Tactical Skills for a Life Well Lived
I've found these resources helpful in my journey. From blogs to books, podcasts to videos, it's all here. The more we learn, the more we realize how little we know.
We’re closing in on the end of our SCHV series. It’s now 1963, and the battle between the AR-15 and M-14 comes to a head.
When the dust settles, the Army unsurprisingly chooses the M-14. But the results aren’t without controversy. The Secretary of Defense decides to take action, and the year of 1963 becomes a mad rush to get the rifle ready for war. [Read Full Article »]
This post is a little different for me. I consider it a bit of a “living” post that I’ll keep updated with resources over time. It’s a collection of what I think are the best free videos for marksmanship training available.
I’ll keep this article pinned in the menu for a while. You should expect this post to grow and change over time.
If you have any favorites, be sure to let me know! [Read Full Article »]
Today we’re continuing our dive into the development of the AR-15.
When we last left off in 1958, the Army had canceled all future funding for AR-15 development. They got the M-14, and the SALVO project was the future.
But that decision wasn’t good enough for one hard-nosed Air Force general who had no problem “cracking skulls” to get what he wanted. [Read Full Article »]
I have an enthusiastic interest in the Cold War. You could probably attribute that to my experience as an ICBM officer while serving on active duty, but that’s beside the point. As an extension of that interest, I collect manuals and books dealing with the era. I want to take a closer look at one of those books today. I find this particular one relevant to the topics of community defense and working with a team to provide security.
I picked up this book several years ago when I heard that Paladin Press was going out of business and liquidating inventory. My edition is a reprint of the manual.
A Swiss military officer wrote the original book in 1957, the peak of the Cold War. The authors believed that the Soviet Union was ready to steamroll through Switzerland, and they wanted to prepare the population to survive an occupation. Major Von Dach’s work is the written portion of that effort. [Read Full Article »]
Share Tweet Pin Google+ WhatsAppWe’re going to continue our look at historical documents that led to the development of the M-16. As before, we’re setting the way-back machine to the early 1950s and the dawn of the atomic age. Once again, I want to acknowledge the work of historian Daniel Watters, whose 5.56 timeline lives [Read Full Article »]
The Hitchman report from 1952 is one of my favorite bits of Army research. Like the 1930 Kent report before it, the findings eventually led to the adoption of the M-16 rifle and 5.56 NATO cartridge.
Norman Hitchman worked several projets for the Army’s Operational Research Office. Among them was a detailed analysis of battlefield casualties, where he developed a strong understanding of exactly how and where soldiers get shot. He leveraged that knowledge, along with other contemporary research, to devise a set of requirements for a new type of rifle.
These rifle requirements may look familiar to you, if you’ve paid attention so far. [Read Full Article »]
Share Tweet Pin Google+ WhatsAppDevelopment of the M-16 and it’s 5.56 millimeter cartridge was not by happenstance. The program came from a mountain of study and theory focused on the ballistics. Daniel Watters carefully documented that history in his 5.56 timeline hosted over at Loose Rounds. One of the earliest reports of significance came from [Read Full Article »]
Range reports are a bit of a review for shooting facilities I find myself at from time to time. Silver Eagle Group in Ashburn Virginia is the first of the “Guntry Club” facilities I’ve ever been to.
What is a “Guntry Club” you ask? Think of it less as the dingy bare-bones range you grew up with and more of a destination to go shoot. They make an effort to draw all kinds of folks with swanky interiors and high-tech facilities.
If you ever find yourself passing through the Northern Virginia area and want to stop off at a range to make some noise with your own weapon or with a large selection of rentals, I’d definitely give this place a look. [Read Full Article »]
This is a review of Don Mann’s book, The Modern Day Gunslinger: The Ultimate Handgun Training Manual.
I purchased this book around 2012 at my local base exchange. At the time, I was competing in local outlaw 2-gun and 3-gun matches in Montana. As it turns out, the advice in the book was interesting, but not what I was looking for to get a competitive advantage in those days.
I periodically browse through it, though. Since getting my carry permit in 2017 and participating in more tactical training than competition, I’ve been far more engaged with the content.
I look at this as a supplement to professional training that you’ve already accomplished. Don provides an alternative view or method that you might not have seen or tried before. But with that, if you don’t already have a solid grasp of the fundamentals, you’re liable to get yourself into trouble by teaching yourself pistol skills from a book. [Read Full Article »]
TC 3-22.9 is the US Army manual on rifle and carbine marksmanship. Every shooter should be familiar with it and what it contains. Revised in 2016 using experiences from Iraq and Afghanistan, 3-22.9 is a fantastic starting point.
Whether or not you choose to follow it to the letter is up to you. But at least knowing what’s in it. [Read Full Article »]
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