AAR AFHS - Albuquerque, NM September 2012

Well busy days at the end of the year. Sorry it took me some time to do an AAR on this one. I hope that BOM, Sam and GJM will chime in on their experiences as well as they attended this class too.

I am going to focus on progression on this AAR because I think it is important to highlight how important practice is, as well as give some hope to new shooter breaking into a higher level of shooting. Progress is harder to measure when it is in .10 of seconds as opposed to full seconds.

This is the third class I have taken from Todd. If you would like to see how my goals have changed and how I have progressed regarding AFHF and AFHS you can find my first class AAR here. Last years class here.

Details:
Hosted by Tom Jones, expertly I may add, at the Bernalillo County Sharifs Range. Good think Tom is an NRA instructor. You will have to ask him why. Tom is a great host and also a great guy to have watch your shooting and give advice. Especially when it comes to the LEM. The course was two days and all range time sans 10 min of safety and intro.

Gear:
I used my HK P30 in a Desbians AIWB holster. I have to change to my C&D on the second day because the rim of my leather holster was collapsing not allowing me to re holster safely. I used Blackhawk mag carriers on a Wilderness Flyer Belt.

Gear Notes:
I switched to the HK from an M&P about 8 months ago. I chose the LEM because of the hammer, the consistency, and because of the accuracy of the P30. I was luke warm to the LEM at first, but decided to give it a good year before I decided if it was a good gun for me. Coming into the class I was very frustrated with the P30. My performance with the P30 to be more precise. This I will address later.

Goals:
- Break 7 Seconds on the FAST

- Get some input on the LEM trigger and my inconsistency
- Beat Sam at the FAST (we don’t shoot a lot together, but we like to push each other when we do)
- Get better at low % shots

Day 1:
Started with the FAST. I did not do too good. The majority of the day was focused on low % shots and dialing up and down speed depending on the size and or distance of the target. Most of the day was spent at 3 - 7 yards. Most of the targets were 2” circles and 1” squares with transitions to 8” circles or 3x5.

About 1/2 way through the day I fell apart. This has been something that has plagued me after switching to the P30. I have days where I am on, and when I am not it is like I never held a gun before. I was able to hold it close together but had the two worst FAST runs of the class after lunch and at the end of the day. My advanced goal was looking to elude me once again.

That evening we went for some BBQ and talked TSA and travel. I also found out that whatever Tom is working on makes him scary. After dinner I went home and dry fired, not satisfied with my trigger control and accuracy.

Day 2:
I considered this class being the last class with the P30. I was not improving for the past few months and the low % targets really exposed my short comings.

The majority of the morning was a reinforcement of the day prior. Todd was very good at correcting some of my reload movements as well as pointing out some press out mistakes I was making.

Something Todd said about the LEM trigger clicked in my head and I approached the trigger differently. This really seemed to help and I started to get the performance that I was used to.

The last part of the day was competitive with other shooters as well as shooting on the move and target recognition. The hostage drill was fun for everyone at the same time it drove home the concept of making your shot on low % important shots.

The topper of the day was the final FAST. In my practice I am under 8 seconds constantly. I can do under 7 seconds about 80% of the time. Under 6 about 50% of the time. Good way to end the day with a clean 5.66.

Conclusions:
Great class! This one was particularly good because of the people that were there. All very high level shooters, as well as upstanding decent folk. I would highly recommend this class as a natural progression from AFHF.

Goals:
met (Except for beating Sam)

Take aways:
Consistency is more important than speed. Push to get faster but if you don’t make your shots the point is moot.

Tracking performance is especially important when you get to a higher level of shooting. I spent the weekend frustrated with my performance and thinking that I sucked at living. Looking back at my logs I have been shooting with constant improvement.

I have decided to keep my P30 as data shows I am better with this gun then my 1911 or my M&P. My issue is when I suck, I suck like Congress. This brings me back to take away 1. Consistency. This is my goal next year. I will be focusing on my on demand performance and getting that to the point where I can call my shots and times, then push for the speed.

Thanks again Todd!