Pistol Shooting Solutions

Course Description

Pistol Shooting Solutions is my premier training class, and I’m ready to bring it to you!  This class isn’t for beginners – it’s intended to help established defensive handgun practitioners realize the next steps in their journey toward technical excellence to go along with the mindset, awareness, and tactics that form the foundation of self-defense with a handgun.

Am I Ready?

With Pistol Shooting Solutions, here’s where you might be as a starting point and where you might go from there:

• You already have the basics of use-of-force decision-making, shooting, and gun-handling
• You know the legal criteria for justified use of deadly force in self-defense
• You can load, unload, and draw from a holster safely
• You have proper muzzle and trigger finger discipline
• You shoot reasonably accurately
• You can keep your gun running by reloading and clearing malfunctions
• You might even be familiar with the basics of use of cover and positional shooting

What do you do next to improve your technical capability to solve problems where the handgun is an appropriate solution? It’s time to improve your ability to deploy the handgun better, shoot it better, and navigate movement, cover, and the presence of bystanders better. It’s time for Pistol Shooting Solutions.

What to Expect

This class is two full days of intermediate to advanced level training. We use live and dry fire to improve our defensive use of the handgun, encompassing accuracy and efficiency in shooting, gun-handling, and personal tactics. This will include a heavy focus on developing students’ technical skills and the application of those skills to solve problems relevant to defensive use of the handgun, including simple and complex spatial problems, and mitigation of danger to bystanders. Essentially, this class will focus on high performance in concealed carry and self-defense with a handgun.

• Efficient drawstroke
• Shot calling
• Driving the gun on single and multiple targets (shooting mechanics)
• Full spectrum shooting on the move (controlled and dynamic movement)
• Shooting on the move competitive exercises
• Foreground and background mitigation
• Ready position presentations
• Basic and advanced use of cover
• Use of cover competitive exercises
• Technical Skills Testing
• Effective dry practice

Required Gear

• Eye and ear protection, plus brimmed hat
• Safe and reliable service caliber handgun, 9mm/.38 Spl or larger – this class is built around compact and full size semi-automatic pistols – revolvers are welcome but may be very challenging. Note: The SIG P320 handgun was recently discovered to have a vulnerability to discharge at a particularly egregious upward angle as a result of being dropped. The P320 is not allowed in Pistol Shooting Solutions unless it has received the upgrade/fix from SIG.
• Strong-side or appendix, belt mounted holster that covers the trigger guard when the gun is in the holster, stays open when the gun is out of the holster, and attaches securely to the belt. Unsafe holsters will not be allowed. Please do not bring minimalist holsters that only cover the trigger guard and are designed to be removed from the belt before holstering. Please do not bring the BLACKHAWK! Serpa holster unless required by your agency.
• Concealment garment or duty/retention holster. The class is intended to develop the highly skilled use of a pistol in self-defense. For most of us, that means either concealment or a duty/retention holster. Unconcealed range or competition gear is also welcome if you prefer.
• Sufficient spare magazines to shoot at least 65 rounds of ammo before needing to refill magazines (for example, if you have 17-round magazines, bring at least 4 magazines to class.)
• Magazine pouch (single, double, and combination pouches are all acceptable.)
• Ammunition: roughly 1000 rounds (actual round count is likely to be over 900). Please allow yourself the best class experience possible and bring ammunition that is going to function correctly!
• Bring lunch, snacks, water, and personal hygiene products – we will be at the range all day and take short lunch breaks (approximately 30 minutes) – there will not be time to leave the range to get food!
• This class is not the best time to break in a new gun, or use untested or unreliable guns, ammunition, or other equipment! Those issues will be a huge distraction from your training and I am unlikely to be able to solve those problems for you.

Student Eligibility

• At minimum, you must continuously execute the four firearms safety principles and be able to safely draw from a concealed, belt-mounted holster or unconcealed duty holster. This class is not appropriate for beginners and should not be your first training class.

• You must be at least 21 years old, a U.S. Citizen, and not prohibited by any Federal, State, or Local law from possessing firearms.

• You will be required to sign at least one waiver at the start of class (Instructor waiver and potentially one or more club waivers.)

• You should be able to hit a 6″x6″ target on demand at 10 yards (equivalent of the A/B zone or head of a USPSA Metric or IDPA target) and reload and clear malfunctions.

• Faster and more accurate shooting and gun-handling will be very helpful. A person with weak marksmanship or gun-handling skills may feel somewhat left behind. You may still be able to participate safely, but may not feel that the class is the best use of your time and ammunition.

• If you are unsafe, or do not appear to be of sound and responsible mind, you will be asked to leave. If you are safe, and of sound and responsible mind, but lack the needed shooting skill, you will not be asked to leave, but the class will not be altered to cater to you.