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Books : Stressfire II: Advanced Combat Shotgun |
- What works and what doesn't: a textbook on shotgun techniques"Stressfire II: Advanced Combat Shotgun" is a book on equipment and techniques. Massad Ayoob explains the difference in Chapter 24, and writes that "Stressfire II" is a book of technique-not tactics.
I was fortunate enough to read this book when it first came out in 1992. One concept that hit me in the face was that the shotgun was "heavy artillery." I have a military background and I had to shift mental gears; the heaviest police weapons are the lightest military weapons. Shotguns are devastating on unarmored personnel in the open at short (hand grenade) ranges. Between pages 15 and 30, Ayoob provides a series of photographs showing what the shotgun does to human bodies and 7-yard shot patterns. The problems of shotgun retention when the bad guys try to take your gun away are addressed. Shotguns are more prone to malfunctions than the military rifles and pistols I deal with-the recommended "immediate action drill" for a jammed shotgun is dropping the gun and pulling your pistol. It won't always be an option-many people have only a shotgun, no handguns! In that case, the hand-to-hand combat techniques (using the shotgun as an impact weapon) may come in handy; they're based on military bayonet fighting techniques. In my experience, the two most-common shotgun malfunctions are short-stroking the pump gun and failing to pick up a shell from the magazine (fixed by pumping it again) and running the magazine dry (reloading fixes that). Sometimes the shot shells just hang up-which takes a few minutes to fix. Ayoob's recommendation to use a secondary weapon-even if that's simply using your shotgun as a club-makes sense in the split-second world of hand-to-hand combat. "Stressfire II" also has tips on using cover (protection from bullets) and managing the shotgun's stiff recoil. On the latter, Ayoob recommends the 20 gauge autoloading shotgun-or the then-new low-recoil "tactical buckshot."
The equipment recommendations are still valid, even if some of the guns Ayoob mentions are only available second-hand, on the used gun rack. One thing that wasn't available when this book was written was an efficient white light mount for the shotgun. The gun-mounted light is for target identification and to dazzle the target-I'm sure that Ayoob teaches proper management of the shotgun-mounted light in his shooting school. "Stressfire II" is a textbook on techniques and equipment. I recommend going to a shooting school-but read the textbook first and know your equipment before going. Your school should teach both technique and tactics. "Stressfire II" can help you choose your school by showing you what techniques work and what doesn't.
Rating:
- Good informationSolid information on use of the combat/tactical shotgun. Follows the same concepts set forth in the original "Stressfire" handgun techniques.
Rating:
- one of the bestPractical guide to improving shooting technique by using the stress of combat or competition situation. Where most advocate trying to overcome stress Ayoob realizes this is not always realistic.
A highly respected police officer and shooting instructor Ayoob know of what he speaks. I found this to be one of his best written. I have been able to get quite a bit out of it to improve my shooting and hope to see more improvement with practice of his methods.
Rating:
- Better than most but no real real tacitcs....this is the best of what is out there. However I found many of the discussions did not live up to the title's name. It was simply a review of basic shotgun handling with a light touch to introductory tactics and addresses the homeowner/civilian and left out the police/military folks. Also like others he seems to fixate on the Remington 870 to the point of addressing the double feed jam which is highly unlikely (but still possible)in the Mossberg 500 since the shell trays that feed the live round to the bolt operate exactly opposite of each other. Ususally the round on the Mossberg drops to the ground.
On page 145 he talks about the StressFire Star and references photo's that you do not see until a few chapters later on page 193/4.
On page 158 he addresses two methods of operating the slide pump when wounded but leaves out "jacking" the firearm up vertically while holding the slide then rapidly moving the slide down and back up using the momentum of the firearm to do the work.
There is not much out there on combat/tactical/defensive shotguns. Overall I enjoyed the book and respect the author and recommend you buy it but be aware that is somewhat dated in what accesories are available.
Rating:
- A good one for those who carry.Stressfire is an excellent follow up to Ayoob's In the Gravest Exreme. In Stressfire, he covers practical methods of all aspects of gun fighting from drawing from the holster to confrontations on stairs. He takes the best of several styles and blends them into a cohesive style that anyone can use. What I liked in particular, he justifies to the reader why he does things differently from others. He points out the strengths and weaknesses of different styles and allows the reader to pick what works for him.
I recommend this book to all those who carry a gun for defense.
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