AAR - Proactive Shooters' Defensive Handgun I class

[ProShooter]

Just received an AAR from our last Defensive Handgun I class from March 2, 2013. This AAR was written by Lucas DeBruhl. Lucas is the President and CEO of Black Flamingo Tactical, a Virginia based holster manufacturer.



Proactive Shooters’ Defensive Handgun I
3-2-13

Class size: 7 shooters 1 instructor and 1 range officer
Round Count: 400 to 450
Temperature: A cold 40 something

Since this is a long AAR let’s start with the conclusion right up front. If you are carrying or plan to carry a firearm for personal protection you NEED to take this course. This course teaches you the skills needed to feel comfortable carrying a pistol. Jim is a great teacher and ran a very professional and most importantly safe class. Every student that finished the course is a much better shooter now than when they first arrived! Taking this class is a great investment into your personal safety.

The day started with Jim introducing himself and a safety brief. We went over the 4 universal firearms safety rules and all other range etiquette. Jim then jumped right into the short classroom portion of the class. During the classroom part we learned the proper way to draw from concealment, grip, Trigger control, how to handle reloads (emergency, Tactical, admin), malfunctions, and how to re-holster. We talked about the importance of verbal commands (Stop, Drop the weapon…) and how that might save your life. We also discussed how the bad guy’s body should be treated as a stop light. Green is center mass, Yellow is the groin area, and red is the head. We also talked about where we carry our gear on a daily basis, and this was not just the gun and extra ammo. This included cell phone, wallet and other things. I think this is a very underrated portion of the class. It really got you thinking about gear placement and how it applies in the real world. By this time we were getting a little chilly so it was time to get up and on the range.

Once on the range we worked on drawing from the holster and pressing out on target and getting a good sight picture without any ammo. Jim took the time to evaluate each student and make necessary adjustments. From there we progressed into drawing from concealment. This included the methods for using an open front and closed front cover garment. We also incorporated getting off the X while drawing. Once we were all squared away we were ready for some live fire.

We started live fire nice and slow, drawing and putting a couple rounds on target from the 7 to 10 yard line, then scanning and re-holstering. After we completed that we worked on our grip, and trigger control. Jim made sure he was spending time with each student to make sure that they had the fundamentals down. We moved into one handed shooting, both strong and weak, and weak 2 handed shooting. We then ran through a target acquisition drill that not only tested our new learned skills (trigger control, sight picture and the draw) but also incorporated decision making skills. We broke for lunch and almost everyone tried to hide in their vehicles to get warm… almost everyone.

After lunch we went over shooting and moving. First we went over lateral movement. We ran a drill shooting and moving laterally and then we did the same drill but shot multiple targets. Both drills required multiple reloads. This was one of my favorite drills that we did. From there we practiced moving vertically and using the heal toe technique. We then moved back to the 25 yard line and practiced shooting from different positions. We learned how to shoot from a kneeling position and from the urban prone position. We then performed a drill where we incorporated both kneeling and urban prone while shooting. After the drill Jim took time to evaluate each shooters target to show them how shooting from urban prone effects your shot placement. After spending time at the 25 yard line we moved up close and personal and got within “bad breath distance” (Jims description not mine. HA HA) and learned how to shoot from retention, 1 step back over the top of the pistol, and 2 steps back using the sights. This was a lot of fun and we got to see/feel just how powerful the muzzle blast actually is. Our last drill of the day was completing the state police firearms qualification course.

This was a great course and everyone learned a bunch. Every student is a better shooter because of this class. We did so many drills I am sure I have left a bunch out. If you are looking for a class that will teach you how to defend your life with a pistol this is the class for you.