James Yeager

His killer is in prison. Carry your gun.

Glad to be here.

How about some FREE training? http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14

Here is my bio if anyone cares. http://www.tacticalresponse.com/instructors/jamesyeager.php I hope this forum is successful!

How about a training forum? I will help if needed. I would REALLY love to see this forum succeed!

I made a few more to help kick start the forum. Maybe it will work out. I would love for us to have a TN forum with people that SHOOT! Did you post this forum over on the TN forum on GlockTalk?

By James Yeager People use the word "mace" as a generic term for any type or brand of aerosol chemical weapon. They use it much in the same way as saying Kleenex for any facial tissue. Shop wisely because not all personal defense sprays are created equally. Some people choose them because OC can be carried in some places that guns are not allowed. Others just want more options. The single biggest misconception about aerosol chemical weapons is the "percentage" of O.C. (Oleoresin Capsicum) like 5% or 10%. A person might be led to believe the 10% formula is better than a lower one like 5%. The higher percentages make it last LONGER because there is more pepper in that formula. They do not make it HOTTER and heat is what makes it effective. Let’s say brand "A" uses a very low grade of pepper and makes the formula 10%. Brand "F" uses the highest quality peppers available and makes the formula 2%. The only way to determine how good either of them might be is to check the label for Scoville Heat Units. Heat is what makes O.C. effective. Heat of O.C. is measured by S.H.U.s (Scoville Heat Units). In my opinion, you should consider nothing less than 1 million S.H.U.s, for self-protection or Law Enforcement work. Fox Labs International has a 2% formulation, which increases recovery time, but it is 5.3 million S.H.U.s, which makes it the hottest spray on the market. Another misconception is that the O.C. spray will affect people of different ethnic backgrounds less because they eat so many peppers as part of their staple diet. This is absolutely not true. The three physical effects that you want your formula to cause are a burning sensation of the contaminated skin, respiratory distress, and an involuntary eye closure. The burning sensation is the least important tactically. The desired respiratory effect is to decrease the ability for the badguy breath enough to keep attacking you. The involuntary eye closure is the most important tactically. The O.C. dries the fluids in the eye on contact and forces the person to shut their eyes. If the potential felon can’t see you it will be more difficult to catch or kill you. Most Personal Defense Sprays are available in Fog, Cone (sometimes called Mist), Stream and Foam. Each of these spray patterns has its strong points. Fog is the most effective delivery system because it is the most readily inhaled. It causes the most cross contamination onto unintended areas and is the easiest to blow back into your own face. Cone has a "shotgun" type pattern and is my personal favorite for general use. It has a more wind resistant delivery but still atomizes the OC well for inhalation. Steam is not inhaled as readily but has the greatest distance and even less likelihood of blowback. Foam has an almost shaving cream type consistency. It is highly unlikely it will be blown back by wind and is the best choice for indoor use as it causes the least cross contamination. Foam however is the least effective because it is rarely inhaled. Some manufacturers would have you believe their product is superior to any other defensive option. Nothing works 100% of the time. NOTHING. Not your shotgun, not your baton, not your brain. Do not fall into the trap of thinking your O.C. will handle anything that comes along. It will not. Beware of any company who says their spray is the greatest thing ever invented. I have seen demonstrations of people sprayed with pepper sprays and still attack. Goal oriented people. They are dangerous and you must remain vigilant. You must also have a back-up plan. Just like going to your back-up gun if your primary becomes damaged or taken. If your OC doesn’t work you need to be prepared to go to a higher level of force or be ready to run away. Always keep in mind your self defense tools are likely to give lackluster performance when it comes down to it. If you carry OC as a defensive option put some thought into it. Just like with your gun-holster-ammo combination. Police officers use the OC on their belt far more often than the gun beside it. Consider which spray pattern and formulation will best suit your needs. Also consider placing several cans in strategic locations like in the car, at the office, by the front door and in your vest pocket. Using OC isn’t as complicated as shooting but you do need to practice with it. Many companies sell inert training units that will work for practice but I suggest just using a live can. Practice like you would use it and think ahead and know which way the wind is blowing. If it blows back into your face have you really made yourself safer? While on the topic of accidentally (or otherwise) being sprayed there are some simple guidelines you can follow to speed recovery along. Water and lots of it will help immensely. If you have non-oil based soap available (like Dawn or J&J baby shampoo) you should use it to wash the excess spray out of your hair and off your face. Make sure to get it all so you don’t get recontaminated later when you shower. Never use salves or creams to ease the burning sensation. It will only trap the OC under the skin and cause blistering. Never remove another persons contact lenses, always let a medical professional take them out. If you ever are forced to spray someone you should move afterward. Two or three one half second bursts will do it. If the face is covered it will make it no hotter to spray more and it could actually wash some off. It should produce a reaction within three seconds of contact. If you do not get the desired effect go to your "plan B". Chemical Weapons can be a good choice for people who choose not to have a gun. They can also help us bridge the gap between no force and lethal force. If chosen and used correctly they can be a great asset to anyone who is worried about their personal safety. Tactical Response offers the best chemical weapons course available anywhere and the only quality course open to non-police and military. We open a lot of new tactical applications for this tool and it is one of our most sought after classes. To host a class or for more information or call 731-676-2041, check our website (http://www.TacticalResponse.com), or send an e-mail to Info@TacticalResponse.com.

Did the title get your attention? This article is about you or someone you know. They claim to be a regular shooter. They shoot "X" number of rounds a month. They go to the range. Put the target perfectly square to them. Then they proceed to slow fire the box of ammo into the absolute smallest hole they can. Then they brag to their buddies they shot this tiny hole. I call the phenomenon Marksmanship Maturbation. Why such a derrogatory term? Because the only reason you (they) do that is to make themselves feel good. We want to do things we do well. It is our nature. It is not condusive to self-preservation though. You are not teaching yourself properly. Instead of WAISTING that box of ammo shoot it weakhand, stronghand only, prone supine or MOVING. I know the groups won't be as pretty but you will learn a lot more. If you are shooting a DA/SA pistol why don't you shoot 50 with the long DA trigger? You know the one right? It is the one you SKIP when you cycle the gun and start with it cocked. No shot is more important than the first shot. I am not saying to sacrifice accuracy. Just don't dwell on it as the only thing to learn. My groups are not pretty but I can shoot them relatively the same from any position. Practice the things at which you are the worst. I am terrible with my weakhand. I am concentrating on mastery. My goal is to be able to shoot well left handed (My definition of well might differ from yours.). Perfect practice makes perfect. Train hard brothers.

I frequently get calls and e-mails asking vaguely asking, “What will I learn in this course?†The prospective student really doesn’t know what question to ask or what the right answer should be if they hear it. I have often sent people to other training schools after realizing the student wants to learn something in which my school, Tactical Response, doesn’t specialize. I am writing this to help students make a more educated decision about which course to purchase and from which school. Shooting and other defensive courses (knives, hand to hand, etc) can teach you in three distinct areas. They are mindset, tactics, and or skill. Many schools primarily teach skill based courses (how to shoot better) and their military and police customers love it because they don’t want to hear the other aspects because they think they have that part under control. If you are a competition shooter this is a good place for you to train because you can spend the entire time learning how to shoot better and faster. Schools that do this well are typically noted for the Spec-Ops types who frequent the establishment. You can expect to shoot in excess of one thousand rounds per day. Tactically oriented courses typically don’t have a tremendous amount of live fire. They are more interested in teaching you proper tactics i.e. movement, use of cover, communication, team tactics, and other strategic elements of winning a lethal force encounter. You can expect to see “force on force†scenarios using Code Eagle, Simunitions, or Airsoft training weapons where you actually learn to shoot at other human beings. This is the cutting edge stuff in my opinion. It is FAR more valuable than standing exactly in front of your paper target and shooting it. However you must understand proper marksmanship before Tactics training is of much value other than scaring you into taking a Skill only based class. Mindset covers your mental self, and more importantly your spirit as it relates to fighting. This is typically lecture that stimulates thought and motivates the student to do more than the average gun owner. Jeff Cooper pioneered this area of teaching and his information is the foundation of every schools philosophy. Typically covered are issues like alertness, aggressiveness, your coolness under pressure, ruthlessness (yes that is a positive thing when you are fighting for your life), decisiveness, etc A Fighting Mindset is the most difficult thing to get students to understand and implement. It takes a gifted teacher to awaken and motivate student’s drive and commitment. We have many students who can carry guns legally but don’t. Off-Duty Cops and Civilian Carry Permit holders are, as a whole, a lazy bunch of folks. They will come and shoot in the course but not carry a gun daily. When I learn the secret of how to unlock people’s minds and make them realize they might be next, I’ll be a millionaire. Find a school that cares about you personally, and whether or not you live, after you leave. The question you need to ask yourself is “What am I trying to accomplish?†Do you want to defend yourself, family, and home? Would you just like to get a higher score at the next IDPA match? Or you may ask yourself a series of questions. But knowing what you want to be able to do, or be on the road to being able to do, is the answer to your question and should be the basis for making your decision. The next obvious question is what does Tactical Response teach? Depending on what class you are referring all our classes emphasis a “fighting mindset†and the methods taught, even in our skills based courses like Advanced Tactical Pistol, lend themselves to being a part of your defensive toolbox. None of our courses are purely shooting; there is nothing wrong with those courses. It is just not our specialty. We teach the good guys (Police, Military, and Honest Citizens) how to kill bad guys. There is one last thing I want any prospective students to know. If you won’t be carrying a gun for defense either as a Citizen, Police Officer, or Soldier or you won’t be using a gun in your home for protection of yourself and or your loved ones we want you to train somewhere else. We don’t need you wasting our time. We have an important mission training serious students. We don’t need you slowing us down. Go play somewhere else. So essentially the decision is yours. Mindset? Tactics? Skill? Talk to the prospective Instructor and ask him what his courses offer and compare that with what you want to learn.

There are two groups of people who shoot IDPA and I have no problem with either. One group are the “Gamers†who are constantly trying new guns, gear and techniques to make them faster and more likely to win. They are in it purely to win, and they do win, so they are accomplishing their goal. The other group is the “Martial Artists†who are there purely to prepare for violent confrontations. They have no need “win†the match. They feel no sense of failure after they loose because they knew they were going to loose before they got to the range. This article is aimed (no pun intended) at the beginning Martial Artists or the new guys who don’t know which group they are in, let alone know the difference. If you are trying to “walk the path†I will give you a few tips. First off shoot the match tactically. You can still move relatively fast but do it in a matter that is tactically sound. You will never win by doing this, because you must move slower, but we are not here for trophies. We are here to be better prepared to use Lethal Force in a confrontation. Use cover as it should be used. Don’t stick your whole body out in the open. Use cover even if it is not required but available. Most people shoot two shots per target and blaze away at the next one. Mix it up a little by shooting three shots on every target at a match, four at the next, and all headshots at another. On the last target empty your magazine into it. Strive for 100% accuracy going at your personal fastest speed. Shoot from concealment. Yes the same concealment you actually carry your gun. Yes even if it is hot. The funniest thing I see at matches is a guy with a full size pistol doing really well at the match and take it off and put a .32 Kel-Tec in his pocket because his 1911 (or other full size pistol) is too hard to conceal. This is the same guy who is making fun of my Glock 9mm that I actually carry all of the time. Compete with the gun you carry, and carry a gun you can fight with in a manner that makes it easy to access. After you shoot the last target the timer is stopped. There is no need to “speed reholsterâ€. That is a terrible thing to teach yourself. After that last round is fired pause and scan your targets. Make up any hits outside the “A†zone. I hope these tips have shed some light on how to get the most out of an IDPA match. Who knows you might even win one sometime. If you get bored buy a weakhand holster and really freak the gamers out! Good luck!

Get More from Your Training By: James Yeager I would like to pass along some information that might make you tuition at your next class go further. This is directed toward firearms and tactical training but will most likely apply to other areas of Instruction as well. The motivation for this article is watching students go through the same evolution as I did and wishing they didn’t have to climb the same costly, time consuming, frustrating, ladder. I remember my very first training class. It was very exciting and a little scary. Who were the other pistoleros? Would they laugh at me? Would they be safe? There were many things going through my mind as the class began. I asked myself several times “Am I good enough to even take this course?†I know now that many first time students think that same thing prior to signing up. Many have even confided in me they had to work the courage up to even ask about taking the class. I have also found the opposite to be true in some cases. I have seen many people who think that professional training has nothing to offer them. My first class, like many other students, held the highest amount of information I would ever take from one lesson. Why? Because shooting isn't too complex and after you get the fundamentals (sight alignment, sight picture, trigger control, and follow-though) and technique (Weaver, Isosceles, etc) there isn't a lot left. No matter how "high speed" a class is advertised as it is still applying all of those basic things you learned at the first class. I have been instructing for a while now and I still take multiple classes each year to keep up with the current "high speed" techniques (I also enjoy training), which as I said, aren't that new or that high speed. Being an Instructor has made me a better student. I have learned from the other side what makes a class flow more smoothly. I am going to give you my opinions on what will make you learn more in a training environment and get the most for your money. The Golden Rule is to have an OPEN MIND. Go to every class with the opinion you know nothing. Push all of your previous training to the side and do the class EXACTLY like the Instructor tells you. Even if the Instructor tells you to do something that is alien or never worked for you in the past. I was taught the isosceles stance four times before I realized it is the best for me. I now look back at all of the money I wasted on training before I learned this concept. If you can’t honestly receive instruction with an open mind save your money and stay home. Another problem changing techniques in a class is the fact that your groups might open up as you perfect the new method. This is a natural thing but 99.9% of us won't do it because we don't want to look bad in front of the other Ninjas. So we keep on pluggin' away with our inferior methods. If you change the way you shoot you will most likely have a short period of feeling awkward about the new technique. Classes are not competitions. Stay with it a while before you give up on it. It just might pay off. Nobody wants to take a basic level class. Everyone wants an "advanced" class. I hate to be the one who breaks it to you but they are all pretty much the same. No REALLY BIG difference in a basic and advanced class. Sure advanced classes are different but not too much. Take basic classes. They contain a lot of very good information. I have taken about 7 or 8 basic classes and I learned a lot from every single one of them. I have found that less than 1% of shooters don’t have a firm grasp on shooting fundamentals. Don't turn your nose up at lower level classes. If you think you know more than the Instructor keep your mouth shut. It is his class and if you want to teach start your own school. I did. What you shouldn't do is interrupt and correct him, it is disruptive to the entire class. If you have a valid point to make wait for a break in the lecture, he will want to hear it. Don't tutor other students. If you want to teach.... After you take a class you must practice the things you learned. Getting new skills at a class and practicing is kind of like buying a new car and making payments. After you make enough payments the car is yours. If you go to the range and "make payments" the new skills will be yours too. Skip a few payments and they get reposed. I have taken MANY classes with guys who take training all of the time. At the beginning of every class they have to be shown the basics of how to shoot and they slow the class down. Take time between classes and ingrain those new techniques. IDPA and IPSC are great places to build skill and confidence. No matter how good your favorite school may be you have to train at different places. If your school tells you to never do "this" go find a school that says to always do it. If you favorite school teaches Weaver go find an Isosceles program. Go to as many different types of learning environments as possible. Go to schools run by ex-military, police, champion shooters and learn something from all the different outlooks to be well rounded. Most schools sell more pistol classes than all others combined. Learn to use those long guns, hands, knives and other tools too. Many people will train handgun and nothing else. You always have your hands, you don’t always have your other weapons. You will find your tactical toolbox to be empty those times when you have no alternative but to fight your way to safety bare handed. Show up for class on time and be prepared to stay. I have been to schools that you "trained" 5 hours out of the 8 and yet others where you where begging for a break. Besides your standard range gear take water (Camelbak is best), a snack, bug repellant, sunscreen, and weather appropriate clothing if training outside. Pack any needed medications in your bag. It is perfectly acceptable to call the school ahead of time and get advice on the needed gear for the class. Many times this can save you from buying too much gear or the wrong gear. Get plenty of sleep, don’t get drunk the night before class, and come to learn with an open mind and you will get the most for your training dollar!

A Brother is Murdered One of our brothers, a student, is dead. We will call him Rob. Rob was murdered September 13th, 2003 about five miles from my home in Big Sandy Tennessee (population approximately 600). While some details are sketchy we do know a few things at this point. One of the things I know for sure is that Rob, who was a Carry Permit holder, was shot to death, while unarmed, with his four-year-old daughter standing near him. We have had many students including men, women, police, military, civilian, American, foreign and every nationality you can imagine. I have had a school since 1996 and quite a few folks have one of my certificates hanging on a wall or lining their birdcage. My students are my extended family, and I tell them that, and they stay in my home quite often. I get a constant flow of e-mails and phone calls from them with a myriad of questions and comments about every imaginable topic. My students are my brothers. Rob was a “gun guy”. He owned many guns, was a reloader, and has some suppressors for several of his guns. He apparently shot often although I had never met him before his class with me and hadn’t seen him since. We corresponded a few times via e-mail as he was applying for his Carry Permit but that was it. This incident apparently happened because the murderer, a 70-year-old male, thought Rob had shot one of his dogs. This is a big deal in the southern United States. Many people let dogs run wild. Some are vicious, some tear up trash bags and some just walk aimlessly about. The fact is that many dogs run wild and many people don’t like it. Did Rob shoot one of his dogs? Who knows? The incident essentially occurred like this: Rob went out on the lake with his daughter and two other adults, launching his boat from a public ramp. The murderer apparently waited all day at the rampfor Rob to return. The murderer approached, there was an altercation of sorts, and he fired two rounds from a .44 Magnum Ruger Redhawk and then walked in and did a contact shot to Rob’s head. Rob, and a friend, took a Tactical Pistol course from us about two years ago. He took the course with a Stainless Para-Ordinance P-14. He was about to apply for his Carry Permit and wanted to get some training. I asked why he was shooting the P-14 instead of his “carry gun”. He said he was going to carry the P-14. I expressed my opinions to him that not only are Para pistols too big for daily carry they are not rugged enough (This is not a 1911 bash, it is my opinion that Para-Ordinance guns have terrible reliability.). He was content with his decision. Like with all of our classes we talked about and did a lot of shooting. But our Tactical Pistol class goes into great details about Mindset and Tactics as well. If you Alumni will dig up your handout from my class you will see gunfight rule number one as being “Bring a gun.” Owning a gun doesn’t make you safe. Guns are not Talisman that will ward off evil spirits. To go about daily you must have a gun on your person and a serious attitude that you will be aware of what is going on in your environment. As an Instructor I must, like all Instructors, unlock my students’ potential and in some cases even change the way they think. Many times the change is profound, even life altering, for some students. I have had students tell me after courses they have made serious life changes like making their personal connection with God, making a Will, buying life insurance and so on. They do this because I tell them you should not be encumbered by these thoughts while fighting for their life. Firearms Instructors are not unlike motivational speakers. We must motivate and elevate our students to do things they may never do otherwise. One of them is getting them to actually carry their gun everyday. I know that sounds weird because these are students in firearms classes after all. It is true though that many shooters do not carry a gun everyday. There are certainly reasons not too, but I cannot think of one reason that is worth dieing over. Rob would have been carrying illegally. Was that why he wasn’t armed? I know what the Warrior Spirit is. I know what people who have it look like. I cannot give it to you, you cannot buy it, and without it you are very likely to fail. Without it you are very likely to think carrying your gun is a burden, will get you in trouble, or won’t be needed. What good is a fireman without water? All of that knowledge and skill goes to waste as the building burns in front of him. Guns are like fire extinguishers. You hope you never need one, but when you do you want the biggest damn fire extinguisher you can pick up. I have lost sleep over this. I have cried over this. I have gotten angry over this. How do I reach people? How do I motivate them enough to save their own life? What can I do to unlock the Warrior that is locked deeply inside every man? A good man is dead. Be alert. Be armed.

Ok here is a deal for this new forum. I know it is short notice but anyone who can be in Camden the next two days can take our Fighting Rifle class for free. This also includes free lodging.