ATAC is the only defensive training company in the United States that exclusively uses .22 caliber tactical suppressed fi****ms. We are an entry level, basic course for armed defense. The .22 suppressed fi****ms enable our guests to focus on just techniques and representation of how the body and tools should be used efficiently for low cost and noise.
ATAC opens our clientele 5 fold by keeping the cost down. Once our guests understand the mechanics, which is 99.9% the game, then they can run a full force course with their firearm, equipment and choice of ammunition. This is training for EVERYONE who carries in public or keeps a firearm in their vehicle or home for defense.
ATAC courses do not require hearing protection with suppressed .22s
Suppressors in conjunction with sub-sonic ammunition are provided to remove the requirement for hearing protection. The absence of hearing protection affords the shooter greater situational awareness, which increases everyone's safety on the range. The suppressor reduces the noise level from a .22 discharge, making it equivalent to an air-rifle. The noise reduction helps decrease anxiety which affects adrenaline levels. This sets conditions for a safer, more comfortable and fun fi****ms training environment.
ATACs perfect training caliber is the .22
We believe that the .22 is the perfect training caliber. It’s important to stay current on your large caliber carry firearm. But a training regimen can be augmented with a .22 to decrease cost and still sustain capability. The .22 ammo is cheap, quiet, and has a low recoil, allowing trainees to focus on the defensive techniques. Even the "trained professionals" have to start somewhere. The best way to teach defensive training is to focus on what is behind the firearm the guest, not what is in front of the firearm the target. We utilize a kinesthetic approach to fi****ms training. Kinesthetic relates to learning through feeling such as a sense of body position, muscle movement and weight as felt through nerve endings. An example of kinesthetic is the nature of a workout in gym class. Correct body position in our training isn’t to increase your odds of shooting the target. Rather it is designed to decrease your odd of being shot by the target.
ATAC creates the environment to relax and have fun with a .22
The suppressed .22 semi-automatic pistols and rifles are used to reduce stress, anxiety, and adrenaline commonly created from over exposure of large caliber ammunition. The pressure and recoil experienced from large caliber ammunition has adverse effects on training after only a few hundred rounds fired. It is not uncommon for a trainee to experience firearm fatigue after discharging 100 rounds. Training fatigue causes clients to anticipate the discharge, resulting in a “flinch”. The flinch results in a missed or bad shot. The consistent bad shot effects the psychology of the trainee which causes a loss of interest in the training. Two ways to counter this problem. One is to either break up the training into multiple sessions, reducing the rounds fired daily; or train with a smaller caliber. This is why ATAC has chosen to use the small .22 caliber. The .22 allows our guests to fire up to 1,000 rounds in six hours with no adverse effect on them.
Articles supporting the .22 as a training firearm.
1. https://www.buckeyefi****ms.org/how-train-22-version-your-carry-gun
2. https://gundigest.com/article/handgun-training-nothing-beats-22
3. https://www.gunsandammo.com/editorial/range-tactical-training-22-lr/
4. https://gunassociation.org/22-caliber-pistol-training/
Why is ATAC different from other firearm training companies?
Quality and comfort go hand in hand!
All but one of our nine ranges are covered. We don’t believe fi****ms training has to be miserable. Our facility is designed to look like the century old Appalachian farm it was re-purposed from; not a mud-hole with dirt berms and target stands. The holding area is climate controlled for your comfort during training complete with both men’s and women’s bathrooms including a kitchenette. Our intent is to create a custom, relaxed, family friendly environment to enhance your experience.
Teaching from combat experience not classroom exams!
ATAC teaches the same fundamentals we used to survive hundreds of combat special operations in Afghanistan where we were shot at and had to shoot back. Other fi****ms training courses teach you to be a hero with a gun from instructors that only have written exam certifications. ATAC teaches defensive techniques by recreating the environment that you might experience in an armed encounter, not on a flat range shooting at a paper target! Nothing could be more dangerous than squaring off with a paper target, pretending that it is a active shooter, focusing only on an accurate shot. We teach the primary objective is not to shoot the target; rather your primary objective is NOT to be shot by the target.
We treat you like a guest not a client!
ATAC courses are designed to lower: anxiety, stress, and adrenaline. Everything taught at ATAC is slow and methodical to increase comprehension, and be fun. We create a safe environment for you to feel comfortable making mistakes allowing you to learn more efficiently. We don’t yell, we won’t embarrass you, we don’t cuss and we speak in an encouraging manner. You are our guests and our aim is to see you leave with a smile having learned a little and experiencing a fun time doing it. Most importantly we are a Christian company.
How is ATAC impacting the fi****ms training industry?
Armed Defense vs Creative Marksmanship:
If your primary objective is the shoot the target then you have three fi****ms training options to choose from: Military and Police type training, Competitive Shooting and a blend between those two called Creative Marksmanship. If your primary object is NOT to be shot by the target then Armed Defense like we teach is the training you should take. We are providing proof of concept fundamentals that will increase your odds of living through an armed encounter. The same fundamentals we used to survive hundreds of high-risk combat operations in Afghanistan. (Not just one, but hundreds). Creative Marksmanship is the garden variety firearm training offered across the US. Unfortunately, today most fi****ms instructors provide their version of Creative Marksmanship as tactical training. Creative Marksmanship occurs when a firearm instructor places you in front of an armed paper target teaching you to square off with it, without cover, concealment or moving. Their client’s objective is to simply shoot the target firing from a stationary position, concentrating on stance, grip, trigger pull and point of aim etc. Nothing could be more dangerous in a real-life scenario! That simply recreates the INSANITY of a 19th century pistol duel between two idiots pointing fi****ms at one another…ready-aim-fire, right? If someone points a weapon at you, your first instinct should be to move, not take a tactical stationary stance drawing your firearm! Everyone in America shoots stationary paper targets aiming at chest and head height. Don’t act like a target that bad guys trains with...MOVE!
Bad fi****ms instruction looks like this:
Sometimes instructors will have their clients moving toward a target while firing at it. As their clients close the distance on an armed paper target, these instructors overlook the obvious that doing such equally increases the likelihood of their client being shot by the target. The physics apply equally to both the trainee and the targets as the distance between them decreases. Instructors that support this type of training increase their clients risk of be shot in an armed altercation. Can it get any more ridiculous…oh yes! After these instructors teach their client to move toward the armed threat, these instructors will now change their client’s direction and have them walk backwards while firing forward at the target. Walking backwards and firing forwards means that their clients are increasing the odds of tripping. Secondly, moving backwards in-line with their target doesn’t change the targets point of aim at them…common sense geometry. These fi****ms instructors are leading their clients “the sheep” to the slaughter with an increased risk from being shot. ATAC observes two simple rules in teaching defensive techniques. First you have to adopt the perspective that the primary objective in a armed altercation is NOT to shoot the target; but not to be shot by the target.
1. A moving target is harder to hit than a stationary target...and move perpendicular away from the target is key!
2. A smaller target is harder to hit than a larger target...so reduce your signature while moving away from the target.
So why do some fi****ms instructors tell you to plant your feet, stand erect, essentially failing to recognize common sense rule #1 and #2? This is what happens when instructors don’t apply logic to training as a result of being armed with only insufficient written exam certifications absent real world experience. These instructors are basically teaching Creative Marksmanship. Creative Marksmanship is a blend from Competitive Shooting and Military/ Police training. If your primary objective is NOT to be shot then your training better not mimic the disciplines of Competitive Shooting or how Military/ Police train. Consider this Military and Police have body armor, extra bullets, medical backup and lastly their job is to move toward the sound of gunfire. Their primary objective is to shoot the target. ATAC teaches, as a citizen, your primary objective is NOT to be shot by the target or move to the sound of gunfire. My first concern in a gunfight is simply NOT to be shot. If you think that is a bad idea then we can agree to disagree. For everyone that believes that NOT being shot is their number one concern in an armed altercation then ATAC is designed for you.
Can I train effectively without using my firearm?
There is so much more to preparing for an armed altercation than what type of firearm you train with. Principles are good unless you have never tested them. At which point a principle can very quickly turn into a problem. Don’t restrict yourself to a principle someone shared with you until you verify it for yourself. We are all different regarding capabilities and limitations so there is not a one size fits all principle that universally fits everyone equally. For example, some principles prioritize the fi****ms offensive capability over their individuals defensive skills. This is derived from Hollywood actors hitting everything they aim at 100% of the time. This is known as cognitive distortion…or over confidence. The firearm is simply a tool. An adequately trained American is capable with whatever firearm is within their reach, it doesn’t have to be their personal firearm.
Should I only train with my personal protection firearm?
The notion that a person has to train with their firearm, ammunition and equipment is the result of fi****ms industry making a mountain out of a molehill. Imagine someone saying I can't drive effectively unless I drive my car, with my tires, using my gas...how silly! An automobile is much more complex than a firearm. A firearm in comparison is just a simple mechanical mechanism. Yet the firearm industry will lead the public to believe the firearm is more complicated than operating a vehicle.
So let’s compare the firearm to an automobile. Both require fuel to run, one uses gas the other bullets. Both require an ignition system, one you turn a key the other you load a round. Both you have to shift into gear, or move the selector switch from safe to fire. Both have to be pointed in the desired direction - steered or aimed. Both require a throttle to operate i.e. accelerator pedal or trigger. When you hear people emphasize that you have to train with your personal firearm and equipment it is generally because their belief is an over reacting to the fi****ms industry messaging.
Fi****ms are just simple mechanical devices!
The more complex the fi****ms industry makes the firearm appear, the more options the fi****ms industry has to make money from it by providing diverse options for the consumer. The harder and more complex fi****ms are perceived the easier it is for the anti-gun movement to make the argument that the general public shouldn't have access to them. Essentially the fi****ms industry is shooting itself in the foot by exploiting this marketing campaign.
After serving 25 years in the Army Special Forces as both enlisted and an officer the experience and training led me to the conclusion that the fi****ms industry is a self-licking ice-cream cone. Like any good capitalist enterprise it is always looking for a new market. When new revenue streams cannot be identified any industry will create problems that don't exist so it can sell solutions to consumers they don't need. For example the fi****ms industry will tell you that to survive an armed altercation you NEED to have the latest and greatest guns, gear, ammunition and cutting edge training. Nothing could be further from the truth. None of that saved my life in Afghanistan...it was being grounded in the basics of cover, concealment and moving while shooting.
Training like Police and Military is a bad idea for civilians!
The majority of fi****ms training companies teach Creative Marksmanship which is a blend between Military and Police style fundamentals and Competitive Shooting. This puts trainees stationary, shoulder to shoulder on a firing line, shooting at a stationary paper targets. Nothing could be more dangerous to mimic in an armed altercation. The Military and Police conduct offensive operations thus their primary objective is to shoot the target. Not to mention that Police and Military have Body Armor, Backup, extra Bullets and they are paid to move to the sound of gunfire! In contrast ATAC teaches Armed Defense emphasizing that the primary objective is NOT to be shot by the target. ATAC’s training is oriented on everything behind the gun (the shooter) vs. what is in front of the gun the target.
