Tag Archives: Training

Reviews, Training

Green Ops Defensive Pistol Clinic II AAR

2 Comments

One constant refrain I’ve had for at least a year is “where are my advanced Sunday classes?” In what I assume is part of a concerted effort to get me to shut up, Green Ops finally relented and offered a Defensive Pistol II clinic this past Sunday night. My inside information is that they will be offering more of these advanced clinics next year, and even a proper Sunday all-day class! (Readers: the moral of this story is that if you want something from trainers, step number one is to simply ask politely for it! You might even get it!)

This was my first time shooting a level II with Green Ops, and you can read on for what I thought of it!

Continue reading Green Ops Defensive Pistol Clinic II AAR →

Reviews, Training

Green Ops Practical Pistol/Competition Skills Clinic AAR

2 Comments

Despite my inability to hit a USPSA match for the past few months, I still consider myself a competition guy when people ask me about what kind of shooter I am. I enjoy the “defensive practitioner” side of shooting, but I know in my heart that I’m a boring guy who does boring things in safe places, and am rather unlikely to put those defensive skills to intended use. Don’t get me wrong, I still think they’re important – because sometimes safe places become not-so-safe, and boring things becoming dangerous –  but shooting a USPSA match is the activity I’m most likely to be using a gun in.

Because of that, I put a heavy priority on hitting competition-oriented classes when they’ve available to me. I think you can get a lot out of them; the JDC speed shooting class brought my splits down to ~.25, which isn’t going to put me in GM class anytime soon, but it’s enough that I don’t feel as totally outclassed as I used to. Given those results, I was eager to see how the Green Ops Practical Pistol/Competition class this past Sunday would give me some improvement as well!

More after the break!
Continue reading Green Ops Practical Pistol/Competition Skills Clinic AAR →

Reviews, Training

JDC Speed Shooting & Shot Calling AAR

3 Comments

In an effort to make up for my lack of a June class, I took a second training class in July. This was the “Speed Shooting & Shot Calling” class from Justified Defensive Concepts, a new instructional outfit in the area founded by some guys with a solid rep from their previous instructional endeavors. The premise of the class is right in the name: shoot faster, and call your shots better. While I’ve been slacking a bit with my competition shooting lately, these are pretty good “life skills” for a shooter, so I was really excited to see what it was about. This was also my first class with JDC, so that was pretty cool, too.

Did I like it? Are my splits a little faster than .4 now? More after the break.

Continue reading JDC Speed Shooting & Shot Calling AAR →

Reviews, Training

PNTC Intro to Long Range AAR (RPR Edition)

4 Comments

I managed to break my streak of taking a class once a month last month; between a family vacation and Jewish holidays, I just could not find a good Sunday to do it. This concerns me a bit, because I think you should always be learning new things and improving, and training is a vital component of that. To make up for it, I’m doubling up in July.

I just finished my first July class, which was Peacemaker National Training Center’s “Intro to Long Range Presented by Zeiss” class. I’d love to share my experiences shooting out to a thousand yards for the first time!

Continue reading PNTC Intro to Long Range AAR (RPR Edition) →

Reviews, Training

Green Ops Low Light Pistol Clinic AAR (RMR Edition)

2 Comments

 

I recently (5/19/2019) had the pleasure of attending the Green Ops Low Light Pistol clinic in Fairfax, VA. This was my second time at this particular class. While I am admittedly a big fan of their other classes, the low light pistol clinic always stands out in my mind as an example of what a “signature” class looks like – it teaches you skills you’re unlikely to acquire or practice elsewhere. We learned a variety of handheld light with pistol techniques, practiced some fundamentals in the dark, and even got a few reps in on our weaponlights. It was a really good time!

Full AAR after the break!

Continue reading Green Ops Low Light Pistol Clinic AAR (RMR Edition) →

Reviews

AMG Lab Commander Shot Timer Review

7 Comments

img_20190430_081528.jpg

One of my new toys this year has been an AMG Lab “Commander” shot timer. I put off buying a shot timer for a long time because I didn’t really see the value in it. I wasn’t doing holster draws, I didn’t care about my splits, etc. I guess if you don’t care about time, you don’t need a shot timer.

But then I got bit by the training and competition bug a year ago, and suddenly, time mattered a lot more. That meant I needed a shot timer. Since I love having the latest and greatest, I thought I would give the hottest new shot timer on the market a fair shake.

Continue reading AMG Lab Commander Shot Timer Review →

Reviews, Training

Green Ops Defensive Carbine I Clinic AAR (Sig Optics Edition)

2 Comments

IMG_20190428_211354.jpg

My second Green Ops class of the year was another run of the defense carbine I clinic on April 28, 2019. This is probably the fourth or fifth time I’ve taken this class, and every time, I get something new out of it. It’s also interesting to see how Green Ops has been evolving as a company, and how the classes change due to feedback.

Besides my usual goal of improving my somewhat dismal carbine skills, I had two secondary objectives:

  1. Test out my Sig Optics Romeo4M and Juliet4 combo under harder-use conditions.
  2. Get some runs on my AMG Lab Commander shot timer in prep for an upcoming review.

Continue reading Green Ops Defensive Carbine I Clinic AAR (Sig Optics Edition) →

Reviews, Training

Modern Samurai Project 2-Day Red Dot “Day 2” AAR (Poly80 Edition)

3 Comments

IMG_20190310_100542.jpg

I am going to start this blog post off with a rather obvious, but still important statement:

“Factory pistols with red dots or red dot cuts on the slide may be the hotness, but they are not new.”

I say that because, well, it’s true. The first one I’m aware of, the FN FNX-45, was released in 2012, and it still took another three years for Chuck Pressburg (nee “Roland”) on Primary and Secondary to popularize the concept enough to start gaining mass market appeal (with an after-market milled slide by ATEi, ironically).

I say this because the training situation for them has really lagged. Until about 2017, when Modern Samurai Project started offering classes, I’m not even sure there was a class for red dot pistols outside of Gabe Suarez’s (no comment there). Yes, you had USPSA GM-level shooters doing training on Open guns – but those are a somewhat different beast than the Carry Optics pistols we’re talking about, both in terms of the gun itself and the way it’s carried rig-wise. I was fortunate enough to take the second day of MSP’s “2-Day Red Dot” on Sunday, and I want to share my (really great!) experiences. More after the break.

Continue reading Modern Samurai Project 2-Day Red Dot “Day 2” AAR (Poly80 Edition) →

Training

FPF Training Knife Skills for Concealed Carry Class AAR

7 Comments

IMG_20190224_093324.jpg

As discussed previously, I like to take a training class every month so as to always be learning new stuff and sharpening my skills. I pay special attention to opportunities to train with visiting instructors, especially on subjects I don’t know anything about. You can therefore imagine how excited I was that my schedule lined up with FPF Training bringing in Greg Ellifritz to run his Knife Skills for Concealed Carry Class.

I don’t know anything about knives. I mean, I got my Whittling Chip card as a Cub Scout, and I’ve done some kitchen work with one. But using one to defend myself in lieu of, or in conjunction with, a firearm? Absolutely nothing. It seemed like a good thing to learn, so it was off to class I went. The rest of the AAR is after the break!

Continue reading FPF Training Knife Skills for Concealed Carry Class AAR →

Thoughts

Training Decisions

2 Comments

One of my big commitments is trying to get in a class every month on some sort of martial skill. Mostly, that’s guns, because guns are fun, but I’m good with knives, hand-to-hand, medical, whatever. It is expensive, but they’re usually one day and local, so there’s not a lot of ancillary costs.

The big problem is often making the call about what class to go to. There are some months where I’ve got hard choices. Do I do the Green Ops practical pistol clinic, the FPF Training Minuteman Rifle class, or the PNTC PRS class?

In an attempt to solve that conundrum, I’ve got a list of priorities that I try to use to as an evaluation standard to determine what I should take. These are ordered in importance to me, but no priority will ever totally override the others. I am very interested in what my readership feels about these, so please leave comments if you agree/disagree!

Continue reading Training Decisions →