Stretz Tactical Inc
10-22-14, 13:17
HERE IS A RE-POST FROM A STUDENT'S A.A.R. OF MY 4 HOUR PISTOL MARKSMANSHIP CLINIC 10/19/14 (as posted by him on FB)
Range: Blue Mountain Sportsman Center
183 Watch Hill Road
Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567
My Report on my time at Stretz Tactical's Pistol Marksmanship class:
I've read a lot about firearms, but have shot very little. I did not know what to expect and based on youtube videos I figured the instructor would be an over aggressive quirk with an attitude problem. Not only was he polite and courteous, he was eager to help and address concerns.
The big thing for me with any classroom scenario involving adults is it invariably ends up degrading into a bunch of insecure guys trading endless war stories and never accomplishing anything much of value. Stretz did a fantastic job of allowing anecdotal stories, questions, and comments that helped illustrate what we were learning, while very subtlety steering the conversation back on point when things did degrade.
It was a four hour course, but we accomplished a lot because there was no time wasted.
Shooting very slowly and taking my time I was already quite accurate with my pistol, but was hoping to fine tune some things like "mystery fliers" and things like that. Along with getting better tips on gripping the gun and properly using the sights, we were also pushed to accomplish things under the stress of timed-shots, which was exciting but not uncomfortable or embarrassing to work with. I had about five clear weaknesses become obvious to me and while I was always inconsistently an impressive shot (1 minute I shoot a 1.5" 5 shot group at 25 yards off hand, the next it's a 6" group, another tight group followed by missing paper), I found myself becoming more consistently accurate just in the few hours we spent on the range.
Another thing I really felt was a treat and an eye opener was his use of video and photo to help me deal with my specific issues. He would pull up an image of my stance, and draw lines on the photo to illustrate his points. I liked this a lot because I genuinely "felt" like I was doing exactly what he was instructing me to do, but in the video/photo I was able to see that I wasn't, and understand how to improve it.
The range itself was the biggest I had ever seen, granted we were only on a small part of it, but I can see how other classes offered by Stretz would be excellent.
Here in NY it's very difficult to get out to the range, and usually when you do it's limited in itself, and often rushed due to there being a shortage of lanes at public ranges thanks to higher and higher demand. Being able to take the time needed to get the results was a treat.
Also, at the end Stretz really encouraged feedback on how to make his classes even better and we spent a good fifteen minutes just talking about ways to improve his future classes. Then at the end there was a more informal period when he could have just as easily bailed out of there, but he stuck around to answer questions and continue plinking for a little bit on a more relaxed level.
Sadly, during this time I noticed a lot of people revert back to their original methods of shooting. I felt kind of bad because it's like; here's this teacher who spent four hours showing you stuff, and the second things go informal you throw everything he just showed you, that made you better, right out the window for the sake of comfort. That's not to say I wouldn't do something out of habit, but I'd self correct.
If you're going to attend the classes, I think it's important you take notes, ask questions and really think about what you're learning, in the end you paid for the class, so if you get nothing out of it you're kind of just paying the guy to babysit you on the range.
I plan on attending future classes.
Range: Blue Mountain Sportsman Center
183 Watch Hill Road
Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567
My Report on my time at Stretz Tactical's Pistol Marksmanship class:
I've read a lot about firearms, but have shot very little. I did not know what to expect and based on youtube videos I figured the instructor would be an over aggressive quirk with an attitude problem. Not only was he polite and courteous, he was eager to help and address concerns.
The big thing for me with any classroom scenario involving adults is it invariably ends up degrading into a bunch of insecure guys trading endless war stories and never accomplishing anything much of value. Stretz did a fantastic job of allowing anecdotal stories, questions, and comments that helped illustrate what we were learning, while very subtlety steering the conversation back on point when things did degrade.
It was a four hour course, but we accomplished a lot because there was no time wasted.
Shooting very slowly and taking my time I was already quite accurate with my pistol, but was hoping to fine tune some things like "mystery fliers" and things like that. Along with getting better tips on gripping the gun and properly using the sights, we were also pushed to accomplish things under the stress of timed-shots, which was exciting but not uncomfortable or embarrassing to work with. I had about five clear weaknesses become obvious to me and while I was always inconsistently an impressive shot (1 minute I shoot a 1.5" 5 shot group at 25 yards off hand, the next it's a 6" group, another tight group followed by missing paper), I found myself becoming more consistently accurate just in the few hours we spent on the range.
Another thing I really felt was a treat and an eye opener was his use of video and photo to help me deal with my specific issues. He would pull up an image of my stance, and draw lines on the photo to illustrate his points. I liked this a lot because I genuinely "felt" like I was doing exactly what he was instructing me to do, but in the video/photo I was able to see that I wasn't, and understand how to improve it.
The range itself was the biggest I had ever seen, granted we were only on a small part of it, but I can see how other classes offered by Stretz would be excellent.
Here in NY it's very difficult to get out to the range, and usually when you do it's limited in itself, and often rushed due to there being a shortage of lanes at public ranges thanks to higher and higher demand. Being able to take the time needed to get the results was a treat.
Also, at the end Stretz really encouraged feedback on how to make his classes even better and we spent a good fifteen minutes just talking about ways to improve his future classes. Then at the end there was a more informal period when he could have just as easily bailed out of there, but he stuck around to answer questions and continue plinking for a little bit on a more relaxed level.
Sadly, during this time I noticed a lot of people revert back to their original methods of shooting. I felt kind of bad because it's like; here's this teacher who spent four hours showing you stuff, and the second things go informal you throw everything he just showed you, that made you better, right out the window for the sake of comfort. That's not to say I wouldn't do something out of habit, but I'd self correct.
If you're going to attend the classes, I think it's important you take notes, ask questions and really think about what you're learning, in the end you paid for the class, so if you get nothing out of it you're kind of just paying the guy to babysit you on the range.
I plan on attending future classes.