TexasRifleman
Moderator Emeritus
In March, Gunsite held a 1911 anniversary class. I heard about it at SHOT Show and by the time I called Gunsite the class was full. I guess the demand was overwhelming so I got a call a couple of weeks later saying they had added another session of this class in late September. Sign me up!
Also while at SHOT I made arrangements to get a new Ed Brown Special Forces .45 and I thought this was the perfect way to break in that gun. I had no idea how true that would be. So, after months of waiting and planning, I hitched up my travel trailer to the F150 and made the 16 hour drive from Ft Worth to the middle of nowhere outside Prescott, AZ for a week of nothing but 1911 shooting. The demand for the 1911 Commemorative was so great that they actually ran 3 concurrent classes that week.
Day 0
I arrived at the Gunsite Ranch RV area about 4pm on Sunday. This was my first trip to Gunsite but if you go and have any kind of RV I highly recommend camping on site. I was 5 minutes from the range every day, and the facilities are very nice and clean with restrooms, showers, ice machines, and laundry machines. Water and electric hookups, no sewer. While the other sore shooters had to endure an hour drive back to civilization, I was showered and on the couch eating Advil 15 minutes after class ended each day. They charge $30 a day and to me it's worth every penny. Even with gas prices such as they are the 2200 mile drive from Texas with a travel trailer was cheaper than airfare, hotel, restaurants and rental car would have been for a week. When I go back I will do this again. Plus the extra hour of sleep in the morning was worth it's weight in gold
Day 1
8am start at the classroom. Finish paperwork, pay any remaining balance, sign your life away in the waiver, fill out the lunch paperwork and wait for things to start. Buzz Mills, Gunsite owner, starts the class with an overview of the week. In addition to the normal 250 class, this 1911 special includes a BBQ one night, a couple of guest lecturers, and the NRA 1911 collection will be on site for viewing later in the week. Some lecture on safety, the 4 rules as preached by Col . Cooper, an overview of the Modern Technique, then introduction of our Range Masters for the week. Myself and all of the other THR attendees (who will do their own reports later) were in the first class signed up so we were very fortunate to have Sheriff Ken Campbell as our Range Master for the week. If you follow the training scene you know that Ken is very active in training at his range in Indiana, hosting a 3 day Gunsite 250 class, carbine classes with Pat Rogers, etc. Pick up ammo packages, including hard to find frangible, and head to the range. First day is all about indoctrination; the Cooper method of safety, stance, draw, surprised compressed trigger break, etc. The religion of Col. Cooper is alive and well here, and it's pretty obvious that the entire doctrine was written around a 1911 so it makes perfect sense. I know many take issue with the things taught at Gunsite but with a 1911 it really does work out nicely. Day 1 ended back in the classroom with a lecture on dry fire practice by Ed Head. We were advised to eat lots of range candy (ibuprofen) and be at the range at 7:30 the next day.
Days 2 and 3
The next couple of days are solid shooting on the square range. Building muscle memory for the Modern Technique by working on malfunction clearances, reloads, draws, various shooting drills, over and over. I heard in my sleep "FRONT SIGHT! PREEEESS!" They keep a 4:1 shooter/coach ratio at Gunsite, so as the Range Master gives commands and walks the shooting line the other 3 coaches stop and offer critique or encouragement where needed. Our coaches included 2 long time LEOs and a retired USMC Colonel. These 2 days we are also introduced to the 250 class grading criteria, what they call class drills. After 2 days of constant shooting we end with a lecture at the range on tactics and how the shooting simulators are run. One of the things that separates Gunsite from lots of other training facilities is the availability of several indoor and outdoor shooting simulations. These are designed to artificially drive up stress levels and ensure that the techniques taught earlier in the week hold up under pressure. Day 2 ended with the lecture on Mindset and a 1911 gunsmithing presentation. Day 3 ended back in the classroom with a presentation from the NRA Firearms Museum and a display of firearms, including 1911 #4.
Day 4
Simulator practice runs, outdoor and indoor, and more time on the square range working on the class drills. These include 3 yards, draw and hit single head shot in 1.5 seconds; 7 yards draw and hit 2 to the chest in 2 seconds, some kneeling further out, and prone out past 25. These are part of the final grading scheme used, as well as a subjective grade on performance inside the simulators and an El Presidente. Day 4 included a BBQ dinner and a lecture on low light. After dinner we regrouped at the square range after dark for an hour of low light shooting. Longest day for sure.
Day 5
Finals are due. Bit of practice on the school drills then the groups split up to go shoot the indoor and outdoor simulators for grades, shoot the graded drills on the square range including El Prez. After that, a bit of shooting on steel followed by a shoot off to award the "Best Shooter" in the class. This being a 1911 special class we had a few ringers on site this week. Several had taken the more advanced Gunsite classes and were just taking this one for the 1911 content. So, my class shoot off champion was a long time Gunsite veteran. He also won the shoot off between the other 1911 classes that were running concurrently. So, if there has to be a ringer it's good to be on the ringers team anyway Back to the classroom for awards and a few housekeeping things, then dismissed around 3:30pm. Mrs. Cooper was out of town but made arrangements for attendees to go see The Sconce, which is Jeff Coopers residence there on site. I had 16 hours ahead of me so I skipped this and, after fixing a flat tire, hit the road.
Conclusion
This was my first Gunsite class and I am glad it was a 1911 only class. The Modern Technique doctrine was pretty much written around the 1911 style handgun, so it makes sense the way they teach it. They do emphasize the Weaver but will tell you up front that if you choose to shoot Isosceles that they are fine with that. I wanted to give an honest effort to doing it their way so I shot the Weaver through Day 3 and then finally had to abandon it. My muscle memory is simply too programmed the other way to change that quickly. Maybe if I worked at it for a year and several thousand rounds I could switch. I saw a little of both stances during the week. The school seems to realize that they are one of the few places left teaching it, so they don't push it as much as I think they used to.
Gear - What works, what doesn't.
My gear for this class was an Ed Brown Special Forces Government Model in .45 with about 1000 rounds through it already. I started with a full set of Tucker leather, including an HF1 holster and dual mag pouch. Kneepads are a must, and elbow pads are handy. Good electronic muffs are recommended so you can hear the instructors give advice while you shoot. I used about 500 rounds of aluminum case 230gr Blazer, about 600 rounds of Remington 230gr FMJ, and 50 or so Remington 165gr frangibles inside the simulators.
Gun wise I experienced zero failures during the week other than a couple of draws on the last day where I failed to get a good grab on the grip safety simply from trying to go too fast. I was very pleased with the Ed Brown, and especially happy with the fit of all the parts, no rough edges at all. I can't tell you how many blisters and bleeding hands I saw this week from guns that had rough edges either around the safety or in the grip safety fit. I saw lots of pain from guns with extremely aggressive checkering as well. I started Day 1 with some aggressive G10 VZ grips but those came off at lunch in favor of traditional wood stocks and by Day 4 I had installed completely smooth wood grip panels. Take a box of fabric BandAids
No ammo issues at all, not much to say about ammo. I had 8 CMC 8 round Power Mags and they all worked great this week too. Rarely shot the gun to slide lock but when I did, I had no issues with locking the slide with these magazines.
Holster…. here I had a bit of trouble. The Tucker HF1 is a beautiful holster, but the way it's designed the tighter you cinch your belt the tighter the holster grips the gun. You simply cannot draw and fire within 1.5 seconds with this holster unless you loosen your belt too much. On Day 3 I switched to a plastic BladeTech holster and finished the class using that. I can't really call it a holster failure, this just isn't what the holster was intended to do. The BladeTech worked great to finish the week.
I took a SureFire 6PX, but I took the dual output model. This is a completely useless flashlight for shooting. The dual brightness starts with low, then a second click brings in the bright light. I can only recommend single output lights for use with a gun. My fault, I grabbed the wrong one before I left home so I borrowed a single output light for the low light shooting. I had occasion to try an Elzetta flashlight and I will be looking into buying one of these.
Overall I am very happy with the quality of training and I do have a better appreciation for why Cooper did what he did as far as the Modern Technique goes. I can see why non 1911 shooters would not have nearly as much interest in shooting this way.
I plan on going back to Gunsite next year for the 350 class, which is more simulator work as well as low light in the simulators. I am undecided on whether or not I will attempt to switch myself to the Weaver. I do agree with Gunsite's argument for using it I am just not sure I can switch after so many years doing it the other way.
If you do Facebook, Gunsite has a page with many photos from this and other classes.
The other THR attendees spent a great deal of time reviewing several guns and other pieces of equipment so be on the lookout for a much more scientific and methodical review of the class. I went purely for fun, they went to work.
Also while at SHOT I made arrangements to get a new Ed Brown Special Forces .45 and I thought this was the perfect way to break in that gun. I had no idea how true that would be. So, after months of waiting and planning, I hitched up my travel trailer to the F150 and made the 16 hour drive from Ft Worth to the middle of nowhere outside Prescott, AZ for a week of nothing but 1911 shooting. The demand for the 1911 Commemorative was so great that they actually ran 3 concurrent classes that week.
Day 0
I arrived at the Gunsite Ranch RV area about 4pm on Sunday. This was my first trip to Gunsite but if you go and have any kind of RV I highly recommend camping on site. I was 5 minutes from the range every day, and the facilities are very nice and clean with restrooms, showers, ice machines, and laundry machines. Water and electric hookups, no sewer. While the other sore shooters had to endure an hour drive back to civilization, I was showered and on the couch eating Advil 15 minutes after class ended each day. They charge $30 a day and to me it's worth every penny. Even with gas prices such as they are the 2200 mile drive from Texas with a travel trailer was cheaper than airfare, hotel, restaurants and rental car would have been for a week. When I go back I will do this again. Plus the extra hour of sleep in the morning was worth it's weight in gold
Day 1
8am start at the classroom. Finish paperwork, pay any remaining balance, sign your life away in the waiver, fill out the lunch paperwork and wait for things to start. Buzz Mills, Gunsite owner, starts the class with an overview of the week. In addition to the normal 250 class, this 1911 special includes a BBQ one night, a couple of guest lecturers, and the NRA 1911 collection will be on site for viewing later in the week. Some lecture on safety, the 4 rules as preached by Col . Cooper, an overview of the Modern Technique, then introduction of our Range Masters for the week. Myself and all of the other THR attendees (who will do their own reports later) were in the first class signed up so we were very fortunate to have Sheriff Ken Campbell as our Range Master for the week. If you follow the training scene you know that Ken is very active in training at his range in Indiana, hosting a 3 day Gunsite 250 class, carbine classes with Pat Rogers, etc. Pick up ammo packages, including hard to find frangible, and head to the range. First day is all about indoctrination; the Cooper method of safety, stance, draw, surprised compressed trigger break, etc. The religion of Col. Cooper is alive and well here, and it's pretty obvious that the entire doctrine was written around a 1911 so it makes perfect sense. I know many take issue with the things taught at Gunsite but with a 1911 it really does work out nicely. Day 1 ended back in the classroom with a lecture on dry fire practice by Ed Head. We were advised to eat lots of range candy (ibuprofen) and be at the range at 7:30 the next day.
Days 2 and 3
The next couple of days are solid shooting on the square range. Building muscle memory for the Modern Technique by working on malfunction clearances, reloads, draws, various shooting drills, over and over. I heard in my sleep "FRONT SIGHT! PREEEESS!" They keep a 4:1 shooter/coach ratio at Gunsite, so as the Range Master gives commands and walks the shooting line the other 3 coaches stop and offer critique or encouragement where needed. Our coaches included 2 long time LEOs and a retired USMC Colonel. These 2 days we are also introduced to the 250 class grading criteria, what they call class drills. After 2 days of constant shooting we end with a lecture at the range on tactics and how the shooting simulators are run. One of the things that separates Gunsite from lots of other training facilities is the availability of several indoor and outdoor shooting simulations. These are designed to artificially drive up stress levels and ensure that the techniques taught earlier in the week hold up under pressure. Day 2 ended with the lecture on Mindset and a 1911 gunsmithing presentation. Day 3 ended back in the classroom with a presentation from the NRA Firearms Museum and a display of firearms, including 1911 #4.
Day 4
Simulator practice runs, outdoor and indoor, and more time on the square range working on the class drills. These include 3 yards, draw and hit single head shot in 1.5 seconds; 7 yards draw and hit 2 to the chest in 2 seconds, some kneeling further out, and prone out past 25. These are part of the final grading scheme used, as well as a subjective grade on performance inside the simulators and an El Presidente. Day 4 included a BBQ dinner and a lecture on low light. After dinner we regrouped at the square range after dark for an hour of low light shooting. Longest day for sure.
Day 5
Finals are due. Bit of practice on the school drills then the groups split up to go shoot the indoor and outdoor simulators for grades, shoot the graded drills on the square range including El Prez. After that, a bit of shooting on steel followed by a shoot off to award the "Best Shooter" in the class. This being a 1911 special class we had a few ringers on site this week. Several had taken the more advanced Gunsite classes and were just taking this one for the 1911 content. So, my class shoot off champion was a long time Gunsite veteran. He also won the shoot off between the other 1911 classes that were running concurrently. So, if there has to be a ringer it's good to be on the ringers team anyway
Back to the classroom for awards and a few housekeeping things, then dismissed around 3:30pm. Mrs. Cooper was out of town but made arrangements for attendees to go see The Sconce, which is Jeff Coopers residence there on site. I had 16 hours ahead of me so I skipped this and, after fixing a flat tire, hit the road.Conclusion
This was my first Gunsite class and I am glad it was a 1911 only class. The Modern Technique doctrine was pretty much written around the 1911 style handgun, so it makes sense the way they teach it. They do emphasize the Weaver but will tell you up front that if you choose to shoot Isosceles that they are fine with that. I wanted to give an honest effort to doing it their way so I shot the Weaver through Day 3 and then finally had to abandon it. My muscle memory is simply too programmed the other way to change that quickly. Maybe if I worked at it for a year and several thousand rounds I could switch. I saw a little of both stances during the week. The school seems to realize that they are one of the few places left teaching it, so they don't push it as much as I think they used to.
Gear - What works, what doesn't.
My gear for this class was an Ed Brown Special Forces Government Model in .45 with about 1000 rounds through it already. I started with a full set of Tucker leather, including an HF1 holster and dual mag pouch. Kneepads are a must, and elbow pads are handy. Good electronic muffs are recommended so you can hear the instructors give advice while you shoot. I used about 500 rounds of aluminum case 230gr Blazer, about 600 rounds of Remington 230gr FMJ, and 50 or so Remington 165gr frangibles inside the simulators.
Gun wise I experienced zero failures during the week other than a couple of draws on the last day where I failed to get a good grab on the grip safety simply from trying to go too fast. I was very pleased with the Ed Brown, and especially happy with the fit of all the parts, no rough edges at all. I can't tell you how many blisters and bleeding hands I saw this week from guns that had rough edges either around the safety or in the grip safety fit. I saw lots of pain from guns with extremely aggressive checkering as well. I started Day 1 with some aggressive G10 VZ grips but those came off at lunch in favor of traditional wood stocks and by Day 4 I had installed completely smooth wood grip panels. Take a box of fabric BandAids
No ammo issues at all, not much to say about ammo. I had 8 CMC 8 round Power Mags and they all worked great this week too. Rarely shot the gun to slide lock but when I did, I had no issues with locking the slide with these magazines.
Holster…. here I had a bit of trouble. The Tucker HF1 is a beautiful holster, but the way it's designed the tighter you cinch your belt the tighter the holster grips the gun. You simply cannot draw and fire within 1.5 seconds with this holster unless you loosen your belt too much. On Day 3 I switched to a plastic BladeTech holster and finished the class using that. I can't really call it a holster failure, this just isn't what the holster was intended to do. The BladeTech worked great to finish the week.
I took a SureFire 6PX, but I took the dual output model. This is a completely useless flashlight for shooting. The dual brightness starts with low, then a second click brings in the bright light. I can only recommend single output lights for use with a gun. My fault, I grabbed the wrong one before I left home so I borrowed a single output light for the low light shooting. I had occasion to try an Elzetta flashlight and I will be looking into buying one of these.
Overall I am very happy with the quality of training and I do have a better appreciation for why Cooper did what he did as far as the Modern Technique goes. I can see why non 1911 shooters would not have nearly as much interest in shooting this way.
I plan on going back to Gunsite next year for the 350 class, which is more simulator work as well as low light in the simulators. I am undecided on whether or not I will attempt to switch myself to the Weaver. I do agree with Gunsite's argument for using it I am just not sure I can switch after so many years doing it the other way.
If you do Facebook, Gunsite has a page with many photos from this and other classes.
The other THR attendees spent a great deal of time reviewing several guns and other pieces of equipment so be on the lookout for a much more scientific and methodical review of the class. I went purely for fun, they went to work.
