What difference does training make? Why spend a big chunk of time, not to mention a large pile of money, building a skill set that in all probability wont ever be used? I attended the 1911 Theory class taught by Chris Costa and John Jardine. Day one was a classroom session with John, who happens to be a master gunsmith, who taught us about maintenance of the 1911 platform, its weaknesses and strengths. According to John, there is no reason a quality 1911 should not last for a million rounds assuming proper maintenance at correct intervals. We were shown how to determine when parts need to be replaced, along with a bit of history on the large aftermarket parts industry that services the 1911. On top of all that, any mechanical issues students had were corrected by John. I brought a Kimber Eclipse Target to the class, one that Id picked up used in a gunshop. The previous owner had been indiscriminate with the use of a buffer on the exterior; the gun looked like hell but functioned properly. I installed an extended slide release, mag chute and grip panels. I also bought one of the new Wilson Bulletproof ambidextrous safeties, which I was able to do the fitting on the exterior but stopped short of filing any of the interior parts. I know the limits of my knowledge and was able to take advantage of having a master gunsmith do the final fitting. Literally, it took John 2 strokes with the file and a dozen swipes with the stone and my safety was working perfectly. By the way, the Wilson Bulletproof Ambidextrous Safety connects the two levers in an ingenious way that more engagement surface area than the current designs available. There are 2 dovetail engagement points rather than one, and the dovetailed parts are surrounded by steel so there is zero chance they will spread apart and loosen over time. The lever on the right side of the frame is held to the frame with a screw that fits a slot milled in the underside of the lever. There is no need to cut the right grip panel to accommodate the wing that holds current ambi levers to the frame. Definitely worth every penny. The final lesson on day one was how to properly lubricate the 1911. I learned that Id been doing it wrong for these many years - well this IS the reason Id signed up for the class, to learn to do it the right way. Day two we were met on the range with a lecture by Chris Costa. The 1911 has been in service for over 100 years, and Chris explained we would explore some of the different shooting techniques that were used during that span of years. We spent the day using classic bullseye shooting technique, hip shooting, indexed hip shooting before ending up with the Weaver. Of all these techniques I enjoyed the classic bullseye the most, and curiously using the Weaver the least. Two variants of the Weaver were taught, thumbs down & crossed, and thumbs up. The variant that worked for me was to shoot Weaver with the modern, thumbs forward hold. By the end of that part, I was enormously relieved to get back to modern isosceles. Day three had Chris expanding on a point hed made the day before, that poor marksmanship had more to do with errors in grip and trigger control than with sight alignment. To help illustrate the point Chris taped his sights and proceeded to shoot groups out to 40 yards. We taped over our sights, and I found that when I focused on the target I got good hits. As soon as I tried to game things by estimating where my sights were pointing, my trigger press went to hell and the groups really opened up. Finally we removed the tape and proceeded fully into the modern technique of pistol shooting. Drills emphasized accuracy, speed, and the ability to mentally shift gears between taking time for highly accurate shots and pedal-to-the-metal bursts on target. I started this AAR asking what difference does training make? The range of experience among students was quite wide, from SWAT instructors to shooters on their first outing off the square range. One of the drills we did involved running from point to point and engaging targets. Putting on the safety before moving was emphasized, as was moving at a speed conducive to safety. There was enough gravel on the ground to make running hazardous - think marbles on hardwood flooring. My turn came up and I did what I always do, sprint as hard as I could from point to point. At the third station I slipped and fell on my backside. Chris was running alongside keeping an eye on me. My muzzle stayed pointed downrange and my thumb was firmly under the safety lever; as I slid to a stop I was able to move into a kneeling position, flick the safety down and engage the targets. Next it was safety on, a quick security scan then up and running to the next firing point. When I got back to the end of the line I was complimented on my amazing tactical ninja gymnastic skills. One of the first time shooters went thought the same drill, trotting at a moderate pace and managing not to fall at all. There was a stoppage in his pistol, which he attempted to clear; tap / rack / bang, only hed forgotten the part about pointing his pistol at the target before bang. Fortunately the muzzle was pointed downrange and all that happened was the berm just above the targets took a slightly high shot. A quick word from Chris about Rule #3 and a thank you for observing Rule #2, and the drill was completed. I followed Chris lead and reinforced to our new shooter the importance of ALWAYS following ALL the rules of safe gun handling. It is all too easy to dog pile on the new guy and burn him as a heretic for making a simple and all too human mistake. This is TRAINING, where we go acquire the skills we dont have. 1) No harm = No foul (Big Boy Rules), and 2) this guy paid good money and traveled a long way to train with Chris Costa and learn from John Jardine; he needs to be ENCOURAGED to keep on training, not the opposite. I have fired tens of thousands of rounds in training, our new shooter perhaps a thousand. I took a fall yet completed the drill safely and without further incident; our new shooter was executing one of the most fundamental responses to a failure to fire and got an accidental discharge. Training shows.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 06:11:07 +0000
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