Amazing Auction for St. Jude’s

2-Sep-10 – 13:52 by ToddG

What would you do if you paid a small fortune to win an auction for a one of a kind custom Heinie 1911? One in which all the money raised was given to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital?

Would you turn around and auction it again, committing to give all of the proceeds to St. Jude’s again?

Well, that’s exactly what “bufords1911s” has done over at Gun Broker. He bought the pistol at auction and now, selflessly, is putting it up for grabs to raise even more money for this incredibly worthy charity.

Current bid is $7,500. Heck, you’d be hard pressed to put your hands on a NIB Heinie 1911 for that to begin with!

And tell you what… if a pistol-training.com reader bids on and wins the pistol, we’ll give you a certificate for a free slot at any pistol-training.com class of your choice, too!

Bidding ends on Monday. Good luck and thank you for supporting St. Jude’s!

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

HK45 Endurance Test: Week Twenty One

1-Sep-10 – 15:24 by ToddG

29,488 rounds

0 stoppages 0 malfunctions 0 parts breakages

Back from New Mexico and three straight days of shooting. In addition to Tom Jones (of 365 Days of Training fame) shooting the pistol during both days of Aim Fast, Hit Fast there were also a number of students who tried the gun. Zero problems to report, of course.

Friday afternoon I used the gun to shoot some F.A.S.T. runs (two of three were sub-5 second, clean) and the Hackathorn Standards again (scored 288).

During class, I had to rely on the spare HK45 backup… which I managed to mangle somehow while doing a demonstration of how a hammer fired gun is safer to holster. The trigger now breaks so far back that it almost feels as if the gun won’t fire. Nonetheless, following upon last week’s Triple Nickel run, for one demo I ran a version of the drill in which I made the maximum arc transition for each target (shooting target 1, then 5, then back to 2, then to 4, then to 3) instead of shooting them 1-2-3-4-5 in order… and still managed to do it in under five seconds, clean.

YouTube Preview Image

And that’s with the gun that has the busted trigger! Remember, loyal readers, call your Senator and have a Constitutional Amendment passed so I can try for a Triple Nickel challenge coin. The fate of the world depends on it.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Previous HK45 Endurance Test posts at pistol-training.com:

Read the rest of this entry »

New Category and New Name Added to F.A.S.T. Wall

31-Aug-10 – 16:49 by ToddG

This past weekend’s Aim Fast, Hit Fast class in Los Alamos NM — hosted by Mr. 365 Days of Training himself, Tom Jones — had our first ever Expert rating from a student, Jimmy Creed (4.59) who managed to excel ever further by earning a F.A.S.T. Challenge Coin.

Congratulations also go to Jody Huggins for his Advanced score of 6.57, earning him a place on the Wall, as well!

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Challenge Coin #06

29-Aug-10 – 20:43 by ToddG

Congratulations to Jimmy Creed of New Mexico for being the latest F.A.S.T. Challenge Coin holder! Jimmy is also the first student to win a coin during an Aim Fast, Hit Fast class.

added on Tuesday 31-Aug-2010:

Jimmy’s runs were a 4.76 (clean) and a 4.59 (clean). The first run was just a normal part of class so we didn’t record the details, but the 4.59 run was:

  • 4.59 (clean): 1.75, .40 / 1.82 / .22, .21, .19
YouTube Preview Image

(you can also see a video of Jimmy’s 4.76 run here)

Jimmy’s equipment:

  • Glock 17 w/3.5# connector & extended mag release
  • Warren Tactical 3-dot night sights
  • Uncle Mike’s kydex belt holster
  • Federal 115gr FMJ

Again, major kudos to Jimmy for such a fantastic performance!

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

(thanks to Tom Jones for the video and photo)

The Training Journey

26-Aug-10 – 12:20 by ToddG

Even wonder what happens when a former Top Gun instructor turns his attention to practical pistol/CCW skills?

Pk14 from FirearmsTrainingAndTactics.com has begun what will be a multi-part discussion of how he has taken his professional training as both a pilot and instructor and applied it to his personal approach towards mastering the skills associated with carrying a pistol for personal defense.

“As I have come to discover through my own journey to be a better pistol shooter, there are a great many parallels between aircrew learning to employ their aircraft as a weapons system and a shooter learning how to employ a pistol.”

Check it out and take the time to subscribe to Pk14′s thread so you can keep up to date as new chapters get added.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Appendix Carry Workshop

25-Aug-10 – 12:49 by ToddG

pistol-training.com is proud to announce its first Appendix Carry Workshop being held in Culpeper, Virginia on Saturday 18-September. A number of students have been requesting a dedicated one-day AIWB program.

We will cover topics including:
* safety
* proper concealment gear and methods
* draw and reload techniques
* one-handed draw, reload, and malfunction clearance techniques
* close range engagements & weapons retention basics

For more information, you can view the class announcement page.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

HK45 Endurance Test: Week Twenty

24-Aug-10 – 15:36 by ToddG

27,654 rounds

0 stoppages 0 malfunctions 0 parts breakages

Twenty weeks, no stoppages. I may try burying the HK45 in cement just to see if it works or not.

As promised, a big part of this past week’s shooting was at a Judgment Day “class.” The J-Day classes are really nothing more than an opportunity for students to run through a number of standard exercises that are used all over the world to measure and judge shooters. In demonstrating the drills, I also get to record my own results, which included:

  • Shooting a 285 on the Hackathorn Standards. I was too nonchalant on the first drill, which consists of three easy hits on a 6×6 target at just 5 yards, and managed to miss a shot. That cost me 5 points and my chance to score a 290 for the first time ever…
  • Total 31.85 on Dave Sevigny’s Catch-22, from concealment on 8″ plates at 15yd. Too many misses cost me serious time. Best 2H hit was 1.48, worst was 2.52; best SHO was 1.46, worst was 3.01; best WHO was 1.92, worst was 2.76.
  • Three El Presidente runs scoring 8.06 (6.95 seconds, 56 points), 8.07 (7.06 seconds, 57 points), and 7.76 (8.26 seconds, 59 points) hit factors. I’m losing about a second on my first shot, which is the most important — but also gamiest — part of the drill. Dave Sevigny sent me some advice about proper footwork on the spin and it improved my first shot by almost half a a second, so there is hope for me yet.
  • Three F.A.S.T. runs scoring 6.12 (clean), 5.68 (4.68 seconds, -1 body), and 6.92 (4.92, -1 head). Far from my best performance there. The only consistent thing about my HK45 F.A.S.T. results is that they’re so inconsistent.
  • An aggregate 11.45 on Max Michel’s Triple Six. My times were 2.47 at 7yd, 3.81 at 15yd, and 3.97 at 25yd for a total of 10.25, with one C-zone and one clean miss. I didn’t call the miss but the entire class examined the target and no one found anything that looked like a double, unfortunately.
  • Two smoking good runs on the Triple Nickel: 4.61 and 4.44 seconds, both clean. That coin would be mine if they’d let me try! I might have to call my Congressman… The 4.44 is my personal best. Sorry the video doesn’t show the hits, you’ll have to take my word for it:

YouTube Preview Image

This coming weekend the HK45 will be in Los Alamos, New Mexico for an Aim Fast, Hit Fast class. Good friend (and 365 Days of Training celebrity) Tom Jones will be borrowing the gun for the whole class. Look for his thoughts on running the HK45 after more than a year of dedicated P30 shooting to be posted soon.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Previous HK45 Endurance Test posts at pistol-training.com:

Read the rest of this entry »

Steel Challenge 2010

23-Aug-10 – 10:13 by ToddG

Congratulations to good friends Dave Sevigny (of Glock) and Julie Golob (of Smith & Wesson) for their success at this year’s Steel Challenge. Dave won the Production division as well as taking second place in Rimfire and Open earning him the Steel Master trophy. Julie won first place in Lady’s Limited, beating last year’s winner Jessie Abbate by almost three seconds. Julie also won both Lady’s Production and iron site Rimfire. (thanks to SLG for the corrections)

Steel Challenge superstar KC Eusebio had the top overall score in the match with an 80.27 in Open class. Jessie won the women’s Steel Master title thanks to top finishes in the Open and Rimfire (optic) divisions.

You can see all the scores at the steelchallenge.com website.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

The Speed Draw is for Gun Nuts

19-Aug-10 – 16:12 by ToddG

From Caleb at Gun Nuts Media:

Speed in a vacuum isn’t necessarily that valuable, but speed in action when combined with the will to defend yourself and the skill to act allows you to change the fight dynamic in your favor.  Simply “being aware” isn’t enough.  It doesn’t matter if you can see the threat coming if you lack the physical skill to act on that awareness fast enough to make a difference.

I got dragged into a similar debate recently by someone who insisted that a 1.5-second draw wouldn’t help if:

  • the bad guy already has a knife to your throat, or
  • the bad guy already has a gun to your wife’s head from the back seat of your car, or
  • the bad guy is close enough (and skilled enough) to intercept or even take away the gun during the attempted draw.

Rather than go into a cascade of What If’s so I could create hypotheticals where a 1.5-second draw would help in those situations, instead let’s look at the big picture.

If my gun is in my holster when I realize I suddenly need a gun, the sooner it’s in my hand and ready to go, the better. Whether I’m being charged by someone with a knife (as happened to Caleb, in fact) or I’m seeing someone reach for his gun or I’m already behind the power curve and need to do everything I can to get caught up, faster is better.

The idea that somehow awareness makes you impervious is ridiculous. If that were so, the man who brought us the Color Codes of Awareness (a Colonel by the name of Cooper) probably wouldn’t have also been the grandfather of modern tactical handgun training, would he? By the way, if you don’t have a copy of Cooper’s Principles of Personal Defense on your bookshelf, you’re a loser.

Call me crazy, but I’m going to keep working on my draw.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

HK45 Endurance Test: Week Nineteen

17-Aug-10 – 09:31 by ToddG

26,334 rounds

0 stoppages 0 malfunctions 0 parts breakages

25,000 rounds… just a memory, now. Number 25,000 happened during this F.A.S.T. drill, shot cold first thing in the morning with my carry ammo (Winchester 230gr Ranger SXT) with all my gear exactly as I’d worn it for the ninety minute drive to the range. Sadly, I missed scoring a sub-5 run on this momentous occasion, primarily due to losing visual contact with the sight during the initial press out:

At 26,334, the lowest eleven guesses in the When Will It Stop? contest have already been passed by. There are a lot of guesses between 26,000 and 28,000 and something tells me they’re all going to be disappointed when the next report comes out, too.

The week’s practice involved a lot of great shooting and a lot of horrible shooting.

On Friday, I hit the range and worked almost exclusively on my draw… for over 1,000 rounds with my best being a 0.96 using the Garrity In-Victus and an untucked polo. I was pretty excited to pull some sub-second draws from concealed AIWB.

There were also 100 concealed draws to a 3×5 card, trying to get two hits in a 2.0 second par time. I managed to score 173 out of 200, with most of the misses happening because I was going too fast, not too slow. Another hundred rounds was spent on one shot concealed draws using a 6″ circle for a target and a 1.2 second par time. I hit 90 of those, with more late shots than misses.

Drawing and hitting an 8″ target five times at 7yd within a 1.8 second par time was also pretty consistent, with splits averaging around 0.17-0.18 for most runs.

Then Saturday came along, and I paid the price for shooting 1,090 rounds on Friday. I had blisters pop open during three different drills. Let me tell you, high round count days with a .45 are a lot harder on the hands than with a 9mm pistol.

Disasters for Saturday included, but were not limited to:

  • a personal all-time low of 245 on the Hackathorn Standards, including dropping seven points during the 5yd stages and a whopping nineteen at the 25yd line (which I usually shoot clean).
  • Of three F.A.S.T. runs, my first was a 5.17 clean (seen above in the video clip) and then the last two had multiple misses.
  • A 32.91 on Dave Sevigny’s Catch-22, which although I shot from concealment, it was much worse than it should have been thanks to a multitude of misses on the WHO stages.

It was just about the suckiest day I’ve had at the range since I finally figured which end of the big L-shaped thing the hard shiny metal thing flies out of. About the only high point was a pretty good Bill Drill at 1.98 seconds (1.08 draw from concealment, 0.17-0.18 splits):

YouTube Preview Image

Then two days later it was back to the range and all was right in the world, hitting 3×5 cards at 25yd and scoring three 5-zone hits on a reduced TransTar in 1.5 seconds from concealment. Of course, the difference was that unlike Saturday, I was all alone with no one to see how super awesome I was shooting.

So now that we are halfway through the test, both in terms of rounds and weeks, where do things stand?

The pistol is obviously performing perfectly. Going over 26,000 rounds without a single stoppage, especially given that the gun has only been cleaned three times, is nothing short of amazing. I’ve had some pretty reliable guns in the past, but this HK45 has set the bar so high it’s ridiculous. And who knows how much farther it will go?

Compared to the P30: The HK45 has definitely been more reliable and durable, at least on paper. In fairness to the P30, the only stoppages it had by this point were due to an out-of-spec mainspring whereas the HK45 came from the factory with the lighter mainspring already installed, and the only breakage was a trigger return spring (at about 19,000 rounds) whereas the trigger return spring on the HK45 is being replaced every 12,500 rounds. Still, the P30 came from the factory with an out-of-spec part that caused stoppages and the HK45 came from the factory clearly anointed by the Pope himself. The P30 also got cleaned and lubricated more often than this (very abused) HK45. You can’t pick up an HK45 without feeling how utterly over engineered and over built it is. To quote Larry Vickers, “It’s bomb proof.˜

I’m happy with my shooting performance as well. Spending this much dedicated time behind a .45 has retaught me a lot about some finer points of grip, recoil management, and sight tracking. It’s not uncommon for me to see 0.16 splits. Recoil on the gun is very easy to control, something many people comment on when trying it. The only sticking point has been the reloads. The width and length of the magazines — and the enormous floorplates, even after I shave them down — make them harder to index properly, which means either slowing down to avoid a mistake or a higher risk of fumbled reloads.

Compared to the P30: I still shoot the P30 better. While it has a longer reset, the P30 just seemed to shoot without any conscious thought or effort from me. My fastest splits on the HK45 are probably a couple hundredths faster than with the P30, but my consistent split times when running a comprehensive drill like the F.A.S.T. or shooting a match, were a couple hundredths faster in favor of the P30. If the reset of the P30 is a real sticking point for you, I got to shoot a Gray Guns modified P30 about a month ago while teaching in Seattle and let me tell you… the reset on that gun was a thing of art. Reloads on the P30 were faster, as well, due to the more manageable magazines.

Ergonomically, the HK45 ranks well for a high-capacity .45 Auto pistol. I’ve yet to find anyone whose hands were too small to operate the gun properly. The magazine release is fantastic and far outshines button-type designs (though it makes administrative reloads in the holster a little tricky). The mag release levers themselves are a bit sharp and could use some softening via emory board. The finger grooves on the front strap could disappear and I wouldn’t complain, either. Some folks have difficulty with the slide release interfering with their grip. While I don’t have that problem, I have had to modify my grip to avoid it and the lever instead digs into my hand pretty hard. A narrower lever would be preferable, in my opinion.

Compared to the P30: The P30 is still the most ergonomic gun on the market bar none. With twenty-seven different user configurable grip combinations, the gun feels like it was custom designed for every shooter. The slide release, magazine levers,and front strap finger grooves also seemed to be less of a problem, though in large part that is probably due to the P30′s lesser 9mm recoil.

As a carry gun, the HK45 is definitely big but not so big that it can’t be concealed if you are reasonable about clothing and holster. Even carried in an appendix IWB like I use, it’s wearable all day without discomfort. The size of the magazines makes them more of a challenge, but careful selection of concealment pouches keeps things doable. Ten plus one rounds of full power .45 ammunition is something a lot of people are willing to make compromises to keep on the belt.

Compared to the P30: The P30 is smaller and obviously easier to conceal. The magazines are also shorter and slimmer. While I can drive all day with the HK45 and not get sore, I could take the same trip with the P30 in the same type holster and never even realize I had a gun on. Personally, I prefer 15+1 rounds of 9mm to 10+1 of .45, too. But that’s just me, and a debate for another time (and someone else’s website, please).

Overall, the HK45 has really surprised me with its shootability and, obviously, flawless reliability. A year and a half ago when HK gave me the choice between the P30 and the HK45, I chose the P30 because I felt like the HK45 would cost me too much in shootability and would be impossible to CCW every day. Obviously, I was wrong.

We’re right on track to hit 50,000 by the end of the year!

This coming week, the HK45 will be at another Judgment Day class which means a whole slew of tests with results to report at the next update. See you then!

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Previous HK45 Endurance Test posts at pistol-training.com:

Read the rest of this entry »

365 Days of Training!

17-Aug-10 – 01:44 by Tom Jones

My name is Tom Jones. I’ve been a gun owner for about 20 years, but until recently I wasn’t really a shooter. In the Fall of 2007 I decided to get a concealed handgun license. As part of the training required for my permit I began to appreciate the distinct difference between owning a handgun and being able to use one effectively. In early 2008, I discovered pistol-training.com and decided to get “serious” about shooting. Since then I’ve attended over 300 hours of formal firearms training (most of it handgun), including classes from Larry Vickers, Magpul Dynamics, Todd Green, Ken Hackathorn, and Paul Howe.

Despite all this training, I’m not a very accomplished shooter. My best official F.A.S.T. score is 7.93. I’ve shot the IDPA classifier twice (Fall 2009 and Spring 2010) both times with a score almost exactly in the middle of the sharpshooter range. I was lamenting my rather mediocre IDPA classifier performance to ToddG, and he commented that I should easily be shooting expert or higher. He’s right. The reason I’m not is because other than shooting IDPA twice a month and at an indoor bullseye league once a week, I’m not practicing.

During a long drive home from a recent training class, I decided I wanted to train (be it dry practice or live fire) every day for a full year and post a daily log on the internet. I figured announcing this to the world (even if only a handful of people were aware of it) would make me accountable and keep me on track. I originally planned to start at the beginning of 2011, giving me enough time to ensure I had an adequate ammo supply on hand.

I mentioned my plans to ToddG and he said he might be able to help me out with the ammunition. He also said that he’d be happy to host my journal at pistol-training.com and encouraged me to start the project after the Aim Fast, Hit Fast class in Los Alamos at the end of August. Two weeks (and one very large check) later, a pallet with 52,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition was delivered to my house.

So, I’m just a regular 42 year old guy who works as an engineer and is not particularly gifted or athletic. I want to see how far and fast my handgun skills can progress with some dedicated and focused practice. My goals for the coming year are:

  • IDPA: SSP Master classification
  • F.A.S.T.: consistently under 6 seconds
  • Conventional Pistol (NRA Bullseye): Master classification

This project will be starting on Saturday, 2010-08-28. There will be daily posts of my training activities at jones.pistol-training.com and weekly or monthly updates here. Jim D has generously offered to let me use a thread at firearmstrainingandtactics.com for ongoing discussion of the project. Please stop by there and leave any questions, comments, or advice.

I’m looking forward to starting this project. It should be fun and will definitely be a lot of work. Wish me luck!

TCinVA: 5.87

15-Aug-10 – 10:05 by ToddG

Major tip of the hat to TCinVA (the artist formerly known as John_Wayne777) for an awesome run on the F.A.S.T. drill during a training event yesterday. Welcome to the Wall of Fame, dude! TC, who has contributed many tips and evaluations here at pistol-training.com, tipped the scales at a clean 5.87 on the drill. Using his father’s M&P9 must have been the real tipping point!

No doubt this is just the beginning of TC’s climb to the tippytop of the Wall of Fame list. Congratulations, TC!

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Performance Tracking

13-Aug-10 – 14:04 by ToddG

“There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but some are quicker than others.”

Becoming a better shooter involves a great number of things. You have to learn proper technique. You have to cultivate a good mindset. You need to practice. Do all those things and over time, you’ll get better.

But just how much better, and how quickly, also depend in part on doing your homework. Part of that homework involves taking careful, detailed, and honest notes about your training routine and performance.

Tracking your shooting performance over time has a number of benefits:

  • provides clear, statistical data on current skill level
  • gives clear evidence when a plateau has been reached, with skill level being maintained but no real improvements being made
  • identifies specific skills or techniques which require special attention or extra practice
  • motivates the shooter to put real effort into small incremental improvements

In a nutshell, performance tracking tells you where you are today in comparison to where you were yesterday, and gives you the information you need to be better tomorrow.

How To?

First, simply tracking the number of rounds you fired isn’t enough. That will tell you how much you practiced, but it won’t tell you what you practiced or how well you performed.

Performance tracking requires taking notes… a lot of notes.

Track how much time you spent during a given session. If half of that time is taken up with conversations with buddies or sitting on your hands during a cease fire, note that. Track how many rounds you fired.

Take note of the time of day, the weather, and anyone that was shooting with you. This will allow you to discover the differences between shooting early in the morning versus midday, how rain or cold impact your results, and whether sessions with your pal Jimmy Jo Bob Billy somehow lead to poorer results…

You do not have to write down the results for every single drill you shoot. For example, I’ll often track simply my best time on something like 1-R-2. My notes might say “1-R-2 at 7yd, 8in circle, 20 reps, best time 2.76, best draw 1.08, best reload 1.56.” However, if I’ve specifically identified a weakness I need to address, such as reload speed, I will write down each and every reload time along with notes for specific runs such as “fumbled mag insertion” or “great mag access from under shirt.” For some examples, see the page from my shooting journal, above, and the notes I made about my shooting on the move (SOM) exercise that day.

For more comprehensive drills, like the F.A.S.T., I write down every bit of data: overall time, hits, draw speed, 3×5 split, reload speed, and the three 8″ splits.

Another piece of the puzzle that I would highly recommend is the use of a cold drill. A cold drill is simply something you do consistently as the very first drill each time you practice. It should be easy to set up and easy to recreate identically wherever and whenever you shoot. The F.A.S.T. can be a good cold drill. When I don’t have the targetry available (i.e., left the 3×5 cards at home) I’ll run a simple draw-and-shoot drill against a PAR time, and see how many hits I can score within a tight time limit. The benefit of a standard cold drill is that you can immediately see whether you’re improving over time.

Recording

Of course, measuring all of that stuff doesn’t do you a bit of good unless you actually keep records and review them.

Most shooters use a simple spiral notebook or bound journal and take hand written notes. This has an advantage in that you can easily jot down diagrams or sketch out a course of fire that you shot. The disadvantage is that you can quickly accumulate a library of notebooks, and it can be very difficult to cull through all of those pages for specific information.

I use an iPad app (pictured above) for my range journal, but obviously that might be overkill for a lot of people.

There is a happy medium, however. You can use a spreadsheet or simple database program on your computer to record the pertinent data from your journal. I use a program called Bento (available only for Mac):

It has fields for each of the regular pieces of information (where, when, who) as well as specific entries for certain drills or skills I measure on a regular basis. Some of those fields may be blank for any given range session, but over time I can look at, say, all of my recorded draw times from concealment.

There are also comment areas for goals (which should be filled out before you go to the range… mine is blank above, bad Todd, no cookie!), areas that needed improvement, things I did well, and general notes.

One final note on recording your results: Be honest with yourself! Record your mistakes. Don’t make excuses that prevent you from writing down actual results. Don’t fudge. Writing down that you did a drill twice as well as you actually can doesn’t impress anyone and only sets you up for failure down the road.

Use the Data

You’ve gone to all this trouble to write down your drills and scores and then record it intelligently. Probably makes sense to do something with all those notes and numbers, huh?

First, establish a baseline. Pick some drills that test all of your basic skills such as draw, reload, strong- and weak-hand only, accuracy, and speed. Record your results for 10 runs of each. Take special note of your best run on each drill, and your average run on each drill.

Next, look over the numbers. What stands out as excellent? What stands out as poor? Begin tailoring your training regimen — both dry fire and live fire — to put more emphasis on the weak areas. If you are consistently shooting 0.20 splits but can’t hit a 3×5 card weak hand only at seven yards, it’s time to take a break from speed shooting and focus on your WHO accuracy. A major benefit of performance tracking is that it helps break the natural human desire to practice what we’re best at, when we should be practicing what we’re worst at.

Every few months, reshoot those drills you used to establish your baseline. You should see improvement in those areas where you put the most effort. That doesn’t mean you’ll go from amateur to world champion in three months, but you should be seeing improvement.

  • If you are seeing improvement, reassess where you should be focusing the bulk of your training effort. It may still be the same skills you’ve been drilling hard for the past three weeks, or you may discover new weaknesses.
  • If you are not seeing improvement, you need to reassess your general training approach and your actual technique. Finding a plateau isn’t a bad thing. It’s a signal that you need to make some changes. Maybe it’s time to experiment with a different stance or grip, maybe it’s time to stop practicing with Jimmy Jo Bob Billy.

Again, keep in mind that we are looking for incremental changes. Taking a quarter second off your draw or reload is a more realistic goal than taking two seconds off. Going from a 45 to a 55 on a 10-shot bullseye drill is a major accomplishment… don’t expect to be shooting in the 90′s after just a dozen or so practice sessions.

By following this approach, you will actually see your improvement instead of just wondering or “feeling” that you’re getting better. You will identify your strengths and weaknesses. And you will have a concrete in-your-face motivator to get out and practice! You can certainly become a better shooter without keeping a training journal, but you will achieve your goals more quickly, with less effort, and with less expense if you establish a good performance tracking habit.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

2011 Schedule

12-Aug-10 – 10:01 by ToddG

The 2011 pistol-training.com schedule is already beginning to fill. Classes have been announced:

  • February 26-27, Winston GA (private class)
  • March 12-13, Sacramento CA
  • April 2-3, College Station TX
  • April 20-21, Sacramento CA (LE only)
  • June 11-12, Wilmington, OH

If you or your club are interested in hosting a pistol-training.com class in 2011, submit a request for information and we will respond. Please note that currently we are scheduling classes in the U.S. and Canada only.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

HK45 Endurance Test: Week Eighteen

11-Aug-10 – 11:39 by ToddG

23,905 rounds

0 stoppages 0 malfunctions 0 parts breakages

Apologies to anyone who guessed lower than 23,905 on the When Will It Stop? contest, but we’ve gone another week without incident.

Over the past week I’ve put a lot of effort into using the NRA HQ Range’s new target system to establish some baseline par times for various basic skills. Unfortunately, due to a software issue the timers, for now, have a lowest setting of 1.2 seconds. This has made it impossible to work on certain things I’d like (such as one-shot draws) under time pressure.

But plenty of other skills have been easier to establish. For example, I can pretty consistently get two hits on an 8″ at 7yd in 1.3 seconds, from concealment. Sometimes I’m able to break a third shot but not with any kind of guaranteed accuracy. So one goal I’m setting is three hits in 1.4 seconds. I’m definitely not there yet. A goal like that forces you to work on your drawstroke,  your press-out, and (to a lesser extent) your aimed splits.

Another goal is 1-R-2 from concealment draw in 3 seconds or less. I’ve hit that time before, just not consistently. I’ve even pulled off some in the 2.6-2.7 range, but can’t really say I was in visual control of the gun when it happened. (i.e., I got lucky)

And in the No Department: 1.5 second concealment draw to a 4″ circle at 25yd scored me one hit out of 10. Applying some of my hard won highly sought after professional firearms instructor diagnosis, I have come to the determination that I can’t do that yet. I was keeping them all inside the head of an IALEFI Q target, which of course with the massively powerful .45 means I still would have killed the target, his family, his dog, and most of his neighbors. But since the goal was hitting a 4″ circle, that’s a Fail.

From a day to day carry standpoint, the HK45 continues to work out just fine. It’s definitely a big gun, and I’m the first to admit it’s not as comfortable for very long drives, etc., as the smaller P30. Concealing it effectively just isn’t all that hard, though. Yesterday I took the new puppy to a playground to be around small children, and none of the soccer moms noticed anything out of the ordinary even with all the bending over and scrambling around on the ground. The Garrity In-Victus continues to work very well.

The most compromising part of the CCW package is the spare magazines. Even in the great Custom Carry Concepts BMC, the huge HK45 mags can print. In fact, I’ve gone from carrying two spare magazines to carrying just one, specifically due to comfort & concealability. I can manage two, but one is just much more workable day in and day out. And since it’s a .45, I really won’t need more than one round to take out an entire gang of attackers, right?

The HK45 should be getting a fair bit of range time before next week’s report, including a full day on an open range with some buddies. We’ll far surpass the 25,000 round point. So, next week expect the promised P30/HK45 Comparison. And expect anyone who guessed less than about 27,000 rounds on the When Will It Stop? contest to get a disappointing round count update.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Previous HK45 Endurance Test posts at pistol-training.com:

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A Second Langdon Class Scheduled in VA

9-Aug-10 – 10:52 by ToddG

For those who may have missed out on the August class mentioned here at pistol-training.com last month, Ernest Langdon has decided to schedule another for 25-26 September. For more details, contact Terri at langdon93@cox.net.

Trust me, this is a class you should not miss!

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

HK 45: When Will It Stop?

4-Aug-10 – 13:24 by ToddG

Per Robbie’s suggestion in this week’s HK45 update, we’re going to hold a little competition. It’s amazing to me that the HK45 has gone more than twenty thousand rounds in less than four months without a single hiccup… especially since it has fired as many as 10k rounds between cleanings. So…

When will the HK45 have its first stoppage?

Rules:

  1. One entry per person. If your number is surpassed without a stoppage, you lose; you cannot guess again. If you pick a number that has already been picked by someone else, you lose; you cannot guess again.
  2. Entries are submitted via comment to this post.
  3. Posting anything other than your guess disqualifies you permanently.
  4. The email address you use when posting the comment must be valid. If we cannot reach the winner, the next closest guess (without going over) wins.
  5. We’ll use Price is Right rules. Whoever guesses closest without going over is the winner.
  6. For purposes of this contest, “stoppage” will apply to the first instance in which the HK45 test gun fails to go completely through its normal cycle of operation, except for stoppages which are determined by pistol-training.com to be ammunition-induced. Essentially, anything that earns stoppage, malfunction, or breakage in the tally being kept each week.
  7. No purchase necessary. Contest and offer void where prohibited by law.

Prizes:

  • Pick the exact round count at which the stoppage occurs and you win a certificate good for one free pistol-training.com class. (this certificate is fully transferable so if you do not want it or cannot use it, you can at least sell it on the black market)
  • If no one picks the exact round count, whoever comes closest without going over will win a pistol-training.com hat and a genuine HK45 Challenge Coin (courtesy of the folks at HK-USA).

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

HK45 Endurance Test: Week Seventeen

3-Aug-10 – 16:41 by ToddG

22,275 rounds

0 stoppages 0 malfunctions 0 parts breakages

Are you getting bored yet?

Getting ready for the second half of the test, twenty thousand rounds of bulk packed 230gr American Eagle FMJ just arrived. To be honest, the bulk pack may be slightly more portable but it’s not as convenient when you’re trying to grab exactly ten rounds at a time… nor when you’re trying to track exactly how many rounds you’ve fired in a shooting session.

Beyond that, the ammunition worked well. Obviously, it was 100% reliable. In terms of accuracy, I was hitting the 4″ head zone of an IALEFI Q target every time at 25yd from unsupported standing two-handed, strong hand only, and weak hand only.

Which raises another point: my strong hand only accuracy is clearly worse than my weak hand only accuracy. Nothing particularly unusual there… we often get a little sloppy with the trigger finger of the strong hand because in a two-handed grip you can afford to put some sideways pressure on the trigger. But then when you do some SHO shooting, you give up that benefit and your sloppy trigger control will bite you.

Sticking with the one-handed theme, more than half my practice over the past week has been SHO and WHO accuracy and speed. Utilizing the great new target system at the NRA Range, I put significant time into my strong hand only draw from beneath an untucked shirt. Getting a hit on an 8″ circle at 7yd in 1.5 seconds was right at my limit. I also used the Circle Drill to segue into dedicated speed drills one-handed.

We’re probably two weeks out from the midway point, which will include the promised comparison between the P30 and the HK45.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

Previous HK45 Endurance Test posts at pistol-training.com:

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Something Wicked (Cool) This Way Comes

1-Aug-10 – 23:32 by ToddG

Announcement coming soon…

Target Update

29-Jul-10 – 09:01 by ToddG

Received an email this morning from National Target. If all goes well, the official pistol-training.com target should be delivered by the end of August. Hopefully, they’ll be here in time for the Aim Fast, Hit Fast class in Los Alamos.

Minimum initial order was 10,000 targets, so I’ll have a few extra lying around. We’ll have to hold some sort of contest here at the site to give away a few hundred. Any ideas?

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG