Do you have time?

[Condition Red Response]

Comparing the time of technique
An article I wrote just appeared in Shooting Illustrated. You might find it interesting.

(And yes, I know that the camera caught the shot as my finger was still coming off the trigger. If I had realized that I would have sent the next one in the series where my finger is totally off. Rest assured that the muzzle was still on target and my finger was completely off by the rack and roll. Performing this entire process in 1.2-1.3 seconds means a lot of stuff happens at once.)

For video of the experiment you can watch, check out our Facebook page.

 

[ditcherman]

Looks like a very well thought out set of experiments, and a great read.
I will just say that I was shocked that there was not a more significant time delay with movement or the tap, especially from the less experienced shooter. I think the delay would become exponentially greater with a little more distance, compared to the point and shoot distance of 3 yards.

 

[Condition Red Response]

Looks like a very well thought out set of experiments, and a great read.
I will just say that I was shocked that there was not a more significant time delay with movement or the tap, especially from the less experienced shooter. I think the delay would become exponentially greater with a little more distance, compared to the point and shoot distance of 3 yards.

Thanks!

I expected a small increase in time as well. My pre-experiment expectation was that the discussion would focus on whether the added time was worth the extra procedural step. But no. This is why we do science!

I expect the overall time would increase for each position In order to achieve the same level of accuracy as the shooter moves back. I don’t think you would see much increase at the same distance by adding the step left or right.

If you’re curious there is video of the malfunction technique in real time on our Facebook page.

One criticism I had on the malfunction drill was that i did not confirm the magazine was seated with a “tug” after the “tap.” I did not. If one performs a “tug” the time would increase significantly. You can see the iteration on video where i do the tap with a loose magazine and the tap alone gets the job done.

 

[gregkl]

That was a good read. Thanks for posting it. I have been taught Tap, Rack, Roll so I was glad to read that I don't have yet another process to unlearn!

Moving off the "X" is something that I don't do so well. I have taken a class a couple times where we run a drill at the end incorporating lessons learned during the day. You get a "prize" if you execute the drill correctly. The one area I mess up every time is that you are supposed to be moving while you reload. I stand there like a statute while I change out my mag.

 

[Trapper Jim]

Thank you for your work that you put into the education process of shooting. While I understand about shutter timing regarding your finger, the bigger fail in some trainers eyes are manipulating the disabled firearm at arms length instead of bringing it into your “workspace”. Protection, dexterity and better return control of abled firearm are improved.

See you on the range.

 

[Tactically Fat]

Here's another rightly informative video.

Features Bill Blowers - owner and head honcho of Tap Rack Tactical.

 

[cedartop]

Here's another rightly informative video.

Features Bill Blowers - owner and head honcho of Tap Rack Tactical.

Slightly off topic, but he is one of the people I thought I wanted to train with until I listened to him a couple times. I am sure he knows his stuff, but not for me.

 

[Condition Red Response]

Thank you for your work that you put into the education process of shooting. While I understand about shutter timing regarding your finger, the bigger fail in some trainers eyes are manipulating the disabled firearm at arms length instead of bringing it into your “workspace”. Protection, dexterity and better return control of abled firearm are improved.

See you on the range.

Like i said, its a still frame in motion. The gun is tapped on the way into workspace but the rack and roll occurs in my workspace. Video available on my Facebook page.

 

[Condition Red Response]

Here's another rightly informative video.

Features Bill Blowers - owner and head honcho of Tap Rack Tactical.

Ive seen this. In fact it was potentially the starting point for inspiring my experiment.

IMO “not tapping” is skipping a potentially needed (albeit rarely needed) procedure in a malfunction clearance. Thus I was curious to see how much time I would lose by performing it. Now I have a data set to help me decide.

The biggest data set for me is the one showing if i needed a tap but didn’t do one it literally doubles the split times.

On the other hand, if i tap and its not needed, i lose essentially nothing…