July 11, 2019
Weather: cloudy – sunny 75-82 w/ a slight breeze
Time: 11:30 - 4:30
Gear:
Round Count: 250-275 Fiocchi 115 gr. FMJ, Fiocchi 95 gr. FMJ
--
Ben drove down from NY to meet us at our range in New Bedford MA, we set up in our private pistol bay with three paper targets and one steel IPSA target.
Kate had taken Ben’s medical class LIFE SAVER TRAUMA MED CLASS last winter so no introductions were necessary. We did our safety and medical briefings along with the procedure if there was a training accident. Who to call? and what to say. This was Kate first time shooting a semi-auto pistol and using a holster. I had taken her previously to an inside range with a .22 revolver and a .22 rifle. Today she had anxiety about the recoil and making mistakes in front of Ben. I assured her that she was going to be fine and we all make mistakes, that was part of the learning process. Of all the instructors I have trained with Ben would be perfect for her as he is bright, funny, knows his shit, and has a unique gift of teaching in a way that you don’t realize you are being instructed to or at. He really cares about his students and it shows immensely in the transfer of skill and technique into you.
We spent some time learning how to properly load, chamber a round and unload her pistol. She had some difficulty racking the slide as her hands and arms don’t have much strength yet. She got it, with the sling-shot technique. Ben showed her how to align the sights correctly and where to aim at the target (sight picture). Ben showed her the proper way to hold the pistol, grip, arms, shoulders and the way she should balance her body with her shoulders forward of her hips. She was put into a fighting stance and we were ready to go live. (f*** IT! DO IT LIVE! In Bill O’Rielly’s voice)
The first two shots she took she was overly tense and you could see she was absolutely terrified of the recoil. He had her holster up and went over the correct form again, adjusting her body where it needed to be adjusted. He had her do a mag dump as fast as she could, eject the magazine, insert and a new one, chamber a round and re-holster Relax, shake out, draw, aim and fire the entire magazine as fast as you can get the sights back on target. Ben did this to allow her to get use to the loud noise and the felt recoil and it seemed to have worked. {Good job Ben and Kate!}
I was to the left of Ben and Kate was to the right of him, I had to fight the urge to explain what Ben was telling her in her dad’s voice and I had to fight the urge to correct her. He was the instructor and I was a student as well. We were shooting from the 7-yard line into a B8 target. She was all over the place until Ben adjusted her grip. She was now mostly on paper, it was hard watching her get frustrated as she has always succeeded with ease and her standards are always way too high. She’s a perfectionist with a diagnosed OCD. As her dad, this was soooo difficult to not step in, but this was an important life lesson that she needed to do herself.
After a few mags at the 7-yard line working from the holster, correctly presenting, lining up sights and slowly pulling the trigger to the rear we changed targets and moved to 3 yards from our targets. She was getting more comfortable and becoming combat effective with her hits.
We varied by the round count, 1, 2 or 3 shots before going back into the holster. We moved various distances from the target and Ben was more concerned about her technique and safety rather than dialing in her shots into the bullseye. We broke for some lunch, hydrated and sat around chatting about all things. Kate and Ben bonded on their love of horror movies and horror TV shows (YUCK! Not my favorites and I was getting an education on all the movies she had seen without parental approval. We had a rule. What happens on the range stays on the range and will never be held against her or ME!)
After the break, we were back at the 7-yard line. During her first shots of the first mag. Ben called a COLD RANGE, holster up. He called me over to her target and pointed out a perfect bullseye dead center. He made comments about how she should do exactly that over and over again. I opened my big mouth saying, if you can put the next bullet into that hole, I’ll give you $100 cash. MOTHER f***ER did not do just that! Ben laughed his ass off! I was like f*** ME!, the wife is goin’be pissed, but I was a proud papa!! Ben would not let me live that down all day. He claims every class I am in he will make sure everyone knows how I lost a quick c-note. (I love Ben, it was all done in good fun! f***er!)
We moved to the twenty-yard line and Kate shot at the steel target. She missed all 8 shots (full mag) Ben handed her his Glock 17 with an RMR and she hit five out of ten with his edc gat. She loved hearing the steel ring at that distance. We moved forward and a little off center to the ten-yard line, she hit more than she missed with her M&P EZ 380.
As the afternoon went on she was getting tired and her arms were getting worn out. She was done for the day and Ben and I did a few drills. One drill had 8 black boxes each with a number one or two. He would set a pattern and I was to follow it. On one iteration I completely f***ed up every aspect of the sequence and round count. My brain was fighting the pattern that was set and I ended up with 100% failure on everything. Wrong sequence, wrong number of shots in each box and missed more than half of the boxes. I don’t know how that happened. Ben gave me some ribbin’ and it was well deserved. I did not care too much, ‘casue it showed my daughter her daddy could absolutely f***up a drill from top to bottom. The next iteration I did it correctly and we moved on….
Our last drill was working with our RMR offsets. (The one hole drill) We were at the three-yard line and Ben shot a hole in a random place in the target, I had to hit his hole, and he then touches my hole (the jokes were there) and we continue until the hole gets too big.
We cleaned up, debriefed and went home.
This was a great afternoon lesson for Kate and myself. Ben is SUPER knowledgeable, VERY patient and (KINDA) funny. Kate loved him and he invited her to his Dark Angle Medical Class next year and his defensive pistol in the fall of this year. We plan on going to the range weekly to practice the skills she learned and get her more time behind the gun.
I was not impressed with the M&P EZ 380 and want her to get into a full-size 9mm as soon as she can rack the slide of my Glock 48 or M&P 2.0 in 9mm. We had some issues with FFE and with the grip safety. She really liked the “red-dot” on mine and Ben’s pistols. Once she learns iron sights better I will be upgrading her pistol to a HOLOSUN HS507C.
I have said “…Ben DeWalt, OnSight Firearms Training is the BEST KEPT SECRET within the firearms training community...”
##
READ MY DAUGHTER KATE'S AAR HERE---> OnSight Firearms Training PRIVATE LESSON written by a 14 yr old girl
Weather: cloudy – sunny 75-82 w/ a slight breeze
Time: 11:30 - 4:30
Gear:
ME:
M&P 2.0 compact w/rmr, apex duty trigger, Big dots.
5 magazines
Harry’s AIWB
Mean Jean leather belt
My Daughter Kate (14yrs)
M&P EZ .380 (standard configuration)
4 magazines
OWB (some ebay rig)
Kore gun belt
M&P 2.0 compact w/rmr, apex duty trigger, Big dots.
5 magazines
Harry’s AIWB
Mean Jean leather belt
My Daughter Kate (14yrs)
M&P EZ .380 (standard configuration)
4 magazines
OWB (some ebay rig)
Kore gun belt
Round Count: 250-275 Fiocchi 115 gr. FMJ, Fiocchi 95 gr. FMJ
--
Ben drove down from NY to meet us at our range in New Bedford MA, we set up in our private pistol bay with three paper targets and one steel IPSA target.
Kate had taken Ben’s medical class LIFE SAVER TRAUMA MED CLASS last winter so no introductions were necessary. We did our safety and medical briefings along with the procedure if there was a training accident. Who to call? and what to say. This was Kate first time shooting a semi-auto pistol and using a holster. I had taken her previously to an inside range with a .22 revolver and a .22 rifle. Today she had anxiety about the recoil and making mistakes in front of Ben. I assured her that she was going to be fine and we all make mistakes, that was part of the learning process. Of all the instructors I have trained with Ben would be perfect for her as he is bright, funny, knows his shit, and has a unique gift of teaching in a way that you don’t realize you are being instructed to or at. He really cares about his students and it shows immensely in the transfer of skill and technique into you.
We spent some time learning how to properly load, chamber a round and unload her pistol. She had some difficulty racking the slide as her hands and arms don’t have much strength yet. She got it, with the sling-shot technique. Ben showed her how to align the sights correctly and where to aim at the target (sight picture). Ben showed her the proper way to hold the pistol, grip, arms, shoulders and the way she should balance her body with her shoulders forward of her hips. She was put into a fighting stance and we were ready to go live. (f*** IT! DO IT LIVE! In Bill O’Rielly’s voice)
The first two shots she took she was overly tense and you could see she was absolutely terrified of the recoil. He had her holster up and went over the correct form again, adjusting her body where it needed to be adjusted. He had her do a mag dump as fast as she could, eject the magazine, insert and a new one, chamber a round and re-holster Relax, shake out, draw, aim and fire the entire magazine as fast as you can get the sights back on target. Ben did this to allow her to get use to the loud noise and the felt recoil and it seemed to have worked. {Good job Ben and Kate!}
I was to the left of Ben and Kate was to the right of him, I had to fight the urge to explain what Ben was telling her in her dad’s voice and I had to fight the urge to correct her. He was the instructor and I was a student as well. We were shooting from the 7-yard line into a B8 target. She was all over the place until Ben adjusted her grip. She was now mostly on paper, it was hard watching her get frustrated as she has always succeeded with ease and her standards are always way too high. She’s a perfectionist with a diagnosed OCD. As her dad, this was soooo difficult to not step in, but this was an important life lesson that she needed to do herself.
After a few mags at the 7-yard line working from the holster, correctly presenting, lining up sights and slowly pulling the trigger to the rear we changed targets and moved to 3 yards from our targets. She was getting more comfortable and becoming combat effective with her hits.
We varied by the round count, 1, 2 or 3 shots before going back into the holster. We moved various distances from the target and Ben was more concerned about her technique and safety rather than dialing in her shots into the bullseye. We broke for some lunch, hydrated and sat around chatting about all things. Kate and Ben bonded on their love of horror movies and horror TV shows (YUCK! Not my favorites and I was getting an education on all the movies she had seen without parental approval. We had a rule. What happens on the range stays on the range and will never be held against her or ME!)
After the break, we were back at the 7-yard line. During her first shots of the first mag. Ben called a COLD RANGE, holster up. He called me over to her target and pointed out a perfect bullseye dead center. He made comments about how she should do exactly that over and over again. I opened my big mouth saying, if you can put the next bullet into that hole, I’ll give you $100 cash. MOTHER f***ER did not do just that! Ben laughed his ass off! I was like f*** ME!, the wife is goin’be pissed, but I was a proud papa!! Ben would not let me live that down all day. He claims every class I am in he will make sure everyone knows how I lost a quick c-note. (I love Ben, it was all done in good fun! f***er!)
We moved to the twenty-yard line and Kate shot at the steel target. She missed all 8 shots (full mag) Ben handed her his Glock 17 with an RMR and she hit five out of ten with his edc gat. She loved hearing the steel ring at that distance. We moved forward and a little off center to the ten-yard line, she hit more than she missed with her M&P EZ 380.
As the afternoon went on she was getting tired and her arms were getting worn out. She was done for the day and Ben and I did a few drills. One drill had 8 black boxes each with a number one or two. He would set a pattern and I was to follow it. On one iteration I completely f***ed up every aspect of the sequence and round count. My brain was fighting the pattern that was set and I ended up with 100% failure on everything. Wrong sequence, wrong number of shots in each box and missed more than half of the boxes. I don’t know how that happened. Ben gave me some ribbin’ and it was well deserved. I did not care too much, ‘casue it showed my daughter her daddy could absolutely f***up a drill from top to bottom. The next iteration I did it correctly and we moved on….
Our last drill was working with our RMR offsets. (The one hole drill) We were at the three-yard line and Ben shot a hole in a random place in the target, I had to hit his hole, and he then touches my hole (the jokes were there) and we continue until the hole gets too big.
We cleaned up, debriefed and went home.
This was a great afternoon lesson for Kate and myself. Ben is SUPER knowledgeable, VERY patient and (KINDA) funny. Kate loved him and he invited her to his Dark Angle Medical Class next year and his defensive pistol in the fall of this year. We plan on going to the range weekly to practice the skills she learned and get her more time behind the gun.
I was not impressed with the M&P EZ 380 and want her to get into a full-size 9mm as soon as she can rack the slide of my Glock 48 or M&P 2.0 in 9mm. We had some issues with FFE and with the grip safety. She really liked the “red-dot” on mine and Ben’s pistols. Once she learns iron sights better I will be upgrading her pistol to a HOLOSUN HS507C.
I have said “…Ben DeWalt, OnSight Firearms Training is the BEST KEPT SECRET within the firearms training community...”
##
READ MY DAUGHTER KATE'S AAR HERE---> OnSight Firearms Training PRIVATE LESSON written by a 14 yr old girl
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