greyghost
04-25-2011, 09:27 PM
This past weekend, April 23 2011 I had the opportunity to attend PFT's Defensive Handgun I and Low-Light Seminar. Was planning on being there for DH II as well but life sometimes throw's you some curveballs. I have taken several classes from Pat in the past and wanted to share my thoughts on DH I.
Having taken Defensive Handgun in the past I can say that you will never get the same class twice as there are always small tweaks and changes. This class consisted of 22 shooters, 18 male and 4 female. I was there along with my girlfriend, who was back for her second round of training with Pat and company. Instructors for this class were Pat Goodale, Rob Tackett, and Wayne F. Bart Baker would be along later during the day as well.
Defensive Handgun I is structured with 3 training blocks. A 3 hour classroom lecture portion, a 3 hour marksmanship and gunhandling portion, and a 3 hour dynamic portion, give or take a few minutes.
Class began at 0900 with Pat going over the safety brief and the lecture portion of the class. Sitting in folding metal chair for three hours could be a butt and mind numbing experience, however Pat makes sure this is not the case. Pat balances his lecture portion with experiences that drive the points home.
Pat introduces PFT's fundamental tenant, the Combat Triad. Marksmanship, Gunhandling, and Mindset. The training emphasizes their belief that defensive shooting is 15% Marksmanship, 15% Gunhandling, and 70% Mindset and Tactics. Everything you would expect to be covered in a class room setting is discussed, parts of the pistol, stance, grip, trigger control, ready positions etc...proper sight picture is discussed as well as the various types of sighting systems and how they differ from one another.
Gear is discussed but Pat makes sure to make everyone understand that they are not married to any particular gear. Everything has pluses and minuses and that there are no free lunches. Ammo is discussed and the use of modern bonded controlled expansion hollow-points is recommend in any of the 5 "major" calibers: .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, .45ACP, and 9mm.
One of the biggest things PFT stresses is that they show you several ways of doing things. While they are showing you some various techniques they may recommend one that they feel is superior, however they are quick to point out that what works best for them may not work best for you and as long as it is not unsafe or tactically unsound you can choose to use what works for you.
Use of force considerations and making sound tactical decisions are discussed. Several thought provoking scenarios are presented which make you think about not only when can or should I use force to what tactics should I use to better my situation or to get out of the situation all together.
Situational awareness and the color codes are major part of the lecture and the importance of MINDSET is highly stressed!
Following the lecture we break for lunch we get ready for the second portion of the class which is the marksmanship block.
Around 1250 hours Pat brings the class together and breaks us down into 2 relays for this portion of the class. This allows one relay to be jamming mags while the other is on the line.
We start out as a group and Pat has everyone go through drawling the firearm and getting proper grip, then we move into reloads and keeping the firearm in our workspace or manipulation area. We also work out of the various ready positions. We do these drills several times dry and cold. When Pat is satisfied we load them up and the range goes hot which it will be for the rest of the training day.
Moving to the cardboard IPSC targets we work on basic marksmanship skills. First from the ready position, then progressing to drawing and shooting from the holster. We begin doing single shots then progress to controlled pairs and shooting failure drills. As this if a Fighting class, stress in placed on getting combat accurate groups which means you should be able to place an open hand over your group.
During the failure portion when shots to the high center chest are not working we move to shooting the central pelvic region if available or if not available to the head. Head shots are always presented as a precision shot as the target is small and tends to move around a lot.
The pace is always going forward, never back. Layer is added to layer and we move close in to work on shooting from the retention position. During this time Pat, Rob and Wayne are moving through the line checking on shooters progress and making needed adjustments.
If you were starting to feel comfortable, well now there is another layer added. Shooting with the strong side hand only, from the ready and from the holster we work the strong hand. As we got used to that it was time to move to the weak hand. From the ready we carefully switched the pistol to our weak hand and shot drills.
Emergency reloads are practiced during a fun drill of shooting pairs. One of the instructors will come up behind you and make sure you are ready. Then you get a tap, shooting a pair as quickly as you can while maintaining combat accuracy. Another tap, another tap, another tap until you go to slide rock and then you execute an emergency reload.
This is a good time to talk about reloads. Pat and company teach 3 basic reloads. One is the administrative reload. This is done when the pistol is in the holster, the magazine release is depressed and the magazine in the pistol is replaced with a full one. The other 2 types of reloads are the Emergency reload and the tactical reload. The Emergency reload is done when the pistol goes to slide lock, this is called an emergency reload as you pistol is now dry and you need to fix it and quickly. The tactical reload is one of those major points of contention in the training industry. PFT discusses several ways of doing the tactical reload, one of which is removing the magazine from the pistol and placing it in a pocket and then loading the full magazine. This is done when there is a lull in the fighting and you are in position of cover.
At this point in the training we move to the dynamic portion of the day and also move to the steel Pat and company love to shoot on steel and its always fun to hear the clang of a steel target.
One drill gets us on the steel plate rack. We formed in front of the plate rack in a column of twos. We would draw and fire at our 3 plates and rotate back into the line for another run. This got the blood flowing and got the competitive juices going.
Moving over to the quarter sized IPSC targets we would begin our movement based drills. We practiced moving forward, moving backward, moving left and moving right. We ran these drills dry so everyone would get used to moving and how that changes everything. Now it gets fun. With the instructors latched on to a pair of shooters each we ran these drills. Pat was calling out commands: Forward, Back, Left, Forward, Right, Back. Everything was done on the move, as you ran out of ammo you reloaded while moving.
Now we got to move into individual drills. The relays were split with one group going with Wayne and another with Rob, while Pat moved between.
Rob’s station was back at the plate rack. Here we would dash about 30 yards. Stop and hit the center 2 plates, then move offline to the left and hit the 2 left plates then offline to the right to the firing point and hit the 2 on the right. Making sure to do a tactical reload and scanning and accessing the situation. Scanning was stressed all day…awareness and breaking the tunnel vision that can occur.
Now it was over to Wayne’s station. Here we would start from about 35 yards and move up to around 7-8 yards away while hitting the target, then back continuing the string of fire and reloading while moving. Again stress the tactical reload and scanning!
Day isn’t nearly done yet. Time for the cover and concealment drills! 2 drills here, Rob is running the step barricade and Wayne is running the vertical barricade. Pat goes over the drill while Rob runs it dry for us. Pat brings out the persuader; this is a training cane that Pat has from Singapore. Pat uses this to persuade you to get behind cover, if it’s exposed it gets wacked. Pat makes sure that you are ok with this, but trust me it can sting.
The first is around the vertical barricade. Here we would dash to the barricade making sure not to crowd it. 2 hits from the right standing, 2 hits from the left standing. Then dropping to the knee, again more hits to the right than 2 more hits to the left. Scanning, scanning, scanning
Next up is Rob’s station. Here we dash to the step barricade. 2 hits from 5 positions; squatting, kneeling, prone. Final hits are through the little cut-out in the barricade from the roll-over prone position. Again more scanning and tactical reloads. But why would we every need to shooting from positions like these?
Well, Pat and company have an answer for you. P in PFT stands for practical and the drills we just shot in front of a wooden barricade stand out in the next drill when we shoot from around a real live vehicle. Pat briefs us on the next drill. Here we will be sitting in a car. Upon exit using the A-post of the front door as cover we will engage and deliver hits on our target, moving to the front of the car while staying behind the cover of the engine block we engage another target, and then moving to the rear of the car and using the rear axle assembly as cover we engage the last target. If you had any questions about what you had been doing for the last 8 hours on paper and steel and how in the world it relates to the real world…you had your answer. That was the final drill of Defensive Handgun I and what a fun way to wrap up and incorporate everything we learned today.
Having taken Defensive Handgun in the past I can say that you will never get the same class twice as there are always small tweaks and changes. This class consisted of 22 shooters, 18 male and 4 female. I was there along with my girlfriend, who was back for her second round of training with Pat and company. Instructors for this class were Pat Goodale, Rob Tackett, and Wayne F. Bart Baker would be along later during the day as well.
Defensive Handgun I is structured with 3 training blocks. A 3 hour classroom lecture portion, a 3 hour marksmanship and gunhandling portion, and a 3 hour dynamic portion, give or take a few minutes.
Class began at 0900 with Pat going over the safety brief and the lecture portion of the class. Sitting in folding metal chair for three hours could be a butt and mind numbing experience, however Pat makes sure this is not the case. Pat balances his lecture portion with experiences that drive the points home.
Pat introduces PFT's fundamental tenant, the Combat Triad. Marksmanship, Gunhandling, and Mindset. The training emphasizes their belief that defensive shooting is 15% Marksmanship, 15% Gunhandling, and 70% Mindset and Tactics. Everything you would expect to be covered in a class room setting is discussed, parts of the pistol, stance, grip, trigger control, ready positions etc...proper sight picture is discussed as well as the various types of sighting systems and how they differ from one another.
Gear is discussed but Pat makes sure to make everyone understand that they are not married to any particular gear. Everything has pluses and minuses and that there are no free lunches. Ammo is discussed and the use of modern bonded controlled expansion hollow-points is recommend in any of the 5 "major" calibers: .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, .45ACP, and 9mm.
One of the biggest things PFT stresses is that they show you several ways of doing things. While they are showing you some various techniques they may recommend one that they feel is superior, however they are quick to point out that what works best for them may not work best for you and as long as it is not unsafe or tactically unsound you can choose to use what works for you.
Use of force considerations and making sound tactical decisions are discussed. Several thought provoking scenarios are presented which make you think about not only when can or should I use force to what tactics should I use to better my situation or to get out of the situation all together.
Situational awareness and the color codes are major part of the lecture and the importance of MINDSET is highly stressed!
Following the lecture we break for lunch we get ready for the second portion of the class which is the marksmanship block.
Around 1250 hours Pat brings the class together and breaks us down into 2 relays for this portion of the class. This allows one relay to be jamming mags while the other is on the line.
We start out as a group and Pat has everyone go through drawling the firearm and getting proper grip, then we move into reloads and keeping the firearm in our workspace or manipulation area. We also work out of the various ready positions. We do these drills several times dry and cold. When Pat is satisfied we load them up and the range goes hot which it will be for the rest of the training day.
Moving to the cardboard IPSC targets we work on basic marksmanship skills. First from the ready position, then progressing to drawing and shooting from the holster. We begin doing single shots then progress to controlled pairs and shooting failure drills. As this if a Fighting class, stress in placed on getting combat accurate groups which means you should be able to place an open hand over your group.
During the failure portion when shots to the high center chest are not working we move to shooting the central pelvic region if available or if not available to the head. Head shots are always presented as a precision shot as the target is small and tends to move around a lot.
The pace is always going forward, never back. Layer is added to layer and we move close in to work on shooting from the retention position. During this time Pat, Rob and Wayne are moving through the line checking on shooters progress and making needed adjustments.
If you were starting to feel comfortable, well now there is another layer added. Shooting with the strong side hand only, from the ready and from the holster we work the strong hand. As we got used to that it was time to move to the weak hand. From the ready we carefully switched the pistol to our weak hand and shot drills.
Emergency reloads are practiced during a fun drill of shooting pairs. One of the instructors will come up behind you and make sure you are ready. Then you get a tap, shooting a pair as quickly as you can while maintaining combat accuracy. Another tap, another tap, another tap until you go to slide rock and then you execute an emergency reload.
This is a good time to talk about reloads. Pat and company teach 3 basic reloads. One is the administrative reload. This is done when the pistol is in the holster, the magazine release is depressed and the magazine in the pistol is replaced with a full one. The other 2 types of reloads are the Emergency reload and the tactical reload. The Emergency reload is done when the pistol goes to slide lock, this is called an emergency reload as you pistol is now dry and you need to fix it and quickly. The tactical reload is one of those major points of contention in the training industry. PFT discusses several ways of doing the tactical reload, one of which is removing the magazine from the pistol and placing it in a pocket and then loading the full magazine. This is done when there is a lull in the fighting and you are in position of cover.
At this point in the training we move to the dynamic portion of the day and also move to the steel Pat and company love to shoot on steel and its always fun to hear the clang of a steel target.
One drill gets us on the steel plate rack. We formed in front of the plate rack in a column of twos. We would draw and fire at our 3 plates and rotate back into the line for another run. This got the blood flowing and got the competitive juices going.
Moving over to the quarter sized IPSC targets we would begin our movement based drills. We practiced moving forward, moving backward, moving left and moving right. We ran these drills dry so everyone would get used to moving and how that changes everything. Now it gets fun. With the instructors latched on to a pair of shooters each we ran these drills. Pat was calling out commands: Forward, Back, Left, Forward, Right, Back. Everything was done on the move, as you ran out of ammo you reloaded while moving.
Now we got to move into individual drills. The relays were split with one group going with Wayne and another with Rob, while Pat moved between.
Rob’s station was back at the plate rack. Here we would dash about 30 yards. Stop and hit the center 2 plates, then move offline to the left and hit the 2 left plates then offline to the right to the firing point and hit the 2 on the right. Making sure to do a tactical reload and scanning and accessing the situation. Scanning was stressed all day…awareness and breaking the tunnel vision that can occur.
Now it was over to Wayne’s station. Here we would start from about 35 yards and move up to around 7-8 yards away while hitting the target, then back continuing the string of fire and reloading while moving. Again stress the tactical reload and scanning!
Day isn’t nearly done yet. Time for the cover and concealment drills! 2 drills here, Rob is running the step barricade and Wayne is running the vertical barricade. Pat goes over the drill while Rob runs it dry for us. Pat brings out the persuader; this is a training cane that Pat has from Singapore. Pat uses this to persuade you to get behind cover, if it’s exposed it gets wacked. Pat makes sure that you are ok with this, but trust me it can sting.
The first is around the vertical barricade. Here we would dash to the barricade making sure not to crowd it. 2 hits from the right standing, 2 hits from the left standing. Then dropping to the knee, again more hits to the right than 2 more hits to the left. Scanning, scanning, scanning
Next up is Rob’s station. Here we dash to the step barricade. 2 hits from 5 positions; squatting, kneeling, prone. Final hits are through the little cut-out in the barricade from the roll-over prone position. Again more scanning and tactical reloads. But why would we every need to shooting from positions like these?
Well, Pat and company have an answer for you. P in PFT stands for practical and the drills we just shot in front of a wooden barricade stand out in the next drill when we shoot from around a real live vehicle. Pat briefs us on the next drill. Here we will be sitting in a car. Upon exit using the A-post of the front door as cover we will engage and deliver hits on our target, moving to the front of the car while staying behind the cover of the engine block we engage another target, and then moving to the rear of the car and using the rear axle assembly as cover we engage the last target. If you had any questions about what you had been doing for the last 8 hours on paper and steel and how in the world it relates to the real world…you had your answer. That was the final drill of Defensive Handgun I and what a fun way to wrap up and incorporate everything we learned today.