Originally Posted by
Reid Henrichs
December 1-2, 2018
Phoenix, AZ
I have been following Chuck's work since I was in high school, and that was a fair long time ago. Chuck's resume' speaks for itself, his shooting accomplishments speak for themselves, and his combat time speaks for itself. With a history like his, it would be easy for someone to be standoffish, arrogant, ego-driven, and unwilling to change. The opposite was the case. In fact, this class was surely in the top 2 courses I have taken. This was due in part to the material, as it was excellent and absolutely valid and practical. Yet, it was also due to the fact that Chuck teaches not for status or money. He does it for the art and the selflessness of teaching. This was apparent to me early on, and I will cover more of this later. The course was good in that the drills were based in reality, the instruction was short and to the point, the explanations clear and justified by actual incidents, and the fundamentals were stressed each and every shot.
This was a two-day class and I drove from Tennessee to take it. As someone who values those who have come before, and as someone who absolutely values the history of pistol technique, this class was a no-brainer. I drove immediately after teaching a four-day rifle class and was pretty smoked by the time of arrival in Phoenix.
Upon arrival, I was immediately greeted by Chuck and his cadre warmly. Class was relaxed and friendly at all times. The class consisted mainly of students who train with Chuck frequently, and my friend and I were the only ones who had not trained with him before. Nevertheless, we were brought up to speed on Chuck's methods, which were easily usable and clearly articulated.
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The first drills were dry practice for the purpose of Chuck and his staff to evaluate student presentation, grip, trigger manipulation, and assess procedure. Then, the first live-fire drill was shot at 3 yards, two rounds, with a par time of 1.0 seconds. That is outstanding to start with such a standard. It was exactly what is needed at those distances. Chuck used the whistle and stop watch, and we moved to 5, 7, and 10 yards all under time constraints. You really have to get your grip and flash sight picture right to make it.
We then progressed to speed loads or empty loads, as well as tactical reloads. Other blocks included kneeling, multiple targets, distance work at 15 and 20 yards, and having to recover a downed pistol from a variety of positions, simulating a sleep-state in the home or being knocked down.
At the end of the first day, Chuck and his staff stayed and talked to me and my assistant instructor for over an hour. Having just finished teaching a class myself a few days earlier, I understand the significance of this and how difficult it is after class to still be engaged with others. Chuck was extremely gracious with his time and knowledge.
On day two we began with more dry practice and close up shooting from 3 to five yards all under the same limited times as the day before. Most of Chuck's drills are under time constraints. We then performed a drill called the "nutcracker" in which the pistol is loaded with 3 rounds only. On the signal, the shooter draws from concealment, shoots one round on each of three targets, reloads, transfers the pistol to the support hand, and then shoots one more round to each target at seven yards. Par is 6 seconds and you really have to move to make the time and you really have to bear down to make the hits. Excellent drill.
Shooting on the move was covered from 20 to 5 yards on 3d targets. Many depictions were offered ranging from women to burglars to jihadis, and the benefit of this was different windows of opportunity to make hits. Some targets had a clear chest shot, and others offered limited or no chest shots and required head shots.
One of the more beneficial drills was the seated portion, which simulated being in a lounging chair. Par was three seconds to stand, draw, and place one hit on each of 3 targets, one requiring a head shot. Very challenging but doable when you perform one task at a time.
After class, Chuck stayed after and spoke with me and my assistant instructor for well over an hour, and we were extremely thankful for his tips, wisdom, and advice. He is truly a patriot, selfless instructor, and freely gives to those who are willing to learn. He is one of the most approachable, knowledgeable, and experienced guys I have trained with.
I only get to take one class a year if I am lucky due to my class schedule. This year I was able to train with Chuck Taylor and am grateful for the opportunity. If you have not trained with him yet, I would do so. He is one of the originals, one of the guys who helped make this possible for most of us.
I filmed a video with him at lunch and you can watch it HERE:
Reid