I have been attending firearms training since the age of twelve with the Police Boys Club in our local elementary school basement range. I started teaching marksmanship and firearms skills at 22 in the Marine Corps.

By Chris Hoell "Charlie Hotel"

One of the things I almost always notice with students is there is always a "Gun Guy" in the group. He's the guy that has a collection of rifles and pistols and almost always will show up to a class with multiple firearms. He's also the guy that is usually having issues and offers the excuse, "I just bought this gun last week and this is the first time I've shot it". I know this guy well, because I'm a "Gun Guy".

I love Guns! Particularly Military Rifles. I love them for their Complex and sometimes overly simple designs. I love taking them apart and putting them back together. I love finding fixes for their shortcomings and pushing them to their limits. And yes, I like to be proficient with all of my Guns.

That being said. When I commit time and money to serious CQB training, I have my go to guns. For me it's a Glock23 in a kydex OWB holster and an AR15 with a Trijicon red dot optic and Magpul MS3 sling. These are the things that over the years, have worked best for me. I can quickly manipulate both and clear malfunctions if necessary. I know how to quickly adjust my sling for various shooting positions. I know how the Glock feels in my hand when my grip is perfect. I know the point of aim and point of impact for 7, 15 and 25 meters with the Glock and I know all my holdovers with the AR from 10 meters to 400 meters. I know I will get nominal performance from any 5.56x45 NATO M855 spec ammo (relatively speaking).

I'm not saying that these choices are the same ones for you. I am saying that you should have a go to pistol and rifle configuration and that is what you should be training with. I have a fantastic DDI AK47 rifle that performs perfectly in CQB but I find the manual of arms for the AK more complicated than the AR platform. That is just my personal preference.

This mindset in my opinion. Should be applied to the maintenance of your equipment. Not just you’re Guns but your holster, magazines, sling, and optics. I know everybody has run their respective guns with thousands of rounds without maintenance but does it not make sense given the luxury of time to prepare, to have your equipment properly lubricated and maintained before a gunfight? Knowing the limits of your equipment is one thing. Knowing that when you need to squeeze the trigger it's gonna go bang. That my friends, is comforting.

I know many who read this, particularly those who train often will realize I'm not providing any top secret info here. Most of this should be common sense.  Those "Gun Guys" however, should take heed.

My two cents.