One of the prime factors that drive an individual to train with a firearm is to increase their skill set. Whether you train with guns for hunting, sport or self-defense purposes, it all starts with the basics. ATAC TV Firearms Channel can help you with these training basics no matter what you are working to accomplish. As a person builds their skills set, it becomes evident that they can be shooting too fast for their skill level by producing large groups. In a self-defense situation, this can be a problem. You can’t shoot fast enough when you are missing your target. The other problem can be your groups are too tight. This means you are shooting too slowly. There has to be a balance to strike between how fast you shoot and your ability to make these hits. Don’t Shoot faster than you can guaranty the bullets are striking your target or threat. The ideal way to increase your skill level is with Dry-Practice. We will talk about this practice with no ammunition, but the same practice can be accomplished on the range with a loaded firearm. Before we get started, lets review safety with the firearms.

While dry practicing or live fire with any firearm platform, ALL SAFETY RULES APPLY and all ammunition must be removed from the training area when training dry.  Dry practice becomes dangerous if you get lazy or comfortable and complacent with the learning process.  You do not want an accidental discharge with your firearm, and/or nervously tracking the path of your bullet through your house.

Always abide by the four rules of gun safety:

1. All guns are loaded. (Treated as such)

2. Do not point the muzzle at anything you are not willing to destroy.

3. Finger off the trigger, out of the trigger guard until sights are on target.

4. Be sure of your target and foreground/background

The basics of making a firearm hit the target you are aiming for are simple to explain, but much harder to execute until you get enough practice, and doing it correctly. Here are the basics:

Stance or platform:

You must have a stable stance from which to practice. This position is not the same for everyone as each person has different body structure.

• Feet shoulder width, feet flat in the shoes.
• Feet, knees, hips and shoulders in alignment, bladed from your target.
• Knees slightly bent forward for stability and quick movement.
• Bend over slightly at the waist, and suck your belly button into your spine.
• Head up looking to your target with hands at your side.

Presentation with Sequence of Shooting:

This is the ATAC TV 4-COUNT PRESENTATION from the holster.

Get the Handgun clear of ammo, and back in the holster. (Where ever you carry it) These are the basic steps of the Presentation. If you need to SEE the steps, go to ATAC Firearms channel and view the 1911 or Glock Presentation, Grip and Stance, and / or Sequence of Shooting videos. Doesn’t matter which handgun; the steps are basic to all. (DRY PRACTICE DRILLS SHOULD BE AT ¼ TO ½ YOUR NORMAL PRESENTATION SPEED!)

STEP 1

Eyes on TARGET, establish a firing grip on the handgun while in the holster, at the same time move support hand up to mid-line tight to your body as you focus on your target.

STEP 2

Handgun is drawn straight up, trigger finger is straight along the frame, (not on the trigger) as elbow drops down, rotating the muzzle toward target, anchor the butt of the handgun in a rib near your pectoral muscle, support hand in mid line of chest tight to your body. Bring the gun as high as you can and is still comfortable for you. Eyes are still on target.

(This could be a shooting position, if needed, more on this in the advanced programs)

STEP 3

As Handgun is raised up toward your line of sight, support hand mates with firing hand, safety goes off if you have one, Handgun is raised higher into your line of sight, and pushing out toward target, trigger finger (firing hand index finger, if you haven’t figured this out yet?) starts to enter the trigger guard and the center of the first pad your index finger is placed in the center of the trigger and pulls the slack (free play of trigger) out. Now shift your focus from the target to the top of the front sight post AS the sights are brought on target.. This is one of the biggest faults many shooters do not practice and their ability can only go so far. Most often you cannot diagnose what is going wrong. You MUST practice shifting the focus from the target to the top of the front sight post. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP! Shift your focus to the front sight and STAY on the front sight post! DO NOT SHIFT BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE TARGET AND FRONT SIGHT!

STEP 4

HANDGUN COMES TO REST AT FULL EXTENSION, Focus has moved from the target to your sights, front sight level with the rear sight with equal light passing on the right and left sides of the front sight post, (aligning your sights and eye focus SHOULD be happening between Step 3 and 4) closing your non-dominate eye and establish 100% focus on that front sight post. You are ready to shoot!

Start your trigger press until the trigger “breaks”. (It should surprise you) With 100% focus on the FS post, it should NOT move when trigger breaks! Trap the trigger to the rear, simulating a “reset” while focusing on the front sight (follow-through) trigger finger goes straight along the frame, lower the handgun to about 45* as if following your target to the ground, and perform appropriate After-Action-Responses.

Handgun is in the ready position (In both hands, pointed low, about 45* angle) RESET your trigger by racking the slide and releasing it.

Return to holster in the reverse order, from the ready position, move through STEP 3 to STEP 2, and PAUSE. Look around to make sure you are ready to re-holster. The muzzle should be point straight out, down range towards your target.

Move from STEP 2 to STEP 1 (re-holster carefully)

So why not just go shooting more often?  It is fun to shoot, but burning through cases of ammunition could be non-productive to your skills. There are many great benefits of dry practicing you would miss if all you do were to shoot live cartridges.  Practice the entire sequence of shooting, which includes presentation from the holster, sight alignment, sight picture, trigger control and follow through.  As you dry practice, pressing straight back the trigger, 100% focused on the front sight, you must pay attention to any slight movement of the front sight, which will affect the accuracy of the shot, resulting from a mash, flinching or bad trigger control.  You must to be 100% focused as you dry practice, or it becomes a waste of time, or much worse, ingraining bad habits that are hard to fix.

OK, We talked about a proper stance, presentation, sequence of shooting and safety with the firearms to increase your skill set. Now that you have been practicing and your skill levels are getting better, you start shooting too fast and the groups open up. You have to balance the speed you press the trigger against your level of skills and the sight picture you have to make sure the bullet will strike the target. Simple, slow down until the group is about a hand-sized group in center mass. If the group is smaller than that, increase the speed a little. This is the balancing act between accuracy and speed. You can’t miss fast enough to win!

For more instructional video training, go to ATAC TV Firearms Channel. Click the link below for a video demonstration by Tom Clarke on balancing Accuracy Vs. Speed.

Accuracy Vs. Speed Ratio Video on ATAC TV Firearms Channel

Remington receivers - 700 series, Lenny Bolton, owner of Venom Tactical and ATAC TV Staff member use the Remington receiver on his custom sniper rifles because once re-machined he has found that it really does not have any down sides in performance compared to some of the custom actions available. Also, Lenny found that some of the custom actions out there are not perfect and have had to machine these also. Anything that is mass-produced will have variances. The production quantity usually dictates the amount of variance.

The process used when re-machining a receiver begins by line boring the bolt bearing surfaces. This insures the bolt raceway is aligned and is then used as the datum or centerline for the other machining processes. The receiver is then placed in a fixture and indicated at 2 points to less than .0001” misalignment of bore centerline. The receiver barrel threads are single point threaded, receiver lugs machined and the receiver face trued in the same fixture.

Because the bolt bearing surfaces are enlarged to .705” in the alignment process, the bolt must either be bushed or a replacement over sized bolt must be used. After bushing many bolts Lenny decided to design his own bolt. The Venom bolt is made from 4340-chrome molly steel. After the bolt is heat treated, it is ground to an elliptical shape. This means the bolt has a loose tolerance when in the loading/unloading position and much reduced clearance in the closed position. The difference in the bolt dimensions allows dirt to be cammed of the bolt surface when the bolt is closed this also helps alleviate bolt freezing problems in extreme cold. The bolt has a .063” firing pin hole. The handle on the bolt is dovetailed and pinned in position and is much stronger than the silver soldered stock bolt handle. The firing pin is a Venom design and has a .0625” diameter hardened tip and is lighter than the stock pin. The shoulder on the pin is grooved to allow the firing pin to not hydraulic in the bolt in case the rifle happened to get submerged. The bolt knob is over sized to allow easier bolt manipulation when gloves are used.

The recoil lug is also a Venom Tactical manufactured piece. It is pinned to the receiver and precision surface ground and has a Rockwell rating of 62c. This allows the barrel to be torqued much over stock torque without the lug crushing. The use of Spiralock^® barrel threading system makes this possible. Barrel torque has a large effect on cold bore and overall consistency.

These are just a few features incorporated in the receiver portion of a Venom rifle build, and part of the reasons why the Venom Tactical sniper rifles are so accurate. Watch the sniper instructional videos on ATAC TV Firearms Channel as the ATAC TV Staff uses sniper rifles build by Lenny Bolton/Venom Tactical.

ATAC TV Firearms Channel

Founded in 1816, Remington Arms is the oldest company in the United States that still makes its original product, firearms. ATAC TV Firearms programs feature many of Remington’s products in the instructional video programs. Remington also has claim to being the oldest continuously operating manufacturer in North America. Talk about stability, almost as old as the USA itself. This company is the largest United States producer of shotguns and rifles; in addition, Remington is the only company that produces both ammunition and firearms domestically. The products produced by Remington seem endless, and they are known for quality, reliable firearms and ammunition for the sporting, hunting and Law Enforcement industries. Remington products are distributed in over 60 countries giving it a wider base than any of its competitors. Handguns are not what Remington is noted for, as they have produced only a few different pistol models through the years. Remington has focused on long guns by producing many different rifle and shotgun types for hunters, sportsmen, LE and the Military.