Published Articles
Since retiring from the National Rifle Association’s political division and the Army Reserve, one of my projects has been writing articles for The Federalist, American Greatness, Townhall, and S.W.A.T.
Most of the articles focus on the Second Amendment, the importance of AR-15s and comparable firearms for the purpose for which the amendment was adopted, how to configure a fighting AR-15, the Supreme Court’s potentially catastrophic error in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), legislation that would more fully vindicate the right to arms, and Democrats’ legislation designed to lead to civilian disarmament.
Panoply Tactical PTAC-1P Paper Target
For defensive firearm training purposes, the two silhouettes most commonly used in defensive rifle and pistol classes–the USPSA and IDPA run-and-gun sport targets–are less than ideal. The USPSA target’s torso “A Zone” is too tall (11 inches), and its head’s “A Zone” is misplaced (too high) and too wide (four inches). The IDPA’s target is better, especially now that a “0 Down” zone has been added to the center of the head. But its torso “0 Down” zone is round, when its width should instead be consistent. To improve upon these two targets, I came up with the PTAC-1P.
Adversaries, when standing, are narrower than tall. Unlike paper or cardboard targets they may move and, if they move, they’re more likely to move farther and faster laterally than vertically. Therefore, we should be most concerned with the lateral dispersion of our shots. The PTAC-1P’s “A Zone” is narrower (six inches) than it is tall (eight inches), and has a smaller area–roughly 45 square inches, compared to the roughly 66 and 50 square inches of the comparable zones of the USPSA and IDPA targets, respectively. (The PTAC-1P torso’s “B” zone has the same shape. Anything outside the “B” zone is unacceptably inaccurate on a stationary target at 100 yards or less.)
The head and torso include 3×4 “X” rings shaped in the same way, to help assess the lateral and vertical dispersion of shots, and for drills in which an additional emphasis on accuracy is warranted.
Also, because adversaries do not necessarily stand at military “Attention!” when attacking, but may instead assume a fighting stance with the head tucked toward the chest and shoulders forward, the PTAC-1P slightly compresses the distance between the head and center of the “A Zone” accordingly.
Additionally, because adversaries may wear anything between a T-shirt (or no shirt) and a full-length overcoat, the center of an adversary’s “A Zone” should be estimated relative to the head and shoulders, not the entire torso. Therefore, the PTAC-1P represents an adversary no lower than the belt line.
The PTAC-1P is available from National Target Company in boxes of 100 targets for $33.00.