Tap Rack Ready / Shooter Flinch / Mag reload

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pramos03

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*** First, I would like to state that I have only been shooting handguns for a little more than a year and my techniques may be greatly flawed. So, taking that into consideration, any advice will not be for granted, but rather examined, considered, and used. I have had no real training besides a basic pistol course and have soley taught myself to shoot. I seem to do just fine and hope to only get better…


When at the range I often practice a misfire scenario, shooter flinch, and switching out mags.

Needed- carry weapon, holster, snap caps, 2+ mags, ammo and targets, and of course safety eq.

My first training technique helps with both misfire situations and shooter flinch.

I will load my mag with a few live rounds, sneak a snap cap in and continue loading. This way I really don’t know when I will come across it, or at least that’s the point.

Upon hitting your snap cap and inevitably misfiring, you will not only get the chance to notice your flinch (if any,) you will get the opportunity to practice TIRR. "Tap Invert Rack Ready." Then get back on target and continue shooting. As I know, most of you are experienced shooters and I won’t have to remind you to keep your muzzle down range. Safe yes, but this will also help you acquire your target faster.

Switching out mags- When I practice reloading I will only load 2-4 rounds per mag. Ammo is too expensive and would defeat the purpose of this drill. I practice this exercise two different ways. Both include starting with my firearm concealed, loaded with 3 rounds, no round chambered. I shoot a glock and prefer not to keep a round chambered, for now. So I practice drawing, racking, shooting, reloading, shooting. Also helps me get the feel of drawing from concealed carry.

1. Draw, shoot until mag is empty, switch out mags and continue shooting.
2. Draw, shoot and switch mag before empty. I think this technique will help in both competition and self defense. However, I have never been in either situation and have no first hand experience. My theory is that you will have the certainty of a full mag, and will not have to rack the slide.

I appreciate you reading my post and don’t mind and criticism. I would love to know if this helped you or if there is anything you would add / do differently. –Pramos03
 
I'd carry with a round chambered, but everything else sounds good.

You can practice drawing from concealment at home dry for free. Just be absolutely sure the gun is unloaded (I put all ammo in the safe or a different room) and make sure you're aiming in a safe direction. You can also practice your reloads with snap caps.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by Invert in your malfunction drill. I've been taught to roll the gun horizontal so the ejection port is facing down, is that what you mean?
 
Try some competition.

Want to learn how to shoot fast, accurate, and think on your feet?
Try going to a shooting match of some sort. Plates, pins, IPSC, IDPA, whatever.

It is all good fun and you will learn your and your equipment's weaknesses fast.

IPSC/USPSA type competition will teach you all of these things in spades. [wink]

Try it out, the people you meet will all be great and willing to help. [grin]
 
Tap Invert? Rack Ready? You invert the pistol during a CL1 malfunction? Like upside down?
 
A good reload drill is to shoot a Popper, reload and shoot it again before it falls. keeps the pressure on

I would highly recommend you take a course or shoot with an experienced shooter. Drills are only as good as you technique. Not saying that you are doing anything incorrectly, but practice makes permanent .
 
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thanks for the input, i would love to take a course but i am pretty short on money these days. i think watching some competitions would be useful, maybe ask around at the club for some advicefor some advice.


P2A said:
Tap Invert? Rack Ready? You invert the pistol during a CL1 malfunction? Like upside down?
Click to expand...

well when looking it up i found this, and went from there.. would you be against the invert? http://www.sabergroup.com/tirr_clear_drill.htm
 
pramos03 said:
well when looking it up i found this, and went from there.. would you be against the invert? http://www.sabergroup.com/tirr_clear_drill.htm
Click to expand...

Yes. The Idea is to get the gun back in action quickly, By inverting the gun, your really not achieving any advantages. Just that now you cant see the gun, in the event you have a CL2/3 malfunction, and it is going to take you out of the fight that much longer, basically it is inefficient. Instead, grab the slide, overhand not sling shot, cant the gun at 45 degrees to the outside, so the ejector is towards the ground, Slap, Rack, Ready. There are good and bad places to get training, as I'm sure you'll come to find. Ive certainly posted a bit about amateurs that are just trying to sell a product with out any experience, but will sell it as if they are combat killers. Some happen to sell their services on this forum. But that being said there is allot of great trainers out there that do have allot of experience and can teach allot. Some of their training is worth its weight in gold. Dave Harrington is a good friend of mine, and probably one of the best instructors out there, best I have ever trained with. Thats a bold statement given some of the training I have received but its fact. Its worth the money, and like anything you get what you paid for.
 
Oh inset "stupid" in there in regards to the invert. Sabre is a company that operates here in Iraq, I have no idea who these cops are. Not to be confused.
 
My initial reaction upon seeing the video was WTF!? Granted there may be some benefits to the "invert" technique, every single instructor I ever studied with never even mentioned it.
Another problem with the "invert" technique is that the grip on the slide would not be very strong.
I would follow jar's advice and read more of Gomez's material. He is a great instructor.
I do the "Tap, rack, roll..." where the rolling of the gun outboard assists in hopefully ejecting whatever is causing the current malfunction.
If you can take a course with a reputable trainer. I would suggest contacting Neshooters, I'm sure they could arrange something affordable for you.

pramos03 said:
thanks for the input, i would love to take a course but i am pretty short on money these days. i think watching some competitions would be useful, maybe ask around at the club for some advicefor some advice.
well when looking it up i found this, and went from there.. would you be against the invert? http://www.sabergroup.com/tirr_clear_drill.htm
Click to expand...
 
I am very happy I decided to post, despite my lack of experience and knowledge. When I originally started practicing tap rack ready, that’s just what I did, then further research resulted in that "inverted sling shot sh*t" lol . I will be taking your advice as a learning opportunity and appreciate your honesty. It is clear now that I will greatly benefit from professional training along with my own practice. I am a member at Danvers fish and game, if anyone else goes there maybe you could show me some tricks.
Again thank you, Pramos03

Someone mentioned carrying with a round chambered. I don’t, I just find it an extra precautionary that may not by necessary. However, I have always thought that if I carry another gun, I would carry the same, however no safety. That way I would still have to rack, which I am use to, but now rather than a 10 lb trigger it would be lighter. Does this make any sense?
 
The carrying without a chambered round thing comes up on here pretty regularly. A little searching should find the arguments. The short version is a modern gun with a chambered round is perfectly safe as long as the holster completely covers the trigger guard. Not having a round in the chamber means you need two hands and plenty of space to get your gun in action. In a real fight for your life, you likely won't have it.
 
The TIRR technique is part of the Mass State Police training program developed by Mike Conti.
Mike Conti is a Mass State police Officer and the owner of the Saber Group. (No, they are not in Iraq)
I have tried the TIRR and find it lacking. I think that the TIRR is an ingenous solution for a non-existent problem.

Pramos, come to the Westford Sportsmen's Club some Sunday afternoon and I will try to help.

The problem with learning by reading everything is that the reader does not know how all of the parts fit together. BTDT The other problem is that the article was written by a writer that often has no real experience or training (or out of date training). The best way is to adopt one system and use it. When a new technique comes along, ask your self if it fits the system you use and what is gained by using the new technique.
 
pramos03 said:
2. Draw, shoot and switch mag before empty. I think this technique will help in both competition and self defense. However, I have never been in either situation and have no first hand experience. My theory is that you will have the certainty of a full mag, and will not have to rack the slide.
Click to expand...

I like your drill, only real critique I have is to never carry unless you're going to carry condition one -- or with a mag inserted and a round in the tube.

There is no sense in carrying if you're not going to do that. Think about it.

Other comments -- I'm from the school of thought that you really can't do enough immediate action drills. So I love what you're doing here. It's not glorious or pretty, but it will save your life someday. So, when it happens, the problem will be instantly recognized and then immediate action will take place via muscle memory. Inverting the pistol, or doing it the normal way -- it really doesn't matter, but do it consistently every time. I have never heard or seen this inverting method and any niche techniques involved with pistol should be used with caution in my opinion. And only then after tons of dry-firing the technique so that it commits to memory.

As far as your reload technique above, #2, that is known as a tactical reload - it should only be used when you know that you're low in rounds in the magazine inserted, AND find a moment or lull in the gunfight to tactically insert a fresh one. Key thing is to retain the first magazine.

Good luck, stay focused on the basics and remember when it comes to technique -- smooth is fast, and fast is smooth.
 
Thanks for the input guys. I suppose I'll start carrying with one in the chamber, I am very confident no accidents will occur. -Pete
 
Tactical reload

This is a reload after you have shot some but not all of your rounds during a fight.
It is often said that this is done during a "lull' in the fight. I am not sure what a "lull' is and everyone that I have asked has a different opinion. Just to keep this simple, a tactical reload should only be done if:
1. You think that you need the rounds in the partial mag in the gun,
2. You are behind cover, and
3. you have the time.

If all of the above conditions are not present, simply do a speed reload dropping the partial mag.
Be careful about where you drop the partial mag. You do not want to step on it and fall down.
I am aware of one officer that dropped the partial mag in front of him on a tiled floor. You guessed it. He promptly stepped on the mag and ended up on his butt. HINT, this is not a good thing to do in a fight
 
Southnarc mentioned that if doing a speedload, instead of simply letting the mag fall he captures it in support hand and throws it behind him to avoid exactly what Jim describes.
 
We have searched and searched but can not find a single case of a tactical reload being used by a civilian other than after the fight was over. There are cilivian cases where an emergency reload was used successfully. However there are a number is LE cases where a tactical reload was needed to win.

Because of that, in Neshooters' classes we insist that the students run the gun dry all of the time. We do not allow any administrative or tactical reloads in class. It is amazing to watch the emergency reload speeds improve. In most cases the times get very close to 1 second by the second day.
 
1 sec is impressive. when i practice, my thumb gets a little sore. im thinking i want an extended mag release on my g22. i would practice with gloves but i fear it would change the way i shoot?
 
pramos03 said:
I shoot a glock and prefer not to keep a round chambered, for now.
Click to expand...
I like your drills. You have the analytical mind to teach yourself most of the good stuff. Still, invest in some training with some of the professionals here. Sometimes you just don't know what you don't know.

On the carrying on an empty chamber get rid of that BAD habit ASAP. I, for the life of me, just cannot understand where that phobia comes from. If you think your pistol is going to fire itself then take it to a gunsmith to have him check it and if necessary fix it. If it is in proper working order it will NOT discharge itself.

As someone else pointed out, just rolling the pistol over on its side so the ejection port faces down is all that is needed to help facilitate the ejection of whatever needs to leave the gun to get it rolling back in action. Turning the pistol upside down is ridiculous, no matter who teaches it or what police force does it.
 
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JimConway said:
It is amazing to watch the emergency reload speeds improve. In most cases the times get very close to 1 second by the second day.
Click to expand...
Jim,
As Mike said, a close to 1 second reload is very, very fast. But we may be talking apples and oranges, what exactly do the shooters in your classes do during their near 1 second reloads?

Respectfully,
jkelly
 
Speed

One of the things that a class achieves is a level, often intense, of competition between the students.
They do not want to be the last one to finish a drill besause we push them gently at first and then much harder. The time at Front Sight in the test is 2.4 seconds. This time is very easy to beat and almost no one fails.
One of our students, with no previous training experience was regularly beating two of the other students who had a lot of experience. A month, or so later, he was shooting an IDPA event and someone commented that they had never seen such emergency reload speed. It is great when a plan comes together.
 
JimConway said:
One of the things that a class achieves is a level, often intense, of competition between the students.
They do not want to be the last one to finish a drill besause we push them gently at first and then much harder. The time at Front Sight in the test is 2.4 seconds. This time is very easy to beat and almost no one fails.
One of our students, with no previous training experience was regularly beating two of the other students who had a lot of experience. A month, or so later, he was shooting an IDPA event and someone commented that they had never seen such emergency reload speed. It is great when a plan comes together.
Click to expand...

Unless that person was Dave Sevigny, I call BS, his emergency reloads are 1.4s-1.5s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU3jceN4JAc
 
I think you're just measuring differently. The Frontsight test, anyway, is done with a timer on par time. You start with the gun locked back on an empty mag. On the start beep, you start reloading and as long as your slide is moving forward by the stop beep, you pass. I'll test it with a timer when I get a chance, but I'm guessing approaching 1 sec the FS way is approaching 2-2.5 shot to shot.
 
JimConway said:
One of the things that a class achieves is a level, often intense, of competition between the students.
They do not want to be the last one to finish a drill besause we push them gently at first and then much harder. The time at Front Sight in the test is 2.4 seconds. This time is very easy to beat and almost no one fails.
One of our students, with no previous training experience was regularly beating two of the other students who had a lot of experience. A month, or so later, he was shooting an IDPA event and someone commented that they had never seen such emergency reload speed. It is great when a plan comes together.
Click to expand...

Jim,
What exactly do the shooters in your classes do during their near 1 second reloads? How is it started, how is it ended and how is measured?

In USPSA/IDPA a reload time is usually measured with a timer shot to shot either in a match, or at a target of known distance with two "A" hits, or two down zeros.

Who is the IDPA shooting student that you referenced?

Respectfully,
jkelly
 
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