Outstanding video about setting up a Carbine

[SteyrAUG]

I'm not an "operator", but I'm not an un-trained shooter either. My instinct has always been to be as small of a target as possible. Arms tucked in and head as low as practically possible are just an instinctual thing for me if there's a chance of incoming bullets.

I'll have to click on the video at home for the full story though.

Sure...BUT...if you are running in the open AND shooting...having your head bent down or over to the side so you can see your optics makes you move slower and with a bit more disorientation.

It's also a really easy thing to work out. Set up a target 25 yards out and run at it while shooting it as many times as possible. You will see immediately what they are talking about and I'm referring to. Nobody needs to be an operator but most of us never do it because 90% of our shooting is slow, deliberate, cut the pie / keep the cover stuff. And when we do run, it's from stage to stage rarely shooting while we run...and in those instances where we do shoot on the run it's usually lateral fire to the side. As a result almost everything most people do at the range has taught them to "get small" just like you are talking about.

Most of this is because more ranges do NOT want guys running and gunning because there is a serious safety consideration if they happen to trip or fall. But if you have to do it, it's a bit different.

[SteyrAUG]

I have noted the mounts seem to be getting taller and taller too.

He really hit on some important things.

If I'm shooting a FAL or a G3, I do need the gun in my shoulder. But If I'm shooting a M4 or a MP5, I really do put it on my collar bone in a high hold just like both guys mention in both videos. The recoil really isn't there so you can shoot strings on the move and keep it tight. His comments about situational awareness and seeing your whole environment are what I was taught as well.

And honestly I've been doing this since 1985 running a Colt 3x optic on a SP1 carbine. I didn't figure out the high hold completely until somebody showed it to me 10 years later and explained all the nuts and bolts of it. But I was about halfway in between and when guys told me they couldn't shoot accurately without a complete cheek weld, I didn't fully understand what they were talking about because it really wasn't hard.

I also think height over bore was a big driver of a lot of that "low on the gun" stuff. If you don't have to calculate offset, your shooting gets a little easier, but I've been doing AR and HK sights with their height over bore for a long time. Eotechs on rails co witness so that wasn't a huge challenge for me, but going lower than that took some doing, especially if I had to move and shoot.

Going higher than standard AR sights was no big deal because I had been shooting optics on carry handles for several years.

[markm]

I tried to watch this last night, but it was too long. I'll hit it when I'm on the treadmill. I'm too busy to watch long form any other time.

[Uncas47]

One's physical stature needs to be considered, what DJ runs would be too high for some folks, like me. It has to fit, or no bueno.

[Entryteam]

Cool romance, but you Can't shoot if bullets hit your head.

well, yeah.... but that doesn't matter where your head is or is not... that can always happen. The ONLY way to mitigate it, personally, is hits on target. So, be comfortable. Whichever way you are.

[ViniVidivici]

Exactly. Whatever helps YOU get good hits on targets fastest is where you should be going with your equipment.

[markm]

Exactly. Whatever helps YOU get good hits on targets fastest is where you should be going with your equipment.

We have some special olympians here who entertain the idea of a bird gun for home defense. (recent thread) They'd count 9 pellets as nine hits on vital organs if they could.

[kirkland]

I dunno, I'm still running a Larue 660 mount on my T1. Still works for me.

[Entryteam]

Exactly. Whatever helps YOU get good hits on targets fastest is where you should be going with your equipment.

And I totally agree with what he says about breaking your cheekweld being a bad idea. I've always BEEN taught that, practiced it, and taught it to my rookies/students. Only hits count, peeps.

[SteyrAUG]

One's physical stature needs to be considered, what DJ runs would be too high for some folks, like me. It has to fit, or no bueno.

Exactly. Whatever helps YOU get good hits on targets fastest is where you should be going with your equipment.

Bears repeating. Few things are "one size fits all." I also think experience factors in, if you have been doing something effectively for 10 or more years, you aren't gonna shitcan it and restart from zero, you might adopt parts of new methods that can be integrated into how you do things or make small modifications.

Tactics also evolve over the years, back in the late 80s, early 90s everything was all about "dominate the room" and how fast you could get you and your buddies through the door and start shooting bad guys. Sometime about 10 years later it changed to small slices of the pie even if it meant you and your guys stayed on the other side of the door until it was time to check the hard corners. Both strategies have merit and risk.

I have tried to learn a lot of things from a variety of informed people so I will understand options and hopefully choose the best one for any given situation. This applies to weapons and gear.

Also the guys who hunt Bin Ladens for a living generally are not doing personal defense tactics, they by design are far more aggressive / proactive than somebody shooting in defense of their person or home. Taliban hunters and hostage rescue require you to hang your ass out in the wind a little further and that explains much of what they do and why they do it that way.

There are things regular military does that I'll probably never need to know or use. A lot of platoon level tactics really aren't gonna apply to a lone home defender.