Active Self Protection

Sorry for the top post, but I seem to be unable to post in the Ask Me Anything (AMA) thread and tech support hasn't been able to figure out why.

This question is about DTFS standards.

Kristie and I finally have our CCWs. The qualifications testing consisted, as far as I can tell, of being able to handle the gun safely and hit the target.

You have mentioned repeatedly that

⠀•⠀2.0 seconds Draw To First Shot (DTFS) is the Concealed Carry Standard;
⠀•⠀1.5 sec DTFS is the Professional Standard, and ;
⠀•⠀1.0 sec DTFS is the Expert Standard

When/where/how is this measured? It wasn't part of our Ohio CCW/CHL testing. Is there an official mechanism to be tested and certified, or is that just a Rule of Thumb and we use dry fire systems to simply rate ourselves?

I know the knowledge is important, because of the GO signal issue when waiting your turn; show me your ear and 1.5 is mine, show me the back of your head and 2.0 is mine, etc., etc.

But certification does a few useful things:

⠀•⠀It removes my ego from the evaluation;
⠀•⠀It is more documentation for my lawyer to show the jury I take my responsibilities seriously

...and probably more.

Is there a certification process or authority? Or is this just a "known thing" in the Active Defender universe?

That standard is by me. I made it. The way to test it is to have a shot timer and do it at the range. Most ranges will not allow it, so using something like the Mantis Laser Academy at home in dry practice is the best substitute. Alternately, using a shot timer with a par timer and verifying your sights were on the target and not lying to yourself about it can work too. But doing it live fire is best.

So it's a thing, but timed by me in real gunfights. So I guess I am the authority. :)

I'm sure John or Neil could expand more but from a non firearms trainer standpoint, just a guy whos done some gun school. There is no certification process of DTFS time, it's simply a process through live and dry fire of knowing once you decide to go how long it takes you to draw and get a hit on target.

For training and measuring DTFS It doesn't really matter what the go signal is because if you ever get into a gunfight it's not going to start with a beep. Ideally you want something that can measure your draw time weather that is a range timer, a timer on your phone or something like a mantis. From a training standpoint the go signal could be the standard beep from a range timer, it could be your instructor yelling "UP" or anything else that triggers you to know it's time to draw, get sight picture and put a round on target. It's also not about knowing what your fastest time is, it's knowing what your consistent time is, because if you ever actually have to draw in the real world you're going to be dealing with stress and adrenaline that you likely haven't practiced for in training.

My personal choice as a self defender was to get a mantis x, and get a range timer and I put in repetitions both in live and dry fire so I know how much time it consistently takes me to clear my cover garment, draw, get a good grip, get a reasonable sight picture and put a shot on target. I personally am not reliably at 1.5s but I'm sub 2s and working on it.

Also one thing I've noticed in my practice that I'd love to hear comments on from John or others who do a ton more gun school is about perfect being the enemy of good. I.e. at sub 10yrds if I practice to always get the best grip, get the gun up, make sure I see my dot on target clearly I'm slower than if I get a good draw and a good grip and a decent sight picture that still yields an A zone hit. What I'm really trying to focus on right now is consistency of draw, grip and presentation of the firearm so that it becomes muscle memory and then when I can consistently do that, I try and speed it up so that I'm faster until I get to the same level of consistency at that speed level.

Appreciate the info and the feedback.

We're using Mantix X for the competency element, but our holsters are non-light-bearing Kydex so we're not currently able to use it in our preferred configuration for draw timing.

For draw practice, we're currently using SureShot; not a complete complete system, but with a basic laser-watching app, it is making our draw to target immensely more smooth, consistent, and accurate, so that will work for now.

At some point we are going to either need to invest in a shot timer, a better laser-watching app, or resort to attaching the Mantis to the base of the grip rather than on the under-muzzle pic rail.

I was just curious about the administrative "officialness" of the standard; and on this one, I guess we get to do it the hard way.

No worries there. :-)

You should be able to purchase the base plate adapter and use the X10 for your DTFS work! It works really well for that.

Getting Officially DTFS Certified is when you experience a real life & death scenario where you walk out alive & uninjured, and the perpetrator has authenticated your certification with his/her life. PRACTICE - PRACTICE - PRACTICE!