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Thread: Mike Panone / CTT Solutions 1-Day Covert Carry Pistol

  1. #1
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    Mike Panone / CTT Solutions 1-Day Covert Carry, July 29, 2018, San Jose, CA

    Note: This is not a complete AAR, just my overall impressions and a few excerpts from my class notes.

    Class: CTT Solutions/ Mike Panone 1-Day Covert Carry
    Location: San Jose, CA
    Date: July 29, 2018
    Pistol: P2000 LEM with 11lb hammer spring.
    Belt: Beltman 1.5” leather
    Holster: JMCK AIWB
    Magpouch: Phlster universal mag pouch
    Ammo: 360 rounds 115 gr Magtech FMJ

    TLDR Version: Good course. I recommend for anyone who carries concealed.

    For context, I've had about 8 pistol classes in total, most of them in the past 18 months. Most of the classes have been 1-day courses. I've also done a small amount of long gun and edged weapons training.


    Genesis of the Covert Carry class occurred when NSW asked Mike to put together a training course in preparation for a low-profile deployment to the Middle-East.

    He did a ton of testing and video analysis to find robust and fast techniques. His material was further refined when he stood up the FAM office in the pacific northwest. He ran that FAM program for all of 2002 and half of 2003. He shot about 3000 rounds a week. And he and his partner tested everything with FoF. Everything they did was from concealment.

    He doesn’t do a scan after shooting targets. He believes doing this automatically will pattern gross body movements that may be inappropriate for the given circumstances. In the FAM he also saw agents automatically “scan” and not see obvious threats.

    He doesn’t believe in the automatic step left or right on the draw.

    Triggers. If using a striker fired gun for ccw, especially AIWB, the trigger should be stock or very near stock.

    Length of pull is a bigger concern than trigger weight, from a safety point of view.

    We did lot of work on SHO and WHO drawstroke. The WHO only material was particularly valuable for me.

    Many folks think the WHO drawstroke is only used when the dominant hand is injured. But Mike says it is used whenever strong hand not available. You may be controlling somebody (a principal if doing EP work, a captive, etc.). Or you might be holding onto something you can't let go. Mike has a story about when he used the WHO draw in Iraq.

    Techniques for reloading SHO and WHO were covered. Good stuff that I'll incorporate into my dry fire.

    Rabbit and coyote drills. Mike likes to have students compete in rabbit and coyote drills. A coyote and a rabbit will be frozen until the rabbit moves. Then the race is on. He thinks this pushes students more than a shot timer. He also gives students a wide degree of latitude in which skills they practice during this drill, because each student will find their respective strengths and their opponent’s weakness, then seek to exploit these.

    WML. He likes XC1B. He looks for the smallest possible light that allows him target ID at 15m. He thinks a full-size pistol with a 600 or 800 lumen light is what an assaulter in his old unit will carry. And he’s not an assaulter anymore.

    Tried to compress two days of material into 1 day. Supposedly we covered the same material as the two day class, just did less reps. But we didn’t get to 1 handed malfunction clearance, unfortunately. This particular range closes at 1600, so we stopped shooting at 1530 to colect brass, etc. Mike still had material to share, but logistics cut things short.

    The class validated my live fire training and my dryfire regime. It also filled a couple of knowledge gaps, especially the WHO material.

    The shooters around me were squared away and pushed me hard on the competitive drills.

    Mike is approachable, easy going, and extremely experienced. He has a reason for everything he teaches, and can usually describe real-life applications of every technique.

    Overall a very good class.
    Last edited by Mark D; 07-30-2018 at 04:51 PM.

  2. #2
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    I took Mike's two day Covert Carry Class last August using my Glock 19.

    He can convey a LOT of information in a short time . . . .

  3. #3
    Smoke Bomb / Ninja Vanish Chance's Avatar
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    Thanks for the review. Did he clarify why he doesn't advocate sidestepping during a draw stroke?
    "Sapiens dicit: 'Ignoscere divinum est, sed noli pretium plenum pro pizza sero allata solvere.'" - Michelangelo

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chance View Post
    Thanks for the review. Did he clarify why he doesn't advocate sidestepping during a draw stroke?
    He says it's pointless, because your adversary can track you without effort. He side stepped and had a student track his movement with a "finger gun". FWIW Aaron Barruga (Guerrilla Approach) gives an identical demo in his pistol classes.

    I don't think either instructor is trying to imply that movement is not important in a gun fight. They're just saying that one lateral step is not going to cause your adversary to miss or "disrupt his OODA loop". .

  5. #5
    Here's my obligatory "He's on my short list of trainers I want to take a class from."

    I like the idea of a compressed/concentrated one-day class. I'm ok with being shown concepts and techniques with the idea that I'll have to drill them on my own.

    I wish he (and other top-tier trainers) would offer FoF training. Just seems like he has a lot to offer.

    (I get he may be booked solid with his live-fire classes, which offer a lot as well.)
    Last edited by BigD; 08-07-2018 at 03:43 PM.

  6. #6
    Member feudist's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigD View Post
    Here's my obligatory "He's on my short list of trainers I want to take a class from."

    I like the idea of a compressed/concentrated one-day class. I'm ok with being shown concepts and techniques with the idea that I'll have to drill them on my own.

    I wish he (and other top-tier trainers) would offer FoF training. Just seems like he has a lot to offer.

    (I get he may be booked solid with his live-fire classes, which offer a lot as well.)

    I can't recall any Ex-Mil guys that do this(?)

    Some police/private citizen types (SouthNarc comes to mind)

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chance View Post
    Thanks for the review. Did he clarify why he doesn't advocate sidestepping during a draw stroke?
    Though not from Mr. Pannone, here is an example (from John Lovell) of what he may be talking about:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DGmKQy5Cvo

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by feudist View Post
    I can't recall any Ex-Mil guys that do this(?)

    Some police/private citizen types (SouthNarc comes to mind)
    Bill Rapier is former ST6 and offers a FoF class... I’ve only taken his integrated combatives class, but he is a phenomenal instructor.

  9. #9
    OP,

    Nice AAR. I’ve been fortunate enough to take 3 classes from Noner. Consistently good stuff. Covert Carry was probably my favorite and the most applicable. I was able to take it up at the Sig Academy and Mike covered low light, which was a bonus.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigD View Post
    Here's my obligatory "He's on my short list of trainers I want to take a class from."

    I like the idea of a compressed/concentrated one-day class. I'm ok with being shown concepts and techniques with the idea that I'll have to drill them on my own.

    I wish he (and other top-tier trainers) would offer FoF training.
    I learn more in two day courses, but the one-day classes are much easier to squeeze into my schedule.

    I agree that FoF training is harder to find than live fire courses. I've heard from some trainers that they don't like dealing with the extra gear involved.

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