Advanced Combat Shotgun: The Stressfire Concept

As with all of the titles by Massad Ayoob I have read to date, I am very impressed with the content, style, and tone of this book. There are differences between skeet, trap, bird hunting, game hunting, and self defense. While I never mastered skeet and trap and haven't hunted since I was in my twenties (I'm way past that now) I am still interested in being able to defend myself and my family. This book was recommended to me and initially I almost didn't buy it because I thought it was solely a "cop" book. Not so -- while directed towards the police training crowd, it also covers all of the things the individual needs to know about self defense. A shotgun is truly a formidable weapon, from the perspectives of both the user and the bad guy. If it drives the bad guy away without a shot being fire, so much the better.

* I am a TRUE martial artist, meaning that I train in the ways of war. I was in the military during the Cold War, and served in combat, so I have a reason for that focus. I also survived some brutal streets that offered more consistent threat than I ever saw in Desert Storm or Bosnia. Additionally, I've also been a correctional officer and patrol cop, earning the rank of lieutenant and serving on special response teams. * With all that in mind, I NEED books and vids that cover more than just punch-and-kick/ throw-and-grapple fighting. Massad Ayoob does an excellent job of not only presenting firearms info, but also of relating that info to the martial arts. He does not favor one traditional method of firearms application or other, but provides you with a complete scope that allows you to meet all threats with flexibility and assertiveness. Equally important, his MA insights make it clear that aikido (his apparently preferred art) and any other MA art goes beyond far more than just hand-to-hand. * In modern times, we need to focus on modern weapons that we will encounter on the streets or can carry on our person. Swords and spears don't fit that criteria... making Stressfire and such books all the more important for the modern MA man or woman.

"Stressfire II: Advanced Combat Shotgun" is a book on equipment and techniques. Massad Ayoob explains the difference in Chapter 24, and writes that "Stressfire II" is a book of technique-not tactics. I was fortunate enough to read this book when it first came out in 1992. One concept that hit me in the face was that the shotgun was "heavy artillery." I have a military background and I had to shift mental gears; the heaviest police weapons are the lightest military weapons. Shotguns are devastating on unarmored personnel in the open at short (hand grenade) ranges. Between pages 15 and 30, Ayoob provides a series of photographs showing what the shotgun does to human bodies and 7-yard shot patterns. The problems of shotgun retention when the bad guys try to take your gun away are addressed. Shotguns are more prone to malfunctions than the military rifles and pistols I deal with-the recommended "immediate action drill" for a jammed shotgun is dropping the gun and pulling your pistol. It won't always be an option-many people have only a shotgun, no handguns! In that case, the hand-to-hand combat techniques (using the shotgun as an impact weapon) may come in handy; they're based on military bayonet fighting techniques. In my experience, the two most-common shotgun malfunctions are short-stroking the pump gun and failing to pick up a shell from the magazine (fixed by pumping it again) and running the magazine dry (reloading fixes that). Sometimes the shot shells just hang up-which takes a few minutes to fix. Ayoob's recommendation to use a secondary weapon-even if that's simply using your shotgun as a club-makes sense in the split-second world of hand-to-hand combat. "Stressfire II" also has tips on using cover (protection from bullets) and managing the shotgun's stiff recoil. On the latter, Ayoob recommends the 20 gauge autoloading shotgun-or the then-new low-recoil "tactical buckshot." The equipment recommendations are still valid, even if some of the guns Ayoob mentions are only available second-hand, on the used gun rack. One thing that wasn't available when this book was written was an efficient white light mount for the shotgun. The gun-mounted light is for target identification and to dazzle the target-I'm sure that Ayoob teaches proper management of the shotgun-mounted light in his shooting school. "Stressfire II" is a textbook on techniques and equipment. I recommend going to a shooting school-but read the textbook first and know your equipment before going. Your school should teach both technique and tactics. "Stressfire II" can help you choose your school by showing you what techniques work and what doesn't.

Practical guide to improving shooting technique by using the stress of combat or competition situation. Where most advocate trying to overcome stress Ayoob realizes this is not always realistic.A highly respected police officer and shooting instructor Ayoob know of what he speaks. I found this to be one of his best written. I have been able to get quite a bit out of it to improve my shooting and hope to see more improvement with practice of his methods.

Stressfire is an excellent follow up to Ayoob's In the Gravest Exreme. In Stressfire, he covers practical methods of all aspects of gun fighting from drawing from the holster to confrontations on stairs. He takes the best of several styles and blends them into a cohesive style that anyone can use. What I liked in particular, he justifies to the reader why he does things differently from others. He points out the strengths and weaknesses of different styles and allows the reader to pick what works for him.I recommend this book to all those who carry a gun for defense.