AAR: Presscheck Consulting No-Fail Pistol, April 27-28, 2019, Mcloud, OK
AAR Presscheck Consulting No-Fail Pistol
Meadhall Range, Mcloud, OK
April 27-28, 2019
Equipment:
- Roland Special G19
- AE 147gr fmj
- Mix of Magpul and OEM magazines
- Four of the OEM mags had +6 TTI extenders
- Safariland 6354DO holster
- BFG padded war belt
- Safariland Slimline 775 triple mag pouch
- Dark Angel Medical DARK Lite IFAK
- SOFTT-W in 1110 belt pouch
Prior Experience:
24-years LE, 20 with a large Metropolitan agency. Four years USMC Infantry. Multiple classes with Patrick Rogers/EAG Tactical, Patrick Mcnamara TAPS Pistol and Rifle, Patrick Mcnamara TAPS Instructor, Frank Proctor Performance Pistol and Rifle, FLETC Firearms Instructor Training Program, FLETC Advanced Pistol Training Program, NRA LE Division Handgun/Shotgun Instructor, Tom Givens Instructor Development, Tom Givens Advanced Instructor, Rogers Shooting School, William Petty VCQB Instructor, Glock Operator Course, Alexander Global Strategies Executive Protection Course, FLETC Basic Tactical Medical Instructor Training Program, FLETC Active Shooter Threat Instructor Training Program, ITTS (Keary Miller) Law Enforcement Tactical Trauma Course, Presscheck Consulting No-Fail Pistol, Sentinel Concepts Practical Shotgun, Sentinel Concepts Carbine Essentials, several hundred hours of department firearms training, several regional firearms courses.
Range:
Meadhall Range, Mcloud, OK (approximately 20 mins East of OKC). Outdoor range with 10 lanes, goes back to 300+ yards, however we used from the 25 in. Range has steels (including multiple crit-hit hostage targets, and plate racks), turning targets and moving targets, indoor (clean) restrooms (for both males and females), and a shade structure. Current owner is in the process of upgrading the facility, with a large classroom/training building, moving (and turning) steels, and floods and strobes on the range coming soon. All targetry and lighting is controlled via app on a tablet or cellphone.
Full disclosure: The range owner is one of my oldest friends, so I may be biased, but the facility is very nice, and will offer some capabilities that are far from common in most civilian ranges.
Class Demographics:
14 in total – 6 cops (Denver PD, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Oklahoma City PD, Creek County SD, a department in Kansas, and Indianapolis Metropolitan PD) - unsure on all of the rest, however they were all very solid shooters.
Course Overview:
I took this class at the same venue last September, and was highly impressed. Chuck is a very engaging instructor, with tons of real-world experiences to draw from, and is teaching an aspect of shooting I have not found elsewhere. This is not a class that teaches you how to shoot – Chuck is very clear about that. It is a class about learning “what right looks like,” to bring your shooting abilities to the next level. It is a glimpse into the mindset of a former member of arguably the premiere unit in the world, and how he, and they, are able to push themselves to the next level.
As such, there is a huge focus on attention to detail, in everything from the posting of targets and target rehab, to personal accountability and the ability to diagnose your shot on the fly. There is a major focus, not only on being able to make the shot, but being able to determine if you cannot make the shot, and need to back off and seek a different firing solution. It would be very easy to say this is an accuracy course (and to a degree it is), but it is really about being able to take that low percentage shot as quickly as you can guarantee it.
While actual instruction on shooting fundamentals is not part of the curriculum, Chuck will occasionally pause the class when he sees specific issues pop up, and explain his solutions for them.
The vast majority of shooting is done on B8 targets, starting from the 25-yard line, and moving in to the 5-yard line. TD1 starts with a safety and medical briefing, then moves into a series of CoF shooting two-handed freestyle, and moving into SHO in the afternoon. Breaks are minimal, but sufficient, and include additional talk from Chuck on a variety of topics. TD2 picks up with WHO, shooting the same CoFs as the day before. Because of the capabilities of the host range, the afternoon of TD2 involved some much more dynamic drills working on shooting while moving, shooting at moving targets, and shooting moving targets while moving. Several drills were also shot on the available steels.
Chuck’s level of professionalism showed through in every aspect of the course – from demonstrating (and crushing) every CoF, to his insistence on constant target rehab for individual accountability. Between Chuck’s experience and the host range’s preparation, target rehab was done quickly and efficiently, and resulted in no down-time. Chuck has a constant stream of anecdotes, personal experiences, and scientific facts to fill any time not sent shooting – all of which were timed perfectly to coincide with, and reinforce the learning objectives being covered at the time.
The class makeup was extraordinarily conducive to this coursework, as there were no truly “weak links” (although I was less than happy with my own performance). We had a broad range of shooters in the class, all of whom were solid, safe, motivated students. I always enjoy going to outside classes, as everyone wants to be there, and the caliber of shooter tends to be higher than what I see at department-mandated training or quals. This class was no exception. Our cops were at the top of the chain from what I have witnessed from cops in shooting classes, and our “regular guys” were equally, if not more impressive.
After two full days of training, class officially broke, and Chuck volunteered to hang around “until the sun went down, or people ran out of ammo” for a shooting clinic. The vast majority of guys had longer drives ahead of them, but several of us stuck around. There followed another 2.5 hours of working with the moving target system – something that is rare to get time on. Unfortunately, I suffered a gear failure (covered below), at about the same time I ran out of ammo, so I was only able to participate for a small portion of this. After a brief break to help the host with some admin issues, I did go back to at least witness what was being covered, and try to absorb a little more knowledge.
Gear Issues:
I’m one of those guys who doesn’t clean guns, until failure. This bit me during TD2 where an extremely dirty gun, coupled with shooting 147gr through a comp, coupled with lube having dried up, coupled with potential limp-wristing while shooting WHO all coalesced into a tsunami of fuckery, and I began to experience repeated FTE/FTF. A quick trip off the range to hit the rails with a brush, and relube had my gun back working 100%.
My major gear failure occurred during the after-class clinic, when the trigger safety on my Overwatch Precision DAT v2.0 broke. After the intitial “WTF??” moment, and after knocking the spring and dangling piece of trigger safety out of the way, the gun worked just fine…minus the presence of a trigger safety. Fine during a fight, fine during a class…my department would probably frown upon not having a trigger safety, though. At the time of the break, the trigger had approximately 24k rounds on it, along with countless dry fires. I do not consider this failure to be a negative on Overwatch. Parts fail with use, and this trigger has been used hard. Additionally, Overwatch came through like rockstars when notified, mentioning their lifetime warranty, and firing me off a RMA almost immediately. I run their triggers in multiple guns, and will continue to do so. Listing this failure is purely in the interest of 100% disclosure.
I had one failure to fire, even after two attempts, on one round of AE147gr. I honestly can’t remember the last time I had a failure out of this ammo – it is the ammo I shoot almost exclusively out of all of my 9mm’s, and have thousands and thousands of problem-free rounds down range of it. Again, this is not a knock on AE. I love their ammo, and am perfectly fine with a failure rate of 1 in umpteen thousand rounds.
Take Aways:
I really, really like this class, and Chuck as an instructor. I have gone to enough classes now to where I am not really hearing anything “new” (except here…Chuck taught me something I had never heard for one-handed shooting), I go seeking that one “nugget,” and if I get it, I consider it money well-spent. Even having been to this class six months previously, I felt like I was getting bukkaked (sp? Never thought I would use that word in a sentence) with those “nuggets.” While not a mindset class per se, I would argue it is impossible to train with Chuck without getting a PHD-level education in mindset, and a shining example of what “right looks like,” both in performance and mindset. As I said in a post on my personal Facebook page, “I went to this class in September, I’m going back in April, and will continue going back until Chuck tells me to fuck off.” I’ll be hitting Chuck’s Nightfighter class at Meadhall in November, and will also be there (again) for No-Fail Pistol in 2020, and hopefully No-Fail Rifle, if Chuck can be convinced to bring it to the Hall.
Meadhall Range has become my favorite training venue (not just because I know the owner). The facility itself, while small (10 lanes), is well thought-out, being constantly improved, and offers stuff I don’t even have available at my department’s range (timed turners, functional, remote-controlled movers). Having been closely involved with planning since the owner purchased the place, I know the bar he has set himself is extremely high (Alliance being the type of facility he seeks to emulate), and I also know he is going gang-busters on getting there.
An additional bonus for me, for this class, is that I got to shoot with friends I hadn’t seen in a while, and some I saw just last month at Steve Fisher’s classes.
In case it isn’t abundantly clear, I would absolutely recommend Chuck and his No-Fail curriculum to anyone who wants to take their shooting to the next level. If you’re a cop…get to this class, especially if you are a SWAT guy that thinks you are prepared to take that no-fail shot for realsies. You will not be disappointed.
