LESSONS LEARNED FROM MY T.C.L.E.O.S.E.TRAINING:

Hi Y’all It’s your Instructor again,

Before I get rolling I want to send out best wishes to Bill the Webmaster’s Mom who is and has been having to spend time in and out of the hospital , and I hope that my meditations and your prayers help with her spirit and speedy recovery. If you get a chance give the Webmaster a shout out for his Mom. Thanks all.    bill@bigtexasdesigns.com

I want to get these impressions on as they are still fresh soooooooo…….

LESSONS LEARNED FROM MY T.C.L.E.O.S.E.TRAINING:

EQUIPMENT:
For my certification testing I used the following:
1.    Para Ordnance 1911 SXT (SINGLE STACK) and 3 magazines (I Chip McCormack,2 Wilson Combat) all magazine 8 rounds in .45 ACP

2.    College of the Mainland’s S&W 586 six shot .357 Magnum revolver with fixed sights and a four inch barrel in stainless steel.

3.    College of the Mainland’s Remington 870 Police pump shotgun.

4.    Blackhawk Serpa CQC holster (paddle) and double mag pouch.
All shooting for our qualification began at 25 yards and went down to 3 yards except shotgun which went down to 10 yards.
 

For the “Dueling Tree” speed and accuracy shoot:

1. Para Ordnance 1911 SXT and the same magazines 

 For the Speed and accuracy drills on the five circle targets I used the following:

1. Springfield Armory XD Tactical and 3 magazines (factory `13 rounders) 5 inch barrel, .45 ACP*
2. Safariland/Bianchi Duty Rig with magazine pouch, pepper spray, collapsible baton, cuffs and case, Streamlight light holder, and Bianchi inner and outer belts and keepers.

I used this particular equipment set up for the rest of the week as the courses of fire demanded drawing from the duty holster and magazine pouches and multiple reloading drills were part of all courses of fire.
*note; (I used this weapon [XD Tactical] because personally I needed to work with its trigger more and its 5” barrel is the same length as my 1911, and the College is also caught up in the ammo crunch and .40 ammo is getting scarce for their cadet classes and .45 is not. Also most of the other Instructors had their duty Glocks and one had an HK USP, and Maffei from GPD SWAT used a 1911 from WILSON COMBAT.)

I learned that:

• I need to practice more barricade shooting (but where?)
• I need to practice more shooting on the move (again where?)
• I got some great range practice ideas that I CAN! use for y’alls training. (barricades and circle targets in a certain numbered order of firing.)
• I need to practice more “sear reset” shooting and teach it to you. This technique is a necessity for you as trainees and will immediately improve your accuracy with a handgun. No Bull!
• I was one of few who does include “weak or support” hand shooting in their practice regimen every time.
• I was the only one who practiced with a revolver on a regular basis
•  Eyes, heart rate and trigger control affect us all when shooting and as we get older.

The great thing about this is I can do these thing at all of the ranges we have shot together at except for the shooting on the move and some of the barricades. I can fix up a simple cardboard/paper barricade simulator at all of the ranges.

ABOUT THE GEAR AND HOW IT WORKED:

1.    The 1911 performed flawlessly and is superbly accurate with the Trijicon Nite Sights on it.

2.    The Serpa holster was totally reliable and very fast to draw from even with its locking mechanism. The paddle didn’t budge at all whereas other paddles worn there moved up during draw and fire sequences. If they make this holster for your weapon BUY IT! Go online to Blackhawks website or call them if your model of weapon doesn’t show up on their list because some gun sizes are interchangeable.

3.    The Springfield Tactical XD experienced one malfunction (type I’ve never experienced before) where a round stood up in the magazine causing a type of stovepipe jam and I just dropped it and did a combat reload as “tap-rack-assess” didn’t work. I assume the magazine was dirty as I cleaned it after and it never happened again through the weeks shooting. Several of the issue Glocks had malfunctions mostly unseated mags or stove pipes. In fairness, we didn’t clean weapons at all during the entire week because they have to work dirty too. I cleaned the magazine (and only that magazine) at lunch and purposely did not tag or mark it and put it back into use for the remainder of the week. The XD is fantastic and very accurate if I do my part, but as I said, I need to work with the trigger re set on it and was constantly trying to improve that to the detriment of my accuracy. Its 5” sight radius is very helpful and it also has the Trijicon Nite Sites on it which work for me.

4.    The Safariland/Bianchi duty gear is standard in law enforcement and kept everything right where it started even after all the physical activity no adjustment was necessary.

5.    I used their S&W revolver because at 25 yards the longer barrel was easier to hit with than my 2 ½” Model 19 (S&W).

6.    I used their Remington 870 because it’s what I have so I know the gun.

7.    I had no problems with either weak hand or revolver shooting because I always practice both, and the same for reloading my weapon.

Overall I was very satisfied with the performance of all of my equipment and learned a lot about my shortcomings tactically. I
too learned that you make the most out of what you have to work with especially as a firearms instructor. The range limitations I am faced with were am excuse. My fault. Now they are motivational and they will challenge me to be creative beyond what I’ve been.

I will figure out a way to do a low light course very soon (May/June). I have new drills to put you through if you show up at my practice (Thurs. 4/28/10 at 6:30pm. @ Marksman Indoor) and you have to come and learn about trigger reset. You will be amazed.

Look for you at the range Thursday nite.

EDDIE... OUT!