The Officer's Guide to Police Pistolcraft: The Complete Guide to the Reality-Based Tactics, Techniques, and Philosophy of the New Paradigm of Police Firearms Training

Reviewed by John Farnam, Author and Trainer, President of DTI!

New book by my friend and colleague, Mike Conti:

Some time ago, Mike Conti wrote Police Pistolcraft, where he pointed out to all of us the necessity of looking at the requirements of the job of policing and letting those requirements, and history, drive our firearms training.

His new book, The Officer's Guide to Police Pistolcraft, has just hit the market. It is a thorough treatment of contemporary police pistol training, and Mike is probably the one person most qualified to write it!

A copy should be in the hands of every young police officer!

/John

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Reviewed by Ed Lovette, author of THE SNUBBY REVOLVER!

Michael Conti has prepared a new book entitled "The Officer's Guide to Police Pistolcraft" as a companion piece to "Police Pistolcraft." Neither of these are "how-to" books. They are far more important than that.

Mike has managed to combine the best of the old with the best of the new into an extremely well researched and well documented program of basic handgun training for police which he calls the Integrated Duty Pistol Training Course Concept. At the outset of the development of this program, Mike stated that he wanted to create "a reality-based approach to firearms training for police officers." He has done so.

This is the gold standard for giving an officer the basic skills in pistolcraft -- such as mindset, physiology, tactics, and judgment -- in addition to shooting fast and accurately, that will allow him to prevail in an armed confrontation. How you can do the same thing for your agency is spelled out in exact detail for the firearms instructor.

Mike has done far more than write two important reference works which will serve as bibles for police firearms instructors. He has performed a much-needed service for the law enforcement community.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman's comments on The Officer's Guide to Police Pistolcraft

Mike, this really is a tremendous book.

You have taken the [operator application aspects] a whole level above and beyond the original version. And I am honored and impressed by your applications from On Killing. You cut right to the heart of that book and made these key aspects available for others.

There is a quote from me on the back of Police Pistolcraft, and I definitely still stand by those words*.

A superb job. A tremendous resource for the police officer and the police trainer. WELL done, my brother warrior-wordsmith!

Hooah!
Dave

(Reprinted with kind permission.)

(* Mike Conti's scientific analysis and application of his many years of observations and training in the "House of Horrors" are simply brilliant. His assessment of the "puppy" or unconscious mind, and the application of operant and classical conditioning in firearms training represent the best writing and thinking that I have ever seen on the subject.)

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