Basic tactics for combat?

G

gonzo

Inactive
I am a new member of this board, although I have been reading posts for some time. I have been shooting for sport most of my life but have no formal training in the tactics of armed combat. I know that there are some universal lists of rules or an acronym that will start me in the right direction. I know it's a total newbie question but I'll take some ragging for a little help.
Thanks
 
Gonzo - Dont go looking at the movies for ways to fight.
If you cant afford to go take a class at your local reputable range, I would recomend you spend a few bucks and order a couple of videos:
Gunsite's Tactical Pistol I & II
This will give you a good base to start learning from.
You can be quite impressed by the quality of instruction that can come from small out of the way ranges...
In Richmond Va I would recomend you check out the D&P Shooting Range. The guys there may LOOK like knuckleheads - but once you start talking to them you realize they do know a little about what they are talking about... ;)
In your neck of the woods - ask around. Ask a Sheriff who he would recomend.

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"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." - Sigmund Freud
 
This might be a nitpick and sound wussy.
It might be better to look for training
in armed "self-defense" than armed "combat".

PC PC PC - I'm sorry.

Find a good school - where are we talking about?

A couple of good reads are:

In the Gravest Extreme by Ayoob
Effective Defesne: The Woman, The Plan, The Gun by Gila May-Hayes.

The latter while aimed supposedly at women
is a good book for anyone.
 
Another recommended read (purchase!) is "The Principles of Personal Defense" by Jeff Cooper.

And... if you haven't yet... "Unintended Consequences" by John Ross. (note... not about training but required reading for any gunowner IMO)

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Schmit, GySgt, USMC(Ret)
NRA Life, Lodge 1201-UOSSS
"Si vis Pacem Para Bellum"
 
Thunder Ranch is just down I 35 a bit.
www.thunderranchinc.com

I had the time, money and ability to attend Orange Gunsite. Didn't - and it was a stupid mistake. The money and time you give upfront will be very cheap in the long run.

Giz
 
Thankyou Giz for the link. Geez do search engines block out gun training sites now? Had no luck searching this week at all and would never have thought to include "inc" in the title. Now I can plan my year :).
 
Consider the SIG Arms Academy in Exeter. Three days civilian CCW course is $450 including all ammo and you can arrange for a loner. They got a pretty good write up in Combat Handguns, Feb 2000 I think.

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So many pistols, so little money.
 
Most don't like to hear the truths of self-defense. First of all most fights are about arms length. It isn't like a movie. It will also be dark 85% or more of the time. So the facts are in and you have to MASTER 21 feet or less in low light/darkness. In real life you won't do the gun rag nonsense of "double taps" or stances or "flash sight pictures." Avoid the buzzwords and cliches. MASTER close range. Most don't understand that the closer the target is to you the higher the miss rate.
Police have a well documented miss rate of 92% at 21 feet or less. Learning what they do and more of it won't improve that score much. Self defense is NOT about guns and bullets. Study laws. You don't want to be the best shot in jail.
 
Glenn - small oops. I was thinking that to travel from Dallas to SA one should take I-35. IIRC, I-10 is one of the last stages...

Never been to Thunder Ranch myself. Spent a few years in Ft. Hood. Hit 6th street in Austin a bunch of times.. :)

Giz
 
The best gun fight is the one that you were able to avoid. Self Defense and related tactics are first and foremost an attitude, a mindset,if you will. To truely learn, you must be focused, and your focus must be in the right direction. Your focus is staying alive or keeping a loved one alive. Tactics are the things you do that help you achieve that goal. The best way to stay alive is to stay out of trouble. Avoid it if at all possible. If you can't avoid it, you can often let is go by, or run away from it. In the movies, you'll look like a wimp if you do this, but were not talking about the movies, were talking about real life. It's much better to let some punk take a few bucks (if that's all they want)and humiliate you than to shoot the bastard and have your life ruined by an unsympathetic jury.

That's the FIRST part...mental preparation

Masod Ayoob is a good read. A lot of people thing he's arrogant, and that may be, but the information is still pertinent.

Paxton Quigley is also very good, her audience is mostly women, but the information is pertinent either way.
 
At the risk of being too long,

[The item below was sent as a letter to a real magazine (not named Pistolero) with a note saying that it explained why the writer would not renew his subscription. No reply has ever been received.]

It was this way, Pete...

Like you probably know already, I read Pistolero magazine and really think it is the greatest, so I try to follow all the good advice they give on combat shooting. They have a lot of real experts who really know their sh... I mean, stuff, let me tell you.

Well I got all the equipment those guys say you need to be a great combat shooter, and I practiced a lot, then I got a concealed weapons license, and I felt ready to take on the world.

Maybe you don't think much of that, I mean the business you're in. Oh, you say you used to carry concealed yourself? I guess I remember reading about that - your boss really didn't care for the idea, did he? But I guess that is another story.

Anyway, one day - or rather evening - I was downtown in the city, and I see this young guy coming along and he looked like one of those punks, I mean really bad, and he walked up to me, or really sort of swaggered, like they do, and said, "Give it up man, all of it." Well he didn't even have a weapon showing, but I could see the bulge in his jacket, so I knew he was armed, so I did all the things I read about in Pistolero about combat shooting.

First, I put on my custom shooting glasses ($300 from See-em, Inc., Blotz, GA) and then my custom fitted ear protectors with the smart circuitry that blocks the sound of shots but lets you hear a pin drop at 200 yards ($500 from Muff-em, Inc., Klotz, NM). Then I pulled down my Pistolero cap with the gold braid. Then I had a problem because I didn't know whether to use an isosceles stance or a Weaver stance. Finally, I decided on the isosceles stance, and assumed a perfect position.

Then I drew my custom super accurized .45 ($6000 from Slick-em, Inc., Flotz, AZ) from its custom made, perfectly fitted holster ($700 from Draw-em, Glotz, IL). And I took a perfect two-hand hold, facing the punk squarely, and got ready to fire.

One handed? No, I never heard of shooting a handgun with one hand - I never saw
anyone in Pistolero do that! Standing? Of course, I was standing, and right out in the open, too. I could have maybe ducked behind a car or a building, or even dodged to one side, but that wouldn't be macho and in Pistolero, no one ever takes cover. Pistolero readers aren't cowards, no sir!

Well, to make a long story short, the punk pulled out a cheap, chrome-plated Yorkin .380 ($39.95 from Throw-up, Inc., Plotz, CA) and put three slugs in my head, and so, here I am. And he didn't even use the proper stance! I guess he doesn't read Pistolero, because he didn't play by the rules and you just can't respect that kind of guy, no way!

But I don't know what I did wrong, Pete. I followed every rule I saw in Pistolero about combat shooting. I just don't understand.

You say that maybe I was a little too eager to get in a shootout, but defending yourself is OK? So I can go in now? Thanks a lot, Pete, I mean Saint Pete.

By the way, is there a combat range up here? And can I get Pistolero forwarded? It's really a great magazine.

Jim
 
There seems to be a logic if we hang the word "tactical" on something it is better. Mostly just more expensive and black with velcro.
Most training is about what we will do. They always leave out the bad guy and what the bad guy will do.
Also we just got a foot of snow on the ground and just above zero. Seems we never see those "experts" in the gun rags shooting in those conditions. I love the fancy foot work. Wish they did an article showing how to that in the snow and ice. Then we'd probably get "tactical winter self-defense" shoes at $200 a pair we'd have to buy.

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Specialists in the use and training of lethal force.
 
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