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Yeager making sense.... Like him or hate him you should see this

nitesite

Average Guy
Moderator
"Philanthropist"

Okay, I have sometimes really disliked James Yeager. He said some really stupid shit in the past.

But I have also attended his Fighting Pistol class, so some money fell upon him because of my attendance and it admittedly was kinda fun.

I don't worship at the altar of James Yeager... BUT this video is sensible.

What say you?
 
The problem I usually have with him is not WHAT he says, but HOW he says it.

This time he hit it out of the park without going off the rails.
 
I wouldn't have ever attended one of his classes. I just couldn't.

Yes, he is correct about misses would endanger innocent lives. That's one of those "duh" moments. For the main reason, nobody is perfect. That's why we practice so hard and so much so we do shoot true if God forbid we do ever have to.

But stress and adrenaline and "tunnel vision" and moving while taking fire is going to make it even more of a disadvantage for responders. Even if you were offered pick and choose shots, even in an ordinary situation you would not miss at, nothing is to say that you wouldn't when placed in that situation.

While we as affluent shooters don't like to admit the limitations of human physiology, it exists nonetheless.

If you have 1 round for each attacker, you're up shit creek. Life isn't a Hollywood movie. And even if you did pull off a miracle and actually hit each attacker with their designated bullet, it may take multiples to stop each attacker. So, for him to say how many rounds are you taking to miss with is counterintuitive to me and dim-witted as usual coming from him.

Also, no single person is likely to survive a shootout outnumbered 6 or 7 to 1 where they have to tactical advantage of picking and choosing their cover before you arrived on scene, which gives the bad guys an even further advantage.

Bad odds, and rushing to help, is going to be difficult to overcome at best.

One of the things that I always remembered after reading one of the more recent army tactics field manuals, the general rule of thumb is to keep sending men in until the threat is overcome and removed. In the end, threat is gone. But consider the cost. And that number may not include only responders either.

The raid at Entebbe is a prime example of human casualties are almost a certainty and countless others worldwide that I didn't mention. I don't like it. You don't like it. And neither does anyone else. But we both know that evil exists in this world my friend. And that's what evil does. Life isn't always going to be just peachy.

I truly hope that I haven't come across as a jerk or offended you. If I have, I'll apologize now because I never intended to do that. But his comments are just not seated in reality.
 
As I listened to Yeager introduce the problem as "... so what you are asking me is how many rounds should I bring to miss with?" I was sort of put off and I was spring-loaded to disagree with him. Mainly because I think that citizens w/ guns have a paramount responsibility NOT to miss.

But his followup was pretty much EXACTLY what I teach to my students. Do NOT MISS when there are friendlies downrange. Then further he stated EXACTLY why I carry 2 mags. Not because I need over 20 rounds, but because I need that second mag if my first one goes tits up.

What I dislike most is reports of encounters where the good guy fires rounds in these tac situations that DO NOT HIT the perp or some safe backup surface. Whether the person shooting is a citizen or LEO, hitting innocents is inexcusable. Now I sure we can all make up unlikely situations were some guy w/ a submachine gun is floating down the street and we could fire off some bursts to save humanity, but I prefer to train to think hard before launching rounds that may miss.

So I give Yeager a thumbs up in this video.

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...
But stress and adrenaline and "tunnel vision" and moving while taking fire is going to make it even more of a disadvantage for responders. .

That is a great point, John. I wish there were a safe way of inducing adrenaline dumps for training purposes.

It was a real eye-opener for me after my first firefight [military]. Although some of the physiological effects were discussed in training, there is no way to prepare soldiers effectively for the reality. Symptoms in different fighters under the same circumstances will vary. Some will become completely disoriented or incapacitated, others have just minor reduction in physical capabilities.

My experience included tunnel vision, monochromatic sight, auditory exclusion, and post-action leg spasms. Fortunately I retained all my bodily fluids.
 
If his point was to use your sights and don't miss, yeah, I agree. I can't think of anyone who would disagree. But there's a lot more to that picture than "don't miss".

I do think his video puts in a bad light someone who misses for whatever reason because "they didn't aim". A miss could be for virtually gazillions of reasons other than just not aiming right.

I think the commissions after Vietnam said there were something like 200,000 rounds fired per confirmed kill.

I understand that an active shooter is not going to be the same level of arms or numbers of guns in hands as a war that lasted for years. Nor am I trying to compare it to anything of the sort. Only pointing out that misses are going to happen.

Heck, the Orlando shooting a while back is even an example of misses. And a lot of them. Personally, I think some of that was handled very poorly. But if you've seen any of the videos of the responders shooting the back wall of that building, shows A LOT of misses.

orlando-pulse-1.jpg


On a different note, I want to thank you for taking a minute to tell your story. And to thank you for your service. I genuinely mean it.
 
To me this was just so much of mental masturbation. Is the glass half empty? is the glass half full? Maybe the glass is just too big.

In my opinion one of the most important things is your confidence level when you go into a situation as was described.

If you know your own capabilities and you can exercise them without panic, your chances improve dramaticaly.

How many guns or cartridges or magazines or speedloaders or shells or knlves or weapons of whatever type should you carry?

The amount that makes you confident and comfortable. No more and no less.

As your abilities and perspectives change, those amounts will change as well.

But the important thing is that you be in a state that allows you to function with confidence in the situation for which you are preparing yourself.

If you don't have that you don't have what you need most, and whether you have five rounds or 10 or 20 on the belt it won't be the deciding factor in the outcome.
 
Every time I take an all day firearms course I'm reminded how much more training I need. Moving, shooting around corners/barriers, one handed manipulations, weak hand, etc.

I've missed a torso sized stationary steel target from 15 yards during a moving drill with a partner who was "wounded" and unarmed which introduced a little "stress". Can't imagine when SHTF and I have a moving target shooting back at me.

I like what he says a lot of the time. His delivery method can be a acquired taste.
 
Everything I said above is extrapolated from what I know about life itself. Lord knows I never had to teach anybody how to fight with guns.

I'm afraid I tend to pontificate a lot, and the fact is that Mr Yeager has shot a whole lot at that which I have never had to shoot at, meaning those who shoot back.

I'm sure he's a great teacher and he's not so much of an asshole that I couldn't get along with him just fine.

His philosophies seem to be very reality-based, but yeah his delivery is a little bit "shock-jock," as if he wants his students to feel confrontation with the teacher.

It's hard enough just to confront people's differing ideas without the overtone of more aggressive confrontation. In other words he always seems a little jacked up to me.
 
Everything I said above is extrapolated from what I know about life itself. Lord knows I never had to teach anybody how to fight with guns.

I'm afraid I tend to pontificate a lot, and the fact is that Mr Yeager has shot a whole lot at that which I have never had to shoot at, meaning those who shoot back.

I'm sure he's a great teacher and he's not so much of an asshole that I couldn't get along with him just fine.

His philosophies seem to be very reality-based, but yeah his delivery is a little bit "shock-jock," as if he wants his students to feel confrontation with the teacher.

It's hard enough just to confront people's differing ideas without the overtone of more aggressive confrontation. In other words he always seems a little jacked up to me.

He used to be a pudgey guy and seemed real nice in his old videos. He bulked up and took on a more Type A personality.

He's got a rather "checkered" past with him being a hired contractor in the Middle East. I'm not versed well enough in tactics to judge whether he did the right or wrong thing when he and his men took fire on his convoy.
 
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