Another interesting thing that I got from the Progressive Force Concepts class last Saturday was that those guys do not always move/maneuver in a muzzle low position. They sometimes use something they called “port high”…where, for a right handed shooter, you’re holding the rifle’s butt stock between your right bicep and your chest…and you’ve got the mag well just a few inches from your right cheek.
They would tell us to do this if we were going to begin a new training evolution at a different distance marker. We’d all go “port high”, turn around, and walk back to whichever distance they wanted.
The thing is, they said that they recommended it for anytime you were running with the rifle.
I’ve always been carrying/training with my rifle in a muzzle down position. Moving, shooting, covering some ground, whatever.
I can see why they might want us to do it while walking with 19 other guys in a line when on the range…but running?
Is there any support out there for the “port high” position while moving fast/running?
Nothing earth shattering. Just wondering what you guys think.
Here’s a guess…When I was a teenager shooting .22s with my dad, I tripped and fell. The muzzle went right into the mud and filled the barrel with mud up to a couple of inches. Needless to say, Dad was not happy, but fortunately, we brought the cleaning kit.
I noticed what appears to be the same thing when reviewing some pic threads in the US Training Center AAR section. If you check out the pics from the Carbine Operators thread, it looks as if they are doing the same thing.
High port works really well with open area rapid movement. It allows you to manipulate the weapon to move faster, perform reloads, correct a stopage, etc. more effectively.
In the grand scheme, don’t get to wrapped around the axle with it. With other people about, use whatever is the most fitting for the task at hand.
I’m no expert, but I have heard it all depends on the scenario. Low ready when on the first floor, high ready on the second etc. Running high ready. When keeping low profile low ready. etc. etc. So I guess the situation dictates.
It is situational. We run and teach both, pretty seamlessly. As mentioned open area movements are much quicker. When shooting “stacked” behind or over another shooter, a high port transition to the opposite side as opposed to an old fashioned “rainbow” or a muzzle low, is much safer, quicker and more effective.
Doing an entry into a room may not be a good idea as taller guys may end up striking their muzzle on the top of the door casing, which can be a bad thing especially if you are doing a stealth movement. When stacked on opposing sides of a door, many guys who are the second man through the door like to do a quick high port when #1 man enters, which is really more economical in motion than dropping all the way to a low ready.
About the only time that we highly caution or maybe restrict high port is as mentioned in multi-level structures (guideline not a strict rule). We do however restrict the use of high port, not allowing its use in some of the shoot houses that have catwalks, for obvious reasons.
I will say that with some of the training I have seen / been involved in with some high speed military unit types, some of these units pretty much run high port the majority of the time. High port also allows for other things that you can do with the rifle, besides shooting. I will also say that people need to train and be aware of certain other muzzle discipline factors that can be often seen with the use of it. IMO it is a very good technique to learn and utilize situation dependent.
Paul Howe is not a big fan of carrying the weapon pointed upwards, especially for LEO and civilians. If you happen to have a ND or a cook off, you don’t know where the round will go.
Paul teaches to have the weapon pointing down towards the ground if you are not in the ready position.
The brits I work with like to point it upwards if they are doing a mag change on the run, for instance while pepper popping away from a contact. It is easier to change the mag than pointing down, and it tells your team members that you are changing your mag. In this photo, a team mate is running back with the weapon pointing down.
This is how we did it in the Rangers many years ago (that is me in the painting lol, done for a Ranger history book).
Both methods have merit. For a civie or LEO, I think Paul is spot on.
This is another common topic of discussion amongst trainers. I do regard Paul Howe to be one of the premier firearms trainers no doubt, but with due respect to him and others posting, you are hitting on a valid point when talking about minimizing dangers etc.
Training helps to reduce the possibility of a ND, odds of this happening are minimized or greatly lessened via training. Cookoffs are another very very big rarity in LE. A bullet going into the air and coming down and injuring someone, while it happens, is another big rarity and this can also be mitigated by not using certain techniques in certain urban or more populated areas. Just like anything else venue dictates much of what we do. Now if you combine all of these factors together you would have a much greater chance of winning a lottery. Again we can argue that Murphy will show up and bite us in the ass because it seems to happen in LE, but it is about mitigating risk and weighing technique vs benefit.
Of course even with a rifle we teach a muzzle into the dirt (aka low ready, low muzzle, safety circle, SUL whatever you call it) but if we take into account that we see far more muzzle sweeps from a low ready, or a rainbow transition from side to side, especially in a stack or team movements we need to start taking into account risk assessment on which technique is of greater benefit with a lesser amount of danger. Granted a high port muzzle sweep can potentially be far worse than a low muzzle sweep, but overall, we tend to see far more low muzzle sweeps and very few high port. Again high port, not a “rainbow”.
I will say that if I had to break it down, each person will be different, but as a general estimation, our unit (50 or so guys) run muzzle low about 75% of the time and when it is appropriate or more beneficial, high port about 25% of the time.
Again not to offend anyone, but to say that high port does not have a place in LE or maybe even in the non Mil / LE world is a pretty broad stroke to paint.
