To some degree, mounting any optic can involve a bit of voodoo and magic. It'd be humorous, except for mounting failures for red dots being widespread. Unfortunately, when they happen in class, there isn't always time for the fix to take before a student is shooting again. The following mounting method comes from the deputy sheriffs' teaching at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Weapon Training Unit. They are regularly running both optics user and instructor classes, and in those programs, they see numerous combinations and share that information. First, ensure that … [Read more...]
One Plus One Pistol Reload Drill
One Round loaded in Pistol with empty magazine. Draw Pistol shoot one round speed reload and shoot one round. X 5 (Goal is 5 seconds, Objective is 7 seconds) 4” Circle at 10 Yards … [Read more...]
Four and One Pistol Drill
Four Dry Fire - One Live all from holster X 5 (20 Dry Fire and 5 live rounds per designated yard line) Conduct four perfect dry practice pistol presentations. Load the pistol, perform a chamber check, remove the magazine and stow it. Holster the pistol and fire one well aimed shot. Repeat entire four dry and one live five times. 3” Circle at 3 Yards (1.5 Sec) 3” Circle at 5 Yards (1.5 Sec) 3” Circle at 7 Yards (1.5 Sec) 4” Circle at 10 Yards (2.0 Sec) 6” Circle at 15 Yards (3.5 Sec) 8” Circle at 25 Yards (7.0 Sec) … [Read more...]
Pistol Mounted Optics Part V
Pistol-mounted optics are battery-powered and man-made. As a result, they can fail. Not anywhere near as often as they once did, but they can. How do you deal with that if it happens? First, for the foreseeable future, set your pistol up with back-up sights. Whether you have them in the bottom of the glass or co-witnessed with the dot is a discussion for another Instructor’s Corner article. Just have a set of back-up sights. To practice transitioning to your iron sights, work either dry practice or shooting drills with the dot turned off. Here are three more ways you can continue to … [Read more...]
EVERYDAY RIGS – Gunsite’s Professionals Talk About Their Carry Holsters and Guns
Arizona is rich with resources. At one time this state provided the country with more than 60 percent of its copper demand. A rich silver vein helped establish Tombstone in the 1880s, and the nearby grasslands of Sonoita were and are home to many cattle herds. The Grand Canyon is another of Arizona’s scenic wonders, and the state’s riches are vast and diverse. But my favorite resource is Gunsite Academy located just outside of Prescott and just a four-hour drive from my home in Tucson. Founded in 1976 by retired Marine Lt. Colonel Jeff Cooper, it is one of the oldest and largest … [Read more...]
Pistol Mounted Optic Presentations
Some things remain the same with an optic-equipped pistol; some things change. One of the changes happens in your presentation. The change happens because, unlike with traditional iron sights, we no longer have the luxury of our peripheral version correcting the pistol’s alignment, orientation as it comes up. Let me walk you through the start of the presentation and the changes to it. Count #1 - Grip. Nothing changes with how we have taught it. A good grip, high on the backstrap, with your trigger finger outside of the holster, indexed for the frame/slide interface. You have released … [Read more...]
BATTLESIGHT ZERO (BZO) Who has it right?
A BZO (Battlesight zero) is the sight settings placed on your rifle for combat. In combat, your rifle’s BZO setting will enable engagement of point targets from 0–300 yards/meters in a no wind condition.” - Marine Corps Reference Publication 3-01A Rifle Marksmanship Or Battlesight zero: A sight setting that soldiers keep on their weapons. It provides the highest probability of hitting most high-priority combat targets with minimum adjustment to the aiming point, a 250 meter sight setting as on the M16A1 rifle, and a 300 meter sight setting as on the M16A2 rifle.” - Department of Army Field … [Read more...]
“Jam” is something I put on my toast.
It is common for shooters to state that their gun is “jamming.” Without sounding like a real a$$hole, Jam is something I put on my toast. Words have meanings, in this instance it is always important to use correct terminology so that we can properly diagnose problems with firearms. There are Malfunctions and Stoppages, per Marine Corps MCRP 3-01A & B and Army TM 9-1005-319-10 the definition of each are: Malfunction occurs when a part of the rifle fails to operate according to the Specification. Anytime a rifle has a Malfunction it will need to be fixed by an armorer or a qualified … [Read more...]
RED DOT SIGHTS – Vision and Focus
What you see and how you see it are two of the things that change when you make the switch from traditional sights to a pistol mounted optic (PMO). With traditional sights, iron sights, your eyes look at three distances at once – rear sight, front sight, and the threat (target). With firearms, we’ve taught to look through the rear sight at the front sight blade – that’s where we want our eyes to focus – and then put those sights in the blurry center of whatever we are trying to hit. While you can successfully maintain your focus on the front sight during a confrontation, many will find … [Read more...]
Red Dot Sights Continued
Currently, there are five types of mounts out there for pistol optic mounts (PMO): Dovetail, direct mill, OEM plates, aftermarket slides, or an aftermarket cut & mount system. The first one we had was a dovetail mount, which replaces the rear sight in the dovetail. Of the slide-mounted systems, these have been around the longest. Initially, they are the least expensive way to put an optic on a pistol you already own. My first optic, an Insights MRDS on a 1911, was done like this in 2010. It puts the optic pretty high up. As a result, it can be challenging to acquire the dot on … [Read more...]
RED DOT SIGHTS
Pistol mounted optics. Red dot sights on pistols are here to stay – and they’ll not all red dots anymore. We see more and more of the in the hands of our students – whether they are citizens, deputy sheriffs and police officers, or service members. Yes, some improvements need to be made to these optics; and the manufacturers are making them. Last week, we taught our second pistol mounted optic specific class. This week, one well-known company is here doing a media day with their new pistol mounted optic. Some considerations for you, the user, to think about: How are you going to … [Read more...]
