Bash Firearms Training

Wisconsin woman shoots friend while using gun’s laser sight to play with cat A Wisconsin woman accidentally shot a friend while using the laser sight on a handgun to play with a cat, authorities said.

325 lumens from a light not much bigger than a key.

Streamlight Launches Ultra-Compact Pocket Mate | Tactical Wire EAGLEVILLE, PA - Streamlight®, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance lighting, launched the ultra-compact Pocket Mate®, a weather-resistant, USB rechargeable personal light that delivers 325 lumens and features convenient hands-free options.

Excellent guide to appendix carry.

Wear good eye protection.

This past week (in class) we had a gun explode in a very experienced shooters hands. It wasn’t user error... the gun just failed. The slide broke in half and came back, striking him directly in his eye. His glasses took the impact and redirected it into his cheek. At the ER they glued / stitched his cheek up and he was back in class the next day. Eyewear is important. Had he not had quality protective lenses on... he’d be one eye down, doing the sexy pirate thing. Eye pro & safety / Med plans are important. Here’s a pic of your’s truly by . We are proud to have as an industry partner. It’s product that continues to perform when it counts and... they look fly AF.

A lot of wisdom here.

I wrote this article approximately 8 years ago and have never published it. It has some relevancy that I thought would be worth sharing on this page. Hopefully, some folks can relate to the goals of a Finished Gunman.

The Finished Gunman

Is it possible to ever be happy as a shooter? I have sort of always believed that I was on an endless journey of constant training to get better, faster, and more accurate. It is like being on a never-ending path of frustration and finding new goals of the utmost importance. I am now re-thinking this. Age does that to you. After a bunch of Internet forum observations, watching a “joyous” shooter, and finally reading a sentence in a book, I am thinking that happiness is attainable.
Many years ago as a local competitive shooter, I spent more time, money and effort in trying to shave a 100th of a second off my split times. I look back and think now, “What the heck was I thinking”? I was not trying to be a “competition” shooter. I was simply a street cop shooting competitively to “train”. What was I training for when I was trying to get to a .15 split? Is it remotely relevant in a defensive shooting when you are shooting far faster than you can react or evaluate and assess. Should I have maybe been working on highly consistent and predictable performance, which was control based rather than time based?
A couple of years ago I began shooting weekly with my (now) business partner Wayne Dobbs. It was very strange. I am always stressed out shooting. I am not a gifted or natural shooter. I have to work my tail off to not screw up. Wayne was different. Wayne was in a “joyous” happy and content place when he was shooting. It is strange to watch him in his bubble. He is exceptionally fast when he wants to be, and I have seen him shoot some amazing groups with various guns and actions. When Wayne floats into his “happy bubble” is when he is shooting at about 80%. Fast, smooth, insanely consistent and very accurate. What I have learned from Wayne is that fast is “neat”, but “error free” is where happy is.
Another observation is priorities. How many of us have sacrificed a lot of our lives towards training. I guarantee I am well into deep six figures on the quest and untold thousands of hours of time. That came from “somewhere”. Was it a critical priority that I get my fighting skills to as high a level possible as a street cop working mostly weekend nights in a busy place?…Heck yes! At some point should we get to a place where we can maybe give some of that time, money and effort to keeping our family life healthy? Is having a good marriage a good thing for our health and to reduce stress? Is being a good parent a solid investment? Is maybe broadening our horizons a means of further training our brains? Maybe being happy with where we are can allow us to be happier in other aspects of our lives.
What really motivated this article is while I was reading Sixguns by Elmer Keith there was a reference to a man whom Keith described as a “Finished Gunman”. He was defined as a man who both attained a high level of expertise as a technical shooter, and had proven himself in actual use of a firearm in gunfights. I started thinking that maybe the goal should be to be a “Finished Gunman”.
Now this should not be construed as we should stop training and practicing. Not a chance. Shooting is a very perishable skill, especially with handguns. What I am thinking is that once we get to a very high level of skill and experience should we start thinking about rewarding ourselves with allowing ourselves to be happy with where we are, and to then try to maintain a consistent level of high performance over the frustration of thinking that we are never good enough. I don’t know the answer, but I am thinking that being happy might lead to a good place.

Review: Leupold DeltaPoint Micro Leupold's latest innovation is the DeltaPoint Micro, a small, enclosed MRDS that fits into the rear dovetail of your handgun’s iron sights.

F'n ATF...

ATF Issues Conflicting Documents on Legal Pistol Braces The letter fails to acknowledge conflicting reports that ATF officials had given SB Tactical the go-ahead to proceed with the development of new braces based on ATF's initial decision letter.

A full auto Shield EZ sounds like fun but if you own one I'd still check to see if yours is part of the recall.

Important Safety Recall on Smith & Wesson M&P Shield EZ Pistols Smith & Wesson Issues Important Safety Recall Notice for certain M&P Shield EZ Pistols manufactured between March 1, 2020 and October 31, 2020.