I attended a interesting gunslinger class over the weekend down in Kansas City that was put on by a local trainer that consistently puts on a worthwhile class.

Only a half day and 200 rounds and focused on teaching practical shooting for concealed permit holders. Most here know the vast majority of CCW classes are inadequate and teach the holder just enough to be dangerous to themselves and others as well as completely unprepared for a truly violent encounter requiring shooting. This is the only program I have attended where the cadre will actually become physical with the class during some of the drills in order to demonstrate how things fundamentally change when you are being manhandled.

The class was encouraged to bring their carry gun and holster. The mix was from a Walther .22 pistol to numerous S&W auto and Glocks to a couple of 1911s in all kind of holsters. Half little guns. No revolvers.

It instantly became clear that most could not quickly present their sidearm and most required two hands to move clothing out of the way in order to get at the gun. It was an eye opener for many to really see how poorly prepared they were at coming up with a gun quickly with one hand when being rushed by a large man from across the room.

It also became instantly clear that the small guns were much less effective at hitting the targets than full size pistols even though with proper holsters and clothing the full size guns were nearly as concealable.

Most of the shooting drills involved two or three bad guys and the limited capacity of the small guns put them at a disadvantage compared to a full size pistol. 18 rounds are better than 6.

By the end of the class most of the guys that were carrying the little guns had decided to switch to a larger one that was easier to hit with and carried more ammo as well as change holsters. A number of guys had rigs that would allow their clothing to bunch up around the gun that could get inside their Glock trigger guard when it was re-holstered. Bad scene.

As upwards of 90% of shootings take place within 10' and most within 5' the ranges were setup accordingly. Again, it became very clear very quickly that at these distances the two handed technique commonly taught was wrong. Those with a bit of practice at one handed point shooting at 5' had it all over the two handed “watch the front sight” guys. Jerk the gun and fire a burst while running to the side. No contest.

There were a number of lasers that the owners had great confidence in helping them quickly hit accurately. Without exception when shooting as fast as they could at 5' the lasers were of no benefit and probably actually a distraction. There was a low light series of drills and the lasers were clearly helpful when carefully shooting at targets 20 yards away in the dark.

If you carry you need more training than the CCW class covered and most of it can not be done on your own. All these guys walked into the class with confidence that they knew what they were doing and more than "comfortable" carrying a sidearm. It was a humbling and educational experience.

Byron