Wildlife enforcement trainers must be constantly on the lookout for better equipment for enforcement personnel and more effective methods of training individuals in the use of that equipment. For the past 15 years, the Law Enforcement Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has issued to its officers the patrol rifle, a piece of equipment which has only recently received serious national consideration as a viable alternative to more traditional weapons in the law enforcement defense arsenal. The relative virtues of the compact semi-automatic rifle versus the handgun and/or the police shotgun are discussed here, along with an innovative method of training field personnel of agencies that have to deal with logistical and budgetary considerations. Training issues and methods are explained, and a video used for this block of instruction is reviewed, followed by a discussion of the pro's and con's of this method of administering firearms instruction.
