AAR: ITTS Defensive Handgun III

[Dagga Boy]

Well its pretty simple-results. There are a bunch of folks who shoot great in a square range world, do force on force, have lots of shooting accolades.......but how many students do they have who have used the EXACT techniques to win not one or two gunfights, but literally hundreds of them. You learn a few things when the techniques are being taught out of the results of pure street use. This includes an instructor with a whole bunch of fight winning under his belt. He also has a deep background with expert testimony and shooting reviews...both good and bad. Scotty is a very influential mentor of mine. The techniques I brought back from Scott and other LAPD METRO/SIS guys to my program resulted in some stellar gunfight performances EXACTLY as taught at ITTS. This has also resulted in no criminal prosecutions of the shooters and little or no civil exposure in one of the most litigous places in the US. I also HIGHLY recommend Tom Givens for similar reasons.......his stuff is proven, particularly with civilians with limited training.

I "went there" with Weaver to make the point that the idea that someone is unable to perform because they are using something that is not "state of the art" doesn't mean it doesn't work. Essentially, don't get so wrapped around the axle on judging by how someones hands and arms are positioned as to whether they might know something or not. I don't shoot this way because I shoot better, I use the body position I use because it works for me to efficiently work through the entire force problem. Others may find something else to be a little better for them. The point is that when I say "they leave you alone" doesn't mean you don't get instruction, it means they are not going to tell you to change something when you are performing well with what you are currently using, just because it is in vogue with what they do. I am sure most folks on this forum would be glad that the ITTS cadre is not going to demean you or try to change you from a Modern ISO to the ITTS variation on Weaver, and instead focus on getting you better at solving the shooting problem they are giving you.

[Mate]

Darryl, I can scrounge up others (as you know) if you can bring Uncle Scotty here to Texas. I'm considering even going there to train with him.

[JAD]

Depending on the timing I'm in.

[Dagga Boy]

In a weird coincidence, I talked to Scotty tonight. To clarify on the Tac reload, Scott uses his ring and middle finger because his hands are smaller. The ring and pinky worked for the guys with bigger hands. I seem to recall the reason was to be able to return to a solid grip with the retained magazine still in hand if needed. Scotty doesn't get very worked up on which fingers to use as different size hands and different magazines can influence what works best to perform the task.

He would love to come to Texas, so we will see what we can come up with.

[SeriousStudent]

.....

He would love to come to Texas, so we will see what we can come up with.

Single malt Scotch, cigars, smoked dead critters, golf, money, great shopping for Brett, range with porcelain bathrooms ..... That's just off the top of my head.

[Jackdog]

If there is enough notice before the class I'm in.

[luckyman]

As the OP, I’m going to take my own thread off track for just a minute.
I’m ticked off at myself about what was the biggest learning moment of the weekend for me, which was when those yahoos on the other range started sending rounds over our heads.

I was one of probably 3 people to hear the first round go by. My actions in the first second or so were fine. I recognized that the sound might have been a bullet going by, and I quickly looked around to make sure nobody was doing anything idiotic or homicidal. Then I messed up, and made the decision that the sound I heard “must have been” a ricochet. That would have been fine as a hypothesis to guide me where to look in the next second or so, but I had no kittening business actually assigning a root cause to the sound I heard. I’m especially ticked because I’m good at this sort of stuff in my work and understand the potential negative consequences of closing off investigating other solution paths by making a premature decision like this. I didn’t even consider the possibility the round might have come from somewhere other than the people on our current range.

Then I compounded things by standing there idly contemplating the situation for a few seconds when I should have hauled butt over to one of the instructors and let them know what I heard. But instead, I left my own uncertainty about the situation, and uncertainty about what the instructor could do since it seemed like a single incident, slow me down. It apparently took a second shot going close enough that an instructor heard it before meaningful action started to take place a couple seconds later. The only bright side is at least it didn’t take somebody getting shot for me to learn this lesson.

[Mike Pipes]

DB...DBLWIDE &I were signed up for Scotty in N.O. But not enough were so the class got cancelled.So if you can get him to Texass please count DBLWIDE &RETRO in.......cya retro

[EM_]

There is always a struggle to fill his road classes.

Another example of how taken with internet image people today really are...our friggin' society is doomed.

[MDFA]

I realize this is quite some time after the OP's post, but I took ITTS Handgun 3 Oct 21-22 2017. My experience was very similar to the OP's so I won't rehash his AAR. I will comment on my experience that the Instructors are very professional and while they do teach the tactical reload as noted in the previous posts, they don't force you to do anything if what you're doing is working for you. Nor do they force the Weaver Stance on you if that's not what you use. I don't think that Scotty's methods are antiquated at all. They are proven in many deadly force encounters over many years, not to mention his 5 OIS incidents. As a 40 year LEO and 30 year Firearms Instructor and OIS veteran, I found the class well run, by professional instructors and well worth taking by anyone of any experience level. No matter how good any of us may think we are, there are only so many ways to fight with a firearm. The techniques that have been around for awhile usually have been for a good reason, they work. Just my two cents...