Quote:
Originally Posted by Plan9
< I am Hopefully he has all the usual holes.
|
I don't know what the "holes" stuff means.
I googled "AAR" so now I know what it means and I will now proceed with my "AAR."
I think for most members of this forum the class would be quite elementary, but for me it was very useful. It was a mix of class time and range time, usually we would go to the class for an hour and then go to the range and shoot for an hour or so. This was a good mix because after an hour of shooting drills us non-tactical types tend to become fatigued and really can't do anything productive.
The class size was 16 people. I would say I was one of the least experienced people there. There was quite a bit of people in there (maybe 5 or 6) would had already done IDPA/IPSC, and it seemed like most of the stuff we did in class they already knew. The was a fair amount of hunters as well (maybe 4 or so) and then there were people like me who basically have just shot in a booth. A couple people showed up woefully underprepared, wearing dress clothes like dockers with blazers, one person didn't even bring a holster. Oddly these people also had the most expensive guns and also the least accurate shooting.
The first day we started out by doing safety stuff, getting the arm positions memorized while drawing from the holsters and dry firing (this was prolonged by people who brought 1911's and M9's who continuously forgot to manipulate/decock their safeties). I had brought my glock 19. We eventually started drawing from the holster and firing. We also learned how to do tactical reloads and speed reloads. Towards the end of the day we did malfunction drills with snap caps. There were portions of the day when I thought things were starting to go too fast such as when we started stacking things on top of each other in the same drill, like doing various types of reloads while doing malfunction drills. However this ended up being quite positive because we had to just start doing things automatically via muscle memory without being able to think about them.
In between doing these drills we spent time in the classroom going over safety, when it's legal to use deadly force, how to deal with the police/witnesses and other topics.
On day 2 things got more complex as we added concealment garments. So we practiced how to draw from these and fire. We also added multiple targets. We were using the paper targets that have 5 circles, two on top, one in the middle, and two on bottom. So the instructor would randomly call out the numbers of the targets we had to shoot. We would also have to do reloading during these exercises. Towards the end of the day we added verbal commands to the suspect such as "drop the weapon!" "call the police!" etc. However the instructors stressed that in our state it is not necessary to issue verbal commands, however they may help you in court when the witnesses testify that you gave these commands. Also we added the "+1" rule where you assume there's always one more bad guy, so at the end of each drill you were supposed to look around from side to side behind you 360 degrees without moving your feet.
Altogether, for me it was a very useful class. I am going to integrate many of these exercises when I go to the range in the future, such as the different types of reloading and always making sure to check behind me. I will also practice the malfunction drills at home (tap, rack, bang and lock, rip, work for double feeds) with snap caps.
To be honest though, the class cost $350 which is quite a bit of money. However it was two full days from 8 am to 6 pm, with a 1 hour break for lunch. For me, I think the price was worth it, however I could see how some people would balk at the price and not be interested. I invited a cousin of mine to take the class with me and we talked about it a bit, but after awhile his interest faded and I believe it was due to the cost. Right now I'm an unmarried adult male so I have some disposable income, but I could see how someone with a family wouldn't be able to afford it. They do have additional higher skill pistol classes, however the cost for these is $600, albeit they are 3 day classes. I am going to consider these classes, they aren't until spring though so I have to time to think about it.
Miscellaneous:
-When we first walked up to the shooting line, somehow all the younger guys like me congregated to the left side of the line, while most of the older people lined up on the right side. Most of us on the left were running glocks while the people on the right were running very expensive 1911's and m9's. Pretty much all of the "issues" came from the right side of the line. Jams with the 1911's, the previously mention issue with the M9 not being put on safe/decocked at the proper times etc.
-The people with the biggest guns (full size 1911's glock 34's etc), didn't CCW when we left to go to lunch. I found this baffling as to why they were training with a gun they wouldn't CCW. I CCW'ed my glock 19 whenever I left the building. Before this class I carried a usp compact in 9mm in a cocked and locked condition. However I wanted to use the training to become comfortable enough carry a glock with a round in the chamber. It went well and once I get my glock 19 IWB holster I will likely switch to glock.
-The little Caleb guy from the show Top Shot was there taking pictures/video of the class for a possible magazine article. He made sure everyone was ok being seen in a publication or the internet. I was in a few of the pictures and videos so they might pop up eventually.
I'm sure there's more but that's all I can remember right now, and I'm hungry.