My limited background: Began actively shooting pistol in May of this year.
Private instruction with Coach on the basics/sighting.
NRA Basic pistol course
ACT DP101 course
Weather: was beautiful. A little chilly in the am, but once the clouds parted, you could not have asked for a better day in November!
Range: This was the first time I've been to Riley. 5 (or more?) pistol bays, and a 225yd rifle range. Really nice, lots of room with 11 of us split into 2 alternating groups. Giving you time to reload & learn by watching others tackle the obstacles.
Morning: (9:00-11:00) No classroom instruction this time around, straight to the range after short introductions. All of which seemed to be INGO members (It's always good to meet more INGO members). Spent time learning different shooting positions & their variants (Prone, kneeling), and movement (Forward, back, laterally) while shooting.
Lunch: Hotdogs, chips & cookies provided. Bring your own mustard (lol @ john for forgetting the mustard. sorry had to do it). Bottled water provided to everyone throughout the day. I like the included lunches these guys do. It keeps everyone on the range, and back onto the trigger quickly.
Afternoon: (11:30-4:30ish) Drills. Using all of the basics learned in DP101, combined with the morning instruction involving movement & positions, while using cover between you and your intended target. Very Dynamic. Use of a moving target in one drill, keeps you thinking and aware through the entire drill. Random target calls in another drill forces you to make quick decisions for identifying threats & obtaining cover if/when needed.
Overall impressions:
This is a logical increment from DP101. In DP101 you are overwhelmed with the Henk Drill near the end of the course. You touch on movement while engaging. In DP201, this is taken to a whole new level. Drills are designed to fit the real world, where decisions have to be made & threats don't stand still for you. While this sounds easy, it is terribly unnerving to manipulate a firearm while constantly trying to put cover between you and a moving threat.
This is NOT a military stye regiment where you spend 2 hours dropping to prone. You learn something, spend a few repetitions trying it out, and then move to the next segment. For the 'average' shooter (and especially us older fellows) it works well. If I feel I want to practice drawing/dropping to kneeling, etc, I now feel that I can do it on my own time safely (Having learned how to perform these maneuvers). With some of us older folks, dropping to the ground isn't as difficult as getting back up. This course will not wear you down so that you are hating it by the end of the day. Having said that, being on your feet/training all day does make you want to go bed early that night. Older folks may feel it the next day.
Final notes: ACT does a class act job on the training. Johns humor really relaxes the group, and makes the training fun. These are serious topics & maneuvers, but the guys make it easy to ingest at your own pace.
Many in this group were part of the DP101 class I took. A few were new. All were extremely safety conscious & handled their firearms very well. While the caliber of each marksman or markswoman differed, each had strengths or weaknesses you learned from.
I listen to a well trained Marine state how much he learned from the instant feedback and watching how other people handled scenarios.
I watched 2 young ladies who may not be the 'fastest' shooters in the group, but easily handled their weapons and reloads with 'textbook steadfastness' (if that's even a word) that left me speechless and slackjawed. Much like my usual reaction when I hit slidelock and have to stop and think about each and every step. These ladies don't have to think about it, it is intuitive to them.
I watched others which carry different ways than I, and I learned how they handle their draws so that I might consider that carrying option in the future.
Personal experience: I had one serious malfunction during my training. It is the first malfunction I have had with my M&P (With about 1500-1600 rounds down the pipe). But it was also made clear to me that it is a fairly uncommon malfunction. The external extractor did not engage. Despite this happening, in retrospect, I realized that I did everything correctly in handling the malfunction under stress. I was pretty bummed at the time, but after having thought about it, I correctly rack/tapped/no-banged. Decided, screw it, and put another mag in only to encounter a double feed & locked mag. Correctly identified, locked slide back, dropped the mag & rack rack rack, and noticed there's a casing still in the chamber.
I moved tight to cover once I realized it was more than a tap rack bang solution. I am quite surprised I actually noticed the casing in the pipe. A properly trained 'Yeager disciple' may have not messed with the 'screw it, pop another mag in', but given the stress level and gun manipulation, it was a last resort effort that led to the conclusion that my gun was now a paperweight, in slightly more time than a more experienced shooter.
However, it does introduce the importance of having a backup firearm. While I did have an m&p22 in the trunk of my car, I doubt the bad guys would have waited for me to go get it and return.
All in all, I was very cautious about carrying on my person until after the DP101 course. I've carried a bit since then, but usually keep my firearm in the glovebox. After DP201, it's sort of a no-brainer for me. I feel confident in carrying, and making decisions under stress. I'm not superman, but I am certainly not a defenseless sheeple now.
I look forward to continued practice and training with more INGO members.
Private instruction with Coach on the basics/sighting.
NRA Basic pistol course
ACT DP101 course
Weather: was beautiful. A little chilly in the am, but once the clouds parted, you could not have asked for a better day in November!
Range: This was the first time I've been to Riley. 5 (or more?) pistol bays, and a 225yd rifle range. Really nice, lots of room with 11 of us split into 2 alternating groups. Giving you time to reload & learn by watching others tackle the obstacles.
Morning: (9:00-11:00) No classroom instruction this time around, straight to the range after short introductions. All of which seemed to be INGO members (It's always good to meet more INGO members). Spent time learning different shooting positions & their variants (Prone, kneeling), and movement (Forward, back, laterally) while shooting.
Lunch: Hotdogs, chips & cookies provided. Bring your own mustard (lol @ john for forgetting the mustard. sorry had to do it). Bottled water provided to everyone throughout the day. I like the included lunches these guys do. It keeps everyone on the range, and back onto the trigger quickly.
Afternoon: (11:30-4:30ish) Drills. Using all of the basics learned in DP101, combined with the morning instruction involving movement & positions, while using cover between you and your intended target. Very Dynamic. Use of a moving target in one drill, keeps you thinking and aware through the entire drill. Random target calls in another drill forces you to make quick decisions for identifying threats & obtaining cover if/when needed.
Overall impressions:
This is a logical increment from DP101. In DP101 you are overwhelmed with the Henk Drill near the end of the course. You touch on movement while engaging. In DP201, this is taken to a whole new level. Drills are designed to fit the real world, where decisions have to be made & threats don't stand still for you. While this sounds easy, it is terribly unnerving to manipulate a firearm while constantly trying to put cover between you and a moving threat.
This is NOT a military stye regiment where you spend 2 hours dropping to prone. You learn something, spend a few repetitions trying it out, and then move to the next segment. For the 'average' shooter (and especially us older fellows) it works well. If I feel I want to practice drawing/dropping to kneeling, etc, I now feel that I can do it on my own time safely (Having learned how to perform these maneuvers). With some of us older folks, dropping to the ground isn't as difficult as getting back up. This course will not wear you down so that you are hating it by the end of the day. Having said that, being on your feet/training all day does make you want to go bed early that night. Older folks may feel it the next day.
Final notes: ACT does a class act job on the training. Johns humor really relaxes the group, and makes the training fun. These are serious topics & maneuvers, but the guys make it easy to ingest at your own pace.
Many in this group were part of the DP101 class I took. A few were new. All were extremely safety conscious & handled their firearms very well. While the caliber of each marksman or markswoman differed, each had strengths or weaknesses you learned from.
I listen to a well trained Marine state how much he learned from the instant feedback and watching how other people handled scenarios.
I watched 2 young ladies who may not be the 'fastest' shooters in the group, but easily handled their weapons and reloads with 'textbook steadfastness' (if that's even a word) that left me speechless and slackjawed. Much like my usual reaction when I hit slidelock and have to stop and think about each and every step. These ladies don't have to think about it, it is intuitive to them.
I watched others which carry different ways than I, and I learned how they handle their draws so that I might consider that carrying option in the future.
Personal experience: I had one serious malfunction during my training. It is the first malfunction I have had with my M&P (With about 1500-1600 rounds down the pipe). But it was also made clear to me that it is a fairly uncommon malfunction. The external extractor did not engage. Despite this happening, in retrospect, I realized that I did everything correctly in handling the malfunction under stress. I was pretty bummed at the time, but after having thought about it, I correctly rack/tapped/no-banged. Decided, screw it, and put another mag in only to encounter a double feed & locked mag. Correctly identified, locked slide back, dropped the mag & rack rack rack, and noticed there's a casing still in the chamber.
I moved tight to cover once I realized it was more than a tap rack bang solution. I am quite surprised I actually noticed the casing in the pipe. A properly trained 'Yeager disciple' may have not messed with the 'screw it, pop another mag in', but given the stress level and gun manipulation, it was a last resort effort that led to the conclusion that my gun was now a paperweight, in slightly more time than a more experienced shooter.
However, it does introduce the importance of having a backup firearm. While I did have an m&p22 in the trunk of my car, I doubt the bad guys would have waited for me to go get it and return.
All in all, I was very cautious about carrying on my person until after the DP101 course. I've carried a bit since then, but usually keep my firearm in the glovebox. After DP201, it's sort of a no-brainer for me. I feel confident in carrying, and making decisions under stress. I'm not superman, but I am certainly not a defenseless sheeple now.
I look forward to continued practice and training with more INGO members.
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