Only live-fire judgment training with your actual duty gun and service ammunition can PROVE your firearms and decision-making skills when under stress. Court cases have repeatedly shown the necessity for live fire training. Laser guns, air munitions Airsoft munitions and/or marking cartridges cannot accomplish this.
Judgment training is essential for all personnel working with firearms. We enable this to be provided by using plastic bullets or marking cartridges where a suitable range is unavailable. We do however believe that this is “cheating”. If at all possible, it is advisable to use CAPS on a live range, in order to be able to PROVE the adequacy of your training in court.
The CAPS system is a simple system. Even though it uses the highest quality components available it does not require the large investment in Research & Development, service and repair inherent with the laser-based, computerized systems.
The CAPS system has a housing containing the DVD player, LCD projector, audio transmitter and receiver headset and sound system. Also supplied are the control unit, the screen frame, a roll of screen paper and the nylon screen used with plastic munitions and/or marking cartridges in the classroom. The system comes with 800 scenarios and is completely covered by a one-year warranty. The CAPS control unit is covered by a five-year warranty.
No, the CAPS system is not computerized. Computers are not rugged enough for daily use in a range environment.
We have more than 800 scenarios presently available and are continually producing new ones. Fresh instructional material is developed on an ongoing basis.
Yes you can. If you have a video or audiovisual department you can tape your own custom scenarios. You can also hire CAPS to produce scenarios for you, using our digital camera and body-mount camera stabilization system.
In the classroom firearms converted to fire low-velocity marking cartridges are used instead of live ammunition. The back of the CAPS screen is covered with a nylon sheet which stops these rounds after they penetrate the paper.
You do not have to modify any firearm to use the CAPS system with live ammunition. For semi-automatic or fully-automatic weapons in the classroom you will have to change barrels and use specialty ammunition.
Any CAPS system will work anywhere that you can provide power and control the light falling on the screen. There is no problem training at night. For daytime training the screen is placed in a dark tent with the back end left open so the rounds can exit without causing any damage.
You can use any firearm with the CAPS system out to 150 yards. The CAPS DVD system actually has a range compensation program which freezes the image on the screen at the precise instant the bullet hits the screen regardless of range distance or bullet velocity.
Yes. The instructor can opt to pause the scenario at any time if he considers use of an intermediate weapon is warranted and the officer in training has presented it as an option instead of a firearm. There is an intermediate weapon button on the CAPS control unit for this purpose.
It does not and it should not. A proper firearms program will cover three distinct levels of training. Static level training where you learn how to draw a weapon and shoot. Dynamic level training where you prove your ability to deliver live ammunition when and where necessary, and learn to move and make use of cover while firing live projectiles. Interactive level training where you prove your ability to escalate and de-escalate your responses in fluid role-playing exercises which replicate as closely as possible the three-dimensional world in which you operate. CAPS training comes into play at the Dynamic level while training with marking cartridges or Airsoft projectiles in force-on-force exercises is the next step after you have proven your skills with live ammunition.
You need a CAPS system to allow you to PROVE your ability to deliver live ammunition when and where necessary on hostile human aggressors. Lasers, air munitions, Airsoft and marking cartridges cannot do this.
It may be possible to upgrade a system to live-fire but you will find that this will cost two to three times the cost of a complete CAPS system. Most live-fire upgrades for laser-based systems will still require a modified gun and a semi-permanent range installation.
No. The officer in training is normally forward of the system housing unit. When the system is used at extended ranges a steel plate is placed between the shooter and the housing.
You need a 120-volt power source, a safe backstop for the projectiles you are firing, and some method of keeping light off the projector screen.
CAPS stands for the "Canadian Academy of Practical Shooting" and is the name of the company that designed and builds the systems.
The CAPS system is sound-activated. The microphone built into the CAPS control unit immediately pauses the image on the screen when the pre-programmed number of shots have been fired by the trainee.
The CAPS system comes with a simple user's manual that allows instructors to to teach themselves how to set up and operate the system within an hour. We are always available to answer any questions but little input from us is usually required.
The CAPS DVD weighs less than 100 pounds and is mounted in its own wheeled shipping container. The system can be completely set up in ten minutes and taken down in less than five. We have actually demonstrated the system in less than 30 minutes from arrival to departure.
The frame of the screen is made of wood. The projection surface is a large sheet of paper. Bullet holes are immediately patched with tape, and the paper screen can last for hundreds of rounds. It is simple and cheap to replace.
When used with live ammunition the bullet trap or berm of the range stops the projectiles. When used in the classroom with marking cartridges or plastic projectiles, a nylon screen is attached to the rear of the screen frame to stop these projectiles.
A body-mount camera stabilization system allows the camera to move fluidly. With scenarios it is important for the trainee to feel part of the action; the smooth camera movement provided by the body-mount draws him right into the scene. As important as this camera movement is in scenario production it is essential that the camera be rock solid when the scenario reaches a point where gunfire may be required. Any movement at this stage when the trainee is firing will cause him to miss the target through no fault of his own. The body-mount stabilizer allows both the fluid movement and a rock solid platform whenever required.
No, they will not react to your voice. Verbal commands are nonetheless essential, however, in establishing the threat level that you may be facing.
The scenario freezes at the sound of the shot, and the bullet hole in the screen indicates its accuracy. When the scenario is replayed for analysis the image again freezes at the exact frame where you fired.
During the replay of the scenario the last five seconds of the scenario leading up to the frame where you fired your first shot are projected on the screen. If you see the flames and smoke coming from your opponents gun prior to the image freezing on the screen, he or she fired first.
No. This type of training is better suited to three-dimensional role-playing training at the interactive level using marking cartridges or Airsoft projectiles.
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