SigSweet
.45 acp
On Saturday I took the Defensive Pistol Course with OnSight Firearms at Blue Mtn Range in Cortland Manor NY taught by Ben & Rachel.
Let me first say that this was my first live fire instructor led course. I have taken an NRA safety class in addition to a general handgun safety class to get my NY State pistol permit. I have shot at numerous ranges and have thousands of rounds down range as well as watched many training videos online and read numerous discussions about gun safety, form, skill training, dry fire practice, draw/reload techniques etc.
The Defensive Pistol course that OnSight hosted was 6.5 hours of real world training relating to personal and firearm safety, understanding your surroundings and general awareness, drawing a pistol, proper reloading, clearing jams/malfunctions, moving/reacting under pressure, combined with shooting hundreds of rounds. At the end of the day I was tired, cold, muddy, but eager to book my next training session.
The class was a complete eye opener to me, yes I know basic gun safety that I am sure all you guys know as well; always treat every firearms as loaded, keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shot, keeping the muzzle downrange/know your backstop & what’s behind it, shooting with ear and eye protection, how to use your sights etc. To be honest I was nervous the class might consist of hours of these lectures pounding these safety guidelines into your head until you can’t remember anything else, but it wasn’t. I was able to shot & shot a lot. Every different drill was real world related with hands on instruction with a humor included not to make others feel insecure or less of a shooter then anyone else there. Getting ready I was a little nervous that I didn’t have as much gear as other shooters there, I definitely did not look as tactical, but not one person gave a shit as we were all there to learn, shot, and have a good time. As well Ben was able to provide some of the extra gear that I was lacking.
We shot standing, squatting, knelling, sitting, laying on your back, prone, and in different pivot positions all while reloading, moving, and one-handed while doing different real world operations with our support hand. As well there was plenty of running, side-stepping , moving with plenty rapid fire thrown in. Let me say though out of all this the biggest off take from the course for me was the situational awareness. Knowing your surroundings and the muscle memory relating to keeping your eyes not just on a paper target down range was huge. I’m pretty sure people have seen the online tactical scan and maybe after putting a magazine down range gave a quick look behind themselves, but I doubt they have ever had a someone standing behind them with a knife up when they did their scan. I wont go into everything that we worked on as people should take the class for themselves and really see that training is something that you really can not get enough of. As well a lot of techniques I am now able to practice at the range myself and able to improve on before my next class which is another huge takeaway.
Do I think the class was worth it? 110%. I honestly feel like I will be safer walking to work through the streets NYC even though the government doesn’t currently allow me to defend myself with my firearm there. That is something I did not expect to take from this class and why now I feel like my wife should be more involved in these training sessions as well being that she is teacher and only given about 30 mins of active shooter instruction. She is not allowed to carry at work and either am I but that doesn’t matter, the situational awareness and understanding is more important then being able to point and shot.
Thanks Ben and Rachel for hosting such a great class, for providing the Italian buffet at lunch, and for the Kimber range bag loaded with goodies. I look forward to training with you both again in the near future.
Let me first say that this was my first live fire instructor led course. I have taken an NRA safety class in addition to a general handgun safety class to get my NY State pistol permit. I have shot at numerous ranges and have thousands of rounds down range as well as watched many training videos online and read numerous discussions about gun safety, form, skill training, dry fire practice, draw/reload techniques etc.
The Defensive Pistol course that OnSight hosted was 6.5 hours of real world training relating to personal and firearm safety, understanding your surroundings and general awareness, drawing a pistol, proper reloading, clearing jams/malfunctions, moving/reacting under pressure, combined with shooting hundreds of rounds. At the end of the day I was tired, cold, muddy, but eager to book my next training session.
The class was a complete eye opener to me, yes I know basic gun safety that I am sure all you guys know as well; always treat every firearms as loaded, keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shot, keeping the muzzle downrange/know your backstop & what’s behind it, shooting with ear and eye protection, how to use your sights etc. To be honest I was nervous the class might consist of hours of these lectures pounding these safety guidelines into your head until you can’t remember anything else, but it wasn’t. I was able to shot & shot a lot. Every different drill was real world related with hands on instruction with a humor included not to make others feel insecure or less of a shooter then anyone else there. Getting ready I was a little nervous that I didn’t have as much gear as other shooters there, I definitely did not look as tactical, but not one person gave a shit as we were all there to learn, shot, and have a good time. As well Ben was able to provide some of the extra gear that I was lacking.
We shot standing, squatting, knelling, sitting, laying on your back, prone, and in different pivot positions all while reloading, moving, and one-handed while doing different real world operations with our support hand. As well there was plenty of running, side-stepping , moving with plenty rapid fire thrown in. Let me say though out of all this the biggest off take from the course for me was the situational awareness. Knowing your surroundings and the muscle memory relating to keeping your eyes not just on a paper target down range was huge. I’m pretty sure people have seen the online tactical scan and maybe after putting a magazine down range gave a quick look behind themselves, but I doubt they have ever had a someone standing behind them with a knife up when they did their scan. I wont go into everything that we worked on as people should take the class for themselves and really see that training is something that you really can not get enough of. As well a lot of techniques I am now able to practice at the range myself and able to improve on before my next class which is another huge takeaway.
Do I think the class was worth it? 110%. I honestly feel like I will be safer walking to work through the streets NYC even though the government doesn’t currently allow me to defend myself with my firearm there. That is something I did not expect to take from this class and why now I feel like my wife should be more involved in these training sessions as well being that she is teacher and only given about 30 mins of active shooter instruction. She is not allowed to carry at work and either am I but that doesn’t matter, the situational awareness and understanding is more important then being able to point and shot.
Thanks Ben and Rachel for hosting such a great class, for providing the Italian buffet at lunch, and for the Kimber range bag loaded with goodies. I look forward to training with you both again in the near future.
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