Modern Technique of the Pistol

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The Modern Technique of the Pistol is a method of use of the pistol for self-defense, developed by Jeff Cooper. The Modern Technique utilizes a two-handed grip of the pistol, bringing the weapon to eye level so that the sights may be speedily employed in its use.

An example of a shooter employing the Modern Technique, in addition to the Mozambique Drill, may be seen in this clip from Miami Vice.

Contents

[edit] Components of the Modern Technique

  • The Weaver Stance

The Weaver Stance consists of a grasping the pistol with two hands. The drawing hand applies a slight forward pressure, while the grip is pulled back by the opposing hand. This is designed to facilitate greater control over the weapon during recoil, allowing for rapid follow-up shots while maintaining a high degree of accuracy.

  • The Flash Sight Picture

In ordinary use of any firearm, the front and rear sights are carefully aligned before the weapon is fired. This, however, takes time; the Modern Technique is specifically designed to facilitate rapid engagement of threats, and as a result, a different method of aiming the weapon was developed. Instead of consciously aligning the front and rear sights with the target, only the front sight is consciously utilized. The alignment of the rear sight is achieved partially by the proper execution of the Weaver stance; the small adjustments are made subconsciously on the part of the shooter, taking advantage of the human brain's ability to rapidly recognize and interpret patterns. Training ensures that the Weaver stance is employed correctly, and that the subconscious alignment of the sights is not overridden by conscious effort.

Jeff Cooper continually emphasized the use of the front sight only to aim at the target, ensuring the best chance of survival in a situation where deadly force has become necessary at short ranges.

  • The Surprise Break

The surprise break is the technique used to depress the trigger and discharge the weapon. This practice is designed so the shooter depresses the trigger in one smooth motion without flinching or otherwise upsetting the stability of the firearm by anticipating the trigger's breaking point and recoil; the trigger is smoothly squeezed, rather than roughly pulled, which was the standard practice when point shooting, which was the common technique of the day for the use of handguns.

  • The Semi-Automatic Pistol in a Large Caliber

Although the Modern Technique can be, and regularly is, utilized with handguns of every size and shape, the M1911 pistol chambered in .45 ACP was the sidearm of choice for Jeff Cooper. Cooper recommended that the sidearm used be of a large caliber (generally agreed to be equivalent to .40 S&W or larger) and a semi-automatic. The reasoning is as follows: large caliber to ensure the incapacitation of the hostile individual in as few shots (and as a result, as little time) as possible, and a semi-automatic to allow for rapid shots to engage multiple hostiles as effectively as possible.

A semi-automatic handgun maintains additional advantages over a revolver. A semiauto has a higher capacity, thus allowing for more shots per reload, and can be reloaded considerably faster than a revolver. Whereas the revolver's chambers must usually be emptied through the manual operation of an ejector (an exception being the line of revolvers manufactured in Britain by Webley and Scott during the first half of the twentieth century) and then either reloaded one by one or through the use of a speedloader, a semiautomatic is reloaded by simply removing the magazine, inserting a new magazine containing new cartridges, and (if all of the cartridges in the previous magazine were discharged) racking the slide to feed a fresh round into the chamber (assuming the slide does not lock open when empty, as it does in many designs).

[edit] "D.V.C."

Jeff Cooper summarized the Modern Technique with the acronym D.V.C. This abbreviation stands for the Latin words "Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas", or "Accuracy, Force, Speed". These three terms correspond to the Modern Technique as follows:

"Diligentia" - You must hit your target in order to cause him harm.

"Vis" - You must hit your opponent with enough force to incapacitate him with as few shots as possible.

"Celeritas" - So that no harm comes to you, you must hit all of your opponents quickly.

D.V.C. was as much the personal motto of Cooper as it was the motto for his technique, and he passed this motto on to all of his students.

[edit] Cooper's Color Code

When speaking of the Modern Technique, Cooper always emphasized that readiness was everything. He said that the technique used and the pistol selected didn't matter if the individual wasn't prepared to encounter danger at all times. To underscore his point and give students a visual reference with which to evaluate themselves, Cooper developed a color code of readiness. This color code was as follows:

  • White - No readiness. The individual's readiness would be white if he were asleep, engrossed in a book, or otherwise without any perception of his surroundings or the movements within them.
  • Yellow - General readiness. The individual is aware of his surroundings and monitoring what is happening in those surroundings.
  • Orange - Specific readiness. The individual is aware of an activity or a person within his surroundings that presents a threat.
  • Red - Imminent danger. The individual is aware of an immediate threat which will likely result in the use of deadly force.

Cooper's code is frequently mistaken as an indicator of danger, rather than an indicator of readiness. An example to the contrary is that the student may be in imminent danger from a bear, but the student may be asleep next to his campfire, which would make the student's color code white, for "no readiness". Colonel Cooper stated that a person who is armed should NEVER be in Condition White.

Many people spend most of their lives in condition yellow. Occasionally, a threat will be observed, and the individual's readiness will be orange; if the individual is unable to escape or otherwise avoid this threat peacefully, they become condition red, and lethal force will become necessary to their survival.

This color code of readiness has been adopted by third parties, including the United States Marine Corps.

To promote situational awareness, Cooper endorsed what is known as the "Dollar Club" -- Gunsite "family members" were expected to be members. When two members of the Dollar Club met, the one who saw and recognized the other first could claim a dollar from the less-aware member. Cooper also stated that any "family member" who got a traffic ticket should pay it, because a properly-aware driver should see police cars in time to avoid citation.

[edit] Analysis of Reports from Firefights

Many students of the Modern Technique served in dangerous capacities all over the world. Cooper requested that these students report back to him when they had been involved in a firefight, so that he might adjust his technique according to real combat experience. Over fifty years, this body of knowledge was built using the input of students of the Modern Technique involved in nearly forty firefights. Cooper developed several drills from this information in order to increase the effectiveness of his technique in real-life situations.

The use of these reports sent to him by his students and others allowed Cooper to design his drills and courses to reflect real-world situations, which eventually developed into the competitions for the Southwestern Pistol League[1]

In an effort to further refine the Modern Technique and the methods used in training, Cooper continued to compile reports of firefights from his students until his death in 2006. In the process, he built the largest collection of data of its kind.

[edit] The Mozambique Drill - 1974

The Mozambique Drill consists of shooting two rounds at the torso of an opponent, and then quickly delivering a better-aimed shot to the head.

The Mozambique Drill was developed as a result of the feedback of a student of the Modern Technique who had been involved in a firefight near the airport of Maputo, capital of Mozambique. An enemy was advancing towards this student with a rifle, despite having been shot twice in the upper torso. As the torso wounds hadn't stopped him, the student shot his assailant in the head, killing him.[2]

Because of the huge variation in the effects of a bullet striking a human body, multiple handgun rounds impacting in an assailant's torso may fail to incapacitate him; however, a large-caliber bullet striking the primary zones of the head is lethal almost without exception. As a result of these facts and the experience relayed to him by the student, Cooper developed the new drill. In light of the increasing use of body armor and less-powerful pistol calibers, the Mozambique Drill has taken on new significance.

[edit] The El Presidente - 1977

The "El Presidente" drill was developed by Jeff Cooper himself while training a protection detail for a South American president.

This drill consists of three targets; the shooter starts facing away from these targets. When the signal to begin is given, the shooter turns, shoots each twice, from left to right or right to left (usually shooter's preference), reloads, and then shoots each of the first two targets once again in the opposite order.

This simulates a situation in which it is necessary to hit multiple armed opponents before they can themselves shoot. The reload is due to the 7-round magazine capacity of the M1911A1 pistol, which Cooper considered the preferred sidearm on the market.

The shooter's performance is evaluated in terms of the number of hits achieved and the time taken to achieve them. The "El Presidente" has become a favorite drill used by practitioners of Combat Pistol Shooting.

One variation on the drill is for the shooter to hit opponents in a particular order, designated by markings on the targets or shouted by the rangemaster as the shooter turns. Another is the "Practical El Presidente," in which the left and right targets must be hit first in "one shot on target one, two shots on target two, one shot on target one" order before engaging the center target (simulating removal of bodyguards or captors). Other variations include more targets, "no-shoot" hostage targets, two shooters (who must turn in opposite directions), etc. Another variation is firing one round at each of the first two targets, placing two hits on the third, then re-engaging the first two with a "clean up" shot.

[edit] The Dozier Drill - 1981

The Dozier Drill consists of five human silhouette targets. A second participant is tasked with the job to retrieve a pistol and magazine from a tool-bag, which he must assemble and prepare to fire. Once the signal sounds, the shooter must draw his sidearm and engage the five targets successfully before the second participant can ready his pistol for use.

The Dozier Drill is another example of the expansion of the Modern Technique due to real-life occurrences. Cooper developed this drill after hearing the story of the kidnapping of Brigadier General James L. Dozier by Italian Red Brigade terrorists.

Between four and five combatants entered Dozier's apartment under the guise of plumbers. One of these individuals removed a submachine gun from his tool-bag while another read a political statement to Dozier. At that time, U.S. Military personnel were prohibited under Italian law from carrying firearms within their areas of accommodation, which were part of the local Italian community.

[edit] History of the Modern Technique

The origins of the Modern Technique began in 1956, when Jeff Cooper began holding "Leatherslap" shooting events and established the "Bear Valley Gunslingers" at Big Bear Lake, California. The early events consisted of straight quick-draw matches, where the goal was to simply draw and hit a target at 7 yards faster than your opponents. It was the first competition of its kind, unrestricted in terms of technique, weapon, caliber, holster, or profession.[3]

Initially, all of the competitors used some form of point shooting, which was the popular technique at the time and believed to be best for that purpose. This all began to change when one of the early champions, Jack Weaver, switched to a two-handed, aimed technique. According to Weaver, "A pretty quick hit was better than a lightning-fast miss."[4] Weaver took home a string of victories, influencing others attending the events to adopt his same technique. It wasn't long before firearms trainers were modifying and refining Weaver's technique.

[edit] Criticism

Critics of the Modern Technique and its components point out that some elements of the Modern Technique existed before Jeff Cooper codified them. For example, there are photographs predating World War II that show shooters using Weaver's stance and technique. While individual shooters may have used components of what would later become the Modern Technique, the testing of different techniques and the determination of the most advantageous techniques through simulation of real-life situations and the codification of these techniques would not occur until after the development of the Modern Technique.

[edit] Other Developments

Jeff Cooper lists advances in pistol-craft prior to the Modern Technique[5] :

  • The FBI 'Practical Pistol Course' of the Thirties, which consisted of timed shooting at seven, twenty-five, fifty and sixty yards holding the pistol in the strong hand, and then the weak hand. This was a great improvement over the basic bullseye shooting taught previously.
  • Jeff Cooper's own work in conjunction with Taft on the 'Advanced Military Combat Pistol Course' in 1948, which was incorporated in to the Army Field Manual.

[edit] The Combat Masters

After several years, the "Bear Valley Gunslingers" evolved into the "Southwestern Combat Pistol League", later known as the "Southwest Pistol League" as the word "Combat" offended the California Secretary of State at that time.[6]

The objective of the SWCPL was to inject realism into pistol shooting competitions in an effort to develop the best methods of utilizing the handgun for self-defense. The later competitions held at Big Bear Lake were designed to mimic situations that had actually occurred, such as shootings that some of the police officers at the events had been involved in.[7]

During the competitions at Big Bear, six competitors consistently dominated the competition, and these men became known as the "Combat Masters":[8] Jack Weaver, Ray Chapman, Elden Carl, Thell Reed, John Plähn and Jeff Cooper. The Combat Masters were given this title because if they competed, they would always take the first six places. If only one of them competed, he would ordinarily emerge victorious. These competitions included highly accomplished world-class point shooters, such as Thell Reed and Bob Munden, who competed using what would become the Modern Technique.

Those members of the SWCPL instrumental in the development of the Modern Technique were:[9]

Jack Weaver, who invented the new two-handed "Weaver Stance". Eldon Carl and Ray Chapman refined the stance in competition and John Plähn codified it. It was Jeff Cooper who then promulgated the new technique.[10]

Combat Master John Plähn (John Plahn), who possessed a Ph.D in physical education, filmed the Combat Masters in action to analyze what their winning techniques had in common. This resulted in the selection of the most efficient methods of motion used during shooting being selected and designed into the Modern Technique of the Pistol.[11]

The Combat Masters were:

  • Jack Weaver - a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy, now retired.
  • John Plähn
  • Elden Carl - went on to become involved in off-road motorcycling
  • Ray Chapman - the rangemaster at Los Alamitos, CA police department and won the annual SWCPL Championship in 1964, 1967 and 1970 and in 1975 won the first IPSC World Shoot. He provided instruction in the Modern Technique and other shooting techniques at the Chapman Academy, and at Green Valley Club in Columbia, Missouri, which he founded in 1979. He also became a consultant to the movie industry.
  • Thell Reed[12] - became a consultant to the movie industry, as well as armorer, stunt man, and extra.
  • Jeff Cooper

Others significant in the SWCPL were:

  • Leonard Knight finished second in the first IPSC US National Championship in 1977.
  • Bob Munden finished in second place in 1958 SWCPL and went on become the world's fastest gun. He developed a career performing, competing, teaching fast draw as well as specialist gunsmithing and has appeared on television shows in many countries.
  • Al Nichols
  • Bruce Nelson, an LEO in Southern California working in narcotics. He was present at the formation of IPSC and formed the Holster Committee along with Michael Harries.
  • Michael Harries, a former US Marine, who invented the "Harries Technique" of flashlight manipulation for use with a pistol, as well as becoming an instructor at Gunsite and consultant to police departments and the movie industry.
  • Jim Zubiena[13] , who appeared in the episode Calderone's Return Part 1 of Miami Vice. Jim Zubiena's appearance in this movie is a good example of the employment of the Modern Technique and may be reviewed here [1].

[edit] International Practical Shooting Confederation - IPSC - 1976

In May of 1976 Jeff Cooper was present at the conference which founded the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) and thence served as the first IPSC president. When founded, IPSC reflected the practical focus on self-defense which the SWCPL and the Modern Technique had addressed but in subsequent decades IPSC drifted from practical pistol shooting toward pistol shooting games and lost its relevance to self-defense.[14][15]

[edit] Founding of the American Pistol Institute at Gunsite Ranch ("Orange Gunsite") - 1976

Jeff Cooper went on to codify and promulgate the Modern Technique in his work subsequent to the Big Bear Leatherslaps. He traveled the world providing training in the Modern Technique to security teams such as those protecting heads of state, prominent politicians and wealthy individuals. In 1976 Jeff Cooper founded the "American Pistol Institute" ("API") at Gunsite Ranch in Yavapai County, Arizona, just north of Paulden with the objective of providing training in the Modern Technique to a larger audience of military personnel, law enforcement officers and citizens.

The American Pistol Institute is frequently referred to as "Gunsite".

Gradually, over the decades, those working in this field, such as close protection teams and special forces units, moved toward adopting doctrines and formal training regimes. The British S.A.S, for example, moved from point shooting to the Modern Technique in the early Eighties. Frequently, the doctrines adopted largely contain elements of the Modern Technique (such as the Weaver Stance) or use the Modern Technique in its entirety. [16] [17]

[edit] See also

Point Shooting

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Cooper, Jeff (2001). Gargantuan Gunsite Gossip -2. Gunsite Academy Press, 523. ISBN 0926134252. 
  2. ^ Jeff Cooper's Commentaries Vol 1 No 1 June 1994 paragraph 4.
  3. ^ History of the Weaver Stance, by Alan Weaver.
  4. ^ History of the Weaver Stance, by Alan Weaver.
  5. ^ Jeff Cooper's Commentaries Vol 7 No 4 March 1999 paragraph 2.
  6. ^ Jeff Cooper's Commentaries Vol 3 No 8 June 1995 paragraph 2.
  7. ^ Cooper, Jeff (2001). Gargantuan Gunsite Gossip -2. Gunsite Academy Press, 523. ISBN 0926134252. 
  8. ^ Cooper, Jeff (2006). Shotluck. Wisdom Publishing, 51. ISBN 0965540960. 
  9. ^ Jeff Cooper's Commentaries Vol 3 No 8 June 1995 paragraph 8.
  10. ^ Jeff Cooper's Commentaries Vol 7 No 4 March 1999 paragraph 2.
  11. ^ Jeff Cooper's Commentaries Vol 2 No. 1 January 1994 paragraph 6.
  12. ^ Internet Movie Database, Thell Reed.
  13. ^ Internet Movie Database, Jim Zubiena.
  14. ^ Jeff Cooper's Commentaries Vol. 7 No 14 December 1999 paragraph 14.
  15. ^ Wilson, Jim 2006. "IPSC And IDPA Give Shooters A Choice". Shooting Times : Paragraph 7.
  16. ^ Wiley Clapp, former handgun editor for Guns & Ammo, paragraph 4.
  17. ^ Compendium of Obituaries for Jeff Cooper.

[edit] External links

An example of a shooter, Jim Zubenia, employing the Modern Technique, during a scene from the television series Miami Vice in an episode called Calderone's Return Part 1. In this clip, the shooter demonstrates, a 'Mozambique Drill' where two shots are aimed at the torso, and then a third shot is aimed at the head.
The email list was originally for graduates of Orange Gunsite and the Gunsite Academy but will now admit graduates of Grey Gunsite and a limited number of other categories of alumni.[1]