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The XD-m Elite Precision – Run n’ Gun

I’m going to be honest, I have zero experience with XD series firearms outside of the Hellcat, which is at best half an XD. Springfield offered to send me one of the new XD-m Elite series, and I chose the Precision model thinking heck let’s try something new. The XD-m Elite Precision is the big boy of the group and features a 5.25-inch barrel. It’s built to be a competition style pistol and is outfitted as such.

The XD-m Elite Precision is outfitted with a fully adjustable rear sight, a high visibility front sight, ambidextrous controls, and a large magazine well. The magazine well is removable if you aren’t a fan of such things. The XD-m Elite Precision also has a lightening cut on the top of the slide. This reduces the bulk of the slide, and therefore felt recoil.

Not only is this my first experience with an XD series pistol, but also with a competition-ready pistol. That drew my interest to the XD-m Elite Precision, a chance to try new things. The Elite series is divided into four different guns. The competition model you see here, an OSP Tactical model, as well as two smaller models for concealed carry.

Ergonomics of the XD-m Elite Precision

The XD-m Elite Precision is pretty well laid out. The ambidextrous controls are certainly a perk for lefties. The grip texture and slide serrations are both deep and natural to get a grip with. The grip angle feels comfortable, and the more substantial grip does an excellent job of accommodating both hands. The slight overhang on the grip’s frame allows for a high grip and protects your hand from slide bite. As a guy with big hands, the gun fits it very well.

The downside is those same big hands have big thumbs that pin down the slide lock and keep it from working. This happens with nearly every handgun I shoot outside of the CZ P09/P07 and most full-sized 1911s. It sucks, but I’ve learned how to train around it.

Down and Dirty with the XD-m Elite Precision

The XD-m Elite Precision is a big gun, far from concealed carry capable, and this is from a guy who carries a big gun most of the time. The XD-m Elite Precision model weighs 30 ounces and is chambered in 9mm. As you’d imagine, this big gun has a very high capacity and comes with three 22 round magazines. Each magazine is outfitted with a large base pad that makes it easy to draw from magazine pouches and gives them plenty of protection for bouncing off the ground during reloads.

The XD-m Elite Precision’s big ole magwell is a welcome addition. The magwell funnel does do a helluva job of making your reloads quicker, especially if you fumble a bit or are more focused downrange. The most significant difference was reloading on the move. I learned two things, a magazine well like this makes a massive difference in reloading on the move, and I suck at reloading on the move.

The high visibility front sight is quick and easy to pick up and made tracking the sight throughout my presentation from the holster easy to do in various light conditions. When it comes to transitioning between targets, the bright front sight is also easy to track. I’ve also been working on cadence drills quite a bit, and the front sight is not that hard to track as you fire. It’s not as easy to track as the front sight on the Nighthawk Fire Hawk, but not bad for a stock handgun.

Range Time

At the same time I was testing this gun I was testing the new Mantis X10 Elite, and this gun got lots of reps with both dry fire and live fire. This may have given me a big of an advantage when it came to shooting for accuracy. On top of that, the gun also has a long sight radius and precise sights, so being accurate is inherently built into the weapon.

The gun shoots like a laser. I started at 15 yards and dropped T zone shots into a Sage Dynamics target with absolute ease. Backing off the 25 yards and headshots were still doable. Better yet, rather rapid headshots were easy to accomplish at this range. I stopped shooting at headshot targets and moved to 50 yards with a 10-inch rifle gong as my target. Ding, ding, ding was a ubiquitous sound. I heard it more than I missed. At my worst, I would miss about half the time.

Gettin’ META

The Springfield META trigger system is a big help when it comes to accurate shooting. This new trigger system is light and crisp with a short pull. The stock trigger is flat-faced and very comfortable.

When it comes to more dynamic shooting, the XD-m Elite Precision holds up. Double taps, failure to stop drills, and box drills are all well within this guns wheelhouse. The lightweight slide, the massive grip, and 30-ounce weight make the gun very easy to control and reduces recoil and muzzle flip significantly. My double taps on the failure to stop drills were almost always nearly on top of each other

Shooting this gun and seeing how effortlessly you can shoot well with it makes it hard to go back to a standard carry gun. The weapon is controllable, accurate, and easy to shoot. Target transitions are rapid and accurate, and the control the gun offers gives you the ability to ‘shoot them to the ground.’

Running and Gunning

I’ve tried to get a lot more practice than usual with this Pandemic shutdown. As part of my training, I’ve been practicing reloading on the move as well as shooting on the move, and I’ve been doing it with the XD-m Elite Precision. This is the perfect gun for me to start practicing these skills with.

It’s big and easy to control, and you can build the fundamentals with a gun like this before moving to a smaller carry gun. Think of it like gun training wheels. It helps you learn the fundamentals of these movements without being overly clumsy.

The magazines also seem to take a good amount of abuse without malfunction. I live on a sandhill, and that means most of my yard is basically beach sand. The magazines met that sand time and time again and never seemed to falter or gum up.

Just to see how much faster the magwell funnel design can make, I compared the XD-m Elite Precision with a standard full-sized striker-fired handgun. On average, there was a time difference of .2 of a second. That doesn’t like much until you are behind the gun and against the clock, then it’s a lifetime.

Downsides

My two complaints are the slide lock, which stays pinned down by my big thumbs while firing the weapon. Additionally, I’m not a huge fan of the grip safety. I thought the Hellcat was wise to get rid of it. Some people like it, but it’s not a feature I want on my guns.

All In All

The Springfield XD-m Elite Precision model is also a very affordable firearm, at least for an out of the box competition piece. The MSRP is only $653, and that puts it squarely in the realm of an affordable competition gun. Give it a peek here, and check out the other Elite series models while you are at it.

The Twilight Zone

(from unboxingthebizarre.wordpress.com)

Imagine if you will, a small gun club in upstate New York, over 100 years old, quick to cow to government decree and comfortable censoring its own members and anyone else who disagrees.

Wait, an American gun club, super-submissive to questionable governmental edicts, embracing the muzzling of speech and censoring its members?  I thought the general position of the “gun culture” was anti-government, anti-edict, and general apprehension of authority?

The leadership at this Binghamton rifle club apparently needs a reminder from Thomas Jefferson who told us that,  “Government is best which governs the least because its people discipline themselves.”

Apparently not so here.  I am an eighteen-year member and I questioned the decision that closed the club to all activity due to the Corona virus outbreak.  While I understood and supported suspending activities that congregated people in close groups, my point was that individuals could safely use the facility while practicing appropriate social distancing.

The club has 24/7 access and I posited that surely 3-5 members could occupy  a 12-lane shooting range in 3,000 square feet of space while keeping distancing protocols.  I reasoned that members could decide for themselves the risks, just as they do at the grocery store, pharmacy or hardware store.  President Trump later reinforced this by specifically adding shooting ranges to the list of critical pandemic infrastructure that should remain open.

At first, I lobbied club leadership privately via email to re-open the club.  When my concerns went unresolved, I reasoned that perhaps other club members felt as I did.  To find out, I posted my correspondence with leadership on the club’s Facebook page in the effort to engage the 600 plus members and get their feedback.  The club quickly took down my posts.

Flabbergasted, I posted a picture of the club with the words “Frozen by Fear” photo shopped onto the building.  The club took down the photo and blocked me from posting to my own club’s Facebook page.  Then a friend of mine posted an inquiry asking what happened to my posts and he too was blocked.

Rod Serling, the creator of the popular 1960’s Twilight Zone TV series was born in Binghamton.  What a coincident that the story of our rifle club now feels like a twilight zone episode. Who would have thought that a 105 year-old rifle club could morph itself into a warped mentality that believes censorship and compliance with extra-Constitutional edicts is the right way to lead?

I wonderhow many other gun clubs and organizations traditionally thought of as “conservative” are likewise losing their way?  Might the Coronavirus epidemic be providing a beta testing laboratory [or just “an opportunity”] for those in positions of power to see just how far the American people can be pushed?

Conservative Americans, especially those of us focused on the Second Amendment, should maintain a healthy skepticism towards government.  Voltaire made this point when he said, “It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong.

Hopefully, my gun club is not a canary in the coal mine for the trajectory of political philosophy in our nation.  We must assert ourselves as citizens, not subjects, and heed Thomas Jefferson, who said “A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take all that you have.”

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—Bob Kingsley is a private investigator and writer from New York. He is a Life Member of the NRA, a certified handgun instructor and an educator for the program, “Refuse to be a Victim.” He blogs at BobKingsley.com.

All DRGO articles by Bob Kingsley.

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AUG Autopsy – What got blocked in the mud?

What happened within in parameters of InRange’s mud test?

As Ian and Karl take the AUG apart you can see a couple things. The first is that the barrel, gas piston system, and trigger group are all pretty clean. Mud didn’t ingress into any of those parts. But where it did ingress was the charging handle operation rod channel and enough onto the surfaces of the bolt carrier that weapon locked down.

Again the likelihood that you, while carrying a rifle like the AUG, take a dive into mud like that is… well as likely or unlikely as conditions you are in allow. But it shows the potential weak point and environmental conditions that can take advantage of that weak point, so a user must be aware of them

The “autopsy” also illustrates the likelihood of getting the rifle back into working condition on the fly. Unfortunately, in the case of the AUG, it is unlikely with that much ingress slowing down and gumming up working parts. But that illustrates what a user must do, that under certain conditions maintenance must be performed. A deep clean and lubrication will bring the rifle back into service. A parts survey might be necessary to assure function, similar to if solid debris got into an open AR action and around the gas tube, gas key, or into the chamber.

Rifles have limits. Knowing the limits and fixes for any particular platform are a crucial part of choosing to run it. AK’s, AR’s, SCAR’s, AUG’s, it doesn’t matter. Learn it, objectively, and run it.

“Fearful and insecure Americans are taking advantage of weak and ineffective gun-control laws and stocking up”

This glimpse into the mind over at AlterNet is in the opening paragraph for their piece titled…

The Supreme Court is poised to extend gun rights at the worst possible time

So we know we are stepping to a house of reason, regard, and well rounded consideration. They clearly don’t view the American gun owners as a naive neo-barbarian culture overcompensating for the size of an unspecified organ. That we are terrified of the scary noises at night and that if only we were more enlightened we wouldn’t be clinging to our flashyboomboom sticks.

And that is why it is terrible that the Supreme Court is in a position to extend 2A protections.

The case in question is out of New York. It was the city prohibition on transporting lawfully owned handguns. A prohibition that they have since amended when they realized they were going to lose the case in a dumpster fire of a defeat that we haven’t seen since the handgun prohibition in D.C. met its well deserved demise.

Funny how depending on which room of the Ivory Tower folks sit the perspective can change so flexibly to meet the “Gunz R Bad M’Kay” line in some manner.

AlterNet is taking the tactful approach of pointing out that these are new owners, and that as new owners their poor scared wittle brains are so consumed with fear that the only possible outcome is a mass increase in domestic violence homicides via shiny new firearms. Other articles have pointed to this DV direction, not the AlterNet one specifically. The AlterNet one mostly just yells at SCOTUS for being right leaning and not agreeing with the collective militia theory that Justice Stevens ascribed to. To say nothing of the fact that these new owners had to be domestic violence free in order to purchase their firearm in the first place because even a misdemeanor conviction of any scale makes them prohibited.

Then we look at where new owners must come from.

Virus-Panicked Liberal Gun Buyers Are Getting Angry When They Discover Their Own Gun Control Laws

Now, it’s an RS article that I found and read via a DailyWire article. But the tone fits with what I have been seeing and hearing from around the nation.

The gun owner demographic has expanded left, because arguments that had been seen as just right-wing, uneducated, unwashed masses, propagandist talking points suddenly came into incredibly sharp focus. Personally, I believe there a several factors at play here and each individual who came into new gun ownership during this period had one of them finally make the pull the trigger (pun intended) moment on purchasing a new gun a reality.

Police Response list tweets, posts, etc.

When your local PD says we aren’t coming to X, Y, or Z call, that gets wheels turning. Not that anyone already aware of the limitations of police response were particularly surprised or dismayed, but those unaware certainly were. The “Police”, in their sheltered and strangely compartmentalized minds, are this omnipresent good guy/girl. At least when they aren’t oppressing minorities. And that omnipresent “Police” will always be there to help and they will always help and solve everything.

Academically these people may have acknowledged the limitations but it only became real to them and clicked into place when cops across the nation publicly said, “Look, we aren’t coming unless its serious. Here’s the list of ‘serious’ stuff.”

Now most of my PD friends are essentially still going to every call fairly normally, with a substantial shift in tattle tale calls for “non-essential” violations, but it was the public posting of response policy that finally clicked that mental puzzle piece into place that the cops are not there to save you. They are there to protect and serve the community by enforcing the law. That does nothing whatsoever to obligate they stand ready to protect you.

Online/Social Media “Readiness”

In the absolute insanity that has been the continuous online ongoing response to COVID-19, from the “It’s all a hoax! Damn lizard-folks!” to the, “essential oils will absolutely cleanse the toxins that propagate the virus.” and everything around and in between, many a non-gun owner took a look at their one “level-headed” gun owner friend (because they all know one that’s alright and not crazy like the rest of them) and saw that they weren’t really freaking like everyone else seemed to be…

Oh, they were concerned but there concern was manifesting into a few sensible actions. Like a check on their foodstock, water, generator fuel, and… medical supplies? Maybe even masks!? These they already had because they think in terms of, “just in case” and always had. Suddenly that nice but odd co-worker or friend who had that weird shooting and training hobby was the calmest point in the storm and making what looked a hell of a lot like rational reasonable choices.

And so, they asked those folks about picking up a gun. If they should buy a generator or not, if they knew any decent long term foodstuff supply type items just in case stores around got tight, inquires were made. Thankfully, they haven’t gotten tight, not really and not for long so long as hoarders (another fun group in a crisis) weren’t allowed to overindulge their need for every roll of TP within 5 square miles. But supply chains did take a hard hit and normal deliveries slowed down.

Now, some states are under a “non-essential” sales ban that prevent companies from selling certain products from their floors. Things have gotten weird and leaders, in an attempt to keep flattening the curve and all that, are producing confusing and counterproductive guidance that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Cherry picked products and activities are listed as OK or NOT OK instead of solid guidelines of social distance maintenance while shopping and/or out and about and encouragement to use online and pick-up shopping options.

This group sees this too, they see the wildly variant flailing of government entities they considered in a similar light to the police. They don’t look so collected and reasoned as one would hope, not like their level-headed gun friend.

Social Climate

When the nation’s social climate turned towards fear there were a few voices who were very accurately, and without malice, predicting the probable courses of action given certain criteria. A lot of those voices recommended people take steps to defend themselves, they pointed to past riots and national disasters where the reality was things got bad. They pointed out that, very seriously, as the region got even slightly away from ‘business as usual/everything working fine’ the situation devolved and self-sufficiency became the name of the game. #RoofTopKoreans

Awareness shifted, and it wasn’t “Fearful and insecure” Americans… it was all Americans. It was the world. Some gated community dweller might still have blinders on to the very real fear and true insecurity that these things bring, but many didn’t. Those willfully ignorant individuals were the blinded minority who somehow believe when things change and people are scared that just means those people are insecure and should be looked down upon. Not a one of them spoke up and said, well actually this is a fairly predictable human response to crisis and we should continue to encourage good information flow.

Nope… panic and political points. A chance to call gun owners a terrified group of wimps. No regard for genuine concern or fear, no attempt to allay it with reason. Just call them dumb and they’ll shape up, right?

This isn’t really a, The Emperor has No Clothes, type moment. But it is kind of a, the emperor is usually wearing sweatpants watching tik tok videos, moment within segments of the population’s information spheres. That these places, who were regarded as knowledge hubs, are far more limited in their scope. Things were put under real strain and the thin veils of credibility fell off and folks realized, “you really don’t know what its like out here, do you?” That the casual dismissals showed minds caught in loops that cannot rationalize real world conditions over political and social ‘got ya’ points, because that’s all they are used to operating with when times are good.

From my seat

Maybe this is just a stream of consciousness post. But I cannot, for the life of me, see how dismissing the very real concern of the nation as a whole (with much of it being media driven to feed view counts, still highly valuable) as the irrational response of a few scared insecure Americans when the sales run came from new buyers, makes any sense.

Where did we keep all these brand new scared paranoiacs hidden? This wasn’t a ban scare. It wasn’t the owners who have a few picking up a few more. Nobody in my circles went out of there way to buy more. They already have a rifle and handgun and ammo (because many were looking at training and competition seasons opening up) and some bought a little extra of something they were low on. Some rounded out projects that had been sitting around unfinished. But they didn’t rush stores.

Most of what I saw from the already owning crowd were systems checks. Zeroes confirmed, magazines and ammo accounted for, batteries changed. Not purchasing more. Not putting new systems together that are not zeroed, unpracticed with, unaccustomed to, and could be more of a liability than an asset.

Which again brings us back to ‘these are new owners’, and where did this new group come from? It was a shift in understanding, a shift in the social consciousness that made people recognize the realities of possible threats as they were realizing the realities of how fragile first world society actually is.

Pandemic Prepper Potluck

Remember those articles I wrote last year about building a deeper pantry, about learning how to dehydrate foods for storage, learning how to can extra fruits, and learning how to forage in my yard for spring greens?

Well, I’m feeling quite smug and pleased with myself these days, because those measures have allowed me to eat well despite “social distancing.” I have not needed to go to the store in over three weeks and counting. Granted, I am not feeding a family of five, but the principle stands.

Now that I’ve nearly dislocated my shoulder in patting myself on the back, I thought I’d share a few of the dishes I’ve been able to prepare using just what I already had in the pantry, fridge, and freezer.

Back in February when I had a feeling that all this might be coming, I went through my food stash and pulled out anything that had outdated so that I could use those first and replace them while I still could. Canned goods are really still edible for years after the outdate, but if you keep everything updated, mores the better.

Outdated Beef Jerky Hash

Besides those outdated canned goods I also had some homemade beef jerky that needed to be used soon, so I decided to chop that up fine and soak it in water overnight in the fridge and see if I could make a hash of it. 

It worked! Add some outdated canned veggies, some V8, some rice and spices, and I had a quite edible (if not exactly gourmet) filling dinner for several nights.

Chopped beef jerky
Jerky hash ingredients
Outdated Jerky Hash

Outdated Peach Cobbler

After the success with the hash, I decided to see if I could do something similar with some outdated canned peaches and outdated sweetened condensed milk.  After a little recipe Googling, I had a frame work. Add some self-rising flour (it already has baking powder in it), a little butter and some oatmeal, and I had peach cobbler!

Outdated ingredients
Outdated Peach Cobbler!

Dehydrated Corn Salad

I wanted a side dish to go with the sloppy joe meat from my venison and boar, so I pulled out my dehydrated corn, dehydrated peppers and dehydrated onions, rehydrated them and added outdated canned kidney beans and some frozen chopped cherry tomatoes from my window garden. I dumped the last of the bottled salad dressing over it and Ta-da – Corn Salad!

Dehydrated veggies ready for boiling water.
Sloppy joe with corn salad and dandelion salad.

Potato/Zucchini Cakes

I was casting about for a side dish for the pan fried venison I had planned, and came up with this idea. I didn’t want “just” potatoes, so I hit upon using my dehydrated shredded zucchini combined with some frozen hashbrowns to make fried potato/zucchini cakes. I haven’t yet tried dehydrating shredded potatoes or I’d have used those instead of frozen. I altered an internet recipe, and they turned out great!  Betty Crocker has a decent version here. I definitely need to try dehydrating shredded potatoes when this is all over (I’ve only done sliced so far).

Fried potato/zucchini cakes from my dehydrated garden zucchini.

Dandelion and Clover Salad

My window lettuce wasn’t ready to harvest yet, and my fridge romaine was getting ugly, so for two weekends in a row I ate dandelion and clover salad for my fresh greens serving. After that the dandelions started to bloom, so I switched to using the flowers.

Dandelion, clover, and wild onion

Dandelion Cookies

I was running out of store bought snacks so I decided to feed my sweet tooth with dandelion petal cookies. The petals lend a fibrous texture not unlike coconut. I added a chopped up dark chocolate bar – because pandemic means stress, and stress requires chocolate.

Dandelion petals separated
A little brown around the edges but perfect for my sweet tooth.

Boar Fried Rice

What do you get when you combine some boar chops left over from the instant pot, some of your dehydrated veggie stash, soy sauce and spices, some rice and some eggs? Boar Fried Rice. And it was heavenly.

Boar fried rice

Sourdough Bread

[Warning – Keto followers need to look away now – the following may contain gluten and carbs which will cause you to fall off the Keto wagon.]

I’ve been baking my own bread for the better part of two years now, with only the occasional store bought bagel in between, so yeast is always on hand at my house. But wanting to stretch that supply as long as possible, I “woke up” my sourdough starter that had been snoozing in my fridge for months. 

It’s not difficult to “create” a sourdough starter, but it does take several days to a week to get going from scratch using only the “wild” lactobacillus and yeasts that are already present in the flour. Once you’ve got it going you can keep it in the fridge and just “wake it up” the day before you want to use it, for a self-renewing, nearly inexhaustible supply of leavening – without needing store bought yeast.

Sourdough tips are all over the internet, but King Arthur Flour has a website full of baking advice all in one place.

I’ve had great success with the rye flour that I get at the local farmer’s market to make a starter. For some reason rye seems to have a greater supply of those wild strains that you’re looking for. Once your “mother” is going well though, you can feed it with wheat flour if you aren’t a rye fan. I won’t include recipes here as they are all over the internet, but suffice to say that once you’ve gotten a good sourdough bread recipe under your belt you will never settle for Wonderbread again.

Sourdough bread hot from the Dutch oven.

Sourdough Waffles

The process of “feeding” sourdough starter on a regular basis results in some volume of unused starter – in order to keep from ending up with quarts of the stuff. Thus, recipes abound for using what is called “discard”. I found one for waffles and pancakes from King Arthur and just like for bread, once you have good sourdough waffles from your freezer, you will never look at Eggos the same way ever again.

Sourdough Pizza Crust

In another bid to use up sourdough discard, I discovered pizza crust. I found that this recipe cut in half makes a nice “personal size” – also without the need for store bought yeast.

Delicious and quick sourdough pizza crust

Pandemic Scalloped Potatoes

With Easter coming I didn’t want to go buy a ham. Not only am I only feeding myself, but that would defeat the purpose of trying not to go to the store. 

I had a couple baggies of shredded ham in the freezer from the last time I cooked down a ham bone to make soup, so I decided to do Scalloped Potatoes with Ham.

I had dehydrated red potato slices that I dehydrated last summer. I had canned evaporated milk, I had a partial tub of french fried onions left from green bean casserole months ago, I had American cheese, and I had bacon grease still in the pan from breakfast (trying to conserve my butter supply).

Adapting a half-recipe from here with what I had, I got a very delish pie plate full of Pandemic Prepper Potatoes.

Pandemic Prepper Potatoes

Stocking Up for Next Time

Have I made you hungry yet? I hope so. Because being hungry for something is a great motivator to try a new recipe with ingredients and substitutions that you may not have thought of before. During a state of emergency, flexibility and imagination are your friends!

It’s a little late now to stock up, but experience can be a good teacher if you let it. Write down now the things that you are running out of and the things you wish you had in your pantry. Then, when this is all over you’ll  know where to start in your newfound deeper pantry efforts. 

One of my “wishes” is more cheese. I’m saving the shelf Velveeta and fake canned nacho stuff until I’m completely out of fridge cheese, but I’m all out of mozzarella for pizza “now“ (sniff).

I’m am SO glad that I started learning about food preservation and foraging the other year. I still have a lot to learn, but the little knowledge I do have has already proven itself beneficial. I hope it will be for you too. Stay safe.

Keltec’s KS7 – Light, Short, and Reliable

The KelTec KS7 is the second bullpup shotgun created by KelTec and is closely related to the KSG. They share a number of features outside of being bullpup shotguns, but the KS7 features a single magazine tube versus the KSG’s dual. A single magazine tube limits you to seven rounds of 2.75-inch buckshot.

Is that a bad thing? To me, no. It makes the gun lighter, easier to handle, and less complicated. Those are all features I like in my pump-action shotguns.

That big carrying handle has likely caught your eyes and possibly your ire. It’s a throwback to Cold War-style guns and gives the KS7 a unique appearance. The carry handle does double as the weapon’s sighting system and gives you M-LOK slots to mount accessories as you see fit. On such a short weapon, these slots are about all you are going to get. Also, the carry handle is removable if you hate it.

Speaking of size, the KS7 is short. It’s 26.25 inches long. The KS7 is barely long enough not to be considered an AOW. It’s shorter than a Shockwave by a fraction of an inch. Short and light and great descriptors for a home defense shotgun.

The KS7 and Reliability

The KS7 is also reliable enough for home defense use. The KSG had some growing pains, but the KS7 is free from such things. The gun cycled piles of 2.75 and 3-inch ammo without any difficulty. It eats whatever you toss at it and in it.

The pump action is smoother than it has any right to be. It easily keeps up with more proven and higher-end guns. The action is really brilliant.

The biggest downside to the design is how slow it is to reload. That’s the hassle with bullpups. However, it’s unheard of for a home defender to empty their shotgun and reload it in a home defense situation.

The KS7 surprised by me. It’s super light, short, and reliable. Perfect for home defense.

NEW STRIKE EAGLE® 5-25×56 FFP

That is an… interesting subtitle… but hey, it’s their scope.

BARNEVELD, Wis. Vortex® Optics is going long, expanding on the value and reliability of their Strike Eagle® line of optics with the Strike Eagle® 5-25×56 FFP. Tactically-minded, long-range shooters can expect an incredible number of long-range tools in an incredibly affordable package.

The First Focal Plane reticle ensures accurate holdovers and ranging throughout the magnification range. Shooters will get to enjoy all that magnification even more thanks to the XD optical system, which makes for crystal-clear, edge-to-edge sharpness and high contrast images, and XR™ lens coatings for superior light transmission and optimized, low-light performance. And, to guarantee a clear point of aim no matter the lighting conditions, the glass-etched EBR-7C reticle is illuminated.

When shooters are ready to start dialing for deeper shots, exposed, tactical locking turrets keep adjustments safe with integrated locking mechanisms. Not only that, the aircraft-grade, 34mm aluminum tube provides 110 MOA/31MRAD of travel, giving shooters plenty of space to stretch out.

And, if they need it, shooters can get from dealing close-close quarters punishment to long-range precision rapidly with the included throw lever. After all that dialing, if a shooter needs a fast, reliable return to zero, the patented RevStop® Zero System provides a fast, simple, rock-solid return.

For the shooter looking to step up their long-range game, and for those serving in the line of fire, the Strike Eagle® 5-25×56 FFP means immediate impact.

MSRP:
$799.99 – Strike Eagle® 5-25×56 (MOA) 
$799.99 – Strike Eagle® 5-25×56 (MRAD)

For a list of specifications, frequently asked questions and high-resolution images, check out the Vortex Optics media portal. For more information, visit www.VortexOptics.com and be sure to follow Vortex Optics on InstagramFacebookYouTube and Twitter

About Vortex Optics: About Vortex® Optics: American owned, veteran-owned, Wisconsin-based Vortex® Optics designs, engineers, produces, and distributes a complete line of premium sport optics, accessories, and apparel. Dedicated to providing unrivaled customer service and exceptional quality, Vortex® backs its products with the unconditional, transferrable, lifetime VIP Warranty. Built on over 30 years of experience in the optics industry, Vortex® has emerged as a leader in the optics market.

This launch feels a little… I don’t know… like they’re competing against themselves. The Strike Eagle line has developed a reputation as an entry level method to get into LPVO’s. This would seem to be the same concept for long distance shooting, but the price point is so close to some of their other higher quality offerings that I am left… puzzled.

Either the New SE is so improved feature set wise that it is now competing in the PST, HST, and PST Gen II territory (and that feels like them stepping on their own feet a little) or the I feel that the new SE is destined to disappoint for the $800 they are asking. I suppose we will see. Hopefully it’s the former and they can sell shiploads of them to happy shooters and continue development in their Gen III space.

The New US Army Rifle/Carbine Qualification

About 8 months ago I wrote about the new US Army rifle qualification, the changes to individual weapons qualification courses outlined in TC 3-20.40, the US Army’s marksmanship training guide for all individual weapon systems. It goes into excruciating detail on the tasks and individual responsibilities for running the ranges and all the lead up work.

It’s an overwhelming amount of information, most of which the individual soldier needs to know about 10% of any given portion. Estimates of how many soldiers can be run through a range with X lanes (assuming they’re working) if they keep administrative times to Y minutes aren’t that important to anyone except the couple of folks in charge of herding the cats.

What is important however, and what is buried in Appendix E of TC 3-20.40, is the list of tasks the individual soldier is responsible for completing in order to qualify. There are six tables of “fire”, three of which involve live fire, and the amount of rounds required to do them properly has gone up from the last qualification.

More rounds fired equates to more repetitions for the soldier. More good repetitions means better retention of good shooting techniques.

Today’s video goes over the body mechanics of Table VI, the qualification, and by proxy Table V, the practice qualification. More videos may follow this one, going into detail on the other tables either live on a range or just academically.

SIG SAUER Subsonic 300BLK Tipped Hunting Ammunition

NEWINGTON, N.H., (April 8, 2020) – SIG SAUER, Inc. is pleased to add a 205gr subsonic 300BLK load to its Tipped Hunting line of ammunition.

The new subsonic 300BLK ammunition features a yellow-tipped, 205gr lead-core bullet designed for explosive expansion and exceptional accuracy.  This load uses the same high-quality, single-base extruded powders as SIG Match Grade rounds, ensuring consistent muzzle velocity and insensitivity to temperature change.

Optimized for the AR-15 platform, the new subsonic 300BLK Tipped Hunting ammunition is engineered to allow hunters to load 30 rounds in a 30-round magazine and have the cartridges feed properly.  This was achieved by SIG SAUER engineers after extensive research and development resulting in a stepped-down bullet design with a shouldered ogive that keeps the bullet from hitting the ridges of the magazine which would cause the rounds to shift and eventually fail to feed. 

This load is ideal for use with a suppressor, which greatly reduces sound signature and muzzle flash, making it a favorite among hunters.  Muzzle velocity is 1000 fps and muzzle energy is 455 ft-lbs from a 16-inch barrel.  This round is recommended for use in barrels 9-inches or longer.

“300BLK continues to be a popular caliber and, in addition to several Match Grade rounds, SIG SAUER now offers two hunting loads – the subsonic 205gr Tipped Hunting and 120gr supersonic Elite Copper Hunting ammunition,” said Brad Criner, Senior Director, Brand Management and Business Development, SIG SAUER Ammunition. 

The new SIG SAUER 205gr subsonic 300BLK Tipped Hunting load is now available for purchase at the sigsauer.com/store.

All SIG SAUER Elite Ammunition is manufactured by SIG SAUER at its state-of-the-art ammunition manufacturing facility in Jacksonville, Arkansas to the same exacting standards as the company’s premium pistols and rifles.  For more information, visit sigsauer.com/ammunition.

Get Social: follow SIG SAUER on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for the latest news, product announcements, events, and updates.

About SIG SAUER, Inc.
SIG SAUER, Inc. is a leading provider and manufacturer of firearms, electro-optics, ammunition, airguns, suppressors, and training. For over 150 years SIG SAUER, Inc. has evolved, and thrived, by blending American ingenuity, German engineering, and Swiss precision.   Today, SIG SAUER is synonymous with industry-leading quality and innovation which has made it the brand of choice amongst the U.S. Military, the global defense community, law enforcement, competitive shooters, hunters, and responsible citizens.  Additionally, SIG SAUER is the premier provider of elite firearms instruction and tactical training at the SIG SAUER Academy.  Headquartered in Newington, New Hampshire, SIG SAUER has almost 2,000 employees across eight locations in the U.S. and around the world.  For more information about the company and product line visit: sigsauer.com.

Beretta APX Centurion Review

Today we’re doing a Beretta APX Centurion review, where we’ll take a comprehensive look at this compact-sized carry pistol from Beretta. The APX Centurion has awesome features that make it a great choice for a concealed carry gun.

When I started the Beretta APX Centurion review, I was skeptical about the gun. I’ve always liked Beretta’s products, but that’s been confined to traditional double-action/single-action semi-autos. The idea of Beretta making a striker fired gun seemed off to me, and made me skeptical. During the review I fired 1,747 rounds out of the APX Centurion, including at the 2018 IDPA Nationals, so I got an excellent idea of how the gun performs. I also used it as my regular carry gun.

The APX Centurion has a lot of features that I like a lot, starting with the trigger. Out of the box, I discovered during the Beretta APX Centurion review that it had one of the best factory, striker fired triggers I’d ever used. Far better than what you’d get on a Glock or M&P. Plus, with the addition of Beretta’s “Competition” striker spring, the trigger gets even better. I also like the factory serrations on the slide. While they look a little goofy to the eye, I think they make the gun stand out, and they’re also functional. It’s easy to manipulate the slide even if your hands are wet. I also like the overall size of the gun – the short barrel is easy to conceal, but I’m still able to get a full firing grip on the pistol for easy shooting.

I did find a couple of things I don’t like during the Beretta APX Centurion review, but they’re minor details. Like all polymer guns, I wish there was checkering higher up the frame, but that’s fixed with a trip to Boresight solutions. I also found the lack of holster support for the APX Centurion to be a little frustrating, however that’s also been addressed, as JM Custom Kydex now offers holsters for all APX sizes. With those conditions addressed, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Beretta APX Centurion as an excellent choice for concealed carry.

Mud Sucks

Ian, speaking for InRange TV, was challenged by Steyr on the previous mud test they performed on the venerable and fairly well regarded AUG. They claim it wasn’t properly conducted to take advantage of the rifles ability to overgas itself for adverse conditions. So, Ian and Karl oblige with a new test given that proviso.

Several rifles, especially those using short stroke pistons, incorporate an ‘overgas’ setting to power the action through sub-optimal conditions of dirt, debris, and dryness (lack of lubricant). Several also use the same ability to have an ‘undergas’ setting for use with most suppressors that increase internal back pressure. These gas adjustment features are a well thought out addition, taking advantage of the available mechanics, and allowing a greater range of operational conditions.

But no system is perfect. They have trade-offs and weak points.

The AUG, when originally tested, seized up due to the intrusion of the mud into operating areas like the charging handle channel. That channel has a rod directly attached to the bolt carrier, mirroring the gas piston rod, and it does not have a great method for debris to leave.

Rifles whose designs do not seal the whole action system and give a good way for debris and gunk to clear itself will be more vulnerable to an ingress induced failure. Bullpups, despite the fact I like them, suffer from this weakness more strongly because the rifle bodies just offer more places for crud to sit and bind the moving parts up.

Does this make them bad designs? No. It does make it a known point for observation in the designs, a known mandatory maintenance point.

These are not a “real world conditions” test. It’s a valuable data point and it gives information for consideration. But if someone were instead to run the rifle through a course of fire on a muddy range it would be a more “real world” condition. Because, real world, people tend to keep their guns clean(er) and out of the muck as much as possible.

So why perform mud tests if they aren’t “real world” data?

Similar to why you proof load test a rifle. It’s an extreme case safety information point. What will a system do under an overly extreme condition and is there an easy way (or a way at all) to expediently fix a failure of the system if the condition occurs.

Debris ingress will always start messing with the tolerances within a machine like a firearm, there is a reason firearms run best when cleaned and lubricated, and ingress should be cleaned out at the earliest moment. This is firearm maintenance 101, keep the action clean and properly lubricated to work. The mud test data point gives an indication of how tolerant those tolerances are when thrown for the most extreme of external dirty conditions. But it certainly doesn’t test what the gun will do if mud gets in the barrel (hint: boom), which is another real world possibility.

The test effectively highlights how well the operating system is sealed, not just immediately around the bolt carrier but the whole exposed working mass. It effectively highlights the points in which debris will build up and bind components, giving maintenance data. It alone does not make or break how ‘good’ a rifle is though. That is a far greater data pool and a long series of (sometimes personal preference) questions.

Marines are retiring their tank battalions.

The Marine Corps is shifting focus from the Cold War and GWOT era systems and looking at near peer warfare for 2020 and beyond. The tanker battalions, three of them, are being removed from the force. It’s a bittersweet shift for those within the Marine Corps who are those armored operators but it is in line with the two goals the Commandant has outlined.

The first is, sadly, budget cuts. Less expensive legacy equipment means more for new equipment and the Marine Corps is scaling back across the fleet. No more tanks, bridging, or police battalions. Fewer F35’s and infantry battalions too. All of these will save money.

The second and more poignant reason is mission refocus. The Marine Corps in my time (06-14) was operated like a smaller US Army in many respects. This was because of the mission in the Middle East. The type of combat and the mission profiles between AO’s given to the Army and AO’s given to the Marine Corps were generally.. the same. Conditions within the AO’s might vary widely and the OpFor, civilian situation, partner forces, and any number of factors could result in very different missions on the ground level. However the 30,000 foot view of the situation had the Army and Marines doing essentially the same thing wherever we needed troops on the ground.

That was the need. That was the mission of the time and Marines carried it out. But it is not the mission of the Corps overall. That mission is to be a flexible naval infantry force. To control islands and shorelines, assist the navy in boarding ships, raiding, directing shore fires, and in general be able to very quickly be dropped into somewhere by naval assets and cause absolute havoc on the ground.

That mission requires a fast moving, lightweight, semi-decentralized ground force that can be placed and removed quickly. Tanks don’t fit that equation, especially when we look at how light and effective anti-tank weaponry is becoming. Tanks are becoming more targets and less hard kill infantry support assets. Tanks, especially main battle tanks like the M1A1 and A2, are heavy and need proper terrain. The mobility limitations, increased ease of disability or destruction, and increase in prevalence of lighter anti-armor and anti-vehicle weapon systems make the role of the main battle tank an unnecessary one for the Corps’ mission.

Long story short, when you have a bunch of things that aren’t tanks that can kill tanks you probably don’t need tanks. You need ways to quickly move your troops to and from their AOs and support them with fire. The longer range precision rocket artillery, troop portable systems, air support, etc. are available. The Marines clashing with other ‘infantry’ forces, both conventional and unconventional, is their forte. It’s also what the Navy most needs them for, go dislodge infantry that are on islands or shorelines that could use weapon systems to threaten the ships.

Think of it this way. The Marine Corps is a flexible larger scale special mission force, it has a role more wide spread and covering more than something like a SEAL team but is not the national scale that the Army is designed for. A special forces unit will be for small scale surgical mission profiles. The Marines will be for rapid, larger, short to moderate duration mission profiles in direct support of Navy combat operations and to establish routes for Army units depending on mission scale. The Army, as a whole, is for national level long term operations where we’re changing someone’s government, sweeping through the country like a snow plow, and going sit on them awhile.

Combined Arms doctrine and all those fun buzzwords. The Commandant is shifting the Marine Corps into that mission profile. Light to moderate presence, short to moderate duration, ship to shore fire supported and/or high mobility precision ground based fire supported, with the ability to leave just a quickly and repeat the mission on the next island or shoreline they need to.

So, while it is a sad day to see the Marines lose a legacy MOS steeped in lore and history, a force must continue to evolve to today’s missions. The tank might not be gone forever, technology and mission might bring armored battalions back the Marine Corps’ mission profiles. But for the moment this seems like a wise move. The vehicles that the Corps brings in to support their mission instead of tanks will be key to making this a success.

Review: “Deadly Force Encounters: Cops and Citizens Defending Themselves and Others” by Gila Hayes

[Ed: The “physio-psychological effects of violent encounters.” That’s right up DRGO’s alley, so we are reprinting Gila Hayes’ review from the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network‘s current newsletter.]

Ten years ago, this journal reviewed the original version of Alexis Artwohl’s and Loren W. Christensen’s classic on the physio-psychological effects of violent encounters, Deadly Force Encounters: What Cops Need to Know to Mentally and Physically Prepare for and Survive a Gunfight.

It was not a new book then, with a 1997 copyright by Paladin Press. I was very pleased when these acclaimed authors published an updated version, offering in the preface, “extensive updated research on extreme stress events and…specific recommendations to officers, agencies, and citizens on how to survive deadly force encounters and cope with the aftermath.”

Although both authors worked in law enforcement, this is not exclusively a police book. In dedicating the second edition to police officers, community members and first responders, they note, “Although our focus is on officer-involved use of force, much of the research and principles apply to many other situations as well,” adding later, “Evil prowls the streets 24/7, and smart citizens need to take responsibility for their own safety. Everyone can cultivate a survival mindset; some people go on to develop a warrior mindset with skills. Many citizens rescue, defend, and protect themselves, their loved ones, total strangers, and police officers.”

The book draws on a wide array of scholarly research, combined with experiences from the authors’ careers as a police psychologist and a police officer, to teach about how use of deadly force affects people. Do not be put off by the police-oriented anecdotes. Police use of force incidents are documented in excruciating detail while self-defense by citizens is often no-billed with little publicity generated, so the facts are not publicized or recorded for posterity. Many of the aftermath issues, while not identical, are definitely parallel.

One such aspect, raised by the authors early in Deadly Force Encounters, is legal survival. In law enforcement, a criminal investigation and internal affairs investigation is all but guaranteed after use of deadly force and civil lawsuit is very likely. As is true for the armed citizen, political motives increase the likelihood of punishment. “Citizens forced to defend themselves from an attack can also find themselves in serious legal trouble for committing an assault or homicide no matter how justified the use of force. Assaults are crimes, and the police investigate them as such,” they explain. A common thought, they continue, is, “‘I haven’t done anything wrong, so why do I need a lawyer?’ Whether spoken by cops or citizens, this is a naive assumption for anyone being investigated…the entirety of the criminal justice system is too complex to be fully understood by laypeople and is subject to human error just like all other institutions,” they observe later in the book.

One difficulty is striking the balance between silence and giving a statement. “People involved in use-of-force incidents are likely to experience high levels of emotional turmoil and feel a strong need to talk about what happened,” however survivors must keep in mind that, “everything they say and do at the scene, including 911 and other phone calls, is observed, probably recorded by multiple individuals, and could be used against them in all the ensuing legal actions, including civil litigation that might happen months or years down the road,” they write.

They add, “If citizens decide to make a public safety statement, it can include brief information such as who is the victim and the offender, location of physical evidence, injuries, identifying witnesses, and other information relevant to immediate public safety and securing the scene…Citizens should provide this brief information in a calm and restrained manner. They should not ramble, second-guess, speculate, editorialize, dump emotional reactions in public, or answer any questions in detail except under the supervision of their attorney.”

Most will afford themselves of the opportunity to make a full statement under the supervision of their attorney. The authors explain, “The full statement is where the involved officers or citizens sit down with detectives and undergo extensive questioning about all the details of the event. Often recorded, interviews and all statements and behaviors of the interviewee become part of the public record. Everything can be used against them in criminal and civil litigation.” That’s why, they add later, “it is best to wait for one or two sleep cycles” before submitting to an interview. A substantial amount of memory research follows, too much to detail here, but it is recommended reading and just one more good reason to buy Deadly Force Encounters for detailed study and a permanent place in your resource library.

Artwohl and Christensen contrast the competing priorities of individuals, society, and the criminal justice system. As humans, we care primarily about survival, but after that’s assured, our brains need to make sense of what happened and extract details that might be useful in the future. Conversely, the criminal justice system cares only for “exactly what happened.” That creates what the authors call a “disconnect,” because “people who experience or witness an event are highly unlikely to have perfect performance or perfect recall. Much of the time, this is not of great importance. However, for people who become tangled up in the criminal justice system, a less than perfect memory or performance might, and has, resulted in them being falsely accused of lying, covering up, and obstructing. In the worst cases it can lead to indictment and conviction.”

Ignorance about brain function combines with “the demands of the criminal justice system” to cause survivors of critical incidents considerable harm, they warn. Combat that general ignorance by studying this book and take to heart the authors’ advice about surviving a critical incident. First, one must survive the criminal violence, and from experience and research the authors outline attributes they deem “important for people to develop if they want to protect themselves from predatory attacks.” These include calmness, survival mindset, respect and the warrior mindset. Each element is explained in depth and is too long to fully review here. Additional pages address the effects and management of fear, the importance of personal resiliency and maintaining a positive outlook–before trouble strikes.

Also notable is the chapter discussing why eyewitness testimony is so unreliable and how false memories are implanted, all backed up with research from multiple sources. The authors comment, “Given the fallibility of memory, these ‘always believe the accuser without any evidence’ movements are dangerous deviations from the fundamentals of the criminal justice system: thorough investigations, due process, the presumption of innocence, the right to face one’s accuser, and trial by facts and evidence rather than emotion and bias.”

A discussion about decision making compares cold, rational analysis to emotion-informed, intuitive decisions. “A shortcoming of conscious, rational decision making in sudden emergencies that require split-second decisions is that it takes too much time…Intuitive decision making…allows responses to pop up rapidly and automatically with little or no effort or conscious thought. Training and other life experiences help automatic responses be the correct ones,” the authors introduce.

Relevant training is essential and needs to consider “a combination of individual abilities, health status, and a wide variety of other issues unique to each person. For example, those interested in home defense can access information on how to harden their security. Concealed carry requires a whole different area of training. People who use a cane can learn to use it as a self-defense weapon,” the authors explain.

Stress inoculation, they continue, is “an essential element of reality-based training.” Done right, stress inoculation “should start with classroom education on the physiology and psychology of stress reactions, and techniques to manage the symptoms.” Simulated defense situations are part of any successful training program and the authors quote a study showing “Use-of-force simulators provide an important training mechanism in which important skills can be honed, and they are important in transferring trained judgment and firearms skills from the classroom and the firing range to actual field encounters.” Don’t forget to role play the aftermath, too, they advise.

A long segment on visualization outlines harnessing the power of the mind to provide frequent training. “Research shows that frequent practice for small periods, known as ‘distributed practice,’ can be a more effective method of learning and skill maintenance as opposed to ‘massed’ or ‘block’ practice where the students only train for long sessions now and then,” the authors write. Safe dryfire and mental rehearsals of defensive scenarios are recommended. “Mental rehearsal of effective responses has long been known to enhance learning and performance. This can range from imaging the smooth, uniform feel of a trigger pull, to rehearsing entire complex scenarios.” Christensen relates how he would mentally rehearse law enforcement responses, “After just a few sessions, I found myself responding to…hold-up calls more smoothly and confidently…All because I had practiced, albeit only in my mind. This is a powerful technique that many cops, military, and top athletes use to enhance performance.”

There’s a parallel mental function in the way people revisit and critique past actions. The authors explain, “After a dramatic event, many people find themselves involuntarily replaying it over and over in their minds, sometimes for a week or longer. This can include dreams and second-guessing what happened…The temporary natural tendency to repeatedly relive what happened can be harnessed as a learning experience for any event, including seeking more information or training to improve future responses,” but when the replays continue for extended time periods, it is detrimental and one of the recognized symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

People who have faced imminent death report common responses–experienced in varying degrees of intensity–ranging from mentally reliving the incident, trouble concentrating, increased startle reflex, avoidance, anger, blaming or guilt, feeling helpless, second guessing their decisions, and more, the authors report. These are not uniform, the authors stress, owing to the great variations in human resiliency, supportive or hostile environments, individual degrees of preparation to face hardship and more. “Social support is essential to all humans, especially after a PTE.

Group debriefings and peer support teams can be a critical part of mobilizing collegial support.” They stress facts about PTSD that debunk common myths and identify Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy as a helpful tool in recovery.

A chapter on developing resiliency urges readers to adopt a positive outlook when things are going well, noting, “Resiliency is a way of life, not a single epiphany or method.” Instead of taking a class or seminar that generally addresses resiliency, they recommend getting training or counseling on specific problem areas and addressing real issues like health and endurance, sleep deprivation and proactively solving looming issues. “A defining characteristic of adults and children who cope well is their ability to quickly size up a challenge, grab as much control of a situation as possible, and proactively work to enhance their survival,” they advise.

Resilient people, they continue, find meaningful ways to be of service to others and know how to accept help when they need it themselves. Find meaning and purpose, they continue, and practice being adaptive and flexible as a means of coping. Other characteristics include strong ego boundaries, not taking perceived slights as personal attacks or abuse, and practicing gratitude.

The second edition of Deadly Force Encounters is a long book, containing many thought-provoking topics. Highly recommended!

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— Gila Hayes manages operations for the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, and serves as editor of the Network’s online journal, with two decades of shooting and firearms training experience. Gila authored the books Effective Defense, Personal Defense for Women and Concealed Carry for Womenwas Women’s Editor for Gun Digest, and has published many articles in firearm magazines.

Shooting Matches

Why should you go to shooting matches? Because if you carry a gun for self defense, shooting matches will make you more proficient at defending your life. In this video, our shooter goes through simulated self defense scenarios with his carry gun, allowing him to actually practice with his gun under stress. Shooting matches are a great source of marksmanship practice that also induces stress on the shooter.

There are quite a few types of shooting matches, but today we’ll focus on the “practical” shooting sports, specifically the International Defensive Pistol Association, or IDPA. IDPA is built around shooters to enter competitive situations with their every day carry gear, and compete in stages that are designed to test the shooter’s marksmanship skills in a simulated self defense environment. Shooting matches are not gunfights, but what they do allow you to do is improve your gun handling skills while under stress.

Here’s why this is important. According to Harvard Health, the body treats all stressful situations the same, whether it’s a fear of public speaking or a car crash that’s about to happen. The severity of the body’s response to the stress correlates to the individual’s familiarity with that situation and their level of training at dealing with stress in that incident. For example, I still get stressed before I have to teach a class, but because I have done it so often, I no longer get sweaty palms or a dry throat. My ability to manage that stress has increased. It also means that my brain is able to focus on other things that just the stress response, which brings us back to shooting matches.

When you attend a shooting match, you’re competing for score in front of your peers. This induces stress in people, because there is performance anxiety, fear of failing in front of people you may know, unfamiliarity with the course of fire, etc. While it is not the same level of stress as a self defense situation, think of as a vaccine. It helps you learn to manage your stress response while you have a gun in your hands, which is very difficult to do in a sterile training environment. Because you become familiar with stress during shooting matches, your brain can then focus on other things, like actively solving the marksmanship problem you’ve been presented.

Shooting matches is a ton of fun, but for people who are serious about person defense, it takes on a whole new level of importance. Along with force on force, it’s the only way to induce a realistic stress response in a controlled environment, while training with a firearm.