Class Review: Fighting Pistol / Advanced Fighting Pistol @ Tactical Response

[jwmoore]

This week I participated in two back-to-back two-day classes taught by James Yeager and Jay Gibson from Tactical Response. I took Fighting Pistol on Monday and Tuesday, and Advanced Fighting Pistol on Wednesday and Thursday. Both classes were held in Hollidaysburg, PA.

Executive Summary
If you own a defensive handgun, you are cheating yourself by not taking these classes.

Overview
These classes were intense from the get go. This was not a shooting class. This was a fighting class - they were teaching me to fight for my life, using my handgun. By the end of the four days, I had done things with a pistol that I had never done before, things I likely thought impossible, things that would not be taught at any lesser gun school. I shot just under 2000 rounds over the duration of the classes. A lot of information and activity was packed into these four days, so I'm not entirely sure I'm getting everything in the right order - I'm regretting not jotting notes for the purpose of this AAR. Let me say up front - everything was conducted with safety as the first priority. Some of the drills look and sound unorthodox, but were conducted in a safe, professional manner. Students could opt out of any drill, yet no one did.

Drills
Day one started off with introduction of the instructors and students, then a review of the 4 safety rules and emergency medical brief. With that quickly out of the way, we started shooting. Using DEA dot targets, we worked on grip, presentation, sight picture, trigger press and trigger reset. We worked through FAST (Fight - Assess - Scan - Top Off), then learned to clear malfunctions. We worked on one-handed shooting drills, using both strong and weak hands. We shot on the move - forwards and backwards and side to side. Along the way, we cleared a LOT of malfunctions, induced by dummy rounds in every magazine.



Day two began with three hours of lecture on Mindset, tactics and the legalities of deadly force. The lecture was so engaging that the time flew by unnoticed. In the afternoon, we shot dot drills. We also fired from various retention positions. We learned the basics of shooting from behind cover.



Day three began Advanced Fighting pistol, which really cranked up the intensity. We worked malfunction drills using one hand, both for strong and support hands. Yes, we cleared type 3 (double feed) failures using just our weak hands. It sucks, but can be done. We shot from various positions - fetal, supine, sitting, kneeling - effectively fighting our way to our feet. These were also done with just one hand. More shooting on the move, through a barrel serpentine. We shot physical "abuse" drills where the instructors choked and punched students while they engaged targets. We did the Stazi drill (bend over and spin, then shoot). We ran through a bunch of "crazy weird" drills, shooting the gun upside down, and later the shooter upside down. We pulled triggers with a bunch of different things - sticks, different fingers, different parts of fingers - just to prove that sight picture and trigger press, however executed, is the core of shooting. We also did the John Woo drill, because two guns are double the fun. We shot a Tueller drill, with students running the distance. That was eye-opening.



Day four started with more barrel serpentine, until everyone shot it perfectly. Instructors shook students firing from retention, to simulate fighting off a gun grab. The heavy bag came out to practice ground fighting and contact shooting. Lunch was bounded by lectures on low light fighting and dealing with gunshot wounds. We moved to the range to practice using the medical equipment while a partner provided cover fire, before finishing the class with confidence drills.


I know I'm leaving out a few drills. So much happened in this class - we covered a lot of material. I'm still mentally processing everything. I can say, with no hesitation, that I wholeheartedly recommend these classes.

Gear
I carried my Glock 19, with TLR-1, in my Raven Concealment holster. The gun performed as expected. The holster took a little bit of a beating from racking the gun off of it - I took a couple of chunks off of the thin kydex lip. That was a disappointment. Magazines were carried in BladeTech and CompTac mag carriers, no problem. Everything was held up by a wilderness instructors belt, no problem. Oakley half jackets kept my eyes safe, and Peltor electronic muffs protected my hearing while allowing me to clearly hear range commands - excellent equipment. Loading magazines was made fast and easy by an UpLULA - also a mandatory piece of gear for a high volume class.

Miscellaneous Bits

• Every night was had dinner as a class - the instructors were available to answer questions on any topic, or just to entertain us with stories of their exploits. These guys were friendly, experienced, professional, safe, and damn good at what they do.</li>
• I wore my G26 on my ankle as a backup gun, and was encouraged to use it during the drills.</li>
• A Nalgene bottle will bounce about 12-15 feet vertical when spiked onto a concrete pad.</li>
• It's not because the turtle's slow...</li>

(Larger photos, as well as others, are in my gallery. More photos are coming as I get them. You can also read other students perspectives on the Get Off the X forum (Registration required and recommended) - Fighting Pistol and Advanced Fighting Pistol. All photos were taken by Tactical Response, and remain their property. Used with permission.)

ETA: Wow, how is that my first post? Long time lurker, here...

[lal]

Excellent post, if you're not a writer you should be.

[Mtbkski]

UUURRRGGGHHHH

Right in my back yard, and I never heard a word about it. See what happens when you don't hang out on the PAFOA site. Sounds like it would have been worth attending.

[dgg9]

Sounds like it would have been worth attending.

TR classes are definitely worth attending. Bookmark their website and also the range's website for other classes -- TR is a regular at Hollidaysburg.