MTechnik
03-23-2011, 08:42 PM
First, a little background. This is my first shooting training. I have had a bit of coaching from friends, did a Utah CCW course, but I wanted to improve. I have watched the Magpul Pistol DVDs so that is about the only context I have to compare at the moment.
Sign-up for the class was problematic, but went well. Due to my config of Firefox, adblock, greasemonkey, etc. when I finished the registration form, I got an error. That's ok, because about 10 minutes later (and this was at 2am Saturday night) I get an email from someone at DAT telling me they received my registration, and we began a short email conversation making sure the registration was taken care of. The customer service was excellent.
I want to get one bit out of the way first - These guys are SWAT officers for Lancaster PA. They have begun opening their training to civilians recently. But beginning with the initial introduction, there we a few jokes about cops. It didn't feel "cop'ish." The only time it came up was during the discussion about "what do you say after a shooting" and that was just because they wanted to be fair. And at that point it was used as a disclaimer to their viewpoint, and they presented the other side of the coin as well (don't say anything.) Otherwise they referenced some incidents they had in the past (which is why you WANT that experience from your instructor) but it wasn't a "theme" to the training.
Our class had 15 students. On day 1 we had the lead instructor, and two assistants. On day 2 we lost an assistant - which was fine, because the drills changed, and with the size of the range, we'd break in to smaller groups for drills - the other assistant woulda been standing around, idle.
Next, lets talk about the facilities at Palmyra Sports Assoc(?) - They were great. We were in a deep 3-sided shale pit for 95% of the class. It allowed us to do some drills where there was shooting past the forward 90 degrees. This is a dedicated range for the Lancaster police at the facility. The place had 3 separate other pistol pits, a variety of rifle and carbine ranges of different ranges. There is a porta-potty near the parking area by the range, and full set of men and womens bathrooms at the clubhouse. There weren'y any timed targets, or moving targets built in, but they compensated for the moving targets with their own.
Arriving at the class at 8AM, everyone was present, and the introduction was started. After the basic oral CV, they talked about the teaching style. They will show you what they teach. They will explain WHY they teach it, what the theory behind it is. They ask you to try it once, and that's it. It you still want to do it the old way, feel free. Next was the initial safety briefing. That 45 minute period was the only time spent in a room, seated. Everything else was at the range. We didn't have a range safety powerpoint with nifty videos. But we've all seen those videos. They did really stress the 4 rules of safety. They talked about the syllabus, and what we should expect out of the class. They went over the range commands, and stressed that ANYONE can call a Range Clear at ANY TIME for ANY REASON. Also, it was at this point that they mentioned that all drills would be done from a high ready. I wish I'd gotten more work on drawing, but it did keep the class moving at a quick pace. You'd still holster carefully between drills, but before the next drill, you'd unholster and bring the pistol back to a high ready. They focus on the draw in their Concealed Carry course.
A big theme throughout the class was in working with natural body movement during stress. And knowing where natural reactions can work against you - like tunnelvision - and methods to regain the perception lost.
We headed down to the range, where there were some reloading tables, and a set of targets set up at the one end. Each shooting lane (8 total) had an upright target stand, a target stand with a modified IDPA or IPSC target with a t-shirt over it, then a 12" steel plate on a stand. Down the side of the range were cones marking off 25, 15, 10, 7, 5, 3 yards.
Here is a pic where you can see the target setup:
http://i.imgur.com/byuNA.jpg
When we got to the range we got a good talk about how our target isn't "center mass" (the crotch) or "center of mass", but the upper thoracic area. The big keystone looking area here:
http://i.imgur.com/nXrzX.jpg
Normally that target was covered by a t-shirt. The change of target 'center' and target style was quite a departure for me, but it really gets the point across. And it is something I can do when I go to my range to keep that point of aim with an old t-shirt. I found under stress I'd fall back in to shooting that center of the shirt - the old center mass - so this is something I really need to work on.
We were split in to two groups, 8 and 7. We'd shoot in two relays - one reloading while other shot. We'd get drill instruction in our sub-groups, but for the lessons/demos, everyone came in together.
We opened up shooting with their qualifier in a simplified fashion - you're not shooting around barricades or while moving yet. But you are shooting at that t-shirt target from 25 yards then further in as it progresses. Lifting that shirt at the end and seeing what you did is great feedback. There are two head shots in the drill, but they are used to slow the shooter down - not because they want you to focus there normally.
Then the rest of the first half of the first day was devoted to fundamentals - grip, trigger control, etc. As well as the opening focus on what is a radical change for me - the upper thoracic area as the target. I'd kept shooting "center of mass" and at the middle of the upper body. Pretty much the solar plexus or a bit below. Well, we really need to be aiming at the upper chest, where the good bits are. And then if you pull your shot, then you end up at center mass.
The first morning was closed out with a little competition shooting the steel, people eliminated as they missed, moving back.
We had an hour for lunch, then came back. The relays were swapped so the first shooters earlier had a chance to see the drills before running them, and the other group got to shoot first, then reload relaxedly. Next we worked on reloads (magpul style, up in the workspace, make sure you look at the mag well as you insert the magazine), learning how slow and awkward a tactical reload is, which was exhibited by their '7-1-7' drill. Shoot 7 shots from 7 yards to slidelock reload, shoot one, tac reload, fire 7 more.
After that we worked on pivoting and shooting. First learning the Sul position (exhibited elsewhere here - http://www.wtactraining.com/sul%201.jpg ) - your support hand across your chest, (trigger finger straight, naturally), and your pistol pointing down, your middle finger on your shooting hand indexed to your index finger on your support hand. This was the position we'd assume before turning sideways. And all pivot turns were taken before bringing the gun up from that position. We did a 'clock drill' where you stood in each position in the clock and pivot to shoot the steel. When you were shooting from 9-3, you'd just twist at head then the waist, otherwise you move your head then your feet.
After that we got in to some short movements. Where we were taking a step and firing.
We also covered the scanning process after shooting. The steps to bring yourself through to open up perception after tunnelvision sets in, checking down at the target, up, then out and around, and back in to yourself.
That covered the first day, having shot 500 rounds. I felt it was a great day. I went home and my feet were hurting, and I fell asleep early and slept like a rock.
Next day everyone was in on time (a miracle!) and we started with some static shooting at the target to bring back the fundamentals. Remember that during all these drills the focus needs to be on grip and trigger control. Then we worked on making small movements while shooting. Our sub-groups were split up again. The 8 became four - two students per instructor, as we walked and shot at the target before us - switching targets naturally, and shooting as we walked. The big focus was on "pay attention to what happens above the waist, let your muscle memory work what happens below" - don't preoccupy yourself with not crossing your feet. The 20-30-50 years of training you have walking will take care of that part by itself. And magically, nobody fell. There was one person who tried to shuffle-step, but as soon as he had a little stress, that was lost and he walked like the rest.
Here are a set of shots of them walking three students (the last part of the 7-person group) through moving and shooting:
http://i.imgur.com/JvtzC.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/4Hq5b.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/HLJ8f.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/sDHjw.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/0pfsV.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1RvFp.jpg
Sign-up for the class was problematic, but went well. Due to my config of Firefox, adblock, greasemonkey, etc. when I finished the registration form, I got an error. That's ok, because about 10 minutes later (and this was at 2am Saturday night) I get an email from someone at DAT telling me they received my registration, and we began a short email conversation making sure the registration was taken care of. The customer service was excellent.
I want to get one bit out of the way first - These guys are SWAT officers for Lancaster PA. They have begun opening their training to civilians recently. But beginning with the initial introduction, there we a few jokes about cops. It didn't feel "cop'ish." The only time it came up was during the discussion about "what do you say after a shooting" and that was just because they wanted to be fair. And at that point it was used as a disclaimer to their viewpoint, and they presented the other side of the coin as well (don't say anything.) Otherwise they referenced some incidents they had in the past (which is why you WANT that experience from your instructor) but it wasn't a "theme" to the training.
Our class had 15 students. On day 1 we had the lead instructor, and two assistants. On day 2 we lost an assistant - which was fine, because the drills changed, and with the size of the range, we'd break in to smaller groups for drills - the other assistant woulda been standing around, idle.
Next, lets talk about the facilities at Palmyra Sports Assoc(?) - They were great. We were in a deep 3-sided shale pit for 95% of the class. It allowed us to do some drills where there was shooting past the forward 90 degrees. This is a dedicated range for the Lancaster police at the facility. The place had 3 separate other pistol pits, a variety of rifle and carbine ranges of different ranges. There is a porta-potty near the parking area by the range, and full set of men and womens bathrooms at the clubhouse. There weren'y any timed targets, or moving targets built in, but they compensated for the moving targets with their own.
Arriving at the class at 8AM, everyone was present, and the introduction was started. After the basic oral CV, they talked about the teaching style. They will show you what they teach. They will explain WHY they teach it, what the theory behind it is. They ask you to try it once, and that's it. It you still want to do it the old way, feel free. Next was the initial safety briefing. That 45 minute period was the only time spent in a room, seated. Everything else was at the range. We didn't have a range safety powerpoint with nifty videos. But we've all seen those videos. They did really stress the 4 rules of safety. They talked about the syllabus, and what we should expect out of the class. They went over the range commands, and stressed that ANYONE can call a Range Clear at ANY TIME for ANY REASON. Also, it was at this point that they mentioned that all drills would be done from a high ready. I wish I'd gotten more work on drawing, but it did keep the class moving at a quick pace. You'd still holster carefully between drills, but before the next drill, you'd unholster and bring the pistol back to a high ready. They focus on the draw in their Concealed Carry course.
A big theme throughout the class was in working with natural body movement during stress. And knowing where natural reactions can work against you - like tunnelvision - and methods to regain the perception lost.
We headed down to the range, where there were some reloading tables, and a set of targets set up at the one end. Each shooting lane (8 total) had an upright target stand, a target stand with a modified IDPA or IPSC target with a t-shirt over it, then a 12" steel plate on a stand. Down the side of the range were cones marking off 25, 15, 10, 7, 5, 3 yards.
Here is a pic where you can see the target setup:
http://i.imgur.com/byuNA.jpg
When we got to the range we got a good talk about how our target isn't "center mass" (the crotch) or "center of mass", but the upper thoracic area. The big keystone looking area here:
http://i.imgur.com/nXrzX.jpg
Normally that target was covered by a t-shirt. The change of target 'center' and target style was quite a departure for me, but it really gets the point across. And it is something I can do when I go to my range to keep that point of aim with an old t-shirt. I found under stress I'd fall back in to shooting that center of the shirt - the old center mass - so this is something I really need to work on.
We were split in to two groups, 8 and 7. We'd shoot in two relays - one reloading while other shot. We'd get drill instruction in our sub-groups, but for the lessons/demos, everyone came in together.
We opened up shooting with their qualifier in a simplified fashion - you're not shooting around barricades or while moving yet. But you are shooting at that t-shirt target from 25 yards then further in as it progresses. Lifting that shirt at the end and seeing what you did is great feedback. There are two head shots in the drill, but they are used to slow the shooter down - not because they want you to focus there normally.
Then the rest of the first half of the first day was devoted to fundamentals - grip, trigger control, etc. As well as the opening focus on what is a radical change for me - the upper thoracic area as the target. I'd kept shooting "center of mass" and at the middle of the upper body. Pretty much the solar plexus or a bit below. Well, we really need to be aiming at the upper chest, where the good bits are. And then if you pull your shot, then you end up at center mass.
The first morning was closed out with a little competition shooting the steel, people eliminated as they missed, moving back.
We had an hour for lunch, then came back. The relays were swapped so the first shooters earlier had a chance to see the drills before running them, and the other group got to shoot first, then reload relaxedly. Next we worked on reloads (magpul style, up in the workspace, make sure you look at the mag well as you insert the magazine), learning how slow and awkward a tactical reload is, which was exhibited by their '7-1-7' drill. Shoot 7 shots from 7 yards to slidelock reload, shoot one, tac reload, fire 7 more.
After that we worked on pivoting and shooting. First learning the Sul position (exhibited elsewhere here - http://www.wtactraining.com/sul%201.jpg ) - your support hand across your chest, (trigger finger straight, naturally), and your pistol pointing down, your middle finger on your shooting hand indexed to your index finger on your support hand. This was the position we'd assume before turning sideways. And all pivot turns were taken before bringing the gun up from that position. We did a 'clock drill' where you stood in each position in the clock and pivot to shoot the steel. When you were shooting from 9-3, you'd just twist at head then the waist, otherwise you move your head then your feet.
After that we got in to some short movements. Where we were taking a step and firing.
We also covered the scanning process after shooting. The steps to bring yourself through to open up perception after tunnelvision sets in, checking down at the target, up, then out and around, and back in to yourself.
That covered the first day, having shot 500 rounds. I felt it was a great day. I went home and my feet were hurting, and I fell asleep early and slept like a rock.
Next day everyone was in on time (a miracle!) and we started with some static shooting at the target to bring back the fundamentals. Remember that during all these drills the focus needs to be on grip and trigger control. Then we worked on making small movements while shooting. Our sub-groups were split up again. The 8 became four - two students per instructor, as we walked and shot at the target before us - switching targets naturally, and shooting as we walked. The big focus was on "pay attention to what happens above the waist, let your muscle memory work what happens below" - don't preoccupy yourself with not crossing your feet. The 20-30-50 years of training you have walking will take care of that part by itself. And magically, nobody fell. There was one person who tried to shuffle-step, but as soon as he had a little stress, that was lost and he walked like the rest.
Here are a set of shots of them walking three students (the last part of the 7-person group) through moving and shooting:
http://i.imgur.com/JvtzC.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/4Hq5b.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/HLJ8f.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/sDHjw.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/0pfsV.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1RvFp.jpg