Guns And Accessories To Bring To Your Longarm Firearms Training At DTI

By John S Farnam/DTI

We are serious at DTI about your safety and survival, and we don't want you to waste your time and ours with unrealistic and impractical equipment.  You will need to supply your own rifle and pistol, sling, magazines, and ammunition.  If you do not have your own equipment, contact the course sponsor or DTI directly. You will also need all your required safety equipment, including clear safety glasses, sunglasses, sunscreen, a baseball cap, non-prescription pain reliever, necessary prescription medications, Band-Aids, and hearing protection.  Understand that the place we will be shooting is relatively isolated, and your ability to purchase important  items that were carelessly left behind is extremely limited.  Therefore, make sure you have everything you will need with you when you arrive.

Each student will need six hundred rounds of rifle ammunition, and fifty rounds of handgun ammunition.  Remember, this is an Urban Rife Course, not a Sniper Course.  We will accept most medium and heavy, autoloading, military rifles.  We will not accept rimfire rifles or slug-shooting shotguns.  Lever actions and bolt guns are acceptable, but not recommended. Pistol-cartridge-firing rifles, such as the Ruger Carbine, are acceptable.  A full-auto capability is fine, but all fire during the Program will be semi-auto only.  Slings are mandatory, as we will be running a hot range. High-magnification, high profile, close eye-relief scopes are highly not recommended.  We do recommend military (peep), iron sights or low-power, low-profile, forward-mounted scopes.  We do recommend knee pads.  Students should be advised that their rifles will see some strenuous, rugged use and may get scratched up a bit.  Pretty guns are best left at home.

If your rifle uses detachable, box magazines, you will need at least two if they are high capacity (twenty rounds or greater).  Your will need at least three magazines if they are low-capacity (fewer than ten rounds).  If your have an SKS or a Garand, you will need at least eight clips or stripper clips.

Be sure you bring with you the required number of rounds of pistol ammunition (50), at least two extra magazines or speed loaders, eye (safety glasses) and hearing protection, a sturdy leather belt, a high-quality, concealable belt holster, magazine/speed loader carriers, and a baseball cap.  Our pistol work will be from a concealed draw, so please make sure your pistol and equipment are genuinely concealable and suitable for continuous, daily wear. Handguns will be carried by all students during every segment of the Program.

Please be advised that, in our experience, exposed-lead (unjacketed) pistol ammunition, in any caliber, is the source of a great deal of heartburn on the range.  It tends to gum up the guns with bullet lube so badly that the guns soon start to experience malfunctions and often are rendered sterile and out of service altogether.  Home-made reloads, in general, tend to be inconsistent and sometimes dangerous.  Accordingly, we strongly recommend that you bring to our course either new, factory ammunition or high-quality remanufactured, jacketed, ammunition from a reliable source.

The course will be outdoors and will entail some physical activity, so you will need to dress appropriately (long pants, long-sleeve shirt, sturdy shoes).  You may get dirty, so wear something heavy-duty but inexpensive. Don't show up in sweat pants or shorts.  You will be wearing and using a handgun during the course.  You will also need a gun case, so that you can safely carry your longarms on and off the range.

You will also need to bring a riot shotgun in twelve or twenty gauge. Slings are required.  I recommend the Remington 870 pump and the 11-87 (and 1100) autoloader, the Beretta 1201 autoloader, the Benelli Super 90 autoloader, and the Mossberg 590 pump, all in the law-enforcement version.  The Benelli is a little high priced, but the Remington guns, the Beretta, and the Mossberg guns are all very reasonable.  We do not recommend the Winchester pump or autoloader or the Ithaca pump or autoloader.  Your shotgun must have a stock, either fixed or folding.  "Stockless" shotguns are utterly useless and often dangerous.

You will need seventy rounds of buckshot and ten slugs.  We recommend 00 buckshot in the standard, nine-pellet loading.  Federal, Remington, Winchester, and other reputable manufacturers produce this load in great abundance, as it is the standard used by most police departments.  Other sizes of buckshot are acceptable, but 00 renders the best performance.  We do not recommend any of the "magnum" shotshell loadings, nor do we recommend any "reduced recoil" shotgun round..  The magnum loadings are very uncomfortable to shoot and offer little benefit in return.  We do not recommend birdshot for anything but sport and recreational shooting.

Discussions of rifle "accuracy" have been the source of much confusion when it comes to the topic of defensive shooting and defensive rifles. Reasonable and acceptable accuracy in a defensive rifle means that the weapon will shoot inside an eight-centimeter (three-inch) circle (from a machine rest) at a range of one hundred meters.  This degree of accuracy is more than adequate for nearly any imaginable defensive shooting situation, yet can be attained without adversely affecting the reliability, durability, or carryability of most rifles.  In fact, most factory rifles are readily capable of that kind of accuracy right out of the box.  On the other hand, an "ultimate accuracy job" on a factory rifle, that is, one where everything is sacrificed for the sake of the greatest possible accuracy (eg.: one centimeter at one hundred meters, from a machine rest) is best left to esoteric target rifles.  In order to achieve that degree of accuracy, the gun itself must become bulky, temperamental, and extremely sensitive to rough handling, lack of meticulous maintenance, and dirty environments.  That degree of accuracy is unnecessary in defensive shooting, and the sacrifices necessary to achieve it are obviously unacceptable.

Dos and Don'ts

Do insure that your rifle is properly sighted in, if possible.  It should shoot dead center at twenty meters.  We will provide the opportunity to adjust your rifle's sights, but, if all that is done ahead of time, you will be able to simply confirm the sights or make the last few, fine adjustments, instead of starting from scratch with a rifle whose sights are way off.

Do bring your defensive handgun, holster, magazines and at least fifty rounds of ammunition.  We will be doing transition drills, and you will be armed with a handgun as well as a rifle all the time you are on the range.

Do bring suitable eye protection.  You will not be allowed on the range without it.  All students will be required to wear safety glasses all the time they are on the range.  We recommend that you bring two pair of safety glasses, one dark tinted for the daytime portion of the course, and one clear set for the low-light shooting.  Prescription glasses are acceptable if they provide adequate coverage and protection.  Reading glasses and "Granny glasses" are not acceptable.

Do bring suitable hearing protection.  Severe and permanent hearing damage can occur when hearing protection is not used on a firing range. Therefore, we require that adequate hearing protection be worn by all students all the time firing is taking place.  Ear muffs and ear plugs are acceptable.

Do bring RAIN GEAR.  Our range training proceeds regardless of the weather. As you can well imagine, warm clothing and good rain gear are indispensable.

Do bring sunscreen lotion.  Sunscreen should be used daily on all exposed parts of the body, particularly the face, arms, hands, and neck.

Do bring a bottle of non-prescription pain reliever, and a box of Band-Aids. Headaches are not uncommon, and hands tend to get beat up.

Don't bring contact lenses.  We may have high winds and blowing dirt and sand at the range.  Your contact lenses will quickly become unusable and will have to be removed.  If your eyes require corrective lenses, bring regular eye glasses (see above), and leave your contacts at home.

Don't bring expensive, uncomfortable, or impractical clothing or shoes to the range.  There will physical activity required of every student at the range. Clothing and shoes take a beating!  Wear practical and comfortable clothing and shoes.  Do NOT show up in sweat pants, tight slacks, or shorts.  Your trousers must have belt loops that will accommodate a heavy leather gunbelt.

Addendum for Female and Male Students

The following checklist contains information intended primarily for female students attending our Defensive Firearms Training, although some of the points enumerated on this checklist apply to all students:

	Hair styles must accommodate the wearing of a baseball cap or other type cap or hat which has a brim that can be pulled down to the top of your glasses. A hat or cap is required for all students.  Long hair should be tied back or otherwise secured so it stays out of your eyes.
	Fingernails should be short, as long nails may interfere with the proper grip and with pulling the trigger correctly.  Understand that nails may end up broken.
	Do not wear large or dangling earrings.  They are a hindrance when wearing the required hearing protectors.
	Hands, fingers (particularly trigger fingers), and arms can become very weary.  The days are long and strenuous.  Some arm and hand strengthening exercises, done in advance, are often very helpful.
	Bring adequate clothing for cold weather.  You will also need rain gear, sunscreen, and a water bottle or canteen.  Your instruction will continue day and night, regardless of the temperature and/or precipitation.  Being as comfortable as circumstances allow helps you keep   your concentration.
	Sturdy shoes that lace up the front are best (such as athletic shoes or hiking boots).
	Regular sunglasses will usually do for the required eye protection during the day, but clear glasses are necessary for low-light shooting.  Sunglasses will not work at night.
	A sport-type bra is very helpful for some.  Wear a crew-neck T-shirt to the range.  This will prevent hot brass cases from going down your front and lodging next to your skin.
	Dehydration can be a serious problem.  On very warm days, drink plenty of water to keep from dehydrating.