AAR - Gunsite Pistol 350, Fall 2013

[Poplin]

Here's an after-action report for Pistol 350 and the Gunsite Alumni Shoot, Fall 2013. It was written immediately afterward. Gunsite is is disparaged in some circles for being old-fashioned and advocating some things such as the Weaver stance. But, their doctrine is consistent and reasonable. Attending Gunsite was for me a life-changing experience, and started me on my path. If someone has only five days to learn how to shoot, Gunsite is the place to go.


Lessons From Pistol 250

I had taken three big points from 250 a year previous, and I think they served me well in 350.

1. Be cautious. We had run the Tueller drill in 250, where we partnered up and had sprinted uprange as our partner drew and shot downrange. The runner stops when the shot is heard, and the distance traveled represents how far an assailant can hurt you. Well fuck it, I was determined to cover the longest distance of everyone so I sprinted hard. As my partner fired, I tripped over my own feet and went flying. My gun went flying too. I think I'm much more cautious with all movements because of all this. I think my movements were much more cautious in 350.

2. Don't rush. My marksmanship had gotten better by the end of 250. But, I totally blew the shootoff, mostly because I rushed myself and missed. Nothing is slower than a miss, so I resolved to shoot slooooooowly, so that I would be sure of a first round hit. Reviewing the video of the 350 shootoff, I missed only one round in the entire event. As a result, I ended the class with lots of extra ammo--enough to run the entire GAS match.

3. Be sure of your target. During the first indoor simulator in 250, I flung open the front door and nailed the first assailant perfectly. It was a perfect failure drill--two rounds at the sternum, and one between the eyes. I felt good and moved on to the rest of the exercise. Only at the debrief did I notice that I killed a man holding a fucking sandwich. I think that drilled Rule 4 into mind and that incident alone was worth the price of admission to 250.


Notes from 350

Square range. On the Hanneken range. Put no pressure on the gun hand 4th and 5th fingers! Slooooow press. Double kneeling seems the best position for me in the school drill because of speed getting into it. I'm not more accurate with supported kneeling.

First outdoor sim. At the Donga. Don't crouch! Really search, don't just sweep the eyes around. Hammers. Don't squat to reload. Me: "Wow, this can be really stressful." Instructor: "The stress is of your own making."

First indoor sim. At the Funhouse. Movements OK. Distance! Avoid the fatal funnel!

Night outdoor sim. Light on for no more than 3 seconds. Sweep light in one direction only. Use light's halo high, then move back to ground. Look and actually see. Do not return to previously cleared areas. Don't move with light on. Use light to find new advantageous position, move while dark, then re-light. FBI technique preferred outdoors.

Night indoor sim. Harries technique: crank hand backs together hard. No hurt? --not cranking hard enough.

Second outdoor sim. At the West Wash. Advance only, no friendlies in the area. Different experience. Really search! Watch for the obvious guy in the distance. Don't let pressure get to me.

Second indoor sim. Watch the fatal funnel! I hate to shoot that guy in the back, but he did have a gun.

Simunition run. At the Pit. It was an interesting situation where I am walking into a seemingly benign office and violence happens. I’ll not give too many details. I did quite a few things wrong. I didn't take cover at all and stood in a hallway like a chump, allowing me to take a Simunition round in the thigh. It bruised up nicely! In real life, I would have gone down for good. I didn't think about yelling to others in the scenario to get out or behind me. I pursued an assailant around a corner when I really had an option to take cover and stay in place. I was distracted by irrelevant stuff.

GAS: I had an issue with the Blade tech paddle holster--one of the three screws had a missing nut, and the whole thing was loose. This bothered me to no end, and I think my loss of confidence in my equipment affected the stage I was shooting. Luckily, I ran into the Blade-tech rep, who had a large collection of hardware at the pro shop ready to go. Once, my ambi safety was found to be off with the gun in the holster. I don't know if it was while I was fiddling with the loose holster or what. Do everything the same way every time to prevent this! In the end, I was ranked 7th out of 137 shooters.

Notes to self. Get a first aid bag. Check car medical bag. Upgrade car extinguisher. Upgrade car hatchet to a breaker bar. Practice supported kneeling. Investigate Trijicon RMR sight.

[Al T.]

Nicely done, appreciate the effort.

[JAD]

Thanks for taking the approach of sharing your notes -- that gives a unique perspective. I never made 350, and 250 was almost 20 years ago, but plenty of stuff resonated.