Photo Of The Day and we go to the training grounds of Węgorzewo in Poland to see some hot and smokey training in cold-air temperature. The soldier above probably has a FB Beryl with an EOTech sight.

With the recent uptick in firearms sales, the need for gun safety for both new and seasoned shooters is at an all-time high. In response, New NRA Online gun safety classes are being offered as part of their effort to keep all gun owners safe.

There is no denying, the last few weeks have been a little odd around the world. Normal daily practices like going out to dinner or hitting the range on a free day, have completely stopped. The number one complaint with shooters in my area is the lack of open ranges. Here in Michigan, most of the public ranges and indoor ranges have been shut down for public safety, so it really is difficult to find an accessible place to shoot if you don’t have private land.

This is not the same as belly carry, where the muzzle points at an outward angle. Belly carry results in a lack of awareness of where the muzzle is oriented. It also does not allow for use in as confined spaces as low carry, where the muzzle points straight down.

Has cabin fever set in yet? Trigger fingers getting itchy? Can you safely get to a range to do some shooting? Well if the answer is yes to the above, especially the last one, you should try competing in the COVID Precision Rifle Match! The best part is you can do it safely and practice proper social distancing.

With live fire training being not an option for many of us confined at home, dry firing solutions become more interesting. Indeed our Eric B included dry fire training in his list of activities to kill boredom in quarantine (No. 9). The folks at TPD, in Italy, had the same thought and they are promoting their TPD-A1 as an innovative home training device.

First, we must start with fitting the sling to the shooter. There are multiple videos and good sources of information on doing so online if you are new to sling setup. It is important we have a proper fit as this will enable us to have the correct amount of tension at the correct times. Next, we need to understand the impact of where the front sling point is attached. The chosen attachment point will impact how we choose to get into a sling assisted shooting position. The front attachment point is often near the end of the rail or near the magwell. Sling assisted shooting is about getting to the correct level of tension on the sling. Again, remember to fit your sling before attempting these techniques.

In this episode of TFBTV, @James Reeves brings you episode one of “Thunder Rants”. This series captures bits and pieces of knowledge dropped by Clint Smith while James was visiting Clint at Thunder Ranch in Oregon. You’ve got gun knowledge, life knowledge, and Clint’s opinions on horses and submarines.

Over the last decade, a debate has gone on between the keyboard warriors about the effectiveness of competition shooting for concealed carriers. On each side of the argument, people claim shooting competition can force a shooter to think and react under stress. Others say it promotes a ton of bad habits when you’re training for a real life engagement. There’s both pros and cons to shooting competition for concealed carry practice but let’s break down why both sides have a valid argument.

When transitioning to slung positions, the users need to use their hands for something other than holding their rifles. There are two slung positions, front and rear slung. Today we will discuss some key takeaways on these positions.

While it may not be the sexiest topic, the way you manipulate and move with your firearm are huge tells of your experience level. It all comes down to what Varg Freeborn refers to as advanced safety. This is more than simply keeping your finger off the trigger and not pointing guns at people. Having practiced sling positions that you can readily transition between will not only help you move in a safe manner with the firearm, but it will also help you get on target more readily. While ready, carry and slung positions are beneficial to square range work, they are essential to truly fight with a rifle.

The Shot Indicating Resetting Trigger (or SIRT) Training Pistol from Next Level Training has a strong fanbase. Their 110 and 107 models, respectively analogous to the Glock 17/22 and Smith & Wesson M&P, have been widely lauded by many professional instructors and dry-fire training enthusiasts for years. The SIRT is intended to compliment live-fire training by offering a realistic and convenient home- or classroom-based laser practice tool. Next Level also offers additional training aids such as an AR-15 laser bolt, a blunt training knife, and even an imitation reflex sight add-on. New for 2020, Next Level is recognizing the success of SIG Sauer’s P320 series with the introduction of their SIRT 20 and 20C.

Sons of Liberty Gunworks, a manufacturer of high-quality AR-15s, gun parts, and accessories, has just announced that they will be adding SGM(R) Charles “Chuck” Pressburg to their professional staff. Chuck currently operates with Presscheck Consulting which provides training to law enforcement and military personnel.

There are some really interesting products to help you shoot. Kestrels, ballistic calculators, chronographs, and laser range finders all help a shooter understand their environment and their gun. Well the Reactor Fusion Module might be the next must have accessory for precision bolt gun shooters who want to better know their gun.

Finding time to go to the range isn’t always the easiest thing to do for everyone. We all have busy lives and even though range time is basically the male equivalent of a spa day, it’s not always easy to set aside a specific time to train. Often times when we get to the range, we like to do the same drills multiple times without trying anything new or pushing ourselves. In the past, I’ve talked about finding targets online to mix up training, but incorporating movement is a fairly big factor to gauge your current skill levels. Shooting on the move can also show a shooter what improvements they need to work on based off their hits on target.

When the topic of dry firing comes up, there will often be a number of debates on how beneficial it is to the shooter. A number of things that can be improved from dry firing but often times people argue against dry firing for a few different reasons. I figured it would be helpful to dive into the good and bad aspects of dry firing and some tips when you get started. Let’s dive down the rabbit hole of dry firing.

Over the past few weeks, I was at various indoor and outdoor ranges with friends as well as coworkers of mine. On every occasion we saw a number of different people who all were equally unique in their own ways. We saw all kinds of people from the new guy who we thought were going to flag every person in the complex to the old man who was yelling about 45 ACP and MUH 1911. I was fairly amazed at the number of different people at the range. I think its a great thing more people are coming into the gun community but sometimes its fun to look at the various categories.

In this episode of TFBTV,  James Reeves introduces the “Win the Fight” Series, a set of videos that TFBTV recorded and produced in collaboration with Thunder Ranch and in partnership with Aero Precision, EOTech, Ballistic Advantage, Brownells, and Doubletap Ammunition. This episode is an introduction to the series, featuring Clint Smith‘s discussion as to why the AR-15 and similar rifles and carbines are preferable for self-defense.

In today’s Photo Of The Day, we’re going to have a look at some fantastic scenery in the area around Aberdeen (that’s a town in Northern Scotland).

It’s no surprise to gun owners that firearms have become a taboo subject, and as such, they are shunned and avoided to the point that few people know how to handle a firearm safely.  Despite the avoidance and shunning by those that don’t want to handle a gun, some of them may have to handle one anyway at some point in their life.  The necessity may come from finding a firearm in a taxi, or finding a gun on a playground, or even as a police officer handling a gun from a crime scene.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves quizzes Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch down with 20 questions about his favorite guns, hobbies, music, chow, the history of Thunder Ranch, dogs, and more.

For most gun owners, shooting never gets old, but sometimes, changing up what you shoot at can spice things up a bit.  Reddit user SP_OON, decided to make his own reactive targets from inexpensive and readily available materials.  He purchased some automotive tire valves, then fixed them to some screw-on bottle caps that fit used, plastic bottles.  He then added in a bit of colored sidewalk chalk into the bottle, then screwed on the valved cap and added a bit of air pressure through the valve.  The resulting bullet strike on each bottle sends up a very visible indicator that the target was hit.

The ever attentive Hrachya, in his constant worldwide research for cool stuff to let TFB readers know about*, found this peculiar product offered by a small Italian company.

When thinking about public ranges, typically, safe proficient training does not come to mind. Public ranges are a great resource when they are used properly. They give shooters a free area to go exercise their second amendment right which I completely love. I will occasionally go to public ranges to make sure a rifle or handgun is zeroed before taking a class. Some of the best things to see are families out at the range. Sometimes you see parents shooting responsibly and teaching their kids gun handling skills. There are some great things that happen at public ranges. Let’s be honest though, there are some insanely dangerous things that happen as well.

Time for some action in the Indian Ocean in this Photo Of The Day.

This past weekend I went out with a few friends and had a very early range session. One of the guys I was with set up an extremely simple drill with nothing but a large piece of paper, index card and a can of spray paint. In the last few articles, I’ve found various targets that are easily accessible online. After reading comments, I started to see you guys sometimes like to just make targets at the range. This drill is a perfect example of making your own target with little to no money!

Above you can see the legend Jerry Miculek (USA) on one of the run and gun stages at the Rifle World Shoot.

Back in June, Lucas Botkin of TRex Arms and 37 freedom-loving Americans helped @liku_tactical achieve a dream. @liku_tactical is a Japanese citizen who loves guns in Japan. For the past three years, he has been soaking up videos off YouTube and practicing what he sees using Airsoft. TRex Arms helped bring him to America to shoot firearms for the first time. Can Liku’s airsoft skills translate to shooting firearms? Absolutely.

A couple of weeks ago I started a series where I look at different paper targets and test them out at the range. There are a massive amount of free targets online anyone can print off and head to the range with to better themselves. This week I decided to take a look at the Baer Solutions Standards Target. This paper target has become fairly popular with trainers and experienced shooters because of its difficulty and time constraints.

The World Championship in IPSC Rifle 2019 was a great match and a huge success.