Two weeks ago I took Gabe's Pistol Shooting Solutions two day course, and it was amazing!
My background:
I've been shooting defensive pistol consistently since Jan '16. I had taken a full day 'Intro to Tactical Pistol' with one of the local training groups, and did some half day drill classes with another group, along with a private class that my wife and I did. Aside from that, and my regular range time, I competed in two IDPA matches, and I've been reading this forum a good portion of that time, and find this place to be a true goldmine of top notch info and people.
I was at the point where I felt like my fundamentals were pretty good, although I'd really never done any draw work on my own, just what was included in the training classes I'd taken. I felt like I needed a good challenge of some kind, something that would push me beyond my comfort zone, and see what I could do under some stress. Since Jan '16 I'd been shooting a 226 & 229 the vast majority of that time, but had recently bought my wife a V1 P30sk for her carry gun, and enjoyed the LEM trigger, so I bought myself a P30/9mm and started testing it, and getting used to it. I didn't find the change too difficult, coming from a TDA Sig. I had ran about 800 rounds (450-HST & 350-Ball) through the gun, and felt comfortable with the LEM, but wasn't sure If I should use my 226, which was my primary gun, that I'd shot the most, by far, or use my new toy (P30). I used my Tier 1 Concealed, ASPIS IWB holster and HSGI mag pouch. I looked at it as a challenge, and a good chance to test the HK even further, and decided to use it, and see what happened, and brought the wife’s SK as my backup gun.
I was watching some YT videos, and ran across something from Gabe, and it was very interesting. I'd known of him for a while, but never looked into his teachings very much, other than noting how skilled he was in general. I'd already registered for TacCon '19, here in my backyard, and I then saw that Gabe would be here at my home range, less than 15:00 from my house, and got to thinking about going for it. I watched more of his clips to get a better feel for what it would be like, and the more I saw, the more I realized this seemed like the exact class that I needed, in the sense of testing my skills. After some thought, I said fuck it, I’m in! I bought the last open spot, and it was official...my first 'big league' shooting class. THEN...I thought, (humbly) "what in the hell have I got myself into"...maybe I'd got in over my head, since this was an Inter/Adv course; too late.
I was able to meet his one 'pre-requisite' of accuracy, so I felt okay about that, but was nervous about my speed at getting the gun out and up, since I've never focused on shooting quickly, just accurately. I knew of the award pins, but had no expectations of getting one, since I don't have a timer and have never really shot these drills under pressure, if at all. I was just doing the class to learn, and walk away with more experience than I came with.
The Course:
I was pumped for Day 1, and enjoyed the 1.5hr intro lecture about safety and the outline of the class, and how the range would be ran. We had a full class of 14.
I've ranted more about what led up to this class, than I will about the course itself, but my thought was that maybe someone in my position would relate, and decide to go for it as I did. There are several great reviews of his course, one being from Dr. House, and a video by Mickey Schuch (Carry Trainer), and his friend Donovan, which was an excellent review.
This class was VERY well ran, very structured and safe. Having trained with a world class instructor before (Tony Blauer) it was easy to see that Gabe was in that category.
We got going with a review of some basics of shooting, and theory, and shot some warm up drills, just to loosen up, and so he could get a feel for how we handled our guns and if we were being safe in and out of our holsters. At some point after that, we shot a man on man competition drill, which was cool, and got us moving a little more.
The way he structures the drills was great; verbally explaining it, then shooting it himself, practice & for time, then having us do the same, in two relays. My draw work was a little crude, but I just rolled with it, and tried to make adjustments as I went along, and as Gabe suggested.
Test time popped up and I shot both runs of the Bill Drill for time, and ended up with two Dark Pin runs; needless to say I was shocked, but equally happy. It was a nice shot of confidence to help motivate me going into the next drill, and the remainder of the day. By this time I was a little more relaxed, and feeling okay about my skill level coming into the class. I began to realize that all of my studying online (mostly here) and shooting had actually paid off, although we were just getting started and there was still much more to learn. It seemed more doable now, and I was able to relax a bit more and focus.
Mozambique Drill was ran after lunch, and the Immediate Incapacitation & Split Bill Drill were done on Sunday. I was fortunate to hit Dark Pin runs on 7 of 8 tries, which earned me a Dark Pin from Gabe for the course.
I was surrounded by great shooters; the two guys to my immediate right, and the one to my left, all had Turbo Pin runs on one of the drills, along with another guy on the far end. They all four had Turbo Pin runs on both attempts, on the same drill. It was cool to see that kind of performance especially from concealment. They all walked away with Light Pins for the course. By societies current standards, I should have been awarded a Turbo Pin, just because I participated, but Gabe operates under big boy rules, if you earn it, you get it, if not, go study and get better and try again.
We did several drills where we shot on the move, which I had never done. This was quite fun, and I did okay. We also did drills shooting from behind cover, two shots standing, get behind cover, two shots, squatting, then in a super low stance, while keeping your knees off of the ground, if possible, to promote mobility if needed. All of these drills were very educational for me, as I’d never done most of them. Using a timer was nice, and I didn’t have one, but left the course with one, that my new friend Tyrus sold to me on the spot, a NIB Pocket Pro II. I’m looking forward to using this tool to improve my shooting, and my wife’s as well. I know she will enjoy the challenge. This course was the perfect test of my abilities at this point in time, and it’s opened my eyes to a much higher level of shooting that’s possible. It has been a new beginning of sorts, and the next phase of my improvement has begun. Dry fire and draw work will be a huge part of that process, which I knew I should have been doing, but never had the motivation to actually commit to.
Currently, the popular trend seems to be trainers/courses from the Tactical world, but to me the ones that shine in this realm, are the ones who also got into competition. Starting out as a TDA guy, the name at the top of this list for me, was Ernest Langdon, and I hope to get to one of his classes in the future.
Gabe is not one of those guys, but his knowledge of shooting from concealment is top tier, and my primary interest is concealed carry. He has studied certain tactics, and teaches this at a basic level, clearly enough for the average citizen who’s carrying. I can’t honestly think of anything that I didn’t like about the class; maybe that’s just inexperience on my part, this being my first & only course from a top tier trainer. Either way, I’m extremely glad I signed up for this, and look forward to the new challenges ahead of me.
Gear note: With about 1800 rounds through it by the end of the course, my P30 LEM continued to run flawlessly!
If Gabe White has been on your radar, but you just haven’t committed to it yet, do it, you’ll be glad you did, he’s an excellent instructor!
Thanks @Mr_White for an amazing weekend!