Today we assisted Indy Pistol Training with a Basic NRA Pistol Class at the Shelby County FOP in Shelbyville. The weather was overcast, but dry and the temperature was in the 70's all day. You could not have ask for a better day of training in July in Indiana.
We had 5 students in attendance, two women and three men who were all motivated to learn. Two students traveled from Illinois, the others were from Central Indiana. This class was different as all the students brought their own pistols. Indy Pistol Training and Proactive Firearms Training will supply S&W M&P 22 pistol to any students who requires one during our training classes free of charge, but we always encourage those who own a pistol to bring it. We typically start everyone off with the M&P .22 to ensure they have the fundamentals down and to create a baseline to work from for each student. After a few magazines with the M&P we allow students to shoot their pistols. This class shot their pistol entire time except for a few trial runs with the M&P by those who had not shot a .22 pistol. One major benefit of the using the M&P 22 is the fact it is a 1:1 ratio pistol, meaning it matches the dimensions of a 9mm, .357 Sig or .40 full size pistol. This helps with transitions from .22 to full power defensive pistol calibers.
The experience level of this class ranged from never shooting a pistol to those with a few years of experience. No matter your experience level, training is always a good investment. Even experienced shooters can benefit from a basic class as getting back to basic will help you fix bad habits, reinforce what you already know and improve your shooting by practicing basic shooting skills.
Equipment issues were limited to a Kimber Solo in 9mm that started failing to extract during the live fire portion of the class. I witnessed that the pistol would randomly eject dummy rounds out of the magwell during dry fire, but seemed to load with out issue. Once on the range the pistol would fire one round and only extract the fired case partially out of the chamber. The extractor would slip off the case then attempt to load a second round created a combination failure to extract and double feed. I field stripped the pistol and did not locate any damaged or loose parts. The other instructor and myself shot the pistol with different ammunition and the malfunction happened two more times. At this point we discovered that the extractor claw had broken off the extractor leaving only a small sliver of metal that would pull the case rearward, but could not extract it. The pistol was placed out of service and I loaned the student one my pistols to shoot. The student stated that she had shot the pistol a few weeks earlier with out issue. This incident helped to reinforce the need for a backup pistol or alternate form of self defense as Murphy can sneak up at anytime.
Ammunition availability continues to be an issue. Rumor is that it is improving and that was reenforcement by our students as they were able to find ammunition in small quantities.
All students passed the test and practical with out issue. Due to the small class size we were able to provide the students with additional instruction after the NRA Basic Class was completed. We provided the students a small sampling of defensive shooting and allowed them a chance to see the difference between shooting bullseye targets and silhouettes.
Total rounds fired per students was around 250.
Looking forward to our next class Aug 11.
We had 5 students in attendance, two women and three men who were all motivated to learn. Two students traveled from Illinois, the others were from Central Indiana. This class was different as all the students brought their own pistols. Indy Pistol Training and Proactive Firearms Training will supply S&W M&P 22 pistol to any students who requires one during our training classes free of charge, but we always encourage those who own a pistol to bring it. We typically start everyone off with the M&P .22 to ensure they have the fundamentals down and to create a baseline to work from for each student. After a few magazines with the M&P we allow students to shoot their pistols. This class shot their pistol entire time except for a few trial runs with the M&P by those who had not shot a .22 pistol. One major benefit of the using the M&P 22 is the fact it is a 1:1 ratio pistol, meaning it matches the dimensions of a 9mm, .357 Sig or .40 full size pistol. This helps with transitions from .22 to full power defensive pistol calibers.
The experience level of this class ranged from never shooting a pistol to those with a few years of experience. No matter your experience level, training is always a good investment. Even experienced shooters can benefit from a basic class as getting back to basic will help you fix bad habits, reinforce what you already know and improve your shooting by practicing basic shooting skills.
Equipment issues were limited to a Kimber Solo in 9mm that started failing to extract during the live fire portion of the class. I witnessed that the pistol would randomly eject dummy rounds out of the magwell during dry fire, but seemed to load with out issue. Once on the range the pistol would fire one round and only extract the fired case partially out of the chamber. The extractor would slip off the case then attempt to load a second round created a combination failure to extract and double feed. I field stripped the pistol and did not locate any damaged or loose parts. The other instructor and myself shot the pistol with different ammunition and the malfunction happened two more times. At this point we discovered that the extractor claw had broken off the extractor leaving only a small sliver of metal that would pull the case rearward, but could not extract it. The pistol was placed out of service and I loaned the student one my pistols to shoot. The student stated that she had shot the pistol a few weeks earlier with out issue. This incident helped to reinforce the need for a backup pistol or alternate form of self defense as Murphy can sneak up at anytime.
Ammunition availability continues to be an issue. Rumor is that it is improving and that was reenforcement by our students as they were able to find ammunition in small quantities.
All students passed the test and practical with out issue. Due to the small class size we were able to provide the students with additional instruction after the NRA Basic Class was completed. We provided the students a small sampling of defensive shooting and allowed them a chance to see the difference between shooting bullseye targets and silhouettes.
Total rounds fired per students was around 250.
Looking forward to our next class Aug 11.
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