How to Defensively Use a Shotgun

Fighting Shotgun Class with Gregory Cruz of Interactive Gunfighting

This weekend the rain finally stopped here in New England and we were able to enjoy a “Fighting Shotgun” course taught by Gregory Cruz, the founder of Interactive Gunfighting. It was a great day – and lots of ammo was expended. If you’ve ever wondered what over 2,000 spent shotgun shells looks like here you go:

The class ran 8 hours and covered a variety of topics to include:

• Benefits and liabilities of shotguns for home defense
• Realistic shotgun distances
• Accuracy drills (trigger press, sight picture and sight alignment)
• Sustainment and combat reloads
• Malfunction clearing
• Improving speed without sacrificing accuracy
• Shooting under stress
• Pros and cons of shotgun platforms (Pumps, autos, over / under and side-by-side)
• Ammunition selection based on situation and distance

​During the day we each shot 200 rounds of bird shot, 25 rounds of buck shot and 15 slugs, using a wide variety of pump and semi-auto shotguns manufactured by all sorts of companies and decked out with all types of iron sights, optics, slings and other gear based on personal preference. Since we shot three different kinds of ammunition, Greg even took the time during one of the breaks from shooting to cut open birdshot, buckshot and slug shells so that we could talk about the pros and cons of each type of ammunition. (FYI - you can read the blog post that I wrote on this topic back in November of 2017 if you want the details) 

As to the level of instruction that we received, it was top notch since Greg has had an extensive and widely varied career. Greg is a military combat veteran and wounded warrior nominated for the Silver Star for Combat Valor, awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V and Purple Heart. A former USMC Grunt/Sniper and Scout Sniper Instructor Greg served in Panama, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. An experienced Law Enforcement Officer, Greg served as the Chief Firearms Instructor at the Rhode Island Municipal Police Academy. Greg was also a founding member of Department of Homeland Security/Federal Air Marshal firearms program post 9/11. Greg has been a weapons instructor for over 20 years and from 2014 through 2018 was the Smith & Wesson Academy’s Chief Firearms Instructor. A highly experienced competitive shooter, firearms and tactics instructor, and lifelong student of the tactical/shooting arts, Greg really brought practical knowledge to the class. You can find out more details on their website (https://interactivegunfighting.com/) or their
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/InteractiveGunfighting/

​One of the things that I liked the most about the class was Greg’s emphasis on splitting your shooting stance (i.e. your legs) and your posture (i.e. your upper torso). Since accuracy and repeatability is so dependent on your shooting body position, and your mechanics, Greg’s focus on this was great. The shooting drills that we ran through helped you understand how to get a good stance to “drive the gun” (much like a football linebacker’s stance is how I always think about it), when and how to change your posture or rotate your torso to engage targets from different directions, and when to move your feet or the angle of your knees to reorient your stance.

​The ever increasing speed of the sustainment reload (rapidly "topping off" the shotgun's magazine tube when you have a break from shooting so that the magazine is full when you reengage the targets) and combat reload (reloading the shotgun by putting a single shell into the chamber as soon as the previous shell has been ejected - done in extreme situations where there is an immediate threat and no time to fully reload the shotgun's magazine tube; sometimes called a tactical reload) drill was also great since you really had think and to work to keep up.
 
We all had fun and learned a lot during the class. So if you are looking to really learn how to utilize your shotguns – check out what Greg and Interactive Gunfighting offer.