15 June 04

At the IALEFI Conference in Dayton, OH, Federal demonstrated their latest iteration of reduced recoil 00 buckshot. At twenty meters range the cluster of pellets was barely more than six inches in diameter. For all practical purposes, this round is a slug! A new wad system is responsible for the extremely tight pattern.

Tight buckshot patterns are desirable to a point, but I believe this goes too far. At twenty meters, I'd like a buckshot spread of twenty-five centimeters (ten inches), much as is routinely yielded using the Wad Wizard and Vang Comp system and standard, 00 buckshot.

The Federal folks indicated that the same wad technology would be available shortly with "standard recoil" shotshells also.

/John

15 June 04

Typical frustration expressed by a student:

"This weekend, I came to the conclusion that going to different firearms instructors, all of whom have different techniques, is causing me to never s ettle on one way of doing things. It seems, for example, everybody has a different opinion on:

Exactly where the left hand should be when you draw.

Thumbs 'down' on the grip (Ayoob), thumbs =98aggressively forw ard' (US Marshals), thumbs 'high' (Farnam and Suarez).

Middle of first finger pad for trigger contact, or first digit crease. Both methods are commonly taught.

Stoppage reduction, tilt the pistol upward to 'analyze' the situatio n first. Or, just TRB, and, if necessary, LRWTRB. Both approaches are taught. One can TRB via twisting the weapon first, so that the ejection port is directed downward, but I have been trained by you to TRB without twisting the pistol at all.

You can perform a visual chamber check during daylight, so why not? Of course you can't do either of the above in darkness.

I have been trained by Farnam and Suarez to be moving off the line of force constantly. Others have told me to do everything while standing in one spot .

I have been trained in gunfighting by people who have never been near one. I have been trained by people who have been in violent infantry combat (Farnam ). I have been trained by people who have been in law enforcement street gunfights (Cirillo and Suarez). I have been trained by people who have cred entials of surviving a gunfight, but to me it seems a miracle they did.

All these variations are driving me nuts and keeping me from settling into any specific 'system.' It is frustrating, and perhaps dangerous, be cause I no longer am sure exactly what I will do under stress."

My reply:

"As our friend and colleague, Danny Inosanto, says, 'Absorb what is useful.' All instructors try to package the best information and technique routine an d present it to the student, but our art is evolving continuously, and I, for one, adopt new techniques and abandon old ones regularly. We all agree on t he big stuff, but there is much variation in the details, as you noted. In the end, each of us has to develop his own 'system' and stay with it, un til something better comes along. When it does, we then have to have the person al courage to abandon the old and embrace the new.

I know it is frustrating, but true, personal growth always is, and we dare not stop!"

/John