The true Guard position. Problem is, it’s fatiguing and the arms may drop to the point where the gun is pointed at one’s own feet.

Webster's dictionary defines the word ready as "prepared to act" while the word position is "the way in which a person or thing is arranged." Putting these together, the words "ready position" as they relate to tactical handgunning would be "the way in which a person is arranged so they are prepared to act."

Every defensive firearms course I have attended, and there have been many, has taught its own version of a ready position. In all cases, the position taught either supported the shooting style the school advocated or emphasized firearm safety. Both of these are important, but sometimes they are not enough.

When I entered law enforcement in the mid 1970s, the Modern Technique of the Pistol, founded by the late Col. Jeff Cooper, was new to many police firearms instructors, and there was a great enthusiasm for the system. The ready position taught with the Modern Technique was called the Guard position or more commonly the Low Ready. The position was described as holding the gun out in front of the body but depressed at a 45-degree angle when the gun was not actually being fired, for safety and observation purposes.

When used properly, the technique was both fast and efficient as the gun only needed to be raised to the target and the trigger pressed. Simple! The problem was the technique was not used properly as many officers became fatigued while holding the gun out and allowed it to drop straight down until their elbows rested against their torsos, leaving the gun pointed toward the ground. While a number of instructors recognized this and corrected it, a great many more allowed the practice to continue as, after all, pointing the gun at the ground was range safe, so what the heck.

The problem was, defensive firearms training is supposed to prepare one for what will happen on the street to a level that is safe within the confines of the range facility. Tactics or techniques that are not safe for live fire must be dealt with during interactive training such as blue-gun scenarios or Airsoft/Simunitions training.

Due to improper Low Ready execution, I saw officers in the field searching for and engaging suspects from positions in which the gun was basically pointed between their feet. I watched this happen repeatedly during the decade plus that I spent working the street.

When I transferred to investigations and was involved in search warrant execution, I saw investigators move into threat areas with guns pointed either at their feet or at their head (thanks, television) as they looked for suspects. I would also see officers trap their guns against the wall while they looked around corners, making it impossible to use the gun if they needed it.

I frequently asked why they did this, and most would shrug their shoulders with indifference.

When I took over my agency's training program in late 1991, I continued my education into the misuse of the Guard position. During this period, I not only conducted training for my agency but contracted with other agencies for training, thus in a given year I would see between 650 and 750 officers for multiple training sessions--not including another 100 cadets from the regional police academy.

When shooting simple one- and two-shot drills from Low Ready, I would continually see officers either under- or over-shoot the high chest region of the target as they tried to raise and stop their two-pound gun from a position pointing at the ground. The inertia created by the gun's weight being extended to arm's length--combined with the loss of motor skill associated with any critical incident--make stopping the gun precisely quite difficult. During shoot house search drills, entire targets were missed at very close range.