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Gunsite 250
"You need three sets of skills to become a shooter," continued Charlie. "Mindset, marksmanship and gun handling. You need the will to develop effective technique, plus the presence of mind to shoot deliberately but fast in tense situations. That's the mental part. Then there's the physical aspect, what we call marksmanship.
Ron Fielder shows how to clear a difficult jam. "Practice this in the dark," he advises.
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Gun handling matters because the sure, efficient movement of your hand can win a fight. You must be able to clear a jam, accomplish a tactical load (replace a half-empty magazine) and speedload while keeping your eyes on target. No fumbling allowed, no wasted seconds."
He told us there's no long-range shooting in 250 Pistol "because 90 percent of gunfights occur at distances of nine feet or less." He let that sink in. "And 80 percent of that 90 percent happen within three feet." He paused again.
"At those ranges, only one shot in 10 hits the adversary." He concluded that few people who must shoot defensively would be satisfied with 10 percent hits. "Neither are we. Here's what we expect of you on man-size silhouette targets."
He laid it out plainly:
At three yards, one shot to the head, from the holster, in 1 1/2 seconds.
At seven yards, two shots to the body, from the holster, in 1 1/2 seconds.
At 10 yards, two shots to the body, from the holster, in two seconds.
At 15 yards, two shots to the body, from the holster, in 3 1/2 seconds, kneeling.
At 25 yards, two shots to the body, from the holster, in seven seconds, prone.
"You must align the sights to shoot accurately," said Ron Fielder, when I questioned aiming in what little was left of a second and a half after dragging my S&W from its holster. "But at three yards you can shoot well enough with the front sight alone. At seven yards you must shoot twice as fast, but the target is a torso, not a head. Watch that front sight. Young shooters focus much quicker than you or I, so sometimes we have to ignore the rear sight when they don't."
Charlie McNeese demonstrates his kneeling position while a relay of students watches.
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At the line, I waited apprehensively for the targets. Charlie pushed the button, and they spun. As quickly as they appeared, though, they flipped back sideways. I had not fired. "Faster!" barked Charlie. Again the frames spun. I drew and fired as they slammed back. To my amazement, a hole had appeared in the forehead of my target face.
"See?"grinned Ron.
"You'll be faster if you bring the gun up straight, then poke it forward in front of you, instead of sweeping it up," advised Eric.
| WHO GOES THERE? |
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Many of Gunsite's instructors hail from law enforcement backgrounds. But do all Gunsite students pack heat in the real world? Are they all sponsored by LE agencies or the Army?
No. While more than half of Gunsite's attendees do carry guns on the job, many are ordinary folks who simply want to shoot better. I got to know several students during my 250 class.
Marquita Fortner, 24, is a graduate student at George Mason University. Now in Fairfax, Virginia, she hails from Prescott, Arizona. She owns a 1911 in .45 ACP, a "Gunsite Special." Marquita took the 250 course "to learn how to use a pistol in real-life situations, to defend myself."
Peter Wilhelm, from Columbia, Tennessee, works as a mechanical engineer. A young-looking 34, Peter has a polite, easy manner that belies his skill with a handgun. "Some friends and I shoot weekly," he shrugs. "Nothing formal." But he humbled most of us with his short-barreled Kahr autoloader in .40 S&W.
Darrin Newlander retired at 40 from a military career and now applies his radio skills to support Intermountain Communications. He lives in Chino Valley, near Gunsite. Darrin packs a military-issue 1911 Colt, circa 1944. "The only thing I've changed is the sights. You don't need a match barrel at three yards."
Henry Duhaylongsod, a native Hawaiian, now lives in North Pole, Alaska. This is his sixth class at Gunsite. "I learn something each time I visit. This time I brought my niece." The 43-year-old civil engineer is an avid hunter, too. He carries a well-seasoned Les Baer 1911 in .45 ACP--and shoots it well.
Farred "Jade" Goodhue is indeed Henry's niece. She's also an Annapolis graduate and a Marine Lieutenant headed for her second tour of Iraq. A logistics officer, Jade has an engineering background. Still only 24, she's thinking of a law enforcement career. Her Les Baer .45 looks too big for her hands, but it isn't.
Derek Davis, 36, came all the way from England, where he works as a policeman. Though Derek does not now carry a sidearm, he will if assigned to a new job near Parliament. A former competitor (before England banned pistols), Derek used a borrowed Glock in 9mm to impress us all with his speed.
Kim Wintle, also from a London suburb, accompanied Derek on her maiden trip to the U.S. She fired a pistol for the first time at Gunsite. "I have shot a bit," she admits. "Rifles, of course." The 33-year-old nurse "would like to shoot handguns more often." There's still crime, she says, in England. |
"Use the Weaver stance," Charlie added. "You're too square with the target. The Weaver stance gives you more flexibility to cover other threats."
I pointed out that several top-ranked steel-target shooters prefer the form I used. Charlie shrugged. "They shoot tens of thousands of rounds a year. You probably won't. And remember, this is a course in defensive fire, not steel plate shooting." I agreed to bend my left elbow.
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