Yes, kids, it's time for another Green Ops AAR!
Class this time was the Concealed Carry Draw Techniques Clinic. Instructors were Jay, Brett, and Andy. Yours truly had a more-or-less stock Glock 17 in a Blade-Tech OWB holster, a Blade-Tech double mag pouch, and a 5.11 tac-vest (IDPA-style). Given that I'm in MD and will probably never get a carry permit, I came for the IDPA technique, mostly.
The class starts off in a classroom, and it's very much like the 4-Count Draw Clinic. Safety and medical stuff up front, and then a very detailed walkthrough of Cooper's 4-Count Draw. While this may seem like annoying repetition to some people, I found it a great time to get some additional training on it, and didn't mind. Getting a refresher on the basics is always time well spent!
The class then diverges and goes into "how to move your concealment garment". Three types (open front, closed front, tucked), immediate vs earned draws, etc. This was the part of the class I came for, so to speak, and I was not disappointed. I definitely got some tips to improve how I opened my vest.
Finally... off to the range!
The first drill in the class was dry-fire draws, mostly to ascertain skill and make sure you're not going to shoot yourself or someone else when doing a concealed draw. This went fine. The following drills were:
1. 3-yard draw-and-shoot at a 1" black circle target (upper left).
2. 5-yard draw-and-double-tap at a 3" black circle target (head).
3. 7-yard draw-and-shoot at a 5" black circle target (upper right).
At this point, we moved into the A-zone on the target with a heavier emphasis on the timer. I love timers - they keep you honest and moving fast.
After doing some single-shot work, we moved into a failure/Mozambique drill. I found this less exciting to pull off then some people, I suppose, but it was still some good practice. After the failure drill, we had a Bill drill, which is always fun. I posted a time of 2.99, which is slow for a pro, but not bad for me (Lucky Gunner suggests it doesn't suck).
Finally, we had some guard arm-distance shooting. This is the kind of thing you got to class for, because your average range is never going to let you shoot it (and maybe for good reason - I watched a couple guys do it at a range I won't name once, and one of their shots hit my target in the next lane over at 7 yards... on the wrong side of my target). The blast is pretty eye-opening, so I am happy I was able to do this and get the experience before a scenario where I'd have to do it in real life.
All-in-all, time and money well spent. I got the instruction I needed to dry-fire practice taking my draw to the next level, plus a better technique for moving my cover-garment out of the way.
Class this time was the Concealed Carry Draw Techniques Clinic. Instructors were Jay, Brett, and Andy. Yours truly had a more-or-less stock Glock 17 in a Blade-Tech OWB holster, a Blade-Tech double mag pouch, and a 5.11 tac-vest (IDPA-style). Given that I'm in MD and will probably never get a carry permit, I came for the IDPA technique, mostly.
The class starts off in a classroom, and it's very much like the 4-Count Draw Clinic. Safety and medical stuff up front, and then a very detailed walkthrough of Cooper's 4-Count Draw. While this may seem like annoying repetition to some people, I found it a great time to get some additional training on it, and didn't mind. Getting a refresher on the basics is always time well spent!
The class then diverges and goes into "how to move your concealment garment". Three types (open front, closed front, tucked), immediate vs earned draws, etc. This was the part of the class I came for, so to speak, and I was not disappointed. I definitely got some tips to improve how I opened my vest.
Finally... off to the range!
The first drill in the class was dry-fire draws, mostly to ascertain skill and make sure you're not going to shoot yourself or someone else when doing a concealed draw. This went fine. The following drills were:
1. 3-yard draw-and-shoot at a 1" black circle target (upper left).
2. 5-yard draw-and-double-tap at a 3" black circle target (head).
3. 7-yard draw-and-shoot at a 5" black circle target (upper right).
At this point, we moved into the A-zone on the target with a heavier emphasis on the timer. I love timers - they keep you honest and moving fast.
After doing some single-shot work, we moved into a failure/Mozambique drill. I found this less exciting to pull off then some people, I suppose, but it was still some good practice. After the failure drill, we had a Bill drill, which is always fun. I posted a time of 2.99, which is slow for a pro, but not bad for me (Lucky Gunner suggests it doesn't suck).
Finally, we had some guard arm-distance shooting. This is the kind of thing you got to class for, because your average range is never going to let you shoot it (and maybe for good reason - I watched a couple guys do it at a range I won't name once, and one of their shots hit my target in the next lane over at 7 yards... on the wrong side of my target). The blast is pretty eye-opening, so I am happy I was able to do this and get the experience before a scenario where I'd have to do it in real life.
All-in-all, time and money well spent. I got the instruction I needed to dry-fire practice taking my draw to the next level, plus a better technique for moving my cover-garment out of the way.
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