AZ Trip

I have been inspired to start "blogging" by a recent trip to Arizona. I have recently taken up the hobby of shooting and firearms collecting and because of this, attended the Basic Defensive Pistol (#250) course at the Gunsite Academy. The Academy is located about 2 hours North of Phoenix in Paulden, Arizona. Don't forget to look at the photos at the end of this post.

There were a lot of "firsts" with this trip. This was my first ride on a jet (and incidentally, my first time traveling at 35,000 feet at 560MPH). It was my first time being so far away from home. Up until this point, I had only ever traveled 300 miles away by car. This was my first time traveling far enough to be out of my time zone. Pretty amazing considering that I am 28. Obviously this was my first time in Southwestern USA. Hmmm... what other firsts? Well, it was my first time ever seeing mountains and other beautiful desert scenery. First time driving somewhere where the speed limit was 75MPH! It was my first time shopping in a Safeway grocery store and my first time eating Sonic burgers (mmmm... banana milk shakes). It was my first "real" vacation, even though it was an educational vacation. I was up by 6:30 AM every day. Many of the things I learned at Gunsite were "firsts" for me as well.

If I gave a review of the Gunsite Academy 250 course by explaining what we did each day, there would be waaaay too much to write (and read). Instead, I'll try to touch on the course concepts and techniques and what I learned. The course consisted of classroom lectures and range time practicing the techniques. As luck would have it, northern Arizona was experiencing record low temperatures... and so was I every day out on the range! I used my first owned and favorite pistol for the course - my Kimber Custom TLE II .45 cal 1911. I used my Wilson #47 (7 round) magazines and the supplied PMC 230 grain FMJ cartridges. My equipment performed flawlessly.

The course started with a safe firearms handling lecture and the principles were continually drummed into our heads. Much emphasis was given to the Four Rules of firearms safety:
1. All guns are always loaded
2. Never point a gun at something you are not willing to destroy
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are on target and ready to shoot
4. Always be sure of your target and what's behind it

The course was very "real-world" oriented. They were not teaching us to be cowboys or vigilantes, but preparing us to possibly save our on life one day when the only person we could rely on at the time was ourself. Last time I checked, there was no cop guarding the door to my home 24 hours a day.

The best way to insure your safety is not to get into a life threatening situation. Awareness and proper mindset were stressed and ways to keep you out of a gun fight were discussed. Let's face it, the best way to survive a fight is to not be there and to cheat as much as you can should you find yourself in one. There's nothing wrong with running away either! Distance is your friend.

The first day on the range, they changed my firing grip. I had to get used to it, but now it feels more natural. They were very big on economy of motion and fostering muscle memory during firearm manipulation. We were to taught to do things in the most efficient and simple way and that same way every time. This muscle memory is especially crucial during the draw where you must quickly bring a possibly life-saving piece of equipment into action. We were taught to draw in 5 steps which became 1 motion by weeks end. Whether firing from a kneeling position or after a 180 degree turn, the weapon only ever "cleared leather" or was re-holstered while you were standing upright, facing the target. This was strictly enforced. The instructors watched us like hawks to be sure we were being safe and practicing proper shooting form.

We were encouraged to keep our ammo supply topped off in our pistols during drills at any opportunity we could. It is easy to lose track of your round count, even when you are calm... better to replenish when you can. Oh yeah... always grab the new magazine before removing the half empty one! Always press-check your pistol. Always rack the slide with your support hand, thumb facing you, four fingers contacting the slide behind the ejection port. This was important, because the same motion is used during the clearing of weapon malfunctions (jams). They got us used to doing things one way that would apply to several different situations.

Another focus was sight alignment and trigger control. Line up your front sight with the rear and press (don't pull) the trigger, then ease it back to it's reset point. I had trigger control problems and shot low all week even though I understood the concepts. I also tried a little too hard and shot a little too fast. You can't miss fast enough to get a hit - that point was driven home for me during that week. Once you stop firing, you must assess the situation around you and avoid developing tunnel vision in the immediate threat area.

You could spend months getting the basics down of firing quickly from the holster and hitting your target where you want. There wasn't enough time for everyone to become perfect shots... we moved on a little each day, building on what we had learned the day before.

I'd like to discuss the different drills we did during the week. Over and over we did what was called the "school drill". This drill started with two head shots from the 3 yard line. Then we moved back to the 5, then 10 then 15 firing controlled pairs from the draw each time. We learned 3 ways to draw and kneel and fire. These techniques were later added to the school drill at the 25 yard line. We learned how to turn 90 degrees, draw and fire on a target - the same from a position where our backs were to the target. We learned how to fire and sidestep. We were taught how to shoot while holding a small tactical flashlight (in 2 positions). Let me just say that I love my night sights! We were taught how to clear weapon malfunctions (3 types) and actually created a jam to try out one of the clearance techniques. The class also practiced El Presidente drills (3 targets, 2 shots each, reload, 2 more shots in each) and Dozier drills (rapid fire at 5 targets, 1 shot in each).

We had been working with pneumatically controlled targets from the second day on that would turn and face us then turn back. Near the end of the week we started working with the simulators after a lecture and video on close quarters battle and house clearing. I admit it... I was a little freaked out by the thought of those simulators... of messing up I guess. When I finally did it though, I couldn't wait to do it again. We ran two indoor simulators and two outdoor ones. Students did one of each on Thursday and received constructive criticism. We ran through one of each on the following day trying to improve based on the critique of the previous day. I did pretty well on the second day of simulators. I am glad I did because my scores on the target shooting were pretty bad. Oh well... what are you gonna do?

It was a great experience. I met a lot of nice people and the instructors were great. The range master was Mike Hughes. We were also instructed by Ted Ajax, Bill Go, Alice Rogers and the (in)famous Louis Awerbuck. Each instructor had valuable lessons to teach. I have a lot of things to practice on my own now. I think I am attending the 350 course next year. Gotta make sure I'm a better shot before then.

Check out the following photos...