Do you scan and assess after each drill when you're training alone? If so, how involved do you get? Do you just do a quick scan to the left and right of your target, or do you do a full 360? If you don't bother scanning and assessing at all, why not?
Last edited by F-Trooper05; 10-02-2011 at 07:54 PM.
"A good shooter with a weak body and weak mind will lose against one who has the physical ability to crush him, and the mental ability to do it repeatedly"
-Kyle Defoor
I try to, but it depends on what I'm doing. If I'm testing a gun, or working a specific drill, I won't.
If I'm doing a more free style practice, then yes.
As I'm ending each drill? No. I neither see the advantage gleaned nor have the time to spend the extra ten seconds (or so) performing a full, 360-degree scan for having shot a draw, shoot two; shoot one, reload, shoot one; or similar whereby I am completing several repetitions in a single minute's practice. By lumping on something extra, I'm drawing my focus away from the skill set I am trying to improve and onto something which, I believe, should be a purposeful movement, and not something that concludes every iteration (in the same vein that, whatever your position on "tactical reloading" or reloading post-fight, you don't simply begin to unload your firearm unconsciously out of habit for having fired the last shot).Originally Posted by F-Trooper05
Having said that...When I do practice my scan and assess, it involves:
-Lowering the muzzle slightly, as in Bill Roger's full extension/confirmed alignment, or going to a high-ready position, as in the transition point to the press-out, to unobscure the target and see him, his hands, and his belt line.
-Swiveling my head (and not my gun, too) from left to right several times, as if I were about to cross the street.
-Bringing my firearm to high-port (or Norte, or Sabrina, or whatever you want to call it) and turning myself all the way around (sometimes), or checking over my shoulders several times. Here I'm not just looking for other people that need shooting, I'm also looking for hard cover, a place to make distance while I make a call, and trying to break the inevitable tunnel vision. Perhaps I reload. Mayhaps I don't.
What I don't do:
-If I am practicing scans, I do not simply shake my head back and forth once, as if going through the motions. I saw this a lot on the Magpul DVDs. No bueno. Sort of like looking up while you're crossing the street having had your eyes down on a text message and expecting it to be enough to avoid being run over. Part of the scan is to break your focus on what you were doing before it.
-Wagging my gun to and fro. A number of switched-on dudes do this, but if you are suffering from tunnel vision AND your heart is racing AND you just had to pull the trigger on another human being, do you really want to be getting the muzzle of your firearm anywhere near an innocent bystander? But you will stop it a metre outside their periphery.. With tunnel vision, might you not see them until they are "standing" on the end of your muzzle (assuming you've gone to a low-ready).
-Making it automatic, as I described above, or in any way trying to game the technique to save time. Paper targets, gravel floors, and sand berms don't actively seek your flank, exploit your blind spots, and sneak up on you. I could get away with all these mistakes, but when faced with a thinking, breathing adversary with a will to end me, I don't want to be "run over".
But for the main, this is all personal preference.
Last edited by zRxz; 10-02-2011 at 08:23 PM.
At classes, yes. Not at the indoor range.
#RESIST
Wow, my approach is so close to zRxz's that it saved me a ton of typing! The only difference is that I do not normally go to the norte/Sabrina for rear checks. I bring the gun into more of a compressed ready position for checking over the shoulder or turning around. I'll also always reload the gun (unless I reloaded from slidelock before beginning the scan) and then perform a status check before holstering.
As for how often I practice it, that depends. Sometimes I'll literally do it every single drill just to reinforce the sequence. But 9 days out of 10, I'll generally do it after my last run of a drill (e.g., when I've just done 100 1-R-2's). In other words, before I holster "for good," I go through the sequence.
Having a good post-shooting ritual is very valid. Mine was essentially stolen from SLG years ago and then was tweaked a bit by Failure2Stop (Jack Leuba) back in '09 when he kindly agreed to share some of his experience during an AFHF class. The best part about Jack's version is that it begins with: "You just shot someone, he's dead, and you are feeling AWESOME about yourself!"
But turning that ritual into a blind mindless habit is bad. I can't even begin to guess how many dozens and dozens of students I've seen in class who "scan" after every drill but wouldn't see you standing next to them if your clothes were on fire. They're going through the motions of looking but they're not seeing. When you scan during practice, actually try to pay attention to everything in your field of vision. Otherwise, you're only building bad habits.
Jack's lesson on search and assess was funny, from experience, and the kind that sticks with you. I think he's going to do great things and soon.
#RESIST
Couldn't agree more. Jack is a phenomenal instructor.
Pardon a little self-promotion, but Jack & I are doing a class together in November: Control Under Simulated Stress. Jack brings years of real world CQB and combat experience, a no-nonsense teaching style that's about results rather than feel-good buzzwords, and great humor to the class. I bring... well, I'll be bringing the targets. That has to count for something.
As far as I have strayed from what Tactical Response has taught me (Fighting Pistol was my first firearms class) , the one thing I have kept has been the F.A.S.T. protocol:
Fight: engage your adversary. Self explanatory.
Assess: ensure he is no longer a threat.
Scan: ensure there are no other threats.
Tactical reload: perform a speed reload, a tactical reload, or a reload with retention. Whichever you prefer, or whichever the situation dictates.
+Take cover.
+Treat injury.
+Talk.
As previously mentioned, I try hard to SEE* not just scan. As to what I'm looking for exactly, that would be pretty situational dependent.If so, how involved do you get?
* On another board, IIRC, someone had an excellent post about a technique called SEE. It was Scan, Evaluate, Engage - sort of a mental note that just looking at someone doesn't cut it, you have to be an "quick active evaluator" for a possible threat or in case of your team mates, injuries. The original poster of "SEE" posts here as well. I welcome any corrections or comments he would like to make.
I've also heard it expressed as "hunt for someone else that might need shooting".
On a personal note, I am a huge believer in getting out of the target focus trap when appropriate and looking around. Had a personal incident where my failing to scan could have been very bad. Essentially it scared the bejebus out of me when I realized it.
IIRC some of our scans at the Farnam class involved the instructor (behind us) holding up a number of fingers that we had to call out. Not a bad way to make sure that you're "seeing" instead of just looking.
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