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Old August 9, 2001, 09:37 PM   #1
Coronach
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Join Date: March 25, 1999
Posts: 3,147
New tactical Uberguns

They're here.

The long-awaited, much-hyped 870-tactical-upgrades for which my department shelled out much treasure have been issued, and we have received our 'training' for the use of these lovely little beasties.

Features:

Sure-fire fore-end with the pressure pad. Nice, but there was an awful lot of flashlight blinking going on. A learning curve, I'm sure.

Mag extension: taking in-tube capacity from 4-6. Nice feature. I wonder how many NDs we're gonna have from dinosaurs taking out 4 and thinking its empty? My co-workers scare me at times.

Speedfeed stocks: Ehhhhhh...the PG is not loved by me, but it works. Getting the shells out takes a trifle of practice, it would seem. Still, its nice having 4 slugs on-board.

Tactical Sling: everyone sit down. We dumped, what, $40 each on these babies, and now the chain of command has decided that we shall not use the tactical aspect of the tactical sling. Thou Shalt Not Sling thy Boomstick Until the Confrontation beith Over, and the High Priests of Ordnance Shall Not Train the Unwashed Heathen in the Use of the Tactical Sling.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over? Why the hell not? And if you just want a standard sling, why pay 8x the cost of a simple one for features we are forbade to use????? The mind boggles.

Someone asked the instructor how you use the tactical sling, and he replied "I can't show you." To which I piped up, "Ok, can you show us what not to do?" He laughed, but refused to show us anything.

The final indignities are related: slugs are on-board only to pierce cover, and the sights remain bead sights. No mention of long-range shots, no mention of shots vs hostage-takers. No discussion of patterning, no mention of POA v POI for slugs.

Course of fire was 7 buckshot, 5 slugs. You're trained. Go home.

Sigh.

So close and yet so far.

One final observation: the best way to kill a roomful of cops would be to somehow slip in live rounds for training dummy rounds. 30 cops in a small room acting like kids on Christmas morning, racking dummy rounds all over the place and playing flashlight tag with the fore-end lights. Jesus. Hair-raising.

Mike
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The axe bites into the door, ripping a hole in one panel. The maniac puts his face into the hole, cackling gleefully, "Here's Johnny...erk."
"And here's Smith and Wesson," murmurs Coronach, Mozambiquing six rounds of .357 into the critter at a range of three feet. -Lawdog

"True pacifism is the finest form of manliness. But if a man comes up to you and cuts your hand off, you don't just offer him the other one. Not if you want to go on playing the piano, you don't." -Sam Peckinpah

"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
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Old August 10, 2001, 06:49 AM   #2
Dave McC
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Join Date: October 13, 1999
Location: Columbia, Md, USA
Posts: 8,811
Mike,you brought back memories,mostly unpleasant. Good luck with the upgrades, and better luck with your co workers.

And, as I've preached from the pulpit more than once,each individual LEO is responsible for his/her/its training, and not the dept.

And, with some of your coworkers, a few quiet words about how to best utilize the new equipment may lower everyone's risk levels....
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Old August 10, 2001, 09:03 AM   #3
Coronach
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Join Date: March 25, 1999
Posts: 3,147
Hell

Anyone know how to use a tactical sling? I know the general theory, but how is it supposed to be worn and adjusted?

Fortunately, everyone was 'fully' shotgun trained (on the 'old' shotguns) prior to this training session. So its not like that was all the trainining you'd ever receive. But still, massively disappointing.

I was also called (jokingly) a show-off because I insisted on shooting my targets in the head. Hey, I only got to make it go boom 12 times. might as well have some fun with it.

Observation: either the new PG really takes adjustment, or I'm getting rusty. I hope its the former, though I have not been to the range as much as I should lately. It took longer than I like to get on target and shooting.

Mike
__________________
The axe bites into the door, ripping a hole in one panel. The maniac puts his face into the hole, cackling gleefully, "Here's Johnny...erk."
"And here's Smith and Wesson," murmurs Coronach, Mozambiquing six rounds of .357 into the critter at a range of three feet. -Lawdog

"True pacifism is the finest form of manliness. But if a man comes up to you and cuts your hand off, you don't just offer him the other one. Not if you want to go on playing the piano, you don't." -Sam Peckinpah

"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
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Old August 10, 2001, 09:40 AM   #4
fal308
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Join Date: October 12, 1998
Location: Missouri
Posts: 1,992
This site has a short description on the use of the Giles sling (tactical sling); http://www.lagger-pro.com/gilesTG.htm
This site has the HK sling; http://www.geocities.com/metradio_uk...rs/r3sling.htm
Hopefully these urls will show, or go to google and try ("tactical sling" use) without the parentheses.
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