P&S ModCast 71 brings together a wide-ranging panel to discuss firearms training, equipment selection, instructor credibility, and the work of separating useful information from entertainment. Across two parts, the conversation returns to a common question: can you explain why a technique or piece of equipment fits your needs, and have you tested that explanation?
The panel connects practical equipment discussions with a broader look at learning, professional standards, and the role of the Primary & Secondary community in helping people make informed decisions.
Recorded: Thursday, August 18, 2016.
Format: Two-part archival discussion.
Archive note: Equipment availability, prices, affiliations, training announcements, and opinions reflect the original 2016 conversation. Primary & Secondary Administration and Logistics (PSAL), discussed in this episode, has since been discontinued. Its discussion is retained as part of the network’s history. The restored release includes a new sponsor introduction.
Listen to P&S ModCast 71
This archival episode is presented in two parts:
- Listen to Part 1 — Raising Standards: Training, Equipment, and Critical Thinking.
- Listen to Part 2 — Raising Standards: Training, Equipment, and Critical Thinking.
Host and Panel
Participants join at different points throughout the discussion.
- Host: Matt Landfair — Primary & Secondary.
- Bill Blowers — Tap-Rack Tactical.
- Chuck Pressburg — referred to throughout the original recording as Roland.
- Scott “Jedi” Jedlinski – Modern Samurai Project.
- Steve Fisher — Sentinel Concepts.
- Matt Levi.
- Steven A.
- Lane Critser.
- Matt Shockey.
Part 1: Evaluating Information, Instruction, and Equipment
Separating Education from Entertainment
The episode opens with P&S’s effort to improve the quality of information available to armed citizens, law enforcement, military personnel, and enthusiasts. The panel discusses how appealing explanations become accepted wisdom, why people defend the first method they learned, and what it takes to reconsider an opinion when evidence changes.
One recurring concern is the difference between a demonstration that succeeds under carefully selected conditions and a method that remains useful when the environment changes. Experience, context, and a willingness to test assumptions all matter when evaluating a claim.
Night Sights, White Light, and Pistol Optics
A listener question about tritium sights leads into discussion of fiber-optic sights, transitional lighting, target identification, aging eyesight, and pistol-mounted red dots. The panelists describe different experiences with handheld and weapon-mounted lights, illustrating how lighting conditions can change what a shooter sees.
The conversation also addresses one-handed pistol handling and the relationship between equipment features and developed skill. The panel places this material within a progression of training rather than treating specialized manipulations as an entry-level exercise.
Light Output and Testing Assumptions
The low-light discussion considers backlit subjects, beam pattern, reflected light, and the need to gather enough visual information to make decisions. Panelists challenge broad claims that bright lights are automatically unsuitable indoors and emphasize gaining experience with how light behaves in different spaces.
The numerical light-output preferences discussed are part of the 2016 recording. The enduring lesson is to evaluate a light’s actual performance in the conditions where it will be used.
Instructor Expertise and Student Readiness
Bill and Chuck discuss teaching within their areas of expertise and recognizing when another instructor is better suited to a subject. Credentials, reputation, and operational experience do not make every instructor equally effective for every student or every course.
The panel also considers how students can choose instruction that matches their current ability. Foundational training, purposeful practice, and honest self-assessment help students get more from later courses.
Pistol Optics, Night Vision, and Duty Holsters
Discussion of pistol-mounted optics expands into infrared illumination, night-vision compatibility, shield use, and holster requirements. The panel explores how an apparently useful equipment combination can create another problem when retention, reholstering, or compatibility enters the picture.
Duty-holster availability was an important constraint on pistol-optic adoption at the time. Manufacturing costs, development work, agency demand, and the need to accommodate different pistols, lights, and optics all receive attention.
Rifle Optics and Mount Height
Panelists recount their experience with early red-dot sights and the progression toward newer Aimpoint models and other options. They discuss viewing windows, night-vision use, battery life, and the limitations they encountered with particular systems.
A substantial exchange examines taller optic mounts, including the reasoning behind 1.93-inch mounts and the different requirements of close-range rifles and rifles using inline night-vision devices. The discussion links mount height to the complete equipment setup, including helmets, protective equipment, and accessories around the optic.
Part 2: Reliability, Sling Setup, and Training Standards
Equipment Failures and Lessons from Classes
Chuck describes RMR failures and the need to return optics for service. Steve recounts rifle problems observed during instruction, including a serious incident involving a cartridge during an attempt to clear a malfunction.
These accounts emphasize the value of testing equipment, recognizing when a problem exceeds a routine correction, and maintaining safe handling throughout troubleshooting. They are firsthand reports from this conversation rather than a comprehensive assessment of every product mentioned.
What Should a Low-Power Variable Optic Do?
The panel considers the purpose of low-power variable optics on general-purpose carbines. Close-range usability, weight, glass quality, and the ability to identify and engage more distant targets all shape the discussion.
The central question is what the rifle will spend most of its time doing. Additional magnification brings capabilities and tradeoffs that need to fit that role.
Sling Fit, Attachment Points, and Retention
One of Part 2’s longest technical discussions concerns rifle slings. Panelists compare attachment locations and adjustment methods while considering body size, armor, supported shooting, movement, and the need to control a rifle during hands-on work.
The discussion includes concerns about sling pressure on different rifle configurations and the interaction between equipment setup and aiming devices. The disagreement is useful: each participant is weighing somewhat different requirements, and the group repeatedly returns to knowing and testing one’s own setup.
Relearning Familiar Techniques
Stories from classes lead back to the challenge of changing established habits. A method can feel correct because it was learned first, practiced extensively, or demonstrated convincingly by someone the student trusts.
The panel discusses why instructors and students need to remain open to improvement, including when changing a technique requires an initial loss of familiarity or speed. Professional development depends on continuing to examine what works and why.
PSAL: A Historical Training-Coordination Initiative
The closing portion explains the original goals of Primary & Secondary Administration and Logistics: coordinating instructors and hosts, handling registration and routine questions, checking facility suitability, and helping students arrive prepared.
PSAL has since been discontinued. This portion documents an earlier stage in P&S’s development. It also raises lasting considerations for anyone organizing training: communicate requirements clearly, provide the resources a course needs, and match the facility to the instruction being offered.
The panel also discusses a proposed foundational curriculum and shares feedback about P&S information reaching professional training programs. Those comments reflect plans and personal accounts from the original recording.
Community, Humor, and Personal Stories
The episode includes extensive informal conversation and personal stories, including Chuck’s account of an encounter with his pet Burmese python. That humor sits alongside the more technical exchanges and reflects the relationships behind the early ModCasts.
Content advisory: Strong language and adult humor throughout.
Support the Sponsors of This Restored Release
Blue Alpha Belts
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High Desert Cartridge
Ammunition deserves the same attention as the rest of your equipment. The sponsor introduction highlights High Desert Cartridge’s rifle, pistol, and revolver ammunition, including Matt’s appreciation for its revolver offerings. Visit High Desert Cartridge for current ammunition options and availability.
PHLster Educational Content
Understanding why a concealment setup works helps you make better decisions about comfort, holster placement, and daily carry. Explore PHLster’s concealed-carry education, its YouTube lessons, and the PHLster Concealment Workshop community on Facebook. The educational focus extends beyond a single brand of equipment.