Until I started doing Krav Maga, I never imagined I would buy and have my own firearms. I mean, I live in the city. I can’t really use it for self-defense as it is not stored at my house. I don’t hunt. I rarely go hiking deep enough in the wilderness to carry a gun for protection against animals, such as bears. Let’s not forget the legality issues of owning firearms in Canada.

Before joining Urban Tactics Krav Maga, I have had a small amount of shooting experience with various firearms. I have shot rifles at my friends’ and family’s farms, handguns at a range on a couple of occasions, and even an under and over shotgun. Through UTKM, I have gained my CFSC and undertook Level 1, 2, and 3 of their Tactical Shotgun Courses. Then, I surprised myself by considering to purchase my first firearm. What am I going to do with a gun?

Two reasons why I chose the shotgun

#1 Simplicity. Doesn’t everyone like simplicity? As far as I can tell, the shotgun is the simplest firearm, and that’s right down my alley. How simple, you ask? Well, mechanically it is pretty basic, and therefore less likely to jam or break. It is also simple to shoot: you point the dangerous end towards what you want to hit and squeeze the trigger. Pump the action, and repeat. Simple, right? I know, I know. I am ignoring plenty of important elements here, but you see what I am saying.

#2 It suits me. Shotguns fit my personality. Handguns are sexy, close-range weapons. Not my style. Rifles are high precision shooting machines. Me and precision? Not even close acquaintances. Shotguns are… simple. Just like a basic digital camera. You point and shoot.

Wait a second… Isn’t reason two basically the same as reason one? Yup. So… I bought a shotgun.

Tips for first time firearm buyers

First things first. Try out the gun you want, or something very similar, first before you make a decision. It sounds like common sense, but guess what? Common sense is not so common. If you want to buy a gun for the first time, like a sleek and sexy Glock 17, don’t go and shoot with a side-by-side shotgun. They are worlds apart! Some shooting ranges have firearms that you can “rent,” even if you don’t have your CFSC. Take my advice, go find the gun you like and give it a shot.

Second things second. Start with a non-restricted firearm, before stepping up to a restricted one. Say you want to buy a handgun. You have your CRFSC and your cash. Ready? Not quite. You need a permit to transport, which you will definitely be asked to present when you try to get that restricted firearm. Do you want to get flagged by the RCMP? Go right ahead and buy a restricted firearm first time around. If not, purchase a non-restricted firearm first and learn to use that, and then move on to the restricted firearms.

So why do I need a gun?

I don’t. BUT, I feel much more comfortable knowing how a shotgun operates, and being able to continually get more familiar with a shotgun. My shotgun! I know how to ensure the safety is engaged and how to eject the rounds. I am happier knowing that if I ever end up in a situation in which I have to disarm someone with a shotgun, I will be confident. Thus, my answer is I don’t need a firearm. I want one. And now, I have one.

Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up again. This is one of the better quotes from the Dark Knight Batman movies starring Christian Bale. This not only applies to life, but it also applies extremely well to the military and, of course, Krav Maga. In Krav Maga, if you fall you want to get up as quickly as possibly because we do not like the ground. However, sometimes in life we fall and the best thing to do is laugh about it and find a solution to improve the situation.

Recently we went out to teach one of our tactical shotgun courses. Unfortunately, due to the gun culture in Canada and the attitude of local ranges we have yet to create a partnership with any of them. However, so long as you are using non-restricted firearms, according to Canadian law, you can go out and shoot anywhere in the wilderness that is designated Crown Land (Federal Government). As such, we have our favourite spot to teach. This spot however, is a long drive into the middle of nowhere and really requires a suitable off-road vehicle. Luckily for us, Borhan has a Honda C-RV, albeit an old one but still reasonably capable off-road.

Normally when we do the course at least one other person has an off-road vehicle, however this time what we got was a Mini cooper and an older Toyota Corolla. We only had room for one extra person in the C-RV due to all the equipment, and the rest packed into the Corolla to make the slow trip (for them) up the dirt road filled with potholes and rocks.

I, Borhan, and a student led the way barreling across the road to get to our favourite spot before anyone else took it. Borhan enjoys off-roading as he was trained by the Canadian military to do so. Off-roading is where he can be free to drive without worry of hitting another vehicle or be hit by one…again. Due to the fact that the tires were worn, and the C-RV is old, Borhan decided to play it safe and stick to the side of the road with less potholes. However, what is off-roading without a little speed.

There we were, driving and minding our own business, when suddenly a vicious rock decided to jump in front of the car. “Good thing the army taught me how to drive off-road” he said, but before the period could be placed in the sentence the attack rock made its move. WIth a loud thunk and some poor timing, the next thing we know we are smack in the middle of a ditch in 2 feet of mud. Oh the irony, it’s a good thing the army taught him how to drive! The comic timing was far too perfect, something like the Kodak moments of the 90s that we only wish we could have had on film, lest no one believe us that he actually said it 2 seconds before we were attacked and pushed into the ditch by the devious rock!

At this point we were tilted at an angle in the ditch. Carefully I opened the door, getting out only to sink in the 2 foot deep mud puddle. Making it back to the safety of the road I managed to take this picture of Borhan getting out of the vehicle before Borhan got his revenge on the rock and threw it into the woods.

We had to wait about 10 minutes for the overloaded off-roading Corolla to show up with help to see if we could come up with solutions. Those in the Corolla looked at the vehicle ominously. However, I had seen enough IDF Hummers stuck in sand and ditches to know when a stranded vehicle could be pulled out to safety. My original thought was to use all 6 of us to pull the car out but alas, we had no ropes. Although I suspect even if we did have ropes nobody would have wanted to. I know we could have, as I remember a time in the army when a car had parked in front of our bus. About 7 of us got out and physically lifted the car out of the way. But, being the only one with this experience the others were doubtful.

Then it was suggested we find someone with a truck to pull us out. This area is full of rednecks and trucks so we knew it wouldn’t be too hard. The off-roading Toyota which was faring far better than the Honda in the ditch left on its mission. In the meantime about 3 SUVs passed us without a care in the world. How times have changed.

We began to unload the car to make it easier to deal with when help finally came. As well, we began to find lumber and branches to create a ramp under the right front tire to give it some traction in the mud. Though we did not have rope we took a small bungee cord and lashed together the logs into our small makeshift bridge.

Eventually the Corolla came back with a friend. An old green and grey Ford F250 showed up. The door opened and out stepped an older, bearded, toothless man that looked like he was fresh out of the show Duck Dynasty. The man (of which I never did get his name) handed us two small crane rigging lengths with some shackles. We hooked it up to the frame in the front and got ready. Borhan started the engine only to have it stall; I guess the car didn’t like being in the ditch after all. He popped it into neutral and told the old man to give it some gas. It must have been my light-hearted spirit that gave the car some lift because it literally took 5 seconds to pull the car out. Disaster averted. Checking the car for damage, of which there was none, we loaded up the vehicle, thanked the old man, and headed out to start our now somewhat delayed course.

In the end this potential disaster turned out to be quite the fun adventure, and not only that it allowed us to bond. Group problem solving can often bring people together, at least when there is success. This really made me feel like I was back in the army. After this near-death rock attack that only slowed us a little, we set up for the course. The course itself ran quite well except for the fact that the delay allowed someone to take our favorite spot, but that’s ok, it could have been worse.

So, why do we fall? Or in this case, crash into a ditch. So that we can pick ourselves up again. Every bad situation has a silver lining. In this case we were fairly lucky, but I am confident that even if things had been worse we still would have had a wonderful bonding experience. Life does not always work the way we want it to, but as long as we keep smiling, find a solution and learn from it, everything works out for the better.

Israeli Combat Pistol is based upon the Instinct shooting method; it can also be called Israeli Point Shooting. The Instinct shooting method is nothing new; it s origins can even be traced back to the age of bows and arrows. Tactical gurus such as William E. Fairbairn, Eric A. Sykesand Rex Applegatepromoted Instinct shooting in their FSA (Fairbairn, Sykes and Applegate) shooting method back in the 1930s and 40s. You can also see the Instinct shooting method in 1944 US Army pistol training videos. Later on, most US Military and Law Enforcement (LE) agencies promoted the use of sight in their pistol training. However, lately Instinct shooting has shown a comeback in the US. Chris Costa demonstrated some form of Instinct shooting in his Magpul training videos.

Israel has always been adapting point / instinct shooting for their LE & MIL personnel (Shakbak, Mossad, IDF….) for years. Part of the reason might be because it is a much cheaper and easier method compared to other methods. It is also very fast to use. Compared to the American shooting method, Instinct shooting is very rough and simple, but rough and simple is what will stick in your mind in the heat of combat. Israeli Point Shooting emphasizes using shooters as a moving platform, which can acquire targets quickly, shootingwith both the strong hand and weak hand, and using the extra hand for other tasks such as protecting VIPs. This course will be conducted with bluegun and airsoft gun. Only in Level02 Israeli combat pistol students will use real firearms. In this course, it is not merely about shooting but learning how to deal with dynamic situations with firearms.

Like this:

Dan and I were freezing in order to take these photos. Sadly ! none of these photos were ever used by my editor.

I personally love this one. It has this really dirty grunt German soldier look.

Funny story ! We weren’t able to find a full set of MARPAT and matching vest in time. However, this misfutrune actually create a very realistic soldier look. After all in real life, everything is either too large or too small or wrong color.

I really think this photo going to make front cover of TARGET. Sadly ! I was wrong again. 🙂

At the 2009 Taipei Aero Defense Show, I was fortune enough to befriend the general manager of US Ordnance, Mr. Steve Hezler. I had made an appointment to visit US Ordnance’s facility inNevada.USOrdnance is a legend within the industry; this company successfully improved the performance of the M60, and also transformed the M60’s role from a GPMG into light weight Squad Support Weapon. Since 1957, many companies and military units have tried to improve the M60’s performance and reduce its weight. In the ’90s, SACO Defense took over the project and by the year 2000 General Dynamic merged SACO Defense and along with it, its M60 project. Nonetheless, General Dynamic had little interests in the M60 project at the time and decided to transfer the project to US Ordnance. Currently US Ordnance’s main product line includes the H2B 50, M60 E4, M60 D Enhanced and M60 Upgrade kit, the M 4 Series and M40A3 Sniper rifle. US Ordnance’s M60 GPMG includes two series; M60E4 GPMG (Naval Code MK43) and M60 D. M60E4 Mod 0 has no pictanny rail nor hand grip but Mod 1 does.

US Ordnance realizes that many countries have a huge quantity of old M60 and have little interest buying new machine guns due to budget. In response to that, US Ordnance supplys M60 upgrade kit which cost 40 % less than a brand new M60 E4 but capable of matching the ability of a brand new gun. US Ordnance’s Small Arms Readiness Evaluation Team with Repair (SARET-R) program always come with their products and go where the front line soldiers are; these location range from Philippine South to Columbia jungle. An additional product value SARET-R brings is the knowledge of proper fixing small arms. In most military, soldiers and even armors were taught in certain way to maintain and repair firearm though generation of experience instead proper mechanical and armor training. Sadly, many these methods were wrong and can damage the weapons.

During my visit, Mr. Hezler mentioned that some factories fromAsiaoffered that they can supply some parts for US Ordnance but US Ordnance had to decline due to their heat treatment standard. This leads to our conversation about what the difference between “Military Specification” and “Military Standard“ is. Many weapon industries advertise that their products are Mil-Spec but what Mil-Spec means is following a government design on specific products. What is more important is Mil-Standard. Military Standard means a specific requirement on materials and product quality for the weapon system regardless of the current market value of the material. Companies without such ties with theUSgovernment can purchase cheaper materials and reduce expensive heat treatment to maintain profit margin according to the market; therefore causing a reduction of the quality.

Mk43 Testing

I have my fair share of experience dealing with GPMG, having spent some time in Armor Reconnaissance Unit with the Canadian Forces. In the CF, we used C6 GPMG (USmilitary designation: M240 or FN MAG) in various roles including as a platoon support weapon. The C6 is an excellent weapon system but its weight or 11.79 KG and length of 1,263 cm make it almost impossible to shoot it from a standing or kneeling position. While the new Mk43 only weighs 9.53 Kg, and its length of 939.8 cm is even shorter than the M249’s 1,041 cm. Because of that, Mk43’s weight balances very well upon shooter’s upper body.

Shooting in kneeling and standing positions, the MK43 can easily project rounds 100 meters away with great accuracy. While firing short bursts, the MK43 has a lower firing rate compares to FNMAG. This is because the MK43 has larger gas chamber because of that slower action movement. Along with slower action movement, the MK43 hydraulic buffer reduces the recoil to a minimum.

Shooting an MK43 from prone position is harder than shooting an M240. My experience while shooting the M240 involves putting my left hand on the buttstock and using the bipod to move muzzle. Because the MK43 is shorter, its bipod is a lot closer to user’s body, it is slightly harder to move the muzzle. However, this is a small price I would willingly pay to have a 7.62 mm Squad Support Weapon. Of all the weapons I have ever cleaned, the MK43 is one of the cleanest after fire and it only requires a little CLP. This is because MK43’s action is a tube instead a metal box like the FNMAG, while the MK43’s action travels with less friction inside the gun itself. A few drops of CLP on the MK43‘s action will be good enough. This feature makes a life and death difference in desert environments, where too much CLP causes jamming.

Cpl Medrano ( CDN Army ) and I were cleaning our own mess after range.

Above: M240 breach block assembly Bottom: Mk43 bolt carrier assembly

In today’s battlefield, many soldiers are not satisfied with the penetration power of 5.56 rounds. The M249 SAW shows its disadvantages when it comes to range and buildings. Soldiers are fond of the 7.62 mm GPMG but its weight and design make it impossible to serve the role of a squad support weapon. The MK 43 becomes a perfect match point between the two worlds, having enough fire power as a GPMG but light enough to be carried around like a SAW.