RECCE ROOM

Numerous people have asked me what kind of skills and drills to work on in their own personal gun training. Truly, there are a lot a different drills out there. Most of them are good drills. A very small minority of these drills don't really help the shooter much. The problem is when good, reputable gun training facilities include these drills that don't help people much. Some are beyond the scope of reality. Some put a certain Dogma ahead of practical reality. And some of these drill simply look cool, but have no real benefit. So why do good, reputable gun training facilities include drills such as this? Legitimate question. Very often it comes from one of two mentalities. The first is that a drill was either seen or created by somebody with combat experience, and he sees a certain value in the drill, from a very specific point of view. The second mentality is that this drill is very obscure, and the instructor is good at it, and it gives him a sense of superiority over oth...

This meme was posted on social media.  "To the women who are aggressive: keep being assertive. To the women who are bossy : keep on leading . To the women who are difficult: keep telling the truth. To the women who are too much: keep taking up space. To the women who are awkward : keep asking hard questions." Let's dig into this! 1. To the women who are aggressive: keep being assertive. It is written in Titus 2:3‭-‬5 (emphasis mine) - In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not addicted to much wine. They are to teach what is good, so they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, to be self-controlled, pure, homemakers, kind, and submissive to their husbands, so that God’s message will not be slandered. 2. To the women who are bossy : keep on leading . It is written in 1 Timothy 2:12 - I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is ...

From a reader - What kind of load out do you recommend for the average citizen? Excellent question! The three things a person needs to be doing in combat are shooting, moving, and communicating. In the last 20 or so years, our military has sacrificed mobility in exchange for the individual troop carrying more gear and more ammunition. Most combat veterans I've spoken with advocate the carrying of less gear specifically so that the individual is more mobile. I am of the less-is-more mentality. AR-15 rifle or pistol. 3 to 5 loaded rifle magazines. A compact or full size semi automatic pistol, preferably chambered in 9mm. Two or three loaded pistol magazines. A fixed blade knife, the blade of which is at least 4 inches in length. An IFAK (individual first aid kit), containing at a minimum a tourniquet, a roll of gauze, and a chest seal. A rucksack, with at least the 10 C's, 2L of water, a poncho, a woobie, extra socks, and mission-specific gear.  A flashlight.  A...

This meme popped up on social media. Generally speaking it has some good ideas. However, the mindset represented doesn't fall in line 100% with what is now being proven to be effective. Let's dig into this. 1. Fight for top (Judo / Wrestling) This is a pretty good rule of thumb. The vast majority of takedowns executed in modern MMA are wrestling takedowns. The Pareto Principle applies here. 80% of all takedowns or more are double legs, single legs, or body lock takedowns. Leg sweeps and rear takedowns comprise 80% of the remaining 20%. Be familiar with Judo grips and throws so you know how to counter, but otherwise you can skip it.  It's just simply not common enough.  2. Stay on top. (Maintain a strong base / protect your limbs and neck) Perfect advice here.  Mat returns, ground 'n' pound, and guard passing are all frequently used with much success.  Being able to stabilize top positions is absolutely critical.  Not falling victim to a "gotcha...

A question from a reader - What are your thoughts on ranks for civilian training groups? Excellent question. I have seen groups that used military style ranks in great detail. I've also seen groups that went out of their way to avoid military style ranking structures. The one thing in common with all successful groups is that there will be a rank system in place of some sort. The problem with military style ranking is not so much Stolen Valor, as it is people with overly inflated ranks. Contributor "Erik Hanson" at   this link  has an excellent post on this very topic. The problem with non military style ranking is that it doesn't sound as official, and there is little or no commonality. And make no mistake, over-inflated ranks will still exist in these structures, as well. Perhaps it's just human nature. Food for thought. Very few civilian training groups I have met could muster more than 30 to 50 individuals for an actual mission. Sure, most of them h...

From FB - Rifleman - you may not see race, but race sees you.  #LibNut - What race? Stop believing lies. Only 1 race. Human race. However, by definition - In Biology, a race is a group within a species. The race will show differences from other groups in the species, but not as much as a subspecies. A subspecies is a formal category in the biological classification system; a race is not . And there are, genetically speaking,  three main races  - African, European, and Asian. Sometimes these are called Negroid , Caucasoid , and Mongoloid , respectively. While lately, pseudo-scientists have been publishing articles saying race is "complicated" and, therefore, difficult to associate with genetic data; this is simply not true.  Sure, it's a complicated topic.  But genetics is an inherently complex topic. The information is out there. But don't "Google" it - they skew their search results to the far-left. Bing search it.  It's amazing ...

In life, we all learn lessons.  Lessons can take the form of "what to do," and "what not to do." In martial arts, guns, and more, I've taken all sorts of classes, seminars, and the like.  Every time, I gain valuable information. Many times I learn "what to do." Many times I learn "what not to do." As a rule of thumb, unless a class or seminar advertises something which is not provided, I remain silent.  They could be the worst teacher or have the worst class, but I won't say anything unless there are mistruths or false advertising.  The main thing is that I learn.  That knowledge and the experience are the reasons I pay admission.  Always be learning.  Always look for the next experience.

A friend shared this on FB. Within a short time, one of their contacts "gets offended" - "Wow, you too? Somehow I thought better of you. But thanks for showing me who you are." Sounds like something hit a little too close to home for the real racist.

Current (and soon to be former) Tennessee house speaker, Glen Casada,  can no longer afford $4000 per month in alimony.  How about this, even $1 per month in alimony is theft.  Eliminate it all.  If she doesn't wanna be married to him, that's fine. But that also means she gives up the option to be married to his lifestyle.  Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, bitches!  

An enemy of Liberty has died. John Paul Stevens, former Supreme Court Justice, passed away yesterday. In a hilarious turn of events, the #FakeNews rag, Vox , published an article pertaining to the fact that Stevens was against the Second Amendment. The hilarious part comes in when the author suggests that Stevens was conservative. Another #FakeNews rag, the New York Times - certainly not a bastion of conservatism - more correctly pointed out that Stevens was the leader of the liberal wing of the Supreme Court. Stevens did nothing to promote the fundamental inalienable human rights enshrined in the US Constitution - the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Rifleman does not rejoice in his passing, but does not shed a tear, either.

Protesters took down   an American flag  and replaced it with a Mexican flag. This clearly means they like Mexico more than the US. But if we were to deport an illegal immigrant back to Mexico, they would complain how inhumane that is.  Oh, the irony. And they don't even see it. 

The three most common types of optics for modern battle rifles, such as the AR or AK, are red dots, low fixed power scopes, and variable power scopes. All three are good, and all three can readily run at distances ranging from up close all the way out to 300 yards. Make no mistake, each of these optics has its limitations, as well.  Here are some observations on that, as well as some advice on how to train around the limitations of your choice of optic. 1. Low fixed power scope. Train on your target acquisition up close . This optic is ideal for engagements Beyond 50 yards. However, its limitation is close engagements. You will need to focus extra effort on target acquisition up close. Look at using the bindon aiming concept (BAC). Practice your ready ups religiously. 2. Red dot sight. Train to bear down on longer-range shots. A red dot is a very fast acquisition optic. It is wonderful in close quarters. It's also very good and medium-range shots - 50 to 200 yards. Make...

Back during the Kavanaugh hearings, a self-proclaimed "conservative" posted an opinion article from a #FakeNews website. The title of the article suggested that it does not matter whether Kavanaugh was actually guilty of sexual assault. The article goes on to indicate that, in the author's opinion, Kavanaugh was unfit for the Supreme Court: " Brett Kavanaugh disqualified himself in the Senate hearing with behavior unbefitting a Supreme Court Justice." This "conservative" stated that she agreed with this statement. Furthermore, she also said: "I believe that true repentance (changing of your beliefs) results in behavior that is less defensive and more forthright.  I don’t think he’s a bad guy necessarily, I’d just like to see a little more composure and some concern about what might have happened.  I personally find his emotional maturity lacking. I would have just like to be seen less anger and more worry and regret.  I don’t want a show....

I went to the range on Friday, as I had the day off. Moved some optics around and re-zeroed the rifles.  Also performed an accuracy evaluation on some 7.62x39 ammo.  I'd been there a while when a second shooter showed up.  At first he was hesitant to join me - clearly because he had seen some unsafe gun handling in the past.  After some time, he realized I wasn't going home soon, and that my gun handling is safer than most.   As is natural, we struck up some conversations that day.  As the topic of choice was guns and training, we had many things to say.  At one point, he told me he served in the Navy as a SeaBee. Later on in the day, the conversation turned. He stated he had been to and graduated BUD/S. I asked him what class, and he told me that in 1980, there were no BUD/S class numbers.  As the Rifleman used to view a fair amount of   Don Shipley  videos, I immediately knew this was not true.  A quick Google search yield...

Why don't more people take training classes? From heaps of personal observation, I can tell you the one of the following reasons most likely applies: 1. " Already knows how to shoot. " This person believed that they learned everything they need to know about shooting from their father, grandfather, uncle, friend, other relative, etc. In reality, either their ego is too fragile for them to possibly find out that they don't know everything, or they simply just don't know what they don't know. 2. "Uncle Sam taught me everything I need to know about shooting ." Like option 1 above, this person believes that they learned everything they need to know about a shooting from their military service. They never stopped to think that perhaps tactics and techniques have changed since their service days. In essence, these people are really no different then the other "already know how to shoot" crowd. Yet again, their ego is too fragile for...

This Blog has gone on record before advocating for the use of the traditional Woodland camouflage pattern for the Southeastern United States. That said, a humorous conversation between The Rifleman and an acquaintance fits in right here. The acquaintance was not a fan of the Woodland pattern. " You can see that black coming at you , " he asserted. Folks, the amount of black in the Woodland pattern is not enough to catch the eye. In fact, it works more to act as a shadow area on the camouflage. Needless to say, after his statement, I gave him a quizzical look. He elaborated - " Yeah, when they are on the move, that black really stands out. " Folks, if you are moving, it doesn't matter what camouflage pattern you use, the movement is what makes you visible. Not the colors. That, and the fact that common sense just isn't so common anymore.

Observations from the shooting range - 1. AR15 shooters mostly choose carbine or pistol variants.  There are a very few who like the 20" barrel rifle and fewer still who also like the A2 buttstock.   Until they shoot one.  Everyone who shoots one of my 20" guns - for whom that was their first time to shoot a 20" AR15 - states it is the smoothest shooting AR they've ever shot.   They also tend to be one of the most accurate ARs these folks have ever shot.  Recently, Ninja shot my 20" rifle.  He realized it was the smoothest and most accurate he had shot.   And it hits steel hard.    He noted the 55 grain ammo from the A4 rifle hit harder than the 7.62x39 from the AK or the SKS, and also harder than the 55 gr ammo from the M4s and Carbines.