OVERVIEW & COURSE SELECTION:
This symposium was a unique training opportunity in the backyard of Houston. It was organized by Matt Shockey and his team at a private gun club in Eagle Lake, Texas (https://theranchtxclub.com). The event offers training with some of the best instructors in firearms and personal defense, such as:
Bob Vogel, Kerry Davis, Jared Reston, Chuck Pressburg, Scott Jedlinski, Bill Blowers, Mike Pannone, Aaron Cowan, Steve Fisher, and Craig Douglas. There may have been others, but these are the names I recall.

I will be submitting this review in two parts. Part 1 will be an introduction to the symposium and logistics and a review of my first class. Part 2 will review my second class and last class and summarize my thoughts.

PART 1
I did not go last year but moved heaven and earth to attend this year. The event occurs over four days (Thursday - Sunday). Thursday afternoon was the first day and focused on safety, range orientation, zeroing, and competition (I did not attend the first half day due to work). Many prizes were given out apparently (thousands of dollars’ worth) and vendors were present to display/sell their products. There is an open bar and firepit every night. However, if you take one sip of alcohol, then you were done shooting for that day (i.e. no low light classes). Friday through Sunday were when classes were conducted with the instructor you selected. You can select courses with any of the instructors as long as it was not more than 8 hours a day. Some classes were in four-hour blocks, others were 8 hours and you can mix and match. Some blocks were during the day, while others started in the afternoon and went on to 10 PM or past midnight. The selections that I remember were:
• Bob Vogel- championship pistol skills
• Kerry Davis- medical
• Jared Reston- shooting on the move, CQB,
• Chuck Pressburg- night vision, urban gunfighter (vehicles)
• Scott Jedlinski- two four hour blocks on red dot pistol skills
• Bill Blowers- Tactical carbine, night vision,
• Mike Pannone- concealed carry pistol skills (2-10 pm)
• Aaron Cowan- Force on Force (2-10 pm)
• Steve Fisher- carbine
• Craig Douglas- grappling in the weapons-based environment

It was very difficult to narrow down my selection to three eight-hour blocks. In the end, my pragmatic side won, and I focused on what skills would be most useful to me as a concealed carry civilian. I have taken medical courses twice, and I have taken previous concealed carry classes. Therefore, I selected 1) Aaron Cowan’s Force on Force, 2) Scott Jedlinski’s red dot skills (fundamental and advanced), and 3) Craig Douglas’s grappling in the weapons-based environment.

COST: In addition to the tuition fee, there was $45 additional fee for Aaron’s force on force class, a camping option for $75, and an optional fee for all meals (lunch and dinners, no breakfast). My total for the symposium was $1050 as I opted in for both camping and meals. I would highly recommend camping. It was nothing fancy, just a wide-open grass field with a dry creek on one side and portable showers (heated water) on the other end. It was nice to sleep under the stars, hear the drizzle of rain, and wake up to deers in front of your tent’s vestibule.
The only disadvantage was that the low light classes were still banging on steel past midnight. Personally, this did not bother me as the sounds were distant. For light sleepers, however, this may bother you.

There were not many campers, perhaps 8 tents that I remember. Most people stayed in nearby motels and drove in each day. I heard someone say that someone had their gear stolen from their truck overnight. I don’t know if this was true, but I can certainly see that happening if you did not haul all your gear inside your room each night.


GEAR/EQUIPMENT
I won’t bore everyone with every gear but will highlight some important items and lessons.
1. Pistol: Glock 19X milled for RMR6 Type 2, 3.25 MOA. The RMR was flawless during Scott Jedlinski’s class and we shot around 500 rds for the 8-hour block. The only failure per se was that my rear BUIS (Ameriglo, mounted in front of RMR) shifted right from its milled dovetail. I did not use the BUIS at all to rack the slide. It must have shifted from just the recoil, which has never happened before. The sight could not be moved by hand, so it was in there tight. I repositioned it and applied Loctite.
2. Holster was Phlster Floodlight and belt was Blue Alpha Gear hybrid EDC belt. Both performed well during the Force on Force and for Craig Douglas’s grappling class.
3. I wore jeans for all three days. Wearing a long sleeve compression undergarment would be highly recommended, especially for the grappling class.
4. Salomon GTX PRO mid ride shoes- It was raining periodically, and the red dirt got muddy quickly. These shoes were great and kept me dry.
On the last day it rained hard but briefly. Our grappling class was moved inside a tent and we were dry from the rain. Other folks, however, had a mud bath.

The organization was good. You received a folder on your first day with the classes and range locations along with a goodies bag of decals, water bottle, and junk food. Water was plentiful and there was always a staff member around that could help. Bathroom facilities were clean and stocked. There was an RFID card for each student that allowed you to enter and exit the range as needed.
Near the main lodge, there were two big tents. One housed the vendors/exhibitors and the second was where food was served. Food was decent. Mexican food, hamburgers, salads and you could return for seconds if needed. Bring your own food if you are a vegetarian. There was an open bar in the evenings, but I don’t drink so I cannot tell you of the offerings.
I did not go to the exhibitor tent at all so I cannot tell you who was there or what was offered. There were a lot of free T-shirts and water bottles.
I cannot tell you exactly how many students there were, but it was well attended (around 300 guestimate). The numbers were well managed and at no time did I feel there were too many people (unless you showed up late to lunch, plenty of food but long lines initially). The ranges were well spread out and you never felt like another group was too close where range commands could be heard.

Day 1 (Friday. 2pm-10pm): Aaron Cowan’s Force on Force (FoF)
Aaron spoke to us for several hours on interactions or situations that people commonly encounter violence. The lessons from this presentation were:
1) You cannot prepare for everything
2) You CAN prepare a few phrases that should apply to most situations. These phrases should be rehearsed so that they come automatically and without thinking. The more you think about what to say, the more distracted and vulnerable you will be. Reserve your cognitive attention to threat assessment.
3) Eye contact. Brief eye contact and an acknowledging nod can be helpful in showing unknown contacts that you are aware. The gesture is neutral and disarming. However, you also do not want to keep eye contact too long as some may see that as a challenge or threat.
4) Watch for furtive glances. If your unknown contact is looking around while approaching you, then prepare for imminent action.
5) After the eyes, watch the hands. The eyes may give you clues to intent, but the hands are the actual threats. Hands reaching back, hands in pockets, etc
6) Flashlight. This is your most important preventive tool. Use it to preemptively illuminate dark spots, around your car, alleyways, etc. This became evident during our FoF scenarios when proactive use of my flashlight defused some situations. Shine it at the waist line when encountering an unknown contact and at the face if you sense impending conflict.

After the verbal instruction, we had a break and were oriented to usage of the simunition glock pistols and protective gear. The scenarios were designed by Aaron so I will not be describing them in any detail. Each scenario had 4 “volunteers”. One was the “good guy” and three acted as either bystanders, bad guy, or both. Once the scene acted out, then Aaron would debrief the participants. The three volunteers would then stay, and Aaron would reset the scene for the next good guy. This would cycle until everyone had a role as the good guy. Some scenarios ran long while others were over quickly. The setting was outdoors with a makeshift structure that could represent anything from a convenience store, a garage, a restaurant, etc. In retrospect, I would volunteer for every scenario as you were able to learn from everyone’s reaction since you sat in on the debriefs. If you didn’t volunteer at all (other than acting as the good guy), then there was a lot of sitting around waiting for your turn to run the scene. We ran scenarios in daylight, twilight, and at night.
I did not fire my sim gun even once in any of my scenarios. I was able to recognize the threats early and either defused or evaded before any conflict arose. I suppose that is the best outcome.

The class ended around 10 pm and I retired to my tent, showered, and slept soundly. Others went to the main lodge as there was a free open bar and a firepit. This class was the least active with the waiting for your turn. I will definitely volunteer more next time.