Physical conditioning for combat is not something I would take lightly. I know plenty of people who think they will simply rise to the occasion when it comes time to fight for their life. However, the first time they have to hump gear or do any real work, the excuses flow about why they can't keep up. All these movies showing people shooting and moving at a sprint pace is not something these individuals just picked up and started doing with ease. Even when they are in the middle of sprinting in their gear and manipulating their weapons, they are pretty well fatigued and fighting to maintain awareness and concentration on the fight. This requires lots of physical training, repetition, and coordination. If you want to be conditioned to fight, there are a few things you will need to keep in mind.

The center axis relock is a style of shooting that has been around for a good long while, but has become more noticed as of late, thanks to the John Wick series of movies. I do not think that it is a bad thing to have this semi-mysterious and showy style presented on film. However, I think that people might be interested to learn a little bit about the style and how it was intended to be used. In addition, I would like to cover my own observations about the John Wick style of using this style for offensive close quarters engagements.

When it comes to making a selection for what kind of target you are going to use, there are alot of questions you need to ask yourself. What am I using the target for? Am I using it for diagnosing a weak fundamental? Am I just taking my family out plinking? am I testing my abilities? The purpose of your range time should be considered in order to decide what target is right for that day at the range.

Despite the mindsets of certain people out there, defending yourself in low light is not as simple as having a light. There are some challenges you have to get used to and practice to overcome. Having a light on your person means very little, just like having a gun makes you just as capable of defending yourself as owning pots and pans makes you a world class gourmet chef.

Shooting is one of the hardest skills to pick up and perfect due to the physical, mechanical, and technological variables. Your fitness, your mental state, your firearm(barrel length and construction), and your ammunition will all have an effect on your performance. Not to mention that the climate and environment will all play a role as well. There are alot of things that go into shooting, but the hardest thing for people to get right is being able to exercise great discipline and learn to control their mind and body in order to shoot consistently well. For almost all shooters, this is a lifelong struggle no matter how much better they get. A good shooter always strives to be better than they were yesterday rather than just trying to be better than the person next to them.

Fighting in a low light setting is one of the most demanding things you can do, let alone with a firearm. It requires alot of things to be done right and for you to be very proficient. This means that you must practice and constantly challenge yourself. If there is anything I have learned in my time of fighting in low light and training in low light, it is that there is no one thing that is universally applicable. Darkness will complicate everything and adding in having to use and be mindful of other gear, in addition to your gun, adds to the complexity. There are a few basic things that are necessary and vital to effectively fighting at night, and I want to go over them briefly.

When it comes to learning the fundamentals of marksmanship, follow through is the one that will prevent your skill development if you follow it to the letter as it is taught today. 

What is the importance of accuracy? Well, it depends on what you are trying to do. If you are trying to qualify on a paper target, being able to hit inside a certain area will be good enough. If it is in competition, as long as you skim through and get your hit, it is all good. In combat, connecting with the torso is the name of the game. All of these scenarios could benefit from more precision of course, but perhaps there is a problem with people understanding when they are being accurate and when they are being precise.

It has been a while since I took the Walther PPS out for some range time. I figured that I might as well give it a shot and see how I perform with it. While I was at it, I figured that it would be a good time to test other products like the Comfort Cling from Clinger Holsters and my preferred carry load, Remington 115 grain JHP. I had fun shooting the pistol, and I found some things that I think are very relevant to share.

The gun market today, whether in sales or training, is concentrated away from the traditional DA/SA design. But is the design DEAD just because it is not as popular? I think we can answer that by evaluating something that I would consider to be the source of misunderstanding that the DA/SA pistol suffers from. It may not be the most popular action on the market today, but I personally have found that the rewards outweigh the few disadvantages.