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nate89
Guest
I must be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to writing, because I never actually get around to posting AARs, because they always feel hollow and incomplete. I guess the idea is you have an outline of how the class went so you can decide whether to spend your time and money taking a similar class. Anyway, here goes an AAR for the Intermediate Pistol Clinic with LMS Defense that I went to today. As it will be just an outline and will most likely leave out important info, feel free to ask questions if I left anything out you’d like to know about.
I had the opportunity to take a second class with John Chapman this year, but this time with a handgun. As a general outline, this was a one day class, and material was covered quickly and efficiently. Weather was in the 80s and 90s, starting clear in the morning with some clouds (thankfully) moving in during the afternoon.
Gear of note: I shot a Sig 226 from an RDR OWB kydex holster, and Raven mag pouches. Nothing of note there, the gun ran flawless, and the gear didn’t get in the way of learning. As a quick aside, make sure you spend some money on quality socks. Especially when it’s hot and you are getting sweaty, a good pair of socks is often overlooked and can be the difference between comfort and something else to take your mind of what you are there for. Good shoes are also important. There were 8 students total, everyone else had a Glock of some sort, except for my friend brought his M&P, and another guy brought a CZ. The only gun problems I saw from anyone was two light primer strikes in the CZ at the beginning of the class. I think he ended up replacing a spring, but I saw no other issues for the remainder of the day.
Class began with an overview about medical procedure should there be any injuries, as well as a reminder about safety. Chappy, like last class, reminded us that the safety rules apply not only on the range, but also if you have to use the gun on duty or for self-defense. With that covered, we began a warm up by drawing and taking single shots from 3-15 yards. This being an intermediate class, one of the main differences was the expectation that we would keep the gun loaded, be able to holster after the drills on our own, and generally be more self-reliant than in the beginning class. I was a little surprised how quick we moved into drawing from alternate positions (kneeling and prone), but it was nice to get right to work. I have little experience with either shooting a handgun from prone, or drawing (and emergency reloading) a handgun while in prone, and the assistant instructors were a big help in offering advice about bring the knee up to roll over to get the gun in line with your eyes and the target. This was very eye-opening to me and a great learning opportunity. Something to take home and practice on my own (there were a lot of these moments).
As a quick comment—taking a class from Chappy is something that really needs to be experienced. I need to start a quote book and jot down all the humorous one liners that I have heard. It’s also refreshing to be able to have a light-hearted moment on the line, but also be able to get right back to business when needed. I’ll avoid mentioning certain specific comments to protect the innocent (or guilty), but there were several mentions of the Navy SEALS, CZ and the temple index, thinking of the birds (and Chappy getting jokes but choosing to not honor them with a response-probably best), and various and sundry other laughs throughout the day. It was a good addition to the mix of the day. Chappy is also very good an offering specific and individual advice and instruction to each student. As I mentioned about the last class I took, I always come away feeling like I got more than my fair share of individual instruction, and more than my money’s worth of value. The things he will say to you (and discussing it with my two friends who were also at the class), are things that really show his diagnostic ability. Every one of us was told about something we needed to fix that we didn’t even realize we were doing (or not doing). My one friend, before shooting on the move, was told that he was expected to move faster than the person who did it right before him. That was one comment that stuck with me—I knew that I should be pushing myself and not be drifting along, but trying to put up my best performance. Chappy would make sure each person was advancing at their own pace, and expecting different results from each student.
After the initial warm-up, for the reminder of the day almost every time we shot it was an NSR. That ended up being anywhere from 3-8 rounds (or 12-15 if you were my trigger-happy friend while shooting on the move). This was a good thing, and helped me break out of the two per target rut that you can slip into. It also can cause widely varying round counts per student, so when planning for the class, depending on how you plan on shooting will determine where you will be on round count. The class calls for 3-500 rounds, and I know I shot at least 400, but it was probably close to 500. I had about 1200 rounds in the trunk, and I didn’t have a worry about running out, which I know at least one student did. It’s worth the extra money to have more than enough ammo and not have to worry about reducing your participation in drills because you don’t have enough ammo.
A constant theme throughout the class was rhythm shooting. When doing transitions on target (chest to head, etc.) or between targets, as well as doing the box drill, a smooth and consistent rate of fire was expected. This, paired with tight target sizes pushed me and I felt it was much more productive than having larger aiming points. That was another difference between this class any many others (even good ones that I have really enjoyed) that I have taken. Everyone is a sniper at 5 yards was said several times during the class. Hitting a 6”X11” A zone at 5 yards isn’t much of a challenge, nor would it really have pushed me like transition drills should. Hitting a small head box, small circles, or the upper half of the A box made it more critical to lead with your eyes to prevent over-swinging the targets and breaking the rhythm. Another theme of the class was reset under recoil. This was something I will be needing to spend some serious time on to really get down, as I didn’t feel like I really every got it down at the class. Taking a class isn’t to turn someone into a gunfighter, but it’s to show you how to practice on your own to develop skills. This was something also said at the beginning of class, and certainly was the case for me. I didn’t really improve many things (at least I felt) during the class, but I got the knowledge I needed to fix things on my own, and that will keep be busy for a long time. Shooting on the move was covered, and one thing that was different was pushing the speed at which you move. I was impressed with how well shots still landed even when at almost a jogging pace. I feel like that is more of a realistic speed to practice, since hauling ass while under fire sounds a bit more like reality than a shuffle. Really pushing myself on the speed and seeing the results was valuable.
We also covered malfunctions, and this was one part in particular that I saw malfunction clearing done in a totally different way. It’s almost a rote presentation when you are at a class and you start talking about clearing a gun. Tap-Rack, lock, strip, reload, blah, blah, everyone has heard the same stuff over and over. Honestly that’s what I was expecting, and I was in for a surprise.
At the end of the day, we all did some standards under time, and tallied up our total misses for the day. Chappy stressed that the speed and accuracy debate is missing the mark, and both are needed to be successful. Seeing every single shot outside of an acceptable area counted and added up was a good reminder, and made me remember to be accountable for every shot. I was a little too turned toward the accuracy side at times, and Chappy had to get me to speed up a bit, as I was not pushing myself like I should. That was one of many times I got a suggestion that helped me fine tune what I was doing in class to get the most I could out of it.
This was a great class. Everyone else in the class was turned on, focused, and safe. I got to put faces to a few names of people I see on Primary and Secondary which was nice. I also, for my thesis I am working on, got to take a bit of Chappy’s time after the class to interview him. He was very willing to donate more of his time, and was a wealth of information. I really appreciated him going above and beyond to help me out. I know one of the jokes is Utah being a black hole for training classes, and I think anyone looking for a class that isn’t too far away should take a look at the LMS schedule. I am in Cache Valley, Utah (Northern Utah area about 20 minutes from the Idaho border), and we made it to class in about 2.5 hours. Once again I’m sure there is plenty missing, but I also didn’t want to do a running tally of every drill and every skill we worked on, but give you an idea of the format and structure of the class to decide if it’s the right class for you. If I were to sum up the class, it would be a “Strong focus on consistency and smoothness. Accuracy was paramount, while also striving to push your speed.”
A few final points just for fun.
While doing malfunction clearing, I stripped a mag out and upon retrieving it, the top round had gone all HK and was sitting backwards under the feel lips. I have no idea how it happened, but a good reminder to check gear before putting it back.
Stock grips on the P series Sig guns, at least for me, suck! I love the gun, but the top of the grips flare out and made it more difficult to get high on the gun, and also made shooting all day pretty uncomfortable (insert mocking about having weak hands or to just man up here). I think I’m going to try the E2 grips, in holding one at a gun shop, they felt much better.
Reloading from prone is an experience. As to my success in doing it the one time I ran dry while on the ground, let’s just say if I had been in Alliance, OH, I probably would have received a patch with a chicken and a moose on it.
Finally-drink water! I downed 2 gallons of water from when I left my house to when the class finished. That doesn’t include the two power-aids. I have never visited the bushes more times in one day in my life, but I stayed hydrated and didn’t have to be rehydrated while dizzy or unconscious, which would have been an experience to say the least. Thanks all for reading, let me know if you have any questions.
I had the opportunity to take a second class with John Chapman this year, but this time with a handgun. As a general outline, this was a one day class, and material was covered quickly and efficiently. Weather was in the 80s and 90s, starting clear in the morning with some clouds (thankfully) moving in during the afternoon.
Gear of note: I shot a Sig 226 from an RDR OWB kydex holster, and Raven mag pouches. Nothing of note there, the gun ran flawless, and the gear didn’t get in the way of learning. As a quick aside, make sure you spend some money on quality socks. Especially when it’s hot and you are getting sweaty, a good pair of socks is often overlooked and can be the difference between comfort and something else to take your mind of what you are there for. Good shoes are also important. There were 8 students total, everyone else had a Glock of some sort, except for my friend brought his M&P, and another guy brought a CZ. The only gun problems I saw from anyone was two light primer strikes in the CZ at the beginning of the class. I think he ended up replacing a spring, but I saw no other issues for the remainder of the day.
Class began with an overview about medical procedure should there be any injuries, as well as a reminder about safety. Chappy, like last class, reminded us that the safety rules apply not only on the range, but also if you have to use the gun on duty or for self-defense. With that covered, we began a warm up by drawing and taking single shots from 3-15 yards. This being an intermediate class, one of the main differences was the expectation that we would keep the gun loaded, be able to holster after the drills on our own, and generally be more self-reliant than in the beginning class. I was a little surprised how quick we moved into drawing from alternate positions (kneeling and prone), but it was nice to get right to work. I have little experience with either shooting a handgun from prone, or drawing (and emergency reloading) a handgun while in prone, and the assistant instructors were a big help in offering advice about bring the knee up to roll over to get the gun in line with your eyes and the target. This was very eye-opening to me and a great learning opportunity. Something to take home and practice on my own (there were a lot of these moments).
As a quick comment—taking a class from Chappy is something that really needs to be experienced. I need to start a quote book and jot down all the humorous one liners that I have heard. It’s also refreshing to be able to have a light-hearted moment on the line, but also be able to get right back to business when needed. I’ll avoid mentioning certain specific comments to protect the innocent (or guilty), but there were several mentions of the Navy SEALS, CZ and the temple index, thinking of the birds (and Chappy getting jokes but choosing to not honor them with a response-probably best), and various and sundry other laughs throughout the day. It was a good addition to the mix of the day. Chappy is also very good an offering specific and individual advice and instruction to each student. As I mentioned about the last class I took, I always come away feeling like I got more than my fair share of individual instruction, and more than my money’s worth of value. The things he will say to you (and discussing it with my two friends who were also at the class), are things that really show his diagnostic ability. Every one of us was told about something we needed to fix that we didn’t even realize we were doing (or not doing). My one friend, before shooting on the move, was told that he was expected to move faster than the person who did it right before him. That was one comment that stuck with me—I knew that I should be pushing myself and not be drifting along, but trying to put up my best performance. Chappy would make sure each person was advancing at their own pace, and expecting different results from each student.
After the initial warm-up, for the reminder of the day almost every time we shot it was an NSR. That ended up being anywhere from 3-8 rounds (or 12-15 if you were my trigger-happy friend while shooting on the move). This was a good thing, and helped me break out of the two per target rut that you can slip into. It also can cause widely varying round counts per student, so when planning for the class, depending on how you plan on shooting will determine where you will be on round count. The class calls for 3-500 rounds, and I know I shot at least 400, but it was probably close to 500. I had about 1200 rounds in the trunk, and I didn’t have a worry about running out, which I know at least one student did. It’s worth the extra money to have more than enough ammo and not have to worry about reducing your participation in drills because you don’t have enough ammo.
A constant theme throughout the class was rhythm shooting. When doing transitions on target (chest to head, etc.) or between targets, as well as doing the box drill, a smooth and consistent rate of fire was expected. This, paired with tight target sizes pushed me and I felt it was much more productive than having larger aiming points. That was another difference between this class any many others (even good ones that I have really enjoyed) that I have taken. Everyone is a sniper at 5 yards was said several times during the class. Hitting a 6”X11” A zone at 5 yards isn’t much of a challenge, nor would it really have pushed me like transition drills should. Hitting a small head box, small circles, or the upper half of the A box made it more critical to lead with your eyes to prevent over-swinging the targets and breaking the rhythm. Another theme of the class was reset under recoil. This was something I will be needing to spend some serious time on to really get down, as I didn’t feel like I really every got it down at the class. Taking a class isn’t to turn someone into a gunfighter, but it’s to show you how to practice on your own to develop skills. This was something also said at the beginning of class, and certainly was the case for me. I didn’t really improve many things (at least I felt) during the class, but I got the knowledge I needed to fix things on my own, and that will keep be busy for a long time. Shooting on the move was covered, and one thing that was different was pushing the speed at which you move. I was impressed with how well shots still landed even when at almost a jogging pace. I feel like that is more of a realistic speed to practice, since hauling ass while under fire sounds a bit more like reality than a shuffle. Really pushing myself on the speed and seeing the results was valuable.
We also covered malfunctions, and this was one part in particular that I saw malfunction clearing done in a totally different way. It’s almost a rote presentation when you are at a class and you start talking about clearing a gun. Tap-Rack, lock, strip, reload, blah, blah, everyone has heard the same stuff over and over. Honestly that’s what I was expecting, and I was in for a surprise.
At the end of the day, we all did some standards under time, and tallied up our total misses for the day. Chappy stressed that the speed and accuracy debate is missing the mark, and both are needed to be successful. Seeing every single shot outside of an acceptable area counted and added up was a good reminder, and made me remember to be accountable for every shot. I was a little too turned toward the accuracy side at times, and Chappy had to get me to speed up a bit, as I was not pushing myself like I should. That was one of many times I got a suggestion that helped me fine tune what I was doing in class to get the most I could out of it.
This was a great class. Everyone else in the class was turned on, focused, and safe. I got to put faces to a few names of people I see on Primary and Secondary which was nice. I also, for my thesis I am working on, got to take a bit of Chappy’s time after the class to interview him. He was very willing to donate more of his time, and was a wealth of information. I really appreciated him going above and beyond to help me out. I know one of the jokes is Utah being a black hole for training classes, and I think anyone looking for a class that isn’t too far away should take a look at the LMS schedule. I am in Cache Valley, Utah (Northern Utah area about 20 minutes from the Idaho border), and we made it to class in about 2.5 hours. Once again I’m sure there is plenty missing, but I also didn’t want to do a running tally of every drill and every skill we worked on, but give you an idea of the format and structure of the class to decide if it’s the right class for you. If I were to sum up the class, it would be a “Strong focus on consistency and smoothness. Accuracy was paramount, while also striving to push your speed.”
A few final points just for fun.
While doing malfunction clearing, I stripped a mag out and upon retrieving it, the top round had gone all HK and was sitting backwards under the feel lips. I have no idea how it happened, but a good reminder to check gear before putting it back.
Stock grips on the P series Sig guns, at least for me, suck! I love the gun, but the top of the grips flare out and made it more difficult to get high on the gun, and also made shooting all day pretty uncomfortable (insert mocking about having weak hands or to just man up here). I think I’m going to try the E2 grips, in holding one at a gun shop, they felt much better.
Reloading from prone is an experience. As to my success in doing it the one time I ran dry while on the ground, let’s just say if I had been in Alliance, OH, I probably would have received a patch with a chicken and a moose on it.
Finally-drink water! I downed 2 gallons of water from when I left my house to when the class finished. That doesn’t include the two power-aids. I have never visited the bushes more times in one day in my life, but I stayed hydrated and didn’t have to be rehydrated while dizzy or unconscious, which would have been an experience to say the least. Thanks all for reading, let me know if you have any questions.
