Primary & Secondary Article Library
Explore the Primary & Secondary Article Library: practical writing on firearms, defensive training, law enforcement, equipment, tactics, mindset, and the people who contribute to the professional training community. Articles are organized to help readers find durable information, professional perspectives, and useful resources by subject.
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Running the Irons.
Iron sights have been part of shooting since the very least April 19th 1775. Aiming was a major part of our tactics that helped defeat the British unaimed…
Read articleMalfunctions
We are continuing our discussion on Control. Specifically, we will be addressing how to handle malfunctions, which is a particular part of the shot process that was not…
Read articleUnderstanding the AR-15 Gas System
The AR-15 Direct Gas Impingement System is a rather straight forward system to understand. When the weapon is fired, gas travels down the barrel behind the bullet. As…
Read articleFollow Through With the M4 and M4A1
We are continuing our discussion on control. Specifically we will be addressing Follow-through for the M4 and M4A1 platforms. The Reference for this discussion is TC 3-22.9 Change…
Read articleSlaughtering Sacred Linguistic Marksmanship Cows: Following up “Clickbait”
Author’s note: Context is important. The previous post here was intended for the military audience. Judging by things I’ve seen from others it may be applicable to law…
Read articleThermal-Sight Boresighting: Principles and Precautions
A technical-manual-centered overview of thermal-sight boresighting, including equipment preparation, thermal target contrast, controlled adjustment, laser safety, and live-fire confirmation.
Read articleStandard Qualification for the M4
M4 Qualification Standards We are going to start a discussion on qualification standards. Specifically, we are going to address what the standard is for qualification with the M4.…
Read articleRates of Fire for the M4 and M4A1
We are continuing our discussion on control. Specifically we will be addressing the rates of fire for the M4 and M4A1 platforms. The Reference for this discussion is…
Read articleLow-Power Variable Optics: Roles and Tradeoffs
Understand how LPVO magnification, focal plane, reticle, eye box, illumination, weight, mount, and zero affect a general-purpose rifle.
Read articleFire Control for Machine Guns
We are continuing our discussion on Fire control for machine guns. Specifically, we are addressing what fire control is, and what methods are available to the Paratrooper. The…
Read articleLoss and Learning
Law Enforcement is a family. We think of one another as brothers and sisters; Much like actual siblings we don’t always get along but when adversity strikes we…
Read articleEven More On Boresighting
We are continuing our discussion on the Boresight. Specifically, we will be boresighting lasers. The reference for this is TM 9-5860-226-13&P dated August 2007. The boresight needs to…
Read articleQ/A on IWTS
We are answering some questions that have been brought up in reference to the Integrated Weapons Training Strategy and how it is reported. As we discussed in previous…
Read articleMachine-Gun Fire Commands: Structure and Purpose
A doctrine-informed explanation of fire-command structure, including alert, direction, target description, range, method, initiation, and subsequent corrections.
Read articleMore Zeroing With Boresight
We are going to continue our discussion on the Laser Boresight. Specifically, we are going to talk about how to zero the enabler with a zeroed LBS. The…
Read articleMachine-Gun Ammunition Planning for Support by Fire
A doctrine-informed framework for machine-gun ammunition planning based on mission events, weapon data, fire control, distribution, carrying capacity, resupply, and reserve.
Read articleCalling the Shot: A Core Shooting Skill
Calling the shot means observing the sight or reticle at discharge, then comparing that honest visual call with the impact to diagnose performance and equipment.
Read articleFollow Up on TC 3-22.9
A year ago, we finished the last edits on the TC 3-22.9 that published in May of 2016. For those that have taken the time to read this…
Read articleWeapon Control and Workspace Management
A doctrine-informed explanation of the shooter’s workspace, rifle controls, selector management, safe manipulation, diagnosis, and position-specific dry practice.
Read articleDressing for Winter – Gloves
By: Orvar Bäcklin “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing” -Swedish Proverb This is a follow-up to the cold weather primer I wrote. If you haven’t…
Read articleInstitutional Inertia
“My greatest contribution as the chief of staff was to nourish the mavericks.” – GEN Matthew Ridgway, Commander, 82ND Airborne Division (1942-1945) and Chief of Staff, United States…
Read articleConflicting Surface Danger Zones in Range Planning
A historical Fort Bragg example explains how overlapping surface danger zones affect scheduling, coordination, approved weapons and ammunition, and safe live-fire execution.
Read articleOpportunity Cost
This article begins in 2012, when I joined m4carbine.net. It seemed to me to be a gathering of solid people giving out solid advice, so I started reading.…
Read articleHow To Zero The Laser Boresight To A Weapon
Zeroing a Laser Boresight to a Weapon We’re going to do a talk through on how to zero the laser boresight to a weapon. If you have any…
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