Active Crisis Consulting Training On Rifle & Pistol (Part 2)

Day Two Overview and Training Goals

Day two with Active Crisis Consulting focuses on squadron standard shooting. The instructors explain that these are core techniques used every time they get to the range to knock off rust and reinforce consistent motions. The plan is to run flat range drills that directly support work inside structures. Students will work high ready and low ready positions, check drills, reloads, rifle‑to‑pistol transitions, and later some light competition. The lead instructor notes that the drills themselves are simple, but there are very specific ways they want everything done, because these standards form the foundation for how the guns are run in a combat setting while wearing kit.

Foundations of Rifle and Pistol Standards

The instructors outline the basic shooting standards that will transfer to house work. The focus is on reloads, manipulations, and transitions from rifle to pistol, along with diagnosing stoppages and malfunctions versus simply running the gun dry. Students are taught to recognize the difference and then work through the problem to get the pistol into play when needed. The first live task is straightforward: get on line and load. The preferred sequence is to load the pistol first, confirm it is good to go, holster it as an insurance policy, and then load the rifle. This establishes a consistent administrative process before moving into more demanding drills.

High Ready Position and Safety Rationale

The class revisits material from the previous day on how they operate around others. The instructors describe a non‑shooting posture used when “looking for work” in the house. They avoid a constant low ready because it forces awkward movements to bring the rifle up, especially in tight spaces. Instead, they emphasize high ready as the default. At high ready, the muzzle is up in a safe direction, allowing movement through crowds, thresholds, and barricades while maintaining control and awareness. The instructors note that SEALs prefer high ready for similar reasons, particularly in shipboarding and confined environments, where pointing the rifle up is often the safest and most practical option.

Mechanical Offset and Acceptable Sight Picture

The instructors define the performance standard for getting on target from high ready: roughly 1.0 to 1.1 seconds to an acceptable sight picture. The goal is combat marksmanship, not precision group shooting. Students are told to keep hits inside a circle, using the dot as a reference rather than trying to center it perfectly. At close distances, especially inside 10 yards, mechanical offset becomes critical. Mechanical offset is explained as the distance between the centerline of the bore and the centerline of the optic, whether a red dot or LPVO. With higher mounts, such as a Trijicon on a 1.93" height, the shooter must aim one to two and a half inches high at close range to get hits where intended. The instructors stress learning each rifle and optic combination’s specific offset.

High Ready Presentation and First Shot Technique

Students are instructed to use a short string of shots to confirm their mechanical offset from high ready. The instructor describes facing the target in a solid combat stance, then visually drawing a line from the eyes to the target using the top of the suppressor or another reference point on the rifle, such as the rail or bottom of a flashlight. From high ready, the shooter drives the rifle out along that line, finds the red dot, and breaks the shot just before the stock is fully seated in the shoulder. Recoil is used to settle the rifle into the shoulder for follow‑up shots. The emphasis is on smooth presentation, positive control of the gun, and learning where to hold so that hits land in the desired area within the time standard.

Timed Drills and Building Speed from Proper Form

The group begins working with a shot timer to understand pacing. The instructor first has them feel what two seconds from high ready to first shot is like, then pushes them toward 1.5 seconds, and finally under one second. Students are encouraged to get as close as possible to the time goals while still keeping hits tight in the circle. The instructor notes that many shooters actually went faster than expected once they focused on doing the process correctly. The takeaway is that slowing down to execute proper mechanics makes it easier to go fast later. High ready becomes the foundation for every subsequent drill, and the class sees how adding a little pressure with the timer builds both speed and competence without sacrificing accuracy.

Transition to Combat Reload Discussion

After establishing the high ready and first‑shot standards, the instructors move to the next drill: the combat reload. Before demonstrating, they pose a question to the group about what is faster, a reload or a transition to pistol, referencing the common saying from video games that the pistol is always faster than reloading. Students offer opinions that transitions are usually quicker but that it can depend on the person. This sets up a deeper comparison between reloading the rifle and going to the handgun under realistic conditions, tying back to the earlier emphasis on having the pistol loaded first as an insurance policy and maintaining consistent, efficient weapon manipulations.