vaspence
03-31-09, 09:24
I just returned from a fun filled (a little stress filled) week in Nacogdoches Texas at Paul Howe's CSAT Tactical Pistol Instructor Course March 24-29 2009.
Where to begin? Paul is as nice a guy as has been described and a great instructor. I showed up on Monday around lunch time and he and Eric took time to show me around, make me feel at home, etc. Eric is Paul's right hand man and one couldn't ask for a better guy. Eric is sort of a combo facility manager/ gun shop operator / weapons armorer / Mr. Fix It., etc. Both Paul and Eric proved over the course of 6 days to be very patient, calm and just all around great guys.
Class:
The class was made up of 7 LEO's from Louisiana and Arkansas and one civilian (that'd be me). About half were either full or part time SWAT and they all had a bunch of experience running training back at their departments. I truly had the best time training with these guys and they are all great individuals. Our group bonded well and it was almost depressing to have to leave at the end of the day Sunday. I learned a fair amount from these guys and they were always willing to step in with a tip when needed.
Equipment:
Most of the guys were shooting 40's. In fact all but myself and one other were.
Glock .40's = 4
Beretta . 40's = 2
S&W M&P 9mm = 1
Glock 9mm = 1 (this was me, I started with the G34 but switched to a G17 at lunch on Day 1, after comments about a "Gucci gun", etc.)
Holsters:
Most of the guys were using 6004's. There was a Serpa and I used a Blade Tech. Paul was using a 6004 with both the hood and ALS on it. He also shot the standards with it. With gloves. And armor.
As has been described before Days 1 - 4 are dedicated to learning the standards, trying to pass the standards and various other shooting/instruction modules. Paul has a very well thought out course of instruction that is flexible and allows the modules to dove tail into one another.
I really didn’t have much experience instructing prior to this course. I do have the NRA pistol, rifle, etc. instructor certifications and have helped a few friends with what little I know. I learned a ton about observing a shooter and instructing at this course and would feel comfortable taking a student I know nothing about and working with them. We had 23 students show up for the two day course and it was a great learning experience working with them. Over the course of two days I got to observe and work with a variety of student types. Old, young, male, female, solid foundations and good skills, no skills, bad equipment selections, good equipment selections but bad set up, etc. The two day experience alone was worth the trip. All of the students seemed to respond well to instruction and all that I spoke with at the conclusion of the course had high remarks for the course and instruction. It was also extremely exciting to watch a student who at the beginning of day one was having trouble shooting consistently, pass 5 out of 9standards at the end of day 2 and only miss 3 of the others due to time, not misses. NOTE: The students don’t shoot the rifle transition standard, hence the 9 standards.
Speaking of standards, all of our instructor class had passed the standards by the end of the third day. No easy feat to pass the standards and even harder as the stress builds. The standards consist of ten individual drills and 8 of the 10 must be passed in one run for you to have passed the standards. You are not allowed to cumulatively pass the standards. 1 run, 10 drills, pass 8 out of 10 or start from the beginning. We had two pass the standards on the first try (Day 1), a detective from Louisiana and the civilian. The Louisiana detective is a great shot and very consistent. The civilian, well even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes. On Day 2 we picked up another Louisiana deputy on the second standards and an Arkansas officer by the end of the day. We picked up a Louisiana officer before lunch on Day 3 and the remaining 3 officers by the end of the day on Day 3.
In closing, this is a great course. You will learn a lot about both your own shooting abilities and others. You will learn how to diagnose issues with shooting a pistol, correct them and how to reinforce the corrections. You’ll learn how to run a line. You’ll learn how to do it safely. You’ll observe some great instructors both in Paul and in your fellow students. It was a great learning experience and I learned a lot about myself over the course of 6 days.
NOTE: For us east coast guys this course is easily accessible. I flew into Houston and the damage for the flight and rental car was around $550. Paul has barracks at the office for $25 per night and eating out in Nacogdoches is cheap. 6 days of quality instruction for $800 is a steal considering what we pay for most three day courses.
For more information on the drills and instruction read tjcoker’s excellent AAR from Dec 2008. His review is more thorough than anything I could write. I also give him the nod for bringing this course to my attention through his AAR. Reading it made me book this course.
Now I gotta hit the garage and get packed for a fun filled 3 days in NC with Pat Rogers!
Spence
Where to begin? Paul is as nice a guy as has been described and a great instructor. I showed up on Monday around lunch time and he and Eric took time to show me around, make me feel at home, etc. Eric is Paul's right hand man and one couldn't ask for a better guy. Eric is sort of a combo facility manager/ gun shop operator / weapons armorer / Mr. Fix It., etc. Both Paul and Eric proved over the course of 6 days to be very patient, calm and just all around great guys.
Class:
The class was made up of 7 LEO's from Louisiana and Arkansas and one civilian (that'd be me). About half were either full or part time SWAT and they all had a bunch of experience running training back at their departments. I truly had the best time training with these guys and they are all great individuals. Our group bonded well and it was almost depressing to have to leave at the end of the day Sunday. I learned a fair amount from these guys and they were always willing to step in with a tip when needed.
Equipment:
Most of the guys were shooting 40's. In fact all but myself and one other were.
Glock .40's = 4
Beretta . 40's = 2
S&W M&P 9mm = 1
Glock 9mm = 1 (this was me, I started with the G34 but switched to a G17 at lunch on Day 1, after comments about a "Gucci gun", etc.)
Holsters:
Most of the guys were using 6004's. There was a Serpa and I used a Blade Tech. Paul was using a 6004 with both the hood and ALS on it. He also shot the standards with it. With gloves. And armor.
As has been described before Days 1 - 4 are dedicated to learning the standards, trying to pass the standards and various other shooting/instruction modules. Paul has a very well thought out course of instruction that is flexible and allows the modules to dove tail into one another.
I really didn’t have much experience instructing prior to this course. I do have the NRA pistol, rifle, etc. instructor certifications and have helped a few friends with what little I know. I learned a ton about observing a shooter and instructing at this course and would feel comfortable taking a student I know nothing about and working with them. We had 23 students show up for the two day course and it was a great learning experience working with them. Over the course of two days I got to observe and work with a variety of student types. Old, young, male, female, solid foundations and good skills, no skills, bad equipment selections, good equipment selections but bad set up, etc. The two day experience alone was worth the trip. All of the students seemed to respond well to instruction and all that I spoke with at the conclusion of the course had high remarks for the course and instruction. It was also extremely exciting to watch a student who at the beginning of day one was having trouble shooting consistently, pass 5 out of 9standards at the end of day 2 and only miss 3 of the others due to time, not misses. NOTE: The students don’t shoot the rifle transition standard, hence the 9 standards.
Speaking of standards, all of our instructor class had passed the standards by the end of the third day. No easy feat to pass the standards and even harder as the stress builds. The standards consist of ten individual drills and 8 of the 10 must be passed in one run for you to have passed the standards. You are not allowed to cumulatively pass the standards. 1 run, 10 drills, pass 8 out of 10 or start from the beginning. We had two pass the standards on the first try (Day 1), a detective from Louisiana and the civilian. The Louisiana detective is a great shot and very consistent. The civilian, well even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes. On Day 2 we picked up another Louisiana deputy on the second standards and an Arkansas officer by the end of the day. We picked up a Louisiana officer before lunch on Day 3 and the remaining 3 officers by the end of the day on Day 3.
In closing, this is a great course. You will learn a lot about both your own shooting abilities and others. You will learn how to diagnose issues with shooting a pistol, correct them and how to reinforce the corrections. You’ll learn how to run a line. You’ll learn how to do it safely. You’ll observe some great instructors both in Paul and in your fellow students. It was a great learning experience and I learned a lot about myself over the course of 6 days.
NOTE: For us east coast guys this course is easily accessible. I flew into Houston and the damage for the flight and rental car was around $550. Paul has barracks at the office for $25 per night and eating out in Nacogdoches is cheap. 6 days of quality instruction for $800 is a steal considering what we pay for most three day courses.
For more information on the drills and instruction read tjcoker’s excellent AAR from Dec 2008. His review is more thorough than anything I could write. I also give him the nod for bringing this course to my attention through his AAR. Reading it made me book this course.
Now I gotta hit the garage and get packed for a fun filled 3 days in NC with Pat Rogers!
Spence