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Thread: AAR: Marksmanship Matters Intermediate Pistol with Larry Mudgett, Sept 25-26 2020

  1. #1

    AAR: Marksmanship Matters Intermediate Pistol with Larry Mudgett, Sept 25-26 2020

    Intermediate pistol is the second pistol specific class offered by Marksmanship Matters (henceforth MM) after their 4-day Basic class.

    As mentioned in my MM Basic write up, Larry is a strong exponent of Jeff Cooper’s gun fighting doctrine. For classes like these, Larry’s primary focus (after safety) is on a proper trigger press, which is foundational to everything else. The emphasis on accuracy is the most important principle of the curriculum, after safety. As mentioned elsewhere, I’ve done a lot of training but never have had this level of emphasis on the base fundamentals in a way that translated to better shooting in every circumstance. So even an “advanced” shooter can get real value from this.

    This class consisted of 12 shooters and four instructors including Larry (who, somewhat disconcertingly, sees EVERYTHING. The man has eyes in back of his head.).

    A high proportion of the participants were in the basic class I took in July, including three close friends who used to be rather laissez-faire about pistolcraft and carrying their pistols. They have changed a great deal since that first class, to put it mildly. Weather was quite favorable, high fifties to mid seventies both days under cloudless skies.

    The morning started with the mandatory recitation of the exact wording of the Four Safety Rules, per Jeff Cooper, by each participant. Larry is very firm about the principle of understanding the rules and their meaning, and not one word may be fudged or forgotten.

    The initial warmups consist of dry presses on steel at 12 yards, quickly followed by skip loading (ball and dummy) drills with high proportions of dummies to live rounds. Each participant is partnered with another participant, one acting a a coach through each shot and shielding the vision of the shooter while clearing a dummy round, so the next chambered round stays a surprise. This technique is doubly effective, as the act of coaching reinforces the sequence of the shot for the non shooter. Partners load each other’s skip loads to keep things “random” and honest.

    As the class progresses through the first skip loads with no bad presses, the proportion of live to dummy is increased. Since the class was fairly squared away, we quickly progressed to full live fire drills, with a gradual increase of speed and then back to skip loading to help ensure “honest presses” under time pressure.

    We were able to advance pretty quickly the first day, and so for most of the second day, Larry introduced elements from the advanced course- shooting from a vehicle, vehicle tactics, dealing with a hostile crowd (rather relevant at this time), shooting from cover, one-handed shooting, manipulation and reloading, and close-quarters shooting with movement. All done with a gradual progression to enforce the basics, skip drills to keep the trigger presses honest, and a tremendous amount of added value for the participants.

    Having done Gunsite 250-350-499, I would say it took participants through many of the elements of a 350 by the end of the second day.

    By the end, the entire class as a group had tight groups on steel at 12 yards at speed, there were virtually no bad presses at all, and a bunch of otherwise ordinary people were a lot more competent. I don’t think anyone could ask for more in two days.

    All in all, a great experience with the fundamentals that I wish I had started with 30 years ago. Highly recommended.

  2. #2
    Thanks, sounds like a great class. I've got to start incorporating skip loading into my practice!

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