AAR: Tap-Rack Tactical Tac Pistol, Huntsville AL, 9-24/25-2022

[babypanther]

Apologies in advance, this is my first attempt at an AAR. TLDR/ take the course.

I attended Bill’s Tac Pistol Course at Hobbes Island Shooting Range on September 24-25. I feel that i should state my agency paid to send 4 shooters to the course, 3 including me ended up attending. I have followed Bill for awhile, from the P&S video days and the stuff he has done for Surefire, and I also follow him on Patreon. I bring that up to say, I had an idea of him personally and have been exposed to some of his methodologies behind what he does. Bill seemed to be getting over a cold, but he was present and engaged for 8 hours each day. He loves getting into the why behind the how, and he absolutely brought the heat each demo that he shot in front of us.

TD1 began with a safety brief, which was longer than your typical 4 firearms safety rules that people blow off normally. Bill had a poignant story for each that really drove the point home behind each rule. We dove right into a grip diagnostic drill, and then a drill that showed the shooter what too much, too little, and just the right amount of trigger finger pad placement looked like as a 5 shot group. This was a recurring theme in this class, Bill showed different methods for getting a task done and had us put it on a shot timer and actually rep it out, not just take his demo for it.

Reloads, draws, malfunctions, shooting were all worked as fast as it could be done well. Bill pushed the class until the wheels came off, for some that came sooner than for others. When this would occur, Bill broke down what was going on with the shooter and would get them going. At the end of TD2 the standards were shot, I ended up passing 3/4 and earning a baby tiger patch. They were very challenging and I enjoyed the constant expectation to make improvements to your individual level.

The class was a mixture of local and federal LE, and regular dudes (a few that shoot USPSA locally). There were quite a few Glocks, from stock to a Boresight Solutions gun, a Colt 1911 in I think 9mm, an M&P, a staccato, and Bills Walther Q5. The Colt seemed to be giving the owner issues. I believe the entire class was running red dots and most were working from OWB.

Takeaways:
One of the federal guys asked and received permission to film the course on his phone when not shooting or doing a drill. Great idea, notes are awesome but to be able to go back and watch the demo would be great, I wish i would’ve done the same.

Mags- the more good mags you have, especially loaded prior, the more reps you get. The guys that came with me are newer cops, and I know they were wishing they had a few extras.

Performance tracking- it’s been standard practice on P-F to do this, as this is a performance based forum (which is awesome). Bill printed out sheets for the class to use, and he made frequent references to these times in looking at a shooter. I intend to bring this back to my team and cover the concept during in service training.

Bill followed up by email and provided printable copies of the targets used, and a break down of both training days and why he runs the course that way. All in all, I know I made improvements and came away from the course with data points to track that will help me as I continue to chase performance.


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[Mark D]

Great AAR. In a random coincidence, earlier today I reviewed my notes from a 1-day Blowers pistol class I attended last year.

I'm not a true training junkie by P-F standards, but I've attended a number of classes taught by folks like JJ, Panone, EL, etc. I thought that Blower's class was at least as good as any other class I've attended. I wouldn't hesitate to go another of his.

Congrats on the patch.

[titsonritz]

Bill Blower's classes are awesome, he is definitely a very analytical instructor. He puts out some of the best self-diagnostic learning I've experienced. I am fortunate enough to have him hosted 2-3 times a year at my go to training range.