SOT364
08-03-09, 15:18
Gomez International Training
Robust Pistol Manipulations
Americus, GA
August 1-2, 2009
Paul came to Americus to instruct his 2 day Robust Pistol Manipulations Course. For those of you who do not know Paul, he has served in the US Army (with an honorable discharge), as a Peace Officer in the state of Louisiana, as a staff instructor for several nationally recognized shooting schools and as a contract trainer for a government agency.
His RPM class goes in depth into dealing with malfunctions of the handgun with both hands, primary hand only, and support hand only. The maxim range was approximately 5 yards and there were a total of 600 rounds fired over the two day period. This does not sound like a lot of rounds or a great distance from the target, but the time pressure and the manipulations make this a very demanding course for even the advanced shooter.
TD1: Started off with the most comprehensive safety briefing that I have ever heard, anywhere, and from any trainer. Paul had arraigned for a 15 year veteran advanced paramedic to be on scene with his trauma kit, a marked police unit was set up to lead the way to the Emergency Room , with a pickup truck to transport (the range was much closer to the hospital than the EMS service was to either, and with a paramedic of such prowess available it was decided that this was the best course of action), there was a map with directions to the ER located in both vehicles along with keys on the dash and windows down, and the emergency dispatch center was notified at the start and end of each training day as to what was going on at the range and was prepped on what to do if there was an emergency there. He also covered what was to be done in the event of an accident, general range safety rules, and his modification of Colonel Cooper’s original 4 safety rules. Paul used an inert red Glock to so demonstrations on proper gun handling in front of the class and was incredibly safety conscious.
Paul also presented a pressing argument for the need to have basic medical knowledge on how to handle gunshot wounds. He also keeps a small, simple, yet effective combo on his person. It consists of a military field dressing, some duct or medical tape, and a samll tourniquet. With proper training this may give an edge to treat a gunshot wound until EMS arrives, which can can be long enough for the victim to bleed out. He gave of an example of someone might be involved in a shooting and the bad guy is down. However, during the course of the conflict a stray bullet from the bad guy's gun hits someone else (your child, your signifigant other, or an inicent bystander). How weould you feel, if for the rest of your life, you knew that you could have helped that person by rendering basic medical aide until EMS arrived, but because you did not have the tools or training someone you care about died? That is pretty heavy and made me give some serious thought. I will pass along his plea, if you carry a gun then you need basic medical training and the small easily carried tools to deal with gunshot wounds. Go to a proper course if possible, and if not attend a course through your local Red Cross and read up on the subject.
We then did a few drills for Paul to get a feel of where the shooters were at with their skill level and to see if there were any issues with equipment before the class drills started. After getting a feel for the abilities of the students he began to instruct in his beliefs about how a defensive pistol should be carried, run, and set up. He was able to shatter some myths about shooting that some of the students held and opened a lot of eyes.
There was also a discussion on why he does things the way he does, Colonel Cooper’s Color Code (The Mental Trigger) with his addition of Black that he was taught by Greg Hamilton of InSights, the OODA loop concept, Ayoob’s priorities of survival, how to set up a gun for one handed work, and a short lecture on the value of OC spray and how to choose a manufacturer.
He began to teach the 4 count draw, and why it is important, malfunction clearance, trigger control, sighting options, and reloads.
TD2: Students began practicing tasks that would lead up to their final examination. The shooters and their equipment were put to the test and they quickly found out that Paul knows exactly what he is talking about and what he teaches work. The use of dummy training rounds was incorporated into all magazines for the duration of TD2. Students were expected to fix the problem without being told to do so and to fight through it and finish the fight.
Shooting through count 2-4 of the draw from compression to extension and from extension to compression were performed. After this was accomplished safely movement forward and backward through the presentation were incorporated. This is a drill that is taught in South Narc’s ECQC class Paul gave him credit and recommend SNARC as an instructor to learn from. It should be noted that Paul was highly professional throughout the class and gave credit to others if he used material attributed to them.
The final exam came next and was very, very demanding. While all students passed the round count scoring, not everyone passed the timed portion. The timed portion is doable, but one must be on top of his game and have properly set up gear and a squared away mindset. After the class Paul debriefed everyone and there were no negative comments. In fact, all of the students wanted Paul to come back and teach more courses. The class was over 2 hours ahead of schedule, but Paul stated that he was not comfortable with going home early because everyone had taken time away from home and spent their hard earned money to attend the class. He offered to stay as long as anyone wanted and work on some new drills. Everyone gladly accepted the offer.
Paul began to teach grounded drills and movement drills. He then had students set up various malfunctions with their guns and move around behind the line (think tacticool musical chairs) until he gave a command. The student then had to pick up whoever’s gun was in front of the line, fix the problem, and finish the fight. Anyone who wanted to, or never had the chance before, was then allowed to shoot an MP5 and a Smith M&P full size 9mm. A grand time was had by all. This act is genuine Paul as he cares about his students and wants to make sure that he can do everything he can in the amount of time he has to help them any way he can.
Students ranged from those who had never shot a gun before, to graduates of multiple nationally recognized schools, to SWAT guys. There was a college student, a CEO, a marketing director, two SWAT guys, an insurance agent, a Military Officer, the token attorney, the Chief Prosecuting Asst District Attorney, a corporate investigator and a nurse in the class.
Gear was a variety of leather and kydex OWB and IWB strong side holsters with one kydex AIWB. Guns were primarily Glock 17 and 19 with a G22, a Commander size 1911, and a Beretta M9 thrown into the mix. Sights were a variety of XS, Warren, Mepros, and one had a fiber optic front.
Though I have taken classes that Paul has been in before, this is the first that I have seen him instruct. I must say that he is almost Larry Vickers like in his ability to convey knowledge and teach. He is the consummate professional and genuinely cares for his students. I would not hesitate to take another class with him, no matter what the subject. He is currently scheduled to come back in November for knife, women’s unarmed self defense, intro to defensive pistol, and a carbine class.
Also, special thanks to the following for their help and support:
Weapon Shield for sending sample of their wet lube.
Tactical Springs for samples of their Machingunner's Lube.
Slip 200 for samples of their EWL and 725 degreaser.
All three companies sent out enough for all of the shooters to have and I am sure that they will be making indiviual orders in te near future.
Different shooters used samples of all three lubes throughout the class and all performed excpetioanlly. These companies support our community and we should help support them. They are truly some of the best products out there today and we were glad for their help.
Chief James Green of the Americus Police Department for arrainging use of te range and coordinating assistance with EMS and all of the refreshments provided throughout the weekend.
Robust Pistol Manipulations
Americus, GA
August 1-2, 2009
Paul came to Americus to instruct his 2 day Robust Pistol Manipulations Course. For those of you who do not know Paul, he has served in the US Army (with an honorable discharge), as a Peace Officer in the state of Louisiana, as a staff instructor for several nationally recognized shooting schools and as a contract trainer for a government agency.
His RPM class goes in depth into dealing with malfunctions of the handgun with both hands, primary hand only, and support hand only. The maxim range was approximately 5 yards and there were a total of 600 rounds fired over the two day period. This does not sound like a lot of rounds or a great distance from the target, but the time pressure and the manipulations make this a very demanding course for even the advanced shooter.
TD1: Started off with the most comprehensive safety briefing that I have ever heard, anywhere, and from any trainer. Paul had arraigned for a 15 year veteran advanced paramedic to be on scene with his trauma kit, a marked police unit was set up to lead the way to the Emergency Room , with a pickup truck to transport (the range was much closer to the hospital than the EMS service was to either, and with a paramedic of such prowess available it was decided that this was the best course of action), there was a map with directions to the ER located in both vehicles along with keys on the dash and windows down, and the emergency dispatch center was notified at the start and end of each training day as to what was going on at the range and was prepped on what to do if there was an emergency there. He also covered what was to be done in the event of an accident, general range safety rules, and his modification of Colonel Cooper’s original 4 safety rules. Paul used an inert red Glock to so demonstrations on proper gun handling in front of the class and was incredibly safety conscious.
Paul also presented a pressing argument for the need to have basic medical knowledge on how to handle gunshot wounds. He also keeps a small, simple, yet effective combo on his person. It consists of a military field dressing, some duct or medical tape, and a samll tourniquet. With proper training this may give an edge to treat a gunshot wound until EMS arrives, which can can be long enough for the victim to bleed out. He gave of an example of someone might be involved in a shooting and the bad guy is down. However, during the course of the conflict a stray bullet from the bad guy's gun hits someone else (your child, your signifigant other, or an inicent bystander). How weould you feel, if for the rest of your life, you knew that you could have helped that person by rendering basic medical aide until EMS arrived, but because you did not have the tools or training someone you care about died? That is pretty heavy and made me give some serious thought. I will pass along his plea, if you carry a gun then you need basic medical training and the small easily carried tools to deal with gunshot wounds. Go to a proper course if possible, and if not attend a course through your local Red Cross and read up on the subject.
We then did a few drills for Paul to get a feel of where the shooters were at with their skill level and to see if there were any issues with equipment before the class drills started. After getting a feel for the abilities of the students he began to instruct in his beliefs about how a defensive pistol should be carried, run, and set up. He was able to shatter some myths about shooting that some of the students held and opened a lot of eyes.
There was also a discussion on why he does things the way he does, Colonel Cooper’s Color Code (The Mental Trigger) with his addition of Black that he was taught by Greg Hamilton of InSights, the OODA loop concept, Ayoob’s priorities of survival, how to set up a gun for one handed work, and a short lecture on the value of OC spray and how to choose a manufacturer.
He began to teach the 4 count draw, and why it is important, malfunction clearance, trigger control, sighting options, and reloads.
TD2: Students began practicing tasks that would lead up to their final examination. The shooters and their equipment were put to the test and they quickly found out that Paul knows exactly what he is talking about and what he teaches work. The use of dummy training rounds was incorporated into all magazines for the duration of TD2. Students were expected to fix the problem without being told to do so and to fight through it and finish the fight.
Shooting through count 2-4 of the draw from compression to extension and from extension to compression were performed. After this was accomplished safely movement forward and backward through the presentation were incorporated. This is a drill that is taught in South Narc’s ECQC class Paul gave him credit and recommend SNARC as an instructor to learn from. It should be noted that Paul was highly professional throughout the class and gave credit to others if he used material attributed to them.
The final exam came next and was very, very demanding. While all students passed the round count scoring, not everyone passed the timed portion. The timed portion is doable, but one must be on top of his game and have properly set up gear and a squared away mindset. After the class Paul debriefed everyone and there were no negative comments. In fact, all of the students wanted Paul to come back and teach more courses. The class was over 2 hours ahead of schedule, but Paul stated that he was not comfortable with going home early because everyone had taken time away from home and spent their hard earned money to attend the class. He offered to stay as long as anyone wanted and work on some new drills. Everyone gladly accepted the offer.
Paul began to teach grounded drills and movement drills. He then had students set up various malfunctions with their guns and move around behind the line (think tacticool musical chairs) until he gave a command. The student then had to pick up whoever’s gun was in front of the line, fix the problem, and finish the fight. Anyone who wanted to, or never had the chance before, was then allowed to shoot an MP5 and a Smith M&P full size 9mm. A grand time was had by all. This act is genuine Paul as he cares about his students and wants to make sure that he can do everything he can in the amount of time he has to help them any way he can.
Students ranged from those who had never shot a gun before, to graduates of multiple nationally recognized schools, to SWAT guys. There was a college student, a CEO, a marketing director, two SWAT guys, an insurance agent, a Military Officer, the token attorney, the Chief Prosecuting Asst District Attorney, a corporate investigator and a nurse in the class.
Gear was a variety of leather and kydex OWB and IWB strong side holsters with one kydex AIWB. Guns were primarily Glock 17 and 19 with a G22, a Commander size 1911, and a Beretta M9 thrown into the mix. Sights were a variety of XS, Warren, Mepros, and one had a fiber optic front.
Though I have taken classes that Paul has been in before, this is the first that I have seen him instruct. I must say that he is almost Larry Vickers like in his ability to convey knowledge and teach. He is the consummate professional and genuinely cares for his students. I would not hesitate to take another class with him, no matter what the subject. He is currently scheduled to come back in November for knife, women’s unarmed self defense, intro to defensive pistol, and a carbine class.
Also, special thanks to the following for their help and support:
Weapon Shield for sending sample of their wet lube.
Tactical Springs for samples of their Machingunner's Lube.
Slip 200 for samples of their EWL and 725 degreaser.
All three companies sent out enough for all of the shooters to have and I am sure that they will be making indiviual orders in te near future.
Different shooters used samples of all three lubes throughout the class and all performed excpetioanlly. These companies support our community and we should help support them. They are truly some of the best products out there today and we were glad for their help.
Chief James Green of the Americus Police Department for arrainging use of te range and coordinating assistance with EMS and all of the refreshments provided throughout the weekend.