N
nate89
Guest
Tactical Pistol Skills
August 11th and 12th, 2016
Salt Lake City, Utah
I heard about Earnest Langdon through pistol-training.com, and through his material online about DA/SA or TDA pistols. I have been shooting p series sigs for a couple years now, and figured if Earnest Langdon was coming to teach less than two hours from where I live, I could not miss the chance to be there. He was hosted by my friend Tom Nielson of PARA-Training and, as a side note, will probably be hosting Earnest again next year, for all who are interested.
Weather for both days was very good, cooler than it could have been in August. In the late afternoons, the wind would pick up (the range is up a canyon) which caused some minor inconvenience with targets. Overall nothing weather-wise was a barrier to the class running smoothly.
Class was to begin at 8:30 Friday morning, but there were late-comers that pushed the start back about 20 minutes. Not a huge deal, but a good reminder for any class: know when you need to be there, know how to get there, know how long it will take to get there, and know what equipment you need.
Equipment-wise this class was fairly unique in my experience. Earnest and one other student were shooting PX4s, there were two M&Ps, three CZs, two 1911s (a Kimber Warrior and a Sig Scorpion), two p-series sigs (226 and a 229), and an HK P30 LEM. Most shot from a variety of strong-side holsters open, myself and one or two other students were carrying appendix and concealed, another had his IDPA vest, and one student is LEO in the Salt Lake area, and used a duty rig. Earnest shot his px4 from appendix. I did not see many equipment related problems, but I did see some malfunctions from the Sig 1911 (looked to be magazine related). I also had two failures to extract, one within the first 50 rounds of day one, and one at the end of day two.
In writing and reading my share of AARs, I have found that listing and detailing every discussion point and drill takes away from the core purpose of an AAR, which is to give others an idea of what will be expected from a class, and if it fits their needs and current abilities. I will highlight a few specifics from the class, but mostly I will be writing up overall impressions from the class. If there is anything specific anyone wants to know more about, I’d be happy to elaborate.
We started in the classroom with an intro from the range host, then got right into a presentation about safety, and explained what to do should there be an accident on the range.
The classroom portion took about 2 hours if I remember right, and was well worth it. He started by explaining a bit of his history in the competition, military, and gun industry arenas, so we could see where he was coming from. My friend who hosted the class interviewed Earnest before the class, so if anyone wants to hear that, it’s a great listen. (https://www.mixcloud.com/paracast2/langdoncast-2-22-16/)
The focus of the class was to be prepared for a gunfight, and we must be able to perform under stress. The three pillar topics we got into were Mindset, Awareness, and the Subconscious. As a very simple overview of those topics, I’ll include a few bullet points, understanding that much more material was covered.
Awareness -Color Code
-having an “if ‘that’ happens, I will do ‘this’ plan
Mindset -Acceptance of death. Avoid as much as possible, but accepting that, by definition, you could die in a lethal force event
-Be willing to do what it takes to win
-Are you willing to take another’s life if necessary?
-Never give up
Subconscious-Techniques need to work on this level.
-focused learning on a single specific task, repetition to build neurological pathways
That is only the most cursory overview, but an idea of what is covered.
Earnest then discussed stress training, had an insightful presentation about selection of firearms, and then went into the mechanics of grip, stance, and trigger. In each section, there were new ways presented to think about subjects that I have heard about quite a bit in the past. I would say even an experienced shooter will come away with a lot to think about and new lessons learned just in the classroom portion.
Range time began with accuracy, trigger control, and gradually incorporated speed while maintaining a high level of accuracy. We used two paper targets, and 10” steel plates throughout the class. There were several drills that were done one at a time on the timer, and that is always good to both watch others shoot, and to shoot with eyes on you, and put the pressure on to perform. A couple of these also involved a hat for the winner. Many of the drills involved getting 4-6 rounds on target, which I felt really helped my ability to track the sights through recoil. Overall the range time was a good learning experience, and the explanations and and demos that Earnest did were very beneficial.
One of the biggest take-aways I had about this class was be willing to question everything, to dig into a technique or procedure and learn the why behind it. Many times the why might be a foolish reasoning, and that is your opportunity to change. I can’t count the times when talking to Earnest that I felt my foot being firmly inserted into my mouth, and it was something very valuable that I took away from the class to never let my own personal biases become blinders.
On the second day during a break, Earnest explained that there are deliberate engineered breaks during the day. I had mentioned to my buddy Tom the night before that I was really enjoying the class, but there seemed to be more down-time that I was expecting. I don’t know if he passed that on, or if Earnest just has some secret ninja perception skills, but he explained the why behind said breaks, and I was able to get more out of them afterward. I also consider myself very fortunate that I was able to talk with Earnest quite a bit relative to most of the class. I came early and stayed late to help with set-up and take-down, and I also went to dinner with Tom and Earnest after the last day of the class. He is another person that I was just content to listen to share stores or lessons learned. Besides the excellent content of the ‘official’ class, this information was also very valuable.
The students in this class has a wide range of skill levels, and I think it’s important to mention for those looking at taking this class, that it is not designed as a class for an absolute beginner. There are “level 1” classes out there that legitimately are designed to take someone who may or may not have ever shot a handgun before and get them started. This is not that class. I’m going to try and explain this without trying to sound like a pompous ass, but you need to take an honest look at your own skill level, and if you do not already have a solid foundation of safe gun handling and manipulation, and can shoot acceptable groups on demand, I think taking this class will be of limited utility to you, as someone investing time and money to improve. It will also impact the rest of the class if the instructor is constantly going back to work on trigger control, and having to watch for things like turning around on the line with your gun in your hand (yes it happened in this class).
Overall takeaways
I got a lot out of this class, both for the shooting side, as well as the teaching and understanding methods side. I came away with a list of things I personally need to work on, and look forward to seeing the improvement in the future. I am not professional trainer (I don’t even pretend to be one on the internet), but I have the opportunity to help a number of new and newer shooters through work, and this class was also a big help with that. Earnest was a great instructor, and you can tell he has spend a lot of time thinking through the material, and fine-tuning the class. I highly recommend the class for all those who have the chance to go.
August 11th and 12th, 2016
Salt Lake City, Utah
I heard about Earnest Langdon through pistol-training.com, and through his material online about DA/SA or TDA pistols. I have been shooting p series sigs for a couple years now, and figured if Earnest Langdon was coming to teach less than two hours from where I live, I could not miss the chance to be there. He was hosted by my friend Tom Nielson of PARA-Training and, as a side note, will probably be hosting Earnest again next year, for all who are interested.
Weather for both days was very good, cooler than it could have been in August. In the late afternoons, the wind would pick up (the range is up a canyon) which caused some minor inconvenience with targets. Overall nothing weather-wise was a barrier to the class running smoothly.
Class was to begin at 8:30 Friday morning, but there were late-comers that pushed the start back about 20 minutes. Not a huge deal, but a good reminder for any class: know when you need to be there, know how to get there, know how long it will take to get there, and know what equipment you need.
Equipment-wise this class was fairly unique in my experience. Earnest and one other student were shooting PX4s, there were two M&Ps, three CZs, two 1911s (a Kimber Warrior and a Sig Scorpion), two p-series sigs (226 and a 229), and an HK P30 LEM. Most shot from a variety of strong-side holsters open, myself and one or two other students were carrying appendix and concealed, another had his IDPA vest, and one student is LEO in the Salt Lake area, and used a duty rig. Earnest shot his px4 from appendix. I did not see many equipment related problems, but I did see some malfunctions from the Sig 1911 (looked to be magazine related). I also had two failures to extract, one within the first 50 rounds of day one, and one at the end of day two.
In writing and reading my share of AARs, I have found that listing and detailing every discussion point and drill takes away from the core purpose of an AAR, which is to give others an idea of what will be expected from a class, and if it fits their needs and current abilities. I will highlight a few specifics from the class, but mostly I will be writing up overall impressions from the class. If there is anything specific anyone wants to know more about, I’d be happy to elaborate.
We started in the classroom with an intro from the range host, then got right into a presentation about safety, and explained what to do should there be an accident on the range.
The classroom portion took about 2 hours if I remember right, and was well worth it. He started by explaining a bit of his history in the competition, military, and gun industry arenas, so we could see where he was coming from. My friend who hosted the class interviewed Earnest before the class, so if anyone wants to hear that, it’s a great listen. (https://www.mixcloud.com/paracast2/langdoncast-2-22-16/)
The focus of the class was to be prepared for a gunfight, and we must be able to perform under stress. The three pillar topics we got into were Mindset, Awareness, and the Subconscious. As a very simple overview of those topics, I’ll include a few bullet points, understanding that much more material was covered.
Awareness -Color Code
-having an “if ‘that’ happens, I will do ‘this’ plan
Mindset -Acceptance of death. Avoid as much as possible, but accepting that, by definition, you could die in a lethal force event
-Be willing to do what it takes to win
-Are you willing to take another’s life if necessary?
-Never give up
Subconscious-Techniques need to work on this level.
-focused learning on a single specific task, repetition to build neurological pathways
That is only the most cursory overview, but an idea of what is covered.
Earnest then discussed stress training, had an insightful presentation about selection of firearms, and then went into the mechanics of grip, stance, and trigger. In each section, there were new ways presented to think about subjects that I have heard about quite a bit in the past. I would say even an experienced shooter will come away with a lot to think about and new lessons learned just in the classroom portion.
Range time began with accuracy, trigger control, and gradually incorporated speed while maintaining a high level of accuracy. We used two paper targets, and 10” steel plates throughout the class. There were several drills that were done one at a time on the timer, and that is always good to both watch others shoot, and to shoot with eyes on you, and put the pressure on to perform. A couple of these also involved a hat for the winner. Many of the drills involved getting 4-6 rounds on target, which I felt really helped my ability to track the sights through recoil. Overall the range time was a good learning experience, and the explanations and and demos that Earnest did were very beneficial.
One of the biggest take-aways I had about this class was be willing to question everything, to dig into a technique or procedure and learn the why behind it. Many times the why might be a foolish reasoning, and that is your opportunity to change. I can’t count the times when talking to Earnest that I felt my foot being firmly inserted into my mouth, and it was something very valuable that I took away from the class to never let my own personal biases become blinders.
On the second day during a break, Earnest explained that there are deliberate engineered breaks during the day. I had mentioned to my buddy Tom the night before that I was really enjoying the class, but there seemed to be more down-time that I was expecting. I don’t know if he passed that on, or if Earnest just has some secret ninja perception skills, but he explained the why behind said breaks, and I was able to get more out of them afterward. I also consider myself very fortunate that I was able to talk with Earnest quite a bit relative to most of the class. I came early and stayed late to help with set-up and take-down, and I also went to dinner with Tom and Earnest after the last day of the class. He is another person that I was just content to listen to share stores or lessons learned. Besides the excellent content of the ‘official’ class, this information was also very valuable.
The students in this class has a wide range of skill levels, and I think it’s important to mention for those looking at taking this class, that it is not designed as a class for an absolute beginner. There are “level 1” classes out there that legitimately are designed to take someone who may or may not have ever shot a handgun before and get them started. This is not that class. I’m going to try and explain this without trying to sound like a pompous ass, but you need to take an honest look at your own skill level, and if you do not already have a solid foundation of safe gun handling and manipulation, and can shoot acceptable groups on demand, I think taking this class will be of limited utility to you, as someone investing time and money to improve. It will also impact the rest of the class if the instructor is constantly going back to work on trigger control, and having to watch for things like turning around on the line with your gun in your hand (yes it happened in this class).
Overall takeaways
I got a lot out of this class, both for the shooting side, as well as the teaching and understanding methods side. I came away with a list of things I personally need to work on, and look forward to seeing the improvement in the future. I am not professional trainer (I don’t even pretend to be one on the internet), but I have the opportunity to help a number of new and newer shooters through work, and this class was also a big help with that. Earnest was a great instructor, and you can tell he has spend a lot of time thinking through the material, and fine-tuning the class. I highly recommend the class for all those who have the chance to go.