Range Report: Fletcher Practice and Holster Clinic, 4/14/23

[BassCliff]

Hello my friends!

It's been a busy week. I normally like to get in a practice session at the range in the middle of the week but this time I put it off until Friday. I had a training clinic on Friday so I got there a little early for some practice before class. I've taken this holster clinic before (DSF 103 in the USCCA curriculum) and today I'm going to use my Garrison instead of my EDC XD9. I've done a bit of dry fire practice in my basement laser range but I figured it's about time to get some live fire holster practice with my 1911. But first, let's put a few holes in some paper before class. I got lane #10 here at the older facility. It's my favorite lane!

Since I was using my .45 for class I practiced only with my XD9 for this session. I brought my last box of WWB and shot half of this 200 round range pack.

I was by myself for a minute so I started with a cold 10-10-10 drill. I shot it plenty fast but my accuracy suffered. Next time I'll slow down just a little to try and get all 10 hits in the black.

I replaced the center and practiced slow fire marksmanship for the rest of this session. I guess this one is a little better with only two hits out of the black.

Still, I don't like those hits in the 6 and 7 rings. At least if they're in the 8 ring they will be on center mass. The next couple of targets were still "warm-up" targets so I won't bore you with them. Oops, WWB strikes again.

I had three FTE mals and one dud out of the 100 rounds sent downrange. The dud did fire on the second time in the chamber. I'll be glad when I practice away all my WWB. In the meantime, target #5 is starting to shape up. The three hits in the 8 ring are close enough for defense.

Being encouraged, I actually slowed down a little more in order to practice all the fundamentals. Target #6 was one of my better ones today.

Here I am being true to form. After a good (for me) target I get a little cocky. I let three get out of the black again. Drat.

Then I thought I'd switch up my targets a bit. I stuck on an 8" reactive along with a couple of 4" reactive bullseyes, then sent them downrange ten yards. It's my mission, for the most part, to practice at ten yards until all the hits are consistently in the 10 ring. Then I'll start adding more distance.

For this first set of reactives I shot two at each one, around the circle. (Note: I was loading my mags with 10 rounds.) Two of my hits barely missed the 4" circles.

I had two magazines left. I patched up the targets then put one magazine on the 8" and 5 hits on the smaller targets. Again, two hits just off the 4" circles. The hit with the arrow was a double. Honest!

I really wasn't paying attention when I let go of that flyer on the top target. Drat. Oh well. I see a little improvement over last week. I hope you do too.

I'll be back in the next post for the clinic.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[BassCliff]

Hi! I'm back!


Now it's time for the holster clinic. The long range was closed so we could go beyond the bays and have our fun. The store and the short range next door were still open so we couldn't load any guns at the bays. We could load our magazines then walk downrange as a class to load and make ready.

This was a holster clinic which most everyone in the class had taken before. We didn't shoot a lot, less than 100 rounds. I used my Norma.

This was the first time I had done any live fire practice with my 1911 and OWB. I was quite surprised that practicing my "grip and flip" in my basement really helped here today. If anything, I caught myself putting the safety back on too soon, before I had completed my "search and assess".

I don't really have any single-stack mag holders so I had to make do with the soft ones I had. I had to do a lot of slidelock reloads with only 7 rounds. I had three 7 round magazines and 2 ten round magazines. I muddled through pretty good.

The drills were simple since we were concentrating on our holster draw. The "UP!" command meant three to five shots on center mass. A number command meant one shot on that number. Once in a while the instructors would call a head shot.

We also used the "get off the X" movement during the draw and when performing reloads. Other than that there wasn't much movement but we were encouraged to pick up the pace now and then. I could tell when shooting too fast my accuracy would suffer.

We mainly shot from 5 or 10 yards, self defense distances. For one set of drills we went out just a little further. This was the 5 yard line.

My instructor was quite complimentary about my accuracy. I was doing OK on the dot drills as long as I didn't rush.

Here's a little closer look at my target.

It was a productive session. I think I'm really starting to get over the anticipation I have with my .45. I still have a ways to go but "perfect practice make perfect".

I had purchased a couple hundred rounds of Sig V-Crown ammo for self-defense because it was on sale at the range, with an extra 10% off for members. When I got home I was organizing and consolidating my ammo dump and, look what I found. Guh!

Oh great! In that case was another 800 rounds of WWB. I guess I'll be practicing with it for a while. Don't worry, I won't complain every time I get an FTE or a dud.

The first of next month I have another cognitive clinic scheduled. These are really involved classes with movement, multiple targets, shoot/no-shoot situations, etc. They are really fun but can bend your mind because there is so much to think about. The instructors like to add a little stress to make the self-defense scenario more real. They do a good job.

Thanks for coming along today. I hope everyone has a great weekend. God bless you, God bless America, and long live the Republic.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Recusant]

I'd say you earn an A+. You're getting really good!