Category: Field Range Products

Shoot Houses and Shoot House Training

By Bob Schneider

I was first introduced to live fire shoot house training in 1986 at the world famous Gunsite Academy in northern Arizona. I had already been a Denver, Colorado, police officer for more than 10 years and was then a member of its full-time special weapons and tactics team (SWAT). Prior to transferring to SWAT, I was a patrol officer assigned to the northeastern quadrant of the city and county of Denver.

As a police officer, I had to search many businesses after silent alarms had been tripped as well as respond to calls that put me inside someone’s house. I had been trained to conduct building searches and how to handle calls inside structures, but I had not been exposed to firing live ammunition in that training arena. Was I sufficiently trained to conduct such police actions? I believed I was, but my eyes were opened to a higher level of training that my department had not exposed me to.LETC 187

In 1993, my department received a civil judgment against it for not providing adequate training to its police officers. My department had not provided “periodic target course shoot/don’t shoot live training under street conditions, particularly for officers on the front line.”1 We had required our officers to qualify once a month (later changed to quarterly) on a live fire course on a square range. This traditional range is exactly the same as all firearms ranges in the country used for law enforcement qualification and training. But our qualification courses did not require decision making, had little to no movement by the shooter, and was performed under adequate lighting conditions. The qualification target would turn and face the shooter which initiated the officer to present his/her weapon and fire the required number of rounds into the target before it edged away. This is the standard for all law enforcement agencies in the country. Then, some type of score is given for the officers’ records. If the officer passed, no further action was required. No additional training was given.

We know today that periodic qualification is just the beginning for our officers’ records. Continuing education is required in subject areas such as changes in the law or department regulations relating to the use of force, other options available other than the use of deadly force, and the list goes on. We now know we have a responsibility and obligation to expose our officers in training to as many situations as possible that they may encounter on the street.

If you believe you do have a responsibility and obligation to train your officers to the highest possible level, and your officers may find themselves in a structure like a building or house or business, then you need a live fire shoot house.LETC 190

Historically, live fire shoot houses have been made out of old automobile tires, plywood, cinder blocks, and other material that stops bullets. My SWAT team even made portable bullet traps that allowed us to make any building into a live fire shoot house. With today’s modern technology in clean ammunition and live fire shoot house construction, we have no excuse not to train our officers in live fire indoor simulators.

Companies such as Action Target make an excellent portable bullet trapcart Small. Its design and construction allow law enforcement agencies to tailor a structure to their environmental and economic needs.

I call it the “pay now or pay later” program. You can either pay now to build an indoor live fire simulator or you can pay later for not providing this level of training to your officers. You make the decision. If it was my decision, I would pay now. I would play every possible card in my deck to get a live fire shoot house.

Contact Action Target for options about getting your shoot house. I am confident that they will help you with your needs.

About Bob Schneider

LETC 191
Bob Schneider conducting training at the Action Target Law Enforcement Training Camp in 2012.

Bob Schneider retired from the Denver, Colorado, Police Department after 21 years of service. He spent 18 years assigned to his department’s full-time special weapons and tactics team. He is a certified firearms and less-lethal weapons instructor and has taught classes to federal, state, and local law enforcement officers as well as to U.S. and foreign military units here and overseas. Bob has developed several firearms and tactics courses to include training scenarios that are being used by popular simulator manufacturers. He currently lives in Denver, Colorado, with his two sons, Dylan and Jake.

 

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Action Target as a company.

1. Zuchel v. City and County of Denver, Colo., 997 F. 2d 730 – Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit 1993.

PoliceTrades.com Helps Agencies Find Additional Revenue Sources

Executive Video Summary

ptlogo_registered-copy

With the downturn in the economy and shrinking tax dollars, law enforcement agencies are searching for new sources of funding for needed equipment. PoliceTrades.com is helping law enforcement agencies find additional revenue through the trade of department firearms. Whether it be duty firearms, confiscated guns, or restricted Class 3 weapons, PoliceTrades.com is turning obsolete firearms into new equipment.

The PoliceTrades.com trade program is simple and completely free for law enforcement agencies. A list of firearms the agency is looking to eliminate is obtained and sent to the PoliceTrades.com bid network of Federal Firearms Licensed dealers (FFLs) for pricing. By using multiple vendors, PoliceTrades.com can obtain the highest trade value for the firearms. The highest bid is then presented to the agency for review. Once the bid is accepted, the agency ships the firearms directly to the FFL for resale. Payments are then made to the agency or to any vendor of the agency’s choice like Action Target. By paying a vendor directly, PoliceTrades.com ensures the money obtained through the traded firearms is used for the equipment needed by the agency.

For example, your police department could be in need of outfitting its outdoor shooting range with additional targets or equipment, but not have the funds to do it. Instead of trying to raise the money or fighting with local government to increase funding, you can turn obsolete firearms into credit with Action Target or any other vendor you choose. Action Target has been a corporate partner with PoliceTrades.com for the last few years and encourages law enforcement clients to utilize this opportunity to get the quality equipment and targetry they need to train effectively.

Many agencies are burdened with large inventories of confiscated and surrendered firearms. Evidence rooms fill up and agencies need a solution to eliminate this excess inventory. PoliceTrades.com offers several solutions to deal with confiscated firearms. One option, PoliceTrades.com can bid on the firearms as they would duty weapons, where they would be resold through licensed firearms dealers.

Cut_4006_2

The destroyed frame of an S&W 4006.

 

Another option is the parts stripping and destruction program. With this program, agencies can get paid while having the firearms destroyed. This is accomplished by stripping the guns of the valuable parts (i.e. slide, recoil springs, grips, magazines) and having the serialized frame of the firearm destroyed. This ensures the firearm will never be used again, yet provides funding with the parts value.  The agency is also provided with a certified letter, detailing the serial numbers of the firearms and the date they were destroyed.

Class 3 firearms (select-fire and short barrel rifles and shotguns) are another area where PoliceTrades.com can help you obtain revenue. Some agencies are under the impression that these guns can only be transferred to another agency. Through their Class 3 FFL dealers, PoliceTrade.com can purchase transferable Class 3 firearms for resale value and non-transferable firearms for parts value and destruction. PoliceTrades.com will handle all of the ATF Form 5 transfer paperwork.

PoliceTrades.com is the industry leader in the firearms trade business and can help your agency find untapped revenue sources. For more information, you can contact them directly via phone at (636) 536-2288 or mailto: Bids@PoliceTrades.com.