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0315 – LaserLyte Training Aids NASGW Interview

November 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

LaserLyte Trigger Time Laser Training PistolTrigger control can be an issue for many shooters when it comes to precision and shooting. Although there can be a hyper-focus on precision in defensive shooting, it is an issue that needs to be addressed. Getting the hit when the target dictates precision based on size or distance is a complex motor skill that requires the defensive shooter to maintain proper sight alignment and sight picture while pressing the trigger to the rear. Any deviation in the sights during the trigger press results in deviation on the target. Too much deviation and the shot is a miss. Many people believe that the proper solution to this issue is dry fire practice and to some degree they are correct. The issue with dry firing, however, is that there is very little feedback to the shooter. Thousands of rounds of dry fire practice isn’t going to help you if what you are doing is WRONG! Today we will take a look at how the products that LaserLyte produces can give you the quality feedback you need to help make your dry fire practice more efficient.

0315 - LaserLyte Training Aids NASGW Interview [ 24:11 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (548)

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Sponsor of the Day: Tactics Designs

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Filed Under: Firearms Training, Podcast, Training Tagged With: , , , , ,

0239 – Holiday Decoration Safety

December 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The “Holidays” are the most wonderful time of the year aren’t they. The time from Thanksgiving to New Years day is full of family, fun, snow, food, memories and all kinds of wonderful things. What we don’t want it to be full of is tragedy. It is these wonderful Holiday events that could lead to tragedy if we aren’t careful. We need to be mindful of our choices to make sure that our festive mood and the decorations that enhance that mood don’t lead to trouble. Today we will take a look at Holiday decoration safety considerations.

0239 - Holiday Decoration Safety [ 27:25 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (393)

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0222 – Using 911 Efficiently

October 26, 2011 by 2 Comments

Whatever the situation is, when you dial 911 stress is likely to be high.  Whatever is happening is probably high stakes and it certainly isn’t a good time to have to deal with logistical challenges.  We know that response time cannot be instant no matter how much we want it to be and what we want to make sure is that we don’t delay help any more than its delayed already.  Yet that might be exactly what we may be heading into when we dial 911.  In the US our emergency response system is efficient and effective, but that efficiency and effectiveness can be compromised when we fail to do our part.  Today we will talk about some simple things you need to do to make sure 911 works for you!

0222 - Using 911 Efficiently [ 18:50 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (368)

0222 – Using 911 Efficiently

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Sponsor of the day:

Dale Fricke Holsters

Reliable 911

When we think about emergencies one of the first concepts that jumps into our heads might be 911.  If we are ever involved in any kind of a serious situation it is likely that at some point emergency responders may also be involved.  The most common way for them to get involved is by someone dialing 911.

We have talked about the concept before, but it bears mentioning that 911 is not a magic pill for all of our problems.  The system is advanced, wonderful, and I’m glad that we have it, but it has some inherent issues that we must understand.

Response Time

We must understand that 911 Is a reactive service.  Police officers, fire fighters and paramedics would love to be in the right place at the right time to prevent something bad from happening or be able to instantly respond when something does happen.  That just isn’t possible based on several issues:

  1. 911 isn’t omniscient
  2. Emergency resources are limited
  3. Emergency services aren’t every where
  4. Emergency response depends on communication from you

Communication with 911

Today we aren’t going to talk about how to speak with the emergency services dispatcher.  Although that is an important topic we are going to move farther upstream and talk about how to get them on the line in the first place.  Seems like an easy enough task.  Pick up the phone and dial 911 right?  Hopefully that is the case, but sometimes it doesn’t go so smoothly.  Lets talk about how we can make the connection.

Know how to connect with 911

Seems silly.  It’s only 3 numbers, but every year there are situations where people are unable to successfully dial 911.  Lets look at some of the reasons:

  • Know the number

Seems kinda silly but you need to know what to dial to get 911.  I was recently working on a school campus where it was required to dial 9-8-911 to access emergency services.
I’ve been on a college campus where the emergency number was 123.
I feel pretty strongly that you should be able to pick up any phone in any location and press three numbers and have an emergency services dispatcher on the other end of the line.  We are moving in that direction, but we aren’t there yet.  It is our responsibility to know how to connect.  If you don’t know, ask.

  • Verify

    Every emergency cervices district is responsible for making sure that a certain percentage of phone numbers in the area are properly connected to the 911 system.  This means a percentage of land line phones must be able to dial 911 and reach the proper emergency services call center.  If you are smart you will make sure that 100% of land lines that you spend time around are verified.  It is your skin after all.  A quick search on the internet brought up several ways in which counties across the U.S. verify 911 service.  In my county I simply fill out a form and drop it at the county Sheriff to verify the information.  Here is how it is done in Sussex County, Schenectady County and Franklin County.  The process is different if you have a VOIP system like OOMA or MagicJack.

    A Word from MagicJack

    911 Emergency Services are for United States and Canadian addresses ONLY.

    Canadian addresses require Canadian numbers

    US addresses require US numbers

    NOTE: 911 Emergency Services will NOT work with magicJack APP

    1. Register your current U.S. address during the registration process.

    2. Make sure that your address information is always complete, up-to-date and accurate. (If you travel, you must update your 911 service address.)

    3. Wait for a confirmation email from magicJack that your 911 service address is registered.

    NOTE:

    • Our 911 Emergency Service is different than 911 service offered on traditional phone lines.
    • magicJack may not work during a power or internet outage.
    • Only use 911 in case of an actual emergency.

    Dialing 9-1-1:

    1. REQUIRES prior activation on your part. You must register your current service address and update your registered address if you use your magicJack from another location.

    2. WILL NOT function during a broadband or power disruption/outage.

    3. WILL NOT function if the magicJack is damaged or disabled.

    4. IS subject to the limitations of the 911 emergency response system where your registered address is located.

    You should maintain an alternate means of dialing 911 and make sure other users of your magicJack know this.


  • Practice
We are ultimately responsible for making sure that our call gets to the right place.  If we take the time to find out how to dial 911, verify that our phone system will work as advertised  all that is left is actually dialing the number.  Easier said than done.  There aren’t a whole lot of people out there that dial 911 on a regular basis let alone while they are under stress.  If you think about it we are much more likely to dial other -11 numbers than 911.  411 for information, 611 for customer service, 811 is the new national call before you dig hotline.  We can be thankful that these are more likely to be used, but at the same time, that can be a problem for us when we actually need to dial 911.
At home and work unplug the phone form the wall, check for a dial tone, and then practice.  Just the dialing at first, then write a script and practice it too.
On your cell, take out the battery and press 911 send.   Mechanics and the script.
A little practice could make a big difference in helping you call 911 instead of information.
The steps are pretty easy:
  1. Get the number
  2. Verify
  3. Practice
Taking the time to go through the three steps will help to reduce the response time which is already going to be too long!

 

 

Filed Under: General Safety, Podcast Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

0209 – Double Plug Your Ears In Dynamic Firearms Training

August 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment
0209 - Double Plug Your Ears In Dynamic Firearms Training [ 10:25 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (258)

So there I was, toe to toe with a true adversary.  There was a profound lack of fear in his eyes despite the fact that his sub gun was leveled at my chest.  Ok, he was built of cardboard.  It wan’t a violent encounter, but I had every intention of treating it as though it was despite the fact that I was on the square range.  I gave it a hearty elbow, drew my pistol and broke shots.  It was then that I realized that my muffs had slid from their perch on my ears and that I had somehow forgotten to double plug.

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Sponsor of the Day:

Dale Fricke Holsters

Check Out The Warrior Summit.  Registrations are coming in quickly and we don’t want you to miss out on your opportunity!

Realism vs. Consequences in Firearms Training

When it comes to training we want to make sure that our training is as realistic as possible, however, some actions might have consequences that are too severe to accept in training.  For example, in a violent encounter we are going to want to fight through our injuries.  When we are hit, or cut, or shot we need to keep fighting until we prevail or are dead.  Despite the importance of this concept, I do not recommend that we should inflict gunshot wounds on our training partners in the name of realistic training.

Wearing ear protection while training with firearms is a similar but less extreme example.  There might be some small benefit to training without ear protection, however, we know that without a doubt we will damage our hearing if we shoot without hearing protection.  Just like the previous example, the risk out weighs any benefit.  We need to keep our ears protected, for lots of reasons.

I gave a training example above and it isn’t the only time I have had this problem.  The other was in competition.

  • Plugs with a string attaching them
  • start was in the surrender position (um never)
  • caught the string with a thumb on the draw
  • I was smarter, I stopped, fixed my ears and asked for a restart.

Redundancy In Hearing Protection

So on a typical day at the range I am redundant with my hearing protection  I wear foam plugs with electronic muffs.  This gives me the ability to hear what is going on while at the same time I keep my ears safe.
  • Electronic Muffs give me some level of protection but because of dynamic movement they are insecure
  • The big benefit of the electronic ears is to be able to hear what is happening around me from simple instructions to vital range safety instructions I get more value and am safer as a result of Electronic hearing protection.
  • In addition I use simple foam plugs which provide additional protection over the marginal electronic ears, provide vital protection when I lose the electronic ears, yet still allow the electronic ears to provide that important information.

Filed Under: Firearms Training, General Safety, Podcast, Training Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

0204 – Firework Safety

July 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment
0204 - Firework Safety [ 14:59 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (216)

Turkey and pumpkin pie = Thanksgiving

Trees and stockings = Christmas

Ham and and egg hunt = Easter

A parade and fireworks = Independence day!

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Sponsor of the Day: Survival Gear Bags

National Fireworks Safety Council

10,000 injuries each year

Use fireworks outdoors only.

Obey local laws. If fireworks are not legal where you live, do not use them.

Always have water handy. (A hose or bucket).

Only use fireworks as intended. Don’t try to alter them or combine them.

Never relight a “dud” firework. Wait 20 minutes and then soak it in a bucket of water.

Use common sense. Spectators should keep a safe distance from the shooter and the shooter should wear safety glasses.

Alcohol and fireworks do not mix. Have a “designated shooter.”

Only persons over the age of 12 should be allowed to handle sparklers of any type.

Do not ever use homemade fireworks of illegal explosives: They can kill you! Report illegal explosives to the fire or police department in your community.

 

 

Filed Under: General Safety, Podcast Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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