1. Mindset
Your mindset on the range is foundational whether you are practicing for an actual life-threatening situation or recreationally shooting targets. Preparation and mindset is crucial and we incorporate this into our firearm training philosophy.
2. The Fundamentals
We believe in developing strong foundations and techniques that will be with you throughout all your shooting sports journey. These fundamentals develop the baseline of your abilities and will help you be successfully in recreation or self-defense situations.
3. Consistency
Once the fundamentals are established the next goal is to grow in consistency. When possible we transfer our consistent fundamentals from firearm to firearm. For example, if we go from shooting a pistol to shooting a shoulder-fired weapon, we only change the movements necessary to shoot that particular firearm. This will assist in rapidly developing proficiency with all firearms.
4. Smooth Transitions and Economy of Motion
Smooth is fast, and the shortest distance from point A to point B is a straight line. When we are training you with firearms and various tactics, we will not allow you to do every step of your drill as fast as you can, only to be successful about half of the time. We emphasize smoothness and economy of motion for each step of your drill. With this you will find that speed will become a given and your success rate for the drill will be improved. Remember the fewer moving parts you have in a particular drill, the easier it will be to reproduce under stress whether it is drawing a pistol from a holster, moving a Tactical Team through a building or escorting a VIP in a Protective Detail.
5. Never Sacrificing Accuracy and/or Ability for Speed
When it comes to firearm training, we do not develop our drills to become so accuracy dependent that it takes forever to make a necessary shot. We also do not develop our drills to be shot so quickly that your accuracy plummets below an acceptable level. As for Tactical Movement we do not believe that the ability to get to the objective quickly should override the ability to do so without getting half of your team injured or killed. We will make each drill a realistic balance between speed and accuracy and/or ability within your own capabilities. We feel that shooting and tactics should not be so difficult that you have to be a seasoned veteran or a champion shooter to achieve a realistic goal, but not so simple that it defeats sound judgment and practical application.
6. Repetition
To ensure your body reacts the way you want it to under duress you must repetitively rehearse your actions. There is no other way! Most of your sustainment training with a firearm can be accomplished without shooting any live rounds. The draw, reload, and malfunction drills can be safely practiced almost anywhere. However, you must soon move this repetition to live fire with a firearm fully loaded and in its standard carrying or storage position in order to give you realistic feedback for controlling the weapon throughout the drill.