Sheep Have Wool
06-16-2014, 11:25 AM
My wife purchased a two hour private class at Big Boar Tactical for Valentine's Day - obviously she's a keeper - but I just now got around to using it. I've recently restarted my shooting training, so if the stuff here seems basic - it was. As such, I'm not going to spend a ton of time discussing specific drills, but instead simply make mention of the focus during each part of the session.
The primary instructor for the class was Tate Banhart, the lead instructor at Big Boar Tactical. The class ran for a little over two hours - from 12:00-14:15, and 310 rounds were fired from a P30LS, which functioned without issue. The class was held at the Big Boar Tactical private range in Aubrey, TX - just north of Dallas. Other than a CHL class that came to shoot their qualifier for about 20 minutes, the range was empty.
When I arrived, Tate was waiting for me. He introduced himself, then we discussed what I wanted to work on during the session. I mentioned trigger control/anticipation as my current "to do" items, and I also wanted to spend some time working from the holster, as none of the ranges that I regularly go to allow it. For this class, I ran OWB with a Raven Concealment holster, although I typically carry AIWB with a Shaggy. As I have very limited live fire experience from a holster, I wanted to give myself an extra safety margin while working on it until I've spent more dry fire time working on draws from AIWB.
We did an initial assessment at 7 yards on a steel target, getting an initial assessment. Afterwards, we moved over to another bay, where an assortment of targets had been set up with 1-inch squares. I did a fair of trigger press work at 3 and 7 yards, attempting to get everything in one hole. We made some minor corrections to my stance. Also helpful was a correction to my grip, as I'm getting quite a bit of my grip force from my strong hand, which was pushing things to the left. I felt really good about my sight alignment, but I obviously still need quite a bit of work on my trigger press. I also tend to get really focused on getting a perfect sight alignment, then trying to crush the trigger through it. Wayne Dobbs noted this as well ages ago.
After the trigger work, we moved over to the steel bay to do some stuff on a timer. We spent a fair bit of time working on my follow up shot time, which is terribad. This is likely due to a combination of the long DA pull on my P30, never practicing this, and my tendency to blink, which keeps me from tracking the sights effectively. I can shoot blind double taps really fast, but getting a second sight picture will be difficult until I can get over the blinking.
We ran some stuff with transitions afterwards, on a timer, which was great (and tons of fun). I got a fair bit of practice on my draw, but it wasn't utilizing a press out. We closed out with a 10/30/40/50 yard walkback, with me making shots at each distance.
I enjoyed the class, and Tate is a nice guy and good coach. That said, there were a few things that I felt could have been improved. First, I wasn't sure of Tate's background until I looked it up on the Big Boar site. Also, we didn't really have a safety briefing - which I should have asked for - prior to the class. Tate also encouraged me to stay cocked/off safe until I was about to holster, which I don't think I'll be doing - and didn't anyway - safe + decock + index at the end of a string is a habit I've tried to ingrain, and it just happens now.
Overall, I enjoyed the class, and I feel like I improved quite a bit. Additionally, I've got some things I know I need to work on, and I'll continue to drill them during dry fire/other range sessions.
The primary instructor for the class was Tate Banhart, the lead instructor at Big Boar Tactical. The class ran for a little over two hours - from 12:00-14:15, and 310 rounds were fired from a P30LS, which functioned without issue. The class was held at the Big Boar Tactical private range in Aubrey, TX - just north of Dallas. Other than a CHL class that came to shoot their qualifier for about 20 minutes, the range was empty.
When I arrived, Tate was waiting for me. He introduced himself, then we discussed what I wanted to work on during the session. I mentioned trigger control/anticipation as my current "to do" items, and I also wanted to spend some time working from the holster, as none of the ranges that I regularly go to allow it. For this class, I ran OWB with a Raven Concealment holster, although I typically carry AIWB with a Shaggy. As I have very limited live fire experience from a holster, I wanted to give myself an extra safety margin while working on it until I've spent more dry fire time working on draws from AIWB.
We did an initial assessment at 7 yards on a steel target, getting an initial assessment. Afterwards, we moved over to another bay, where an assortment of targets had been set up with 1-inch squares. I did a fair of trigger press work at 3 and 7 yards, attempting to get everything in one hole. We made some minor corrections to my stance. Also helpful was a correction to my grip, as I'm getting quite a bit of my grip force from my strong hand, which was pushing things to the left. I felt really good about my sight alignment, but I obviously still need quite a bit of work on my trigger press. I also tend to get really focused on getting a perfect sight alignment, then trying to crush the trigger through it. Wayne Dobbs noted this as well ages ago.
After the trigger work, we moved over to the steel bay to do some stuff on a timer. We spent a fair bit of time working on my follow up shot time, which is terribad. This is likely due to a combination of the long DA pull on my P30, never practicing this, and my tendency to blink, which keeps me from tracking the sights effectively. I can shoot blind double taps really fast, but getting a second sight picture will be difficult until I can get over the blinking.
We ran some stuff with transitions afterwards, on a timer, which was great (and tons of fun). I got a fair bit of practice on my draw, but it wasn't utilizing a press out. We closed out with a 10/30/40/50 yard walkback, with me making shots at each distance.
I enjoyed the class, and Tate is a nice guy and good coach. That said, there were a few things that I felt could have been improved. First, I wasn't sure of Tate's background until I looked it up on the Big Boar site. Also, we didn't really have a safety briefing - which I should have asked for - prior to the class. Tate also encouraged me to stay cocked/off safe until I was about to holster, which I don't think I'll be doing - and didn't anyway - safe + decock + index at the end of a string is a habit I've tried to ingrain, and it just happens now.
Overall, I enjoyed the class, and I feel like I improved quite a bit. Additionally, I've got some things I know I need to work on, and I'll continue to drill them during dry fire/other range sessions.