AAR - No Fail Pistol - 9/21-9/22/2019 - Carthage, NC

ggammell

Does not pass up an opportunity to criticize P&S.
Presscheck Consulting – No Fail Pistol
Sept 21-22, 2019
Carthage, NC – Trigger Time Range

Instructor Background: 26-year US Army SOF Veteran
Assistant Instructors: Active Duty types who shall remain nameless for PERSEC.

What is this course about? It’s about testing and developing (and testing again) your ability to make high-risk, high-reward shots on demand. Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. I’ve been to a half dozen or so classes now. I have never been challenged so much, especially with a handgun. Chuck has relevant, personal stories to share about employing a pistol that bring the material home. No hypotheticals. Actual proof.

Prior to this class, I considered myself to be a good shooter. After this class, I have a lot of work to do. The program is proof that you don’t know what you don’t know. Be prepared to be humbled.

Chuck’s class runs long. Be prepared to have minimal time to jam mags, drink water and there will be very little time to BS. Chuck doesn’t eat lunch. You might have 15 minutes to eat midday. Maybe. Day 1 is a solid 8 hours. Day 2 is at least 9 and it could go longer. Course minimum is at least 5 mags. You will need more, or you will slow the class down. Being able to just grab a fresh set of 5 at a time is huge. Jam mags at lunch and at the end of the day. I had about 20 G17 mags.

Notes. I have haven’t taken these many notes in a very long time. It was also the first time I felt the need to keep the notebook on the line with me, so I could take notes on the fly. You will miss things by the time you get back to benches, if that is your normal note taking style. This class is work. It’s not a buddy’s trip. It’s not tactical fantasy band camp.

I am not going to cover course content much, but I will say that you should be proficient shooting B8s at distance with both hands, and each hand by itself. The rest you’re going to have to pay Chuck for.

At the end of each block of instruction, there is an evaluation. High shooter gets a patch. At the end of the course, there is also an evaluation combining all material covered. High shooter gets a patch, shirt, and some other cool stuff that Chuck has a bin of.

Timers. Chuck uses them for a stimulus, not for a data point. He also used it for a par time on the final evaluation and that is what determined the winner because two shooters shot the exact same score. Time determined the winner. Don’t expect to run speed bulls or Hat quals or bill drills. There is no gas pedal in this class. It’s not about speed. Be prepared to earn the right to shoot at the 7-yard line.

Round Count = 900ish. I shot stock length mags. If you run extendos you will have a higher round count because he has you shoot drills and techniques by the mag. Have G19, you will shoot it 15 times. Have a 34 with +5s, you’ll shoot it 22 times. Plan accordingly.

What I would like to see different? I think this is ideally a 3-day class and I realize the necessities of it having to be a 2-day course.

Who should take this class? Anyone who carries a gun for a living. Anyone who carries a gun for self-defense. Gamers who want to learn that the A-zone is just not good enough in a deadly force encounter. Anyone who wants to be able to make a shot count, the first time.
Who should not take this class? This is not a class for new shooters. There is no general instruction. If the shooter cannot consistently shoot 80s+ on B8 from 25 yards freestyle, they will struggle from the beginning of the class.

This course will prove to you the capabilities of pistol mounted RDS but that’s not to say that you must have a dot on your gun to do it. 3-4 of us shot irons only guns with success. Know your sights if you’re an iron sight shooter. I generally knew what my zero was with my HD XRs on the G17.5 but by the end of day 2 I was tired and fighting my sight picture.

Fun asides:

I ran the timer for Chuck on a demo run.
I shot Chuck’s Chambers Custom Nightfighter 2011. It’s absurdly accurate. I wore out the 10 and X ring from 25 yards without putting much effort in. “Mechanical advantage is real, yo!” as Chuck said. The class winner was also using a Chambers Nightfighter.
Watching a shooter prep the DA trigger on a Beretta is painful to watch. That hammer moves so slow and there is soooo much travel to fire the gun.
Chuck’s hip went out at the end of day 2. And he still beat everyone in the class on the final eval. #Goals.

Class Equipment:
The winner had his RMR fail between day 1 and 2. Zero Shift of 8 inches at 25. He switched RMRs (yes he had a spare) after attempting a re zero on the old one and clearly went on to do well. I think that was the only issue for the class.

A lot of Glocks, 2 of the 25 Nightfighter’s made by Chambers were present. A couple Beretta’s (one with an RMR), a Sig 320 living that .357 Sig life (I think it was the only non 9mm gun), atleast 1 M&P with a milled dot.
 

JLL2013

Regular Member
Great points all around!
This was a great class with a high quality of student; anyone there could have taken top shooter.
There were some differences between this class and 2018's No Fail in Carthage NC. The core of the course remains the same, but if you hit this course multiple times you will never be disappointed.
 

chasnojm

Regular Member
Hands down the best confirmation of training to date. Obviously stated this was not a coached mechanics class. It was a test of pistols skills to a strict standard. What you get out of the course is a very raw/realistic understanding of your capabilities. As stated, its not a beginners course as it identifies the shooter's weaknesses. One should arrive with a strong understanding of the fundamentals and weaponeering. It is also a much more mentally taxing versus physically taxing course. Bring what you need to keep your mind sharp and your body to remain comfortable. Last note is to exceed the minimum round count as stated before. Extra mags allows for a more comfortable pace of jamming and having a strong reserve of ammo will keep your mind on shooting versus wondering if you should reduce round counts to finish the day. I brought about 1500 rounds, left with about 500 + remaining mags, but was ready to shoot all if necessary.

I was the iron-site beretta shooter. There's much I need to do to master the DA.

Jack
 

JLL2013

Regular Member
As a follow up to those reading, within 2 weeks of receiving my broken RMR I have a brand new RM09 from Trijicon for the grand cost of $0 and with no questions. At least that was easy to get done.
 
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