CHAOS16
Regular Member
Course- Pistol 1
Company - SSV Concepts
Primary Instructor- Rick Largesse
Location- Big Springs Shooting Complex, 4945 IA-146, Searsboro, Iowa
Weather- Hot and very humid. 99 degree high
Student Body- Four students including myself. The students were totally
varied in profession. There was one police officer, one civilian, one
federal security agent, and one military (me).
Course Description:
This course is the who, what, when, where, why and how of carrying a
handgun. This course is suitable for beginners to experienced shooters and
focuses on the individual improvement of each attendee. While this course
addresses all things related to carrying a weapon in Iowa, the focus of the
course is hands-on operation of a handgun.
This course will meet the prerequisite for Pistol II.
Topics covered: .Nomenclature
.Gear Selection/customization/modification
.Ballistics
.Legal issues related to carrying a weapon in Iowa
.Marksmanship
.Numerous live fire drills and individual coaching
.Weapon maintenance
Required Materials: .Serviceable handgun of at least .38 cal (no Lorcin,
Bryco, Jennings, Hipoint, etc)
.Minimum of 3 magazines (5 if single stack) or 5 speedloaders for revolvers
.Proper holster (no generic nylon holsters)
.Eye and ear protection
.Hat with a brim
.Appropriate range attire (no shorts/sandals/etc). We will shoot rain or
shine.
.Lunch/snacks (water will be provided)
.300 rounds of ammunition
------------End Course Description--------------------------
My background / skill level:
I am an intermediate level rifle and pistol shooter. I shoot USPSA, IDPA,
and some multi-gun competition. My background is in military combat
engineering and overseas contracting (mostly C-IED training). I have spent
a lot of time overseas and so only recently became an IDPA and USPSA member.
For the same reason I have only started to regularly attend matches at my
local gun club.
Equipment for Class-
S&W M&P 2.0 5"
APEX internals, Dawson Precision sights
Comptac Holster
Blade-Tec double mag pouch, single mag pouches
Round Count- ~300 rounds 9mm Winchester 124 gr NATO
Personal Training objectives:
I just wanted to take a course from Rick and make some improvements to my
overall pistol shooting ability. Nothing too grandiose.
What Happened?:
Basic timeline as follows:
0800
Discussed basics of pistol operation, available resources, went over our
gear, and made introductions.
0900
We started with accuracy testing at 15,12,10,7,5,3 yard distances on IDPA
targets. 50 shots total, incorporated some lateral movement at the closer
ranges.
0950
We practiced firing on 1" dots at 5 yards, attempting to maximize accuracy
(single ragged hole) with five rounds.
1020
Introduced dummy rounds into our partners magazines, had partner observe
shooting to see if recoil anticipation or flinching occurred upon firing the
dummy round. Penance was 10 dry firings for each mistake made on a dummy
round.
1130
Lunch - We all drove to Subway to get a break from the heat and talk about
other training, videos, and went over basic tourniquet application and set
up on the ride there.
1220
We did more accuracy testing at 25 yards on B8 targets, slow fire, and
scored them. We did three iterations of this.
1300
We posted up IDPA targets and practiced individually timed, one, two, and
three shot drills from the holster. Rick also introduced some lateral
movement during the draw into some of these iterations.
We then moved into timed shot strings with reloads on the same targets.
1330
We ran two to three iterations of the SSV drill (like a modified box drill
but a little more complicated) with an IPSC torso steel as the target.
1430ish
We took a break to hydrate, get out of the sun, and ran a little Q&A with
Rick.
1500
We conducted the Lane Drill, which uses an IPSC torso steel target.
Starting at 50 yards, get one impact. Run and shoot one at 25, two at 15,
then back to get one at 25, and then 50 to end the drill.
Par time less than 30 seconds.
1600
We completed with cleaning up the range and Rick presented some awards and
our course completion certificates.
Improves:
1. We were completed by 1450. I was motivated enough I think we could
have gone over more drills, or added a timer element for each shooter to
gauge some basic capabilities from 1500-1600 with little additional
preparation by the instructor.
2. Rick could have pushed the class a little hard and a little longer
in the day. It was a pretty good group of students and I don't think we
were past the point of learning saturation when we completed. I'm all about
getting maximum training value for my buck, so I pushing harder towards
exhaustion is more than ok in my eyes.
Sustains:
1. The course description is accurate and comprehensive. The
instructor, Rick, is easy going a practices what he preaches. He quickly
assessed the general proficiency of the group by student, and cut out a lot
of redundancy that was not needed to get into drills and start evaluating
individual proficiency.
2. Personal ability (speed and accuracy) were evaluated throughout the
entire course on an individual level.
Overall Critique:
The course was definitely worth it, but man the heat definitely degraded my
personal performance and effected my ability to learn (and motivation).
Rick did a great job of selecting active drills in the latter half of the
course that require movement and by using steel could be run quickly
individually on a timer.
There was no "ballistic masturbation" and the course progressed as fast as
the students were able.
Personal notes:
I need to handload some serious pistol ammo. Being down to shooting NATO
9mm (right around if not well in velocity of +P) did not affect my accuracy
but it certainly affected my follow up shots due to high recoil impulse.
Having taken a intro to competition class the day prior left me with some
mental and physical fatigue. It was interesting to see how it correlated to
slower draws and splits, as well as slightly inhibited my ability to learn.
That plus the high temperature and humidity reduced my performance.
My wife attended the course with me, and that made it a little harder to
keep up taking notes. I know that overall having a couple in a course can
inhibit learning, but my wife and I have taken some courses together and
both competed in quite a few local IDPA matches so it wasn't much of a
training detractor in my opinion. Plus my wife is awesome when it comes to
supporting my hobby / lifestyle (shameless plug).
Company - SSV Concepts
Primary Instructor- Rick Largesse
Location- Big Springs Shooting Complex, 4945 IA-146, Searsboro, Iowa
Weather- Hot and very humid. 99 degree high
Student Body- Four students including myself. The students were totally
varied in profession. There was one police officer, one civilian, one
federal security agent, and one military (me).
Course Description:
This course is the who, what, when, where, why and how of carrying a
handgun. This course is suitable for beginners to experienced shooters and
focuses on the individual improvement of each attendee. While this course
addresses all things related to carrying a weapon in Iowa, the focus of the
course is hands-on operation of a handgun.
This course will meet the prerequisite for Pistol II.
Topics covered: .Nomenclature
.Gear Selection/customization/modification
.Ballistics
.Legal issues related to carrying a weapon in Iowa
.Marksmanship
.Numerous live fire drills and individual coaching
.Weapon maintenance
Required Materials: .Serviceable handgun of at least .38 cal (no Lorcin,
Bryco, Jennings, Hipoint, etc)
.Minimum of 3 magazines (5 if single stack) or 5 speedloaders for revolvers
.Proper holster (no generic nylon holsters)
.Eye and ear protection
.Hat with a brim
.Appropriate range attire (no shorts/sandals/etc). We will shoot rain or
shine.
.Lunch/snacks (water will be provided)
.300 rounds of ammunition
------------End Course Description--------------------------
My background / skill level:
I am an intermediate level rifle and pistol shooter. I shoot USPSA, IDPA,
and some multi-gun competition. My background is in military combat
engineering and overseas contracting (mostly C-IED training). I have spent
a lot of time overseas and so only recently became an IDPA and USPSA member.
For the same reason I have only started to regularly attend matches at my
local gun club.
Equipment for Class-
S&W M&P 2.0 5"
APEX internals, Dawson Precision sights
Comptac Holster
Blade-Tec double mag pouch, single mag pouches
Round Count- ~300 rounds 9mm Winchester 124 gr NATO
Personal Training objectives:
I just wanted to take a course from Rick and make some improvements to my
overall pistol shooting ability. Nothing too grandiose.
What Happened?:
Basic timeline as follows:
0800
Discussed basics of pistol operation, available resources, went over our
gear, and made introductions.
0900
We started with accuracy testing at 15,12,10,7,5,3 yard distances on IDPA
targets. 50 shots total, incorporated some lateral movement at the closer
ranges.
0950
We practiced firing on 1" dots at 5 yards, attempting to maximize accuracy
(single ragged hole) with five rounds.
1020
Introduced dummy rounds into our partners magazines, had partner observe
shooting to see if recoil anticipation or flinching occurred upon firing the
dummy round. Penance was 10 dry firings for each mistake made on a dummy
round.
1130
Lunch - We all drove to Subway to get a break from the heat and talk about
other training, videos, and went over basic tourniquet application and set
up on the ride there.
1220
We did more accuracy testing at 25 yards on B8 targets, slow fire, and
scored them. We did three iterations of this.
1300
We posted up IDPA targets and practiced individually timed, one, two, and
three shot drills from the holster. Rick also introduced some lateral
movement during the draw into some of these iterations.
We then moved into timed shot strings with reloads on the same targets.
1330
We ran two to three iterations of the SSV drill (like a modified box drill
but a little more complicated) with an IPSC torso steel as the target.
1430ish
We took a break to hydrate, get out of the sun, and ran a little Q&A with
Rick.
1500
We conducted the Lane Drill, which uses an IPSC torso steel target.
Starting at 50 yards, get one impact. Run and shoot one at 25, two at 15,
then back to get one at 25, and then 50 to end the drill.
Par time less than 30 seconds.
1600
We completed with cleaning up the range and Rick presented some awards and
our course completion certificates.
Improves:
1. We were completed by 1450. I was motivated enough I think we could
have gone over more drills, or added a timer element for each shooter to
gauge some basic capabilities from 1500-1600 with little additional
preparation by the instructor.
2. Rick could have pushed the class a little hard and a little longer
in the day. It was a pretty good group of students and I don't think we
were past the point of learning saturation when we completed. I'm all about
getting maximum training value for my buck, so I pushing harder towards
exhaustion is more than ok in my eyes.
Sustains:
1. The course description is accurate and comprehensive. The
instructor, Rick, is easy going a practices what he preaches. He quickly
assessed the general proficiency of the group by student, and cut out a lot
of redundancy that was not needed to get into drills and start evaluating
individual proficiency.
2. Personal ability (speed and accuracy) were evaluated throughout the
entire course on an individual level.
Overall Critique:
The course was definitely worth it, but man the heat definitely degraded my
personal performance and effected my ability to learn (and motivation).
Rick did a great job of selecting active drills in the latter half of the
course that require movement and by using steel could be run quickly
individually on a timer.
There was no "ballistic masturbation" and the course progressed as fast as
the students were able.
Personal notes:
I need to handload some serious pistol ammo. Being down to shooting NATO
9mm (right around if not well in velocity of +P) did not affect my accuracy
but it certainly affected my follow up shots due to high recoil impulse.
Having taken a intro to competition class the day prior left me with some
mental and physical fatigue. It was interesting to see how it correlated to
slower draws and splits, as well as slightly inhibited my ability to learn.
That plus the high temperature and humidity reduced my performance.
My wife attended the course with me, and that made it a little harder to
keep up taking notes. I know that overall having a couple in a course can
inhibit learning, but my wife and I have taken some courses together and
both competed in quite a few local IDPA matches so it wasn't much of a
training detractor in my opinion. Plus my wife is awesome when it comes to
supporting my hobby / lifestyle (shameless plug).
