One regular guy’s report of the “Gunfighter Pistol” class. Before attending this course you must possess a solid foundation of basic handgun skills. Ensure you attend a lengthy in-depth handgun course prior to attending this class. This course will not cover the following: sighted fire, marksmanship, how to load and unload, tactical reloading, speed reloading, presenting the weapon from concealment and exposed holsters, malfunction clearance and all other foundational skills.
Target population
“Intermediate shooters that demonstrate safe and adequate gun handling skills.”
Course title: Fieldcraft Gunfighter Pistol
Class hours: start 0900hrs, end approx. 1500hrs
Student profile in attendance: All six participants were civilians / citizens with minimal shooter experience and background
Instructors:
Raul; the Training Director and lead Combatives coach at Fieldcraft Survival. Originally from Chicago he made his way through the urban density and into the Army. He’s an accomplished martial artist and mixed martial artist with both professional and amateur fights. He has deployed overseas to the “Global war on terrorism” 15 month combat tour. He then attended Drill Sergeant School and reclassified into the infantry. After the Army, he worked for the Chicago Police Dept. starting as a patrolman then onto a role with the Narcotics unit. After that he became an instructor and taught at the Police Academy.
Lew; he’s a retired US Army Special Forces senior NCO. He served extensively with 10th Special Forces, participating in numerous deployments and special missions. After retiring he worked in Law enforcement as well as instructing firearms on contract for multiple organizations.
Class objective
“Teach you the fundamentals of Gun Fighting in defense of your life” Defined by this vendor as:
- How to move and shoot
- Fight off the ”X”
Cost
$200.00
$300.00 if Mr. Mike Glover instructs
Required Equipment:
- Eye protection
- Ear protection
- Pistol
- Two mag carrier
- 300 round min
You can carry a concealed in the waist band holster or exposed range type belt holsters.
Hour by hour time table breakdown
0900-0920, instructor and student introductions, abbreviated safety brief
0920-1010, basic use and application of tourniquets
1010-1030, equipment check of students
1030-1100, skill test, lay handgun on ground, pointed down range with loaded magazine next to it. One at a time, run pickup gun, load, and move continuously while shooting 5 rounds on a thoracic cavity type paper static target. This is to “Evaluate your technical gun fighting skills.”
1120-1220, one hand shooting drill at approx. 3 and 5 yards thoracic cavity target on a designed 8 x 8 inch box. The objective was learning to separate the arm from body. Correct grip of the “hand gun” not “hands gun”, flex forearm squeeze the small finger and entire hand back in hand. The point is that you won’t have the perfect stance in a fight and you must control recoil. Fights occur in unconventional stances and abhorrent positions. This drill progressed into two hands
1240-1300, shooting from an under arm position with the pistol locked in front of you with both hands, pointing in target. Look at target, fire 1 round, “look at the target, and evaluate the impact on the paper. Now adjust your point of aim for a second confirmation hit.” This technique is very reminiscent of the “FBI speed rock” of an era gone by, or the original methodology of Mr. Rex Applegate of OSS fame, of the 1940s.
1300-1500, Remainder of day shooting steel, paper drills and shooting on the move.
Test and evaluation: No objective testing or criteria for graduation for success. No written and or hands on testing of any kind. There was subjective coaching provided and random input for the student population throughout the class.
Student materials: No handbooks, written material of any kind or certificates of attendance proved.
Conclusion: The demeanor of the instructors was pleasant, friendly, down to earth, and helpful. This is an exciting, short, fun and interesting seminar. You’re introduced to concepts, theories and ideas, and then you shoot. This was a range day while the instructor ran drills and gave some short introduction to concepts with ideas. It is not a marksmanship course; the class is a summary introduction to unsighted fire under stress while shooting on the moving, with a focus on unconventional shooting, and anecdotal incidents. According to the instructors, the student initial evaluation determines the course direction, content and depth. There’s no set course curriculum per say, the course is completely flexible based on a determination of the students skills on arrival. So in theory every time you attend the class it may be slightly different. It is changed depending on the instructor staff and the students’ performance during the evaluation phase. So writing this debrief of the course is merely a snapshot moment and will only describe this specific day and group. This class was conducted at their Arizona facility. There’s no shelter, drinks, food or swag for sale. Ensure you bring whatever you will need for the entire day due to the range’s remote location.
The vendor
”Fieldcraft Survival” is a US veteran owned small business; owned and operated by Mr. Mike Glover.
He spent 18 years in the US Army and as a government contractor for OGA. Mike served as a Command Sergeant Major in US Army Special Forces command, and in various positions while deployed in multiple combat theaters. He is a highly decorated and extremely experienced tier 1 operator possessing years of operational experience. Mr. Glover is an expert in Counter Terrorism, security, and crisis management operations. He is an avid outdoorsman, overland, traveler, and hunter. There are many facets to Mike and his background, far too much to list here. Check out his bio and resume online. He is a recognized expert in his field.
“A correct firing stroke — from leather to lineup — aligns the pistol reflexively, once it is neurologically programmed. The sights are not used to align the weapon; rather they are used to verify an alignment already achieved by means of a trained presentation.” -Mr. Jeff Cooper…
