Tactical Training, and why choosing the right instructor is vital

Any training can be used against you in a court of law.

Hope you’re having a good weekend. Short post today.

BACKGROUND

I was recently listening to an Instagram Live conversation between several ex-Special Operations guys who currently train SWAT Teams all over the country. These guys have seen combat, are considered some of the best shooters and firearm tacticians in the world, and are consulted for their expertise behind a gun by police departments with billion dollar budgets, and even other Special Operations units in the US military. They’re the best of the best, so to say.

A recurring point of their conversation was the disdain they had for the current “Tactical Training Industry” that’s mostly advertised through social media. All over Instagram and YouTube you have hundreds, maybe thousands, of guys who put on some body armor, grab an AR-15, and suddenly sell themselves as tactical experts. Some will even attempt to sell training classes to the general public and even police departments!

This is absurd and dangerous for a number of reasons. First of all, speaking authoritatively about things you don’t have experience or validated training with is liable to get people killed. This is almost self evident. Would you try to learn how to drive a race car from a guy who has never been a race car driver? Would you take exercise advice from a guy with no athletic achievements and a skinny-fat physique?

Madness.

On a less obvious note, and something one of the guys in the Instagram Live session pointed out that I’d be remiss not to mention, is the potential criminal or civil liability of acting on poor advice. Let me explain:

THE NGMI MOVE

Let’s say you learned “Defensive Firearm Tactics” from Joe-Schmo on YouTube and you end up having to shoot and kill someone in self defense. Now lets imagine that shooting was under “iffy” circumstances. Maybe the guy had a knife, but was 10 yards from you and though he ran towards you, didn’t show obvious intent to kill or seriously injure you. Maybe the only witness to the shooting was the other guy’s sister, and she’s saying you killed her brother in cold blood.

Now, you may be spared criminal charges because you have a great lawyer, but the sister and family file a Wrongful Death lawsuit against you in Civil Court. You get deposed, and you HAVE to acknowledge the questions from opposing counsel. “Pleading the Fifth” will actually count against you.

“Ser, why did you shoot my client’s brother?”

“Because I believe he posed a threat”

“What lead you to believe that? What informed your decision to make that judgement of my client’s brother’s intent?”

“It’s what I learned from Joe Schmo on YouTube”

Soon enough, you’ve lost most or all of your entire net worth, and instead of making it to Degen Island you’re lining up for Old Country Bug Buffet. Hope you saved enough to make your monthly pledge to Joe Schmo’s Patreon. Like and Subscribe!

So…..how can we prevent this?

THE REMEDY

Because we’re Gonna Make It, we’re going to follow some straightforward rules: Only seek out training from people with Industry Recognized Certification, or who have relevant experience to the point where they train Professionals.

First thing you need to do is to judge your current skill level. If you don’t even have basic competency with a gun, there’s really no reason to try to take a tactical shooting class. I never took one until I had been a cop for a year and I could get a perfect score on my state’s police handgun qualification trial (not a particularly impressive accomplishment by any means, but at least it suggested I had a base level of skill).

I am absolutely of the opinion that you can teach yourself to shoot up to the intermediate skill level, however there is still value to taking a Basic Handgun and/or Concealed Carry course from one of the following institutions

• National Rifle Association

• United States Concealed Carry Association

• Rangemaster (this is a little more advanced and not for true newbies)

If you want to go further along than this, it’s time to train with the big dogs. That means training like a professional shooter.

All of the guys in that Instagram Live session I mentioned offer training to civilians alongside their Law Enforcement and Military clients. One cool thing about the USA is that the best training in the world is available to anyone willing to pay for it. You can hire the same pistol instructors that the Navy SEALs and Army Rangers use.

Here’s some guys I like, based off my own training experiences, experiences of my friends, and the experiences of people I know who are “in the know” about these manner of things:

• Patrick McNamara / TMACs Inc

• Sage Dynamics

• Xray Alpha

• Vickers Tactical

• Modern Samurai Project

Disclaimer: Bowtied Caiman will NEVER claim to provide Tactical Training

Aside from being an anonymous cartoon alligator on the internet, I personally dislike talking about things I have no experience with. I will never ever claim to be an expert on tactical shooting, or try to sell services as such. I was a patrol cop for 3 years and have less than 24 hours of professional gunfighting instruction under my belt. Nor was I ever SWAT or in a “tactical” unit. If you want to learn how to clear rooms, I am not your guy.

I will certainly try to help the “Average Joe” become a more competent shooter when asked (and may be offering this as a WiFi money service to the public very soon, wink wink) but you should take all the anecdotal advice I give on tactics with a grain of salt. However, pretty much anything I’ve recommended in the past can be corroborated with a little bit of research. I may not be an SME, but I don’t pull things out of my ass (usually)

TLDR

Go out there and train. Get Good, Quality, Training. Don’t Get Stupid Training.

Please share this lesson with friends and family. Enjoy the rest of your weekend