Shooting_to_Live_Fairbairn_and_Sykes_FMFRP_12-81 [Part 1/4]

Shooting_to_Live_Fairbairn_and_Sykes_FMFRP_12-81

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Shooting_to_Live_Fairbairn_and_Sykes_FMFRP_12-81

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FMFRP 12-81 Shooting To Live

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SHOOTING TO LIVE WIT’I-I THE ONE-HAND GUN DY CAPTAIN WILLIAM EWART l?AIRBMRN LATR A8R19TANT COJ(MIS8WNMR, B1[ANOIIAI MWNIOIPAIJ rOLIOB AND CAPTAIN ‘ERIC ANTHONY SYKES L,\TR OF? IOMII lY’OIIAIUIX EN1PRR9 UNIT, Sl[ANfJDAf XIJNIOIPAL rOLICE ILLU9TRATJ?D nY JtANDOLIW EcuwAnx,t3LADM l’noywmonor lVNBAltT itf TIIII UN WXIt HITr oy I.oNI)ON,MAINLY Fno!l I’IIOTOCIRAPIIR NYhfAJnnr. A. IL, ltNITAO, WA NOIIAI PALADINPRESS BOULDER, COLORADO

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PRICN’ACE IT m~y bo ~aic’1tl)nt tl)cro is mlrcw(ly n, su~cionay of books on tho ono.huncl gun ~nd its umE. Somo justification for an nrlclition to LIIO list tnigl~t be cormiclcrocl to exist if tho subject could IJO prceontecl from a cliil?oront angle, uncl th~t is wlmt is now attomptod, Shooting to Live dcscri bcs methods dovclopcd and prnctimxl during an ovcntful qucwkr of& century and adop~ed, in apilm of their unorthodox, by cm polioo organisation after another in the I’m East and elsewhere, It is the a~lthors’ hope that their relation of theso methods may contribute to tho cfflcioncy, and therefore safety, of those whose lot it is to uso tho one-hand gun in tho courso of duty. Jv’, x. l’, E. A. 8.

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CONTENTS cl!Ar. I. II. III. Iv. v. VI. VII. VIII. l>~EFAOE , . , . . PURPOSES OF TKE ~’ISTOL . . CI.KOOSINCI A PISTOL . . . TRAININCJ: 1%ELIMINAIZ%Comwm FOR RE0RuIT9 . . . . . TRAINING; ADVANCED METHODS . I?ISTOL AND CARTRIDGE . . . I?RAUHCAL I?ISTOL RANGES . . fhOPI’INQ POWER , . . . MISUELLANNOUS . . . . Arrmmnx . . . . . . . l . . * o . l I’AOE vii 1 !) 17 38 ,63 G3 72 81 94

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lLLUS’1’l{A’l’K)NS l?_,~No pos_T1o *~~ ITS J-J~~LIMINAl~~s LOADXNG . . , . , . UNLOADING . . . . . RXCIHJITS’ ‘rAIM3ET . . . . “ ‘1’IIXUIE-QUARTER 11.IP” POSITION . “ J.[ALF-HTP “ POSXTION . . . “ QUARTER” on “ CLOSX?-llll> “ I’OS1TION ‘rWO.~NDED, STANDING . . . ‘l:wo.HANDmD, Pnoms . . . 11’lnIN~ FEOM nEl{lND ‘J’ELEPHONE 1’C)LIC l?LAN OF RANGE . . . . UNIrOTM 1101.sTIcIt AND l.ANYAItD . SIIOULDBIi llOLSTIOIt . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 ELT-HOLSmn 1701L C!uT-DowN l{EvOLvEl{ . PAOE . 1(J-23 . !2(3.20 30.32 34 . 3U . 40 . 47 . 48 , 49 m, 61 (36 . 82 86, 8(3 . 87-88

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A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER The toughest city in tlic world was Shangl~ai. The (imc was the 1930s. The streets were ruled by gangs. Violent gofig wars, murclcr, rape, androbbcrywercthc order of lIIC day. The night belonged to roaming gangs of toughs. In charge of the Shanghai Municipal Police, Capt. W. E. Fairbairn and his partner,, Capt. Eric An- thony Sykes, were determined to reclaim the streets for the citizenry. Shooring /o Live is the product of Fairbairn’s and Sykc’s pructicai experience with the handgun. Hundreds of incidents provided the basis for the first true book on life-or-deatl~ shootouts with the pistol. Shooting to Live tcachcs, in clear, concise terms, all concepts, consi(lcra- tions, and applications of combat pistolcraft. The meth- ods tnught here providccl the basis for all the later n~as- tcrs–Applcgalc, Weaver, Cooper, Taylor, Chapman, Farnl~tin l,IIackatl~orn, ctal, This all-time classic book on combat pistol shooting is a must for the serious shooter.

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1NTRODUCTION Aflcr tl~c successful retreat of the 13ritisl~ 13xpcdi- tionury force from the shores of Dunkirk in 1940, Eng!and began a period of reorganizing its army and strengthening tl~e home guard against tl~c expected Ccrman, cross cl~anncl invasion. At lIIc same time, training in commando and para military type operations was initiated. Experts ~n close quarter figl]ting techniques, and training, were assemb]cd from all over the commcm- wealth and allied sources. By tllc time of Pearl IIarbor the most skilled and famous of these men were also engaged in training special intelligence personnel for operations in enemy occupied territory. Schools were operated under tight security conditions all over the English countryside and in Northern Scotland where country estates of the nobility were used as training centers. In 1942 tllc U. S. Office of S[ratcgic Scrviccs (0SS) under command of Colonel “Wild Bill” Dol]ovan bcgar~ its program and buildup for similar clantlcstinc opera- tions, wit!l its own personnel, w!lcn tllc main thrust of American military migl~t was ready to aid tllc allies in retaking occupied Europe. Captfiin W. E. “Dan” Fair- bairn was attached to the 0SS for training purposes. The writer, a very willing, “eager beaver” Iicutcnant, was assigned to him as an assistant for a one year pcrio~ that was followed by a special duty assignment of the same nature with E. A. “Bill” Sykes in Scotland near the llritish Commando training center.

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Ily acfual records, botlI Fairbairn and Sykes while tvith the Shanghai police engaged in over two hundred incidents wl~crc violent close combat occurred with oriental criminal elements. TIICSC battle scarred veterans were Cxpcrts in fill types of’ close quarter fighting with :Ind wi(llout weapons. Tl]cir training techniques and mctlIods were proven first in the back alleys of Sha’nghai tind l:ltcr witl~ tllc Commando and tllc Special Inlelli- gcncc branches of both the 13ritjsh and U. S. services. Slwo/i)g 10 Live was the first written manual to surface in the field of combat pistol shooting. Its principles and tccl~niqucs were expanded and modified upoJI to fit American needs in the various editions of the wri[cr’s own text, Kill or Get Killed. Many present day U, S. military and law enforcement combat handgun shooting techniques can bc traced back to this book. Colonel Rex Applcgatc

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UHAI?TER I PURPOSES OF THE PISTOL By “ pistol” is mcal]t my onc.hancl gun. This book is conccrncxl with two types only: (1) pistols with revolving cylinders carrying scvcud cartridges, am.1 (2) sdf-loading magazino pisLols. I’or convcnicnco, the former will be rcfcrrcd to henceforth as ‘‘ revolvers “ and the latter as “ automatics.” Tho word “ revolver “ has long been acccptcd by clic- tiormries in almost every lw-qyugo. If “ automatic “ has not yet bcon quite so widely acccptcd, it is, wo think, well on the way to l.ming so, and wc shd not be antioipding matters unduly if’ WG contimm to uso it in tho scnso indicated. Excluding duclling (sinco it is forbidden in most countries and appca.rs to b tlcclining in favour even in tlloso countries in which it is permitted tacitly or otherwise), there seem to ronmin two primary and quite distinct uses for the pistol. The first of them uses is for target shooting (i.e, delihenzte shooting with a view to getting all shots in tho ten-ring on a st~tiontmy target). Its second um is as a weapon of combat. 1

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2 SHOOTING TO LIVE ‘1’hi-sbook is concornccl sololy with tlm Iuttor nspcot, but it must not bo inferred on that account that wo in my wmy ilccry tho sport of target shooting, On tho contrary, wo admire tho high degrco of skill for which it calls and which wo porsondly cannot omulatm. We rccogniso tl.m great amount of patient] practico necessary to fittain such skill, and we can seo that in au it&Mo circumsta.nccs the inclusion of a tmgct pistol in tho camper’s cquipmont would not only be [L so~~rco of pkusuro hut might bo useful as well. ‘1’urgct shooting lms its placo aml wo lmvo no quomcl witlL it. There probably will be a quarrel, however} when wo go on to say that bcyoncl helping to teach caro in tho handling of fire-arms, tnrget shooting is of no VUIUOwlmtovcr in Icmrning the uso of tho pistol rLs CJWC[L~30n Of COInb[Lt, !L’l]otwo t]lings rwo as (IilTorcnt froln cacll otllor ns CMIC from chocso, nncl wlmt lNLS been lcn.rnccl fmm tnrgct shooting is best unlearned if proficiency is clcsird in tho uso of tho pistol unclor actual fighting conditions. Thcso vimvs am the outcome of many years of carefully rccorclcd oxpcrienco with tho Police I’orco of o semi-Oriental city in which, by reason of Iocal conditions that uro unusual ancl in somo respects unique, nrmcd crimo flourisbos to fL degree that wo think must bo uncqumllccl rmywhero else in tho world. That oxpcrionco includes not only annccl cncountcr~ but the responsibility for instructing Imge numbers of polico in those mcthocls of pistol shooting which

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PURPOSES OF THE PISTOL 3 havo boon thought best culculotcd to bring resulte in tlm many shooting oJTl*a.ysin which they am callw.1 upon to take part. Thcm aro many W11Owill rcgMxl our views M rank heresy, or worm. Wo shall bo content for tho present, howover, if in the light of the preceding paragraph we may be conceclocl at Icmt a title to thoso views, and wo shall hopo to fortify the title submquontly by statistics of actual results of shooting affrays over n number of years. At this point it would bo aclvisfiblo to oxamino vmy carefully tlm conditiom3 under which wo may oxpoct tho pistol to be usccl, regarding it only us a combat weupon, l?ersorml oxpericnco will tend perhaps to make us rcgarcl theso conditions primarily from tho policeman’s point of view, l.mt a grcrt.t many of them must rLpply cqlmlly, wo U)ink, to militm~ und other rcquiromonts in circumstn.nccs wl~ich procludo tho 11s0 of o bc~tcr wcmpon tllml U]o pis~ol-thmt is to say, when it is impr~cticoblo to usc o allot-gun, riflo or sub-machine gun. ln the grcrdi majority of shooting dfr~ys tho diktanco at which firing takes place is not more thin four yards. ‘Very frequently it is considerably loss. Often tlm only warning of what is about to tolco place is a suspicious movement of an opponont’s lmnd. Again, your opponent is quite lilmly to bo on tho movo. It may lmppcn, too, that you have beon running in order to overtako him. If you have had ro.ason to believe that shooting is likely, you will be

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4 SHOOTING TO LIVE keyed-up to the highest pitch and will be grasping -yo~Ir pistol with almost convulsive forco. If you havo to fire, your instinct will bo to do so as quickly as possible, rmd you will probably do it with a bent mm, pomihly even from tho lovol of the hip. ‘11]0 wholo mffwil’ n~ay take placo in o bad light or nono ~t all, rmd that is precisely the moment when tho policeman, at any rmtm, is most likely to meet trouble, since dmrlcncss favours t.ho ~ctivitics of tho criminrd. It may be that o bullet whizzes past you m-d that you will cxpcricncc the momentary stupefaction Ivhich is duo to the shoclc of tho explosion at very short rango of tho shot just fired by your opponent- ~ very di ITercnt feeling, wc can assure you, from tlmt oxpcricnccd when you arc standing behind or ulongsido o pistol that is being fired. I!’insdly, you may i-ln(l that you lmve to shoot from somo awlclwwd position, not noccsshrily oven whilo on your feet. There is no exaggeration in this analysis of fighting condi~ions, Xlcre wo have & set of circuInstamcos which in every respect m-o al.)solutcly clifforcnt from t]~oso cncounbcrcd in tin-got shoo~i];g. Do they not call for absolutely cli~crcnt methods of training ? TO answer this question, we must consider the essential points which emerge from our analysis. They appear to bc threo in number, md we should set thorn out in the following order :— 1. Extrcmo speed, both in drawing and firing.

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PURPOSES OF THE PISTOL 5 2 Irwtinotiv?r a9. opposed to +Jilxm.te uim. 3 Practico ‘umlcr circumsta.nccs which upprox- i~aAe m nearly as,,possiblo to actual fighting conditions. In commenting on tho first oascnbiul, lot UB say that the necessity for speed is vital rmrl can never bo su lIloicntly emphasised. T’Im average sl~ooting affray is a matter of split seconds. If you-take much longer than u third of a second.” to firo your first shot, you will not be tho one to tell Ithe nowspapcrs about it It is literdly a nmttor of tho quick m-d tho dcud. !lldce your choico. Instinctive aiming, the second essential, is an entirely logical consequence of tho extreme speed to which wo att~ch so much importcmco. That is so for’ tlm simplo reason that thoro is no timo for my of tho customrmy mids to n.ccu racy. If rcliunco on thoso ~ids has bocomo ll_hiunl, 60 rnucll tl~o worm for you if you mo shooting to live. l’hero i~ no time, for instance, ta put your self into some special stance or to align the sights” of. the “pistol, and any attempti to do so places you at thernercyof a quicker opponent. In rmy case, tho sights would bc of littlo uso if IJ1o light wore bad, and none at all if it wcro dark, as might easily hfippcn. Would it not be wism, thercforo, to face facts squarely and set to worlc to find out hQw best to develop instinctive aiming to the point of getting results under combat conditions ? It cm be dorm and it is not so very difficult. Ihmryono is familiar with the fuct tlmt ho m-m .-.

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6 SHOOTING TO LIVE point hiaforefinger fmcur~telyat mobject at which ho happens to bo looking, It is just as easy, more. over, to do so without r~ising the hand so higl~ m tho Iovcl of tlho Cycs. ‘.L’Imt ho can (lo so may bo co- ordin~tion of oyo nncl lmncl or just plain instinct, crLll it what yell will. l?lcuso try this IiLtlo oxpcrirnent whilo sitting at your desk. Im@no that you am holding a pistol in your right hand. Sitiing squmcly and lweping both eyes open, raiso your hand from tho level of tho dcslc, but not so high as tlm ICVCI of your eyes, and wi~h a straight arm point yo~w extended forefinger at a mark directly in front of you on the opposite wall. Observe carefully now what has taken place. your forefinger, as intended, will be pointing td the mark which you aro facing squrwcly, and the back of your hand will bo vertical, as it would lm if it actually hold a pistol. You will observe also that you havo brougllti your arm across you until your hand is approximately in alignment with tlm vertical ccmtre-lino of your body and that, under tho d irccting impulso of tho masLer-cyo, your hand will bo bent from tho wrist towards tho righfi. ‘JMe clm-nents of that littb oxperimenti form the basis of tho training systcm which is eluhoratcd in succeeding clmptors. We cannot claim that the systcm produces nail-driving marksmanship, btit tlmt i~ not what wo look for. We want tho abili~ to hit with extremo speed man-sized targets at very short ranges under tho clifEcult circurnstancw which

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PURPOSES OF THE PISTOL 7 havo km outlincil ulrmuly. Nuil-driving m~rkf3mon- ship will’ not cope with such conditions. In this training systmm nothing is permitted’ to intarforo with the dmwlopmcnt cof, spooch ~or that row”n .WOhavo atdi.ly sot our fqcos against compoti; tions or rowarclo ,of rmy kind t The I instant that cotppotitions,,with the. accompanying nmchds, badgesr etg, -a.ro introducodj pmn will ,try to shoot doliboratoly, whothm consciously or not and we find.. our object is being dofeot@ I?or long t3hots, and they am noccssary occrmionally, difforcnt methods must ho omploycd ; but ovon for long shots speed must f3till ho rcgarcle(l as csscntin.1, ant any tnndcncy to dolil.xnmto shooting 8hould ho discouraged by such means as the exposuro of the ta.rgots for very brief periods only, The theories involved in tlm square strmce, tlm position of tho pistol in lino with tho vertical ccntm of the body, and the hand bent over to tho right lmvo proved in practico to bo of immonso assishmco in tho devolopmont of tho desired standard of accuracy when shooting at speed. Though stiH very willing to learn, th~ authors doubt now” whether “my other methods would mswer tho-’pm-ticuhw” purposcs invknv. In gonmxd, tho training system given in this book may fairly bo srticl to hmvo achiovccl its objoot, but perhaps it is time now for tho promised statistics to play their part in the discussion. ‘1’he records of tho particular polico forco of th~ +mmi-Oriontd oity roferrcd “to curlier’ show that tho

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8 SHOOTING TO LIVE force, consistently traincclin the methods or this book, has to itscreclit intwelve anuahalf ycarsno less than WGarmed encounters. _vitlcrimin&, Th~ following table, referring only to t3ncounters in which @LoZs were used by the police, gives the results :~ Police. Cn”mina18. Killed . . . . 42 260 Wbundo(l . . ; ‘loo 103

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CIIAl?TEIt 11 CHOOSING A PISTOL lVll open this cha.ptcr with rLwinning. Without an adcquato knowledge of its USC, tllcrc can bo fow things so purposeless and chmgcrous m a pistol, Adcquata knowledge comos only from compolont instruction. If you havo novcr rcccivcd such instruction and oro not propmod to do so, do not buy Q pistol, or if you own ono alrcndy, surrender it to the police. That will help to lighten tho burden of their cares. We shall rLssumc, howovor, that our readers arc sufficiently interested to recogniso that tho possession of a pistol and eficicncy in its use should go hand-in- hancl. I~or thcm, tho starting point in choosing a. pistol should bo to buy the best they can afford” for tho particular purposo in view. If a pistol is nccdwl at all it may be noedcd very badly indeed, and poor qmdity contributes nothing to citl~or safety or pcaco of mind. Tlm typo of pistol to ho choson depends on the uso to which it is to bo put. A pistol thut meets tho ncecls of tllo dotcctive or plain-clothes mm, for instance, is not necessarily suital?16 for individual self-clcfonce or for tho uniformed service man. o

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10 SHOOTING TO LIVE Let us consider first -the cum of tho dotoctivo or plain-clothes mm. IIcrf3 tho weapon fillet lm curried. conccalcd and tho wearer must bc prepared for tllo quickest of quick draws and an indmntmcous first shot, most probably at very C1OSO qumtcrs. l.?or that purpose, our own cl~oico would. bc a cut-down revolver of heavy calibro. llg. 22 (L) on p. 8!) will show you bclAm tl]a.n my description lvhnt wo rncan. Tho wca.pon shown in tho illustration stmtcd lifo as & 045 Colt Now Scrvico double-fiction revolver with m 5-inch l.mrrcl, Tho lmmnmr f3plw has bcon cut off, tho l.mrrcl length reduced to 2 inches, tho front part of tho trigger-guarcl h~s been removed, nnd grooves hnvo been cut on tho left sido of tho butt for tho middle, third and litllc fingers. Now for the reasons for this drastic trcatmont, The big Ncw Scrvico rovolvcr was choson, primarily, bcci.mso tho bubt is of adcqualo sizo for the avcrago man’s hand to grasp in a hurry wi~hout any fumbling, Sf3conclly, it is ono of the most powerful weapons possiblo to obtuin, Tho rcmowd of tl~e hamrncr spur and the smoothing over of what rornuins prevent tho weapon from catching ill tl~o clothing when drawn in a violent hmry. As tlm hmnmcr cannot bo cocked by tho thumb, LI1O wcnpon has to bo fired by o continuous pul [ on Um trigger. With m su~lciency of practice, very fmt dlooting is rcndorcd pos+iblo by this mchhod. Tho sllortcnil}g of tho lmrrol iti for speed ill drawing, —

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CHOOSING A PISTOL II Obviously, it tokos loss time for 2 inches of lmrrcl to omcrge from tho holstor than 5 inches. Contrary to wlmt n]ight bo cmpcctcd, tllcro is 110 loss of uceuracy, at any rato at tho ranges at which tho wcmpon is customarily used. ‘.l’ho front part of tho trigger-gmwd is romovcd in order to climinato yot rmothor possiblo causo of f’umhling when speed is tllo ordor of tho day, Tlm index-finger, no matter of what length or thickness, wrnps itself in tho propor position round tho trigger Ivitllout any impodimcnt whutovcro ‘1.’hogroovos on Lllo bubt aro thoro to onsuro tl]at tho fingers grip L11oweapon in exactly tho’smno way every time. Lest it bo thought that wo aro tllo originators of this fearsome but eminently practical weapon, let us sny at onto that wt3 are not, Wo owo tho idea to a boolc by Nlr J. H. l’itzgcrald of the Colt’s l%tcnt l?iro Arms Manufacturing Compnny, ancl wo gladly acknowlcclgo our inclcl.)tc(l ncss. J?or Q weopon to be carried.. oponly ,by. uniformed policw.md offlcors rmd “men of the fighting’ sorvicce, wo unhesitatingly avow our”’ pmforenco. for ‘tho nutomotic pistol, Wo slmll trout it ws a mutter of porsomd profcrc]lco and Sllnll not Ddlxlso IJ1O supporters of lJN3 rovolvcr for lmving other views. ‘1’l;;y aro quito wclcomo trust wo muy bo tdlowcd do so, in any case, until OJtcr thcm. to thoso violvs rml wo to retain ours. We shall wo have good reason to Wo uro fmnilinr ~vith tho criticisms so often maclo .-..

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12 SHOOTING TO LIVE of tllo automatic pistol. It is said that it is, un. reliable, will o[ten j mnb without provocation and certainly will do so if rend, sand or water gets into tho mccha.nif3m, and ubove all, it is not safe ‘Nlcro hwvo been and possibly still are automatics lilce tl~nt, but ono is not obliged to uso thcm. }Vo think it is only in Great Britain tlmt tho reliability of tl~o automatic is still questioned. In tho United Stutcs, while many people adhere to their prefcrcncc for tho revolver, we have never l~card my doubts cxprcssccl in the matter, and it is worthy of noto tlmt botli thcm and in Germany tho autornntic has long been in use as a standard weapon of tho fighting services. ‘J.’l]crc am in existence types of automatic pistols w]] icll am perfectly rcliablo. We base this statement on our ncturd oxporicnco of tllcm~ over a pcriocl of tww ity years. ‘1’lmt oxpcricnco incl[ldcs an’ intimato knowlc(lge of a scrvico consisting of over six thouwmcl men, most of tl~om armccl with automatics m-d having a surprising record of shooting affrays to their credit, ~r their weapons hml been in any wuy unsatisfactory; twenty years shoulci have sufficed to reveal the clcfccts. But in dl that time nothing has occurred, either in tlm training of tho wrvice referred to or in the affrays in ~vhich, the service has taken part, to cast the slightest doubt on the reliability of the automatic, nor has there been a single, instance Df injury or dcatll clllo to accident. Apart from tllo question of rcliability, wo havo . .

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CHOOSING A PISTOL 13 found that ill comparison Ivitll tllo revolver, illlo automatio oflcrs tllc following udvcmtagcs :— It is easier cmd quicker to rochargo. It can l.m fired a.t fn.r groa(,or speed. It is, easier to ,shoot ,yith: ‘1’llo first point will l.)o readily concc(lcd but tllo other two nmy mcot with opposition. It is probably tho cwso that, Jor the Jrst sho~, tho cut-clown rovolvcr which llm been clcscrihccI is fractionally quicker, but for Sllbscqucllt shots IJlo rato of firo of tho untolnatic is t~]llcll hig]icr. A great cloal of the recoil is ol.xJorbcd ill tllo o[)oration of tho mcchunism an(l tho trigger pull is rnucll shorter anil easier tlmn tlmfi of tllo rovolvcr. Ivo rofcr, of course, to tho uso of the cloublc-nction rovolvor. If tho l~ammcr wcro to Lo cockccl for oncli sllotl, tlio rnto of firo lvou1(I bo fllnorcnl by compmison, A Hlcillwl SIIOL mn do OXCCI1OIIL worlc with tho automatic own whilo mfiking i~ solIncl Iiko L machirm-gun. It seems to follow logically LImt tl~o absorption of so much of tho recoil, combined wi~ll tho sllortcr trigger-pull, furnish tllcorctical proof of our conten- tion that tho automatic is cmicr to shoot with. I?ractical proof of our contention is found ill the training results. Critical observation has clcmon- strated that a beginner cm lx3 trained in the uso of tho omtonmtio in a third of tho time and with the expenditure of lCSS than l]ulf tl~c mnnllli~i tion -..

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14 SHOOTING TO LIVE requirecl for tho revolver. l’urthcrmom, once trained in tho uso of tl]o automatic, mon appear dofinitelt to ncul less subsequent practico to maintain tho stanhml of ehooting which has lxmn atta,inccl in tho courso 01 training. Wo slmll cnclcavour to throw rnoro ligl]ti cm this subject in t}~o chal)tcrs on training mcthocls, and by way of prefaco to Uloso clla.ptma we must introduce rmd describo ono moro point in connection with tho automatic, and this tirno we F3hzll certainly ho accuaccl of lwrcsyo JVO lmvo an invctcrato clisliko of the profusion of safety dcviccs with which till automatic pistols are rcgul mly equipped. We bclievo them to be the cause of mom accidents than anything else. There are too mzny instances on rccorcl of men being shot by accident either because tho sa.fcty-catch was in tho Iiring position w]lcn it ought not to havo been or hccauso it was in tllo sn,fo position when that WM U1O last tiling to bo desired., Xt is bcLter, wo thil]k, to mnko tho pistol permanently “ un~afo “ and then to cloviso such mctl~oda of handling it that thcro will bo no accicIcnts. Ono of the essentials of tllo insbruct,ion courses wl]ic]l follow is that tho pistols usccl shall Imvo their sido safety-catclms pcrmnmentl.y pinned clown in tho firing or “ unsafe “ position. How this matter is taken cam of i9 clcscril@ at length in Clmptor XII. Suffice it to say here that our unorthodox rnothoils havo hccn subjoctcii to tho acicl test of many years of particularly ---

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CHOOSING A PISTOL Is exacting conditions and have nof, been fcmnd wunting. I-Iuving dealt, with wcmpons s~titcd to tho dctcctivo or plain. olothcs mom and tllc uniformed. scrviccs rcspcctivcly, tlloro remains tllo caso of tho privato individual who wisllcs to , carry a gull. In most countries it is illcgrd to do so m~d wo 11OVC no wish to cncommge in.w-bredcing. JNcvcrtJ~elcss, thcro aro still somo oountlries nmcl circumstances in which it may bc ncccswwy ~nd ulvisn.blo for the privato individual to go rwmcd, Our rccommcnd+tion to tho privotlo individual who can .j ustifi~bly claim the right to carry ~ pistol is to buy am automatic and carry it in ~ shoulder holster such as is clescribcd in Q succeeding chapter. We are not greatly in favour of small weapons. No small weapon can possess the strength and rolimbility of a largo one. Tho material and work- manship mmy bo as good but tllo margins of. tolcranco aro too small to provido the absoluto rcliabili ty which is so dcsirublc. Wo rccommcml tllc nutomatio of good sizo and calibro partly bccauso wo aro rumurccl of ita reliability and p~rtly bocauso of its shape, It dots not “ bulgo “ like tho revolver and ihcrcforo is 1CS9noticcablo (~vo oxo presuming that lho privoto individual will carry his pistol conccalccl). Do not forget tho obligation which you m-o under to m“ako yourself thorougldy safo ond officicnt with tho weapon of your choico. Wo aro ofton M&ccl what is tho best weapon to

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16 SHOOTING TO LIVE hnvc in the llousc for purely protective purposes. lr.Osfi of tho pcoplo WI1O rnuko this enquiry know littlo or fire-rwms and say ROquitm frankly. It usually ll~ppcnsj too, that tllcy have ncilJlcr tho intention nor ihc opportunity to make Lhcmsclvcs cfflcicnt with any kind of one-hand gun. If they arc of this typo, wo orc convinced Llmt tllcy would bo lmttcr off with a good watcl]-dog, or even a police-whistle. !I’here m), l)owcvcr, ]nrmy men whoso lcnowhxlgo of firc- nrrm is limited to Lllo shot-gun, in tile usc of which tllcy am botl~ proficient find rcliahlc. If this type of man insists on posscwing some kild of weapon “ to keep in the llousc “ we would recommend him to acquire a “ sawn-off” shot gun, with external hmnmcrs of tl~c rc-bounding type and barrels of about 18 illchcs in ]eng_l. ‘1’ho case with which it can lm i]i[~llip[llutrxl, tllo ILccuracy wilh which it cam lm ~illlo(l, oiollcr l’roll~ lJIo diouldcr or Lho l)ip, and tllo f3~)rcIL(l of L11o Hllot cl]ru”go Combillo to mako it a n] UC1l SiLfC~ and moro cmcicnt weapon than any kind of ollc-l]ald gun ilk Ll]o uso of wl_icl ho is not l]roficicnt.

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c]rL1’’rult 111 TRAINING : PRELIMINARY FOR RECRUITS ‘1’lm courso 0(’ instruction Ivllicll prinlarily to tho Colt nlltonlaLic. COURSE l’(lllows I’clutcs !I’110 climinmtion by us or ul)y IISOof tllo 6ido safety CILLC1l ncccssitjutcs L]IO introduction of sl)ccial fcuturus, u]]cl tllo syshm) collscqucntly differs considcmbly fronl that in uso hy the An_cricm forces, who nro nmnml with tl)is particular weapon. It might be thought tl~at i~ Jvould l~avc been bct~cr to have dcviswl scpfimtc courses 0[ instruction for revolver and automotic rcspcc Lively, but in rLcLu ELl fact tl~ut woulcl IImvo ontNilc(l going ovor tl~o mmo grouncl twice. ‘,1’1)0 mctllods of illstruct,ioll givoll ill tl~is cim~)Lcr npl)ly oql]~lly to {Lny pi8Lol, rovo]vor or [Lutomatic, if Llio rc~clcr ~vill rcgurd Lhcm fro]n t\vo uspccts, making & careful distinction lJc Lwccn tho tlvo, ‘.L’ho first or tllOsO aSpOCtS is mercly that Of the mcchnnics of lJ]c ColL automutic and, wit]] suitab]o modifications duo to diffcrcnccs of design, n.pplics equnlly to any other automaLic. l’l~o second relates SOICly tO t}Lf3 7MI!?10d 0$ ShOOti71~ Lllld thLLt, WithOUt my xnocli..ticmtion wlmtcvcr, applies equrd Iy to my form of one-haml gun from tllo flint-lock onwards. The revolver user who wishes to make use of this 17

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18 SHOOTING TO LIVE cl_;ptcr lms only to (lisrqym.1, therefore, anything which obviously rclwLcs to tho mechanics of the Colt fiutomn$ic. Ho wiil have uo clifficulty in cloing th[l.t , ‘lhe mcchomics of tho revolver am so simplo and so fmniliur by now to cworyorm tha,b it is unneccxxmry, wo thin]c, to incluclc my clcscription of thorn. We woukl cmplmsiso, howmmr, our profcrencos for the very firm grip, with tho fully cxtench.xl thup-tb, the cxclusivf3 u913 of the clouble-action, firing in bursts, for all short rmugo shooting and for tho single-action at longer ranges, in circumsta.ncos which afforcl the ncccssmy tinm for its ~wc. Spcwl with tho doublo- action is attainable moro easily than is gcncralIy thought, but only hy training the trigger-fingm by means of continual snapping practice. ‘1’lm instructor shoukl commence by taking up o pistol am.1 “ proving “ it. This is dorm by removing tho magw~inoj wor]cing tho slido Lmclc and forth mvmal times, rmcl finally pulling the trigger. The insertion of a magazino rmd tho lom..ling ancl un- loa(.ling of the pistol should tlmn l-m clonlonstratccI and oxpktinccl. Each opcrution is clescri~ccl in cletail and illustrated in the following pages. This is the moment for the instructor to point out and give the reason for tho pinning-clown, out of action, of the safety-catch on the left-hand side of the pistol. He should make it perfectly clear that’ the pistol, when carried on service, should have a charged magazine inserted but tl]nt d ~houkl never be curried with a

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TRAINING : PRELIMINARY COURSE FOR RECRUITS 19 rou7ul in the, brcec?b. Ho shoulcl show that whun iL is Cloairod to fim 011 thnt has to bo clono is to lend ill the rmmnor cluscribccl in pare. 2 (c). Ho should then procccd to clomonshato tl)o cxtromu apecd with which it is powiblo to dru]v, 1oI1(1 and firo by this mothocl, which compares muro thull fuvourubly with tho dtcrnativo of clruwing, pulling down the sfifcty - catch and firing a round drcuxly ixy tho brcccli. It should. b shown, too, tlmt tho first mcLhod (wiLli tho breech empty) eliminates tho fumbling and ull- certainty’inherent in the uso of tho 5afcty-catch. With this profaco, all is now ready for tho course Ix? cornmonco. 1. ONE HoUn’S “ DJtY “ ~]JIACrICE (a) On taking tho pistol in tllc hancl, wc rccommcncl, as an aicl to accurutm pointing, that tho thumb J.)ofully oxtcnclccl old pointing forward in tl]o mmo ~)kmo tLs tlio l]isLol l.mrrol (1~’ig.1). FIU. 1.—TIIo Correct Grip. (ZJ) Skm.1 squa.ro with tho tmgot, gripping tllo pistol now as if it woighcd twcl~ty or tllirLy . . . .

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20 SHOOTING TO LIVE ]Joullcls, pistol arm straight, rigid and u.cross tile body (Uig. 2). Bond tho llnmcl slightly to tho right, to bring the pistol cx[tctly in lillo lvilJl ‘ tho vcrtict~l ccntrc-lillo of tl]o body (l~ig. 8). (c) lt:~ise the pistol (pistol mm still rigidly straight mncl piv~ting from tho shoulclcr), keeping it exactly. in line with the vertical cf3ntro-lino of tho I.xxIy until it covers tlm uiming mark on tl]o twrgct (l~ig, 4). l]otJl oycs aro to 1]0 kept open ad. tho recruit simply sees tlm target surrounding his pistol, making no attempt to 1001c i~t or line up the sights, or to let tho master-cyc control the aim. (cl) Inlmcdintcly LI1O[~imil]g mark is cowwecl, pull tllc trigger MI(1 Iowcr t]~c pi~to] to tllo posiLion shown in l~ig. 3 (Lllo “ rcudy “ position). Notes l?amgrmplls (L) and (c) in conjunction with I?ig. 4 rcvcd IL clclibcmto uttcmpt to climinato conscious control by tho master-eye, Instcwl, tllc aim is controlled by tl~o combin~tion of the squa.ro stanco and tllo manner of holding tho pistol, i.e. in tho ccntro of tt]o body, wiLll tl~o llmn(l bent over to tho right, cloments which wcro cmployccl ullconsciouslj in tho experiment on page G. ‘1’llo mastery of this combination is all that is rcquirecl for effective aiming Nt sl~ort ra.ngo, n point wl_icl will cmcrgc more clcorly, . .

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TRAINING : PRELIMINARY COURSE FOR RECRUITS 21 _?~. 9 -. —l?rolimillnry to Rcacly l?wi~iotl. -. -.

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SHOOTING TO LIVE \ \ _i~. 3 .—Roady Position, . ..-

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TRAINING : PRELIMINARY COURSE FOR RECRUITS 23 ~10. 4.—3?iritlg, &m Fully Extended. . . . .

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24 SHOOTING TO LIVE perhaps, in tho next cfmptcr in cliscussing shooting with tl)o pistol held wcll I.W1OW the line of sight. l’rcmbling due to the firm grip will ?wt causo u wil(l snot. ‘1’llc trigger Inust be rclcasccl, not by violent prcssuro 0[ tllc forefinger n.lono but by incx-casing pressure of the Jvllolo hand. ‘Ilo combination of the very firm grip ancl the prcssuro of the fully- cxtcnclccl thumb arc of great assistance in tho proper rclcasc of the trigger. ‘.L’I1o firm grip helps also in two other wnys. It ensures smoother acLion in raising the Ijistol from tllc “ rcacly “ (Vig. 3) to tllc firing position (Fig. 4) am-l it countcrac~s tl~e tenclcncy to raise the pistol higher than the point of aim. 2. ONE Moun’s I?RACTICM IN SA_ET PItECAVTIONS LOADING AND UFJLOADING (n) DcrnonsLrato tho proper wayFI of charging and unclmrging magazines. ‘1.’o clmrgc, press cfirtridgcs dowmwarcla :_ginst tho forwaml uncl of oithcr tl~o magazino pl~tform or tho topmost m%ridgo, as tho CM30 may h, sliding tho cartridge rcarwarcls under the inwrwclly curving lips of tho magazine. If ca.rtriclgcs aro forcccl vortically clownwards past these lips, the magazine cannot escape cleformation. ‘.170unchrwge, hokl the maga- zino in tho right hand rmcl eject the cartridges one by ono by pressure of the right thumb

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TRAINING : PRELIMINARY COURSE FOR RECRUITS 25 on their l.mx+cs. ‘1’l]o cm%ridgcs should Lo Ca.llght, in tho left hnnd a,ncl on no account sI1ou1(1they bo allowed to clrop on tho grouncl. (b) IIolcl tho pistol m in Vig, 5. Insert tho clmrgccl mqyw, ino, ‘.L’omuko suro thnt it is Iockccl in plnco, push Ilp, with tho Icft thumb, on tllo boso plato of tllo nmgazhlo. Itclax tllo prcssuro, ancl it will ho obvious by touch whether tho magawinc is loclcccl. (c) l’o load ihc pistol t[lrn it over, as in rig. G, grasping tho sli(lo firmly with tllo thumb and forcfu~gcr of tllo left lmncl. l’usll forwml with tho right Ilnncl until tllo s1i&3 is felt to Lo open to its fullest oxtcnt (11’ig.7). Immccliutcly that point is rcrmhccl, rclcwm the hokl with tho lcl-t hand. ‘Ihe slide flies forward, tfiking with it am-l forcing into tho brcoch tho topmost cnrtriclgo of the magrwino, tllo pistol pointing to tho grouml mc~nw]lilo (1’ig. 8). ‘1’urn tflo ham-l to tllo “ rcacly “ position (Fig. 3), tlio pistol J.)cing now cocked a.n(l rc[~dy for action. (d) !l’o remove the rnawzzinc, hold tl~o pisLol M in Irig, 0 atl[l rclcaso tllo lnnguzino by pressing tho _nagwino catch with tllo lcll tliumb. l’ho mag~zino must bo caught in tho palm of tho lcft hand ancl should tlmn bo restored to pouch or pocket, as the case may be,. or ha.nclcil to the instructor if tho latter so clirccts. Tho pistol meanwhile mud be kept pointing to the grouncl, since it is still cockecl

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26 SHOOTING TO LIVE F1O. G.—Inserting Magazine.

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TRAINING : PRELIMINARY COURSE FOR RECRUITS 27 Flo. G .—First l?oaition of Loading. .

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28 SHOOTING TO LIVE Fla, 7.—Smond I?osibion of Loading. .

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TRAINING : PRELIMINARY COURSE FOR RECRUITS 29 I?IG, 8.—Third Position of Loading. . . .

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30 SHOOTING TO LIVE Fla. 9.—ltomoving Mngnzine. . ..-

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TRAINING : PRELIMINARY COURSE FOR RECRUITS 31 and has u live round in the breech, The magazino being disposed of, turn tlm pistol with tho wrist into the position of l’ig. 10, and ojoot tho livo round by plllling back tho slido witl~ tlm finger and thumb of tho loft hand (with a Iittlo practico the liv13 round can lm saved from damage by catching it in the left hand as it is ejected). Work tho EJMO back and forth a fow times, M cm m3dod moasuro of sufoty, apcl pull tllo trigger, tho pistol pointing all tho whilo to tlm ground. (e) Dismounting the yistot for cleuni~. A k-now- leclge of how to dismount tho pistol, us far a8 is necessary for cleaning a.ncl of assembling it subsequently, h essential, ancl this is Q convenient stage in the proceedings at which to teach it. It provides also al good opportunity to impress on tho recruit the necessity for alwayw trcoting o pistol m lomloil until provocl othorwiso. Beforo ho is dlowod to pluco his pistol on the bcmch on which it is to be dismounted, the weapon is to bo “ proved “ by removing the mqy.zim, working the sli(lo back rmcl forth several times ml pulling tho trigger, the pistol being hckl us shown in ~jgs. !) amcl 10. Note ‘‘ Dummy ‘‘ ammunition should be usocl throughout this pr~cticc.

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32 SHOOTING TO LIVE I’IQ, 10.—Working the Slide.

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TRAINING : PRELIMINARY COURSE FOR RECRUITS 33 3. INITIAL I?lRING l?ltACTWIB (a) ‘Ih target shoukl be white, not less thrm 8 fcot squaro and should lmvo in tho micldlo u lifo-sizo outlino of a man, fllll view (Fig. 11), ‘.l-’ho recruit is to stancl not moro than 2 ynrds L-Lwny from this target. Tl)o sim of tl~o tmgct rmcl tllo clistomco at whicl~ tllo recruit is to firo need oxpkmation. ‘lho combin~tion of tllcso two fuctors romlors it ulmost impossible for oven tho most a.wkwmil beginner to 6coro & C]CIL1lmiss. WiLh ovcry snob rogistcrcd, tho in9trucLor sots plainly wllmb fault has been committocl und is at onto al-do to corroct it. ‘llm recruit expcricnccs plcasur- ablo surprise that even hc is al-do to hit tho target, and that is a much better beginning to his tr~ining than tho mortification of missing a small tmgot altogothor, withouti knowing in the least whcro his shot has gone. In short, by tho uso of thcso mcthocls the instructor has fnr less troublo, tho rccrnit gwins confidonco, and whoovor lms to prLy for it is suvccl a wholo lot of nmnllllliLion. (b) ~rwgct and distmnco as abovo, tho recruit is given six c[~rh’idgcs. Ailcr clmrging l]is ~nngnzinc, inserting, it in tllo pistol and -putting onc round in tl~o breech, dl as dcscribcd ill l)_r. 2 (sections (a), (f!I) amcl (c)), tlm rccrl[it ~tmls at tho “ ready “ lmsition, u

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34 SHOOTING TO LIVE Ho dlould then bo told to keep both eyes opcm, conccntr~to his gazo on tho contro of tho figuro — < C9{f x 8{t > Jo FIG. 11.—Recruits’ Tmgot. target, bring the pistol up quickly and, as doscribecl in parh, 1 (sections (c) and (d)), fire immediatdy it covers that point on the target on which hia “eyes mm focussecl, returning subsequently to the “ ready “ .-.

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