Much, if not all training and practice is conducted on flat ranges under calm conditions with no surprises. We shoot steel and paper that we purposely place and identify. We have lanes and all sorts of safety considerations that make a day at the range a pleasant experience. This is fine for most of us but can lead to some critical failures if you are in a line of work that may not look the same as the flat range. For those that form either the thin Blue or Green Lines targets will probably appear in from unknown positions and ranges. Many people preach situational awareness but fail to account for it in our training. COL Boyd gave us the OODA loop, which on the surface, is a rapidly trainable flow of Observe, Orient, Decide and Act. It is a loop because as soon as you act you start over. Observe. To hit a target, you must first observe it. You could possibly be an intergalactic grand sensei with Generation Next hardware and you will still miss a target you didn’t see. With the proliferation of magnified optics, the tendency of getting sucked down the tube is becoming more prolific
All posts by Ash Hess
Inches, Minutes, Clicks- Zero That Blaster
Zeroing is literally one of the most important thing we need to accomplish with our rifles and #spacegun pistols. There is much talk around the technique to accomplish this but there is one way that is easy and fast. First, determine the desired zero distance. This will vary by rifle, optic, caliber, and most importantly purpose of the firearm. Many people with AR15 rifles use either a 100, 200, or 300 yard/meter zero. Rather, many people claim to use those ranges but most use the near zero distance on either 25 or 50-yard target. Yes, I am talking in yards here because most people on this page are not using meters. Now, to save yourself time, you can use a borelight or something like the Telluric Group Small Arms Collimator. There are lasers available in every price range and should be part of your tool kit. Doing this step will put you at the very least on paper at 25/50 which will save you rounds and frustration. Ask me how I know. Regardless of borelight or not, it’s time to shoot bullets. Get into the most comfortable and stable position possible. One that you can duplicate easily. For you Army
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 volley fire. This being said, it should come as no surprise that we have learned, used, and lost uses for iron sights in all environments from jungles, deserts and even the frozen landscapes of Siberia. I am going to talk about a few of those techniques here. First anyone ever wonder why there are 2 apertures on the M16/AR15 platform? Most people have looked and wondered but never cared. Some wondered then tried switching between the two and found no gain from it. There is a reason for it but first we need to talk about sight alignment. Photo courtesy of FMJ Armory, LaGrange, GA TC 3-22.9 states “sight alignment is the relationship between the aiming device and the firer’s eye. To achieve proper and effective aim, the focus of the firer’s eye needs to be on the front sight post or reticle. The Soldier must maintain sight alignment throughout the aiming process.” It goes on to say for iron sights it is the “the relationship between the
Follow 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 book, you know it’s very different than the books we have used since the 1970’s. For those that haven’t, this post will hold less value because you have no context. I just wanted to take a few minutes to post up some responses to issues that have been brought up recently from those that are finally realizing that there is a new Sheriff in town. First off, I want to explain a bit about how books are produced in the US Army. The short version is an NCO or Officer sits at a computer and types the book. From there it goes to paid editors who are SMEs in formatting, word usage, and English. The writer has a graphics team who make bad pictures into awesome things. Then the book is set through several levels of what is called Staffing. Staffing is simply getting the draft into people hands for comments. Usually it starts with stake holders and prior to publishing the draft is sent to “World Wide Staffing” The draft is
The Do Everything Carbine
We see rifles set up for Close Quarte Battle (CQB), Designated Marksman (DM), Special Purpose Rifle (SPR), General Purpose (GP) and a myriad of other acronyms. While I fully support building of fine firearms, I just wanted to talk about a Do Everything carbine. First off, we must look at our application of the rifle. That’s the first thing we should determine prior to the build. Just like with cars, somethings are very specific and hinder other roles. The AR platform can literally be adapted to any role and is only limited by caliber. That limit is based on application as well. So here are some basic questions to ask when planning a build. What do I want it to do? What will I be doing the most? What is my skillset? What ranges will I be using it at the most? What type of shooting will I be doing? What is the budget? Once you have some of these answers you can start planning the build. In days of old some things that were “facts” helped lead us in a direction. We thought that for accuracy at 600 yards we needed 18-20 inches of barrel hence the SPR.
The Art of Tactics
The art of tactics consists of three interrelated aspects: the creative and flexible array of means to accomplish assigned missions, decision-making under conditions of uncertainty when faced with a thinking and adaptive enemy, and understanding the effects of combat on Soldiers. -ADRP 3-90 ADRP 3-90 Tactics are the most misunderstood, untrained and most dangerous part of the profession of arms. We see, particularly in our industry, the over use of the term tactical(as relating to tactics) but rarely are people discussing tactics in a real world context. I agree that tactics are not an open source discussion but even in the back alleys and vetted portions of the internet and closed door discussions it is rarely brought up. In the rare instance that is brought up, the wheels fall off quickly. There are simply not enough people proficient enough to talk them. This is true across military and law enforcement as well as the well-meaning citizen. We do have several avenues to get training in tactics available but those classes always create chaos in the rank and file. The reason for that is not being able to maintain a high level of trained personnel and
Speed Costs Money……
Speed costs money, how fast do ya wanna go With the election upon us, it seems as if everyone now wants to buy, buy, buy firearms and gear “just in case.” Which is cool, but not the way I would go. A firearm is a tool. That’s all. Much like a wrench or a ratchet. As such, quality is more important than quantity. There is not a pro team in any racing series that uses the 101-piece toolset from your local box store. There is a reason for that. Quality I am a self-declared tool snob and have been for over 25 years. During my relatively short foray into auto mechanics I used tools exclusively from a dude with a big white truck who came to the shop. No, I didn’t have money for pro tools. I didn’t even have the skills to “need” pro tools let alone the pay to go with them. That did not stop me. I didn’t have as many tools as the professional mechanics I was working with and my box never got above hobby grade before I left for other things. When it came time for war, I applied the same philosophy to my
US Army TC 3-22.9 Rifle and Carbine – Stability
Greetings all. Since this is my first blog for Primary & Secondary, let me take a second to let you know that if you are reading this you are in the right place. Primary & Secondary is one of those rare places that have real information in real time by real people. The Admins and rules keep it that way despite daily attempts to impart law of the jungle type misinformation, unvetted sources and well, shenanigans. My hat goes off to those who have to herd cats and keep it one track. That being said, let me get on with it. If you have been following my recent posts you may have read a couple of blogs on using the concerning US Army TC 3-22.9 Rifle and Carbine that was published in May of this year and superseded FM 3-22.9. I was lucky enough to be the senior writer for that effort which included people from most every Division, editors, graphics crews, and was read at some level by every major unit in the Army. I say this to reiterate the above about P&S and to give you all a hint at the scope of the work. By writing these blogs we