Knowing how to fight without a gun is just as important as knowing how to fight with a gun.

The easiest way to get started is the Jim Grover’s Combatives Series DVD and then find a gym that is not afraid to have students wail on each other. 

Get it for yourself and learn it.

Practice Ammunition

When you are selecting FMJ ammunition for your range time, make sure that the bullet weight matches that of your defensive ammunition.

• 9mm
  • Example: Use 115 grain FMJ for practice and 115 grain Hornady Critical Defense for carry and defensive use
• .40 S&W
  • You should use 165 grain FMJ with 165 grain defensive loads or 180 grain FMJ with 180 grain hollowpoints.
• .45 ACP
  • Use 230 grain FMJ with 230 grain hollowpoints.

Defensive Ammunition

• Don’t be a cheapskate when it comes to defensive ammunition.
  • Hornady Critical Defense works well and has a rubber core that prevents the hollowpoint from getting clogged prior to expansion
  • CORBON DPX is excellent as well
  • Federal Premium Hydrashocks are good as well

Selecting a Rifle

Go with an Arsenal SGL-21 in 7.62×39 and save yourself the drama that can come with a Century Arms, IO, or other parts kit built gun.

Why 7.62×39?

Ammunition and magazines in 7.62x39mm are more common in the USA than for 5.45×39.

Magazines

• Surplus steel magazines and Bulgarian “Circle 10″ polymer magazines are the ones I recommend as of this blog post.
• The Magpul AK mags look very promising though.

Accessorizing

Furniture

• Stock
  • Polymer solid stocks are always a good choice
  • I don’t really care for the wood furniture since it adds weight to the rifle
  • Folding Stocks
    • Avoid anything that requires you to take a dremel or hacksaw to the receiver to get it to fit.
      • ACE Folding stocks are notorious for requiring the user to cut the tang of the receiver to fit the stock.
    • If you are going to get a MAKO stock, then get the side folder model.
    • The TAPCO Galil style folding stocks are a bit cheap in both price and durability.
    • The Soviet paratrooper wire folders are not that comfortable to shoot
• Pistol Grip
  • It is a matter of personal preference, but I really like the Hogue Grips
  • Magpul and US Palm make good pistol grips as well
• Sling
  • Keep it simple with a two point sling
  • I don’t like the surplus slings with the leather buckles, the leather is often worn out or weather-beaten.
• Optics and other accessories
  • The Ultimak gas tube rail mount is really the only scope mounting solution I recommend for an AK
  • The Aimpoint micro is the best red dot out there in terms of being able to tolerate heat and maintain zero. Like many good optics out there, it is not cheap.
  • Don’t try to turn your AK into a combination CQB and Sniper weapon. It will do neither well.
  • The Haley Strategic Thorntail SBR mount works great in combination with the Ultimak mount and a Fenix TK-21 flashlight.

Why?

It is important to be able to practice your draw from concealment and trigger control even if you cannot make it out to the gun range. It is also important to be able to practice wearing clothing that you are most likely to find yourself having to deploy your firearm in a defensive use situation.

Safety

• Remove any live ammunition or live weapons away from the training area
• Double check your magazine pouches
• Make sure that your magazines are empty if you are going to practice reloads
• Triple-check your pistol to ensure that there is no live ammunition in the chamber

Pocket Pistols

• As a refresher pocket pistols are often defined by the following traits
  • Small Frame
  • Single stack (all the cartridges are in a straight line as opposed to being staggered) magazine to ensure a thin profile
  • Usually chambered in .380 ACP or 9mm.
• The following models of pocket pistol are generally good to go when it comes to this category of handgun
  • Smith and Wesson Bodyguard .380
    • The double-action only trigger means that you will not have to rack the slide to dry-fire the gun again.
  • Ruger LCP
    • The double-action only trigger means that you will not have to rack the slide to dry-fire the gun again.
  • Beretta Nano
    • I like striker-fired guns a lot but you will need to rack the slide each time to reset the trigger after dry firing the gun which means that you run the risk of developing bad habits from training.

Things you will need

• The LaserLyte Pistol Training Target
• The LaserLyte Reaction Tyme Target set
• A Laserlyte Pistol Training Cartridge
  • Here is one in .380 ACP
  • Here is one in 9mm

Configuring your pocket pistol for dry-fire training

1. Drop the magazine from your gun
2. Make sure that there is no live ammunition in the magazine
3. Check the chamber of your gun by racking the slide back with no magazine in the gun
4. AGAIN Check the chamber of your gun by racking the slide back with no magazine in the gun
5. Insert your .380 ACP or 9mm LaserLyte cartridge into the chamber
6. Pull back and rack the slide into battery
7. Insert the EMPTY magazine into the gun

Training Drills

This is where it can get really fun! 

Be sure to incorporate the following elements into your training drills. You can set up drills for yourself that focus on one particular element or set up drills that incorporate all elements

• Drawing your firearm from a belly band holster
• Drawing your firearm from a bag or purse
• A sudden signal to draw your firearm
• Targets placed in unpredictable and irregular spots by your training partner
• Fast and explosive movement from one spot to another
• 360 degree awareness
  • This means placing targets at opposite angles of attack
• Irregular shooting positions
  • Seated, On your back, On your side, etc.
• Reloads or a transition to a secondary weapon
• Escaping the area

Conclusion

DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

Dry fire practice, movement, and weapons manipulation are far more important to developing defensive skills than just popping off rounds at the square range.

This is a tragedy that was completely preventable. I put the blame squarely on the parents for this. Unsecured in the corner of a room is not an acceptable place to store a gun
At bare minimum, a $10 cable lock through the opened action is needed.
There was no excuse for not clearing the gun prior to “storing” it in the half-assed manner the parents did.
In my opinion, five years old is a bit young for a kid to have their first gun, let alone have one unsupervised.
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