Chuck Taylor is another of the original set of traveling trainers that began offering classes nationally in the late 70’s and early 80’s. This is the revised edition of his book, published in 1982. As you might expect, it’s all about the Weaver stance and the 1911, with a section on ballistics showing how awesome …
Continue reading ‘Book Review – Complete Book of Combat Handgunning (Chuck Taylor, 1982)’ »
USPSA Grandmaster Charlie Perez self-published his “Learning Guide to Practical Shooting” in 2018. Perez has been a competitive shooter since 2008, achieving a GM rating in Limited in a year and half after his first match. He offers competition training through his company Big Panda Performance. The book is an excellent and very complete compendium …
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The 1986 gunbattle between two violent criminals and multiple FBI agents is the most analyzed and discussed shootout of the 20th century. The FBI’s decision to shift to 10mm handguns, which led to the creation of the .40 S&W caliber, and widespread law enforcement adoption of that caliber, was likely the biggest change that affected …
Continue reading ‘Book Review – FBI Miami Gunfight (Mireles, 2017)’ »
This very popular compilation of articles from the best pistol shooters of the 1960’s and 1970’s was reprinted many times, into the 1980’s. The inside cover describes the book as “A collection of classic articles by world champion shooters, eminent authorities and the editor (Gil Hebard) on how to shoot a pistol and how to …
Continue reading ‘Book Review – Pistol Shooters Treasury, 2nd ed (Hebard, 1972)’ »
James Mason’s 1976 book, Combat Pistol Shooting, is an excellent book full of great photos and scientific discussion. Mason was a “small arms and ballistics consultant” to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. The book merges the classic techniques of the pre-Gunsite era with Modern Technique information. The photographer for the book liked big plumes …
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Back in 1875, Charles Taylor published a small book on defensive pistol skills. The book was digitized and is available for download here. Many of the concepts in the book are as relevant and applicable today as they were when the book was published. The copy that was digitized was a gift to the Harvard …
Continue reading ‘Book Review – How To Use the Pistol (Charles Taylor, 1875)’ »
Grant Cunningham’s Defensive Pistol Fundamentals is a fairly complete collection of the essential topics any armed citizen should know. From a historical perspective, it’s a time capsule of material commonly taught by many trainers in the mid 2010’s. I read this book right after Dalton and Fowler’s 1984 Handguns and Self Defense book, which provided …
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On Sept 21-22, 2019, many of the key figures in the early days of Practical Shooting reunited for a weekend of shooting and socializing. The event was hosted by Bill and Joyce Wilson at the Circle WC Ranch. Part one of this blog post series has more details about the event and who attended. At …
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By the start of the 1980’s, the influence of Jeff Cooper on firearms training was at its peak. Most schools, including International Shootists, Inc. (ISI) run by Mike Dalton and Mickey Fowler, were teaching the Weaver stance and promoting the use of the 1911 semiauto pistol in .45 ACP as ideal for self-defense. Their core …
Read about the latest news from KR Training and find training classes to improve your defensive firearms skills.
Read about the latest news from KR Training and find training classes to improve your defensive firearms skills.
Here is a scanned copy of Jeff Cooper’s first published article, from the Marine Corps Gazette, in Sept 1946. Titled “What Good Is A Pistol?”, it discusses pistol training and caliber selection. Highlights: Cooper comments that the semiauto pistol be redesigned to have more slant and a slight curve — essentially describing the difference between …
Multi-time USPSA and IPSC champion shooter Ben Stoeger recently published another book, Breakthrough Marksmanship. This book is all about troubleshooting. As Ben puts it: There is a disconnect between what happens and why it happens for many shooters. Connecting the dots between what happens and why it happens is complex, and that’s the reason most …
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Bob Nichols published this book, “The Secrets of Double Action Shooting” back in 1950, in an era where most handgun shooting was one handed bullseye, or point shooting (unsighted) from the hip. Nichols was ahead of his time, advocating for handgunners training for personal defense to transition from thumb cocking to double action technique. The …
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The book “The Art and Science of Basic Handgun Accuracy” was published by W.W. Buttler in 1991. According to the book, Buttler was a Federal Air Marshal at the time the book was written. He was also a graduate of the Chapman Academy, the Caliber Press Officer Survival School, and many other programs, and an …
The book “A System of Target Practice”, written in 1858 by Henry Heth and published in 1862 by the War Department, is cited as the US military’s first marksmanship manual. Heth graduated from West Point in 1847 and fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. The full text of the book from archive.org is …
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Through all my experiences on both sides of the tracks, I have accumulated the widest range of violence experience and training that I have ever heard of anyone having for the narrow lane of civilian criminal violence. Freeborn, Varg. Violence of Mind: Training and Preparation for Extreme Violence . One Life Defense LLC, Varg Freeborn. …
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My ongoing research related to my Historical Handgun (Evolution of Handgun Training) project has been quietly continuing in the background, even as other projects like the Strategies and Standards for Defensive Handgun Training book were pushed to the front. I have a large stack of books that have been read but not reviewed on the …
I was the guest on Civilian Carry Radio last night (March 20, 2019) with guest hosts Lee Weems and Ashton Ray. We discussed the material in the new Strategies and Standards for Defensive Handgun Training book, the red dot study, the recent TacCon 2019 event, and much more. Thanks to CCR for having me on! …