Well I had another epiphany…a shotgun epiphany
I recently had the pleasure of taking a tactical shotgun class from Randy Lee of Apex Tactical. Randy is a master wheelgunsmith and tactical trainer…his smith N and L-frame actions have to be felt to be believed. But this thread is about the shotgun.
I’ve been in LE for 27+ years and was introduced to the short-barreled shotgun in the academy. Over the years my relationship to the scattergun morphed from distaste to acceptance to competence. The thing I never liked was that it didn’t seem very accurate and was very clumsy to load/unload. I even had co-workers take me trap, skeet and bird shooting to try to feel more comfortable.
Randy spoke glowingly of the abilities of the scattergun and how efficiently, with proper training it could be run. I have great faith in his opinion and jumped at the chance to take a course from him. So on an overcast day in September we gathered at a range in northern CA to be introduced to the “modern technique” of the shotgun. We ranged from LEOs, to hunters, to folks who just wanted to get the most out of their home defense weapon.
He started the class by explaining how the “traditional” way of handling the LE shotgun was basically counter-intuitive. We had all been taught to use it in a way, which handicapped the user rather than maximizing efficiency. He demonstrated some of the advances to the design of the gun over the years.
The real eye opener for me was when he taught a method of loading the chamber and mag of a pumpgun, which was completely opposite to that taught by my department. A system of loading that allowed me to load a round in the chamber and four in the mag in the time it would have previously taken me to chamber a round and slip one round into the mag.
He discussed sights, stocks, shell carriers and the proper use of the sling. He had all the toys for show and tell as well as handling and shooting. He covered target transitions, failure drills and the transition from the long gun to the sidearm. He had a great demonstration of shot patterning at ranges from up close out to 50 yards. Another eye opener was the effect the Vang Comp barrel had on shot column density.
We got to handle a wide variety of shotguns during the class. Members of the class had a collection of guns, which had all the cutting edge accessories applied to them. Randy brought out his tricked out 870, benelli and 11-87.
The end of the day brought two great exercises that the whole class loved. One was a table set up with three different unloaded shotguns (each shooter added his own gun to the mix) with four shells on the table next to each gun. Each shooter would move from gun to gun, loading and shooting each gun at steel plates. Each shooter was stunned at their ability to handle all the different guns with hardly a bobble. The other exercise was the “4X4 cut-down.” It was the semi-autos vs. the pumps…it looked like a scene out of “ZULU” with shooters running out of shells and calling for more ammo. The superior accuracy of the Vang Comp pumps won over the higher rate of fire of the semis.
Randy’s only regret was that he did not get a chance to cover all the topics that he had wanted. He didn’t have time to go over shooting on the move or shooting from cover…among others. He felt so bad; he is offering a make-up day to do justice to the subject…what a gentleman.
If you use/own a shotgun as part of your employment or for home defense, I highly recommend that you take his course to learn to efficiently operate your gun. I would even recommend LEOs take this course, even if you have to pay for it out of your own pocket. You owe it to yourself to learn to properly run this most devastating of weapons.
I recently had the pleasure of taking a tactical shotgun class from Randy Lee of Apex Tactical. Randy is a master wheelgunsmith and tactical trainer…his smith N and L-frame actions have to be felt to be believed. But this thread is about the shotgun.
I’ve been in LE for 27+ years and was introduced to the short-barreled shotgun in the academy. Over the years my relationship to the scattergun morphed from distaste to acceptance to competence. The thing I never liked was that it didn’t seem very accurate and was very clumsy to load/unload. I even had co-workers take me trap, skeet and bird shooting to try to feel more comfortable.
Randy spoke glowingly of the abilities of the scattergun and how efficiently, with proper training it could be run. I have great faith in his opinion and jumped at the chance to take a course from him. So on an overcast day in September we gathered at a range in northern CA to be introduced to the “modern technique” of the shotgun. We ranged from LEOs, to hunters, to folks who just wanted to get the most out of their home defense weapon.
He started the class by explaining how the “traditional” way of handling the LE shotgun was basically counter-intuitive. We had all been taught to use it in a way, which handicapped the user rather than maximizing efficiency. He demonstrated some of the advances to the design of the gun over the years.
The real eye opener for me was when he taught a method of loading the chamber and mag of a pumpgun, which was completely opposite to that taught by my department. A system of loading that allowed me to load a round in the chamber and four in the mag in the time it would have previously taken me to chamber a round and slip one round into the mag.
He discussed sights, stocks, shell carriers and the proper use of the sling. He had all the toys for show and tell as well as handling and shooting. He covered target transitions, failure drills and the transition from the long gun to the sidearm. He had a great demonstration of shot patterning at ranges from up close out to 50 yards. Another eye opener was the effect the Vang Comp barrel had on shot column density.
We got to handle a wide variety of shotguns during the class. Members of the class had a collection of guns, which had all the cutting edge accessories applied to them. Randy brought out his tricked out 870, benelli and 11-87.
The end of the day brought two great exercises that the whole class loved. One was a table set up with three different unloaded shotguns (each shooter added his own gun to the mix) with four shells on the table next to each gun. Each shooter would move from gun to gun, loading and shooting each gun at steel plates. Each shooter was stunned at their ability to handle all the different guns with hardly a bobble. The other exercise was the “4X4 cut-down.” It was the semi-autos vs. the pumps…it looked like a scene out of “ZULU” with shooters running out of shells and calling for more ammo. The superior accuracy of the Vang Comp pumps won over the higher rate of fire of the semis.
Randy’s only regret was that he did not get a chance to cover all the topics that he had wanted. He didn’t have time to go over shooting on the move or shooting from cover…among others. He felt so bad; he is offering a make-up day to do justice to the subject…what a gentleman.
If you use/own a shotgun as part of your employment or for home defense, I highly recommend that you take his course to learn to efficiently operate your gun. I would even recommend LEOs take this course, even if you have to pay for it out of your own pocket. You owe it to yourself to learn to properly run this most devastating of weapons.
), and I had a preconception that running the pump shotgun would be comparatively less complicated......