Defensive Handgun Course with Chris (Plus1/PHT)

[Tejano Scott]

Not currently raining in the woodlands... Loading up and out the door in 20min

 

[scap99]

Rain woke me up at 3am, just let the dog out and it's sprinkling still.
Hope it slacks up.


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[midnightyell]

I feel for you Sunday boys. I'm only a few miles from the range and it's POURING here.


"Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils." - Maj. Gen. John Stark (1728-1822)

 

[TheRealT-Dawg]

I feel for you Sunday boys. I'm only a few miles from the range and it's POURING here.


"Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils." - Maj. Gen. John Stark (1728-1822)

to be honest, kinda wished it DID rain when we shot lol... To have that "down and dirty" feel to the training and to test the limits of our firearms in the elements

But I do feel for yall today, I can see how that can be an inconvenience :/
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[chris211]

That was awesome! We both had a fantastic time, learned many things and gained a lot more confidence. Thank you Chris & Steve for makinig the event interesting, informative and just a pleasure. Even with the adverse weather we had, the training was well worth it! Honestly, I think the weather just added another element. It's impossible to train under the same conditions of a real threat, so the rain and ants added that next level of difficulty.

My wife (Dianna) and I now have plenty of items to work on until the next training class. We have both already made our minds up to continue through the levels offered. As Ben pointed out in his review (which by the way was very well written and dead on target) Chris and Steve's demeaner on the range is such to make even a beginner feel comfortable with no pressure. Dianna went from difficulties charging her weapon and releasing the Mag, to looking like someone that had been operating a G19 for years.

It was great meeting the rest of you and sharing the experience. Thank you to Tundra for setting the deal up and to the rest of you for making it a blast. Dianna will vouch that any females that have a feeling it maybe awkward or that they will be looked down upon, this is from far the case. She was made to feel welcomed and treated with 100% respect.

BTW: All you doubters, 5 glocks in the rain and no malfunctions. (excluding my placing a 9mm mag into a 40 which actually turned into a good malfunction deminstration)

 

[Glockster69]

Sounds like some really good stuff based on reviews & replies, wish it wasn't so far for me. Think I'll give it a lot more consideration if the oppurtunity comes around again.

BTW: All you doubters, 5 glocks in the rain and no malfunctions.

Perfection ~ gotta love it

 

[Plus 1]

Some machines are higher performance than others.

Chris and Steve, I really appreciate your time and patience today. I know I learned a lot and feel a lot more comfortable shooting in a tactical mindset as opposed to shooting at a public or indoor range.

I'll admit I was a bit uncertain about the location at first, but the setup is pretty fantastic if there are no tractors around.

Looking forward to The Pit Bull! Going to figure out how to dye mine burnt orange.



"Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils." - Maj. Gen. John Stark (1728-1822)

Thanks Midnightyell, You did great. You were spot on and shots were all combat effective. You are more than ready for TACII/II. Thanks for comming!

The dirt will be delivered Tueday for the berm expansion!!!!! BTW, the freaking keys were in the tractor, not tell anyone....

 

[Plus 1]

I got mine online, Amazon to be exact, not very many places have it in retail but you can get good prices online... Like no more expensive than normal cleaning and lube solutions if not cheaper lol.

Today was fun as hell! Finally satisfied my "handgun training fix" lol! Today's weather was way better than I hoped... And machine? This "machine" needs to bust more rust off and have some fine tuning done still lol


Thanks guys! Looking forward to the next Stage!
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Thanks TheRealT-dawg, you were a machine dude. I was very impressed. Can't wait to see you in TACII/III!

Also, forgot to shake your hand and thank you for your serivce to our great nation, THANKS!

 

[Plus 1]

Thank you JimBobKelly, I sincerely appreciate it. You and your 1911 rocked! (I am a 1911er at heart....) Perfect form and smooth execution man. See you at TACII/III!

 

[Plus 1]

In regards to this, Chris helped me tremendously in identifying the root causes of my inaccuracies - I mean some stuff so small I didn't even know I was doing it - and I began to show a good bit of improvement over the course of the day. I'm a lot more confident in my abilities and can't wait until I can practice some more.

While this may not be a dedicated marksmanship session, it will still help you in that area, regardless of your skill level. Even benenglish and theRealT-Dawg improved a bit over the course of the day and they're both superb with a handgun.

MidnightYell, you did all did the work man! I have never had anyone improve as fast as you did. You made my job easy. You tightened up your group and were runnen and gunnen. As I said before, OUTSTANDING!

 

[AKM]

Wish I could have went. Probably better I didnt I dont think My mind would have been in it.

 

[Plus 1]

The class today was exemplary and I feel compelled to post a few thoughts.

Without being explicit on this point, Chris clearly acknowledges that he's a student and that we're all on a continuum of learning. He's further along that most of us and can mostly teach but he's not above learning in the process.

I can't stress too strongly the importance of this mindset in an instructor. Know-it-alls can't teach. They don't know it all and even if they know *almost* everything, they let their egos get in the way of efficiently sharing that knowledge.

Chris, on the other hand, knows plenty enough to teach but never takes up residence on some plane of existence unattainable by mere mortals. He responded to questions without hesitation and was perfectly willing to place the particular technique under discussion into a broader context of principles, whether those principles had to do with simple mechanics or some other aspect of shooting. He was, in other words, willing to adapt to the needs of the students and capable of recognizing when such adaptation was necessary, when he needed to re-state in different words or re-demonstrate to make something clear. Instructors who are caught up in their own egos such that their way is the only way are often unable to teach when their way doesn't click with a student; Chris had no such problems.

Examples? I've been a dedicated Weaver shooter for over 30 years when service pistols are in play. Chris made it clear that would not fly in this class. However, he didn't just lay down the law. When he recognized that I was wedded to Weaver and needed more convincing, it was clear that he changed his spiel on the fly, adding context and detail regarding why his way was better. I can still defend Weaver; it has a couple of undeniable advantages, especially for someone older, less strong, and less flexible such as myself. I was distinctly uncomfortable with the straight isosceles stance enforced during the class. But he did such a good job of explaining the conceptual underpinnings and then providing instructions on the details that I was willing to cooperate. I benefited greatly from that.

Second example and a personal pet peeve when this is screwed up - Range commands, including corrections, were clear and appropriate at all times. This applies to both content and tone. On two occasions, he had to correct bad form on my part, the sorts of bad form that lead to safety problems. There were no histrionics, just straightforward, concise corrections followed by positive reinforcement when the situations were corrected. Some instructors throw hissy fits over small things in order to establish their dominance and embarrass students as a way of correcting them; there was none of that here. It's never necessary and Chris clearly recognizes that. Thus, what I like to call a "casual but careful" atmosphere was established where people were diligent enough to be safe but relaxed enough to learn. That's a tough line to walk where firearms are concerned and he did it well.

Steve's role in the class should not be undervalued. He provided a wonderful foil to Chris when needed. He efficiently stepped in with demos. He noted when a re-statement of something needed to be made and provided it with a sufficiently different emphasis that, on several occasions, I was able to better and more quickly understand what was going on. They make a great team.

Like all thing crafted by man, the class wasn't perfect. The facilities were an interesting mix. In some ways, it's wonderful. You feel like you're in the middle of wide-open spaces, yet there's a restroom nearby. In only one way were the facilities inadequate; the berm is too small. Chris realizes it and has already scheduled the additional materials to fix that problem. After that, bikini models serving pitchers of iced sweet tea would be a nice addition but I can't think of anything more that's really needed to teach a class. It's possible to spend literally millions on bells and whistles for a range. I hope Chris is sharp enough (and I think he is) to resist the temptation to add too much artificial stage design infrastructure and, instead, keeps his attention on what counts - connecting with the students and providing the personalized training that meets their needs.

On a crass, commercial note, I'm a retiree. For ~30 years, I worked at one place that sent me to hundreds of classes and spent at least a million dollars training me. (I've also taught dozens of classes, just as a point of reference.) I'm acutely aware of what good training costs and how, sometimes, very costly training can be utterly worthless. Todays class represented a better value-for-money proposition than 99% of those classes.

I'm a better shooter than I was a day ago. My thanks to Chris, Steve, and my classmates for making that happen.

Ben, man, I honestly do not know what to say.... Thank you Ben. I sincerely appreciate it. I love handguns, I love teaching, and more than that I really love watching the little light go on my my students. I just want people to love shooting as much as I do and to understand how to do it well. I ABSOLUTLEY promise Scap99 with be in a bikini as serving you sweet tea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am alway a student and everyone PLEASE let me know if there are any (no matter how small) ways I can improve myself or the course! Seriously! (NOT your scapp99, you shut yo mouth...)

Thanks again Ben, you were by far one of the most accuracte shooters I have ever had.

 

[Plus 1]

Ben, thank you for your praise and honest critique. Your opinion means a lot to me, and I am thrilled that I was able to be of value to you today.

And please don't discount the skills set you brought with you today.

All of you brought your A Game today.






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Scapp99 is the best friend I have and a valuable allie. I trust is him and his skills. I know I can count on him PERIOD (and all that implies!). Thanks for being there for me ASSMUNCH....

 

[Plus 1]

That was awesome! We both had a fantastic time, learned many things and gained a lot more confidence. Thank you Chris & Steve for makinig the event interesting, informative and just a pleasure. Even with the adverse weather we had, the training was well worth it! Honestly, I think the weather just added another element. It's impossible to train under the same conditions of a real threat, so the rain and ants added that next level of difficulty.

My wife (Dianna) and I now have plenty of items to work on until the next training class. We have both already made our minds up to continue through the levels offered. As Ben pointed out in his review (which by the way was very well written and dead on target) Chris and Steve's demeaner on the range is such to make even a beginner feel comfortable with no pressure. Dianna went from difficulties charging her weapon and releasing the Mag, to looking like someone that had been operating a G19 for years.

It was great meeting the rest of you and sharing the experience. Thank you to Tundra for setting the deal up and to the rest of you for making it a blast. Dianna will vouch that any females that have a feeling it maybe awkward or that they will be looked down upon, this is from far the case. She was made to feel welcomed and treated with 100% respect.

BTW: All you doubters, 5 glocks in the rain and no malfunctions. (excluding my placing a 9mm mag into a 40 which actually turned into a good malfunction deminstration)

Thank you Chirs211 and Dianna. Both of you were EXCELLENT is was very impressed you both caught on, geared up, kicked ass and took names.

I sincerely apologize about the rain, the swamp we stood in, and those FREAKING ants. IT SUCKED!!! You are definately the dynamic duo. Can't wai to see you both at TAC II/III!!

 

[Plus 1]

Wish I could have went. Probably better I didnt I dont think My mind would have been in it.

Next one man, YOU'RE IN!

 

[scap99]

Scapp99 is the best friend I have and a valuable allie. I trust is him and his skills. I know I can count on him PERIOD (and all that implies!). Thanks for being there for me ASSMUNCH....

You're welcome. Hope you didn't mind me not speaking for you in Ben's post. I knew you'd have plenty to say and didn't want to ruin it for you.


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[TundraWookiee]

Thanks to everyone for making this a great weekend and a success. Ben's review is spot on. Chris walks that fine line of being casual enough that you can enjoy yourself and learn while still being firm and in command of the range. His adage of "you don't know what you don't know" proved true for all of us. I know that everyone picked up valuable information and we are all greatly improved shooters just from the time spent today. With a little more time and practice I'm confident that we'll develop those skills further, skills that could someday prove extremely valuable. I was thoroughly impressed with everyone's shooting (especially Gramps making us look bad) and we all had a great time with a couple good laughs. Steve's role in the weekend is not to be overlooked as he did an excellent job at helping act out scenarios while silently observing us all to maintain a safe atmosphere. He was quick to call out any lapses in safety and added a great deal to the value of the course.

In short, Chris and Steve are two of the best guys around here in my opinion and I won't hesitate to sign up for the full battery of Chris's courses. I highly recommend that anyone who was unable to make it this weekend look into scheduling something with him in the future. Thanks again guys!

 

[Sugar Land]

Scapp99 is the best friend I have and a valuable allie. I trust is him and his skills. I know I can count on him PERIOD (and all that implies!). Thanks for being there for me ASSMUNCH....

Sounds like sucking up to me....LOL

 

[TundraWookiee]

It was a little bit wet out this morning...

Chris demonstrating an exercise

Those dang Glocks and their malfunctions!

 

[TXDARKHORSE361]

Jealous of you guys, would have loved to have gotten in on something like this, Plus 1 if you ever decide to do one in the San Antonio area I would definitely do my best to attend. And T-Dawg I told you this place was awesome I see you're having no problem making friends and getting something out of it, we need to get together and shoot sometime.