Texas Yankee

Really a great show. I liked that old cell phone tip too. I didn't realize that old cell phones are still active at least to call 911.

Cthulhu

I liked how they presented fundamentals for pistol shooting. I always like seeing stuff on shooting fundamentals from different people. The different perspectives really help me.

I also liked how Mr. Pincus is a fellow Ruger SR9 shooter

The home defense stuff was really good as well. Basic and general, to some degree, but I felt it covered issues that many people would not think of right away. And Mr. Janich knows his stuff.

However, was someone actually monitoring the mic levels of that actress? I can't see how her screeching didn't blow equipment up on set. Luckily, I had the show on DVR, so after the first exposure to the high pitched wailing, every time she showed up afterward, I just fast-forwarded.

Looking forward to the next show.

-JT

Rob Pincus

I assume you guys are still watching... This past week's episode was our strongest yet, I think.... dealing with convenience store/public space robbery.

There are a few more shoes left this season and we are already working on the next version of TBD, which starts airing in July!

-RJP

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Aloysius

Are there any plans to release it on DVD in the near future?

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paramedic70002

Rob, any chance you guys could get into force-on-force at the range? Maybe use paintballs, sims, airsoft? I really appreciate what you are doing but dodging around trying to line up lanes of fire and backstops seems a bit too easy when the cardboard doesn't react. I don't know if you are a Suarez fan, I haven't taken any of his classes, but from what I've read he seems to have some good ideas.

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Juggernaut

Rob,
Yes, I'm still watching, I usually DVR the shows. I had a few backlogged, the two on carjacking and the first one really hit home. I was out with my pop last weekend and we stopped at CVS on Saturday evening. I was waiting in the car (passenger side, he drove) making some phone calls and when he came out, two thug-sounding guys passed by the back of the car as he was opening the door and asked him specifically, "Hey, man, you got seventy-five cents?" He told them, "Sorry, no I don't," which they didn't seem to like and asked him again and he said no and proceded to get in. The guys moved on, but my alarm bells were ringing, maybe because of their persistence.
Pop thought I was being paranoid, then I see the "interview" process on the show and it validated my gut reaction, even down to how the guy reacted when the "victim" on the show refused him.

Along the lines of paramedic's suggestion, I was thinking of what about an "after-the-event" episode. Just about every show about personal defense on TV shows how to prepare and carry out a defensive plan, but only make mention of what will happen or what to do after a defensive event. One of the questions I have banging around the emptiness of my skull is, "Should I disarm someone who I've just shot because s/he broke into my house wielding a weapon?" I was mulling that over this morning, then I was talking to a deputy who relayed a story from a while ago about a highway patrolman who got into a scuffle with someone he'd pulled over. The suspect pulled a .22 and the officer fired his whole cylinder of .357 silvertips into the suspects chest. The officer stepped over the "body" to reload and was shot through the arm and the round went through his heart and lungs, killing him in .45 seconds. The suspect managed to live.

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Rob Pincus

COol Guys...

The "Immediate Aftermath" is airing within the next couple of weeks, I think it will be one of the highlights of the season. It answers some of the questions you asked and others...... Short answer: You're not a cop, stay away from the bad guy and keep an eye on him while communicating effectively with LE/Witnesses/Others.

Keep in mind that we taped 95% of this season back in October and November. One episode was taped in early December in Colorado. The next season of TBD isn't going to air until Jan of 2010, and we'll be incorporating some of the ideas from viewers of this season. MEanwhile, we have a surprise project that will begin airing in July with the same crew, but slightly different topic set.

As for "force on force", there are several ways to do "force on force"... and a big difference between Scenarios and Drills. Simply using sim guns (any type) and saying that the training is "reality based" doesn't cut it for me. For example, I don't believe that student-on-student scenarios are nearly as valuable as scenarios run with trained/prepped/scripted role players. 2 guys squaring off and waiting for a buzzer to see if "shooting and moving" makes sense is a game, not a scenario or even a drill... much less a premise for defensive tactics development. Choreography, anticipation and human behavior often combine to create self-fulfilling prophecies when you have student-on-student drills like that. Not to mention that the lack of actual recoil makes it significantly easier to make rapid follow up shots while moving.
I've done a lot of force on force and a lot of dynamic live fire in realistic settings (moving, reactive and interactive targets). I can assure you that there is a huge performance degradation when you both move fast enough to be significantly safer and shoot live fire.
(take a look at this video and the linked podcast for more on that: Shooting in Motion)

What you are seeing in the scenario sections of TBD are very much like the most effective force on force training scenarios that we can run for students. Of course, in this case, even the "student" is a role-player.

The drills that we share on TBD (like the "find a safe backstop" drill) are designed to be "take aways" that a typical motivated and safe viewer can recreate and practice at the average square range without a huge investment in equipment, a ton of prior training or a lot of unreasonable risk. F-o-F drills fail on the equipment note and suffer from the "no trained role-players" on the second.
There is no doubt that it would be harder to find a safe backstop in a dynamic situation. That said, the drill matched the scenario, which was certainly plausible and realistic, which we presented in the convenience store.
It is very hard to realistically simulate situations and balance speed, precision, recoil, safety, movement, etc.....


All that said, I hear a lot of good things coming out of Suarez and his instructors.... I just don't know if some of the F-o-F iterations are as valuable as some of the internet buzz suggests based on the descriptions. All I've seen are some video clips.

******

Thanks again for watching the show and the great feedback.

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Cthulhu

Just saw the last episode from my DVR.

Again, Mr. Pincus was sportin' the SR9 at the range. Always appreciate that.

I really like the Figure 8 drill. That's something I'm going to have to incorporate into my practice.

The emphasis on correct judgment and being a good witness was nice.

It seems like the initial issues (in my mind) with the sound mixes during the reenactment scenes have gone away. There are no more freakishly loud screeches or bangs. Those made the reenactment scenes painful (literally) to watch in the first couple of episodes.

I don't know if this is something under the show producers' direct control, but to me, the MidwayUSA segments on conceal carry weapons is subjective and somewhat arbitrary.

The time to first shot is unrealistic, where the timed event is picking up the weapon from a table. Ignoring the absurdity of that, the time it would take a person to do that depends on the person, and that person's level of ability with that weapon, not the weapon itself.

The second rating, the number of follow-up shots, is also freakishly subjective, and is based on a person's ability with that particular gun, not the gun itself. I'm fairly certain Mr. Jerry Miculek could outperform me by 100% with any weapon.

The knockdown power rating is just silly. "Knockdown" power doesn't exist in handgun rounds. Muzzle energy or muzzle velocity would be far better attributes to measure, and far more objective. Even so, shot placement and the individual's response to getting shot are going to make this another factor that is highly subjective, even if a more realistic measurement is used.

I liked the old MidwayUSA ads much better, where basic gunsmithing techniques and tools were demonstrated. I find these new ads very unrealistic and even misleading to folks new to defensive shooting.

The rest of the show is bang on, and I look forward to subsequent episodes and seasons. I also hope to see a little more hand-to-hand and empty-hand weapon defense in the future as well. As an FMA student and instructor, I geek out on those.

-JT

Rob Pincus

Let me be very clear:

The Midway "segment" is not part of the content of the show and is not at all influenced or endorsed by the hosts/instructors of TBD.

You are not the first to be confused by this, as the Advertising/Sponsorship deal that Midway made with OC included a 90 second block that they use for sharing their own content.

EArly in the season, OC actually cut real content to insert the commercial, which caused some real confusion. Because of this, we were able to put some content segments as they were intended to be aired online HERE.

Of course, we value Midway's support for the show, but I agree with your thoughts.

-RJP

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Cthulhu

I figured the Midway spots were essentially ads, and not directly tied to your show, but geared towards the show's content.

I can appreciate the show needing a big sponsor like Midway. I just wish they collaborated with you guys more than the OC, but them's the breaks.

And I'm glad to see DownrangeTV's video player is back up!

-JT