(Gabe) Suarez International USA Newsletter 2-2-08

[esrice]

I just found these 3 articles in my inbox this morning. I think its important to gain any knowledge we can from any professional instructors, and see if we can use any of it in our "tactical toolbox".

Should also be good to stir up some interesting debate!


(sorry for some of the text being squished together, the copy and paste did it automatically)

THE COMBAT SHOTGUN

Let me begin by saying that I have used these fine implements against live fighting adversaries several times. Moreover, I received the classic training in this weapon at the academy which birthed the "modern technique" of the shotgun.

Training and reality sometimes conflict.

I have a few shotguns at home. One is a Remington 870. Another is a Remington 11-87. A third one, a vintage side-by-side exposed hammer shotgun with many "rustlers" to its credit. And then, of course, a couple of Saiga 12s.

None have Ghost Ring Sights, Sidesaddles,Speedfeed stocks, Specially Ported or Choked barrells of ANY kind. They are light, simple, fast into action, and all of them are more than sufficient for any anti-personnel duties.

Things You Need: A fast handling lightweight weapon that you can get into action very quickly, and that has at least 5 shots available.

Nice To Have - But Not Essential: A Light: Many fights happen in low light. Having a flashlight mount makes sense. Its not essential as in most situations, there will be sufficient ambient light to tell what is going on and who is doing it at CQB-CRG distances. For those times when there is not, a light will help.

A Magazine Extension: Some guys like these so they can download it by a couple of rounds to transition to slugs. This is silly. Who wants to go to a gunfight with a weapon not loaded to full capacity. Not me. The load/switch to slug concept may have merit, but its use is so limited that I would much rather have an extra round of buckshot.

A Sling: For class its essential. For fighting its a nice-to-have item in the event you need to transition to pistol (much more likely than transitioning to slug).

Things You Do Not Need: Ghost Ring Sights: In my opinion, the shotgun is NOT a rifle, nor should it be turned into one. The idea that you must somehow be able to reach out past CQB distances with a shotgun is a silly idea. Even the much discussed North Hollywood Bank Robbery involved shots within pistol range, and not way out there in rifle land.

Sidesaddles/Butt Cuffs: Many use these for slug switching. We've discussed that already. If your gun holds 7 or 8 shots and you need more than that, tactical withdrawl may be a better bet than anything else. How many shots arefired in pistol fights? It will be the same in shotgun fights. Sidesaddles make the gun heavy. Add a butt cuff in addition to the sidesaddle and it become heavier yet. Will you have lots of ammo? Sure. Will you be able to shoot and hit as accurately with a light fast gun or an overweight gun? I think you know the light fast gun will allow you better likelihood of NOT NEEDING a reload.

Want extra ammo? Ok, get a belly bag with two compartments. Fill one with buck shot and the other with slugs. Keep that with the shotgun and take it when you grab the shotgun. Its not as sexy as a sidesaddle and no elite *****in guy SWAT dudes use it, but it makes more sense than a weapon you can't even bench press.

Ports/Choking, Special Barrels: Close Range shooting boys. Any shotgun barrell with any ammo will do just fine inside of 7 yards. At 15 yards it will open up slightly, but 15 yard shots are rare.

Other Points -

If you need a rifle, the shotgun is a poor substitute. A CAR15, or even a Marlin 30-30 will outshoot a slug loaded shotgun everytime. So grabbing a shotgun to do rifle duty is not a wise thing unless you are a cop whose administration does not trust its employees enough to give them rifles, and all you have and will ever have is a shotgun.

Slugloading has its place in a special situation, such as when you anticipate "contacts" in a car. I have a group of friends who routinely have such contacts and they load with slugs to penetrate through vehicles at close range. Same goes for guys who frequent bear country. A shotgun with slugs is good bear medeicine...or so I'm told. Both situations are rather close range deals, and not anything like what some so-called gunfighting schools are teaching.

What can a slugloaded shotgun do? It can reach a little farther and penetrate a little more than a buckshot loaded gun, or a pistol can do. A rifle will do better everytime. What can a buckshot loaded shotgun do? It can hit theadversary with something, even under bad conditions where your marksmanship has not kept up with the tempo of events in the mid to outer close range gunfighting zone. It is a weapon to be used at handgun distances against rapidly moving adversaries while you yourself are moving, where you cannot obtain (or don't have time to obtain) a suitable sight picture, and where the light is poor.

Examples:

1). Shooting a running adversary while you are also on the run in the dark - Distance 20 yards.

2). Multiple adversaries suddenly appearing in unison, again attempting to fire at you - Distance 3-5 yards.

Partialpatterns will give you a hit, slugs or overly choked patterns may allow you to miss. Will those pellets that don't hit the bad guy be aproblem? Possibly. But if you miss with the slug because of the rapidly developing situation it won't matter either.

For CQB/CRG distances (within 5 yards) buckshot will outperform slugs every day of the week. Knowing that IF I grab a shotgun and go fight with it, it will be used in this situation more often than not, my round of choice is buckshot. I relegate slugs to "special purpose" applications. If I need a rifle, I'll go get a rifle.

While on the topic of buckshot: The a bility to scallop a target standing behind a "hostage". I suggest a long deep inhale to smell the coffee. Then grab you best most expensive Tactical Shotgun with all the attachments on it that the "cool" Gun Magazine Guys use. You know, the one with the famous shooting school logo on the stock and engraved so fetchingly on the receiver. Load it with the most expensive tactical gold-plated buckshot you can find and then stand off at 7, 10, or even 15 yards (whatever the shotgun school qual says).

Then place your daughter infront of that evil silohuette target. Still willing to take the shot? Some tactical cool guys will answer in the affirmitive. Then DO IT I say. Most of these guys have never fired a shot at a real human being before much less at a hostage past the ear of an innocent...with a shotgun much less. Fantasy always loses out to reality.

Technical exercises devised by clever minds on the firing range often fail toemulate reality. We've learned a great deal about CQB pistol fightingin the last few years simply by allowing ourselves to leave thedoctrinal box. Perhaps its time we slay the sacred cow shotgun myth aswell. Prove everything you train to yourself in force on force. If atechnique cannot be replicated against real people, get rid of it.

Trainfor skill and attribute development, not to beat some silly shootingtest, or some bobbing/weaving target dressed up in old clothes.

1). Know tactical advantage and Liabilities of Shotgun and their ammunition

2). Develop sound Firing Positions, Ready Positions as well as Ready Carry positions

3). Learn Reality based Marksmanship that takes advantage of the standard shotgun pattern

4). Learn tactically appropriate Gunhandling Drills & Transition to Pistol if suitable.

5).Learn CQB Responses to any point along a 360 arm's length to 7 yards.Its important to focus on fast close shooting because this is where youwill use the weapon, not at the mythical rifle ranges some schools aresuggesting..

6). Learn the ability to retain/recover/and fight with the weapon in body to body fight (including alternative force issues)

7). Learn Shooting in diminished light and the use of assisted lighting, as well as the use of Tactical Point Shooting.

8). Learn Shooting on the Move (in anything but firing from ambush you must move or get hit).

9). Learn Reality based Multiple adversary responses (not simply shooting at five pepper poppers).

10).Learn YOUR natural body speed and shoot as fast as YOU can guaranteethe hits (not on how fast some "master" shot with his souped up Benelliback in 1990).

Develop these attributes and you will do well with your shotgun in any fight. Isn't progress wonderful?!
__________________

Gabe Suarez

Evolution of American Gunfighting
Allgunfights are situations where one is either launching an ambush, orresponding to it (sometimes by preempting it). Gunfights never looklike those in the classic western movies where the two antagonists faceeach other at opposite ends of the street and fast draw against eachother. Sadly, this model is what the training of many shooters is basedon. There is also the bottom-line issue that the fight deals with bothshooting and getting shot. I begin with the premise that not gettingshot is far MORE IMPORTANT than shooting well (at the expense ofgetting shot).

Since none of this can be replicated readily on the shootingrange, we divide our time equally between developing muscle memory viadry practice (or dry fire), validating the muscle memory developed atthe shooting range in live fire, and stress-proofing all of it in theforce on force environment.

By doing this for a prolonged period of time, we have seensome trends develop, Trends that go completely and totally against therange-focused, marksmanship-based training of yesteryear. Trends thatmay be resisted by some initially, but that when viewed with an openmind and in a scientific light cannot be ignored.

I have been teaching our method for gunfighting now for fiveyears. It is an ongoing, ever-morphing system that borrows from manysources and is constantly being tested and updated. We have howeverisolated certain elements that seem to lead to successfully negotiatingthe problem of a close range reactive gunfight.

Complete Arsenal - The first of these is the concept of thecomplete arsenal. If we were to view the arsenal of a police ormilitary unit we would look for versatility. We would look for pistol,submachineguns, shotguns, and battle rifles. Additionally we would lookfor sniper rifles, less lethal devices, body armor, etc., etc. Theobjective of course is to allow the team to operate successfully in asmany environments as possible.

For our purposes, the Complete Arsenal means that theindividual fighter should have developed his skill sets and physicalabilities as far as his age and medical condition will allow. Thisincludes fitness, ability in combatives, and many other pertinentsubjects, in addition to skill with a pistol. The days when a gun guruwould scoff at hand to hand fighting, or sneer at a physical fitnessroutine, (suggesting instead that only marksmanship ability was needed)are long gone. The first force on force evolution will show you thatvery clearly.

The O.O.D.A. Cycle - Second in line is the concept of theObserve - Orient - Decide - Act cycle first codified by the late Col.John Boyd. This cycle describes how men process information in combat,we all Observe the enemy. We Orient ourselves in accordance to thesituation, as well as with what we observe. We make a Decision based onthe prior two steps, and finally we Act upon it. All of these stepstake time, and as short as that time may be in a fight, there are gapsin the timing and chinks in the process that can be identified andexploited.

By understanding this, and being able to exploit its process,one can turn the tables on an attacker very quickly and decisively. Byunderstanding this and organizing your fighting responses in accordancewith it, one can turn a predator into prey.

Get Off The "X" - Third in line is the necessity of movingoff the line of force, or as some say, "Get Off The X". This basicallyinvolves moving off the assailants aim, or evading the direction of hisgun muzzle. This of course is facilitated by dynamic footwork. Todevelop the ability to do so we borrow heavily from the FilipinoMartial Arts footwork and include angles of evasive movement and takeoff footwork. Men like Marc Denny and Tom Sotis have contributedgreatly to the development of our "gun footwork".

We have found that students who develop a firm grasp of thisdynamic footwork can evade an adversary gunman's draw and initialshots, and hit him approximately four times before the adversary canadjust and get back on target.

The Combat Draw - We incorporate the pistol draw into thedynamic movement off the line of fire. This in itself may seem like asmall matter but it is a crucial item of study. Your movement off theline of fire may save you from the first shot, but the ability toreturn fire as you keep moving will save you from his second andsubsequent shots.

Keeping true to the street fighting focus, we demand that alldraws be done from concealment. The only exception is for the uniformedofficer or military operator working with their "work rigs". For theprivate citizen fighter (whose training we specialize in), concealmentis the order of the day. And we mean true concealment, not merely"legal cover". We define concealment as carrying in a way that, barringa pat down, nobody would know you were carrying a gun. If you show upto train with open carry, I will not be impressed.

Our studies show that the fastest, most accessible, yet mostconcealable mode of carry for the majority of our students is theInside the Waistband Appendix Carry. Shunned by competition circles andsome training venues, appendix carry was a favorite of old time gunmen,and for good reason.

The appendix carry used in conjunction with an untucked shirtoffers great concealment, as well as fantastic accessibility undervaried conditions that is simply not possible with a strong side carryor a crossdraw. Moreover, it facilitates drawing while moving, which wehave seen is a crucial part of success in the reactive environment.

Meat And Metal Shooting - In running close range force onforce drills and unscripted scenarios for the past five years, forclose to 500 students, not one man has shot from any sort oftraditional shooting stance, nor used what might be called atraditional sight picture. I query them immediately after the scenarioor drill about what they saw. When I ask about a sight picture theylaugh. And many of these guys are highly trained in traditionalrange-based sighted shooting!

What they do see are varying levels of visual focus and indexverification. Some see what Staff Instructor Wyatt Banks called "MeatAnd Metal". This is the gun (metal) surrounded by the target (meat).Others are totally threat focused. Others use varying points along acontinuum between somewhat sighted shooting and purely threat focusedshooting. This Shooting Continuum concept of explaining what theshooter is actually "seeing" has been contributed by Roger Phillips,Matt Temkin, and a man who goes by 7677 (he cannot use his real namefor professional reasons).

Shoot Them To The Ground - Another aspect of our method is toshoot until the enemy falls and is no longer a threat. We don't firecontrolled pairs or hammers or anything of the sort. We fire bursts ofthree to five, first to the largest target - the chest, and follow upto the face if the first burst has not been successful. We know theresilience of the human body and especially when it is underadrenaline. We also know the deficiency of small calibers (anythingless than a rifle is a small caliber). So we are not about to trustthat limited shooting will solve the problem, we shoot until it is infact solved.

Equipment plays a certain role in facilitating this and weprefer a modern high capacity pistol such a Glock or a Sig, rather thana lower capacity model. As our man in Colorado Gary Hartzell says,"Nobody has ever lost a fight because he had a few extra BBs in thegun".

These are the elements of the Combative Technique of thePistol. They have been proven individually and together on the streetsall over the world, and in the force on force experiments conductedwith the help of our students and colleagues. They will serve you aswell if you use them to guide your training and preparation.


Gabe Suarez

Train With What You Carry
Uli Gebhard - Suarez International Staff Instructor

Ladies,Gents, the end of the year is just four weeks away and I'm looking backat a lot of great classes and teaching experiences.

Out of allthe students I had this year, two really stood out. One is a pilot,the other one a lady in her... well, let's just say way beyond herthirties. Both of these students have CCW's.

Thereason these two stand out is because of the weapons that they used inthe classes. The pilot went through Defensive Pistol Skills with aKahr PM9. He later sent me an e-mail that he used the same gun when hetook Close Range Gunfighting at another location that worked betterwith his schedule.

Thelady used a Taurus 85 in Close Range Gunfighting. For those notfamiliar with the weapons: the PM9 is a 9mm 6+1 pocket pistol, smallerthan a Glock 26. The Taurus 85 is a .38 special 5-shot J-Frame sizerevolver. The particular model she was using is the Ultra-lightversion with a lightweight aluminum frame.

Why am I soimpressed with those two students? Quite a few people that I knowwould consider the PM9 or a Taurus 85 mere backup guns, too small andnot powerful enough for a true "manly" fighting gun.

However,for those two students these handguns are the ones that they canconceal and carry at all times, which is in fact what they do. Bothof them could have used other weapons to go through the courses, butthey decided to go the hard route and train with the exact firearm thatthey have on them each day. What this meant for both of them was tocope with less accuracy due to a short sight radius and with higherperceived recoil due to the low weight of their guns.

600+rounds over two days out of a lightweight J-Frame are most definitelyhard work. I carried a 13.2 ounce Taurus 85M for awhile. To qualifywith this gun I had to shoot 75 rounds - which was just about as muchas I was willing to shoot with this gun in one session.

Addto this the constant coping with speedloaders... This lady (and herhusband who was filling speedloaders while his wife was shooting) had alot more work to do to keep her gun fed than most of the otherstudents. After two days, she was swift and confident with her reloads.

Thepilot with his PM9 went through a lot of proactive and reactivereloads, even when using extended 8-round mags. He wanted to run thegun as he was carrying it, so he usually started from the holster witha 6-shot flush fitting mag.

Ladies, Gents, the point that Iwant to make with this article is that regardless what you carry -practice with this particular equipment and use it in the classes thatyou take. Both students achieved fast, combat-accurate hits as theyexploded off the X. True, they have a very small amount of rounds. BUT- they are conditioned to work with this limitation and they did notfool themselves by practicing with a more convenient gun. They knowtheir capabilities and that they will have to act fast and accuratewith guns that do not lend themselves to this kind of shooting.

That said: Ann, and Craig, my respects to you, your determination and your achievements.

Ihope that your hard work that I described in this article will inspireothers who think that their equipment may be inadequate to be used in aclass.

Ifyou can carry only a pocket gun on a daily basis, then train with it. It will be inconvenient handling the recoil. The short sight radius ofa small weapon will reduce the accuracy of fast-paced shots, and youwill be one of the busiest people in the relay, reloading a bandoleerfull of mags or speedloaders during a single exercise. But after atwo-day class and 350 to 700 rounds fired, you will be capable ofhandling yourself very well in a fight that a thug might take to you!

[Steve MI]

Funny at 5 yards most buckshot has about a slug sized hole i disagree about the use of long range/slugs again most wont have said ablity to run back to the war room to gather up the rifle...... if you have a shotgun you make do with it and learn to use it to its max capablity we have often made hits on human and deer's at long ranges with slugs (foster style) for years in the woods both moving and non moving targets, and a marginal hit with slug at distance is still effective not all have the option of multi weapons at once so what is he saying? go back and grab your 30/30 then rtn to the fight? you dont often has the ablity to pick what gun is at hand in the fight. nad not every fight is outdoors and involving zombie hoards and yes gabe would take that shot as i have practiced it and then again a good choice for slug select is a hostage rescue shot but proper patterend gunwith good buck shot can again hold tight enough groups at 10 yards to make head shots without losing a pellet

one of gabe's ai once told me that you cant make hits at distance witha slug gun i said really and nailed an ipsc target and 100yards with my ghost ringed 18 inch 870 with remington sluggers not once but 3 times in COM off hand and my hits wiht ghost rings are as fast on the timer with buck as it is with a bead sight gun. tac pro used to shoot poppers at 200 yards in there slug class.

[cosermann]

Thanks for the articles. I typically like reading Gabe's stuff.

On the combat shotgun:
I humbly disagree a bit with with his comments on ghost ring sights as, "things you do not need," however.

While it may be true that they aren't "needed" most of the time, it certainly doesn't hurt to have them, and when needed they can make the difference. When not needed I don't see that they detract significantly from the gun's use in any way. Their additional weight is inconsequential, and it's just as fast to acquire a sight picture with them as without them.

While I generally agree with his simple is better approach, and that much of the tacticool stuff is fluff, I wonder if he got a little over zealous when it came to ghost ring sights.

Good reading in the main however. Thanks again.

[shooter521]

Originally Posted by cosermann

I do humbly disagree a bit with with his comments on ghost ring sights as, "things you do not need," however.

While it may be true that they aren't "needed" most of the time, it certainly doesn't hurt to have them, and when needed they can make the difference. When not needed I don't see that they detract significantly from the gun's use in any way.

Yup. Gabe also has a hardon against "practical" modifications made to AK rifles and Saiga shotguns. His primary objection seems to be that they work against one's ability to run a stock gun well in a "battlefield pickup" situation. The chances of my actually needing to employ a long gun in a personal defense role at all are pretty small; the chances of that scenario being of a "battlefield pickup" nature are so miniscule as to be irrelevant.

I say if a mod 1) doesn't compromise reliability or structural integrity and 2) enables you to operate the gun more efficiently or effectively, run it. Note that this is not to be confused with adding crap for crap's sake, or strictly for the CDI factor. My AKs and Saigas all have improved sights, accessory rails for lights and vertical grips, extended BHO safety levers, and adjustable stocks. My Saiga-12s will both get AR-type (straight push) magwells once a suitable design proves itself in the market (can you hear the veins in Gabe's neck popping?).

All this comes back to "let the mission drive the gear train," which is one of the best pieces of advice I've ever gotten in a training course from ANY instructor.

Gabe gets a lot of things right in his newsletter, but this particular point isn't one of them, IMO.

[Turn Key]

Thanks for your post bro.

Gabe and his associates are IMO the finest source for correct training information on the internet as well as their hands on training courses.

So many people get hung up on weapon add on crap they forget the intended design functionality the shotgun has.

Just buy a barrel shroud and don't burn your fingers on the barrel while you practice a lot.

[Soundslikejosh]

Shoulder thing that goes up?

[rhino]

REDACTED BY AUTHOR.

[shooter521]

Originally Posted by rhino

REDACTED BY AUTHOR.

Oh come on Joey... when have you been one to hold your tongue?

[slow1911s]

Originally Posted by shooter521

Oh come on Joey... when have you been one to hold your tongue?

Quick!!! Someone find a calendar and right this down!!! This never happens! Ha!

[rhino]

Meh. I posted something, then I realized I might have to defend it, then I realized I'm just too tired to do it.

In a nutshell, I stated my position that if you have a gun that fits you and that shoots where you're looking when you have a proper cheekweld, any given person will able to shoot faster with the same level of accuracy with just a front bead than they will with sights, whether ghost ring/post or rifle sights. On the other hand, not many people outside of aerial clay shooters have a gun that really fits them and that is tuned to shoot where they are looking, so lacking that, relying on sights is the better way to go.