Using Your Voice
Dry-Fire · At Home
Verified clear. Fifteen presentations to a ready position while giving a loud, clear command such as stop, stay back, or drop it. Say it out loud at full volume. Most people have never practiced speaking with a gun in their hands, and their voice fails them when they first try.
Live-Fire · At the Range
Fifteen rounds on the scan strip at 7 yards, three per section. For each string, give the command first and wait for a partner to call either comply or shoot. Fire only on the shoot call.
Service Pistol
Your commands are also your record. Witnesses remember what they heard you say.
Concealed Carry
A command that works means you never fire. It also tells everyone nearby who started it.
Carbine
Run the same commands from low ready with the carbine.
AUX (when ready): correct response to five straight calls, with the command given at full volume every time.
Today is Veterans Day. If someone taught you to shoot well, there is a good chance they learned it in uniform. Thank them.
Your Daily Callout — By Archetype
Your voice is a tool you can use before the gun. Use it first.
Watch what the command does. The response tells you what happens next.
A loud command also tells your family which way to move.
Pick three short commands now so that you are not composing one under stress.
Layer: give the command while stepping off the line.
- Treat every firearm as if it is loaded — always, no matter what you think you know.
- Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you have decided to fire.
- Be sure of your target — and everything beyond it.
Dry-fire: no ammunition in the room. Verify the firearm is clear — twice. Use a safe backstop. When you finish, say it out loud: “Dry fire is over.”
The Four Universal Safety Rules
Non-negotiable. Every drill, every rep, every time. This applies to live fire and dry fire.
- Treat every firearm as if it is loaded — always, no matter what you think you know.
- Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you have decided to fire.
- Be sure of your target — and everything beyond it.