Summary
This is the second time I took this course, first time I learned a lot. Many of the lessons from the first class I built upon and was able to become proficient enough to do very well in this class. The same exact material was not covered in this class as was in the last, there was also a different level of student in this class as compare to the last. The same basics were covered in depth and the "integrated system of fire" was also covered which is awesome. There was a good amount of mindset put into this class, as everything has a higher purpose, this class is a stepping stone for further more detailed series of instruction.
*Warning* Very picture heavy!
*Warning* Very picture heavy!
Equipment
Glock 19 Gen4 - Negative trigger bar, Ameriglo Pro-I dot, TLR1s
STG IWB kydex holster
Glock 17 and 19 magazines
Glock Mag Pouch
Cold Steel Brave Heart
Wolf/tula/steel 9mm 115gr
The First Half (Day1)
Starting off the day was in the low 50's. There was an intro, a safety brief and the typical early morning stuff, setting up and getting some explanation of the basics going. There were some novice/beginner shooters at this class so there was a good bit of basic explanation.
The first half ended with a pretty detailed examination of each students firearms and how they perform. We ran a baseline 200 standard (25 yards, ten rounds freestyle two hand, five rounds strong hand, five rounds other strong hand, untimed) and a few other accuracy drills and broke for lunch.
Lunch (Day1)
One aspect of this class that I have not really seen in many others is that lunch is not an on-sight ordeal, it is a "gathering" of sorts. Tom goes over a good bit of mindset, as he did in the last class. This is a great part of the class, definitely puts things into perspective. After we were all fat and happy, we went back to the range, energized.
The Second Half (Day1)
We started off the afternoon doing draw strokes. Since some of the shooters did not have much experience drawing and firing accurately we began to run through a series of drawing and firing. Tom had a very specific way of explaining the draw and it worked out for some of the students.
Another student and myself took this class before, so we were doing some advanced drawing. Drawing a blade, striking a target and shooting a secondary target, when there will be a Warrior 2.0 class, there will be a lot of this.
We ran some draw and shots on a steel plate at about 7 yards for time. I posted a 1.31, not great, need to work on it. Many students did very well for time. It is very interesting to see how people perform under time. Tom went first and showed the class proper procedure.
All the students went through the timed shots, five shots for a recorded standard. Tom and Jason gave pointers to each student that needed things pointed out.
Tom went on to go over a few things, specifically why certain things need to be done a certain way.
Tom went into showing principles of kneeling and prone shooting, including reasoning for scanning and different grips when shooting from those positions.
We ended with a walk back shooting competition. This was fun since it got cold and always good to see how people shoot at great distances. Pretty much everyone hit the steel plate up to around 35 yards. After that it became interesting. We walked back until there was only two guys being able to the plate, I believe it was around 80 or so yards, everyone was shooting 9mm, so the shooting was pretty awesome. I missed out at around the 50 yard line or so, then again I was shooting steel case, no excuses though.
The First Half (Day2)
We showed up bright and early after a good breakfast then got right into it. Tom started out with a recap, everyone stretched and we ran a 700.
If you do not know what the 700 point pistol aggregate is, click the link and Kyle Defoor explains it well. I highly suggest you take the time to do one, under a timer, with a buddy preferably and record your individual. I put up a 520 something. I shot with American Eagle 9mm ammo, since the Tula/Wolf/steel stuff I was shooting sucked in the accuracy I wanted out of more premium brass cased ammo. This took up the rest of the afternoon and we went off to lunch.
The Second Half (Day2)
This was the heavy part. We did a good bit of shooting here. Tom had us doing some shoot then reload drills. Always burning good reps, making sure everything flowed correctly. Then we ran a Farnham drill, for time, I believe everyone made the student standard.
After running the Farnham for time we did a little freestyle running of the drill, just to be able to run it a few times and get whatever issues you thought you had worked out. (more individual pictures of students shooting the drill)
We were constantly reminded to scan after we were finished shooting.
After doing that we got into shooting some hostage targets. This is a great drill, excellent tempo change, Tom said he does something similar in the 2.0 class, but more advanced. Tom explained the hostage drill.
Then we shot the hostages...I mean the bad guys.
Then we shot the hostages...I mean the bad guys.
Of course always scanning after each sequence.
Then the fun began. Hit a hostage?
Then you grab a log and start running. Shooting hostages is a no no.
Everyone ended up running the log once or twice. No one is perfect after all, but everyone started to real careful where they put those rounds. My target by the end of the drill:
We ended up concluding the class with another walk back competition. This time two guys made it out to 150-ish yards, across a body of water, shooting at a target right around sundown. They were prone, which helped but, damn accurate. Was a little too dark to get a picture of the distance?
Conclusion:
Since this was my second time taking the 1.0 class I expected a certain level of competence and performance out of myself, as did the instructors, Tom and Jason. The standards did not change, only my ability to meet and overcome them. There is still a very difficult level of standard ahead and the bar is always being set higher. This class was exactly what I expected it to be, custom tailored at this level for the individual, and Tom did an excellent job at this. There was a good difference in skill levels in the class and there was no serious lag to make sure other students caught up with everyone else. Some basics were gone over, like load and unload procedure and the integrated system of fire, but anyone who says they do not need the basics needs to do some reevaluating. I look forward to the 2.0 class or another 1.0 class. The accuracy standard, as well as the speed standard, in this class are set high enough that a student at any skill level can take it and be happy with the results. The mindset that is explored in this class is also something which is extremely important for anyone who carries a firearm or ever wants to defend themselves against those who would do them harm.