Tatiana Whitlock
tatianawhitlock.com
Handgun Accuracy
December 18, 2021
​

Instructor: Tatiana Whitlock
Location: ACADEMI Northeast, Salem CT
Weather: Indoor Range
Round Count: 150ish – low round class.

-----
We started off in the classroom with an agenda of the class and how the day was going to flow. We went through the class goals and had a lengthy discussion of what accuracy is. A well-thought-out safety and medical briefing were covered. We talked about constants and variables of the shooting process. We had a detailed conversation covering stabilizing, aiming, and timing/firing. It was a superb lecture, not too long and a ton of excellent material was covered.

The first thing once we were on the range was, we were given permission to fail, mess up, miss where we wanted to hit. If we were not able to push our skills past the point of success, we will not be growing our skills. We warmed up with ten shots. The whole class is shot from the bench. Tatiana walked the line looking at each student assessing their capabilities and body structure while shooting the string. I was done fast, so I was watching her watch the students, at one point I was watching her watch me watching her…. It got weird.

She broke down each part of the stance/body position into very small bits. She dissected each part into the smallest nano molecule that she could for us to practice and build on.
  • Feet

  • Legs

  • Mid-Section

  • Shoulders

  • Heart

  • Neck

  • Head


After explaining each new part of the shooting structure, we would dry-fire each position and then live fire each new position. Tatiana is very detailed with everything; she shows you exactly how she wants each thing to be done and then you practice that new position or technique. She walks the line and makes corrections where needed.

Had an in-depth discussion and was shown three main ways to grip the gun. We all have different hands and different guns. Having one grip for everything and everybody does not work.
  • Rectangle grip

  • Triangle grip

  • Drumstick grip

We shot using each of the grip types to find out what works best for our hands and our guns.

Schrodinger's Cat. This is the ball and dummy drill. Your partner sets your gun up with a live round or an empty chamber. Your back is turned, and you do not know. You are instructed to tell yourself out loud that the gun is empty each time. I caught myself flinching more than a few times!

We spent a good amount of time analyzing how to properly use the sights on a pistol. We were instructed where to hold the sights on the target to find out exactly where to our gun prints. Which sights were good and which type of sights sucked. I am an RDS guy so I think they are all archaic technology, but everyone needs to know how to use them, you may not be fighting with your own gun!

We worked on breathing techniques; Tatiana made us say funny things aloud to make us smile. If you are talking while you are shooting you are breathing. If you are smiling, you are positive and in a good mood. It was a great idea, and it was fun.

My favorite part of the class was the Battlefield pickup drill. Each of us got to shoot each other guns. We were to try different guns, different triggers, and different sights. Now I want a Wilson Combat Sig 320 Carry and a CZ P107c! (I need to keep saying I do not need another handgun… I do not need another handgun…)

Compass drill was the last drill of the day, and it worked many skills for a small amount of ammo. We did it twice and it rocked.

I had been wanting to take a Tatiana Whitlock class for years. This class was truly something different than any other class I have taken. The way Tatiana explains things was remarkable. She is a self-proclaimed nerd, funny, charming, silly, and crude when appropriate. Her WHY? Is based on science, yoga, and a ton of practical experience. A way I was describing her teaching method to a friend was “MOMsplaning” she makes complex subjects easy to understand and she shows you exactly what she means by demoing the task and moving or holding your body into the correct position. Tatiana gives you fun ways to think of things that will stick in your mind forever. She calls her classes GUN-CAMP and that makes me happy because who does not love camp?

I got more out of this class than any other class in recent history. If you have the opportunity you MUST go to gun-camp, and then you can say, “this one time at gun-camp….”
##