[SansSouci]

Where do shooters come up with their terminology? Is the origin of these terms gun magazines? For instance, platform. A gun is not a platform. A gun is a gun: shotgun, rifle, pistol, revolver, muzzleloader, etc. In 20 years as a cop, including countless hours of professional firearms training, I've never heard anyone refer to a gun as a platform. A platform is what divers dive from. A gun is referred to as either a gun or weapon, not a freaking platform. If you're planning on swanning into the deep end, talk platform. If you have a M1911A1 in your hand, you're holding a gun.

Man stopper is another such term. Who in God's name came up with that one? Everyone who does professional law enforcement knows that there is no such cartridge as man stopper round chambered in a tactical firearm. I have a friend who pumped 6 "man stopper" rounds from his .357 Mag service revolver into a very bad guy's chest. He didn't even flinch. I guess his homies forgot to tell him that that man stopper ought to have stopped him. It didn't come close. An 870 round did make the very bad guy property of the coroner.

Spray and pray??? Really??? If that ain't a gun magazine term, I have never heard one. It must be a whole lot more sophisticated than law enforcement officers can understand, and it must only be taught to men in black, because I've never heard a professional training instructor use it. It must be a whole lot different than very efficacious cover fire, which is putting a whole lot of rounds on bad guys with the intent being bad guys' inability to put aimed rounds on the good guy. There has to be a top secret definition of spray and pray because I have never heard it. I do know what cover fire is, and it is a potentially life-saving tactic.

I wish I had a nickel for every time I've read that accuracy is the most important part of a gun fight. I must of been out for coffee and donuts during that highly sophisticated training. I'd rank accuracy as third on the list of surviving gun fights. I'd rank gunfight survival as: 1) to assure remaining at 98.6 degrees, don't get in one; 2) don't make yourself a good target for the bad guy. After all, in a gunfight, at least one bad guy is trying to kill a good guy. Taking time to precisely aim is gun magazine legend. Were a good guy take precise aim, he ought to have his final arrangements in order because he's likely to take rounds from at least one bad guy. That's why training to shoot and move and shooting while moving is so damned important. Remember, if the good guy dies, regardless of what happens to the bad guy, the good guy loses; and, 3) accurate return fire. I could lower number 3 if running away were an option or running to cover. Practice hip point and shoulder point. Just the other day I showed my friend's kid how accurate he could be by using only a shoulder point sans sights. After a few magazines, he was doing pretty good.

The BS of armchair wannabes about how cops fired a whole bunch of rounds and didn't hit a bad guy is neophyte jargon 101. Assess a gunfight by survival of good guys. If cops fired a hundred rounds and every single one missed the bad guy and every single one of the cops survived, the cops did something right, not wrong. Never, ever forget that cover fire: putting a whole lot of rounds on bad guys, is a tactic of survivors.

Keep in mind that I don't read gun magazines. While I've been retired for just over 10 years, I have not forgotten the very scientific firearms training that, apparently, is not taught in gun magazines. And while we've hit the topic of gun magazines, never forget that gun magazines are entertainment. They are not professional journals.

One last thing. The primary tactical failure of FBI agents in Miami that caused two agents to ascend to Heaven was agents' not handing the pursuit to Miami cops. Miami PD and not the FBI should have been the primary pursuit agency. They had immediate access to helicopters. They had immediate access to every cop in the city, and they assuredly had far more experience with felony car stops. If the two dirtbags were on meth, it's doubtful that handgun cartridge would have made much difference; however, choice of handguns might have given agents a decided edge. Remember the importance of cover fire. A handgun that holds a lot of rounds and can be very quickly reloaded with a lot more is a definite tactical advantage. Were I to find fault with that horrible tragedy it would be agents not requesting Miami PD to take over as lead law enforcement agency or at least notify Miami PD of what it was doing, especially after they had located the dirt bags' car. That way, Miami units already would have been rolling to the scene, and almost assuredly Miami PD's helicopter would have been broadcasting transpiring events.

FBI does its own thing, which is a serious tactical error. FBI agents would be far safer were they to have local agencies do their felony car stops. If they can't hang with that, they should at the very least have radio contact with local cops and keep them informed of bad guys they're pursuing. That way, local cops already will be rolling to scenes of felony car stops, no to mention that a helicopter is almost always beneficial. Remember, were any cop: federal, state, or local in a perilous situation, all cops, regardless of agency, will respond. Cops do not allow other cops to die.

When cops are attempting to arrest dangerous felons, law enforcement agencies want every available cop on scene. The intent is to show bad guys that they will not win; hence, it's far more wise to surrender w/o resorting to violence.

Sorry for the rant. It's just that I've read a gun magazine neophyte term this morning, and it's about causing me to think that good guys ought not read entertaining magazines.