I was up in Epping, NH this week taking Intermediate Handgun Skills, Intro to Defensive Shooting, aka Handgun 103. This is considered an intermediate course that focuses on practical shooting scenarios, skill improvement, and defensive shooting scenarios.
Class check-in is 8:15, with the class starting around 8:30. Scheduled end time is 4:00-5:00, depending on when you finish the course of fire.
Prerequisites: Sig says this is an intermediate/advanced class, and they recommend you take Handgun 102 prior to this course. I wasn't sure how I would stack up, but I had no problems. Essentially, you should be proficient with your chosen gun, able to draw from a holster and shoot, be able to move around while handling your gun, and be competent loading, reloading, and shooting a lot. No one in my class had any problems that I noticed, no one got swept, and no one, as they like to say, left with more holes than they showed up with.
Instructors: The instructors for the day were Tim Arnold and Dylan Kenneson. Both were very good instructors, professional, and on occasion funny. Tim was the main instructor with Dylan filling in for an hour or so while Tim had to go work on something.
Course of fire: The class started with us lining up on the 7 yard line and doing some basic skills reviews and shooting exercises. Throughout the course, Tim covered fundamentals such as sight picture, explained trigger pull/jerking, and worked with us to improve shooting fundamentals in a helpful way. We talked about dead time versus live time, the importance of spending your time getting a good shot, and that accurate comes before fast. Of course, the class was taught in the context of self-defense.
From this point, the range was considered hot, and all shooting was done from the holster.
- We shot from 3 yards to 30 yards, and talked about how your perception of the target changes at distance, but the target size does not.
- We did single and multiple target exercises, discussed target orders(it's up to you as long as you shoot them all before they shoot you)
- We shot at a lot of different ranges, and ended the morning with a steel plate elimination, which, no, I didn't win.
For lunch I went to Goody Coles BBQ and had a pretty good bbq chicken lunch for about $10.
The afternoon session featured a lot of shooting, but also other things you don't often think about.
- Shooting while moving - Forward, backward, sideways, single and multiple targets
- How to move - maintaining balance, looking competent/authoritative/professional, not jumping around
- Strong hand/Weak hand shooting
- Communications - What to say, and to whom, to help get people safe, deal with the aggressor, and let future witnesses know you were the good guy. Good: "Drop the gun! Don't make me shoot you!" Bad: "Drop the gun or I'll cap you mother-******!"
- Moving towards and away from the threat, whether for cover, or to get to loved ones, etc.
- Scanning and clearing - looking around after the shoot, how to check behind you without waving your gun around menacingly.
- Reloading while shooting - tactical(drop mag), slow(replace mag), etc(whatever else)
We finished the course of fire a bit early(just before 4) so we did some extra fun stuff and ended the day with some fast shooting drills moving towards and away from the target while unloading on them. That was a lot of fun. We then did a quick steel plate competition, which I also didn't win.
The main things that Tim focused on were that 1) you have to practice for real life, because your 'muscle memory' (which is more than that in this context) will make you behave the way you train, so that you don't want to develop bad shooting habits at the range; they will become bad habits when your life is on the line; 2) always keep training and practicing, no one is ever done; and 3) that Sig teaches a way of shooting, not the way, and that through practice and further training you will become a proficient shooter and learn what works for you, which will give you the best chance to survive a shooting encounter.
Comment: During the breaks, I and the other Mass-folk got to regale the Free-Staters with our tales of woe, licensing, and ammo-hunting. They thought it was like talking to someone in another country. And they were glad of their freedom.
Conclusion: Overall, I enjoyed the class very much. I learned a lot, and while some parts of the class were a bit basic, we shot a lot, I learned quite a few things, got a refresher on a few things, improved my fundamentals, and ran scenarios I don't run very often. The estimated round count for the class is 300; We shot closer to 450. For $200, I'd say it's a pretty cheap day. I would definitely recommend this to someone who wants to improve their shooting, and learn more about shooting in the self-defense context.
Class check-in is 8:15, with the class starting around 8:30. Scheduled end time is 4:00-5:00, depending on when you finish the course of fire.
Prerequisites: Sig says this is an intermediate/advanced class, and they recommend you take Handgun 102 prior to this course. I wasn't sure how I would stack up, but I had no problems. Essentially, you should be proficient with your chosen gun, able to draw from a holster and shoot, be able to move around while handling your gun, and be competent loading, reloading, and shooting a lot. No one in my class had any problems that I noticed, no one got swept, and no one, as they like to say, left with more holes than they showed up with.
Instructors: The instructors for the day were Tim Arnold and Dylan Kenneson. Both were very good instructors, professional, and on occasion funny. Tim was the main instructor with Dylan filling in for an hour or so while Tim had to go work on something.
Course of fire: The class started with us lining up on the 7 yard line and doing some basic skills reviews and shooting exercises. Throughout the course, Tim covered fundamentals such as sight picture, explained trigger pull/jerking, and worked with us to improve shooting fundamentals in a helpful way. We talked about dead time versus live time, the importance of spending your time getting a good shot, and that accurate comes before fast. Of course, the class was taught in the context of self-defense.
From this point, the range was considered hot, and all shooting was done from the holster.
- We shot from 3 yards to 30 yards, and talked about how your perception of the target changes at distance, but the target size does not.
- We did single and multiple target exercises, discussed target orders(it's up to you as long as you shoot them all before they shoot you)
- We shot at a lot of different ranges, and ended the morning with a steel plate elimination, which, no, I didn't win.
For lunch I went to Goody Coles BBQ and had a pretty good bbq chicken lunch for about $10.
The afternoon session featured a lot of shooting, but also other things you don't often think about.
- Shooting while moving - Forward, backward, sideways, single and multiple targets
- How to move - maintaining balance, looking competent/authoritative/professional, not jumping around
- Strong hand/Weak hand shooting
- Communications - What to say, and to whom, to help get people safe, deal with the aggressor, and let future witnesses know you were the good guy. Good: "Drop the gun! Don't make me shoot you!" Bad: "Drop the gun or I'll cap you mother-******!"
- Moving towards and away from the threat, whether for cover, or to get to loved ones, etc.
- Scanning and clearing - looking around after the shoot, how to check behind you without waving your gun around menacingly.
- Reloading while shooting - tactical(drop mag), slow(replace mag), etc(whatever else)
We finished the course of fire a bit early(just before 4) so we did some extra fun stuff and ended the day with some fast shooting drills moving towards and away from the target while unloading on them. That was a lot of fun. We then did a quick steel plate competition, which I also didn't win.
The main things that Tim focused on were that 1) you have to practice for real life, because your 'muscle memory' (which is more than that in this context) will make you behave the way you train, so that you don't want to develop bad shooting habits at the range; they will become bad habits when your life is on the line; 2) always keep training and practicing, no one is ever done; and 3) that Sig teaches a way of shooting, not the way, and that through practice and further training you will become a proficient shooter and learn what works for you, which will give you the best chance to survive a shooting encounter.
Comment: During the breaks, I and the other Mass-folk got to regale the Free-Staters with our tales of woe, licensing, and ammo-hunting. They thought it was like talking to someone in another country. And they were glad of their freedom.
Conclusion: Overall, I enjoyed the class very much. I learned a lot, and while some parts of the class were a bit basic, we shot a lot, I learned quite a few things, got a refresher on a few things, improved my fundamentals, and ran scenarios I don't run very often. The estimated round count for the class is 300; We shot closer to 450. For $200, I'd say it's a pretty cheap day. I would definitely recommend this to someone who wants to improve their shooting, and learn more about shooting in the self-defense context.
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