Eric Olds coaches in the "fun house." Frangible ammo only, and no shots above that red line.

I got other tips as well: checking the top round on a stack with my index finger while guiding the magazine into the well, yanking the slide back to chamber a first round to get all the spring's energy behind the cartridge instead of punching the slide release, forgetting the white dots on my sights except in dim light, holding a flashlight in a way that also lets my left hand support the pistol.

"The draw is where you'll gain most in both speed and accuracy," said Eric. "Start with the proper grip, web high and firmly engaged, wrist directly behind the gun. Snatch it smartly upward to clear the holster. Click the safety off as you hold the pistols tight to your side and rotate the muzzle horizontal. Bring your left hand into the right--smack!--as you push the pistol forward toward the target. Look at the sights and press the trigger. With practice, these five steps--grip, clear, click, smack and look--become one fluid motion. Properly done, a fast draw not only gives you more time to aim, it improves accuracy."

We advanced quickly. Evenings at the Teapot Inn Bed and Breakfast in Chino Valley, I practiced draws and magazine changes. Each day at the range we'd try something new, always against the clock. Turn and fire. Hit multiple targets. Shoot in the dark. As routines became more complex and more difficult, target times shrank. By midweek scores had plummeted. "That's to be expected," said Charlie. "We test your resolve. You'll get better as you build back."

Peter Wilhelm clears a room; Ron Fielder assesses. The "hostile" at center has already been shot.

By week's end, most of us had gotten better, though I longed for younger eyes. Oddly enough, night shooting with a flashlight came easily. The sights stood boldly against the target face. Shooting in the dark helped me trust my grip and manipulate the slide, safety and magazines without a glance. Those skills count even when light isn't an issue. Alas, middle-age vision continued to slow me in 10- to 25-yard daylight stages. At three and seven yards I had, as Ron predicted, become proficient with the front sight alone.

The final days delivered more variety to the shooting venues. Firing on outside courses at steel targets hidden by terrain and in shooting houses with the images of crooks and innocents and lawmen intermixed, we had a chance to put our training into practical use. We also learned how demanding some threat situations can be, even if the targets, taken by themselves, are easy to hit. Protecting yourself by strategic movements while you search for an adversary is often much more difficult than the resulting shot.

Safety matters. Students carry pistols cocked and locked. But they practice chamber checks.

A tight travel schedule put me out of the last event in 250 Pistol, an elimination match that pitted students against each other on steel plates. I got a few photos before racing back to Phoenix for my flight. Actually, watching those .45s spit empties as plates toppled in quick succession, I felt a little relieved. These Gunsite graduates--some of whom had never handled a pistol five days earlier--would have been stiff competition indeed.