I was at this class along with R.D. thanks to the new “Tactical Stimulus Program” offered by U.S. Training Center. The instructors for our course were Jason and Kyle. Both instructors were outstanding shooters and outstanding instructors. Both were more than willing to answer any questions asked and they shot each drill they asked the students to perform. The instructors shooting the drills was a huge plus to me, since it allows the students to see what is to be done and permits the students to see the shooting ability of the instructors (which isn’t always important, but is nice to see).
We had six students in the class. There was a flight deck officer for a commercial airline, a contractor, one USPSA shooter, a police officer, and two others. Weapons used included: Glock 19s (used by both instructors, the contractor, an one other), XD-9, Glock 17L, M&P9, and a 1911. The only weapon issues I recall was with the XD. I believe a squib load required the shooter to tear his gun down in order to check the status of the gun. Most people used some sort of drop-down or thigh holster in order to clear the cold weather gear we were wearing. No one had any kind of gear related issues.
The course itself was 3 days long and was held at the US Training Center in scenic Moyock, NC. This was my fourth trip to Moyock and I was once again amazed at how much the site grows and changes each time I’m there. I stayed and ate offsite, so I don’t know how the bunkhouse or food has changed. However, everyone there said both things were nice.
Here is a general breakdown of the course:
Day 1:
We met in the classroom where introductions (instructors and students) were conducted. The course syllabus was then reviewed and we watched a short PowerPoint presentation about the course. Once this was completed we headed out to the range. We began the shooting portion with a skill evaluation conducted at 25 yards. Once our baselines were established we moved on to the meat of the course. During day one we covered the following topics:
Refinement of the draw stroke
Decreasing time from the draw to first shot on target
Refinements of reloading the pistol (releasing of the slide was a large component of this)
Increasing our shooting tempo
Different stances
We concluded the day with the Hackathorn Standards
Day 2:
The day started with weapon retention and disarm drills. I’m not sure where the material came from, but it looked very similar to Krav Maga material I’ve seen in the past. Regardless; it was simple and effective. After throwing each other around in the gravel we started a second day of shooting. This time we covered:
One handed draws, shooting, and weapon manipulation. (dominant and non-dominant hand only)
Shooting from retention
Distance shooting (back to 85 or 95 yards)
We ended the day with the Leatham Standards
Day 3:
Day 3 consisted of movement and a trip to the Rogers Range. When working movement we focused on:
Turns (90 and 180 degree)
Moving to cover and the use of cover
Shooting on the move
Once we finished with the SOM material, we moved over the Rogers range where we worked on stuff we had covered on the previous days. We also were able to find out what our average times were for reloads, shoot one-reload-shoot one, and other things. After spending several hours on the Rogers range we met back in the classroom for the issuing of certificates and class critiques.
Overall the class was outstanding. It provided me with small things that will give me large returns the more I practice them and this was exactly what I came to the class for. Is there anything I would change about the course? Nope. It is exactly as advertised. It is a course to refine your skills in manipulating the handgun and that’s exactly what it did. In fact, I wouldn’t mind taking the course again next year just to see how much I have improved.
As a side note; I believe this was the first open enrollment course taught under the new US Training Center name. Our certificates were printed “US Training Center” but our seals on them still said “Blackwater Lodge.” It was like a bit of the old with a bit of the new.
In closing I’d like to thank US Training Center for providing me with the oppertunity to attend the class for free. I’d also like to thank Jason, Kyle, Tony, and the other instructors that came out and helped us while we were there. Everyone was a class act, a great instructor, and an outstanding shooter.
