Basic drills:

• Were performed by another operator and myself, using the CQB3A VP shield and the CQB3 NV shield (12 & 16lbs)

• One hand with pistol:

• Single shot, multi shot, muti target, combat reloads.

  • No issues by either operator. Combat reloads could be performed the normal way with both hands/ no hands on the shield. Sling took weight off the shooters support arm for extended time behind the shield and during no hand hold on shield, shield stayed in front of the body squared.

Advanced drills:

• Conducted by both another operator and myself: Double feed clearance, injured limb drills, rifle to pistol transition.

• Double feed clearance::

  • Was able to let go of the shield, shield stayed upright and square to the body, pistol was cleared with both hands and reacquired with support hand on shield and continued firing with strong hand. No issues, worked very well.

• Injured Limb Drill:

  • Pistol was placed on the ground, shooter dropped to a double kneeling position at the weapon, acquired the pistol with their support hand, engaged with multiple rounds, strong arm/hand was not holding the shield; shield stayed upright and squared to the body. Worked well..

• Rifle/Pistol Transition:

  • Shield was loosened slightly to acquired a one arm rifle shooting position off the strong side shoulder of the shield. Rifle was run dry then shooter transitioned to pistol firing multiple rounds. Rifle was then brought back up and reloaded.

  • Drill was slightly more difficult to perform due to confined work space in front of the shield, however shield was let go and stayed in front of body during maneuver. *Shooter would stay up with their pistol until there was time, distance and or other available cover to recover the rifle and get it ready again.

  • Side note: The sling was loosened more than normal in order to get a proper shouldering of the rifle but still worked fine.

Sling Used on Heavier shield for CQB Review:

Sling was placed on the MT3VP shield (30lbs) and multiple CQB style drills were performed using 2 persons: Moving forward/linear hallway movement w/ Shield Operator and Cover Officer; Room entry drill.

Linear Movement:

• One dedicated shield operator and one cover officer, moving forward on the move, cover officer stepping to out and engaging multiple rounds. Sling worked well, keeping the weight/load to a minimum over extended periods of time behind shield.

  • Two hand grip was used during drill by shield operator, no fatigue noticed.

Room Entries:

• Shield operator and one cover officer, shield operator leads into the room turning the shield towards the threat (2 handed grip on the shield), cover officer moved opposite direction to his POD (point of domination) engaging the threat.

• Shield operator was able to transition to his pistol and engage the threat with one hand,  with the MT size shield. Sling worked well on the big shield providing extend periods of time behind the shield.

Final Impression:

• Overall impression was very good during today’s training.

• The group noted that no improvements are need at this time, sling design works well.

A bonus review by the same operator

Just FYI, had a third opportunity to go and show the Shield Sling to Houston SWAT. It was short, no training with it other than a show and wear around opportunity.

The 3 guys that are generally dedicated to the shield deployments were who I targeted today, all 3 loved the device as soon as they put it on with the CQB3 NV (16lb) shield. Different techniques were demonstrated by myself, then tried by the operators.

All positive feedback and a later training day will be established. All loved the hands free ability to perform multiple tasks that would generally be done with one hand and the weight bearing difference with a rifle shield!  

—- Gary