Serenity
03-10-2012, 07:16 PM
I posted this in my training journal but then I saw this forum, so I'm reposting it here.
We spent four hours in the classroom and four hours on the indoor range. The instructor was Ken, a retired police officer and department trainer. The course was geared toward people who have never shot a gun before in their lives. Most of the classroom info was review but still worthwhile. Sometimes the first time you hear something you miss a lot of the meaning because you don't know the context or what questions to ask. We covered safety, types and function of handguns, ammunition, shooting fundamentals, storage and a quick bit on self defense (shooting someone, even righteously, can screw up your life, so be smart).
The range part, after lunch (DEFINITELY lunch at the Mexican restaurant across the street), was in a section of lanes that is separated from the rest of the range, so that we could stop and listen to the instructor without interference. We started shooting at a dot on paper at 6 feet and moved in increments to 75 feet, using different targets and with constant feedback from the instructor who was EXCELLENT. The people who did the best were two 50+ year old women who had never fired a gun in their lives.
I definitely improved throughout the afternoon and got back on track for stance. My grip, trigger control, breath control and sight picture are pretty good but I was way too tense through the shoulders and neck and fatiguing easily when I shot previously. Halfway through the afternoon my eye went all wiggly on me and wouldn't even focus on the front sight, but we took a break and when we went back I was better and finished the rest of the day strong.
My best shooting was during a drill where he started man shaped targets at 75 feet and then brought them back at full speed with us shooting until they stopped. I did way better at that than shooting at a stationary target closer in; go figure. The other drills that I performed well involved shooting quickly.
I give the course an A+ and myself a B+.
We spent four hours in the classroom and four hours on the indoor range. The instructor was Ken, a retired police officer and department trainer. The course was geared toward people who have never shot a gun before in their lives. Most of the classroom info was review but still worthwhile. Sometimes the first time you hear something you miss a lot of the meaning because you don't know the context or what questions to ask. We covered safety, types and function of handguns, ammunition, shooting fundamentals, storage and a quick bit on self defense (shooting someone, even righteously, can screw up your life, so be smart).
The range part, after lunch (DEFINITELY lunch at the Mexican restaurant across the street), was in a section of lanes that is separated from the rest of the range, so that we could stop and listen to the instructor without interference. We started shooting at a dot on paper at 6 feet and moved in increments to 75 feet, using different targets and with constant feedback from the instructor who was EXCELLENT. The people who did the best were two 50+ year old women who had never fired a gun in their lives.
I definitely improved throughout the afternoon and got back on track for stance. My grip, trigger control, breath control and sight picture are pretty good but I was way too tense through the shoulders and neck and fatiguing easily when I shot previously. Halfway through the afternoon my eye went all wiggly on me and wouldn't even focus on the front sight, but we took a break and when we went back I was better and finished the rest of the day strong.
My best shooting was during a drill where he started man shaped targets at 75 feet and then brought them back at full speed with us shooting until they stopped. I did way better at that than shooting at a stationary target closer in; go figure. The other drills that I performed well involved shooting quickly.
I give the course an A+ and myself a B+.