pmcimagazine.com
DESIGNATED TRAINING GUNS
The lack of recoil present while performing the same range
of motions tends to carry over mentally back to the LIVE FIRE.
When first performing this, you will see shooters possibly
going back to anticipating recoil after a few shots, but as the
switch back and forth from SIRT to LIVE FIRE, you will see a
huge difference quickly.
RED GUNS BY ASP
In June of 1999, I was first handed a red colored, hard plastic
version of a Beretta M9 as a young cadet attending the Pitt
Community College Basic Law Enforcement Training academy.
Soon after, I was informed this new tool of the trade was
known as a “Red Gun” by ASP ( www.ASP-USA.com ). Further
into my training, I learned this was the same company was
known around the world for producing THE name in collapsible
batons, zip cuffs and innovative tactical flashlights. For the
next few weeks, I would carry this daily in my holster on my
cadet duty belt along with red plastic replicas of a radio, spare
magazines and flashlight as well.
Once I was hired by the Sheriff’s office in the neighboring
county, my Beretta Red Gun was then replaced by an ASP
version of a Glock model 21 to closer simulate the firearm my
new agency carried. As with many Police Academies across
the country, this practice is put into place as a strategy that
acclimates their cadets to carrying a firearm integrated into
their daily lives. Psychologists have found this to effectively
assist in normalizing the presence of the weapon and doing
everyday tasks while wearing one. It simply works.
Day in and day out, I practiced drawing from the holster,
keeping my finger off the trigger, working around corners,
getting through doorways escaping the “fatal funnel” and
even wrestling around on the ground with classmates to
develop sound weapon retention techniques. These were all
aspects of training in which a live firearm would not have
been a smart choice in using for safety purposes. ASP donates
millions of dollars in free training to law enforcement
organizations nationwide and the training aids were designed
and spun up to support that lifesaving mission. Better trained
officers save lives; theirs and others.
So exactly what are red guns? They almost exact replicas of
real firearm models that are built of a dense durable polymer
and are weighted to feel more like their real steel loaded
counterparts. For those of you “old school” ASP users who
notice a different color tone in the new products, the answer
is YES, they have changed up their polymer blend it seems.
The new products seem to have a bit more flex to prevent
breakage.
ASP offers dozens of firearm models in their inventory
from revolvers, semi-auto pistol, shotguns, rifles and even
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