JimConway
Instructor
13 July 10
Many have asked me to reiterate the "Mode-Drill" that we use in all of our Courses. It is merely a model to assist us in teaching and understanding the condition serious firearms must be in, in order to fulfill the mission at hand and yet simultaneously not contribute to inordinate risk exposure from gun accidents.
Defensive firearms have four different modes. A thorough understanding of firearms modes is necessary for any student of defensive shooting.
"Safety" and "readiness" are mutually antagonistic. The more "safe" a gun is, the less "ready." The more "ready," the less "safe." Any defensive firearm must be kept in condition that is a reasonable compromise,
commensurate with circumstances and the job the gun is expected to do. Modes
can then be changed, upgraded or downgraded, as changing circumstances warrant.
(1) Storage- Mode: There is no ammunition in the weapon. The slide or
bolt should be forward, with the hammer/striker down. Storage-mode is
appropriate for weapons being prepared for non-accessible storage, such as in a gun safe or any other storage situation where rapid access is not a requirement. In storage-mode, the gun is unloaded, and the magazine removed, or voided when it cannot be removed. All springs should be at rest, so the hammer/striker is down (dropped or "dry-fired") on an empty chamber.
Keep in mind that many murder victims have been discovered in their home, where there is subsequently discovered a gun-safe, filled with guns! All those guns remained "perfectly safe" during their owner's entire anguished ordeal!
(2) Transport-Mode: Transport-mode is intended for unattended weapons that are kept close at hand but not carried on the person, such as would be the case of a shotgun or rifle transported in a car. Since it is not being carried on the person, the weapon is not under the owner's direct control, but it is still intended to be readily accessible and available for defensive purposes on short notice. In transport-mode, the chamber is empty. The bolt is in battery (all the way forward), and the hammer/striker is down
(dry-fired) as is the case with storage-mode, but a magazine is inserted, locked in, and fully charged (magazine tube fully charged in the case of shotguns). The manual safety, when present, is in the "off" position. The gun is thus inert, but it can be quickly rendered ready to fire by simply reciprocating the bolt or slide. With shotguns and rifles, transport-mode is also referred to as the "loader's safe" condition. "Carry-safe" and "
cruiser-safe" are other commonly-used terms which mean the same thing.
When it subsequently becomes necessary to fire, the Operator quickly loads
(arms) the weapon by manually cycling the action as a firing position is assumed. The cycling of the action needs to be done enthusiastically. When the slide or bolt is not operated briskly, the Operator may experience a stoppage.
All pump-action shotguns have a slide (forend) release button. It is there because, when the slide is forward (with the hammer cocked), the slide is locked in the forward position and cannot be moved to the rear. Pressing the slide-release button frees the slide and allows it to be moved to the rear position, extracting and ultimately ejecting a chambered round when one was present. The slide-release button is near the front of the trigger guard with the Remington 870 and near the rear of the trigger guard with the Mossberg 590 and Benelli Supernova. With pump-action shotguns, since the weapon is customarily carried and stored with the hammer down on an empty chamber (transport-mode), the slide is thus already released, and there is therefore no need for the Operator to find and then depress the slide-release button prior to loading the weapon.
(3) Carry-Mode: Carry-mode is appropriate only when the weapon is being continuously carried on the person of the Operator and is thus under his constant, direct control. A pistol in a holster or a rifle or shotgun slung on a shoulder should be in carry-mode. In carry-mode, the weapon is immediately ready for use. A round is in the chamber, and the magazine is inserted, locked in, and fully charged, except in the case of the shotgun (see below). Some weapons, like defensive pistols and military rifles are designed for continuous carrying, and the correct carry condition for these weapons is fully loaded, with the manual safety (when the weapon has one) in the "on " position.
Since most shotguns do not have a military-specification manual safety, shotguns are not carried loaded. Since these weapons are not carried with a round in the chamber, they must be loaded as they are mounted. Thus, with most shotguns carry more and transport-mode are the same thing.
(4) Engagement-Mode: Engagement-mode is the condition of the longarm when it is mounted on the shoulder, and is immediately ready to fire, or has fired and is immediately ready to be fired again. The shotgun magazine tube is charged (fully charged magazine inserted in the rifle); chamber loaded; hammer cocked; manual safety in the "off" position; bolt in battery (slide forward). The weapon will now discharge when pressure is applied to the trigger.
With firearms equipped with a military-specification, manual safety, the only difference between carry-mode and engagement-mode is that the manual safety is pushed from the "on" position to the "off" position as one goes from the former to the latter.
With most handguns, carry-mode and engagement-mode are the same, since nothing need be done to the pistol (except pressing the trigger) in order to get it to fire when there is a round chambered. With pistols equipped with a manual safety, the manual safety must be pushed from "on" to "off" in order to go from carry-mode to engagement-mode.
To reiterate, with pump and autoloading shotguns, the weapon must be loaded (a round must be brought out of the magazine tube and whisked into the
chamber) AS the shotgun is being mounted, and the Operator is going from carry-mode/transport-mode to engagement-mode.
There are legitimate exceptions, of course. Military circumstances are often continuously threatening, and accordingly, a shotgun carried in a battle zone will probably be in engagement-mode much of the time, and the manual safety may be used, providing the weapon has one that is convenient and quick. When one is going to react quickly under this kind of continuing threat, there may be no other viable option. Notwithstanding, there is considerable risk here, because the only safety factor in this situation is the Operator's ability to position his trigger finger in register as he moves with the gun, bringing it into contact with the trigger only when he is preparing to fire. All other manual and internal safeties are bypassed, and, even with the manual safety "on," most shotguns are still not drop-safe.& Accordingly, those in military situations should keep their shotguns in carry-mode/transport as much of the time as practicable.
It has been suggested by some that an alternative to carrying the pump-action shotgun in engagement-mode is carrying it in the "half-chambered"
condition. Here, the shotgun is first armed (loaded), then the slide-release button is depressed, and the slide is subsequently pulled back half-way, partially exposing the chambered round. I don't consider this alternative legitimate and don't recommend it, but I mention it here, because I see students attempt it now and then. The idea is to make the shotgun immediately useable, yet safer to carry than when in engagement-mode. The weakness with this technique is that the condition can't be reliably maintained. As one moves, the slide either goes back forward into battery, or goes the rest of the way to the rear, ejecting the round.
The purpose for mode-drill is to help students to organize their thinking, so that poor judgement and blunders, born of confusion, can be reduced. At the end of a day of training, be it with handguns, rifles, shotguns, or several weapons, I ask all students what condition or mode they want their weapons in as they are preparing to leave the range. The important point here is that it is solely the student's decision, within certain parameters.
When weapons are put away, longarms are first. They are put away in cases.
Longarms are cased in either storage-mode or transport-mode. Handguns are always the last to be put away (storage or transport-mode), except in the case of students who regularly carry pistols. Those individuals holster their weapons (in carry-mode) and leave the range that way. It may be necessary for these folks to swap ammunition, exchanging "training ammunition"
for "service ammunition."
When we conduct training within active battle-zones, weapons (pistols, rifles, and shotguns) are usually carried off the range in the same condition in which they arrived: carry mode and actively carried on the person.
The foregoing is far from infallible, and may have to be modified as circumstances dictate. However, the "Mode-Drill" does serve as a legitimate blueprint and starting-point for aspiring Operators.
"You can be bold and risk defeat, or be passive and assure it!"
Poker Players' Axiom
Many have asked me to reiterate the "Mode-Drill" that we use in all of our Courses. It is merely a model to assist us in teaching and understanding the condition serious firearms must be in, in order to fulfill the mission at hand and yet simultaneously not contribute to inordinate risk exposure from gun accidents.
Defensive firearms have four different modes. A thorough understanding of firearms modes is necessary for any student of defensive shooting.
"Safety" and "readiness" are mutually antagonistic. The more "safe" a gun is, the less "ready." The more "ready," the less "safe." Any defensive firearm must be kept in condition that is a reasonable compromise,
commensurate with circumstances and the job the gun is expected to do. Modes
can then be changed, upgraded or downgraded, as changing circumstances warrant.
(1) Storage- Mode: There is no ammunition in the weapon. The slide or
bolt should be forward, with the hammer/striker down. Storage-mode is
appropriate for weapons being prepared for non-accessible storage, such as in a gun safe or any other storage situation where rapid access is not a requirement. In storage-mode, the gun is unloaded, and the magazine removed, or voided when it cannot be removed. All springs should be at rest, so the hammer/striker is down (dropped or "dry-fired") on an empty chamber.
Keep in mind that many murder victims have been discovered in their home, where there is subsequently discovered a gun-safe, filled with guns! All those guns remained "perfectly safe" during their owner's entire anguished ordeal!
(2) Transport-Mode: Transport-mode is intended for unattended weapons that are kept close at hand but not carried on the person, such as would be the case of a shotgun or rifle transported in a car. Since it is not being carried on the person, the weapon is not under the owner's direct control, but it is still intended to be readily accessible and available for defensive purposes on short notice. In transport-mode, the chamber is empty. The bolt is in battery (all the way forward), and the hammer/striker is down
(dry-fired) as is the case with storage-mode, but a magazine is inserted, locked in, and fully charged (magazine tube fully charged in the case of shotguns). The manual safety, when present, is in the "off" position. The gun is thus inert, but it can be quickly rendered ready to fire by simply reciprocating the bolt or slide. With shotguns and rifles, transport-mode is also referred to as the "loader's safe" condition. "Carry-safe" and "
cruiser-safe" are other commonly-used terms which mean the same thing.
When it subsequently becomes necessary to fire, the Operator quickly loads
(arms) the weapon by manually cycling the action as a firing position is assumed. The cycling of the action needs to be done enthusiastically. When the slide or bolt is not operated briskly, the Operator may experience a stoppage.
All pump-action shotguns have a slide (forend) release button. It is there because, when the slide is forward (with the hammer cocked), the slide is locked in the forward position and cannot be moved to the rear. Pressing the slide-release button frees the slide and allows it to be moved to the rear position, extracting and ultimately ejecting a chambered round when one was present. The slide-release button is near the front of the trigger guard with the Remington 870 and near the rear of the trigger guard with the Mossberg 590 and Benelli Supernova. With pump-action shotguns, since the weapon is customarily carried and stored with the hammer down on an empty chamber (transport-mode), the slide is thus already released, and there is therefore no need for the Operator to find and then depress the slide-release button prior to loading the weapon.
(3) Carry-Mode: Carry-mode is appropriate only when the weapon is being continuously carried on the person of the Operator and is thus under his constant, direct control. A pistol in a holster or a rifle or shotgun slung on a shoulder should be in carry-mode. In carry-mode, the weapon is immediately ready for use. A round is in the chamber, and the magazine is inserted, locked in, and fully charged, except in the case of the shotgun (see below). Some weapons, like defensive pistols and military rifles are designed for continuous carrying, and the correct carry condition for these weapons is fully loaded, with the manual safety (when the weapon has one) in the "on " position.
Since most shotguns do not have a military-specification manual safety, shotguns are not carried loaded. Since these weapons are not carried with a round in the chamber, they must be loaded as they are mounted. Thus, with most shotguns carry more and transport-mode are the same thing.
(4) Engagement-Mode: Engagement-mode is the condition of the longarm when it is mounted on the shoulder, and is immediately ready to fire, or has fired and is immediately ready to be fired again. The shotgun magazine tube is charged (fully charged magazine inserted in the rifle); chamber loaded; hammer cocked; manual safety in the "off" position; bolt in battery (slide forward). The weapon will now discharge when pressure is applied to the trigger.
With firearms equipped with a military-specification, manual safety, the only difference between carry-mode and engagement-mode is that the manual safety is pushed from the "on" position to the "off" position as one goes from the former to the latter.
With most handguns, carry-mode and engagement-mode are the same, since nothing need be done to the pistol (except pressing the trigger) in order to get it to fire when there is a round chambered. With pistols equipped with a manual safety, the manual safety must be pushed from "on" to "off" in order to go from carry-mode to engagement-mode.
To reiterate, with pump and autoloading shotguns, the weapon must be loaded (a round must be brought out of the magazine tube and whisked into the
chamber) AS the shotgun is being mounted, and the Operator is going from carry-mode/transport-mode to engagement-mode.
There are legitimate exceptions, of course. Military circumstances are often continuously threatening, and accordingly, a shotgun carried in a battle zone will probably be in engagement-mode much of the time, and the manual safety may be used, providing the weapon has one that is convenient and quick. When one is going to react quickly under this kind of continuing threat, there may be no other viable option. Notwithstanding, there is considerable risk here, because the only safety factor in this situation is the Operator's ability to position his trigger finger in register as he moves with the gun, bringing it into contact with the trigger only when he is preparing to fire. All other manual and internal safeties are bypassed, and, even with the manual safety "on," most shotguns are still not drop-safe.& Accordingly, those in military situations should keep their shotguns in carry-mode/transport as much of the time as practicable.
It has been suggested by some that an alternative to carrying the pump-action shotgun in engagement-mode is carrying it in the "half-chambered"
condition. Here, the shotgun is first armed (loaded), then the slide-release button is depressed, and the slide is subsequently pulled back half-way, partially exposing the chambered round. I don't consider this alternative legitimate and don't recommend it, but I mention it here, because I see students attempt it now and then. The idea is to make the shotgun immediately useable, yet safer to carry than when in engagement-mode. The weakness with this technique is that the condition can't be reliably maintained. As one moves, the slide either goes back forward into battery, or goes the rest of the way to the rear, ejecting the round.
The purpose for mode-drill is to help students to organize their thinking, so that poor judgement and blunders, born of confusion, can be reduced. At the end of a day of training, be it with handguns, rifles, shotguns, or several weapons, I ask all students what condition or mode they want their weapons in as they are preparing to leave the range. The important point here is that it is solely the student's decision, within certain parameters.
When weapons are put away, longarms are first. They are put away in cases.
Longarms are cased in either storage-mode or transport-mode. Handguns are always the last to be put away (storage or transport-mode), except in the case of students who regularly carry pistols. Those individuals holster their weapons (in carry-mode) and leave the range that way. It may be necessary for these folks to swap ammunition, exchanging "training ammunition"
for "service ammunition."
When we conduct training within active battle-zones, weapons (pistols, rifles, and shotguns) are usually carried off the range in the same condition in which they arrived: carry mode and actively carried on the person.
The foregoing is far from infallible, and may have to be modified as circumstances dictate. However, the "Mode-Drill" does serve as a legitimate blueprint and starting-point for aspiring Operators.
"You can be bold and risk defeat, or be passive and assure it!"
Poker Players' Axiom
