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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Every now and again, I have the priviledge of being able to help a fellow professional by offering my experience in various disciplines, to help move a project forward.  When the call went out for proofreaders to review, and comment on, "Some of the answer: Handgun", I enthusiastically volunteered, since we 2nd amendment types need all the peer support we can get.

I must admit that at first I was skeptical, not knowing for sure what to expect, and thought to myself "Great (yawn)... another routine, basic, firearms manual."  It is with great chagrin that I admit to being grossly in error.  "Some of the answer, Handgun" has found a permanant place among my important reference works, alongside my dictionary, leather-bound copy of Franklin's autobiography, and my favorite cookbook (a necessity for bachelor living).

To many of you, the title might sound a bit peculiar, but after explanation by Jim, and an articulation of his personal philosophy in the book, it becomes clear that it's more a statement of modesty than a typo.  The point being that while robust, this book is offering only SOME of the total answer to THE 'big question' of how, in general, to best defend yourself.

And answer it he does, in this book.  Although briefly touching on a few traditional handgun techniques, this work is, by far, more a study in basic cobat tactics than a fundamental reference for how to operate a pistol.  As with any well written reference, content is where the rubber meets the road.  Jim has certainly taken pains to condense the "cream of the crop" from what he's learned, and continues to learn, during a lifetime of advanced tactics, and has assembled it into easily digested modules that, taken as a whole, represent a solid grounding in advanced self-defense.  To call this a 'manual' would be doing it an injustice.  I like to think of it as a 'self-study survival guide'.

Filled with high-quality illustrative photographs, and clear descriptions, this book reaches well beyond the fundamentals to cover multiple techniques such as how to safely and effectively present a concealed weapon, reloading methods (how many of you know there's a combat technique for loading a revolver?), different tactical shooting stances, how to effectively scan for threats, low-light combat tactics, defending yourself after sustaining an injury to support presenting, reloading and handling, and more advanced marksmanship techniques.

This book is for anyone who is serious about protecting himself, and should be required reading, even for NRA instructors.  The piece of advice you acquire today, may save your life tomorrow.
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Oops... forgot to inlcude contact info:
Jim Crews
www.marksmans.com
PO Box 556
Stevensville, MT 59870
 

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Well, I reckon I should introduce myself and I have been asked to submit a bio, so here it is.

I am Jim Crews, Owner/Chief Instructor of Marksman's Enterprise and Mountain Tactics.

www.marksmans.com is the link for our school.

The Mountain Tactics web site is not up and running yet, but when it is I will post a link here.

I am a weapons handling instructor and have been teaching since 1985. I started teaching full time in 1992 when we first opened Marksman's Enterprise. Presently we teach in 41 states, and sometimes we travel to Central America.

The basic bio is as follows:

My primary occupation before saying good by to the corporate empires was in the nuclear engineering business. 8.5 years as a submarine sailor where I served aboard the USS Nathan Hale SSBN623 (Blue) and the Glenard P. Lipscom SSN 685, and I taught at the S1C nuclear prototype. My rate was MM1(SS). I was in other words, a Cold Warrior as that is what we are known to be.

After the boats I worked in engineering at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station for 12.5 years. That is where we made the income to develop our passion of being a shooter and a teacher. While working the big nuke I spent most of my free time developing my shooting and teaching skills. The opportunity arose where I could jump ship and do what I do full time so I took it and have never looked back.

In 1992 my partner and I created Marksman's Enterprise. At first we were localized in the Phoenix Arizona area, but demands soon had us going all over the state and the next thing I knew I was spending up to 3 months on the road going from one class to another as well as going back for further education as we all should and must do.

It was not long after going nationwide that we jumped borders and went to Central America. Nice place, but I do not want to live there.

My training background is extremely varied as I am a graduate of such places as:

The American Pistol Institute
Gunsite Training Center
Gunsite Academy Incorporated
Yavapai Firearms Academy
Thunder Ranch
International Training Consultants
Cumberland Tactics
United States Marksmanship Academy
NRA Law Enforcement Instructor School
NRA Instructor Certification Program
I have also been a POST certified instructor for Carbine
I have also certified to teach security programs in Arizona, we do not do that anymore
We used to teach a lot of CCW in Arizona, now we do it in Motnana.
I am a graduate of the PROVOST program for carbine and handgun at the Gunsite Training Center which means I am qualified to provide 3 levels of training in those programs.
I have also attended the Gunsite Academy Incorporated Carbine Instructor School
I have had private training from people most shooters have never heard of.

I served as a Gunsite PROVOST for 3 handgun classes and 2 carbine classes. PROVOST is an apprenticeship program for instructors wishing to enhance their level of training skills. We are not paid for this, we do it on our own time, teach for free, pay our own way to and from, and feed ourselves too. In all professions there are apprenticeship programs. These programs allow people like me to learn how big schools operate and expose us to management techniques, training programs and operational issues that most instructors never see.

I have written 5 books in all:

Some Of The Answer, Handgun
Some Of The Answer, Handgun-Advanced Techniques
Some Of The Answer, Urban Carbine
Some Of The Answer, Urban Shotgun-An Advanced Technique and Tactics Manual
From Behind the Line, Technical Notes and Commentary

and a video-Some Of The Answer, Self-loading Handgun

We have 4 other books in the works which keep me up late at night.

Our training manuals and programs have been reviewed in the following magazines and web sites:

Soldier Of Fortune
S.W.A.T
American Survival Guide
Tactical Shooter
Women and Guns
AR15.com
The Firing Line
Packing.org

Our programs and manuals have been reviewed by a lot of people on the web, just search Jim Crews or the title of one of our books. Our first carbine manual was used by LAPD as a basis for their carbine program at their academy. Recently we have been asked if we would consider going to LAPD Police Academy and do a little bit of teaching for their instructors. We will just have to wait and see on that one. We have trained over 50 good instructors accross the nation, such as Front Sight Press, LLC, The Defensive Options Group in Montgomery, Alabama, the Range Master at the Chabot Gun Club and at the Southern Exposure Training Facility in Florida, and a lot more from places I cannot even remember.

I am also a graduate of the National Investigative Training Center and Kepner-Tregoe Analytical Problem Solving and Decision Making program.

I am not a specialist in any thing. We do handgun, carbine and shotgun training, primarily concentrating of gun handling and marksmanship. I leave all that high speed and low drag tactics to others. If you want to learn how to shoot from any position, do it while moving or standing on one foot, we can do it.

I am a shooting technician and that is about it. I can teach you how to handle your weapon system, put the bullets in the same hole, find and fix your shooting problems. We teach basic tactics and fighting skills. If you need to learn how to break down doors or run a squad, I do not teach that stuff. If you want to learn how to think on your feet in a gunfight, I can help you. You want to learn how to clear a malfunction wtih one hand, while on the move, we teach it. If you want to learn how to run a one hole group while shooting on the move or learn how to handle a 5 person, moving 3 dimensional problem from a tower, we teach it. But, I am not a cop, never have been, do not want to be. I am a shooter and a technician and perfectly happy doing it for a living.

Man, that is about as much as I have ever told anyone about myself.

So here we are.

Thanks for reading the review of the manual, I appreciate your time and consideration regarding the new manual and for letting me introduce myself.

Best wishes,

Jim Crews
 

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Discussion Starter · #6 ·
Jim, thanks for your robust, eloquent, and fascinating glimpse into your career. You've certainly covered LOTS of ground! I'm honored to have had the priviledge of helping review the manual, and look forward to supporting you any way I can.
 
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