Firearms Training

This series of articles gives you a glimpse at the handgun techniques we teach at Front Sight.  Unfortunately, these articles cannot impart any actual skills.  The life-saving skills of gun-handling, marksmanship, and tactics can only be gained from attending a course at Front Sight.

Let’s assume you have actually fired on an adversary.  Does that mean the fight is over?  No, certainly not.  All it means is the fight has started and you’ve had your turn.  You don’t know what’s coming next.  So, you need to prepare yourself for the next engagement, whatever that might be.  Hopefully there won’t be one, but you’d better expect one.

There are really three questions you need to answer after you’ve engaged an adversary.

• First, is there anybody else in my immediate environment who is a threat to me?
• Second, is the adversary I just shot actually out of the fight?
• And third, is there anybody else in my entire surroundings who could pose a threat to me?

To answer these questions, you will perform what we call After Action Drills.  There are four components to the after action drills: step, quick check, final check, and scan.  All of these are done from the Ready position so you have a clear view of the area and you can respond to a threat quickly.

After you have fired, you need to move out of the line of attack.  Don’t just stand still waiting for your adversary to react.  As you come down to the Ready, you are going to take a step to the side.  On the street, you may in fact take several steps to make use of cover and concealment.

Next, you will perform a quick check.  The quick check is designed to pick up an adversary who is standing right next to you at arm’s reach.  The quick check involves moving your head quickly, left and right, so you can pick up someone standing near you.  The quick check is very similar to quickly looking left and right at a four-way stop sign.  It needs to be rapid but you must actually identify what is near you.  How could somebody be standing within arm’s reach and you haven’t even seen them?  Tunnel vision.  Under the stress and adrenaline of a gunfight, your peripheral vision closes down.  The quick check takes into account that tunnel vision.

Next, you need to verify that the adversary who you just shot is out of the fight.  You will do this by means of the final check.  Simply look at your adversary and determine if he is still a threat.  The final check may last one second or it may last ten seconds.

Now you need to scan your entire surroundings to see if there are any other threats.  The scan is a slow, methodical study of the area 360º around you from the tips of your toes all the way to the horizon.  The scan is designed to pick up the guy hiding behind the dumpster, or behind the car, or on the rooftop.  When scanning, your upper body rotates like the turret on a tank; your head and your weapon moving together.  You don’t want your head and your weapon pointed in different directions.  If you see a threat and your weapon is facing the other way, you are behind the power curve in getting your weapon on target.  On the street, your next adversary may be approaching from the rear, therefore, scan a full 360º.  Once you are absolutely certain there are no other threats in the area, your safety goes back on or you de-cock your weapon, as appropriate.

Now, let’s talk about a critical detail that is often overlooked during the scan and that’s your weapon.  What if the last round you fired resulted in a malfunction or an empty weapon?  Wouldn’t this be a good time to figure that out?  So, make sure you glance at your weapon during the scan.  As your eyes are moving up and down, checking from the tips of your toes out to the horizon, also look at your weapon.

Let’s put all of these elements together.  You’ll start at the Ready, finger straight.  As you come on target, your finger goes on the trigger and you engage your adversary.  After you’ve fired, your trigger finger goes straight.  As your weapon comes down to the Ready, take a small step to the side.  Then quick check left and right with just your head.  Final check by looking directly at your adversary.  Then scan, slowly and methodically left and right, remembering to check your weapon.  When you are done with the after action drills, your safety goes back on.

With proper execution of the after action drills, you will be ready for any additional threats which might come your way.