Dick Metcalf "Survival Tools" on PDTV...WTF???

[nickdrak]

I know this guy has been around for a loooong time, but c'mon man!!! Every time I watch PDTV and see his segment, I am amazed at how many unsafe weapon handling skills he displays during his short segment. I just watched the latest episode, and he loads and unloads his Taurus semi-auto with his finger on or near the trigger, and the cameraman always seems to zoom in on exactly what he is doing wrong. He constantly places his hand directly in-front of the muzzle on almost every pistol I have seen him handle. And I have never seen him actually hit anything that he is shooting at, he just simply fires as fast as he can with NO trigger control. He also tends to put out tons of useless gun-rag fantasy info as if it is gospel, such as you need to fire off the ammo you have loaded in your guns once a month, and that "second strike" capability on a semi-auto pistol is a mandatory feature on any self-defense pistol. Hell, I think I will start teaching my shooters to stand there and keep pulling the trigger until the pistol goes bang in the event of a FTF:rolleyes:

He seems like a nice enough guy, but WHY is he on TV teaching this nonsense??? PDTV usually has atleast some valid/useful info during each episode coming from Clint Smith and some of the other instructors they have appear on the show, but Metcalf's segment really puts alot of useless and dangerous info out there for millions to see.

[Chooie]

Simple... he's a gun writer, not an instructor. He's one of those guys that gets free stuff, waxes ecstatic about it in print, and makes the manufacturers happy. Notice how he had the Taurus rep standing next to him while discussing the second strike capability of... a Taurus pistol?


Let us not also forget that the show was heavily sponsored just to get it off the ground. It was a new concept show with very un-pc content, so those manufacturers that were willing to throw money at it got more airtime. Have you ever seen them shoot anything OTHER than Hornady TAP?

[dewatters]

Metcalf was the same person who claimed that the Colt 2000 All American instantly obsoleted every other semiauto pistol in existance. He also once made a claim of shooting some outrageous number of .44 Magnum rounds every year. A writer at "American Handgunner" did the math, and discovered that quantity would require non-stop shooting all day, every day for the full year.

[mac83083]

The guy who runs my local gun shop used to build custom 1911 pistols before he started his retail shop. He was at the IPSC nationals one year and Metcalf told him that if would give him one of the pistols he would right a favorable article about them and that having the name Dick Metcalf associated with his guns would make him a major player in the custom 1911 market. My dealer refused and still wonders if he made the right choice.

[Jay Cunningham]

Who??

[Medicine Calf]

Who??

Dick.

[JohnN]

I know this guy has been around for a loooong time, but c'mon man!!! Every time I watch PDTV and see his segment, I am amazed at how many unsafe weapon handling skills he displays during his short segment. I just watched the latest episode, and he loads and unloads his Taurus semi-auto with his finger on or near the trigger, and the cameraman always seems to zoom in on exactly what he is doing wrong. He constantly places his hand directly in-front of the muzzle on almost every pistol I have seen him handle. And I have never seen him actually hit anything that he is shooting at, he just simply fires as fast as he can with NO trigger control. He also tends to put out tons of useless gun-rag fantasy info as if it is gospel, such as you need to fire off the ammo you have loaded in your guns once a month, and that "second strike" capability on a semi-auto pistol is a mandatory feature on any self-defense pistol. Hell, I think I will start teaching my shooters to stand there and keep pulling the trigger until the pistol goes bang in the event of a FTF:rolleyes:

He seems like a nice enough guy, but WHY is he on TV teaching this nonsense??? PDTV usually has atleast some valid/useful info during each episode coming from Clint Smith and some of the other instructors they have appear on the show, but Metcalf's segment really puts alot of useless and dangerous info out there for millions to see.

IMHO Dick Metcalf and Leroy Thompson are completely devoid of any useful information.

[Stinx]

Dick needs to retire. Second strike capability is a nice thing, but its not the uber important feature he makes it to be. I can not help but laugh when hes rambeling off while wearing one of his silly hats. Dick should put his papers in LOL

[Stretz Tactical Inc]

What about Tiger Mcgee? I'm not to impressed watching him either. Has anyone trained with him?

[Stretz Tactical Inc]

Never mind, I'm watching the lowlight episode and I dont think I would waste my time or money with him. I dont know who told him what the FBI technique was. And the host of the show forgot to take the safety off of his 1911 to shoot a drill, this show is not very impressive.

[nickdrak]

Dick needs to retire. Second strike capability is a nice thing, but its not the uber important feature he makes it to be. I can not help but laugh when hes rambeling off while wearing one of his silly hats. Dick should put his papers in LOL

IMHO, "Second Strike" is completely useless. What are you going to do when you pull the trigger again on your "second strike" equipped semi-auto pistol and nothing happens again? Third strike??? Forth strike???? Or are you going to do what you should have done in the first place and revert to the immediate action drill?

[Littlelebowski]

Is Leroy Thompson that fat old guy that claims to have worked with SF and counter terrorist folk?

[ToddG]

IMHO, "Second Strike" is completely useless. What are you going to do when you pull the trigger again on your "second strike" equipped semi-auto pistol and nothing happens again? Third strike??? Forth strike???? Or are you going to do what you should have done in the first place and revert to the immediate action drill?

Not to derail a thread complaining about gun writers and tv hosts, but to answer your question:
Not everyone has trained their malfunction clearance skills to the level that they'll perform that action instantaneously.
Most people, when shooting under stress rather than casually on the range, will often pull the trigger multiple times before their brains catch up to the fact that the gun isn't going off. We've seen it millions of times in Sim training, for example, because Sim rounds have (or at least had, years ago) a much higher tendency to misfire on the first strike than normal ammo.

Having said that, the reality is that very few quality JHP rounds from the Big Three are going to had improperly pressed or hard primers. So the number of stoppages that a second strike will resolve is pretty small.

Also, if the 'second strike' trigger pull is much heavier and longer than the typical trigger pull (with an LEM, for example), shooters will often just feel a dead trigger and not realize they need to release it further than normal and pull it harder than normal to get that second strike. In that sense, while the gun has the capability to strike multiple times, from a practical standpoint it's rarely going to happen.

All else being equal, I'd like multiple strike capability on my gun because it doesn't hurt anything and may, under just the wrong circumstances, help. But I wouldn't choose an otherwise sub-optimal gun just to get that feature.

[JohnN]

Is Leroy Thompson that fat old guy that claims to have worked with SF and counter terrorist folk?


He writes a column for SWAT. A true Legend in his own mind.

[Iraqgunz]

LL,

Are you baggin' on Leroy? How dare you he is like a member of the SAS Bodyguard Assn. There have been vague references to his service in Vietnam but I have yet to see anything concrete.


Is Leroy Thompson that fat old guy that claims to have worked with SF and counter terrorist folk?

[Alpha Sierra]

Isn't Dick Metcalf's name all over Fudd magazines like Field & Stream and such?

[sinister]

Thompson was an airfield security cop in Vietnam.

Metcalf and his generation sold tons of newsrag pushing Fudd stuff.

I like Dave Fortier's work -- it gets better as his work matures.

[scottryan]

Metcalf was the same person who claimed that the Colt 2000 All American instantly obsoleted every other semiauto pistol in existance.



There is some truth to that. It was a pistol that was ahead of its time.

[SeriousStudent]

.......

I like Dave Fortier's work -- it gets better as his work matures.


I will definitely give Mr. Fortier respect for traveling to Iraq, and spending time on patrols with our troops. His writing was good, and the effort was appreciated.

[John_Wayne777]

There are a plethora of new self defense oriented shows on the Outdoor channel. I actually had enough downtime to watch some of them last night.

The NRA's "American Guardian" show was centered around a shotgun course at Blackwater. The main instructor was Doug Harris, the instructor I had at my first Blackwater handgun class many moons ago. Aside from a segment extolling the virtue of birdshot for home defense :rolleyes: and a somewhat puzzling contention that our forces are using shotguns for room clearing, the show was decent.

"The Best Defense" seemed to be a decent show focused on preparation for home defense. It was very basic info but I couldn't find much to disagree with.

[BushmasterFanBoy]

There are a plethora of new self defense oriented shows on the Outdoor channel. I actually had enough downtime to watch some of them last night.

The NRA's "American Guardian" show was centered around a shotgun course at Blackwater. The main instructor was Doug Harris, the instructor I had at my first Blackwater handgun class many moons ago. Aside from a segment extolling the virtue of birdshot for home defense :rolleyes: and a somewhat puzzling contention that our forces are using shotguns for room clearing, the show was decent.

"The Best Defense" seemed to be a decent show focused on preparation for home defense. It was very basic info but I couldn't find much to disagree with.

Yeah, I just saw some of those, its nice to see Outdoor Channel at least trying to keep up with Sportsmans channel, but it comes off as a sad, lacking effort, to see the folks at American Rifleman/American Guardian try to beat LAV at his own game. The best defense show is pretty good, though I liked PDTV better, at least when it was available on Outdoor Channel. I really wish my provider carried Sportmans channel....:(

[NCPatrolAR]

What about Tiger Mcgee? I'm not to impressed watching him either. Has anyone trained with him?

I dont know which is slower, McKee shooting or McKee talking.

[Blinking Dog]

It is kind of interesting to see the number of shows catering to personal defense and black rifles. I guess someone finally wised up and figured they'd give us some more gun porn.

I can't recall which channel or show I was watching, they showed some LE guys doing room clearing with their ARs and on several occassions I saw at least one officer's white light light up the back of the guy in front of him as they were stacked and entering the room. The narrator was talking about how high speed these guys were...I was thinking, geez that guy needs to be thrown out. Scary.

That dude who is on a couple of shows has a segment where he shows the lethality of various pistols and ammo by shooting into 3 water jugs. Meanwhile, every caliber I've seen him shoot, from .25 to .357, goes through all 3 jugs.

Metcalf is an interesting fellow. They always show him shooting up a bunch of ammo through various ARs and he proclaims them to be very reliable. Meanwhile the carbine is bouncing off his shoulder, and his trigger finger is all over the place. They never show downrange. I imagine he's putting a 10 foot group into the berm at 20 yards. :D

LAV's show is pretty good, but I'm getting kinda tired of the routine...shoot a burst, turn and look at camera, say something interesting about the weapon being fired, walk forward, repeat. I'd rather hear LAV give more tips and tricks than talk about the 1903 Springfield...but maybe that's just me.

And yet, I keep on watching!

[Jay Cunningham]

LAV's show is pretty good, but I'm getting kinda tired of the routine...shoot a burst, turn and look at camera, say something interesting about the weapon being fired, walk forward, repeat. I'd rather hear LAV give more tips and tricks than talk about the 1903 Springfield...but maybe that's just me.

I think it's awesome just seeing LAV shoot a burst from his 1903!!!1!!1

:p

[VooDoo6Actual]

Le Roy Thompson a BG or Operator, that's a good one.

[Beat Trash]

Around 20-25 years ago, (Before the Internet) I was naive enough to believe that major gun magazines would not allow people to publish articles unless they were qualified to do so.

I spent a lot of my hard earned money, which is harder to come my when you're young, buying guns and ammo that the "experts" said I needed to stay alive.

Guys like Dick Metcliff, Thompson, some skinny guy with glasses who worked at a gun store and shot matches, ergo an expert (Dune Thomas?), and the guy who was also a author of Fictional Survival/spy novels (Jerry Ahern?).

Let us not forget all the great ammo advice from Evan Marshall, Ed Sanow, and Ayoob.

I left the Marine Corps in 1987 to work for an armored car co. in S. California. The older guys who didn't read the "latest" magazines, just went along, ignorant of their errors, using good tactics, and shooting the robbers with their "un-cool" gear, and ammunition (38 spc in 357 mag guns - the horror!) stopping same...

I later entered the world of Law Enforcement in SW Ohio. Working for a major Department (by midwestern standards - 1,100 officers) using what the "Experts" all agreed to be the worst 9mm round there ever was, WW 147 gr JHP, caused me great concern. Until I kept noticing a strange thing kept occurring. When the officer involved in a shooting used good shot placement, the round performed it's intended job. If the officer did not use good shot placement, it didn't. But the Expert's one shot stop % says the guy should be still alive...

I haven't bought a gun magazine in years.

When I think of the money I spent during those years on guns and ammo in search of a ballistic version of the "Holly Grail", It makes me shake my head.

When I remember my false belief in the superiority of the Cor Bon 115 gr loading above all else (Thanks Marshall/Evans/Ayoob), even if it wasn't 100% reliable in a Beretta 92D, I feel glad I didn't get killed by their mis-information.

I agree with the previous posted statement about retiring. These "Snake Oil Salesmen" of the gun media, need to go. Before bad information given to make a few bucks gets good people killed.

[exkc135driver]

I completely agree. I get 3 gun magazines in the mail ... two of them only because of membership in their respective organizations (NRA and USPSA) and subscribe to the third, which is oriented mainly toward benchrest shooters. Although I am not a benchrest shooter, it has generally very good technical articles and sometimes something relevant to the AR platform. The writing is quirky, though.

I picked up all the freebie mags I could at SHOT, and they seem to have two things in common: (a) dazzling photography by the renowned Mr Nagata and (b) NEAT! KEEN! COOL! articles on stuff you GOTTA!!!! have (much of which you can't legally own, especially in the states those magazines are published in). For free, OK. But I wouldn't pay even a dime apiece for them.

I remember that back in the heyday of the photography magazines like Modern Photography, someone said those magazines were all about equipment that you wished you needed. Just like today's newstand gun rags.