The first day of class, neither of our guns passed inspection. It was pretty disappointing to have to use program/rental guns. The upside is that they clean them each night. My range master gave us "brown room" instructions, which I thought was pretty amusing. In case you've never had to use the portapotty while having a gun in a holster on your hip: close the lid, pull down pants, open lid, do business, close lid, pull up pants. Apparently they've had some issues with people dropping things (like guns) into the "blue juice."
We had range time and class time over the four days. The most interesting classes are the discussions of specific situations that have actually happened and getting the students to think about what they would do in that situation. Then they go a step further and talk about the repercussions of those decisions. Even if you are "right" to shoot someone, you have to be able to live with it and understand that you can suffer financially, criminally, civilly, emotionally, socially, etc. The discussion of mental awareness gives the students some practical ways to avoid getting into situations that may require the use of a handgun.
On the third day, we get into tactical movement, such as clearing a doorway or a house. We go to a simulation with an instructor and make quick decisions about which targets to shoot or not shoot. I rocked it but did something that seems to be common: the target with a hostage, I shot further away from the hostage instead of in the middle of the visible target area. In a real scenario, that could mean missing the target since we're only half as good under real life stress as on our best day on the range. We also went through gun malfunctions and I was much better this time around but still slow--I really had to think it through every time.
The last day, we do the most "fun" stuff. First we were set up with four targets and told how many intruders we have (between one and four); we shoot once to the body for that number of intruders. Then you would check to see if your intruders were still a threat, so he would tell you which one was, and that target would get one to the head. It's all very fast paced but my friends tell me I did awesome. We had a 78 year old guy in our group that was ex-CIA and was there with his family. He was amazing. He misunderstood the instructions and did head shots to all 4 targets, right in the middle of each target area. Amazing shooting. The range master just shook his head and said "C, I wouldn't want to come across you in a dark alley. You are a dangerous man. We're not executing the targets. Go sit down." We were all trying not to laugh!
Later, we had our one-on-one shoot off. They set up a hostage taker target--you have to shoot the little white square without hitting the hostage, the large gray area. Then there is a blue target and a red target further away. Each pair of shooters competes based on time unless they shoot the hostage. I did really well, did not shoot my hostage and was so much faster than last time I tried this. Unfortunately, the guy I was paired with barely beat me on time. I later found out that he has been hired to be an instructor and was starting the next week. So I feel better about losing to him. :) The 78 year old guy made it through several rounds before he was beat by an ex-Marine, who was later beat by the ultimate winner, who was really, really good.
Later, we had our skills test. I decided to take the test on the targets that do not spin as I'm still too slow for the turning targets. You get points for faults, so a low score is best. I ended up with a total of 14 in 3 rounds, including the zero I got on the head shots. I have to remember to stand correctly, move slightly to the balls of my feet, and push with one hand, pull with the other, keep thumb on top of the safety, and so on. Oh, and I changed to my right eye rather than my left dominant eye. Still accurate and slow! I got most of my points on the malfunctions test, ending up with a 41 total. If I could get that score on a turning target, I would be close to "graduating" rather than "completing" the course. (Very few people "graduate" and they are all multiple repeat students.)
They finish with the hostage taker situation. I did the same thing I'd done in the simulator--the first shot was a little on the edge but then I corrected and was right on for the other 3 shots. Great way to end the weekend. I have to say, after getting my own gun back in my hand, I think part of the time issue I kept having was because their gun didn't fit my hand, even though it was a similar gun. I kept having to move my hand around to fit over the safety. I'm looking forward to getting my grip safety fixed and practicing a little. I'd love to go again and would have considered buying a membership if we weren't saving for buying a house. I wonder who we can get to go with us next time!
On our way out of town, we stopped in Vegas and got massages at Hara, a yoga studio outside the strip. It was really relaxing (for me) and M was happy with his too. Great idea he had, even if he did make me book it!
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