Alright, this was a lot more than a trip to the range.  Long backstory short; a friend of Mrs. Deans went to the Front Sight [link: https://frontsight.com]  firearms training facility in Pahrump, Nevada for defensive handgun training (TW: website sucks), and really liked it.  He got us a deal, so we gave it a go.  Spoiler: we really liked it.

Front Sight has a big training facility out in the middle of frickin’ nowhere, about an hour or so west of Las Vegas on the way to Death Valley.  We went for the two-day defensive handgun course, which is one of their intro courses for handguns (they also have a four-day course).  The weekend we were there they were also running a rifle course, and had 700(!) people in attendance.  I’m not sure how many ranges they have, but they had plenty.  Each handgun class had about 40 people in it, with three or four instructors.  Class members were a mix; probably 25 – 30% women, all ages (trending older), some first time shooters, some experienced.  For the intro classes, they rightfully assume nobody knows anything.

The classes alternated demonstrations of techniques/drills, practice of the techniques/drills, and some shooting drills.  Over two days, we shot around 150 rounds (down from their usual 200 rounds because ammo shortage).  Written down like that, it doesn’t sound like much, but it was intense and exhausting – we were whipped after two days and I would not want to start with the four day course.

The emphasis was on “dry” (unloaded) practice drills – loading (three ways), unloading, draw, reholster, clear three malfunctions (failure to feed, brass high (stovepipe), brass low (failure to extract)), trigger control.  They are very strict about form and it is a real mental effort to drill with these as new techniques.  Their emphasis is on getting the drills right – go slow, get it right, and speed will come.  All drills are done in pairs, with one watching the other and correcting (mostly) safety errors, but also any form flaws that you notice.

The shooting drills were more trigger control (they have a drill for “trapping” the trigger after the shot and slowly releasing until it re-engages that I came to hate), two shots to the chest, and single head shot.  They finished with a precision shooting drill – five shots, at your own pace, at a small (2 inch?) square 7 yards away, with the goal, of course, of putting all five shots through a single hole.  This was done with five shots, then dry practice on trigger control, then five more shots.  The dry practice definitely improved the second set of shots.  They also have simulator bays – basically plywood “rooms” with doors, windows, and targets that swing in and out inside a ballistic enclosure.

So, those are the dry essentials.  What did we think?

Well, we liked it enough that we bought a membership which gets us into any or all of their courses.  I’m scheduling their two-day intro shotgun course for May, and we are trying to work their follow-up handgun course into our schedules.

I was impressed when they said at one point that they had tweaked their unloading drill recently.  Apparently, the old one had some people turning their guns sideways down the firing line, so they tweaked it so the gun stays pointed down range.  I like a training course that evolves.

The lectures were quite good.  There were three that are “mandatory” for newbies and anyone who hasn’t seen them in a few years.  They covered situational awareness, the decision to shoot, and legal aftermath of a shooting.  The basic message was that you need to think about this very hard in advance and come to your own conclusions about if/when you are willing to shoot someone.  I had no quibbles with anything in the lectures.  Apparently, after the lecture on the legal aftermath, they do have people who say they are not willing to carry, and even a few who simply drop out.  They certainly don’t sugarcoat it.

I liked our instructors, too.  They were helpful with specific issues, even in a group the size of ours.  Endlessly patient, as well – no matter how many times I crossed my thumbs on the grip, they just pointed it out and moved on.  I think they were waiting for the slide to really teach me a lesson, but I did break that habit, at least, while we were there.  I also learned that the first rule of gun safety isn’t “Treat every gun as if its loaded”, its “Don’t let the government take your guns”.

The basic shooting drill was two to the chest, after a discussion of the ballistic inferiority of handgun rounds.  We also did some headshot drills, in case the two to the chest don’t do the job.  The instructors would randomly shout “Head!” during drills to signal a third shot to the head.  On the range, I was meh on headshots.  In the simulator, I was John frickin’ Wick for some reason.

Speaking of the simulator, for newbies, you don’t move once you get set.  We were checking hands for threats and deciding to shoot, which meant, weirdly, video games were a big help.  I managed to have my sole failure to feed malfunction in the simulator and totally forgot the drill to clear it that I had just learned.  Still, I dumped the mag and the reload worked; it was just slow.  I got good hits on all threats (one target with two guns I managed to shoot in both hands, which tells you what I was looking at).   After I cleared my malfunction I took a head shot on the next target for some reason (supposed be a two-to-the-chest shot).  Literally right between the eyes, and the same on the “hostage” target (which was supposed to be a head shot, at least).  One person in our group managed a classic Zimbabwe double tap on the kid target, even though the person who “pulled” the target was yelling “I’m just a kid! Don’t shoot!”.   Good times.

The biggest benefit was that Mrs. Dean got comfortable handling a gun again (she hadn’t picked one up for several years), and is now contemplating competitive shooting after the follow-up class.  She also got a new ambidextrous gun (a Heckler & Koch VP-9), because she’s a lefty.  For me, it was a reality check – I had thought myself sort of minimally competent with a handgun, but am now unwilling to carry without more training.  I was using Mrs. Dean’s Sig, which I had put maybe 25 rounds through before the course, but using my 1911 wouldn’t really have made much difference.

Also much appreciated are the dry practice drills; I’m trying to get a 15 minute session in every day, even if it means happy hour has to wait.  Still not liking the double-action trigger drill, but with the Sig, that will be my first shot.  Of course, I also need to drill with my 1911, which has the classic 1911 safety rather than a decocker like the Sig, so the drills are a little different.  I also got their handbook on shotgun drills, and am trying to get (well) acquainted with them before my class in May.  I’m rethinking the reflex sight on the 1911 as well; just not sure if I will keep it or go back to iron sights.