 Firearms training. A critical part of becoming an effective law enforcement officer. These people know it. They know that firing a handgun safely and effectively takes practice. Lots of it. They also know that good marksmanship begins with the fundamentals. Some of you may already be familiar with firearms and for some this may be a new experience. But for all of us there is one simple rule. Learn the basics and stick to them. In the next few minutes we'll find out what those fundamentals are. Things such as stance, grip, trigger control. We'll demonstrate how to align sights, how to load and unload, and to safely uncock a standard service revolver. By the end of the program you should be on your way to becoming an effective and accurate shooter. And in law enforcement that could be the key to survival. Your partners and your own. First things first. Consider your stance. This individual is standing in what is called the field interrogation stance. Facing the target. Feet shoulder width apart. Strong foot slightly back. This is a natural position for most people. It's comfortable, results in very little body sway and helps prevent the torso from twisting. To find your natural firing stance stand as if you were conducting a conversation. The key is stability. You want to minimize movement. On the other hand the stress of crouching will increase muscle tension and cause tremor. So stand up straight and don't lock your knees. A good field interrogation stance is stable, natural. And most importantly it minimizes movement. Now let's look at the position of the upper body. Your arms and head should form a triangle so that when you raise your firearm its sights align naturally with your eye. Try not to move your head. Instead move the weapon. And remember don't lock your elbows. Keep your arms in a natural position. A correct grip is critical to good marksmanship. It allows you to pull the trigger smoothly and repeatedly without having to re-grip after each shot. Likewise a good grip helps control the recoil of your weapon. Notice the shooting hand is placed high on the back strap of the revolver. It's this positioning that allows for greater recoil control. It also allows enough finger to be placed on the trigger, an essential requirement of a good grip. You want to be able to pull easily with control. To do this most people find they need to place their finger on the trigger up to the first joint. Now let's take a look at the two-handed grip. You'll be using this grip throughout most of your training. The fingers of the weak or support hand are wrapped around the fingers of the strong hand. Note that the thumbs of both hands lie on the same side of the weapon. Some individuals will place the weak hand thumb over the shooting hand. This generally weakens the grip as the hand separates slightly. Moreover it's not appropriate when using a semi-automatic. You should now have a firm grip on the weapon with equal pressure being exerted by both hands. Notice I said firm like a sturdy handshake. The fact is you don't need a bone crushing grip to be an expert marksman. Indeed too tight a grip could cause shaking. A steady secure grasp is all that counts. The preliminaries are now complete. You're ready to fire the first shot. To do so you must take aim. That means aligning your sights. All handguns are designed to fire in a line from the shooter's dominant eye to the front sight to the target. In order to find your dominant eye try this easy trick. Take a piece of paper, roll it up into a tube and look through it as you would a telescope. The eye you use is most likely your dominant eye. Now let's combine eye dominance with aim. To aim properly you need to align your sights. That means moving the weapon so that the front sight is in the middle of the rear sight and that the top of the front sight is level with the top of the rear notch. Give it a try. Pick up your weapon. Check to make sure it's empty. Now align your sights by pointing in a safe direction. Once we add the target you have sight picture. This is what you'll actually see. Notice you can only focus on one thing. Either the target, the front sight or the rear notch. Keep your primary focus on the front sight and don't let that little wobble bother you. Not only is it impossible to avoid but it actually has very little effect on your overall aim. Just concentrate on your sight picture. Because that and trigger control will determine your success as a marksman. We've already mentioned how important it is to have enough finger on the trigger in order to pull without difficulty. Trigger control goes one step further. It means applying steady, smooth pressure while holding your sights in alignment. The result should come as a surprise. In fact, it should feel as if the gun fired when it wanted to, not when you decided. The key is smoothness. Don't jerk the trigger. You will pull the sights of the weapon out of alignment. Pull the trigger straight back, not sideways. Finally, follow through with the shot. That is, hold your weapon in position, focusing on the front sight a fraction of a second after firing. This helps ensure an accurate shot. There's more to marksmanship than mere aim, however. Safety is always the number one concern when handling a firearm. Loading and unloading your weapon safely is crucial. Accidental discharges do occur. Make sure they don't happen to you. To safely load your standard service revolver, make sure your muzzle is pointed down range. Take two rounds from your ammo pouch and drop them into the cylinder two at a time. If you drop a round, never bend over on the firing line to pick it up. Simply pull another from your pouch or pocket and load as before. For speed loaders, whether you're using the HKS type or the Safari land, the procedure is as follows. Hold the speed loader to the cylinder. Seat the rounds. Load the weapon by ejecting the rounds from the speed loader into the chamber. Then, simply close the cylinder, letting the speed loader fall to the ground. To safely unload a revolver with no live rounds in it, simply hold the weapon out at arm's length and depress the extractor rod. Now, what if you didn't fire all the rounds? Take the revolver, dump the live rounds into your hand, hold the weapon at arm's length, and depress the extractor rod to unload the remaining empty casings. Just remember safety first. When unloading or loading, never point your weapon at something you don't intend to shoot. Keep the muzzle pointed down range at all times. Holding to uncock your weapon is another element of firearm safety. Holding the revolver in your strong hand, place the index finger or little finger of your weak hand between the hammer and frame. Note that your finger is beneath the hammer nose. Now, press back slightly. Begin pulling the trigger. As the hammer begins to move forward, remove your finger from the trigger guard. Ease the hammer down with the thumb of your gun hand. You've now safely uncocked the weapon. Sometimes, as you're releasing the hammer, it will stick in the half-cocked position. When this occurs, simply pull the hammer back until you hear a distinct pop. Then, gently ease the hammer down with your thumb. A word of warning. Never wrap your fingers around the face of the cylinder while uncocking your weapon. And as always, point the weapon in a safe direction. In this case, down range. Well, now we've covered the fundamentals of marksmanship. You can memorize them and practice them, but you won't really know how well you've learned them unless you get some feedback. Ball and dummy exercises can provide some of this feedback. They tell you if you have good trigger control. Here's how it works. When loading, take two rounds and load together. Now, turn the cylinder to skip a hole and load a third. Spin the cylinder. Gently close it and prepare to shoot. Notice the recoil of the weapon during an actual discharge. There is virtually no movement when the empty chamber is reached. Slow motion gives us an even clearer view. Ball and dummy exercises are an important part of firearms training. Use this feedback wisely and you'll soon find yourself improving your technique and your scores. Another technique to reinforce your understanding of how a revolver fires is called indexing. It's important to realize that when you pull the trigger of a Smith & Wesson service revolver, the cylinder rotates counter-clockwise. What this means is that when you pull the trigger, the round to the right of the hammer will rotate up into the firing position. Why is this important? In combat situations, knowing that a live round is in the next chamber is vital. It might even ensure your survival. The indexing drill starts by loading two rounds in the first two empty chambers. Close the cylinder so that the chamber immediately under the hammer is empty. At this point, the first live round should be to the right of the hammer. As you pull the trigger, the round will rotate under the hammer. Now let's see that again. Notice the counter-clockwise rotation as the shot is fired. This then is the principle of indexing. Another step in understanding firearms. Without a doubt, marksmanship is a mental endeavor. A strong mind, steady concentration. These are what distinguish a good shooter from the mediocre one. But there is a physical component, and it does play a significant role. Upper arm strength, grip, wrist endurance, even finger stamina all affect how well you shoot over a prolonged period of time. To strengthen these areas, certain techniques are used. For instance, to increase grip strength, try squeezing a tennis ball. Keep at it, timing yourself for longer and tighter repetitions. Wrist curls can be done using traditional weights or any heavy object, such as this weighted gym bag. The more repetitions you do on each wrist, the stronger those muscles will become. Of course, the beauty of these exercises is that they can be done almost anywhere without suiting up, without going to the gym. Take the upper arm, for example. You can use the same gym bag that you used when doing wrist curls to strengthen your arms. Just hold it straight out until you feel the burn. Many students find the long hours at the range constrain their trigger fingers. The fact is, there's no substitute for pulling a trigger to increase finger stamina. You're going to have to simply pull, pull, pull, using a special trigger control device developed for this purpose. Remember, you don't have to be a Charles Atlas to be a sharp shooter, but you do need the strength to fire in a steady, controlled manner. And that we can all achieve. By now, you have a grasp of the fundamentals of marksmanship. You know enough to use the field interrogation stance when shooting and to realize that a good grip depends on firm and equal pressure between both hands. And most importantly, you realize that trigger control and proper sight alignment are crucial. It's that surprise shot that lets you know you're on your way to superior marksmanship. Of course, safety must be of primary concern. Make it second nature. And be patient. Recognize that expert marksmen aren't made overnight. It takes a lot of practice, a lot of hard work, and most of all, it takes a lot of concentration. With the basics that you've learned in this program and the exercises you've been given, you have every chance to become a good shooter. Now you decide if you want to become a great shooter.