Reviewed by Colonel Reed V. Hillman, MSP, Retired
I recently had the pleasure of reading Mike Conti's most recent book, The Officer's Guide to Police Pistolcraft. This is the fourth book Conti has written, all dedicated to keeping police officers safe and effective.
I served on the Mass State Police from 1974 to 1999, and over the course of that quarter century I qualified at least once, and, if the job had the money for ammo, twice a year. It was amazing to have the rangemasters give us training protocols that changed so dramatically over the years; this was hardly a model for inspiring a conviction that the training of any given year was in actuality the very best it could be, both in guaranteeing that force was used appropriately, and more important, that we had been given the skills to come home at the end of the shift even if confronted with an armed and violent offender.
Now that I have retired, it is indeed reassuring to read a pistolcraft book which finally gets it just right, not only spelling out the right way to train and shoot, but also in giving the reader confidence that the training will provide a significant edge over the bad guy in any armed confrontation.
This book and its predecessor, Police Pistolcraft: The Reality-Based New Paradigm of Police Firearms Training, will be invaluable to trainers in both the recruit and in-service settings. The Officer's Guide to Police Pistolcraft will also be of great benefit to any officer wanting to make sure that his mental and physical preparation is state of the art. You might not ever have another chance to get it right if you're confronted with an assailant tonight, so why not spend a few hours honing a skill that may well save your life?
Mike Conti was the founder and director of the Firearms Training Unit of the MSP. He also served as a member of the SWAT Team, and has been extensively trained with many different types of firearms. Mike is also conversant with all the major schools of firearms training and has been all over the United States increasing his knowledge base. While many officers possess years of training, Mike is the only one I know who has made a study of the science of combat shooting, what works, and what doesn't, from the twin perspectives of taking down the bad guy, and making sure you don't end up on the deck with him.
I recommend this book to all firearms practitioners, including those who train other officers, those who write policies and procedures for police to follow, and everybody who carries a handgun to protect yourself and others from death or serious injury.
Col. Reed Hillman, MSP, Retired
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Overview
In 2006, Saber Press released Police Pistolcraft: The Reality-Based New Paradigm of Police Firearms Training. This ground-breaking firearms instructor's training manual was quickly hailed as a seminal work that would help to revolutionize the way professional police officers trained with their handguns.
Now, in response to numerous requests from instructors, students, and line officers alike, Saber Press proudly presents The Officer's Guide to Police Pistolcraft. This eagerly anticipated companion text to the original instructor's version has been created as a training aid and reference manual specifically to meet the ...