Last night my copy of Stay in the Fight!! - A Warrior's Guide to the Combat Pistol by SGM (Ret) Kyle Lamb showed up. This is Lamb's follow-on to Green Eyes Black Rifles, focused on combat shooting with the pistol. It is similar in format, style and quality to his first book, and over 150 pages longer, hence the higher price. I'll preface my review by stating I have no relationship with SGM Lamb or Viking Tactics.
The variety and quality of photographs are even better than the first book, as Lamb and his 'models' demonstrate both proper and improper technique. I especially liked that the models appear in civilian, law enforcement and military kits to demonstrate the various techniques. Unsurprisingly, the increasingly popular Smith and Wesson M&P is the most common pistol depicted in the demonstrations, but Berettas, Glocks and 1911s make the occasional appearance.
Lamb's introduction makes clear that he is discussing 'A Way' but not the only way, and that his focus is prevailing in combat, not competition. He intends for his students to WIN gunfights, not just survive them.
The book is broadly broken up into three parts - Core Skills, Tools of the Trade and Intermediate/Advanced Skills. Core skills covers the fundamentals of stance, grip, sight picture, presentation, the draw, reloading and clearing malfunctions, along with common errors. Some drills appear in the Core Skills section, such as the classic 'ball and dummy'. An occasional sidebar column goes in depth on a particular topic, such as 'Position Sul'. The section on grip and sighting discusses the merits of various sight options and grip modifications, so there is discussion of equipment too.
Tools of the Trade discusses not only equipment selection, but training mindset. Lamb covers selection of a pistol, as well as recommendations for flashlights. He discusses common parts breakage, extended controls for the Glock and 1911 pistols, lasers, compensators and shooting with gloves.
The Intermediate and Advanced Skills section covers a lot of ground including driving the pistol, shooting on the move, survival manipulations, weapon retention, low light, unconventional positions...I'll be rereading this section again as there is so much to cover. He also discusses drawing from concealment and covers several techniques (including appendix carry for those that favor this method).
Lamb sprinkles anecdotes and humor throughout the text - the narrative remains interesting throughout. I surely haven't absorbed it all yet, but like his previous book, it'll be a reference that I'll return to before working on a skill or attending a class. I've also used Green Eyes with new shooters to illustrate a point and found it very useful - I'm sure Stay in the Fight!! will also serve well in that role. Overall, I think this is another winner from SGM Lamb and a worthy addition to my growing professional library.
Perhaps the one thing I thought was missing was some more advanced drills for shooters to work on their skills. Well, I also ordered the VTAC Pistol Drills Part I DVD which is the perfect companion to Stay in the Fight!! I think this is the best of the various recent VTAC DVDs, as the production quality is far better than the first two rifle offerings. It covers a number of pistol drills (Bill Drill, Half and Half, 1-5, etc), some of which are familiar and some which are new to me (which is the best part as my pistol routine has been getting a little stale and will benefit from something new). The video also covers pistol fundamentals, making for an excellent companion to the book. At $14.95, this is a worthwhile addition, especially considering the price of other DVDs from top trainers.
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