Buzznrose
Member
Gunsite 350 Class Review
I'm posting this in case anyone is interested in taking a Gunsite Academy class ( www.gunsite.com ) Disclosure: I have never had any formal firearms training anywhere other than M-16/M-4/M-9 familiarization and qualification training a couple dozen or so times in the Air Force. I only carried weapons while deployed to Iraq, so that training was minimal.
I took my first class, the 250 pistol, last year in October with my wife, and we both had a ball. This year, I wanted to check out the Gunsite Alumni Shoot, so I scheduled for a 350 pistol class the week before. My wife could not make this trip so I went alone. We're going to try taking another trip to Gunsite in May/June, as she does want to go take another class.
Monday morning sign in was BUSY! They had two 250 classes, a 499 Carbine, an AK47, and our 350 class all going on. But even with all that, registration went quickly, and I had a chance to say hello to former instructors Bill Halverson, Jerry McGown (teaching 250 classes) and Leslie Anders (taking one of the rifle classes). My 350 class had 24 students, lead by Range Master Ken Campbell. The other three Range Master/Coaches were Walt Wilkinson, Bob Whaley, and John Hall. All combined, these instructors had over 100 years of real world experience in Law enforcement and military operation, including Army Spec Ops and SWAT. They are excellent instructors, consistent in message, clear in guidance, swift to correct, and absolutely professional throughout. All were genuinely nice guys with great personalities and full of humor.
My classmates consisted of several current and retired LEO's from California, Colorado, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, a couple ER doctors, a 60ish year old, one legged Army Ranger, a few engineers, and a hodgepodge of other folks. There were two women (one was an ER doc). Everyone carried semi-auto pistols except the Philly cop (he was also an adjunct Gunsite instructor), who carried a DA 4" revolver (and ran it incredibly well shooting double action and using speed loaders). Half the class had 1911's, the other half had a mix of Glocks, Sigs, SA's, Berettas, an HK, etc. I ran a couple Glock's, a 19 and a 23, both were Gen 4's. I had no real malfunctions except problems with my BVAC frangible 9MM ammo (I had two KABOOMS in the simulators). Luckily, they were not major (one did blow out my magazine) and malfunction drills cleared them quickly. I did have slight powder burns. For the square range, I shot Freedom Munitions FMJ ammo and had zero problems in over 1200 rounds.
In the 250 class, the set-up is about 65% range work and 35% lecture/teaching. I shot around 900 rounds in 250. In 350, it was more like 90% range work, and 10% lecture. Our Mindset lecture was excellent, as we teamed up with the 250 classes for lecture by Range Master Charlie McNeese and special guest, Gunsite founder Jeff Cooper (they had a video from when Cooper taught the class...it was very cool!).
So I said we shot a lot...that is true, but we were constantly reminded that Gunsite is not a "shooting" school, it is a "fighting" school. Every round had a purpose, a lesson behind it. Shots were taken, results were reviewed, and mentorship, including reinforcement and/or correction, was given. If you shot a good string, you knew why. If you didn't, you knew why and how to fix it. The first day and a half were a condensed and action filled review of all the basics we learned in the 250 class, from stance (fighting Weaver) to presentation (5 step) to "front sight...press" to "look and assess" to "tactical reload/weapon management" to "reluctantly holster". Same basic drills, as we were striving to get smoother every time. Accuracy is everything..."you can't miss fast enough!"
In 250, you go through the indoor & outdoor simulator trainers once each. In 350, we went through them 3 times each, once each in pitch black. Flashlight drills really came into play as I tried to find the best combination of using the light to find bad guys and assess areas, while not using it too much and get taken out. Instructor feedback was immediate and direct...they are teaching skills needed to save lives. There wasn't much "sugar coating", but with correction came mentoring on better tactical alternatives, and how/why to employ them. I made a lot of mistakes, but I learned a lot from them, and that is definitely what I wanted and needed. On Friday, we ran through a force on force drill. They gear you up in padding and give you a simunition weapon. Basically, you shoot a real pistol shooting paint cartridges. You deal with real people trained to react based on your actions. It was a huge eye-opener. I won't go into details, but I screwed up. Made me think A LOT about MINDSET. Bottom line, I hesitated and was taken out. Very realistic. All you cops out there have my full respect! The big lesson I took away was carrying a firearm and gun fighting is a game of micro-seconds, where critical decisions are made and actions taken are based on prior training and conditioning, both physical AND mental. Minutes after the scenario was over, I suddenly realized that I had failed to put my mind into condition RED immediately and define the critical "trigger" I needed to use deadly force. A very big mistake, but outstanding training for me to learn from.
Everything else about the Academy was excellent as before, from the lunch servers to the facilities to the customer-centric, professional staff. The Pro-Shop is excellent, and prices are very reasonable. I almost bought a S&W Shield 9MM for $450, but decided I'd clearly spent enough on fun in Arizona LOL! I need to save some $ for the next trip with my wife and, hopefully, our oldest daughter.
In summary, the Gunsite Academy once again proved to be, for me, money well spent. I could go to other schools where it costs less, spend fewer days, and shoot more rounds. I have a lot of folks here in Texas willing to take my gun money and impart me with their wisdom. I'm sure they would likely teach me things I could use to get better, no doubt. But on the other hand, I BELIEVE in the instruction I received. I trust it and plan on using it as a foundation for my own dry and live fire practice. I pray I never have to use these skills I was taught to protect my family or community, but I surely do sleep better at night knowing I have them if needed.
I'm posting this in case anyone is interested in taking a Gunsite Academy class ( www.gunsite.com ) Disclosure: I have never had any formal firearms training anywhere other than M-16/M-4/M-9 familiarization and qualification training a couple dozen or so times in the Air Force. I only carried weapons while deployed to Iraq, so that training was minimal.
I took my first class, the 250 pistol, last year in October with my wife, and we both had a ball. This year, I wanted to check out the Gunsite Alumni Shoot, so I scheduled for a 350 pistol class the week before. My wife could not make this trip so I went alone. We're going to try taking another trip to Gunsite in May/June, as she does want to go take another class.
Monday morning sign in was BUSY! They had two 250 classes, a 499 Carbine, an AK47, and our 350 class all going on. But even with all that, registration went quickly, and I had a chance to say hello to former instructors Bill Halverson, Jerry McGown (teaching 250 classes) and Leslie Anders (taking one of the rifle classes). My 350 class had 24 students, lead by Range Master Ken Campbell. The other three Range Master/Coaches were Walt Wilkinson, Bob Whaley, and John Hall. All combined, these instructors had over 100 years of real world experience in Law enforcement and military operation, including Army Spec Ops and SWAT. They are excellent instructors, consistent in message, clear in guidance, swift to correct, and absolutely professional throughout. All were genuinely nice guys with great personalities and full of humor.
My classmates consisted of several current and retired LEO's from California, Colorado, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, a couple ER doctors, a 60ish year old, one legged Army Ranger, a few engineers, and a hodgepodge of other folks. There were two women (one was an ER doc). Everyone carried semi-auto pistols except the Philly cop (he was also an adjunct Gunsite instructor), who carried a DA 4" revolver (and ran it incredibly well shooting double action and using speed loaders). Half the class had 1911's, the other half had a mix of Glocks, Sigs, SA's, Berettas, an HK, etc. I ran a couple Glock's, a 19 and a 23, both were Gen 4's. I had no real malfunctions except problems with my BVAC frangible 9MM ammo (I had two KABOOMS in the simulators). Luckily, they were not major (one did blow out my magazine) and malfunction drills cleared them quickly. I did have slight powder burns. For the square range, I shot Freedom Munitions FMJ ammo and had zero problems in over 1200 rounds.
In the 250 class, the set-up is about 65% range work and 35% lecture/teaching. I shot around 900 rounds in 250. In 350, it was more like 90% range work, and 10% lecture. Our Mindset lecture was excellent, as we teamed up with the 250 classes for lecture by Range Master Charlie McNeese and special guest, Gunsite founder Jeff Cooper (they had a video from when Cooper taught the class...it was very cool!).
So I said we shot a lot...that is true, but we were constantly reminded that Gunsite is not a "shooting" school, it is a "fighting" school. Every round had a purpose, a lesson behind it. Shots were taken, results were reviewed, and mentorship, including reinforcement and/or correction, was given. If you shot a good string, you knew why. If you didn't, you knew why and how to fix it. The first day and a half were a condensed and action filled review of all the basics we learned in the 250 class, from stance (fighting Weaver) to presentation (5 step) to "front sight...press" to "look and assess" to "tactical reload/weapon management" to "reluctantly holster". Same basic drills, as we were striving to get smoother every time. Accuracy is everything..."you can't miss fast enough!"
In 250, you go through the indoor & outdoor simulator trainers once each. In 350, we went through them 3 times each, once each in pitch black. Flashlight drills really came into play as I tried to find the best combination of using the light to find bad guys and assess areas, while not using it too much and get taken out. Instructor feedback was immediate and direct...they are teaching skills needed to save lives. There wasn't much "sugar coating", but with correction came mentoring on better tactical alternatives, and how/why to employ them. I made a lot of mistakes, but I learned a lot from them, and that is definitely what I wanted and needed. On Friday, we ran through a force on force drill. They gear you up in padding and give you a simunition weapon. Basically, you shoot a real pistol shooting paint cartridges. You deal with real people trained to react based on your actions. It was a huge eye-opener. I won't go into details, but I screwed up. Made me think A LOT about MINDSET. Bottom line, I hesitated and was taken out. Very realistic. All you cops out there have my full respect! The big lesson I took away was carrying a firearm and gun fighting is a game of micro-seconds, where critical decisions are made and actions taken are based on prior training and conditioning, both physical AND mental. Minutes after the scenario was over, I suddenly realized that I had failed to put my mind into condition RED immediately and define the critical "trigger" I needed to use deadly force. A very big mistake, but outstanding training for me to learn from.
Everything else about the Academy was excellent as before, from the lunch servers to the facilities to the customer-centric, professional staff. The Pro-Shop is excellent, and prices are very reasonable. I almost bought a S&W Shield 9MM for $450, but decided I'd clearly spent enough on fun in Arizona LOL! I need to save some $ for the next trip with my wife and, hopefully, our oldest daughter.
In summary, the Gunsite Academy once again proved to be, for me, money well spent. I could go to other schools where it costs less, spend fewer days, and shoot more rounds. I have a lot of folks here in Texas willing to take my gun money and impart me with their wisdom. I'm sure they would likely teach me things I could use to get better, no doubt. But on the other hand, I BELIEVE in the instruction I received. I trust it and plan on using it as a foundation for my own dry and live fire practice. I pray I never have to use these skills I was taught to protect my family or community, but I surely do sleep better at night knowing I have them if needed.
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