MWest Blog

In the late 1800s, Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson formed a partnership that began a legacy of one of the most widely known firearms companies in the world. Just in case you haven’t had your coffee yet and missed the last names of the company’s founders, I am talking about Smith and Wesson! My first encounter with any S&W firearms were during my youth shooting a Model 65 and Model 686 which were my dad’s duty pistols. These pistols where accurate and reliable, which being a duty pistol, one would hope to be the case! In fact, S&W revolvers have a reputation as being some of the best on the market. When I was 18. My dad gave me my very own S&W Sigma for a home defense pistol. This was a first generation model with a stainless slide and grey receiver. I thought it was the coolest gun ever! This was around the time when Glocks began mainstreaming into law enforcement. Side-by-side, the guns were almost identical, that is until it was range time! The first time I sh...

Here, the author practices barricade shooting using the Harries Technique Historically, police officers spend at least half of their career working nights, especially as a “new boot” out on the streets, yet a majority of law enforcement officers receive little to no training when it comes to low-light tactics.  For many states, low-light firearms qualifications is only mandated once a year and is done in a static environment. Wanting to improve our agencies firearms training, I set out to find some advanced low-light tactical training.  Over the past decade, I have attended a few courses on low-light training from some of the companies that are sponsored by tactical light manufacturers. While I did pick up on some good techniques, these were honestly nothing more than infomercials with a few practical exercises thrown in with their demo lights. FAST762 Owner and Trainer Kenan Flasowski reviewing basic pistol shooting concepts. Since my search for tactical low...

 One of the perks of being a firearms instructor is that I get to test fire many of the newest pistols on the market, without having to purchase or rent them on my own! Recently, I had the chance to test fire one of the newest pocket pistols on the market, the Beretta Nano 9mm. Over the last few years, a majority of sub-compact pocket pistols were chambered in either .32 auto or .380 auto, while there is nothing wrong with these calibers, many concealed carry owners were looking for a pocket pistol with a little bit more "oomph". Recently, a variety of pistol manufacturers have introduced single-stacked 9mm pocket pistols for under $500, adding the more "oomph" to these popular little guns. Upon first sight, the Beretta Nano is not as sleek as many of the other pistols out there; in fact, the Nano seems a bit square (literally) compared to pistols such as the Ruger LC9, Kel-Tec PF9, or Sig P290. But hey! The A-10 Warthog was not the prettiest plane in t...

Before the AR-15/M4 platform became widely used among law enforcement, shotguns were the long-gun of choice for the patrol officer.   They were easy to operate, short enough to be mounted inside the patrol car’s cab area, and provided an extended range out to 100 yards with slugs.   While semi-auto shotguns have been around several decades, most departments required (and still issue) the “tried and true” pump-action scatter guns such as the Remington 870 and the Mossberg 500 which have been in use for over 60 years. Like the Colt 1911 pistol, the popularity and ruggedness of the Remington 870 and Mossberg 500 platforms allowed the manufacturers to tweak these popular shotguns to the point where there was not much the end-user could do to enhance their performance. Blackhawk SpecOps Stock Gen-II ( http://www.blackhawk.com/product/SpecOps-Gen-II-Adjustable-Shotgun-Stock,1808,165.htm ) A couple of years ago, I came across an advertisement for the Knoxx (Blackha...

It is no secret that Texans love their firearms. In fact, Texas and the Second Amendment probably go as well together as a Shiner Bock and a T-bone steak! With that said, I often get asked by license to carry permit holders what they can do to improve their firearm handling skills, and where they can get such training. Most of these individuals felt that the State of Texas' minimum standards taught at most concealed handgun courses do little to teach you how to deploy your handgun from a concealed position and engage your target. In fact, the only skill you need to know to get your license to carry (LTC) is how to properly load, aim, and shoot your pistol at the target. During the qualification portion of the LTC test, students must put their pistol, unloaded on a table in front of them, and are not allowed to draw and shoot from a holster. The fact is, the basic LTC course is NOT INTENDED to teach you advanced techniques, instead, the intent of the state is to teach the leg...

Shortly after beginning work with my current agency, I took advantage of their tuition reimbursement program and started working on a Master's degree in Homeland Security.  Finally, after 3 1/2 years of hard work and a quickly thinning hairline, I received notice today that my Thesis/Research paper received a "pass", meaning that I am officially done with the Master's program! I will be receiving my (online) degree from American Military University (AMU), which is under the American Public University System (APUS:  www.apus.edu ).  The educational establishment is regionally accredited through the Higher Learning Commission, North Central Association ( www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org  ). Although I do receive some joking from some of my friends and co-workers about taking an online degree program, I will say that I definitely got my money's worth!  My Associate and Bachelor degrees all came from traditional "brick and mortar" schools, so when I e...

Welcome to the CDI Tactical blog spot!  About this blog: As a law enforcement trainer, I am often asked my opinion about the latest and greatest weapons, tactics, and gadgets available on the market. While I am by no means an "expert" in any one field, I am proficient in what I do. My goal of this blog is to post reviews of weapons, equipment, and training.  The Zombie Apocalypse and other looming disasters may get mentioned as well. Why the name CDI Tactical? With some of the new weapons out on the market, I have people come up to me all the time and ask what the difference between weapon "A" and weapon "B" is. Often, I explain weapon "A" is a CDI or tactical weapon (for those not in the know, CDI stands for "Chicks Dig It"). This usually means that it is painted black, O.D. Green, or in some sort of digital camouflage. Oh! Don't forget the the fact that it looks cool and chicks dig it! Truth of the matter though, I just...