NCPatrolAR
07-31-11, 11:07
Pulled from another forum
Just got back from two days of training (23-24 July 2011) with Defensive Concepts North Carolina. The course was held in Carthage, NC. The two days of training was actually two different classes, the first day being Defensive Handgun and the second being Defensive Handgun: Shooting On The Move (SOTM). Chris is a regional instructor for Vickers Shooting Method, and this was obvious during the classes, with accurate hits on target being stressed above all else. Weather was hot and muggy, though I don't know the temperature. Plenty of breaks for hydration were provided, as well frequent reminders to hydrate. There were isolated showers the first day and what would best be described as a short monsoon season toward the end of the second day. The weapons were mostly Glocks, a few M&P's, an XD, one Ruger SR9C, and a CZ PO1.
I was running a Glock 35 in .40 S&W, with factory magazines. Ammunition was a mix of Federal American Eagle, Winchester White Box, and Speer Lawman, all 180-grain FMJ. I also had some TulAmmo, but didn't end up having to use it. I experienced one malfunction, which I believe was a result of me fumble-****ing a reload, not fully seating the magazine.
Day One started around 0800, with a safety brief and group hug session, quick introductions from all the students and a brief bio from the instructors, Chris and Steve. After that, we headed downrange to fire a quick diagnostic assessment, followed by a course of instruction on the fundamentals, focusing on sight alignment/sight picture and trigger control, which was stressed throughout both days. We also covered proper grip and stance at this time. Following this, we performed some dry fire drills, allowing everyone to warm up and practice the areas we just covered. Next, we partnered up and continued the dry firing, this time with our partner placing a piece of brass on the front sight to check for movement during the trigger press.
Moving on to live fire, we stayed partnered up to conduct ball and dummy drills, with our partner setting up either a live round or an empty chamber. At this point, I began seeing the issue that would plague me for the rest of the weekend, anticipating recoil. Though my front sight remains rock steady when I know the gun is dry, I discovered I've developed a habit of cranking down with a convulsive death grip when I expect a round to the fired, driving my rounds consistently low and left. I'll blame the mental anguish this caused for my poor memory of the sequence of events for the rest of the day, so Chris, if you read this and I left anything out or mixed up the order, let me know.
We spent the rest of the time before lunch on drills focused mainly on the fundamentals, including trigger reset, with the element of time introduced as we progressed. We also covered proper draw stroke, followed by slide lock reload. While DCNC advocates one method of the slide lock reload, all common variations were covered, including slingshot, overhand rack, support hand slide release, and dominant hand slide release. After everyone had had a chance to try all four methods, we each tried a reload drill using each method on a shot timer, with surprising results for several of us. Though I have always trained to use the overhand rack, and never with the slide release, I was significantly faster with both the dominant hand and support hand slide release methods. The pros and cons of each method were explained in detail.
Also covered on the first day was malfunction clearance. Simple, effective, common sense solutions to common malfunctions (Type 1, 2 and 3) were given, followed by drills to practice each. The day ended with some steel shooting, doing a little competitive drill of which I forget the name. This drill enforced another point that was stressed throughout the class; fire only as quickly as you can get your hits. I, for example, finished the drill in 24.88, but with (IIRC) three misses. Another student finished in 19.something, also with three or four misses. The winner shot the drill in about 32.40...with eighteen hits on steel. You can't miss fast enough to win.
Day Two (SOTM)
Six students attended the SOTM class, five from the previous day and one new guy. We started around 0800 again, with another safety brief and group intro. The weather was again hot and muggy. We moved straight into the meat of the class after another quick diagnostic assesment. The first thing covered was Position Sul. The smaller class size allowed a few more repetitions of each drill and more time for individual attention, which is always a good thing. Next thing covered was shooting while moving forward. After a period of instruction on the basics of shooting while moving, we tried a few repetitions of moving from the 25 to the 5 or so while shooting on command. Throughout the class we used a crawl/walk/run evolution, usually starting with no weapon, then moving to dry with a weapon drawn, then actually doing it live.
After shooting moving forward live, we went back to static shooting, doing a couple of excellent drills to improve our ability to “work in the wobble” and get out hits in. These drills were excellent, and hits on target quickly improved for myself and all students I observed when we applied this principle to the moving drills again. Next, we switched to moving backwards, again doing the crawl/walk/run thing. Before breaking for lunch a little early, we did some short lateral movement, sidestepping while engaging.
After lunch, we did lateral movement while walking, and then covered diagonal movement to the rear. It was during the dry portion of this that I learned another failing of mine, namely my inability to tell right from left. This of course led to mockery from Chris, and laughter the other students. My burning sense of shame ensured that I listened closely to instructions...until the next time I moved right when he said left, during a lateral walking drill. Listen closely to range commands. Luckily, while I am clearly well below average intelligence, my actions didn't create a safety hazard and no one had to tackle me and chuck me off the range.
Around this time, we experienced the first heavy rain of the day, which nearly ended the class. It also provided me the opportunity to fix my holster; apparently, Blade-Tech does not believe in Loctite. When I removed my belt to put on my rain jacket, my WRS holster seperated from the DOH attachment. Thanks to Raven Concealment, I had plenty of extra hardware and secured the holster while we waited for the rain to end. When it slacked off, we moved back downrange and finished out the day with U-drills and Snake drills on steel, which included the use of position sul, shooting while moving forward and backward, and multiple targets. Again, the principle of shooting no faster than you can make the hits was reinforced.
Summary
Defensive Concepts NC provides high quality training at a price that cannot be beaten. At $150.00 per day, the tuition cost is within the reach of many people who can't justify spending three or four hundred bucks on tuition to one of the other big companies that offer similar training. Best of all, you are in no way getting a discount service for a discount rate; Chris and Steve have plenty of experience and best of all, are excellent instructors who are more than capable of communicating the information in an easy to understand manner. The atmosphere of the class was relaxed and friendly, but safety and the seriousness of the subject matter was apparent at all times. They do not provide a forum for high round count ballistic masturbation, but training focused on the application of the fundamentals to allow you to get quality hits on target in the most efficient manner possible.
I'm now back home, Glock scrubbed down, equipment put away, and plenty of red Loctite applied to the attachment screws on my holster. I left the class with a realistic (and humbling) appraisal of my skills, a clear idea of what I need to fix and how to do so, and even some ammo left over to get started. As soon as possible, I'll be back for more training with Defensive Concepts NC, and I'd advise anyone who is interested in improving their shooting skills to do the same as soon as possible.
Just got back from two days of training (23-24 July 2011) with Defensive Concepts North Carolina. The course was held in Carthage, NC. The two days of training was actually two different classes, the first day being Defensive Handgun and the second being Defensive Handgun: Shooting On The Move (SOTM). Chris is a regional instructor for Vickers Shooting Method, and this was obvious during the classes, with accurate hits on target being stressed above all else. Weather was hot and muggy, though I don't know the temperature. Plenty of breaks for hydration were provided, as well frequent reminders to hydrate. There were isolated showers the first day and what would best be described as a short monsoon season toward the end of the second day. The weapons were mostly Glocks, a few M&P's, an XD, one Ruger SR9C, and a CZ PO1.
I was running a Glock 35 in .40 S&W, with factory magazines. Ammunition was a mix of Federal American Eagle, Winchester White Box, and Speer Lawman, all 180-grain FMJ. I also had some TulAmmo, but didn't end up having to use it. I experienced one malfunction, which I believe was a result of me fumble-****ing a reload, not fully seating the magazine.
Day One started around 0800, with a safety brief and group hug session, quick introductions from all the students and a brief bio from the instructors, Chris and Steve. After that, we headed downrange to fire a quick diagnostic assessment, followed by a course of instruction on the fundamentals, focusing on sight alignment/sight picture and trigger control, which was stressed throughout both days. We also covered proper grip and stance at this time. Following this, we performed some dry fire drills, allowing everyone to warm up and practice the areas we just covered. Next, we partnered up and continued the dry firing, this time with our partner placing a piece of brass on the front sight to check for movement during the trigger press.
Moving on to live fire, we stayed partnered up to conduct ball and dummy drills, with our partner setting up either a live round or an empty chamber. At this point, I began seeing the issue that would plague me for the rest of the weekend, anticipating recoil. Though my front sight remains rock steady when I know the gun is dry, I discovered I've developed a habit of cranking down with a convulsive death grip when I expect a round to the fired, driving my rounds consistently low and left. I'll blame the mental anguish this caused for my poor memory of the sequence of events for the rest of the day, so Chris, if you read this and I left anything out or mixed up the order, let me know.
We spent the rest of the time before lunch on drills focused mainly on the fundamentals, including trigger reset, with the element of time introduced as we progressed. We also covered proper draw stroke, followed by slide lock reload. While DCNC advocates one method of the slide lock reload, all common variations were covered, including slingshot, overhand rack, support hand slide release, and dominant hand slide release. After everyone had had a chance to try all four methods, we each tried a reload drill using each method on a shot timer, with surprising results for several of us. Though I have always trained to use the overhand rack, and never with the slide release, I was significantly faster with both the dominant hand and support hand slide release methods. The pros and cons of each method were explained in detail.
Also covered on the first day was malfunction clearance. Simple, effective, common sense solutions to common malfunctions (Type 1, 2 and 3) were given, followed by drills to practice each. The day ended with some steel shooting, doing a little competitive drill of which I forget the name. This drill enforced another point that was stressed throughout the class; fire only as quickly as you can get your hits. I, for example, finished the drill in 24.88, but with (IIRC) three misses. Another student finished in 19.something, also with three or four misses. The winner shot the drill in about 32.40...with eighteen hits on steel. You can't miss fast enough to win.
Day Two (SOTM)
Six students attended the SOTM class, five from the previous day and one new guy. We started around 0800 again, with another safety brief and group intro. The weather was again hot and muggy. We moved straight into the meat of the class after another quick diagnostic assesment. The first thing covered was Position Sul. The smaller class size allowed a few more repetitions of each drill and more time for individual attention, which is always a good thing. Next thing covered was shooting while moving forward. After a period of instruction on the basics of shooting while moving, we tried a few repetitions of moving from the 25 to the 5 or so while shooting on command. Throughout the class we used a crawl/walk/run evolution, usually starting with no weapon, then moving to dry with a weapon drawn, then actually doing it live.
After shooting moving forward live, we went back to static shooting, doing a couple of excellent drills to improve our ability to “work in the wobble” and get out hits in. These drills were excellent, and hits on target quickly improved for myself and all students I observed when we applied this principle to the moving drills again. Next, we switched to moving backwards, again doing the crawl/walk/run thing. Before breaking for lunch a little early, we did some short lateral movement, sidestepping while engaging.
After lunch, we did lateral movement while walking, and then covered diagonal movement to the rear. It was during the dry portion of this that I learned another failing of mine, namely my inability to tell right from left. This of course led to mockery from Chris, and laughter the other students. My burning sense of shame ensured that I listened closely to instructions...until the next time I moved right when he said left, during a lateral walking drill. Listen closely to range commands. Luckily, while I am clearly well below average intelligence, my actions didn't create a safety hazard and no one had to tackle me and chuck me off the range.
Around this time, we experienced the first heavy rain of the day, which nearly ended the class. It also provided me the opportunity to fix my holster; apparently, Blade-Tech does not believe in Loctite. When I removed my belt to put on my rain jacket, my WRS holster seperated from the DOH attachment. Thanks to Raven Concealment, I had plenty of extra hardware and secured the holster while we waited for the rain to end. When it slacked off, we moved back downrange and finished out the day with U-drills and Snake drills on steel, which included the use of position sul, shooting while moving forward and backward, and multiple targets. Again, the principle of shooting no faster than you can make the hits was reinforced.
Summary
Defensive Concepts NC provides high quality training at a price that cannot be beaten. At $150.00 per day, the tuition cost is within the reach of many people who can't justify spending three or four hundred bucks on tuition to one of the other big companies that offer similar training. Best of all, you are in no way getting a discount service for a discount rate; Chris and Steve have plenty of experience and best of all, are excellent instructors who are more than capable of communicating the information in an easy to understand manner. The atmosphere of the class was relaxed and friendly, but safety and the seriousness of the subject matter was apparent at all times. They do not provide a forum for high round count ballistic masturbation, but training focused on the application of the fundamentals to allow you to get quality hits on target in the most efficient manner possible.
I'm now back home, Glock scrubbed down, equipment put away, and plenty of red Loctite applied to the attachment screws on my holster. I left the class with a realistic (and humbling) appraisal of my skills, a clear idea of what I need to fix and how to do so, and even some ammo left over to get started. As soon as possible, I'll be back for more training with Defensive Concepts NC, and I'd advise anyone who is interested in improving their shooting skills to do the same as soon as possible.