So I just took a weekend training class with Heavy & Company. I can't properly express how awesome this weekend was. We spent an entire day on defensive pistol, then a half day each on tactical carbine and shotgun. I had a really super time and learned a ton.
For some background -- I have only really been shooting pistol for about a year, and have never before had any formal training. Through trial and error, I had been able to get to where I could hit pretty much what I aimed at with 15-20 yards, but not with much precision. I could hit a man sized target from this distance - most of the time. I trained with the M-16 in the army, but that was over 20 years ago, and only during basic (I was in comms). Whatever measly carbine chops I may have once had, they were long gone.
We began with with pistol, correcting my stance and grip. The direction I received was absolutely amazing. The pistol instructor has a true gift for breaking down complex information into easy to understand pieces. Not only did he correct the things I was doing wrong, he made sure I understood why the demonstrated methods were better. And the proof was in the pudding, as they say. By the end of the session my groups were very tight on static targets from a static position. In addition to basic body mechanics, we progressed into index shooting, holster draw and firing from behind a barricade at multiple targets. I was quite impressed by how much my accuracy improved, even in these more stressful shooting scenarios, in such a short time.
The carbine and shotgun sessions were equally enlightening -- and way fun! We again started with stance and proper handling. The instructors helped me adjust my sling and fore grip, etc. for proper fit and for more stable handling of the weapons. Then we moved on to shooting -- I mean a lot! I must have thrown at least 500 rounds of 5.56 downrange in a couple of hours! By the end of the session, I was hitting my targets leaning around barricades and rapid sight/fire from a slung position with surprising (to me) accuracy. The shotgun instructor is wicked fast at loading from side saddle. I learned techniques for doing the same (though I need a LOT more practice to match even close to his speed) as well as doing quick administrative reloads and how to get a slug inserted while still having buck in the magazine.
I am telling you guys straight out - this was an awesome class! I am so much more confident than before in my skills. The instructor:student ratio was 2:1 -- plus a couple of support guys as well doing mag reloads for us, so we could focus more time on training instead of loading. The price was comparable to other classes of similar duration that only covered a single topic, like defensive pistol -- and I am guessing that the other classes I considered would have been less comprehensive and probably 5-15 students to one instructor.
All in all I am very happy with the training I received. I am certainly planning on taking additional classes with these guys. They took me from idle to high-speed in no time.
As an aside, it was also really great to hang out with a group of preppers with a similar mind set to my own. That in itself is a rarity for me. Combining the training I received with this camaraderie -- it made for a truly great time.
erik
