You don’t need to be a trained soldier to fully appreciate this edition of the U.S. Army Improvised Munitions Handbook (TM 31-210).
Originally created for soldiers in guerilla warfare situations, this handbook demonstrates the techniques for constructing weapons that are highly effective in the most harrowing of circumstances. Straightforward and incredibly user-friendly, it provides insightful information and step-by-step instructions on how to assemble weapons and explosives from common and readily available materials.
Over 600 illustrations complement elaborate explanations of how to improvise any number of munitions from easily accessible resources. Whether you’re a highly trained solider or simply a civilian looking to be prepared, the U.S. Army Improvised Munitions Handbook is an invaluable addition to your library. 578 black-and-white illustrations.
Its exceptional accuracy, controllability, and wide array of accessories make the carbine an essential tool for modern warriors.
In this exclusive video from Paladin Press, WARTAC founder Rich Nance and WARTAC instructor Aaron Peachman teach combat techniques and tactics designed to help you deploy the carbine under real-world conditions.
In Advanced Carbine Tactics they first they reveal the mindset needed to master the fundamentals of marksmanship, proper weapon handling and shooting positions, malfunction clearing and reloads, and shooting in low-light situations.
Then step-by-step instruction in one- and two-man room entry and the use of cover provide you with the advanced tools needed to maximize the carbine’s advantages in a firefight.
Ultimately, the will to win and expert training in sound combat tactics are what help you prevail in any violent encounter. This video delivers both.
Rich Nance is a black belt martial artist, with over 25 years of experience. Nance has been a police officer for 13 years and a SWAT team member for six years. He is a firearms instructor, patrol rifle instructor, less-lethal munitions instructor and his department’s lead defensive tactics instructor. In 2004 Nance and David Hallford founded WARTAC CQC , a company specializing in tactical training for law enforcement and military personnel. Aaron Peachman has 20 years of experience in the martial arts. He has been a police officer for four years and is a member of his department’s SWAT team. Aaron is an instructor for WARTAC CQC.
I originally made this video for prospective NRA Basic Pistol Instructor Candidates because the National Rifle Association does not allow the term weapon to be used in basic classes, and many instructor candidates (especially the former military ones) have a very hard time with this.
In my opinion the distinction between tool vs weapon is a critical issue, not of semantics, but of mindset. To me something is or is not a weapon based upon its use. Wither it is a t-ball bat, a tire iron, a filet knife, a pistol, or a car – they are tools that have uses other than as a weapon.
Since not all NRA basic students are interested in handguns for defensive purposes, and some feel the word weapon has negative connotations, the NRA has made this decision in order to be welcoming to all people that want to know how to safely operate a pistol and not just serve those that are interested in the defensive uses.
As you may know by now, I am not the sort to go into histrionics over someone calling a magazine a clip, and I do sometimes over simplify my own language to be more approachable, but as an instructor I feel it is vital to understand the difference between a weapon and a firearm and use the proper terms in class.
However, for those that have problems being able to separate the two terms in your head I will tell you how I look at it, and hopefully it will help you sort it out.
“I am the weapon, the gun is my tool”
I do not always have my gun on me (I work on a Guard Base where it is prohibited), but I am never unarmed – if attacked I will grab my nearest weapon (which at this moment is a metal stapler) and use it against the closest target, but I never ask my coworker to hand me a weapon when I want to staple documents.
When I am on the range with new shooters and they have a malfunction they tend to blame the gun. I understand totally, you pay a lot for a firearm, and want to depend on it to function 100% of the time. Especially if you plan on using to defend your life.
If it keeps malfunctioning, you start to wonder if you bought a lemon.
However, it is been my experience that mechanical problems are not the leading reason most semi-automatic handguns malfunction.
There is an acronym that goes over the reasons for handgun malfunction, and it just happens to be in order or likely hood – so when you are on the range and “gun don’t work” try this first That acronym is SAMM.
The list below will show you how to begin firearm stoppage troubleshooting using SAMM.
Shooter
Semi-automatic handguns are amazing things; they are designed to contain and channel explosions, push projectiles at hundreds of feet per second, extract and eject spent casings, push fresh rounds from magazines and then chamber them in the handgun. All this has to be done with a single input of energy and timed and balanced so that everything is done.
The shooter is a variable in the design. If the shooter does not provide a steady platform for the gun to recoil against, then the laws of physics make the whole gun want to recoil equally instead of just the slide. If the slide is not able to move farther and faster than the frame of the handgun you will get failures to extract, failures to eject, double feeds, and failures to load.
In my experience with new shooters, the greatest single cause of handgun malfunctions is the shooter not holding the handgun properly.
Ammo
Ammunition malfunctions are another cause of firearms failing to function as designed. I have no issue with reloads, and done properly by a skilled individual hand loaded ammunition can function much better than factory ammunition. However, there are a lot of variables in ammunition manufacture, and reloads tend to have a greater than normal incidence of misfires, hang fires, and squib loads. Some guns (like my Walther P22) are very finicky about the ammunition it will digest, and ammunition that does not have a lot of pressure will cause the gun to double feed or fail to extract.
Remember, that with a semi-automatic, the round is part of the firearm operation, and it moves inside the firearm. If the nose of the bullet does not smoothly engage the feeding ramp then the firearm will not load smoothly. There is a reason for the recommendation that you practice with the same type of ammunition you choose to carry for defensive use.
If you have malfunction after malfunction, especially with chambering, you may want to switch ammunition brands or styles.
Maintenance
Most, if not all, ranges offer rental guns, and most of those ranges do not spend a lot of effort in ensuring that their rental guns are cleaned properly.
One range I use rents an old red label Sturm, Ruger & Co .22 pistol. I doubt that gun has been cleaned since Mr. Sturm passed in 1951. These guns are popular handguns, and known for their great design, but that particular firearm will not shoot more than 2 rounds before it has a jam. It is simply too dirty. I have thought about cleaning it myself, but I have a side bet to see if it will ever get so dirty it won’t except a magazine….
Glock’s torture test is legendary, but as their armorer course instructor said, it’s a test – not a daily routine.
Just because you CAN drop you loaded gun in the mud, let it sit for a month then fire it without cleaning doesn’t mean you SHOULD. Clean your firearm, lube it according to the manufacturer specifications, hold it properly, and feed it what it likes to eat and your gun will work 99.9% of the time
Mechanical
There is a reason Mechanical is last. Stock guns maintained properly very rarely break on the range. It does happen, and I have had front sights work themselves loose after thousands of practice draws, but it is not routine enough that it is front of my mind when diagnosing why a new shooter is having malfunctions on the range.
Typically, even most mechanical malfunctions I have seen come from shooters using aftermarket parts on their guns. If the designer wanted a titanium firing pin for a lighter quicker primer strike, why did they not put a titanium pin in the gun? It seems to me, that in today’s litigious world, especially with the competition between gun manufacturers, if a part made the gun better, faster, or stronger, the manufacturer would sell it – either in the gun or as an option.
This is just my two cents, it doesn’t butter my biscuit either way – if your gun is stock, or you hung everything but Christmas Lights on it. I am just trying to pass on what I have seen, and what I have learned through the years.
So You Want to Be a Firearms Instructor? I can tell you that of all the things that I have done to improve my life, becoming a firearm instructor was one of the best. I have received much more in return than I put into learning the ropes and gaining the certifications.
The only caveat is, that a weekend NRA firearm instructor course may certify you, but you cannot stop learning if you want to a competent instructor.
It took me over a year of teaching to become comfortable, and I have spent many thousands of dollars on books and continuing education courses, and I think that is only a good start. I have been an instructor for more than 15 years and I am still learning.
As far as becoming a firearm instructor, unless you are a law enforcement officer and can talk your way into a FBI or P.O.S.T. class, the simplest way is through the NRA training program.
If you are interested, and want to know more, please feel free to email me directly at [email protected]
There are a few ways of becoming a firearm instructor, some better than others. While I don’t think a 17 hour course on the weekend will prepare you to be a firearm instructor if you don’t already posses the right knowledge, skills, and attitudes. It is a good start if you are serious about the process.
Its exceptional accuracy, controllability, and wide array of accessories make the carbine an essential tool for modern warriors.
So You Want to Be a Firearms Instructor? I can tell you that of all the things that I have done to improve my life, becoming a