Combat Studies Group

Vehicle Defense    Okay, looks like I will be doing a Pistol and a Carbine course in the Willamette  Valley in the upcoming weeks. I  will also be conducting Pistol, Carbine and Vehicle Defense in the Central Oregon area. I am trying to get the venues locked in right now as I will be heading back OCONUS in about a month.    At this point I am looking at doing the Gunfight Concepts level courses, which are a more advanced shooting course. If there is interest in a more basic level Pistol / Carbine course please let me know via the "Email me" button. If there is enough interest in the basic courses, I will try to put them on as well. I will be keeping class sizes at 6-8, as all of my assistant instructors are "out of the area" right now.    As I have done in the past, there will be a 10% discount for military, law enforcement and also CPS members. Details will be uploaded to the "Courses" page..... Instructing USMC team  US Mil clas...

Anyone that has been to one of my courses knows that I teach one skill above all others...AWARENESS. Now I am sure that most everyone has heard this concept before, perhaps as Situational Awareness or Battlefield Awareness or any other of a number of two dollar phrases, but this is not a skill that you just bring to the range or snap into when you put on your uniform. It must become a way of life; and when properly implemented will cause the subject to go through some noticeable lifestyle changes. To include; devoting more of your conscious thought to all the seemingly benign activities happening around you on a daily basis, and even simpler things, like, what pockets you use. For example, being a right handed person, I had always kept my wallet in my right pocket (made sense....easy access), as well as my keys. Well, while coaching some students through a shoot-house scenario one day, I noticed something....what was in the students  hands when a violent en...

  "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." -- Robert Heinlein ...one of my favorite quotes.....words to live by.

Going to be doing a couple reviews on some American made tactical gear I have been abusing over the last year. Also, plan on getting some videos and pics posted, so stay tuned.......

Was asked the other day about the various gas system lengths on the AR platform. Specifically, which was best and why. For this particular discussion, we were talking about a 16" barreled system, to which I would recommend the mid-length over the standard carbine length gas system. My reason, in a nutshell, is that the longer mid-length system on a 16" barrel more closely resembles the barrel/dwell time ratio on the original 20" barrel that the system was designed for. In my own experience, the mid-length system has less felt recoil and does not seem to be as hard on the BCG. The carbine length systems with their longer dwell time, develop higher gas pressures resulting in a higher failure rate due to metal fatigue. When I was teaching full time, I would see a high number of fractured locking lugs, broken extractors and even some complete bolt bi-sections (at the cam hole) on the rifles with the shorter gas systems. This is not meant to say that all carbines with the sho...

Hey just wanted to put the word out that a friend and fellow warrior, Pete Krause, is battling cancer right now and could use everyone's thoughts and prayers. You can check out Pete's progress at his blog...   www.cancer-fight.org Thanks.....

Still trying to figure out this blog thing, so bear with me. Will try and get some course info uploaded shortly.......