External Ballistics Part I – Physics, Projectiles and Transitional Ballistics

Welcome back to our study of ballistics. Now that we’ve covered the many aspects of internal ballistics and how ammunition interacts with the inner workings of firearm components to produce mechanical accuracy, we will discuss external ballistics. Since there are so many forces that affect a projectile’s flight from the muzzle to the target, I’ve broken the subject material down into a two part series. In this article, I will introduce some basic physics principles, discuss projectile characteristics and focus on transitional ballistics.

“Painless” Physics

In order to fully explain some concepts related to external ballistics, I need to briefly review the principles on which all ballistics rest: Newtonian Physics. While many of us learned our first physics lessons from Wylie E. Coyote, nearly everything depicted was incorrect. Even though we cannot observe the forces acting on a projectile the moment it leaves the muzzle, we know those forces significantly affect its actual path. In order to set the record straight, I will cover Newton’s three laws to help us better understand ballistics. Now, on to the physics.

Newton’s First Law: “A body at rest tends to remain at rest, and a body in motion tends to remain in motion at the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by a force.” Applicability: If it wasn’t for the force of gravity or air resistance, a projectile would travel endlessly in a straight line from the barrel.

Newton’s Second Law: “When a body is acted upon by a constant force, the resulting acceleration is inversely proportional to the mass of the body and is directly proportional to the applied force.” Applicability: Force = Mass X Acceleration. For this discussion of ballistics, the projectile’s mass is constant, so force and acceleration are directly proportional. Therefore, a change in acceleration results in an equal change in force.

Newton’s Third Law: “Whenever one body exerts a force on another, the second body always exerts on the first a force which is equal in measure, but opposite in direction.” Applicability: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction as can be seen in felt recoil, pressure build-up from air resistance and terminal impact.

Why is this important to ballistics? All three laws act together to describe the interaction of forces that affect a projectile’s flight to target. At the moment the primer ignites the propellant and rapid gas expansion thrusts the projectile forward, the projectile experiences dramatic acceleration. The third law describes how the force required to propel the mass results in an equal and opposite force we know as felt recoil. The very moment the projectile leaves the barrel, friction from air resistance combines with gravity to simultaneously decelerate the projectile and alter its path in a modified parabolic arc (trajectory) toward the earth. As the projectile impacts the target, it decelerates from its residual terminal velocity to zero with an energy transfer that is equal to one-half of the projectile mass multiplied by velocity squared to produce a ballistic effect (third law). But there is more…

Projectile Nomenclature

Projectile design significantly affects performance from ignition, travel through the bore, trajectory, and target impact. While there are many variables, I will briefly describe the characteristics common to most.

Meplat/Tip: If the tip of the projectile is flat, the flat surface is called a Meplat. Otherwise, it is called the tip, nose or point. This leading edge affects the amount of drag (air resistance).

Ogive: This is the gradual radial reduction from the shoulder to the meplat or tip.

Shoulder: This is the transition point from the bearing surface to the Ogive.

Bearing Surface: This is the somewhat longer surface area along the length of the projectile that presses against the inside of the bore. The outside diameter of the bearing surface equals the caliber of the projectile.

Cannelure: As mentioned in Internal Ballistics Part III, the projectile is secured within the case by friction as the result of a process called crimping. Some rifle and pistol projectiles have a cannelure somewhere along the bearing surface. The cannelure is a set of tooling marks or series of indentations designed to better secure the crimp and prevent projectile set-back.

Heel/Base: Ranging from flat base through boattail (tapered), the shape greatly affects the amount of drag exerted on the projectile during its flight. Base drag is caused by the partial vacuum that occurs behind the projectile during its flight. A tapered, or boattail base reduces this drag. However, studies indicate that the benefits of a boattail are negligible under 200 yards. Therefore, handgun cartridges and short-range rifle cartridges do not benefit from a boattail projectile.

Transitional Ballistics:

OK, now it is time for the heavy physics stuff. If you recall from our discussion on mechanical precision, barrel rifling will rotate a projectile along its center of mass and the barrel crown exerts the very last influence on the projectile as it exits the bore. In a perfect world, which doesn’t exist, the a perfectly concentric projectile with its uniform density dispersed evenly along its longitudinal center of mass travels down a perfectly aligned bore. It is provided the last bit of thrust with a perfectly machined crown as it enters a vacuum (no air resistance) and travels along a mathematically perfect parabolic arc. This process occurs so rapidly that most shooters would believe that a projectile exits the bore in a straight line toward the target. Again, Wylie E. Coyote’s version of physics does not apply. There is a brief period of instability as the projectile exits the barrel before all of physics principles align and stabilize the projectile. This period is called Transitional Ballistics.

Transitional Ballistics, Yaw, Precession and Nutation: Simply defined, Yaw is a deviation of a forward moving aerodynamic object from its longitudinal axis. Precession is an angular force applied to a rotating object caused by its torque. Nutation, literally “nodding,” is the opposing force in a rotating object that gradually “normalizes” along the longitudinal axis during projectile flight.




Wow! So what does that all mean? During the
projectile’s travel down the bore, the rotational acceleration is controlled solely by friction applied by the rifling. As the projectile exits the muzzle, its rotational momentum will cause it to continue to rotate in the same direction as it moves under forward momentum. Keep in mind, however, that the bore axis of a firearm is tilted slightly upward in relation to the line of sight. Therefore, although the firearm appears level, the projectile exits the bore at a slight upward angle. The very moment the projectile is free of the bore, atmospheric resistance exerts pressure simultaneously against the nose and under the ogive of the projectile at the same time. These pressures combined with any imperfections in the barrel crown cause the projectile to yaw away from its center axis. Concurrently, air resistance across the full surface area of the rotating projectile exerts an angular force at 90 degrees in relation to the direction of rotation and the orientation of the longitudinal axis, which is precession. At the same time, the projectile’s release from controlled rotation in the rifling to “free flight” outside of the bore requires a short time for the rotational inertia to stabilize along the longitudinal axis. In this process, the nose of the projectile varies in a helical motion until it is dampened to stabilized ballistic flight, which is nutation.

OK… let’s try it again in plain English: There is a brief moment when a projectile leaves the barrel in which it is somewhat unstable. This instability is caused by a combination of the projectile’s rapid transition from controlled rotation to free rotation and the introduction of air resistance. During this period, the projectile “wobbles” in a helical pattern as it moves forward before it fully stabilizes. You can also see this in slow-motion replays of long football passes. When the football leaves the quarterback’s hand, it is rotating along its longitudinal axis, but is wobbling for a short distance before it stabilizes into and travels to the receiver (or not). The same is true for a projectile!

How does this affect the average shooter? Pistol shooters should know that these principles exist, but have little to be concerned with. The short length of pistol projectiles allow them to stabilize quickly and within just a few feet. Rifle shooters, on the other hand, fire longer projectiles that require up to 48 feet to stabilize. Matching the projectile shape and weight to the propellant charge and barrel rifling will minimize (but not eliminate) the intrinsic instability of the projectile as it leaves the muzzle. This will allow it to stabilize more quickly and efficiently allowing it to travel with greater precision and energy conservation to the target.

The bottom line is there are a lot of forces that simultaneously act on a projectile the moment it leaves the barrel and it takes a short time for the projectile to stabilize into predictable ballistic flight. Now that we’ve covered these details, we are set up to discuss how gravity, ballistic coefficient, wind and other atmospheric effects alter a projectile’s flight to target. Check back with us to continue the discussion with External Ballistics Part II.

Until then, stay safe and shoot straight!

First Published at Aegis Academy

About Author

-Howard Hall

Range Master

Howard has served for nearly 20 years in the Marine Corps. He has served as a Platoon Commander, Company Commander, Battalion Executive Officer, Regimental Operations Officer, and Battalion Commander. He has multiple combat tours to include serving as a military transition team member in Fallujah. He is an NRA Certified handgun instructor and holds numerous Marine Corps training credentials. An active competitor in action pistol (United States Practical Shooting Association), long range rifle (NRA F-Class), and shotgun (Amateur Trapshooting Association, National Skeet Shooting Association), howard has earned numerous accolades and medaled during DoD competitions with the 1911 platform in bulls-eye shooting.

Carlsbad Wildfire, Personal Defense and Natural Disasters

Carlsbad Wildfire, Preparedness and Personal Defense

Natural disasters like the Carlsbad wildfires, and the rest of the fires in Southern California this week bring out the best in most normal people. The outpouring of support, donations at the emergency shelters, and offers of assistance is what make this country great! Conversely, it also provides opportunity for the criminal element to take advantage of people and the situation. As disgusting as the opportunists are, they do not surprise me. I am however continually surprised by the lack of preparedness for these predictable events on the part of many of my fellow citizens.

As soon as I smelled smoke, I went out side to see some fairly dark fires, that appeared to be pretty close. I went inside, picked up the keys and my wallet and drove to the gas station to top off the truck (which was at ¾ of tank, but why not have a full tank?). I grabbed a sandwich from the store for lunch, some fruit and a few other items and went home. When I got back there were a few people standing in the street looking at the plumes of smoke and discussing leaving.

Here is a conversation I had with a guy who lives in my neighborhood on the day the fires started:

Him – “The wildfires are getting pretty out of control, I didn’t expect this in Carlsbad.”

Me – “Yeah, I’m surprised at how quickly this one seems to be growing.”

Him – “Do you think there will be an problems, like looting or theft, or – you know – armed robberies or anything.”

Me – “Yeah, probably.”

Him – “Seriously, you think people will do that?”

Me – “Yes, if this goes on long enough, the dregs of society will take advantage of this situation and exploit the opportunity to prey on those who are not prepared.”

Him – “Yeah, probably… Well, I’m coming to your house if it gets bad.”
Me – “Why?”

Him – “You’re – like – ready for this stuff, you do – like – guns & stuff right?”

Me – “I am prepared to take care of my family.”

Him – “Well – you’d help us out too – right?”

Me – “Sure, how about you and the rest of the block, or maybe the neighborhood? How about the whole city? Look XXXX, I’m not Donald Trump and I had to draw the line when I was stocking up somewhere, and unfortunately, my family is the only ones that made the cut.”

Him –“Really, you wouldn’t let us in?”

Me – “XXXX – don’t show up at my house with your wife and kids in tow and your hand out at two o’clock in the morning – you won’t like the response. Go to the store, buy some canned food, fill up the tub, (etc….).

Him – “Well then, can I borrow a gun?”

Me – “Why?”

Him – “I don’t have one.”

Me – “Do you know how to use a gun?”

Him – “Well…. you could show me…”

Me – “No XXXX, you can’t borrow a gun…”

My suspicion is that XXXX thinks we aren’t friends anymore. I am not advocating that everyone have a 5 year stock pile of food, water, ammunition and spare parts for their firearms. I am advocating that people learn from this, and past experiences. Go get and learn to use the things and the skills you wish you had on Tuesday night. Don’t wait for the next disaster to make you feel helpless. None of you or your neighbors are helpless, and everyone is capable of contributing to their own safety and security!

My conversation with XXXX reminded me of another conversation I had with an individual on the plane to New York to speak at the CT symposium. I was reading the final edition of Preventative Defense written by Steve Tarani. He was a nice enough guy, little nervous about flying, perhaps a bit overly talkative, but a legitimately nice guy. When he asked what I do, I explained it briefly and he actually was pretty surprised and told me he felt no obligation to be prepared to defend himself what-so-ever. The most notable quote from that conversation “That’s what I have an attorney for”. I gave him the copy of Steve’s book as he clearly needs it more then I do.

The power outages last year produced a similar “what do I do” response in many people. Here we are almost a year later, and many still have no ability to plan or prepare for the inevitable. It would appear that we are on our way back to the norm in Carlsbad – at least for the time being. The fires have burned most of the available brush, and my suspicion is that we will have a relatively safe fire season in comparison to the areas that remain untouched by the fires. Now is the time to prepare yourself for the next disaster that may cause you to have to fend for yourself for a few days (or longer).

A week or so of canned goods, a trauma and first aid kit, a battery powered radio, a flashlight, extra batteries, a shotgun with plenty of buck shot, a few gallons of water in a go bag of some sort and a family link up plan will alleviate nearly every fear expressed by the people I spoke to this week. The problem is not one of means; all of my neighbors can afford the $500.00 – $600.00 to get the above items. The problem is one of mindset. The attitude that it will never happen to me is not something you can purchase a solution to. The concept that borrowing or buying a shotgun without the ability to use it effectively makes you somehow safer is equally ridiculous.

Every one of you can take five minutes to make to make a list that will help prepare you for a wildfire, a black out, an earthquake or any other natural disaster. Those of you that had some preparations made should take a few minutes to make some notes on what to improve on. It will take less then an hour to make a list, gather the things you need, and start the process of being a confident part of the solution during the next disaster. The alternative is to be a drain on state or others resources that could be deployed or used to support the emergency, or people who lost their homes, or others in dire circumstances…

Being an unnecessary drain on resources is actually considered quite rude in some circles.

Most of you reading this are probably already prepared, but feel free to share this with those who are not. We choose to be dependent on government services for our survival, our government does not impose that dependence on us – unlike some places in the world. Here in America, we can choose not to be dependent on government support and services when and if necessary. To me that is the responsible choice that leads to safer and more productive communities.

Here is a link to wildfire preparedness, with a short checklist and there are ton of resources out there. The checklist is a nice tool. What we really should be working towards is a culture of community safety and personal responsibility. Don’t let something as routine as the Carlsbad Wildfire or the next natural disaster throw you into a state of panic. Stay safe, have fun & plan to do something to increase you independence this month!

First Published at Aegis Academy

About Author

 

- Patrick Henry

 

President

Patrick Henry received his operational training and experience from the U. S. Government, 22 years of which were spent in the Marine Corps where he served in the Reconnaissance, Infantry and Intelligence fields. During his active service, he spent more then seven years deployed overseas in combat, operational and training assignments. After the military, Pat worked as a contractor and as the Director of Operations at a private paramilitary company, specializing in training special operations forces and providing protective services to select private clients. His education consists of an MBA from the University of Southern California (USC), and a BS from San Diego State University with an emphasis in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology and a minor in Psychology. He holds an extensive list of security and training related certifications from a variety of government and nationally recognized entities. He currently sits on the advisory committee at USC’s Master of Veterans Business Program, and is an active member of Infraguard and the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS). He has been a guest speaker at ASIS, the San Diego Industrial Security Awareness Council and other private organizations on physical security, travel security, and competitive intelligence collection counter-measures.

Which Shotgun to buy with a Best Fit, Function and Finance Considerations

You now have decided to dive into the opinion filled world of which kind of shotgun to buy. Like all firearms purchases, you need to be able to make an informed decision that suits your needs. Just like pistols and carbines, the three important factors are FIT, FUNCTION, and FINANCE. Once you have answered these questions, other factors such as accessories and looks can be left to your personal preferences. As shotguns can be used for home defense and sport shooting and hunting, there is long list of variations to suit each need. For this articles purpose I will stick to which shotguns you should buy for home defense.

Fit

 

There are up to two main points when it comes to fitting a shotgun. The first is the distance to the trigger from the butt stock. This distance is important, as you must be able to place the toe or bottom part of the butt stock into the shoulder while your finger can easily rest on the trigger. If this distance is too far you will always feel like you are stretching out and it will not be comfortable holding it, much less shooting it! The ability to mount the shotgun high up into the shoulder firmly and lean into it is essential to managing recoil.

The second is the ability to establish a good grip on the fore end or "pump". Now if the shotgun is a semi-auto or other than a pump action, the placement of the front hand is simply in a place that you can manage the gun. For pump action guns you need to be able to "run" the action fully. This means pull the action all the way to the rear and all the way forward without short stroking it. Pump action shotguns need to be cycled to function properly and most malfunctions are induced from "shorting" the action.

For young teens and smaller people such as petite women, finding a shotgun with a Youth Model 13" length stock is a good buy. Generally a 14" stock is standard for most 12 and 20 gauge shotguns. A quick way to check is to rest the stock of the gun in the bend of your elbow, if your hand can maintain control of the grip and reach the trigger you can manage the shotgun. For the fore end, if you have trouble reaching and pulling the action to the rear or issues pushing it completely forward while in your shoulder, a extended fore end is a good choice. With My T-Rex arms, I can tell you a shortened stock and extended fore grip make the experience much better. A barrel length about 18 to 24 inches is more than enough, any longer and your looking at a gun great for clay shooting and birds, but terrible for moving through a hallway.

As far as the position of the safeties, action release or shell trips, it comes down to preference. I have no idea why, but Mossberg should feel better to me, everything is in the right place, yet I seem to like Remington. If it feels right go with it.

Function

 

For home defense you should go with a 12 or 20 gauge with a few features that make it suitable for your personal protection. There are many "tactical" shotguns readily available off the shelf, and when we get to finance you can decide what extra gadgets you want to add on. You want something that hits hard, is easy to use, simple in design and carries enough ammunition to get through a fight. Some of the factors you need to consider are:

Gauge is the diameter of the barrel. The smaller the gauge the larger the barrel.

The most common are 12 and 20 gauge and can fit most any purpose. The felt recoil of a 20 gauge is less than the 12, but both are similar in price and function, and as above, great for youth and some ladies.

Action is the operating system for a shotgun and can be broken down into three groups. Pump, semi-auto and double barrel.

Pump action shotguns are the most popular of the three, they are simple to use, yet need practice and proper fit to be used effectively. Most malfunctions are induced by improperly cycling the action, and can be physically demanding.

Semi-automatic shotguns make you want to spend the money. They work by recoil action and with the proper ammunition run smooth fast and cause less fatigue. However, malfunctions are slightly harder to clear.

Double barrels are generally break action where the barrels tip open to load and unload. They are very reliable, but have a low ammunition capacity.

Magazine Capacity: Most semi automatics and all pump shotguns use a magazine tube. Buying a model with, or adding on an extended mag tube is a great option. Many standard shotguns come with a 3 or 4 round magazine tube; I prefer having at least 5, plus one more in the chamber. Just remember more shells equal more weight.

Choke is a four-inch tube that screws into the front of your barrel that tightens the pattern of the shot. For home defense, "cylinder bore" or no choke will suffice when using buckshot. However, buying a shotgun that has the threading to change out the choke will give it versatility for hunting or sport reasons, just keep in mind that slug rounds will not fire through several types of choke!

Sights, rails, muzzle breaks and pistol grips all are personal preference. I will say that the type of front sight is important, as it needs to be visible and easily acquired. A high visibility dot or fiber optic works great, and suits the home defense purpose. For the rear sight you can go with nothing at all, or one of the various designs available. I really don't like a rear sight, it is a shotgun after all, but many people like circular peep sights similar to a rifle sight. Rails allow you to mount optics and more importantly, a flashlight to the shotgun and for home defense a flashlight is an excellent tool. Optics such as a red dot sight can make target acquisition fast, but you have to compare the cost to the possibility of speed. As far as muzzle breaks, they are designed for breaching doors, and most owners can due without. You will either love or hate pistol grips, some shooters swear by them, and yes they look very cool, but I can't draw any definite conclusions that they reduce recoil or make it easier to aim in.

Finance

 

One of the best reasons to buy a shotgun is they are cost effective. A good off the shelf pump action Remington or Mossberg will cost you between $400 and $600. A Benelli semi-auto will cost $1200 or more, with Mossberg and Remington not far behind. You get what you pay for with all three, but I have yet to hear a Benelli owner complain and I would steal Chris Whites M2 if I could get away with it. It is a safe bet to go with a Mossberg 590 or a Remington 870 for a pump action and a Benelli for semi-auto. I was pleasantly surprised at Benelli's Super Nova pump action after one of our clients brought it to a course and I considered buying one, but went with a Remington 887 instead and loved it.

Shotguns are simple reliable tools, and do not need to be fancy to be effective. My best advice would be to go simple and bare bones, have a good front sight, an extended mag tube and a way to mount a light. After all that it is all fluff. When things go bump in the night, all the super cool gadgets will not make you any more effective. Shop around, ask questions and read Chris White's articles on how to customize your shotgun without breaking the bank. With knowledge and common sense choosing which shotgun to buy will become easy.

Source: http://aegisacademy.com/community/which-shotgun-to-buy/

Posted by Aegis Academy Staff.

Tactical Handgun Six – Protective Skills and Incapacitation

Welcome to the final day of the tactical handgun series! Today begins with our protective intelligence lecture, which focuses on developing executable habits and skills that will hopefully result in you not needing the skills you have learned in the tactical handgun series! On the range we work contact distance engagement techniques. Incapacitation and weak handed manipulation skills are introduced. We’ll work some unusual positions and finish the day with some drills specifically designed to enhance your speed!

When you complete the tactical handgun series, you will have seen every individual tactical handgun skill we know. Our world-class mentors will work closely with each client to ensure you have the feedback and information needed to truly master the skills you are paying to learn!

Tactical Handgun Six Includes:

• Protective Intelligence
• Contact distance shooting
• Dealing with incapacitation
• Weak hand shooting
• Introduction to getting faster
• Access to the Graduate Practice Library

Course Fee: $275.00

You will need 350 rounds of factory-produced ammunition.

You are welcome to fire any firearm in our inventory if you rent from us for the day. Rental fee includes equipment and ammunition; $200.00

Prerequisite: Pistol 5 or pass the skill check on arrival at the range.

Sign up now on our monthly calendar and on our list of scheduled Day Four Pistol Shooting Courses!

Stay at the AAA Four Diamond rated Pala Resort and Casino at the Aegis Academy Group rate while you are taking our courses! The group sales link, login and password are included in your registration confirmation e-mail, but for planning purposes you can expect to save 12 – 15% off the rack rates!

Source: http://aegisacademy.com/tactical-pistol-classes/pistol-class-6

Concealed Carry Classes and Night Firing on Day 5 of Pistol Training

Welcome to Aegis Academy's Pistol Five! Today begins with the Aegis Academy Concealed Carry Classes, which are focused purely on professional techniques used to conceal firearms in an operational setting. You'll leave knowing how to set up your equipment to maximize your chances of being effective under stress. The goal is to ensure you can effectively conceal your firearm and access it when you need to. This is not one of the state concealed carry classes where you watch a video for eight hours and shoot 30 rounds at a target from five yards!

We complete the concealed carry classes and the physiology of lowlight lecture after which we transition to the range. We will work shooting around barricades, firing from unusual positions, and shooting on the move all while working the skills you learned in the concealed carry classes. After an hour break for dinner we will return for the introduction to firing at night. Master the techniques needed to use your firearm for defensive purposes when you are most likely to need it - at night! Our world-class mentors will work closely with each client to ensure you have the feedback and information needed to truly master the skills you are paying to learn.

 

Concealed Carry Classes and night firing course includes:

• Concealment Techniques
• Low Light Techniques
• Barricades
• Night Firing
• Use of light
• Reloads & Malfunctions at night
• Access to the Graduate Practice Library

Course Fee: $275.00

You will need 300 rounds of factory-produced ammunition to complete the concealed carry classes and night firing course.

You are welcome to fire any firearm in our inventory if you rent from us for the day. Our rental holsters are adequate, but not ideal to complete the concealed carry classes. Rental fee includes equipment and ammunition; $175.00

Prerequisite: Pistol 4 or pass the skill check on arrival at the range.

Sign up now on our monthly calendar and on our list of scheduled Day Four Pistol Shooting Courses!

Source: http://aegisacademy.com/tactical-pistol-classes/pistol-class-4

Tactical Pistol Training Day Four - Shooting on the Move

The day begins with our gun control lecture. You will leave the classroom knowing both the accurate and inaccurate sources of information used by both sides of argument. After breakfast, we move to the range and work on mastering angles and distance while shooting on the move.

 Standing still in a gun fight is probably the worst thing you can do with the exception of not being able to hit your target. You’ll be able to use your pistol, shooting effectively moving forward, backward, laterally, and at oblique angles by the end of the training day! Shooting a pistol accurately on the move can be a significant challenge, but it is doesn’t have to be impossible. You can master the fundamentals, and get sound practical tips from our world-class mentors who will work closely with each client. We will ensure you have the feedback and information needed to truly master the skills you are paying to learn.

Pistol shooting on the move includes:

• The impact of gun control on our society
• Angles & distance
• Forward & backward movement
• Lateral & oblique movement
• Positions

Course Fee: $275.00, you will need 300 rounds of factory-produced ammunition.

You are welcome to fire any firearm in our inventory, if you rent from us for the pistol shooting course. The rental fee includes equipment and ammunition; $175.00

Prerequisite: Pistol Class 3 or pass the skill check on arrival at the range.

Sign up now on our monthly calendar and on our list of scheduled Day Four Pistol Shooting Courses!

Source : http://aegisacademy.com/tactical-pistol-classes/pistol-class-4

Tactical Pistol Course Day Three - Introduction to Practical Gun Fighting

Tactical Pistol Course day three - The morning starts with our Psychology of Violence lecture after which we transition to the range to start the introduction to practical gun fighting. During this pistol course, you will shoot at extreme distances, be introduced to angles and cover, develop target discrimination and multiple target engagement techniques, and start to shoot on the move.

Our world-class mentors will work closely with each client to ensure you have the feedback and information needed to truly master the skills you are paying to learn!

 

Pistol Course includes:

• Psychology of Violence
• Shooting at distance
• Angles & cover
• Target discrimination
• Multiple targets
• Shooting on the move
• Access to the Graduate Practice Library

Course Fee: $275.00

You will need 225 rounds of factory-produced ammunition.

You are welcome to fire any firearm in our inventory if you rent a firearm for the pistol course. Rental fee includes equipment and ammunition; $150.00

Prerequisite: Tactical Pistol Course two or pass the skill check on arrival at the range.

Sign up now on our monthly calendar and on our list of scheduled Day Three Pistol Courses!

Stay at the AAA Four Diamond rated Pala Resort and Casino at the Aegis Academy Group rate while you are taking our courses!

Source : http://aegisacademy.com/tactical-pistol-classes/pistol-course-3

Risk Analysis and Mitigation from a Travel Security Perspective

The most common and unfortunate state of mind people adopt is that protection is the responsibility of someone else. You can personally exert an extraordinary amount of influence over your own safety and security by controlling your actions. Adopting the mindset that your personal safety and security is up to you is the first step in improving your chances. The next step is learning how to evaluate risk, and implement actions and controls to maintain and advantage in any environment. The first step is analyzing risk.

Finding the “right” risk metrics

 

In the evaluation of risk, the first and most critical step is to choosing a quality data set. The greatest gift the Internet has given us is a vast supply of information on demand. Unfortunately, much of it consists of un-researched opinion, or worse pure fabrication. When evaluating personal security risk, you have to select, vetted, relevant and appropriate sources of information or you will undoubtedly end up protecting your self against the wrong threats. The Department of State, CIA World Fact Book, UN Office on Drugs on Crime, World Health Organization and the Economic Intelligence unit are great places to start. Alternatively, there a number of professional reports that you can purchase on any city or area to which you may want to travel. Basing risk decisions on what you are fed by the media, Hollywood or that scholarly journal Wikipedia is unlikely to result in productive and useful plans to mitigate that risk!

This should not simply be a physical risk evaluation and it should include risks that could impact the success of your reason for travelling. You are choosing to expose your self to risk for a purpose, and if you don’t accomplish that purpose, you should choose not to take the risk in the first place. If you are travelling to Sierra Leone to import natural resources, anything that will prevent you from obtaining or importing resources is a risk. If you do not account for those risks, you may have a physically safe trip that results in you very adeptly undertaking a risky evolution for no productive reason. Culture, infrastructure, opportunity and preparation all play into it.

Risk Analysis

 

Once you have selected appropriate sources of information, you are ready to start dealing with the process of determining what to do with it. Analysis is simply a process of systematic evaluation of information. Ultimately, the real goal is to develop a consistent approach to evaluating the information you collect. The first step is to make a determination of what is likely to happen. This is a fairly exhaustive list of what may happen. It consists of the things that are likely to impact traveller to that country and have almost nothing to do with your personal ability, plans or circumstances.

Then next step is to look at the catastrophic impacts that could occur (Death, Permanent Injury, Loss of the deal, etc…). Remember, base these on your data set, not on your personal circumstances at this point. I then combine theses two lists into a set of potential occurrences. Here is the most important step in the process. Cross anything off the list that is completely beyond your control, leaving only the things that you can influence. If someone else with more money, more physical ability, or language skills you do not posses could influence those factors that is irrelevant to your risk evaluation. If you don’t have the skills, money or time to influence the potential occurrences, don’t spend time trying. We want a comprehensive list of things that are likely to occur in the area to which we are travelling.

We can now start to assign a probability and severity rankings to the list. A cold is pretty likely, but pretty low on the severity list. Being murdered is probably a low probability side, but at the top of the severity list. I rank severity in the same manner as we rank the scale of injury. 0 is no impact or no injury. 1 is minor injury with little to long-term impact. 2 are serious but recoverable injury, or serious but recoverable impact. 3 are permanent injures, or permanent unrecoverable impacts. 4 are death or catastrophic impacts. This is a somewhat arbitrary scale in that you simply have to lump it in to one of four categories.

Next we look at the probability of occurrence. Once again we place them into one of five buckets labeled A – E. E is improbable, or a freak occurrence. D is unlikely, or something that may happen once in a blue moon. C is moderate, meaning it might happen. B is likely, or something that will more likely happen then not. A is something that you would be pleasantly surprised if it did not occur.

In evaluating our list, we can now cross off everything we have labeled as a 0 or E. If the impact is 0, we are not going to waste time trying to mitigate the risk. If the probability is so low that it falls into the freak occurrence category, we will not spend time trying to reduce it even further. These is the list of things that are likely to happen, and against which we are going to apply time effort and resources to minimizing the impact or the probability that they will occur.

Minimize Probability Risk

 

The first thing I want to focus on is minimizing the probability. Not having an event occur is always preferable to minimizing the damage it may cause. We can minimize probability by our actions. There is an extensive list of these skills and good habits written out in Preventative Defense. Examples are locking your car doors, inspecting the tires on your rental vehicles, avoiding bad neighborhoods and making a conscious effort to blend in. Anything you can do to minimize the probability is an action.

Minimizing Severity Risk

 

The next step is focused on minimizing the impact of negative events if our attempts to avoid them fail. Examples are things like wearing a seat belt, carrying some simple trauma management equipment, and learning to ask for help in the local language. Anything you can do to reduce the severity or impact of the event called a control.

Mitigating Risk

 

As I look at my list of things that are likely to happen, I write our actions and controls that will influence the probability or severity of the event. Every action and control (or risk mitigation tactic) has a cost and an effort level associated with it. The key to actions and controls is that they have to be affordable. If you develop a phenomenal plan to mitigate risk to nearly zero, but it costs a trillion dollars to implement, you may as well rely on a wish from a magic genie. They have to be practical. If you plan is so detailed that it requires 16 hours of your day to execute, you have no time left to accomplish your goal so you may as well not go. Lastly, you have to come up with actions and controls that you will actually do!

After I have listed my actions and controls, I evaluate my list of potential occurrences again and assign a new probability and severity based on the implementation of my actions and controls. Ideally, we are able to reduce both, but the reality is that we are far more adept at developing controls then we are at reducing probability so do not fall into the trap of reducing a probability rating based on a good control. In other words, wearing a bulletproof vest is great control if you are dealing with a risk of being shot. Putting on the vest does not reduce the probability of being shot by one bit.
I now look at my risk matrix again. I am looking for things that fall in likely or catastrophic category. Ideally there is nothing on the list that falls into the 1A category after our actions and controls have been implemented. If there is, then you need to apply more resources to mitigation (Usually money and time), or you need to reevaluate the purpose of your trip.

If we have developed effective actions and controls, things with a severity rating of A should have low probabilities and things with high probabilities should have low severity rating. If we have anything left on our list that does not fit that profile, we need to reconsider our actions and controls to determine is something more can be done.

Putting risk analysis and mitigation plans in action

 

Some risks are inherent in our work and our lives, and we have to accept them in order to be effective. The concept that we can or should mitigate risk to zero is costly, inefficient and ultimately impractical. Since there are some risks that I must accept, those with moderate or likely occurrence ratings and moderate or severe consequences will result in the development of an emergency action plan. The emergency action plan will be discussed in the next article, but it consist of identifying threat indicators and appropriate responses to break the cycle of violence or injury before it impacts us.

This can at first be an exhaustive process, however, a little practice goes a long ways. The more you do it, the more it becomes second nature. The key piece is to find actions and controls that are practical, executable and that you make the time and effort to actually do. Writing a plan that keeps you away from the local opium den is great, actually staying away from the opium den is what makes you safer.

Plan, Travel Safer and have more fun!

First Published at Aegis Academy

About Author

 

- Patrick Henry

 

President

Patrick Henry received his operational training and experience from the U. S. Government, 22 years of which were spent in the Marine Corps where he served in the Reconnaissance, Infantry and Intelligence fields. During his active service, he spent more then seven years deployed overseas in combat, operational and training assignments. After the military, Pat worked as a contractor and as the Director of Operations at a private paramilitary company, specializing in training special operations forces and providing protective services to select private clients. His education consists of an MBA from the University of Southern California (USC), and a BS from San Diego State University with an emphasis in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology and a minor in Psychology. He holds an extensive list of security and training related certifications from a variety of government and nationally recognized entities. He currently sits on the advisory committee at USC’s Master of Veterans Business Program, and is an active member of Infraguard and the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS). He has been a guest speaker at ASIS, the San Diego Industrial Security Awareness Council and other private organizations on physical security, travel security, and competitive intelligence collection counter-measures.

Tactical Handgun Training Day Two to Improve Speed and Accuracy

Welcome to Aegis Academy’s handgun training day two! The morning starts with our physiology, ballistics and legal considerations lecture. Afterward, we transition to the range and work efficient manipulation starting with presentation, and through malfunction and reloading. This handgun training course will give you the tools you need to become efficient and precise with your manipulation. That efficiency and consistency is what eventually translates to speed and accuracy.

Each course comes with access to our online library of handgun training drills. The library contains a professionally programmed series of drills with written instructions and video support designed to reinforce what you learned in the course. Our world-class mentors are available to you after the course via the training log for feedback and to answer questions. We look forward to working closely with each of you to ensure you have the feedback and information needed to truly master the skills you are paying to learn! See the video >>

Handgun Training Course includes:

• Physiology of shooting
• Introduction to Ballistics
• Reloading
• Malfunctions
• Multiple shot engagements
• Access to the Graduate Practice Library

Course Fee: $275.00


You will need 250 rounds of factory-produced ammunition.

You are welcome to fire any pistol in our inventory if you rent from us for the day. Rental fee includes equipment and ammunition; $150.00

Prerequisite: Pistol 1 or pass the skill check on arrival at the range.

Sign up now on our monthly calendar and on our list of scheduled Handgun Training Day Two courses!

Source : http://aegisacademy.com/tactical-pistol-classes/pistol-class-2

Tactical Pistol Training Day One is all About Mastering Trigger Control

Welcome to Aegis Academy’s Pistol Training day one! Pistol Training One is all about mastering trigger control. The program is based of much of Larry Mudget’s pioneering work on trigger control, which was developed at the Los Angeles Police Department in the Mid 1990′s. Most people who can’t hold a decent shot group never got this down and we can fix or teach it in one day. Once you get this part, you can progress to whatever level of proficiency you choose to achieve!

The morning starts with our training fundamentals and conditioning lecture. From there, we transition to the range to start the process of building effective tactical pistol training habits. We end the day with an optional maintenance class to ensure you understand how to disassemble, clean, test and maintain your pistol. You leave the class with online access to a follow on program with scheduled pistol drills which include video support and written instructions. You can log your practice and get feedback from one of the instructors if you have questions or concerns. Our world-class mentors will work closely with each client to ensure you are completely satisfied with your pistol training. We will make sure you have the concepts, information, skills and support needed to truly master the fundamentals! See the video

Pistol Training Day One includes:

• Pistol Training Fundamentals
• Conditioning Effective Pistol skills
• Range Procedures
• Loading & Unloading
• Presentation
• Trigger Control
• Disassembly, Cleaning & Maintenance
• Access to the Graduate Practice Library
  

Course Fee: $250.00

You will need 125 rounds of factory-produced ammunition.

Rental firearms are available, Sig Sauer, Glock, Baretta, Smith & Wesson, H&K, and more. If you rent a pistol from us, you can shoot any gun in the box, all day long! We will ensure you find a pistol that fits your needs before you leave for the day!

There is no prerequisite for this course.

Coming in from out of town:

Stay at the AAA Four Diamond rated Pala Resort and Casino at the Aegis Academy Group rate while you are taking our courses! The group sales link, login and password are included in your registration confirmation e-mail, but for planning purposes you can expect to save 12 – 15% off the rack rates!

Source : http://aegisacademy.com/tactical-pistol-classes/pistol-course-1