In the spirit of the Gunsite Blog, I'll give a brief rundown on what my experience was this weekend and my run through Robin "Brownie" Brown's Integrated Threat Focused Training / Quick Kill class. For a little reference, my experience may be largely different from others because myself, and a few others camped-out at the site with Brownie. So we got a little more of the experience. And that's NOT a bad thing.
Starting the Class:
Firearm: HK USP .40 Compact
Ammunition: 2050 rounds (Half were reloads)
Mags: Four Standard HK Ten-Round Magazines
--------------------------------------
Before going much further into this, I'll say it right now: This is *not* a class that's about lightning-quick tactical reloads, fancy breathing techniques or taught by the latest greatest shooter who can put every round through the same molecule at 200 yards with a .22 snubbie. This course is about different shooting positions and ideas as to how to survive a gunfight. This is a no-frills or fufu course that gets into the meat of streetable techniques. No classroom, minimum BS, you will learn by watching and then doing. Throughout the days, Brownie is enthusiastic and keeps the energy up so when you're about ready to keel over, you STILL want more.
Going through the first day, we started at 9am and except for a few small breaks and lunch - we were on the firing line all day. If we weren't shooting, we were discussing the different applications of one technique and talking the merits of using it versus a different one. It sounds bad to say this, but off the top of my head I cannot remember everything I was taught.
Is it because some of it was stupid and worth forgetting? Ha!! No way. I'm just tired and between bathes of aloe right now so things are hazy.
But getting back to it, it doesn't matter that I cannot remember all of the details right now. Brownie packs a LOT into two days. He teaches a lot of things that once you have the basics of, its all refining the art (and really - it is!) to what suits you best. You can go onto his forum and get a rundown of what was covered in the class and INSTANTLY everything comes back. These skillsets are things that he opens the doors to you on and its just up to you to step through and practice back home and on the range. Well... private range. Most ranges don't take kindly to rapid fire or half the stuff you learn.
Much as I scribbled in the Gunsite Blog, I'm not going to give away any details or try and describe how to do that. If Brownie wants to post it up on his forum, he can do it. But I wouldn't be able to do it justice anyway. Really, and to be dead honest, this stuff needs to be seen to be fully appreciated (if not believed). When I got there Friday night, him and Mike were telling me I'd be able to rapid-fire every round into a torso from +21' in under 2 seconds by Saturday afternoon. I chuckled. What do you say to that??? I still didn't know the next afternoon when I did it on my second try! But I'll tell you, I was grinning like an idiot.
Sunday rolls around and we cover a lot of review from the previous day. Basic stuff to the class and Core skills. Once thats loaded into our minds we moved off into running drills/sprints. I'll be dead honest, I have NEVER seen or heard of a more stable or accurate firing technique for shooting on the move. Some of the other skills he shows, and we even got some demo and practice on handgun disarms, are nuts.
After the shooting was done today, we sat down and had a discussion about what was learned. It was pointed-out that Quick Kill, while is a GREAT technique, it is not the end-all be-all for every situation. It was an honest talk that reinforced the idea that every shooter needs to learn what works best for them and think about what will work best for whatever situation they might be placed in. It was never directly said, but that was the topic. And while that seems like a trivial thing to mention - it speaks volumes to the quality of the instruction. Some may disagree and live by a certain mantra that says there is only one correct way for each person. Fine. No problem. Stay over there. In a community with flashed names and big name schools, Brownie's course is refreshing.
Really, I would say that this course is an absolute must-take for anyone serious about self defense. You will blow yourself away with what you learn and how easy some of it is. For the skillset Brownie teaches, for the cost that he charges, it is hands-down worth it. Better than Gunsite? I'd say yes. But its two different set-ups and comparing them gets tough. Both teach good skillsets but I would say that QK and the associated techniques are much more likely to be used. No joke, one of the guys who came (forum member - TacticalCompact) brought his wife. From what I understand, she's not an experienced shooter by any stretch. She came in and just.. WOW!! I was totally impressed but not 100% shocked. Its so intuitive. Really... the gun becomes an extension of your hand.
Oh.. by the way.. did I mention that I saw my gun in focus exactly once while on the line ALL weekend. Once. Sights?
Yeah, right. And no, I'm not joking. I'm being quite literal! Once. That was it.
Brownie, guys: I stand by what I said at the roundtable afterwards. 9 out of 10. I will be taking this course again and more of your offerings before I consider heading back to Gunsite or ANY other big name school.
--------------------------------------
Total Rounds Fired: 1150
Number of Cleaning Sessions: 0
The HK ran flawlessly. This gun never complains or gripes or hiccups when its shoved through the most intensive firing sessions. It was cleaned beforehand and all I did was lube slightly Sunday morning. I *highly* recommend bringing a serious gun to this class. If your firearm has very tight tolerances and may not stand-up to sustained high temps, you should probably bring something else. Or if they have a rep of breaking a certain part - bring spares.
I brought 2050 rounds. Why didn't I shoot much more than half? Damndest thing... I kept having to reload. Four mags, while it might get you through the class, is NOT enough. One guy, Eli, had a bunch of hi-caps for his Glock and he was havin' a good ol' time.
You need a minimum of five 10-rounders. I'd suggest six or seven hi-caps. Just me, though.
My suggestions to those thinking of taking this class:
-Bring gloves or tape for your fingers. Especially if you shoot something larger than 9mm. Bring it for the 9mm if you have soft hands.
-Bring your shotgun, lots of ammo, and plenty of clays. Seeing Brownie hit the bits 'n pieces of what you thought you decimated will make you cry. And like it.
-Take the class ASAP.
Hopefully the other guys who took this can chime in and voice their thoughts. Maybe help me organize mine. This was a little scattered.
Sgt443, TacComp, Daddy (when you join)... VERY fine shooting. Especially you, Sgt. Very impressive all weekend. Even through your slide. It truly was a pleasure to take that class with you all.