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I'm sorry if this is a repeat thread in here, I was just wondering what stance the CHP use while shooting? I completed my background a long time ago and I'm waiting for the academy call. I just wanted to work on the stance they teach you in the academy when I'm on the range here at home... Pretty basic question here, but feel free to elaborate on anything. Thanks fellas.
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Somebody just back of you while you are fishing is as bad as someone looking over your shoulder while you write a letter to your girl. ~Ernest Hemingway -
I would actually think if you spend time sharpening your shooting skills on the range, than your stance becomes pretty irrelevant.
As much as agencies adopt shooting stances, hardly anyone ever gets into a stance while shooting or getting shot at. If you watch any youtube gunfight (minus SF and direct action units like SWAT), no one ever stands there in some identifiable Weaver or Isosceles stance while shooting. There's usually alot of ducking, lateral movement, running to cover, etc. In almost all simunitions and force-on-force drills, 9 out of 10 fights are usually won with movement. Hardly anyone wins off a quick draw with a boxing stance, bladed stance, isosceles, etc. That's why its important to be able to fire in any stance, no matter what.
Even though the adopted stance for the FBI Academy is Weaver, I don't know one single agent or friend in LA who uses weaver stance. They all press out isosceles formation. Esp the ones in Bank Robbery Division, they practice shooting the weirdest styles ever. Since they spend so much time in cars on stakeouts and such, they practice so much counterambush car drills, carjacking drills, vehicle shootouts, etc. They never ever spend any time just on one stance. Even most of your reputable tactical instructors are starting to lean away from any stance.
Esp with the CHP, you'll be doing so much work around cars, pulling people over, running to cover using cars and tire wells, vehicular tactics, sitting in your car, etc. Best to practice your most awkward positions behind hoods, trunks, tires, on the floor, prone. etc. Don't get stuck in the mentality where stance is of utmost importance. Being able to acquire targets and hit faster is where you should be spending time on the range. When you are that good, it wont even matter what format or stance your firearm instructors get you into...you'll always hit the 10 ring/thoracic cavity area. -
I agree, shooting through a car window, from behind k-rail or guard rails or from the rear of a unit would be the most likely.
Well, most likely would be you shot in the lower abdomen on approach and your not going to have time to draw unless you are Clint Eastwood-ing dat arse.Comment
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Great advice, thanks guys.
Somebody just back of you while you are fishing is as bad as someone looking over your shoulder while you write a letter to your girl. ~Ernest HemingwayComment
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haha...for some reason all I can think about is meet the fockers when the cop tazes them and right before it he said "WEAVER STANCE"...
Classic...Sorry, nothing on Youtube."Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."~M.Twain~Comment
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They teach an Isosceles shooting stance. Knees bent, elbows locked, slightly leaning forward, both thumbs pointing where you want the bullet to go. Remember the instructors are teaching at a basic level, being that many cadets have never even fired a firearm before. Practice staying in that shooting position with a moderate sized handgun. S&W 4006's are tanks! Practice the stance with both your strong and weak hand pushed out, and hold it there for as long as you can. Do "dime Drills" (placing dime on slide and dry firing). The instructors teach combat shooting, not precision shooting, BIG DIFFERENCE. You dont need to shoot tight groups, you need center mass hits quickly. Do these drills and you will be good to go. Good luck and have fun. There is nothing better than being PAID to shoot and drive fast!Comment
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LASD Retired
1978-2011
NRA Life Member
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DOJ Certified InstructorComment
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Alot of what we learn now (I'm not CHP) is based on body armor. For a long time bladed stances were touted as safer due to offering a smaller target (unless you suffer from Dunlop's Disease) but as more cops were dying from being shot between / above armor panels or through vulnerable shoulder / armpit area we went back to frontal stances for the most part. We even use the "bazooka hold" rifle stance which is frontal.Comment
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+1 on what Escalado says.
I'm not with the CHP, but I've had the privilege of shooting at the Sacramento academy twice over the years on a mini course for other LEO's that they put on.
The instructors are young, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. The system they teach is well thought out, and I think turns out officers ready for gun fights rather than competition. Any shooting enthusiast will enjoy their time on the range there. It's good stuff.
The CHP is a fine outfit, who've pulled my rear end out of the fire a time or two. They've also taken many a DUI turnover from me, thank goodness!"We're all put to the test... but it never comes in the form or at the point we would prefer, does it?"
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth."
Marcus AureliusComment
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