BLACKHAWK! carries several of these for different situations. The CQB ram is a shortened version of the MonoShock Ram. It is good in hallways or areas of close quarters on interior or light exterior doors. It allows the operator to breach the door while remaining outside of the fatal funnel.

Also in a dynamic entry entry situation, the smaller tool keeps the breacher out of the way of the entry team. Usually the breacher drops the tool down, usually in a position to keep the door open, and is the last guy in through the door.

The larger MonoShock and Twin Turbo rams can be used by one or two operators and will breach just about any door. The rams are made of a high-impact polymer plastic type material that is extremely dense and has good mass.

It is spark-resistant and makes short work of doors and jams. These rams are designed with the flexible handles angled to direct more power to the point of impact quickly for one-shot entry. They are also set up ambidextrously for southpaws and tight quarters. The handles have some control flex to reduce the stress of impact to the operator.

I had the opportunity to take some of these dynamic entry tools to an old building that was on the schedule to be demolished. Team leaders should keep a weather eye out for such buildings and make sure these opportunities are never passed up. This is great training. Back when I worked in Vegas, we even took advantage of some of the municipal high rises on Sundays for doing elevator and stairway tactics.

I gave the shorter ram a try. I think the shorter ram would be more multi-purpose in that it would take up less space in a patrol vehicle and also work in some of the tight spaces afforded in hallways or apartment buildings. There is nothing like the power of a big Thunderbolt on a stubborn door and usually your sniper’s RECON or other information will help outline the breaching necessities. The CQB ram has two handles and is ambidextrous. The handles have some give in them and act as a shock absorber taking some of the impact off the operator’s arms.

The ram can be used from either side of the door giving the operator the option of picking the safest way to apply the tool. I used it from both sides of the jam but on the same side of the lock one has to be careful as the door breaks and the ram goes forward the arms can contact the door jam. In this case, consider a hinge-side breach. Always use the tool in the way that affords maximum officer safety. If you have to hit the hinges,start at the top. The door will open.