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SC OT T RE ITZ AND THE WAY OF THE 1911.
BY RICHARD NANCE
PHOTOS BY ALFREDO RICO
iyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) is widely
considered the greatest swordsman in the
history of Japan. In Book of Five Rings, his
classic treatise on strategy, Musashi stated matterof-factly that he had “killed over 60 men in fights and
duels.” When Musashi turned 60, he removed himself
from society in order to ponder what he seemed to
know instinctively: how to prevail in lethal combat.
Although International Tactical Training
Seminars’ (ITTS) lead instructor, Scott Reitz,
has an extensive martial arts background, it was
a gun and not a sword that he strapped on every
day during his 30-year career with the LAPD,
including the five shifts that involved Reitz’s
participation in gunfights. Reitz, like Musashi,
is undefeated in lethal combat, having prevailed
five times. In three of the instances, Reitz was
armed with a 1911, his preferred handgun.
Toward the end of 2011, I attended a two-day
ITTS 1911 Model Anniversary Class held at the
Angeles Shooting Range in Lake View Terrace,
California. The course unveiled the first signature Limited Edition Custom ITTS 1911 pistol,
built to Reitz’s specifications. I expected the
course to be on par with the others I’ve attended
as a police firearms instructor. To my surprise,
I not only gained a greater appreciation for the
combat-proven 1911, but also picked up many
valuable tips that can make anyone a better warrior, regardless of the weapon he is holding.
Here’s a taste of what Reitz (or “Uncle Scotty,”
as he encourages his students to call him) taught
me about the way of the 1911.
ON THE RANGE
INTRODUCTION
From the beginning, it was apparent to all in
attendance that Reitz possesses what’s referred
to in the law enforcement arena as “command
presence.” In other words, when he spoke, you
listened. Not out of fear but out of respect for
his experience, which included 10 years as an
operator on LAPD SWAT and as the lead firearms instructor for the Metro division, where
he taught approximately 7,000 officers per year.
(At least 400 Reitz-trained officers have been
involved in shootings.)
Reitz explained why he is partial to the 1911
platform, stating that it is user-friendly and
built for guys of average size. The 1911’s relatively heavy weight helps mitigate recoil, and
its controls are located where they need to be,
which is why the 1911 has withstood the test
of time. The beavertail grip safety and singleaction trigger on the ITTS 1911 allow the shooter
to get high on the backstrap and deep into the
pistol for optimal control.
According to Reitz, the 1911’s square sights
are easier and faster to acquire than the sights
of most other pistols because the human eye
is programmed to home in on right angles. Of
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Reitz is the modernday Miyamoto
Musashi. His book,
The Art of Modern
Gunfighting, is
required reading for
any serious shooter.
course, one of the hallmarks of the 1911 design is
the clean-breaking single-stage trigger, which
reduces the odds of the pistol’s orientation
changing during firing. But Reitz cautioned that
the 1911 is an unforgiving gun that requires an
absolute commitment to safe handling.
Reitz declared that there had never been an
unintended discharge during an ITTS course,
and he was not about to break that impeccable
safety record. He said he is the most dangerous
person on the range because he is the most comfortable handling firearms and must therefore
always be cognizant of becoming complacent.
Reitz’s usual jovial demeanor was replaced by
one of deadly seriousness when he conducted
the safety brief, which was the most thorough
and intense I had been a part of during my
15-year career as a law enforcement officer.
The bottom line: You will handle your firearm
safely at all times when attending any course
taught by Reitz. At ITTS, safe gun handling
is not taught as a separate skill but rather an
integral component of proper tactics. “If you’re
not 100 percent sure of what you’re doing on the
firing line, wait until all doubt is gone before
proceeding,” Reitz said.
Thanks in large part to my extensive experience shooting a Glock, I initially felt a bit like
a fish out of water performing exacting range
drills with my borrowed 1911, which had so
much chrome that it looked like something I
confiscated from a pimp. However, thanks to
Reitz’s clear and logical instruction and the attentiveness of ITTS assistant instructors, all of
whom were current LAPD SWAT operators, I
was able to catch on right away.
Unlike some of the condensed writers’ courses I’ve attended, training time at this course was
maximized. We literally ran from point “A” to
point “B”—in most cases to mitigate downtime.
If you were lagging, Reitz was not bashful about
letting you (and the rest of the class) know that
you needed to pick up the pace.
The drills started out simply enough. After
some basic loading and unloading of the 1911,
we shot two shots center of mass from about
the 10-yard line. Reitz encouraged students to
be aggressive, even when simply moving to a
low-ready position. As students demonstrated
proficiency, we moved back to 30 yards. Reitz
instructed students to remind themselves
“Front sight, trigger press, follow through”
before each shot.
The first signature
Limited Edition Custom ITTS 1911. Reitz
explained that the
gun is built for “guys
of average size.”
The beavertail grip
safety and singleaction trigger are
ideal for getting high
on the backstrap.
After several strings of two-handed fire
aimed at the center mass of our targets, we
moved closer and focused on headshots. Next
came one-handed shooting, first with the
dominant hand, then with the offhand. Reitz’s
technique for one-handed shooting involved
bringing the nonshooting hand to the chest
while rotating the upper body to create isometric tension, which provided a more stable
shooting platform.
After replacing paper targets with steel
silhouettes, we moved to the 50-yard line to
engage in what I considered long-distance
shooting. (I would later learn that 50-yard shots
with a 1911 were more like “midrange.”) Reitz
compared 50-yard body shots to headshots at
closer distances. Despite the widely varying
experience levels of students, everyone, to my
surprise, was soon consistently ringing the steel
targets at 50 yards.
LOW-LIGHT DRILLS
Prior to engaging in low-light shooting drills,
Reitz talked about the pros and cons of commonly taught shooting techniques using a flashlight.
The preferred ITTS shooting stance is a Modified
Weaver position, so it’s no surprise that Reitz
favors the Harries Technique, which involves
punching out the gun, then, while holding the
flashlight with the bezel closest to the little
finger, indexing the backs of the hands together
so the hand holding the light helps stabilize the
shooting hand. For maximum effectiveness, the
elbow of the arm holding the flashlight was oriented downward, not to the side. Reitz cautioned
students that it was the gun, not the light, that
should be centered on the target.
When Reitz explained the dynamics of
low-light shooting, he mentioned something
I hadn’t heard before but found very interesting. He said that when using a flashlight, an
object might seem closer than it actually is.
For example, an adversary who is seven yards
away could appear to be only five yards away.
When I illuminated a target several feet away,
then scrutinized the same target without the
flashlight, I found this phenomenon to be true.
With regard to scanning, Reitz offered some
commonsense advice that I hadn’t previously
considered. If you know, based on the circumstances, that you’re dealing with only one bad
guy, why would you take your eyes off him to
scan for additional threats? Instead, he suggested staying focused on the threat you know
exists before taking your eyes or your muzzle
off the target to scan. This advice was contrary
to my previous training, but I have to admit it
made sense.
The next sequence of fire consisted of partner
drills where two shooters stood side by side.
One shooter initiated the drill by drawing and
firing two body shots. The point of the drill was
for the other shooter to cue on the first shooter’s
movement and fire a single head shot. The drill
was then repeated in reverse sequence. This
helped the shooter get used to drawing and
firing based on a visual stimulus (movement)
rather than an audio cue, such as a typical range
command like “Threat!”
After a little low-light shooting using only
night sights, it was time for prone shooting
from 50 yards using a flashlight or pistolmounted light. This was something I hadn’t
done, and it proved to be a little more difficult
than it sounds.
HISTORY OF THE 1911
AND THE .45 ACP CARTRIDGE
Reitz offered several
tips to improve
students’ low-light
shooting ability.
Reitz’s longtime friend and 1911 aficionado
Ray Coffman presented a history of the 1911.
He described how the U.S. Cavalry had adopted
the .45 caliber after the Thompson LaGarde
Cadaver Tests of 1904, futher explaining that
the Army had hung cadavers from a ceiling
and shot them with various calibers to measure penetration. Similar testing was done on
cattle to determine how many rounds to the
chest it would take to kill one. Based on this
testing process, the Army determined that the
.45 caliber was the minimum effective round to
be used for combat.
Later, the cavalry was responsible for the 1911
grip and thumb safeties because of the challenges faced by soldiers required to shoot from
horseback. The M1911 performed better than
other brands when exposed to “rust and dust”
tests. While the sights on World War I-era 1911s
were minimal, the pistol served its purpose
across the trenches.
RANGE DRILLS
After the history lesson from Coffman, Reitz
had us perform various reloads. He pointed
out that with the 1911, using the offhand to
manipulate the slide release was ideal. This
procedure is more difficult on many other types
of handguns, including the Glock that I was
taught to shoot on. Students were again paired
up and raced each other, drawing and firing at a
steel silhouette from 50 yards. We then shot and
conducted reloads while moving and engaged
our targets head-on and from the oblique.
EXTENDED RANGE SHOOTING
For me, the highlight of the course was longrange 1911 shooting. I was pretty damn proud
of myself when I was able to hit a 20x20-inch
steel plate from 145 yards after only two shots.
Reitz revealed yet another aspect of shooting
to which I had never been exposed. He told me
that when shooting at extended distances with
the 1911, I should not bear down so much to
control the gun’s recoil. He mentioned “dwell
time,” which is the time it takes for the bullet to
leave the barrel. When shooting at long range,
allowing the pistol to rise during recoil helped
mitigate the effects of drag and gravity.
W hen I began to understand the concept
of dwell time, I hit a 20x20-inch steel target
from 185 yards. I was completely baffled
because prior to the course I would not have
believed that such a shot was possible with
a handgun. However, the kicker came when
I hit the same-size target from a distance of
250 yards. Of course, I had to position the
front sight significantly over the rear sights
to compensate for bullet drop, so there was
a degree of gamesmanship involved. Still, as
you would imagine, such a shot requires nearperfect sight alignment and trigger control.
Several other shooters were also able to make
the 250-yard shot with stock 1911s. Though I
was grinning from ear to ear, I was one-upped
by fellow writer and LAPD Officer Jeremy
Stafford. Impressively, he registered a hit on
a 300-yard target.
Reitz demonstrates
his proper reloading
technique.
OBSTACLE COURSE
The lessons concluded with an obstacle course
where shooters engaged a steel target at 50
yards from a prone position, then ran to engage
several additional targets from behind cover,
shot from a kneeling position, conducted a
reload, then shot several poppers while moving
parallel to the targets. This was a timed event
that proved to be a good tool for self-assesment
with your new level of performance.
CONCLUSION
Scott Reitz is an excellent instructor who is
able to get his students to perform better than
they thought they were capable of. His experience and approach to shooting are invaluable.
It is readily apparent that even after all his
years of teaching, Reitz still loves to shoot.
On more than one occasion, he cut in front of
shooters waiting their turn. But even a guy
like Reitz misses on occasion. “Front sight,
trigger press, follow through.” It was refreshing to see an instructor so willing to put it on
the line in front of his students.
But to say Reitz is an excellent instructor is
an understatement. In fact, you may even say
it’s like calling Miyamoto Musashi a “decent”
swordsman. Thanks, Uncle Scotty, for doing
what you do. Your book, The Art of Modern
Gunfighting, now resides on the bookshelf
alongside Musashi’s Book of Five Rings.
For information on courses offered by ITTS,
check out internationaltactical.com.
COMBATARMS2012
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