AAR: First Person Safety Defensive Pistol in Watkinsville, GA 10/6/2019

My apologies in advance that I'm likely going to end up jumbling some of this up (having things out of order) and even forgetting certain bits.

Took my first formal firearms course today, and who better to start that with that JLW? The class had an attendance of six students and thankfully I wasn't the only person taking their first firearms course, though I was the only non-Glock shooter.

Once everyone arrived the safety brief was given; roles were assigned to various individuals in case of an emergency and we reviewed the four universal firearm safety rules. We then proceeded to the firing line and began going over some of the fundamentals such as grip, trigger finger placement for shooting (getting it off the frame and only contacting the trigger) as well as an acceptable off-trigger position. Topics then progressed in to furthering the firearm safety rules to include ready positions and not muzzling targets that were designated no-shoots. Lee went over a 4-count draw stroke and students practiced each of the four stages and then putting it all together for continuous, efficient movement. There were draws to the ready, to which we were instructed to give loud verbal commands consisting of no more than two words so as to not get too caught up in saying something lengthy which could lead to a delay in reacting to something by attempting to finish whatever sentence we were speaking. Lee provided instruction on proper trigger manipulation as well as going over what the reset was and students did some dry-firing while presenting and Lee talked about Ernest Langdon's recent videos on trigger reset during recoil.

After covering the fundamentals students returned to the staging area to load up magazines and get a quick drink before returning to begin the live-fire portion of the class. Lee and his assistant instructor Steve made sure to emphasize to students that proactive reloads were encouraged and that running the gun to slidelock was viewed as a shooter-induced malfunction. In other words one needed to stay on top of keeping the gun fed and not shooting to empty, less there be (friendly) mockery and ridicule. The first portion of live fire was dedicated to the "average" circumstances associated with shootings: Three shots at three yards at three seconds. Soon after we moved on to work on the rule of "know your target and what is beyond it" which required students to utilize different angles to hit one of two targets, one in front of the other, without sending rounds in to the target that was designated as the "no shoot" for that particular iteration.

The class eventually came to a drill which Lee said his deputies nicknamed the "Blue Falcon Drill" where we divided into two groups where one group would set up a collection of shoot an no-shoot targets in such a way meant to mess with the other group as they ran through it one-by-one. My run through wasn't as smooth as I would have liked due to me having initially skipped over one particular "shoot" target, but I did catch this error and work to engage the target before concluding my run through. Next up was the "Race to the Middle" drill, which is a head-to-head drill involving two shooters, a "shoot" target, a "no shoot" target and some colored steel beyond them. The instructor calls a color and the students must engage the shoot target, avert their muzzle around the no-shoot and then engage the steel targets of the color that has been called. This drill threw a monkey-wrench in the gear of most participants on several runs as there were shots outside the designated acceptable hit zone of the shoot target and mostly the no-shoots continually getting muzzled. I did manage to come away the "winner" of this event, though there was one student I did not get to go head-to-head with.

We then went on to shoot the Rangemaster Qualification course twice, and all the students did pass after the second run. I was one point down on my first run and I think 4 points down on my second run. Lee then invited us to shoot a test for one of his patches, of which there was one student who earned a patch.

Overall the course was very enjoyable and I did come away learning some things about my shooting that I need to improve upon, mostly getting faster on the draw and picking up my speed in the actual shooting when it's acceptable. One issue that persisted was my subconscious reluctance to get on the trigger fully before having my sights coming fully in to view. My gun was aligned properly on the target, but I was starting my trigger press later than necessary to break a shot as I came to full extension.

A big thank you to Lee for putting on this course. I look forward to taking another course from him in the future and would unhesitatingly recommend him to other shooters looking to start or improve on their firearms skill journey.

@HCountryGuy performed like a wily veteran. He did a very good job with his trigger finger discipline, and @Dagga Boy would have been very pleased to see him de-cocking his TDA prior to his moving from one array of targets to another on the Blue Falcon.

He was the clear champ in the head to head shoot-off on the Race to the Middle.

He done good.