18 Oct 02

We just completed a Basic Pistol Course in PA. Most of the students were supplied with G19s and G17s. One brought his own Beretta 92F. Another brought a Walther PPK/S. The Beretta and its owner held up fine. Glocks, of course, all did well. The PPK/S lasted for about twenty minutes. Too many feeding and other functional problems (hardball). The student gave it up and went to a Glock, which worked fine for the rest of the course.

Lesson: PPKs may work for James Bond, but I've seen precious few copies I'd give a dime for.

/John

18 Oct 02

This is from one of my instructors in the Phillippines. I was not able to give him any particularly sage advice. Anyone see this and know some viable solutions?

"I am training a woman locally. She has been shooting for a number of years and takes instruction well. She suffers from 'lazy eye.' We started this day with drills at four meters (G26), and everything ran like a dream. Center hits. Chewing out holes in the middle of an IDPA board.

Then we went out to seven meters, and her groups, though tight, all began shifting four inches to the left. Her trigger control was perfect. She indicated that she was deliberately holding to the right, but apparently not enough.

At ten meters, her accuracy completely disintegrated She was nowhere on the target. Shots were all over the place but mostly left.

We tried using both eyes, strong eye only, weak eye only. Nothing helped.

If any of you guys in John's circle of friends has encountered this phenomenon and knows how to deal with it, I'd be eternally grateful for your advice."

You may contact Karlo directly at: jktats@edsamail.com.ph. Please send a copy to me.

/John

18 Oct 02

Latest from LAPD:

"Our new Chief, Bratton, who brought Glocks into Philadelphia and NYC, is now bringing them into the LAPD! Is suspect we'll finally see our Berettas go. Our SWAT folks like Glock but are sticking with the 1911.

Bratton has already started to clean house with our command staff. He wants resumes from everyone above the rank of captain. Many have already announced their retirement!

All in all, he looks like a breath of fresh air to me. Heaven knows, this department needs it!"

/John

18 Oct 02

Shooting incident in SA:

"One of our officers was involved in a shooting today. He was responding to a call for assistance. On arrival, he was confronted by an ax-wielding EDP who was attacking passing motor vehicles. Our officer verbally challenged the EDP. The EDP jumped off a truck he had struck several times and advanced towards our officer.

Our officer had left himself sufficient time and space (per his training). Our officer, realizing that he would probably have to shoot, lined himself up so that the truck was direct in his line of fire and would serve as a backstop.

Sure enough, the EDP put his head down and charged with his ax raised. Our officer fired two rounds (9mm 115g FMJ, PMP) from his CZ 75. Both hit in the upper part of the EDP's legs, causing him to pitch forward and fall to the ground. Our officer then stepped in and kicked the axe away.

I interviewed the officer two hours after the incident. He is one of my (and your) students. He reported that, at no time was he unsettled. He stated that all of the elements we teach, scanning, moving laterally, verbally challenging, etc came into play. He said it "all came together" and worked well (big smile when he said that).

Asked why he hit the EDP in the legs, he stated that the EDP was running toward him with his head down. So, he started his "zipper technique ," but stopped firing as soon as his target went down and presented no additional threat.

He stated that he can clearly remember using his sights. "That's the way I was trained,' he said, matter-of-factly."

Lesson: Let your opponent panic. When you move, verbalize, and shoot accurately (using you sights), you are pretty hard to beat (even when you're only shooting 9mm hardball).

/John

18 Oct 02

Vicki's new book, Teaching Women to Shoot, is now available through Amazon.com

/John

18 Oct 02

Air travel advice from a friend who does even more than me:

1. Nobody questions canes. They get x-rayed, but that is about it. Wonderful examples can be found at canemasters.com.

2. Nobody questions small flashlights, like my Surefire 6Z.

3. Security folks are all in Condition White. On average, there are six security types in the gate area, but only one or two do any actual searching; the rest do nothing and pay no attention to what is going on. All these individuals would be working as janitors prior to 9/11.

7. I travel with books, including a small bible. None are ever examined, except the Bible, which is always examined."

/John

18 Oct 02

Advice from a friend in the federal system, from a recent lecture:

"If you're not familiar with the AR-15 rifle, you should be. I recommend that you become familiar with how to load and fire it. Also, become familiar with the AK-47. Sooner or later, you'll run into these weapons, and you need to know how to use them.

When it goes bad, it goes bad fast, very fast! You'll have only a short window through which to take dynamic, positive action. Don't hesitate and don't miss!

You'll have to move, move fast, and keep moving. A moving target is a difficult target.

Let this be your law: Prepared for anything, depending on nothing. Think in terms of being self contained. Don't deceive yourself into thinking that someone is going to rescue you in the nick of time. That only happens in the movies!"

/John