That meeting led to my traveling to the Great Guns range, near Fort Collins, CO on Saturday, Sept 8 to record a Shooting Gallery episode that will air in early 2019. Here’s a short clip, of my “handgun technique history in 30 seconds or less” demo.
Michael talks about the episode taping as part of this episode of his Down Range TV podcast.
As part of the episode taping, I had to shoot a bunch of the historical drills using period appropriate guns and holsters, like the FBI 1980’s qual (shooting Weaver with a DA/SA gun), and the current Marine military police qual using an M9 from a drop leg retention holster.
As usual, the tang on the grip safety dug a nice divot out of my hand, after shooting 15 rounds out of it. This is why when shooters began doing a lot more live fire practice, gripping the gun higher and harder, that different (wider and smoother) beavertail grip safeties were created.
Some photos of the crew in action.
And some pics of some of the different targets we used during the shoot.
And the Marine military police target after I shot part of that test.
The one target I didn’t get a picture of was the 1940’s FBI target. My first take on the hip shooting at 7 yards drill (5 shots in 5 seconds or less) put 5 rounds in a nice 8″ group high center chest – exactly where you would want them. At the end of the day they filmed me re-running that drill using a high speed camera. Hopefully that clip will make into the broadcast episode.
FINISHING THE BOOK
With an expected broadcast date in early 2019, I have even more motivation to get back to work on the book, and get it completed in time for Christmas 2018, or SHOT show 2019. After I get back from teaching the Historical Handgun class in Culpepper, VA in late October, KR Training will take our usual deer season/holiday season break, giving me time to sit down and write.
As part of the KR TrainingHistorical Handgun project that teaches the history & evolution of defensive handgun skills, I’ve been purchasing specific guns and holsters associated with specific times in handgun history. The guns will be used in demoing the drills shot in the Historical Handgun course.
I purchased a used 459 that had probably been a cop’s gun. Lots of holster wear. One magazine had lots of rust on the inside, with a rusted spring, likely from riding in a holster in the Texas heat.
The double action trigger pull was well over the 8 lb max on my cheap trigger pull gauge. The single action trigger pull was just under 7 pounds. The sights on the pistol were small. Solid black rear with a serrated, ramped blade that was very difficult to see compared to a squared front post. I painted the front post with some orange fingernail polish before I used the gun to shoot the 1980’s FBI qual for the first time.
Mireles said the standard holster used by the agents of that time was a DeSantis leather belt holster. I found a ‘vintage’ used Bianchi holster from that period that was very similar in design to use with the gun.
It had a leather snap thumb break – a feature I’m not used to working with.
Shooting the FBI qual
The old FBI quals (from the 1940’s to the 1980’s) all required starting at one distance and running to the next before drawing and firing. When I’ve shot the qual course in classes, that part is usually omitted — but the time to move from one spot to the next is a task that’s included in the par time for that string. So those that have shot the drill without the movement, but with par times unmodified, got additional time the agents did not have. Since I was on the range by myself, I included the movement when I (literally) ran the course of fire, in the 100+ afternoon August heat.
“Old” FBI Pistol Qualification Course (1980’s)
Target: FBI “Q”
Scoring: Hits in or touching “bottle” count 2 points; misses and hits outside bottle count zero points. 50 rounds service ammunition.
Qualification: 85% to qualify; 90% (45 hits) for instructors
STAGE I
18 ROUNDS
Starting Point: 25 yard line
Time Allotted: 75 seconds
Procedure: Start with a fully loaded weapon. On command, shooter draws and fires 6 rounds prone position, decocks, fires 3 rounds strong side kneeling barricade position, 6 rounds strong side standing barricade position, and 3 rounds weak side kneeling barricade position. Upon completing stage I, the shooter will conduct a magazine exchange and holster a loaded weapon.
STAGE II
10 ROUNDS
Starting Point: 25 yard line, on signal run forward to the 15 yard line.
Time Allotted: 2 rounds in 6 seconds, come down to Ready
4 strings of 2 rounds in 3 seconds each, from the Ready, Then
Procedure: Start at the 25 yard line. On command, the shooter moves to the 15 yard line, draws and fires 2 rounds in 6 seconds, decocks, and returns to low ready. The shooter will fire 4 strings of 2 rounds in 3 seconds, decock and return to low ready after each string. Upon completing Stage II, the shooter holsters a loaded weapon [without reloading unless gun capacity is only 10 rds ]
STAGE III
12 ROUNDS
Starting Point: 15 yard line
Time Allotted: 15 seconds
Procedure: Start at the 15 yard line. On command, the shooter moves to the 7 yard line, draws and fires 12 rounds in 15 seconds, to include a reload. Upon completing stage III, the shooter holsters a loaded weapon. Shooter then arranges remaining 10 rounds to have 5 rounds in the weapon and 5 rounds in a spare magazine.
STAGE IV
10 ROUNDS
Starting Point: 7 yard line
Time Allotted: 15 seconds
Procedure: Start at the 7 yard line. On command the shooter moves to the 5 yard line, draws and fires 5 rounds with strong hand only, reloads, transfers the weapon to weak hand and fires 5 rounds weak hand only. Upon completing stage IV, the shooter will unload and holster an empty weapon.
Since I was running the drill by myself, and it involved a lot of movement, I did not take video of the test. Apparently no one else ever has either, since I could not find a youTube video of anyone shooting the old test, with movement, to include here.
Results
Other than checking the zero on the pistol at 25 yards, and a few minutes of dry practice on both DA and SA trigger pulls, I didn’t do a lot of warm up or practice before I shot the drill with the 459. It was also the first time I had shot the FBI drill with the included movement. I passed the drill with 45 hits (90%) at instructor level.
After I shot the drill I did more experimenting with painting the front sight, and ended up changing the orange color with some gold model paint that made the front sight easier to see than the orange did. Running a gold or brass front sight is something recommended in many older books on shooting.
I also realized, after I finished the drill, that I should have been using the Weaver stance as agents were trained to do during that time. When I get around to doing a video of this drill shot with the movement I’ll run the gun with the gold front sight and shoot using the Weaver stance. I also ordered a kit of Wolff springs to replace all the internal springs in the gun and the springs in both magazines, which all likely need replacing. Wolff does offer a reduced power hammer spring that will likely reduce the trigger pull a pound or two. The old gun ran reliably even with the rusted mag spring.
The elements of the test that have faded away in more modern qualification courses of fire – running to position and more shooting at longer distances (25, and even 15 yards is now considered “long” by some), plus the longer heavier trigger pulls on the DA/SA gun made the test more difficult than shooting the current FBI qual with a striker fired gun. Many that advocate for DA/SA guns in the current era are running guns with 6-8 lb DA and 2-4 lb SA pulls, which are considerably easier to shoot than the 10-12 lb DA and 6-8 lb SA factory trigger pulls. I’m going to leave this gun as close to factory as I can stand, so that students (and NRA instructor candidates) can gain experience running a duty-grade trigger.
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COMBATIVE PISTOL 2 (DYNAMIC PISTOL MARKSMANSHIP) – TOM GIVENS OCT 6-7
Tom Givens has trained over 48,000 students over the past 40 years. 64 of them have been successful in armed incidents, with a hit ratio of over 90% (about triple the typical law enforcement officer hit rate). Tom is returning to KR Training in early October to offer his level 2 Dynamic Pistol Marksmanship course. If you’ve taken DPS-2 or a higher level course with us, you are ready for Tom’s level 2 class. This class is also an excellent defensive pistol course for experienced IDPA / USPSA competitors that have never taken a class focusing on defensive pistol skills. It’s not a “how to draw” course. It’s a “how to win a gunfight” class.
HALF PRICE REFRESHER SLOTS
You can come back for any class you’ve taken before, for half price. Repeating a course is a great way to maintain skills for low cost, particularly if you haven’t practiced the skills you learned in our classes due to time, cost, or range limitations. Retake the class with a different gun, or go as moral support for that friend or family member you finally talked into attending.
“LEARN TO TESTIFY” SEMINARS FROM GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA
If you missed the CoolFire/Walther event we ran earlier in August, read the AAR here. The Coolfire kit is a great way to fully simulate live fire at home, using your gun with full recoil simulation and a cycling slide. No more racking the slide to fire multiple dry fire shots! For the month of August 2018, you can save $20 off the purchase of a CoolFire Kit by using the code KR20 at checkout.
Jason Wilson, who has been a regular at the A-zone summer matches the past few years, earned the rank of Grand Master in the Revolver division of the US Practical Shooting Association in August. Many of the scores he shot at the A-Zone matches contributed to that achievement.
KR Training shooting team captain Roy Stedman won Gold in the Senior Classic division, Silver in Classic Overall and Bronze in the shoot offs at the IPSC Pan American Handgun Championship held in Jamaica in August.
The KR Training schedule shows most of the classes we plan to offer through late October 2018 and even a few already scheduled for 2019. Registration is open for everything listed.
Thank you for sending your friends and family to train with us. Your referrals keep our classes full and help us continue to offer in-demand classes that specifically address the needs of responsible armed citizens. Remember, now you can train with even more purpose through the KR Training Defensive Pistol Skills Program. Start working to earn your coin now.
We look forward to training you!
Karl, Penny and the KR Training team
The event held August 4th, from 9-12, was a beta test for a possible new research study, evaluating the relative benefit of the Cool Fire product vs. live fire for shooter development.
All attendees will shot a live fire pre-test, and were then divided into two groups. One group did additional training using the CoolFire product. The other did additional live fire training on the range. At the end of the training block, all attendees re-shot the live fire test. The data was recorded and scores compared to pre-test scores.
About the Coolfire product
Some video of the mixed CoolFire/live fire training part of the event.
Karl Rehn, Dr. David Paulus, and Albert Dvorak (CoolFire inventor) at the A-Zone.
DISCOUNT CODE!
For the month of August 2018, you can save $20 off the purchase of a CoolFire Kit by using the code KR20 at checkout.
TESTING
Testing evaluated split times on two different targets (small and large bullseyes), and transitions (side by side rectangular targets). Each was printed on 11×17 paper.
The tests were all shot live fire, starting at a low ready position.
1) Small circle, 5 shots in 4 seconds.
2) Large circle, 5 shots in 4 seconds.
3) Transitions, 1 shot each L-R-L-R-L in 4 seconds
4) Transitions, 1 shot each R-L-R-L-R in 4 seconds.
Total of 20 rounds, 50 points possible on each of the 4 targets.
Targets were scored, and all tests repeated using a 3 second par time for each test.
Par times were set so that shooting a perfect score would be difficult for most shooters at the 4 sec par, and very difficult for most with a 3 sec par. This gave us some room for shooters to improve as a function of training (live or CoolFire) before being re-tested.
All participants used Walther PPQ M2 9mm pistols, loaned to use by Walther for this event. The guns performed well, with no problems. Participants completed a survey form at the end of the event giving us their feedback on both products.
RESULTS
Full results will be published in a paper we’ll submit to a refereed journal.
Initial results indicated that those using the CoolFire product for the training block improved slightly more than those shooting live fire, running the same number and sequence of drills. Our sample set was small (11 in each group) and the training block was only 1 hour — but the general trend is clearly that CoolFire practice offers at least equivalent gains to live fire.
THOUGHTS
I’ve had a unit for several months. I use it in classes all the time as a way to introduce beginners to recoil before they fire live ammo. The laser works with all the different laser-based dry fire products on the market, for those that want that functionality. I put the kit in my backup M&P (I have a clone of my carry gun as a backup) and the kit basically stays in that gun as a classroom and personal training tool. Not everyone has that convenience.
Having an exact duplicate of your primary carry and/or competition gun is very useful, particularly if you shoot major matches or attend multi-day courses. That’s much more convenient than unloading the carry gun, swapping slide and barrel, training, and reassembling & reloading the carry gun.
It simulates the full firing experience better than any other training tool, using your own gun, your trigger, your sights. You can practice reloads and draws with it. (Some holsters may not accommodate the laser that attaches to the barrel.) C02 fill gives you roughly the same number of shots that a full magazine does, and you can get thousands of shots from a 20 oz CO2 tank. Academy Sports will refill C02 tanks for $3.49, and they sell the tanks.
The biggest benefit of the CoolFire kit is recoil simulation. All other dryfire options have no simulated recoil. Reaction to recoil (pre ignition gun movement and followthrough after the shot to see the sights again) is the biggest problem for most shooters. I’ve coached many shooters that can dry fire perfectly but will still flinch and blink shooting live ammo, or fail to followthrough. This provides a way to get used to the gun jumping in your hand without the time and expense of driving to the range.
I occasionally do everything-but-live-fire private classes in students’ homes, either as prep time before a live fire session or for people that don’t yet own their own firearms but want to learn about them. For this application, the CoolFire kit is very useful. The NRA now has a no-live-fire lesson plan instructors can use for this type of training.
A few years ago when I finally made the improvement from Master to Grand Master level in USPSA, one of the key things I changed was cutting down on live fire sessions and replacing them with dry fire sessions. I own my own private range with target stands, steel, props, etc, but it’s 60 minutes from my primary residence – and time is a cost of its own.
COST ANALYSIS
CoolFire kit (with KR20 discount) is under $400.
Tippman 20 oz tank is around $25.
One 20 oz tank fill is $3.50 (round up to $5 to include gas to drive to Academy). A set of dryfire targets from the Ben Stoeger Pro Shop is $10.
So the minimum cost is $440. You’ll get at least 2000 shots for that investment.
9mm ammo can be found for around $0.20 a round. So 2000 rounds of live ammo is $400.
The other $40 can easily be spent on targets, pasters, range fees and gas getting to/from the range.
What about cost for the second 2000 rounds?
Cost to do that training with CoolFire is….$5 to refill the tank.
Cost to do another 2000 rounds of live fire training is another $440.
Those serious about achieving high levels of skill, such as IDPA Master, USPSA Master or USPSA Grand Master are likely to fire far more than 2000 rounds annually, making the cost savings significantly larger.
TIME ANALYSIS
To do live fire practice you have to purchase ammo, load gear in the car, drive to the range, set up targets, shoot the drills, reload magazines, tape targets, shoot more drills, pick up brass, tear down targets, drive home and clean guns.
To do CoolFire practice, you stick some dry fire targets up someplace you have a safe direction (much lower risk of firing a live round unintentionally with the kit, since it’s mechanically impossible to fire live ammo with the kit installed), shoot the drills, refill the barrel w/ C02, shoot more drills, repeat, until your hands are tired or you are bored and want to stop.
In my case, not driving to/from my range, doing dry fire (or now CoolFire) freed up 2 hours just from the commute, plus an extra hour per session from all the other tasks.
“But I need holes in targets to know how I’m shooting!” is a common complaint. It indicates a lack of understanding of the process involved in good shooting. If you aren’t ‘calling’ your shots (predicting where the shots will hit based on the sight picture you saw when the front sight lifted), you’ll never get really good with a pistol. With the recoil simulation of the CoolFire, you can develop the skill to pay attention to your sights, at the moment the sights move, without live ammo. And if you need the additional downrange confirmation, put the (supplied) laser on the kit, and either look for the dot using a target focus (not recommended, as this creates a training scar that teaches you NOT to focus on the sights) or invest in one of the many phone apps,standalone laser targets, or LASR software, to get that confirmation.
One big reason people don’t practice more is lack of time; another is cost. The main reason people don’t dry fire is that they find it boring because of the lack of recoil and noise compared to live fire. The CoolFire kit is one solution that addresses all those issues.
SCENARIO BASED TRAINING USE
A commonly misunderstood concept is that you have to have projectiles flying in order for live action scenario based training to be valuable. Investing in Airsoft guns, Simunition kits and safety gear is expensive (one reason why many live fire instructors do not offer force on force training), and projectile impacts damage structures. Wearing full face gear makes it impossible for roleplayers & students to read the non-verbal cues that come from facial expressions, and decreases the realism of the scenario simulation. Non firing “red guns”, SIRT pistols, or other simulators can be used, but the CoolFire, used for this application, provides a very realistic simulation, with recoil, limited magazine capacity, and some noise. If the scenarios are recorded, or simply if the exercise coordinator is paying attention, and the laser is used on the CoolFire kit, the student’s marksmanship on the “threat” roleplayer(s) can be assessed. Even without hit assessment, the kit provides a way to run full context scenarios, with recoil and noise, in any facility, classroom or home — dramatically decreasing the investment required for instructors or serious shooters to expand their training.
SUMMARY
CoolFire is a great training tool, particularly for instructors and those that plan on shooting more than 2000 rounds a year working to improve their shooting skills. And it’s a great tool for those that don’t currently shoot 2000 rounds a year who are limited by time and cost. It’s a way to do that training for equal (or less) cost in much less time – a longterm investment that will yield more skill and cost benefits the more you use it.
The Massad Ayoob Group’s MAG-180 was held Sunday June 24 through Saturday June 30, 2018, in Ripon, Wisconsin. MAG senior staff instructor, David Maglio, hosted the event.
This was the first time the MAG-180 (formerly known as LFI-4) had been held in eleven years. The MAG-180/LFI-4 is Massad Ayoob’s most advanced class. Approximately a year and a half of planning went into making this class happen, as we trained at four different locations. The prerequisite for the MAG-180 was the MAG-40/LFI-1, MAG-80/LFI-2, and MAG-120/LFI-3.
At the MAG-40, you learn the rules of engagement as an armed citizen and how to shoot Mas’s StressFire technique. In the MAG-80, you start learning how to shoot on the move, shoot at further distances and at faster speeds, and are introduced to handgun retention and disarming techniques. In the MAG-120, we learn to train the way Mas and his cadre of instructors train. In the 180, we perfect our instructing techniques for handgun retention/disarm and Persuader (Kubotan®) while shooting challenging handgun and rifle qualifications. Upon successful completion of the MAG-180, you are certified by Massad Ayoob to teach handgun retention/disarm and Persuader (Kubotan®).
There were 24 students in class, four of whom were women. Students from as far away as Utah, Texas, and Florida made the trek to Wisconsin for the 180. We were split into two teams, and Sonja McCarthy (Gail Pepin’s daughter) and I were the team captains (go girl power!). Your days were divided into five hours on the range and five hours of handgun retention/disarm techniques and Persuader (Kubotan®) instruction.
Day one started out at a slaughterhouse in rural Wisconsin. We were instructed to bring our carry guns and carry ammo with us as we would be shooting a pig in the head for a bullet analysis. I shot my Glock 43 (with Dawson Precision sights) with Federal Hydra-Shok 147gr. (regular velocity). Mas coached us individually on where to shoot the pig in the head, and lucky girl that I am, I got to shoot my pig first. One shot and the pig was down. The head was dissected from the body, and then the head was sawed in half, so we could see first-hand what our EDC ammo was capable of doing to a living creature. Gail Pepin was there to photograph the wound cavities, and she spent the week putting together a great PowerPoint of all of the wound cavities from the heads of the pigs shot by the students.
As there were two teams for the 180, half of the day was spent qualifying at the range and half of the day was spent refining your techniques in handgun retention/disarming and Persuader (Kubotan®). David Maglio and his staff of MAG instructors ran the range, and Steve Denney, Ken Kelly, and Massad Ayoob worked with the students on the hand-to-hand combatives.
Every day at the range started with shooting a cold single-speed MAG qualification for score. On our first day at the range, we shot the MAG qualification at quadruple speed. That means you take the times for the single-speed qualification and divide them by 4. The quad speed qual was shot one student at a time, and you either made the par time or you didn’t. The beauty of Mas’s qualification is that it is rather easy to shoot at single speed, but when you start shooting his qualifications at triple and quadruple speed, the level of difficulty increases exponentially.
We shot umpteen MAG qualifications at single, double, triple, and quadruple speeds – all for score. We shot different law enforcement handgun qualifications including the Wisconsin DOJ, the New Jersey State Police qualification, the DHS/ICE qualification, and the FBI handgun qualification. What was interesting about the Wisconsin DOJ handgun qualification was that you had malfunctions that had to be cleared while on the clock (for example, setting up a double feed), clearing it, and then shooting the designated string of fire. There were also two rifle qualifications and one shotgun (optional) qualification thrown in the mix.
(Here’s a video from a different MAG class showing the pistol qualification run at double speed. Cut the times in half for the quad speed version and the test requires IDPA Expert/USPSA A class or higher skill level to clean.)
All of Mas’s handgun retention and disarming techniques are designed to pass the Bambi versus Godzilla test, meaning a little, petite lady could use these techniques on Mongo and be successful. The techniques are all leveraged based. Since you don’t get to pick who the bad guy/gal is going to be in real life, Mas has you grapple with everyone on your team. I came back to Texas bruised up and sore (I have the photos to prove it). Steve Denney is as patient as they come when it comes to instructing the handgun retention and disarm techniques, and I wish he and I lived closer so I could practice this with him.
Ken Kelly was our main instructor for the Persuader (Kubotan®) training. Sometime between when I took the MAG-120 in December of 2017 and the MAG-180 in June of 2018, Ken had an idea to make “training” Kubotans. These proved to be great training tools, as they allowed us to work through our number 2 wrist locks/thumb locks/snaps/jabs without having the living daylights beat out of us since we still had to finish qualifying on the range.
One of the criteria to pass the MAG-180 was that you had to teach a handgun retention/disarming technique. The students got to pick the technique they wanted to teach, and you were paired up with another person who had also signed up to teach that technique. The technique I chose was the elbow roll-off. The other student who had chosen the elbow roll-off technique to teach was approximately a foot taller than I with at least a foot more of arm length than I. Mas has pictures of me executing this technique on my partner and taking him down. The techniques work when executed correctly.
On Friday evening, we instructed a group of civilians from the local area in Persuader techniques, and I got to meet two of my Facebook friends (shout out to Alex Kogan and Joshua Glazov).
Our high overall shooter (top gun) was a gentleman who had come up from Naples, Florida. I was the high overall woman shooter.
I learned a lot in this class and made many new friends. I only wish Mas had a fifth level class, so I could have a reason to go train with him some more.
This is the third in a series of 3 after-action reports covering the things I saw and did at the conference. Day 1 AAR is here. Day 2 AAR is here.
DAY 3 MORNING
I attended the 4 hour lecture part of John Murphy’s “CCW Skills Beyond the Gun” session. KR Training will be hosting John for two 1-day courses in February 2019. John is a very entertaining, engaging presenter and his class was full of excellent content.
DAY 3 AFTERNOON
I was in the top 16 shootoff, doing well in the first few bouts, but finally getting bumped out (ending up 4th overall) by Chris Harold (3rd), Will Parker (2nd) and Gabe White (1st). John Holschen’s wife Martha won the ladies shootoff (and the ladies’ match). Three of the top 4 shooters in the shootoff (me, Chris and Gabe) were in my Historical Handgun live fire class on Day 2.
It was held on one of the FAS bays that had a Bianchi plate rack and a variety of steel – most of which was used for the shootoff.
The remainder of the final afternoon was spent in a medical class with Dr. Sherman House. I had taken a 2 day medical class from Sherman and Paul Gomez many years ago, and it was great to get more training from Dr. House at the conference. This class included discussion of how to use available items (neck tie and a pen, for example) to render aid when purpose-built medical supplies were not available (tourniquet, pressure dressing).
SUMMARY
About 1/3 the size of the main Tactical Conference held earlier this year, (limited due to capacity of the FAS facility and a smaller number of trainers presenting) the NW Regional event ran very smoothly, with perfect weather and great support from host Marty Hayes and his entire Firearms Academy of Seattle team. Everyone I talked to was excited and interested in the rumor that there might be another NW Regional event in 2020. I took several additional days before and after the conference to enjoy the Pacific Northwest area and escape the Texas summer heat.
This is the second in a series of 3 after-action reports covering the things I saw and did at the conference. Day 1 AAR is here.
DAY 2 MORNING
My shoot time for the competition part of the event was 8 a.m. on day 2. I’m not a morning person, but I did manage to shoot the 40 round course of fire with no penalties or “points down” with a respectable total time – good enough to make the top 16 shootoff the next day.
I audited a part of a pistol class Tom Givens was teaching, waiting for the 10 am session to begin.
The second half of the morning (10-12) was spent taking a low light shooting class from John Holschen. I took a lot of classes from InSights Training in the 1990’s when my day job took me to the Seattle area on a regular basis, and hosted John many times at KR Training in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. The Firearms Academy of Seattle facility has a terrific “dark house” that allows low light training to be conducted in daylight hours, with controlled lighting.
The live fire session was run on a narrow, but long range that gave us the 60 yard distance required for some of the older qualification courses, and barrels we could use as barricades needed for some of the drills. As a result, attendance was limited to a small number of diehard attendees who had brought multiple guns and lots of ammo to run the 400 rounds of drills in the class.
DAY 2 EVENING
Day 2 ended with the traditional TacCon “Trainer’s Meeting” – an event where the presenters and staff have a roundtable discussion about a topic related to trainers and training. This year’s topic was instructor credentials and national organizations.
After teaching half of each of the first 2 days, I was ready for Day 3, when I could just be a student for most of the day, except for the top 16 shootoff coming up day 3 afternoon.
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The event, to be held August 4th from 9-12 at the A-Zone Range, will be a beta test for a possible new research study, evaluating the relative benefit of the CoolFire product vs. live fire for shooter development. All guns and ammo will be provided. Event is open to up to 24 participants. Event cost is $20. Pre-registration and payment in full in advance is required.
KR Training shooting team captain Roy Stedman was 2nd overall in Classic, first Senior, 3rd in the shootoffs and part of the Team USA Classic division win at the 2018 Pan American IPSC Championship held in Jamaica.
As a result of classifier scores submitted from the summer A-Zone matches, Karl Rehn promoted to Grand Master in the Pistol Caliber Carbine Division of USPSA, giving him Grand Master ratings in 5 of USPSA’s 8 divisions.
The KR Training schedule shows most of the classes we plan to offer through late October 2018 and even a few already scheduled for 2019. Registration is open for everything listed.
Thank you for sending your friends and family to train with us. Your referrals keep our classes full and help us continue to offer in-demand classes that specifically address the needs of responsible armed citizens. Remember, now you can train with even more purpose through the KR Training Defensive Pistol Skills Program. Start working to earn your coin now.
We look forward to training you!
Karl, Penny and the KR Training team
This is the first in a series of 3 after-action reports covering the things I saw and did at the conference.
DAY 1 MORNING
Friday morning was spent teaching the 4 hour lecture portion of the Historical Handgun class.
This version of the course included a lot of video, including excerpts from these historical films.
https://youtu.be/3qOaXl-AuDg
DAY 1 AFTERNOON
On the afternoon of day 1 I took a 4 hour handgun skills course from Gabe White. The class was very good, including some unique drills that incorporated several ideas that had been presented in previous TacCon sessions by other trainers: using an ammo tray to simulate a cell phone or other item held in the hands prior to drawing, and using a whistle blown after the ‘gun’ command was given to indicate that the situation had changed (threat no longer immediate) and the draw and fire response should end at the ready position without shots fired.
Day 1 wrapped up with an early birthday party for Tom Givens hosted by Marty and Gila Hayes at their newly completed house on the FAS property. Tom’s birthday was coming up shortly after TacCon, and Lynn (and others) decided it would be fun to celebrate his birthday with all the trainers and staff that were involved with putting on the event.
In early July I offered a summer session of the Beyond the Basics: Pistol class that sold out so quickly that I added a second session, scheduled for Sunday July 22. 11 students undeterred by heat advisories and predictions of triple digit temperatures attended the course.
A lot of curriculum was (and still is) tied closely to the contents of Brian Enos’ excellent Practical Shooting Beyond Fundamentals book. In that book he breaks handgun shooting down into 5 types, based on the target size and distance. The vast majority of handgun shooters fire every shot as a Type 3 (traditional sight picture with moderate speed trigger manipulation) – which produces decent results on targets 0-10 yards (most of the time) but begins to fall apart at longer distances. Most defensive pistol classes spend a majority of time on improving speed at the most common defensive distances (3-5 yards), which is roughly what Brian calls Type 2 shooting – using a rough sight picture with visual focus on the target. Often this is taught simply by requiring the students to shoot faster, which usually produces the desired result as they have to accept less precise sight pictures to make the par times for drills.
The skill that usually falls through the cracks is development of the ability to shoot slower than Type 3: to spend a little more time getting sight alignment more precise, and most importantly manipulate the trigger with more care when a precision shot, for example a head shot at 10 yards, is the goal.
SMOOTH, SLOW and FAST
The phrase “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” is frequently quoted in online discussions about improving handgun skill. It’s wrong. Bad technique executed slowly may not be smooth and it may not produce good results. On a close target, bad technique executed quickly may produce acceptable results. And those expecting to become faster through deliberate, slow, smooth practice may never get faster.
It’s like driving. To learn to drive well at 70 mph, start by learning to drive at slower speeds until your technique is good. Then to learn to handle the car at faster speeds requires actually going faster. Similarly, to learn how to handle the car in rough terrain requires different techniques and slower speeds.
The process to improve is:
1) Understand that targets at different distances and of different sizes require varying degrees of sight alignment and trigger manipulation. Breaking the concept down into different ‘gears’, with specific par time/accuracy goals related to target size/distance seems to help.
2) Practice each type of shooting to meet the speed and accuracy goals.
3) Be able to quickly shift between shooting types, adjusting speed and accuracy as needed to get the required hits.
The majority of the students registered for the course had taken one or more classes from me in the past, and I took advantage of that situation to modify the course curriculum to (a) present some of the concepts in the course differently than I have in the past and (b) split the lecture into two parts, one at the start of class and one mid-class, both to get us all out of the heat and back in the A/C for a break, and to improve the presentation of topics.
What changed?
In the old format, I went through all the fundamentals of marksmanship (gun fit, grip, stance, sight alignment, sight picture, trigger control, follow through) in depth in a single lecture, followed by drills on the range. This time I broke the class into two parts: one focused on isolating each type of shooting as a separate skill, and one where the skills were combined.
The first part of class incorporated segments of the “Super Test” drill, that’s shot on an NRA B-8, with varying time limits for 5, 10 and 15 yards. This particular drill is excellent for defining the relative speeds associated with different target sizes and distances. In the past I had my own drills for this concept, but using the more-widely used Super Test worked very well.
The second part of the class focused on a drill Ben Stoeger calls “Distance Changeup”, where multiple targets at varying ranges have to be engaged, adjusting speed and accuracy as needed.
My class version of it used two targets, as I called a variety of options for each repetition of the drill (using the head and body of each target to give 4 different target sizes/distances).
SUMMARY
A lot of the older lecture material in the course on fundamentals has trickled down into my Basic Pistol 1, Handgun Coaching, and Basic Pistol 2 classes, making it possible to trim some of that content from Beyond the Basics, using that time for more work on higher level concepts. Students attending future sessions of this course will get the updated version of the curriculum, as it seemed to work well in the new format.
I recently purchased an S&W SD9VE to test and evaluate. I’ve gotten questions from students about this gun model, and other shooters and trainers have mentioned it as a decent option for defensive handgun buyers on a limited budget.
Some early observations:
1) It fits in my daily carry holster (Raven “Morrigan“) made for an S&W M&P. I read online that it wouldn’t fit M&P holsters, but the Morrigan has enough flexibility in its design that I’ve been able to use it for my M&P 1.0, a Glock 19, and an M&P Shield without problems.
2) The trigger pull is long and heavy. Not as long as heavy as a double action revolver, but longer and heavier than the factory trigger on the Glock and M&P models. My trigger pull gauge only goes up to 8 pounds, and the SD9VE trigger was heavier than that. Apex makes two parts to upgrade the SD9VE, a spring kit and a flat trigger. I ordered both from Brownells and will write about the install and testing of those parts in the coming weeks.
3) Heavy triggers are harder to shoot. I lubricated the gun, dry fired for about 10 minutes and then headed outside to run the 3 Seconds or Less test with the gun. I ran the test from open carry.
I didn’t check the zero of the pistol with the test ammo (124 gr Armscorp JRN) before I ran the test.
I did black out the rear dots on the sights because I strongly dislike “3 dot” sights.
With most guns I can shoot a perfect score (20 hits in the grey part of the target) on the test, using the 3 second par time. Not so with the SD9VE. From 7 yards, the “2 head shots starting from ready” went wrong. I finished that string in 1.98 seconds (of the available 3 seconds), dropping one shot completely out of the head, low left almost into the body, with the other shot low left into the ‘jaw’ area of the head.
On the one handed strings from 7 yards, I dropped 3 of the 4 rounds below the KRT-2 target, for a score of 16/20 with 3 in the head – good enough to pass at the standards required by our 1st level Defensive Pistol Skills 1 class, but not particularly good overall. More than likely a less skilled shooter would have found it difficult to shoot.
4) Seeing so many shots trending left on the target caused me to take a closer look at the sights. I shot a 5 shot group on the “B” circle on the target, at 7 yards. That produced a nice group left of the point of aim.
I took a closer look at the slide, and noticed that the front sight was off to the right of center line.
5) The other problem I observed is that the gun did not lock back on the last round of any of the 3 magazines that I used during my testing. This may not be a gun problem. If you look at the pistol you’ll see that the slide lock lever is located in a place where a shooter with a high thumbs grip might end up riding the lever, preventing it from moving upward and locking the slide on the last round. I had this problem with the Springfield XD, and it was one of several reasons I stopped shooting and recommending the XD series of pistols to students.
Next time I work with the SD9VE, I will adjust the sights to get the gun zeroed, re-run the 3 Seconds or Less test and a few other baseline tests with it, assess the slide lock issue, install the Apex parts, and re-shoot the baseline drills after I install the Apex parts.
Back on July 4th, 1988, two Austin-areaUSPSA competitive shooters, Randy Johnson and Don Davis, took a relative novice/ target shooter out to the Hill Country Rifle Range and introduced him to the 1911 .45 ACP pistol, and the fundamentals of practical shooting. Over the next few months they coached me, as I learned skills necessary to compete safely – drawing, reloading, movement with a loaded gun.
They introduced me to Alan Tillman, local gunsmith and competition shooter, who also coached me and built all my competition guns for many years. Through the local USPSA club, I became part of a group of shooters and gun businesses in the Austin area that have many familiar names: Chip McCormick, STI, Tripp Research, Dawson Precision, LaRue Tactical, Shockbottle, Competition DVD, Taylor Tactical Supply,Ben Stoeger Pro Shop – and many others. With Randy and Don’s coaching and encouragement it’s unlikely I would have started down the path I’ve taken, and certainly would not have progressed as quickly as I did in the first year.
Today is the 30th anniversary of that special day in KR Training history.
To celebrate it, I’ll be running a USPSA match at the A-Zone tomorrow (July 5th), shooting in the single stack division, using a classic 1911 .45 ACP. The gun actually has the same slide and barrel that I used in the early 1990s, mounted on a newer Springfield Armory frame.
If you aren’t already a subscriber to receive this newsletter each month, you can subscribe here or follow this blog. You can also follow KR Training on Facebook or Twitter for more frequent posts and information.
MEDICAL PREPAREDNESS JULY 14-15
On July 14-15 we are offering a one time special medical class taught by Dr. Ben Weger. Medical Preparedness is an in-depth, two day course on medical issues for individuals and families looking to improve their overall readiness for medical issues. The student will learn various first aid skills necessary in an emergency, along with techniques to manage various illnesses and injuries until skilled help arrives.
No prior medical training is required to attend. The class will be inside in the air-conditioned classroom.
Sign up for Saturday morning ($120), all day Saturday ($200), or the full 2-day class ($350).
Family discount offer! Get two slots for $200/$350/$600 *must pay in full in advance for discount.
The event, to be held August 4th from 9-12 at the A-Zone Range, will be a beta test for a possible new research study, evaluating the relative benefit of the Cool Fire product vs. live fire for shooter development. All guns and ammo will be provided. Event is open to up to 24 participants. Event cost is $20. Pre-registration and payment in full in advance is required.
We will be announcing our full schedule of Sept-Dec classes in the July newsletter.
RANGEMASTER TAC-CON NORTHWEST
Karl and Ed Vinyard will be representing KR Training at the NorthWest Regional Tac-Con, July 27-29, 2018, to be held at the Firearms Academy of Seattle in southern Washington state. Haven’t made summer vacation plans yet? Join us in the Pacific Northwest for cool weather and great training.
June was super busy – 15 days on the range teaching, not counting multiple range maintenance days, and 13 music performances. We’ll get back to blogging in July and August. Many articles in queue to complete and share in the coming weeks.
The KR Training schedule shows most of the classes we plan to offer through late October 2018 and even a few already scheduled for 2019. Registration is open for everything listed. We are adding more classes to Sept-Dec. They will be announced in the July newsletter.
Thank you for sending your friends and family to train with us. Your referrals keep our classes full and help us continue to offer in-demand classes that specifically address the needs of responsible armed citizens. Remember, now you can train with even more purpose through the KR Training Defensive Pistol Skills Program. Start working to earn your coin now.
We look forward to training you!
Karl, Penny and the KR Training team
If you aren’t already a subscriber to receive this newsletter each month, you can subscribe here or follow this blog. You can also follow KR Training on Facebook or Twitter for more frequent posts and information.
SCHOOL SAFETY/ACTIVE SHOOTER RESPONSE
We have a few slots still open in the June 2-3 Active Shooter Response course. The class was originally developed for armed teachers, but the course content is relevant and useful to anyone interested in active shooter response, including those involved with church and business security.
1/2 day and 1 day slots are available, for those that do not want to attend the entire course. For June 2-3 we will do all the live fire work in the mornings, and be in the classroom in the afternoons.
In addition to the June 2-3 session at the A-Zone, I am teaching another session June 11-12 at the Saddle River Range in Conroe, an indoor range facility.
The class is useful and relevant to anyone that is armed or handles guns in situations where children may be present: whether they are related to you, or sitting next to you in church, standing behind you at the grocery store, or a few rows away in a movie theater. The shooting drills in the course are challenging and different from material you’ll see in any other live fire course. You don’t have to be a parent to attend. Anyone that carries a gun in public will benefit from attending this course.
There are 4 options:
1) Saturday morning lecture only. 4 hours, $100
2) Saturday afternoon shooting only: 4 hours, $175 (can be taken by itself w/o Saturday morning lecture)
On July 14-15 we are offering a one time special medical class taught by Dr. Ben Weger. Medical Preparedness is an in-depth, two day course on medical issues for individuals and families looking to improve their overall readiness for medical issues. The student will learn various first aid skills necessary in an emergency, along with techniques to manage various illnesses and injuries until skilled help arrives.
No prior medical training is required to attend. The class will be inside in the air-conditioned classroom.
Sign up for Saturday morning ($120), all day Saturday ($200), or the full 2 day class ($350).
Family discount offer! Get two slots for $200/$350/$600 *must pay in full in advance for discount.
Karl and Ed Vinyard will be representing KR Training at the NorthWest Regional Tac-Con, July 26-28, 2018, to be held at the Firearms Academy of Seattle in southern Washington state. Haven’t made summer vacation plans yet? Join us in the Pacific Northwest for cool weather and great training.
The KR Training schedule shows most of the classes we plan to offer through late October 2018 and even a few already scheduled for 2019. Registration is open for everything listed.
We look forward to training you!
Karl, Penny and the KR Training team
Each year at the start of summer I offer a small gun oriented defensive pistol class. The intent of the course is to provide an opportunity for people to practice with the smaller gun that is more convenient to carry in the hot weather. Use of pocket holsters, purses, fanny packs, and any other mode of carry that’s not a traditional belt holster is allowed and encouraged, since practice drawing from those methods is typically not allowed at commercial ranges and discouraged in other defensive pistol classes due to range safety concerns and the additional time/complexity associated with reholstering.
Part of the course includes shooting our 3 seconds or Less test (3SL) with both the small gun and a full size gun drawn from a belt holster, to measure the performance change (usually a loss) that occurs when switching from the larger gun to the smaller one.
Data from the May 2018 session:
10 shooters
Small Guns: 6 striker fired (Glock 42, 43, Ruger LC9S, Shield), a SIG 938, one S&W Bodyguard 380, and two S&W J frame revolvers.
Large Guns: 9 striker fired guns (Glock, M&P, XD) and one SIG P229
Average small gun score: 74.0/100
Average large gun score: 83.5/100
Performance gain from shooting the larger gun: 8.5%
The best shooters in class shot the same score with both guns (but no perfect scores on the 3SL test); the worst dropped 20% more points with the smaller gun.
Students passing the 3SL test with 70% or higher score using their small gun: 8 of 10.
Students passing the 3SL test with 70% or higher score using their primary gun: 10 of 10.
Students passing the 3SL test at the 90% level (desired) using their small gun: 0 of 10.
Students passing the 3SL test at the 90% level using their primary gun: 3 of 10.
Accuracy, not draw time, was the biggest issue in this year’s class. Many chose to take the course drawing their small gun from a belt holster. Most students in previous sessions have used pocket holsters or other methods.
Historical average of the entire data set of 60 shooters:
Small Gun score: 78/100
Larger gun score: 86/100
This year’s class numbers were remarkably similar to data from previous classes and the historical averages. All the shooters in this session were intermediate or higher level. Each person attending had taken at least one class past the state carry permit level. Several in this class had taken the course in previous years and were attending as refresher/tune up training with their small gun.
Found some pictures I took from the Rangemaster instructor class that we hosted back in April 2018.
Shooting the Casino Drill
Awards to top shooters in class
Post-class Coaching
A few people didn’t pass the instructor course due to falling short of the course required on the shooting tests after 2 attempts. Tom allowed me the option to invite those students to return for some private coaching with me, to be completed within 30 days of the course, to tune up their skills and make a 3rd and final attempt on the shooting tests to earn their instructor rating.
I worked with 3 of those students (coaching all 3 to the passing level), and in all cases, the problems all related to the portions of the test that involved shooting beyond 10 yards. The correction process involved these steps:
1) Verify the gun’s zero.
Checking your gun’s zero is something very few pistol shooters either know how to do, or bother to do. We started by shooting groups at 15 yards, on an NRA B-8 target, from benchrest. This verified that the gun was hitting where the sights were aligned. This was done with the ammo to be used for the test.
For 9mm pistols I like to zero my guns with 124 gr bullets, so that I can shoot anything from 115 to 150 gr 9mm loads and be reasonably close. Zeroing the gun using either extreme of the range of bullet weights may result in a big change (usually vertical) at 15 yards or beyond.
In two of the 3 cases, left-right changes were needed to get the gun zeroed at 15 yards.
2) Time management.
In the instructor class, Tom explains that most people only have one shooting speed (time spent on the sights, time spent pressing the trigger), and that speed is too slow for close targets, and too fast for targets past 10 yards.
Any time you are shooting a par time test, the goal is to use 90% of the time provided to fire your shots. Most of the time, someone that scores poorly on the longer range strings of that type of test uses 50% or less of the available time – not aligning the sights as precisely as required, and pressing the trigger too hard and too fast.
One approach to correcting this problem is to remove the par times and simply run that section of the test scored purely on points. Practice until a perfect score can be shot, with no time limit. Then put a timer on it. Most of the time, the shooter will be able to make the par time without speeding up at all. If pushing for speed is required, often the increase is small. Time pressure causes people to forget fundamentals; removing the timer refocuses on simply getting the hits and managing the trigger better.
It’s critical for armed individuals, civilians and police alike, to understand the ability of even unarmed, untrained individuals to cause death or greivous bodily injury through blunt force trauma. Failing to control interactions early can leave you in a position where you’re left with no option but to use deadly force. Underestimating the capability of an unarmed opponent to cripple or kill — even the apparently small or weak — can leave you without the ability to respond at all.
Specific cases where fit and health people have been killed or crippled by unarmed, untrained, and physically unremarkable opponents are useful illustrations of the fragility of human life. My collegue John Daub has calalogued many such instances over the years. The knockout game may be the first example that comes to mind, and it’s certainly true that strikes to the head when completely unprepared are incredibly dangerous. But when there are signs ahead of time, maybe only seconds in advance, if you don’t actively protect yourself the warning alone is little help.
In 2017, a 45 year old man was punched a single time while waiting in line outside a bar. His assailant first asked, “What are you looking at?” according to witnesses. The struck man never regained consciousness and died despite prompt hospitalization. ABC 7
In 2018 an off duty deputy involved in a minor traffic accident is punched once by the other driver, never regains conciousness, and later dies. KTLA, including video (start at 0:44)
However, even individuals who knew for certain they will be struck are at risk. Here are a couple examples where the person struck knew in advance that a punch was coming.
In 2011, on a $5 bet, a 25-year old man was punched in the face by a 142 lb. woman. A few minutes later he collapsed; his autopsy revealed an artery burst in his neck. ABC news
In 2014, two teenagers agreed to settle a dispute by allowing one to punch the other in the face. The teen, hit once on the left side of the face with a closed fist, fell, and struck his head on the ground. He never regained consciousness and died after hospitalization. Q13 Fox News
It might be tempting to write these anecdotes off as isolated incidents or freak occurances, but by understanding the mechanisms by which such injury and death occur, these tragedies can inform our own preparations for violence and its legal consequences.
For starters, consider moves illegal among unarmed boxers and MMA fighters because of the potential for death or permanent injury. Paring the list down to only moves that work via blunt force trauma still leaves a substantial selection.
Kicks, knees, stomps to the head of a grounded opponent
Even with a “simple” punch to the head, there are a wide variety of mechanisms available that cause serious immediate or near-term consequences:
Nose bone driven into brain
Dislocated spine via blow to the top of spine or back of head
Temporal artery tear via blow to the temple area
Difficult to stop bleeding of spongy tissue (liver, spleen) via blow to the ribs
Concussion due rapid twisting of unstabilized head (e.g., due to hook or “haymaker” punch)
Cardiac contusion
Often, blunt force trauma causes secondary injuries such as
Brain impacting front, then back, of skull (contrecoup)
Head striking the ground for a second round of injury,
Airway blockages due to bleeding and swelling from primary injury, and aspiration of blood and/or vomit
Past 40 years of age, the brain shrinks and there’s more room for the brain to “float” (and gain momentum) within the vault of the skull, so the danger of brain injury increases despite a person’s overt level of physical fitness.
There are injuries that, while not necessarily deadly, frequently lead to temporary incapacitation, which means the recipient of such an injury loses the ability to observe the aggressor(s) (e.g., reaching for a weapon) and respond in an organized way. If you carry deadly weapons on your person — a handgun or a knife — you’ve ceded control of those tools to your attacker if you lose the ability to retain them:
Shattered testicle
Kidney punch
Temporary blindness due to blow to the back of the head
Tearing due to blow to the nose
Finally, some of the life-altering connsequences of brain injuries can take months or years to surface as we’ve witnessed with boxers and football players suffering concussions. It’s not necessary to receive repeated concussions for bad effects. The pituary gland rests in a small cavity of bone the (sella turcica), and suffers the same kind of impact (coup and contrecoup) the brain does, which can result in long lasting effects that are difficult to diagnose and challenging to treat.
After we have faced the violence itself, our ability to clearly articulate to a jury what behavior required us to employ force can mitigate the sometimes-hostile legal environment we find ourselves. Even for the long-time student of self-defense, the bias can be surprising. During the closig arguments of Wyoming v Drennan, the prosecutor’s (false) claim that “in the state of Wyoming, there is a law against shooting an unarmed man” may have been among the open avenues for appeal, but it resulted in an initial conviction. While eventually prevailing at appeal is not the worst possible outcome, it is far from the best: that the jury be educated by our documented training, fully apprehending the dangers as we did.
In Oregon v Weir, the supreme court of Oregon state deduced based on the structure of the penal code (Oregon’s three degrees of assault), that “the legislature did not intend that a hand could be a dangerous weapon,” despite also acknowledging that “if the other elements of assault were established, as a factual matter it would seem that the human hand could always be a dangerous weapon even the proverbial 98-pound weakling could, with one well-placed punch, disfigure a heavyweight boxing champion.”
As we’ve seen, it is just so.
None of this information is intended to suggest that we spend our lives in mortal fear of every other person around us. Rather seek out training and education that improve your ability to understand your own physical and legal context.
Understand both the statutes and case law by which uses of force are judged in our state (or states we travel to). Look for courses like MAG-20 Classroom and Andrew Branca’s Law of Self Defense seminar.
Document your knowledge of the danger presented by an unarmed assailant. Keep notes about videos you watched, articles or books you read, and training you receive. If you ever have to use force to defend yourself, make the specifics of what you knew at that moment in time available to your defense attorney and the jury.
I recently purchased two of the new Smith and Wesson EZ380 pistols. I reviewed them in this recent blog post.
Since that review I’ve used the EZ380 in several private lessons, working with shooters that had small hands or limited grip strength. My appreciation of this gun continues to grow as I work with it.
One other excellent use for the EZ380, suggested by a student, is as a ‘first centerfire pistol” for pre-teens ready to transition from a .22 to something larger. The short trigger reach, light weight, and other features of this gun make it an excellent for that application also. This would particularly useful for a young shooter wanting to begin learning how to use a holster to compete in USPSA, IDPA or Steel Challenge style competition.
Evaluating the Design
Roy from Shockbottle and I were chatting after one of the Wednesday night USPSA matches I run at the A-zone, and I showed the EZ380 to him. The EZ380 uses a locking breech design, so it’s mechanically feasible that S&W could come out with a 9mm version of this pistol if they wanted to. By trimming the grip and barrel slightly, a compact version might also be possible, so don’t be surprised if either of those show up at SHOT show in 2019, as they are logical extensions of this design.
Roy tested the grip safety in a way I hadn’t thought of: pressing the trigger back, without the grip safety engaged, and then engaging the grip safety to see if the gun would fire. I replicated that test the next day in better light.
The EZ380 passed this test. The only way to get the gun to fire is to use it as intended: grip the pistol so that the grip safety is disengaged, and then press the trigger. Doing those tasks in reverse order, as might occur if the gun was dropped and the user first grabbed it by the trigger and then closed the hand, engaging the grip safety, does not cause the gun to fire. That makes this design very drop-safe.
Sights
I’m not a fan of 3-dot sights. (Actually can’t think of any trainers or high skill level shooters that like 3 dot sights, but gun makers continue to make the standard option on pistols.) The EZ380 comes with 3-dot sights. I grabbed a Sharpie and a bottle of electric orange fingernail polish (purchased for painting sights), blacked out the rear dots and dropped a dot of orange on the front dot.
Holding the gun in one hand, trying to get it lined up properly, holding the iPhone in the other hand, *and* getting the phone to focus on the front sight instead of the rear sight was hard, so here’s a close up pic of the front sight by itself so you can see the orange dot better.
SPARE MAGS
Spare mags are now available for about $25 apiece MSRP. The gun comes with two. I ordered additional mags to have on hand for the class loaner EZ380. Next up is to get a dedicated holster and mag pouches for it, so I have a complete class kit someone could use for a Defensive Pistol Skills 1 or Defensive Pistol Skills Small Gun class in the future.
I expect as this gun grows in popularity we’ll see +1 base pads come on the market also. The mags that come with the gun hold 8. A +1 base pad would give the gun a 9+1 capacity, equal to an M&P Shield with +1 base pads.
SUMMARY
Once I get the final items on hand to build a full student kit, I expect the EZ380 will be a frequently used loaner gun. Since writing my first review, I’ve already sold 3 of them to students with small hands or low grip strength, who used the loaner gun during classes and had success with it.
I recently purchased two of the new Smith and Wesson EZ380 pistols.
Historically I have discouraged students from carrying or purchasing pistols in .380, because the caliber’s generally poor performance in actual shootings, and its failure to meet FBI minimum test guidelines for defensive ammo. Greg Ellifritz has a good summary of those issues on his blog.
However: every now and then I have a student that has fingers too short, or grip strength too weak, to comfortable shoot and manipulate any 9mm pistol. Years ago I added a Glock 42 to my collection of loaner guns, for use by students in that specific situation. The EZ380 has several features that made it appeal to me, so I bought two of them: one to test and one to have as inventory.
Features I liked
The EZ380 is a single action gun with a hidden hammer. That makes the slide easier to rack than a striker fired or double action pistol. The grip is longer – built to allow most people to get all their fingers on the gun without needing a grip extender base pad on a magazine. The barrel is longer. This gun wasn’t built to be a pocket gun. It was clearly designed to be a larger sized, belt- or purse-carry gun that would be easier to shoot than any of the smaller pocket pistols.
It has a giant grip safety, almost the size of the squeeze-cocking lever on an H&K P7, except on the backstrap instead of the front strap. For someone with arthritis or limited dexterity, that’s a better option than the tiny thumb safeties found on the SIG 238/938 series. I’ve seen many students struggle with the safety on those pistols, some making the bad choice to carry with an empty chamber, finding it easier to rack the slide than to swipe off the safety when drawing from a pocket. The giant grip safety enables the gun to be carried “cocked and locked” without a thumb safety at all.
I thought I was going to like the little “nub” built into the magazine, intended to help users pull the follower down when loading the magazine. It makes the magazine like most magazines for .22 semiauto pistols. I found the nub too small and almost painful to use. However, I’m sure the aftermarket vendors will come up with a solution, as they did for Browning Buckmark magazines.
When trying to use the gun the way it would get used in our Defensive Pistol Skills 1 class, drawing from a holster, doing reloads from mag pouches, I found that the ‘nub’ sticking out of the side of the magazine made the mags drag and hang on every single stack mag pouch I had on hand. That means that mag pouches for the EZ380 will likely have to be a custom design (e.g. hard to find and expensive).
The magazine release is reversible, which is a great feature, allowing right- and left-handed shooters the option to use thumb or trigger finger to press the release, depending on how the release is installed.
The slide lock is only accessible using the right thumb, not ambi like the slide lock on the full size M&P models. Changing the slide lock to work from both sides is the #1 change an EZ380 2.0 model could offer.
A Sight Problem
One of the questions I had was, of course, how good does it shoot? I took both of the EZ380s out to my range and fired some groups, using Winchester white box and Hornady Critical Defense ammo.
With both guns, shooting from benchrest, at 15 yards, the groups were reasonable (3-4″) but off to the left.
When the shots are hitting left for a right handed shooter, my default answer is “it’s the shooter”. I tripled down on attention to trigger control and finally convinced myself that yes, it was the guns. Both of them.
Sight Adjustment
The EZ380 has yet another unique design feature: the rear sight can be drifted left or right by loosening a set screw you access from underneath the sight. Lock the gun open, flip it over, and you can adjust the sight without a vise or a hammer.
I have some concern that the sight may drift over time, as the gun is shot and that screw comes loose. I’ll be keeping an eye on the gun I’m going to use as a student loaner for that issue.
However, once I made the sight adjustment, groups moved over to the right closer to where I wanted them.
I’m hoping there will be aftermarket sights on the market for the EZ380, because it comes with the standard 3-dot sights that come on every gun, yet no trainer or top tier shooter likes or recommends.
SUMMARY
If you are capable of shooting and handling a 9mm pistol, the EZ380 is not a gun I recommend for you. You’d be far better off with a striker fired, no-thumb-safety 9mm like an M&P Shield or Glock 43. If you are someone that can’t reach the trigger without dragging the frame on any 9mm pistol, because of short fingers, or can’t do basic tasks like fully racking the slide (all the way to the back as far as it will go) or locking the gun open on any 9mm you’ve tried, take a look at the EZ380. It has more positive features and fewer negatives for that type of customer than any other 380 on the market. It’s a pistol that you could use in a “real pistol class” (something beyond the carry permit level).
The final thought is a disclaimer. The EZ380 is a first model year gun, and normally I’m slow to recommend first model year guns. S&W has already done a recall on the EZ380 models that have a thumb safety. The non-thumb-safety models were NOT recalled. Over the next 6 months the EZ380 in my loaner collection will see a lot of use, and I’ll update this post if we encounter any problems with it.
In a previous post I gave an after-action writeup from the 2018 A Girl and a Gun Conference. There were a lot of great pics that I didn’t get to use in that AAR, so here they are.
Range Safety Officer Course
General Conference Pics
This pic is one of those “you had to be there” things. In 2017, Dawn fell down near the Pavilion, during one of the highly attended events. Her fall was memorable (no serious injuries) and in 2018 the location of her fall was commemorated with this sign.
CZ-USA was the main event sponsor. In a discussion with one of the CZ reps, I learned something interesting. The CZ-75 pistol, widely used in USPSA Production division as a DA/SA gun only has a DA trigger pull option because the intent was to give it “second strike” capability in the event of a bad primer strike resulting in a misfire. The CZ design has no decocking lever, requiring the gun to be manually decocked (hold the hammer, press the trigger, slowly lower the hammer to the down position). The designers intended for it to be used as a single action pistol.
