buds as ear protection. They are not designed to be used in that manner and do not provide a proper seal of the ear canal to protect your ears. Don’t get me wrong; I love my AirPods and have them in as I’m typing this. But they are not for use at the gun range.
There you go. An introduction to the different types of ear protection available, with ones I have used and recommend. Grab a couple different types and toss them in your range bag. Happy shooting!
How to Stage the Snakestaff Systems ETQ Wide
If you’ve taken a “Stop The Bleed” class or some other emergency medicine or traumatic injuries treatment class, you’re likely familiar with the CAT-7 (previously CAT-5) or SOF-T tourniquets. You also likely learned how to stage it, or set it up for quick access so that it’s ready for use.
In recent years, a new tourniquet has become pretty popular, the ETQ (Everyday Tourniquet) from Snakestaff Systems. Although it’s not approved by the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (CoTCCC), it has gained popularity due to its small form factor and ease of carry. It fits in a standard handgun magazine pouch, and Snakestaff even makes a sleeve for it, allowing it to slide into a pocket easily. It should also be noted that the ETQ is available in two form factors, regular (1” diameter) and wide (1.5” diameter). If you get one, go with the wide, as it will facilitate occlusion of blood flow much better.
I have a few of the ETQs, some I purchased and one I was gifted by Steve Moses at the Tactical Anatomy Summit (they very graciously donated one to every student). One problem I have found is that if you try and stage the ETQ or the ETQ Wide in the same manner as a CAT tourniquet or a flat-packed SOF-T, you end up with a messy pile of velcro, which can be problematic and time consuming to untangle.
After playing with it for a bit, I have come up with what I believe to be a workable way to EDC the ETQ Wide tourniquet.
The ETQ Wide in its messy, tangled up velcro state after opening it up.
First, arrange the tourniquet so that you have a loop on one side and a tag end on the other.
Loop on one side, tag end on the other, with the windlass in the middle.
Next, fold the tag end over towards the loop end. This should be done on the underside of the tourniquet. But, don’t allow them to velcro together just yet.
Before you flatten it out, do your best to make sure the loop and the tag end are as close to the same length as possible. This part can be a bit tricky. If you hold tension on it by grabbing the hard plastic piece (where the windlass is), you can use your other hand to simultaneously size the loop and tag end.
This step is tricky. Use a middle or ring finger inside the loop to hold tension while the thumb and index finger pull the tag end for proper sizing.
Once you have the loop and tag ends sized the way you want them, carefully connect the two sides of the velcro and flatten it out.
The flattened out ETQ Wide, almost ready to be staged.
The other side of the flattened ETQ Wide tourniquet.
We’re almost done! Now that we’ve eliminated the possibility of a velcro mess, we simply roll it up. Fold the tag end back over itself near the top of the tourniquet. Make sure to pinch that in place while you make the next fold.
Pinching the first fold to hold it all together while we finish things up.
Lastly, simply fold the tag end again and lay it over the top of the plastic piece. Do your best to even it up so that the pull tab lines up with the top of the plastic piece. You can then tuck the tag end underneath the buckle to keep it in place.
If it doesn’t line up the way you want, you can alway go back and resize your loop. If you’re the “neat and tidy” type, it may take you a few tries to get it right.
Preparing for the final fold.
Here is what it looks like after the last fold.
The finished product, ready to go in a pocket.
Finished product again, shown here pinched between the fingers to demonstrate how inserting it into a pocket will inevitably compress it.
If you want to clean it up, you can put a rubber band (or ranger band) around one end to keep it tight. Or, there is always the previously mentioned sleeve, which Snakestaff sells. I tend to just slip it into the pocket, as is, and allow the tension of the pocket to compress it down.
There you go. An easy way to stage your Snakestaff Systems ETQ-Wide for EDC.
How Much EDC is Too Much EDC?
Everyday Carry, or EDC as it’s called, is a common topic in the self-defense community, firearms community, and prepper community. There are thousands of articles and videos on the topic (I’ve even made a few myself over on the YouTube channel). Here is my take on the subject.
First, let’s examine some of the common problems I see with EDC articles and videos.
Making it about the gun. One of the most common problems I’ve seen with EDC articles/videos is focusing on the gun. It tends to turn into a show-and-tell of the person’s gun collection. “On Tuesdays, I carry THIS gun in THIS holster, but on Wednesdays, I switch to THIS gun in THIS holster because…” 47 guns later, we haven’t learned anything about EDC except how much the author loves handguns.
Making it about the knife. This is the exact same problem as with the gun. It turns into a showcase of the author’s knife collection rather than why he or she carries a knife and why he or she chose that particular knife.
Medical gear. This one runs the gamut from carrying a tourniquet at minimum to ankle kits, pocket first aid kits, or full on IFAKs. The problem here is focusing on the gear itself and not knowing how to use it. Jonathan Willis recently wrote a great article on his blog that addresses this issue. (He also recently released a nice pocket kit that I will be ordering and trying.)
Making it about the flashlight. See problems 1 & 2 above.
Showcasing a product and trying to justifiy its use. I see this one a lot, especially with the new fanny pack trend, but also EDC bags in general (that’s right, we need an entire bag for EDC now). Sling bags, over-the-shoulder bags, messenger bags, pocket organizers, etc. Buy it and fill it with stuff. That’s the message that’s conveyed.
We can sum this up by saying gear, gear, gear. It’s all about the gear. You need a Batman belt full of widgets and gizmos and an EDC bag to carry extra widgets and gizmos. Or so it would seem. Newsflash: it’s not about the gear.
Does your EDC look like this? If you work in construction, great. If not, you may want to make some changes.
Here is what I believe to be a better approach to EDC. Ask yourself these three questions.
What is your mission?
What would you not leave home without?
What problems are you likely to face?
Question one may seem odd, but I think it’s essential that we first establish what we’re trying to accomplish. This allows us to frame our mindset, which is EDC tool number one. Your mission could be going to the grocery store, going to work, going to a friend’s house, etc. With that in mind, do you need your Batman belt to accomplish the mission? Not likely.
Daryl Bolke has spoken about a similar concept that he calls the “Mouse Gun Mindset”. He talks about choosing the gun you carry based on lifestyle choices and breaks it down into “get into trouble” guns versus “get out of trouble” guns. You should go train with him to hear more about it.
Question two is where the real EDC gear starts. Here are the things I would not leave home without: wallet, car/house keys, cell phone. That’s it. Pretty boring, right? Everything else is an optional accessory and a lifestyle choice.
Fanny packs (or cross-body bags, in this case) are all the rage these days. But do you NEED one for EDC?
Now please don’t get me wrong here. If you see me out in public, I likely have more items on my person than wallet, keys, and phone. I’m simply saying those are the bare minimum, and everything else is addressed in the third question.
The last question is where you get to decide things like should I carry a gun? Which gun? Do I need a knife? Do I need TWO knives? Should I carry medical gear (if you don’t know how to put on a tourniquet or use a chest seal, the answer is get training first!)? And how you address this will be determined by you and your lifestyle.
Here are a couple examples:
Mission: Check the mail; mailbox is located across a long parking lot on the other side of the apartment complex. Do you need your Batman belt for this or can it be accomplished in sweatpants or athletic shorts? Solution: Keys in-hand, wallet and phone in one pocket, j-frame in another pocket. Maybe some pepper spray clipped IWB. No need for the knives, IFAK, fire starting kit, etc.
Mission: Going to the grocery store; grocery store is in a nice part of town with a low crime rate and it’s the middle of the day. Would the sweatpants from the first scenario still work? Maybe, but if you’re a grown man (or woman), you’ll likely put some real pants on. Wallet, keys, phone are now easier to carry with more pockets. Added support from a belt allows for a larger concealed carry firearm along the waist. Here is where I would add in a pocket knife and pepper spray as possible needed additions. A pocket IFAK (again, if you have the training) might be added as well.
To sum things up, EDC should be about the mission, not the gear. Do a thorough examination of the problems you are likely to face in your day-today activities. Then scale the gear selection to solving those problems.
Making a Sap Sheath
I love a good sap. I think it’s a fantastic weapon that’s easy to discreetly carry. If you choose to carry one, I highly recommend you get some training on it, as it can be both a lethal and non-lethal tool, depending on how you use it. You should also check your local laws, as saps (and blackjacks, etc.) are not legal in all places.
For those who may be unfamiliar, a sap is basically a thick piece of leather, roughly eight inches long (some longer, some shorter), with a lead weight sewn into it on one end. It serves as an impact weapon.
So how do we carry a sap? Probably the easiest way (for me) is strong side, back pocket. This is because my other tools are carried up front, forward of the hips. Appendix carry handgun, pocket knife, fixed blade, flashlight, and pepper spray are all carried in the front. This doesn’t leave room for much else, so strong side, back pocket seems to work.
There are a few downsides of carrying it this way. The first is that it’s difficult (if not impossible) to reach with the other hand. Go ahead and try to reach your right-side back pocket with your left hand. It can be done, but it’s definitely not a normal or easy motion. The other downside is, depending on the type/style of pants pockets, the sap may move around side-to-side throughout the day.
This is where the sheath comes in. The purpose of the sap sheath is to keep the sap oriented in the same position all throughout the day. This makes for a reliable, repeatable draw.
To give credit where credit is due, I first heard about this concept from Claude Werner, the Tactical Professor. You should be reading his blog; or better yet, subscribe to his patreon.
Check out this video of Claude showing his creation:
I really gained interest in this concept after attending Guy Schnitzler’s block on saps and blackjacks at the Combatives Association Summit in 2023. So much so that I attended his block at the Summit again in 2024, after which he and I had a great conversation about saps and carry methods. You should go train with him. Guy had a homemade sheath as part of his presentation, and that’s when I decided to tap into my creative side and make one myself.
The tools I used
To do this project, you will need a few things. Guy recommended using the Boston Leather 4-ply Midget Sap because it’s fairly well made, inexpensive, and easily obtainable. You will also need a sharpie, a knife, a stapler, an empty milk jug, and some tape. I went with gaff tape because it’s way less gunky than duct tape. This thing is going to be in your pocket; you don’t want to help it attract lint. While I used my EDC Spyderco Delica, if you want to make more precise cuts, you should probably use a razor blade knife or box cutter.
Don’t forget to rinse your milk jug (maybe several times) before you begin
After gathering the tools and supplies, the first step is to cut away all the flat surfaces on the milk jug. Cut as close to the curved edges as possible; that will give you more material to work with, which you will want later.
The flats cutout from several milk jugs
Next, lay your sap over one of the pieces you cut out of the milk jug. Use the Sharpie to trace the outline of the part you want to sit in the sheath. In this case, it’s the business end. Be sure to leave room all around the edges for the staples.
The traced outline
Repeat this process on a second piece of milk jug. Then line the two pieces up with the sap in-between. With everything lined up, staple around the bottom edge and slightly up each side to hold the two pieces together. The staples are not integral to the design of the sheath; they are just holding it together in-place while you assemble it with tape, so you don’t need to go overboard with this step.
Before removing the sap, trace a horizontal line on both sides. This line is where you will set the depth of the sheath. Then draw another line from one side of the sheath, down around the bottom, running below the staples, and back up to the top, creating an outline. This line creates the shape of your sheath. If you want the whole thing to be rigid, then square the corners. I chose to round the corners and used the tape to square it off.
Setting the depth and overall shape of the sheath
Once you’ve traced your outline, use your knife or a pair of scissors to cut away the excess. The sheath should be taking shape at this point. With the excess cut away, give it a test fit. Make sure to leave yourself some wiggle room, as it’s going to expand a bit at this point, but it won’t once you add the tape.
The last step is to wrap the whole thing in tape. Take your time with this and get the edges lined up as neatly as possible. Also, wrap it as many times as you want. More layers makes it more durable. I double-wrapped the whole thing; twice horizontally and twice vertically.
The start of the first horizontal wrap
The vertical wrap gives a soft edge to the opening for less wear and tear on the sap
The final product
The final product turned out pretty well. The squarish outline sits nicely in the pocket and prevents the sap from tilting from side-to-side.
Some last thoughts on carrying a sap. The one I carry most is made by Growing Up Guns. It has a pocket clip, which solves the orientation problem almost entirely.
My EDC Sap from Growing Up Guns
The other part of this project (which I haven’t gotten to yet), and the topic of my conversation with Guy Schnitzler, is NPE carry. NPE stands for Non-Permissive Environments. The idea here is that if I find myself in an NPE, that means I’m not likely to be carrying a firearm, which frees up a spot in the appendix position.
I stole this idea from Greg Ellifritz when he wrote about it here. Basically, by adding a few holes and some cordage, this sheath could be made into a slip sheath and worn in the appendix position for deep concealment. (If there are any kydex companies out there willing to make one for me… please and thank you!)
There it is. A fun project that’s easy to do and serves a constructive purpose. Have fun with it!
After Action Report: Knife Defense for Instructors with Greg Ellifritz
I’ve attended many, many classes; but, this is the first after action report I have written. So bear with me.
Greg Ellifritz shouldn’t need an introduction, but I’ll do one anyway. He’s a retired police officer with over 20 years of service. He’s also taken more training classes and holds more instructor certifications than just about anyone I know of. He is gracious enough to share that knowledge and experience with the world through his blog (mandatory reading, if you’re not already), his Weekend Knowledge Dump (also mandatory reading), and classes he teaches. Lastly, he’s just an all-around interesting person and fun to hang out with. You can read more about him here.
Greg at the front of the classroom doing introductions
I have had the pleasure of taking several classes with Greg in the past, so I knew I was in for a good experience. But this one was unique, as it wasn’t a gun class and it was his first time teaching his new knife defense instructor-level class. And what a unique experience it was!
For starters, after we went around the room introducing ourselves, Greg had us write down three things we would expect to learn about in a knife defense class. After a few minutes, he then had us shout out the things we wrote down, and he wrote each one on a large sheet of paper for everyone to see. What we didn’t know, and he later told us, is that we were creating the curriculum for the class.
This was one of the most unique and ingenious things I have ever seen from any instructor. Curriculum development is an important, and often overlooked aspect, of teaching.
The “curriculum” we came up with
Next, Greg took it a step further and had us rate each item for level of importance on a scale of one to three, with one being most important and three being kind of important. As he went down the list, we as a class came to a consensus on how each item should be rated. This would lead us to another one of Greg’s brilliant revelations: how much time to spend on each topic. As it turned out, everything we rated as a one was something we, as instructors, felt was important. Everything we rated as a three was something our students would want to know or ask about. But, most of the time would be spent in the realm of the twos.
With the curriculum established, we moved on to some hands-on stuff. Greg brought lots of training knives with him, as well as some training pistols. He took the time to talk about each of them, the pros and cons, how much they cost, and where to get them.
Sadly, the KaBar TDI training knife is no longer made. But here are some links to the knives we used:
ProForce Folding Lock Blade Sport Trainer Knife
Over the course of the weekend, we trained with both fixed blades and folding knives. Two fixed blades were the most prevalent: The KaBar TDI LE knife and the ShivWorks El Nino push dagger. While you can easily purchase a trainer version of the El Nino, unfortunately the TDI LE trainer is no longer in production. But, Greg had a solution for that: purchase the TDI LE knife, use a bench grinder to dull the edge, and then paint it red to indicate it is a training knife.
Training guns. Instructors should probably have at least a few of these
More training knives
Greg talking about some of the training knives we would be using over the course of the weekend
Before we proceeded with the hands-on portion, Greg not only gave us a safety brief, but taught us how to ensure the safety of our students. This is a very important aspect to consider when pokey-stabby things are in play. He talked about three things, specifically: self-check, buddy-check, and instructor-check. That’s three layers of safety. He also pointed out two things which might get overlooked in a class like this. The first is making sure to do the safety checks again after a break. If students have had a chance to leave the room, go to their vehicles, etc., who knows what they brought back in with them? You absolutely MUST do the safety checks again after a break. The second thing that might get overlooked is the instructor. Who is checking him/her? And how do you show the students that you, too, are being safe? Both of these issues were addressed in class.
After discussing safety, it was on to some of the fun stuff. Greg talked about various types of knives, who designed them, and their use case. He also talked about carry locations, covering everything from in-the-pocket to neck knives and everything in-between. Greg advocated carrying forward of the hips for ease of access with either hand.
We spent a good bit of time working on gripping the knife and accessing the knife. Throughout the class, Greg advised the use of plain language when explaining things to students. For example, he used the terms “forward grip” and “reverse grip” rather than some fancy knife-specific terminology. He went on to show us multiple other ways to grip the knife and the pros and cons of each.
Greg demonstrates a thumb on spine forward grip
Another unique aspect of this class was that Greg didn’t teach specific striking methods. Instead, he opted to teach targeting areas. Since I recently attended the Tactical Anatomy Summit and the Shooting With X-Ray Vision Instructor classes, I really appreciated this approach. After discussing what areas of the body to target, Greg then had us pair up and use the training knives working with our partner at a nice easy pace. So, instead of doing knife kata striking technique 1, then technique 2, etc., we were encouraged to come up with our own creative ways to use the knife based on feedback from our training partner.
Greg demonstrating a technique with one of the students in class
Along the way, Greg interjected various teaching insights that I had never seen an instructor do before. At one point, we were all standing in a circle with Greg in the middle. As he began teaching, he walked backwards and inserted himself into the circle. He then paused, walked back to the middle of the circle and said something along the lines of, “Let me explain what I just did.” In this case, he wanted to make sure everyone could see what he was teaching. There were several other instances of him doing this throughout the two days. It was interesting to see not only the what and the why, but how.
Day two started with a presentation on legal problems with knives. Not only do we have to consider whether the knife is legal to carry (knife laws vary from state to sate), we also have to consider legal justification of our actions. And then we still may not win. Greg illustrated this through two court cases that showed us we can do everything “right” and still lose. How do you justify the knife you carry? What will the jury think if you use your knife and it goes to trial? These are questions a lot of people probably haven’t thought of before.
After a Q&A session, we moved on to opening methods for folding knives. Greg talked about and demonstrated one- and two-handed opening methods, as well as inertia opening, and discussed the pros and cons of each method. He then had us do a series of drills where we practiced accessing and opening the knife from various positions and with each hand. We went through standing, kneeling, and seated, and then talked about other possible positions we might find ourselves in such as lying on our backs, stomachs, and with an opponent on top of us.
Greg doing a demonstration from a kneeling position
Next, we paired up in two lines. One line of students played the attackers, the other were the defenders. On the start signal, the attackers would walk toward the defenders and the defenders were instructed to draw the knife and use it to defend themselves. We did this at various speeds and distances and used both folding and fixed blade training knives. It was a very useful drill to illustrate the amount of time needed to deploy a knife for self defense.
After another Q&A session, Greg moved on to teaching some discreet methods of deploying the knife. He covered the “bag trick” which he has written about here, as well as a number of other various methods for having the knife out, ready to go, without anyone knowing.
In the next section, Greg covered some more gory stuff which I won’t talk about here. You should go learn it directly from him. And that’s all I’ll say about that.
We then moved on to using the knife to defend against grabs, holds, and chokes. With our partners, we worked through wrist grabs, throat grabs and chokes, headlocks, and front and rear bear hugs. Greg emphasized that these techniques are supplementary to any skills the student may already possess such as any martial arts training.
Greg demonstrates a gun/knife technique similar to the Harries flashlight technique
As the class was winding down, we started working some knife techniques in conjunction with a handgun. Some of the topics covered included using the knife to defend against a gun grab, transitioning from knife to gun, and vice versa. We then practiced these techniques with our partners.
The class ended with a brief discussion on “sneaky stuff.” Greg emphasized that we not do anything that will get us arrested. That being said, we talked about pat downs, metal detectors, and x-ray machines. Greg discussed methods of carry and gear choices that can be used in non-permissive environments. I won’t go into any of the specifics (again, you should go train with him and get it directly from the source), but he has written about some of the techniques on his blog.
The LDK Knife Greg designed, along with a handcuff key, can be carried discreetly with ease
Overall, I have to say, this was a phenomenal class. I always enjoy training with Greg, but this was my first instructor-level class with him. I very much enjoyed his approach to teaching instructors that included the what, the why, and the how. And the way he made the class about us and how to best serve our students, not him or his curriculum. That was a very refreshing and unique approach to an instructor-level class that I would like to see more of.
If you want to take this class, you better get on it! Greg has stated that he likely will not be doing this class again in the future. He is only teaching this class one more time this year. It’s at KR Training; sign up here.
Me and Greg at the end of class
How Much Do You Shoot?
In my circle of friends and acquaintances, I am “the gun guy.” If you’re reading this, you probably are too. Because of this, I often get comments like, “You must shoot a lot!” Or, “How much do you shoot?” In my head, the answer is, “Not as much as you’d think,” or “Not as much as I want.” But the truth is, I honestly don’t know.
I’m really bad about keeping round counts. So, to answer this question, let’s do a little math and come up with a conservative estimate and a “holy crap, that’s a lot!” estimate. Grab your calculator and follow along!
In any given month, I take at least one 2-day training class or two 1-day classes. A typical class like that usually calls for 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Therefore, right off the bat, we’ve got 12,000 rounds per year. Now, not every one of those classes is a shooting class. Some of them are medical classes, combatives classes, knife classes, etc. So, on the conservative side, let’s cut that in half to 6,000. This also accounts for the possibility of not shooting all 1,000 rounds in the class.
Next, let’s look at classes I teach. During the course of any given week, I might teach 2-3 classes and shoot approximately 200 rounds doing demos for the students. With 52 weeks in a year, that’s another 10,400 rounds down range. Not every one of those classes requires me to do a demo or is a shooting class (some of them are medical and non-lethal classes). And, there may be some weeks where I do not teach at all. So, again, on the conservative side, let’s cut that number in half to 5,200.
That means at a minimum, between classes I take and classes I teach, I’m putting 11,200 rounds down range every year. On the high side, it’s possible that I put 22,400 rounds down range per year.
Truthfully, it’s probably somewhere between the two. As I mentioned, I’m bad about keeping specific round counts. If you add in practice sessions and shooting with friends, it’s fair to say the answer is somewhere around 15-16,000 rounds per year.
Is that a lot? That depends. To the casual “I go to the range every once in a while” person, it probably is a lot. However, there are competitive shooters out there who would dwarf that number in a month.
How much do you shoot? Leave a comment and let me know, and I’ll see ya on the range!
Lessons Learned in Training #1
Have a look at the picture below. Notice anything odd?
The battery tray on this Holosun optic ejected in the middle of a shooting drill
This is not my gun. It belongs to a student. We were nearing the end of a 3-hour class, and in the middle of the last drill, he stopped and complained that he couldn’t see his dot. He then attempted to turn the dot back on, to no avail. So, I took the gun from him and inspected it.
As you can see from the image, the battery tray is completely missing! Luckily, we were on a concrete range and were able to locate the battery tray, battery, and the tiny screw holding it in place. If we had been outdoors on gravel, grass, or dirt, he would’ve been screwed.
I then helped him reassemble the battery tray. Because we were on the last drill, we ended the class there.
Let’s talk about what we can learn from this.
Loctite. Loctite. Loctite. When dealing with optics, we often think about applying thread locker to the mounting plate screws and the screws that connect the optic to the plate. In this case, the side-mounted battery tray is also held in place by a tiny screw. My guess is that as the student continued shooting his gun, that screw slowly backed itself out due to recoil (something that would be easy to miss unless checked regularly) until it finally came all the way out and the battery tray with it. A small dab of blue Loctite on the battery tray screw could’ve prevented this.
On that note, when I was explaining this to the student, he asked, “Will I be able to get the screw back out?” Excellent question. Make sure to use the appropriate type of Loctite for the situation. In this case, Blue Loctite 242 works great and is not permanent. For screws that you plan to never remove, you can use Red Loctite 271. It’s more permanent than the blue stuff; however, it can be removed with a little heat.
Backup iron sights. When the student realized his dot was off, he froze. He simply stopped shooting the drill. This is problematic.
Look at the rear sights on his pistol. They are not tall enough to be usable with an optic. If he was using taller iron sights like these, as soon as he realized he had no dot, he could’ve simply switched to using those and finished the drill. Instead, he panicked and froze.
That freeze response. Thankfully this was just training. The student encountered a problem he didn’t expect or know how to handle and simply gave up.
Now imagine if this was a gunfight instead of training. That’s not going to end well. What’s your plan for when your optic goes down? Are you just going to give up? You can’t call a tactical timeout and rebuild your gun in the middle of the fight. Some knowledge of alternate sighting methods would be extremely valuable in this situation. Take that for what it’s worth.
Backup batteries. When I first reassembled and installed the optic’s battery tray, the optic wouldn’t turn on. A new battery solved that problem. You never know when that battery is going to go bad. Have a spare or two in your range bag, just in case.
Are you running an optic on your carry gun? Do you train with it? Are you familiar with some of the best practices for using a red/green dot sight on a pistol? If the answer is no, get out and take a class with a reputable instructor.
Not sure who to train with? Head over to the contact page and ask away! I’m happy to refer you to any of the various instructors I’ve trained with.