Zwally Ballistics

Cheesin’ with the MP5SD

Thanks to my students for bringing out their toys

“Know your target, and what lies beyond it”.

Many of you have heard this firearm safety rule repeated before, but few take the time to really think about it while shooting. It’s pretty easy to identify a safe direction on an indoor range, as there’s a backstop in one direction and hanger on which to put the target. However, real life situations can happen in places where there are a whole lot of people that don’t need to be shot.

This course of fire was setup without the student being able to see it beforehand, with both Shoot able targets (brown) and no shoot targets (white). The student executed the course of fire extraordinarily well, hitting all the intended targets at a practical pace and not shooting any no shoot targets… directly. The student failed to realize that in the position he was in, a perfect shot on a shoot target would pass through and hit a no shoot target.

Long story short, bullets are not magic. They don’t care about your intentions and don’t stop for anything other that a physical barrier that would overcome it’s momentum. And you’re accountable for every one that comes out of your gun.

“Know your target, and what lies beyond it”.

Many of you have heard this firearm safety rule repeated before, but few take the time to really think about it while shooting. It’s pretty easy to identify a safe direction on an indoor range, as there’s a backstop in one direction and hanger on which to put the target. However, real life situations can happen in places where there are a whole lot of people that don’t need to be shot.

This course of fire was setup without the student being able to see it beforehand, with both Shoot able targets (brown) and no shoot targets (white). The student executed the course of fire extraordinarily well, hitting all the intended targets at a practical pace and not shooting any no shoot targets… directly. The student failed to realize that in the position he was in, a perfect shot on a shoot target would pass through and hit a no shoot target.

Long story short, bullets are not magic. They don’t care about your intentions and don’t stop for anything other that a physical barrier that would overcome it’s momentum. And you’re accountable for every one that comes out of your gun.

Do you like exotic Supercars?

Introducing Targets and Torque, the first in our series of summer events designed around building community at the range. Whether you’ve been to our range, or never been shooting in your life, we’d love to see you at 514 Shoemaker Road on May 21st to hang with our crew and talk about shooting and training while checking out some rare vehicles.

If you have questions about this event or training in general, feel free to send me a DM.

If you’re short on space, using scaled targets for dry fire and live fire can help you simulate longer distances and tighter shots.

Pick quality equipment.

All man made mechanical items can fail. But certain products have inherent reliability issues do to bad design, materials, or workmanship. The pictured pistol belongs to a student, and consistently presents this malfunction for the last round in the magazine. I’ve seen this and many similar malfunctions from this model of pistol and it’s variants, and don’t consider them to be a good option for self protection. However, other pistols from the same company are excellent for this purpose.

The bottom line is that you shouldn’t make equipment purchases based on brand, marketing, or the opinion of the guy at your local gun store. You should find someone who has experience shooting the pistol you’re looking to purchase (whether that’s someone you know, or an unbiased internet review) and use that information to help you make a decision.