Thunder Ranch Urban Rifle...Now with defensive handgun structure clearing!

[sprrdhawk44]

For those who haven't seen them, they're certainly worth a watch.

Part one:


And part two:



Enjoy!

ETA: see post number 6 for video on safely and effectively clearing your house with a defensive handgun.

[TonyF]

What I find most irritating is that his modern contemporaries refuse to acknowledge his contributions as the first to develop an urban rifle program, and that 95% of the TTP's he developed at TR, and what developed at Gunsite shortly thereafter, is still in use today.

That which is vogue today is either fluff or just a variation on that basic theme.

[American1776]

When Clint Smith talks (or writes) I listen. He's a great source of knowledge and practical wisdom on defense with firearms.

[sprrdhawk44]

He is indubitably one of the greats. If you pay attention to what any "modern" instructor is teaching, it almost always has roots in what Smith teaches. I do think that some modern ideologies may surpass what Smith teaches, but those very same techniques that he teaches have effectively been making bad guys dead for many, many years.

If nothing else, this makes you question and qualify to yourself why you do the things you do. Thinking is never a bad thing.

[Gun]

At ~ 26 min. in 1st vid,

You need a gun that works, ..., and if I have one that works, I NEED another one just like it.

This is a Rifle vid, but the quoted statement applies equally to a handgun.

It is great that some have the funding to train with the five or six guns that they rotate out on a daily or weekly basis, but for those who are practical, two identical guns, one for training with, and the other for carry just simplifies things.

[sprrdhawk44]

And here is an excellent video from Clint on how to clear your house. This one is really, really good.



Anybody who employs a firearm for home defensive will benefit from watching this.

[DennisH82]

Loved the videos once I got used to the speed talking I learned some new things today.

[rckeystone]

I've heard of Clint but had never seen any of his videos. Very informative.
As someone with no military or police background I always enjoy these kinds of videos as long as they are from known respected individuals.



.

[Orive 8]

I have had the good fortune to train with Clint several times, as has my wife.

Without a doubt, one of the best instructors.

[TonyF]

I do think that some modern ideologies may surpass what Smith teaches,

Perhaps. But then everything is debatable. What I find most disturbing is the lack of context applied to some of the more modern TTP's.

but those very same techniques that he teaches have effectively been making bad guys dead for many, many years.

I have had some intense "discussions" on this and other forums asking for quantifiable and qualitative justification for adopting anything "new" and the answer I get most often is because some master competitor uses it.

OK. Fine. So I can be bested on a square range with a shot timer using "old" techniques by someone using "new" techniques. But by how much?

Col. Cooper wrote a series of books in the 1950's, one of which had to do with defensive shooting. Bear in mind this text pre-dated leatherslap at big bear lake.

In one passage he addresses "speed". The point he made was that if someone is 50% faster than I am, he'll probably prevail. However, if he is only 5%, or 10% or even 15% faster than me, then it probably won't affect the outcome.

This is why I "shake my damn head" when I see "speed" as prima facie evidence that something new is better. All it does is it turn DVC on its head (or rather rotate it so that "speed" is at the top of the "pyramid").

If nothing else, this makes you question and qualify to yourself why you do the things you do. Thinking is never a bad thing.

True. We should constantly challenge our decisions.

Here is the most profound statement I have heard in a long, long time.

There was a discussion on another forum about the magpul BAD lever. So it's not only techniques. Apparently hardware is also being developed to shave tenths of seconds off of this or that manipulation.

Anyway, I don't use one and don't know if it works as advertised or not. But that is not the point. Context is the point. And it's a form of PII (preoccupation with insignificant increments).

There is a video series being promoted by a very reputable manufacturer of very high quality AR15's (if I couldn't own a Colt I'd buy this guys AR's).

Anyway, the video is just a trailer of what's to come. I watched it expecting to be underwhelmed because it is basically a narrative by one of the latest "instructor rock stars" to come home from the "sand box" and I thought it was going to be a promotional video for his courses or some gear to which he's lent his name.

It kind of is but at the end of the video he stated the following which I thought was very profound coming from a younger fellow.

"Guns, shooting, tactics, CQB, (etc.) is just a form, but when I really whittle it down, it's decision making and dealing with stress and fear and able to make the right decision in a complex, chaotic situation, a decision that most often, is between bad and worse. There is no right answer."

IMO, this statement really gives a black eye to all the gear hype and "new methodology" and supports Col. Cooper's advice not to become obsessed with PII.

Does anyone really think a 1/3 vs. absolute cowitness, or a 9mm vs. a .45, or a 5.56 vs. a .308, or a P-Mag vs. a USGI mag, or a mid length vs. a carbine gas system, or Weaver vs. Iso, or a "C Clamp" vs. a VFG vs. a traditional hold, or (my personal favorite) the overhand vs. slide stop for releasing the slide will really make a difference in making "............. the right decision in a complex, chaotic situation, a decision that most often, is between bad and worse"?

I think not.

BTW, the author of that quote is J. D. Potynsky.