Written by Greg Ellifritz
A couple weeks ago I opened my mail to find that my friend and fellow trainer Richard Nance had sent me a copy of his new book gunFIGHT! I quickly skimmed the book and realized that it covered quite a few concepts that are not commonly addressed in most gunfighting textbooks.
The publisher’s book description is as follows:
“During an armed encounter at arm’s length, marksmanship alone won’t save you. In this fast-paced,hyper-violent range of combat, your life will depend on your ability to FIGHT with your gun! Learn the close quarter techniques and tactics that will help you prevail.
Includes:♦ Mindset & Awareness♦ Striking & Fending♦ Accessing your gun in close quarters♦ Contact distance shooting♦ Handgun retention♦ Disarming & counter-weapon tactics
and much more!”
Take a look at the topics listed above one more time. How often do you see that subject matter in defensive shooting books? I’ve read most of the gun books on the market and it’s very rare that I have seen mention of such topics.
Rich’s book provides a solid introduction to the realities associated with the extreme close range gunfight. He starts out by covering the basics of safety considerations, legal considerations, and choosing a proper firearm and carry location. After this introduction, he examines the topics of :
- striking and fending
- countering the draw
- addressing stationary weapons threats
- pistol vs. long gun
- pistol vs. knife
- in fight weapons access strategies
- ready positions
- retention shooting
- contact distance shooting
- striking with the gun
- handgun retention
- fighting from the clinch
- fighting from the ground
- handling multiple assailants
The book is slightly over 214 pages in length. It would probably take 1000 pages to do a complete examination of all these topics. Rich does a good job distilling the essence of his ideas without being too wordy or needlessly complex. Most of his techniques are both highly effective and fairly easy to learn.
My only criticism is that I think some of the techniques needed a few more pictures to better illustrate the concept. The photos in the book are not lacking in any way and I was able to get the gist of everything the author was attempting to say, but some folks without a bunch of training under their belts may find a couple of the techniques challenging if they don’t already have an understanding of what they are trying to accomplish.
My only caution to readers is that these tactics require practice! You can’t read a book and become instantly proficient at the art of close range gunfighting. Rich lays out a great explanation and the progressive groundwork necessary for you to learn the skills, but you will need to put in some work. Read the book, pay attention to the learning points and then work on the techniques using a training partner and a dummy gun. Reading alone does not create a proficient gunfighter. You have to practice!
Overall, I think Rich’s book is one of the better books available on the subject. It will certainly open up your eyes if you have never been exposed to the reality of extreme close quarters fighting. GunFIGHT is definitely going on my list of recommended reading!
You can see more of Richard Nance’s work on his website Wartac.com. GunFIGHT! is available on Amazon.com and at Looseleaflaw.com.
*FTC disclaimer- I received no compensation (other than a free copy of the book) for writing this review. The author and/or publisher have not compensated me in any way for this review. I liked the book and want to share it with my readers.
