S.W.A.T. Magazine

The commodity that’s always in short supply when police training is involved is time. As a result, trainers are always trying to cram 10 pounds of training into the proverbial five-pound bag—often with less than stellar results. While still considered a luxury by some unenlightened police departments, the scarcity of instructional time is now being aggravated by the curtailment of funding and a severe shortage of ammunition, particularly in law enforcement centerfire calibers. Not only has the cost of ammunition reached unprecedented levels because of military demand, but civilians are also stockpiling almost anything that will shoot, as they fear possible restrictions by the current administration.

Because ammunition is costly, I started to incorporate additional dry firing into my training school's curriculum, and while much can be achieved with this practice, students came to bust caps and see their skills verified by paper and steel. With this in mind, I augmented some of our training with sub-caliber devices or .22 caliber conversion kits for the pistol. This stretched out the supply of ammunition for both the school and the students who brought their own ammunition. Two of the most reliable and simple conversion kits that I’ve found are Advantage Arms’ Glock/1911 and SIG SAUER’S P226 and P229.

When thinking of precision tactical rifles, one of the first names that come to mind is McMillan, which has established a well-deserved reputation for manufacturing some of the highest quality and most accurate rifles on the planet. While McMillan manufactures rifles for just about any purpose and chambered in most calibers common for sporting or tactical use, the subject of this evaluation is the McMillan G30 RH (right hand) Tactical Rifle. Yes, the rifle is available with a left-hand action as well.

The test rifle was McMillan’s top-of-the-line G30 custom action built by the company to aerospace standards, with each action CNC (computerized numerically controlled) machined from a solid billet. The action material is 17-4 stainless steel, which is tougher and more corrosion resistant than the 4000-series alloy often encountered in firearms. The extractor on G30 rifles is a large “Sako-style” claw of McMillan’s own design for positive extraction and controlled round feeding. A feature unique to the G30 rifles is dual ejectors. The primary ejector is a Remington-type plunger coupled with a secondary spring-loaded mechanical ejector that rises as the bolt passes over it.

When I was shooting service rifle competition, I had a conversation with the officer in charge of the Marine Corps Rifle Team, CWO4 Jim Cook. Jim was a former National Service Rifle Champion and had been in charge when the team swept the national championships in every category. While it can successfully be argued that bull’s-eye shooting can teach a lot about marksmanship, it’s also a fact that marksmanship is but one-third of the combat triad; the other two sides being manipulation/ tactics and mindset. However, the discipline required to be a successful champion requires a mindset that has similarities to the discipline necessary to defeat an enemy in the ultimate test.

“The real enemy is your mind,” Jim said. He went on to say that when a shooter cleans the first string of the 200- or 300-yard rapid-fire match, there’s no discernible reason why he shouldn't clean the second part as well. The reason, he explained, was that some personality types just couldn’t accept success—sort of like snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. How does this affect those training for the two-way range?

Almost a year ago I received a special edition lower receiver from Defensive Edge/SLR15 Rifles. (For a full report, see IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE: SLR15 Lower AR Receivers, December 2008 S.W.A.T.) It was special enough that I waited until I found just the right upper to complete the rifle. What made this one so special was the serial number and markings on the right side of the magazine well. To commemorate the year the United States declared independence from England, Defensive Edge/SLR15 Rifles made a limited run of 100 lower receivers prefaced with 1776—my sample is 1776 001. Laser engraved markings on the right side of the magazine well are a Minuteman, and include the end of the Second Amendment, which confirms that firearms ownership is an individual right: “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

In finding the upper, several months ago I toured the factory of an up-and-coming manufacturer in Scottsdale, Ariz.—American Spirit Arms (ASA). Although ASA manufactures complete rifles, I was interested in obtaining one of its new side charger receivers to top off my Spirit of ‘76 lower. Machined from 7075 aluminum, the side charger upper I received featured a mil-std, “T” marked rail, 16-inch chrome-moly barrel with a 1:9 twist. While gas blocks are an option from ASA, I chose to go with the standard front sight tower. My test sample had the correct—for a carbine—“F” marked front sight base. However, it didn’t have a forward assist. While the debate on whether or not a forward assist is a good thing approaches the proportions of the “. 45 vs. 9mm” argument; for my money it’s a useless appendage.

Present economic difficulties have led many to curtail their shooting activities and training. As we look at how to stretch available dollars, there are a few traps to avoid. For instance, take belts: at this point in your shooting career, quality holsters go without saying. But there’s something just fundamentally wrong with a quality pistol flopping north-south / east-west, as it fights a leather strap that a puppy wouldn't enjoy chewing. There are a wide variety of quality belts available at unprecedented low cost, so there’s less to excuse the yuppie latigo that’s losing a fight with gravity for your gear.

Batteries are expensive and range time is precious. I went through an entire package of new major-brand AA lithium batteries, with each one testing out right at the edge of the “replace” mark on the tester. So consider purchasing a tester. The new-in-the-wrapper spare is less reliable than a tested checked backup. And targets, they range from less than a penny to around 50 cents. The few dollars in targets are inconsequential in relation to the expense of the gas to get there, range fee and ammo. Additionally, this is important: bring 10 more targets to the range than you think you’ll need. And for anyone who has been to a carbine class lately knows the issues that cheap ammo brings with it—popped primers, missed crimps, inconsistent overall length, etc. Ammo is expensive, but going cheap isn’t worth the aggravation at best and the risk to weapon or shooter at worst.

Shotguns have been used as combat weapons since the matchlock. The fighting shotgun reached a pinnacle in the “trench gun” of the early 20th century—an 18-inch barreled Model 97 or Model 12 with a bayonet, spraying buckshot into groups of enemy soldiers at close range. In the old days, the shotgun was considered an area weapon—point it downrange and shoot into an area. However, the shotgun of today is a far cry from those early guns, and the use of the shotgun has changed. Many law enforcement departments have abandoned the shotgun, opting for the carbine only for cost savings and ease of training. In too many agencies, the shotgun has been relegated to an orange-painted, less-lethal delivery tool.

In today’s progressive departments, the shotgun is used in its best mode—a viable fighting weapon. Bill Murphy, Gunsite rangemaster and working SWAT officer, says, “The shotgun is a thinking man's weapon. It’s the only gun in the officer’s arsenal that can load mission-specific munitions. It can deliver instant stopping energy from one to 100 yards.” The loads include birdshot, buckshot, breaching, slugs, shell cracker (noise), gas, less-lethal, aerial flares, and some exotic and useless loads. No trainer I know recommends mixing lethal and non-lethal loads on the gun.

A native of Puerto Rico, I was blessed at birth with citizenship to this country that I so love. My family came to America when I was age 2; from the get-go, our folks prompted my two brothers and me to speak only English. As a Hispanic-American—and the only Spanish interpreter in my agency—I don't care for the troublemakers of my race who come to America to raise hell and force those around them to acquiesce to their needs. Seven out of 10 times when an interpreter shows up, the suspect, who actually understands English but is playing ignorant just for kicks, has raked the waiting officer across the coals. It's priceless to watch the expressions on the suspects' faces when they're chattering back and forth about the hidden drugs, and then you say something in perfect Spanish to them. Gotcha! If your interpreter has been in this country their whole life, you’re doubly blessed because they can speak without an accent in either language.

As police interpreters, we keep up with the latest bulletins affecting our craft. It’s come to light that Middle Eastern males are in growing frequency being caught entering America through Mexico. It isn't hard to do, considering how few agents are available to cover our massive borders. Immigrations Customs Enforcement (ICE) knows these illegal aliens as OTMs (other than Mexicans). A couple thousand bucks, a coyote and ta-dah—welcome to America! Al Qaeda wants in badly, which means that we can't slack off on the job. For a trained Al Qaeda operative whose only job is to learn Spanish, believe me, he can get it done quickly. Surprisingly, Spanish and Arabic aren’t that dissimilar in pronunciation. The words for some common everyday things are identical in both languages. Terrorists can shave their beards and tan to pass as Mexican or South American, but if they've learned their Spanish in Europe, a trained interpreter can hear it.

In 1906, the United States adopted a new military cartridge designated “Cartridge, Ball, Caliber .30, Model of 1906.” The new M1906, known as the .30-06, would have to be one of the most well-known rounds in history. It’s seen action in nearly every war and armed conflict since 1906. It won countless accuracy and hi-power championships and was the first round used in rifles specifically selected for U.S. sniper use. From the Springfield 1903s, Remington 03A4s, M1C/M1Ds, to the final Winchester M70 “Bull Guns” of Korea and Vietnam, the .30-06 was the granddaddy of sniper rounds for U.S. troops. All good things must come to an end and the newly adopted .308 Winchester round of the 1950s slowly but surely put the .30-06 as a sniper round out for good.

I always wanted to own an original .30-06 Winchester Model 70 “Bull Gun” like Bill Brophy or Carlos Hathcock used, but finding one would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Moreover, if you did find one, you would have to sell the farm to afford it. Then I came across the fact that Winchester’s Custom Shop offers a precision Sharpshooter II chambered for .30-06! This is about as close to my Model 70 dream as it is going to get and a chance to see how the .308 stacks up against it in the field.