Sage Dynamics Defensive Handgun Fundamentals - Day 1

F**K North Carolina in August!  It was HOT.  Highs in the low 90's with humidity hovering around 70%.  I brought a small cooler with 6, 20oz bottles of water and 2, 12oz bottles of orange juice.  I was out by lunch.  Fortunately there were more experienced students who let me raid their Yeti.  I was the least experienced shooter.  Our class of 10 had 1 competition shooter, 6 instructors, and 3 like myself, what I'd call defensive minded citizens.  I arrived at 8:45.  People were milling about, loading magazines, shooting the breeze, and setting up equipment.  Speaking of equipment other than a stock XD and a lightly customized CZ 75,  every other student had an Agency Arms Glock.  Having never fondled one myself, I was impressed, and my "custom"(DIY) Glock 19 looked crude by comparison.  At 9:00am, Aaron addressed the class.  He introduced himself and went over the safety rules.  He has a common sense approach to range safety that are much more nuanced versions of the 4 safety rules we know and love.  He runs a "Hot" range.

Class Intro

Aaron paces the class very well.  He thoroughly dissects a topic, but doesn't spend any more time than he needs to on it.  In fact, the above photo is the only one I had time to get before the class started.  Being a fundamentals course, Aaron covered Grip, Sight Alignment, Sight Picture, Stance, and Trigger Control.  These topics have been discussed ad nauseam, but he has a way of breaking them down so they are not just easily understood, but easily applied.  An example was how he described gripping the gun like you're crushing a beer can.  Not just the pressure, but the application of force at each finger.  Once this "clicked" for me, I noticed my groups tightening up.  I still have to be conscious of my grip, but now I know what to work on at home.

Aaron stresses accuracy, but not precision shooting in the traditional sense.  He spent a good deal of time going over anatomy, mainly that which is critical for life function.  Instead of focusing on shooting tight 1 hole groups, Aaron strives for precise targeting of vital anatomy.  Not just head shots, but targeting specific regions of the brain that guarantee instant incapacitation.  Vital organs in the chest and certain regions of the pelvis were also described.  Since we are targeting specific regions inside of a 3 dimensional threat, we used 3D cardboard targets.  We would set them up facing directly toward us, from the side, and at various angles.  This acclimated us to points of aim that you can't replicate on a 2D target.  Later we attached cardboard arms depicting knives or handguns.

Being defensively minded, we began our shooting drills issuing verbal commands.  It felt silly at first, but after a few evolutions we found ourselves genuinely screaming at the cardboard target to "DROP THE KNIFE" or GET THE F**K BACK!  We were not told what to say, just suggestions to keep it simple and address the most important issue first ie:  If a guy with a knife is advancing from 25 feet away, "STOP, DROP THE KNIFE" would be prudent since he has to get closer to use the knife on you.

After lunch, we were introduced to the hot rocks that had been baking in the sun all day.  We shot from kneeling positions, moving to supine and fetal.  I'm glad I brought my knee pads.  We learned to fight as we recovered from the fetal, to supine, to kneeling, to standing positions.  A double stack handgun is especially handy for this, though even my 15 rounders were barely lasting through the drill.  17 or even 20 rounders are on my shopping list.

By 4pm I was beat.  While the drills aren't that physically demanding, the constant mental focus and especially the heat took their toll. Every time we stopped to top off our mags, everyone sucked down a bottle of water and had a handful of jerky, pretzels, chips, crackers, energy bars, etc.  Staying hydrated is critical to staving off mental fatigue in the heat, and a few bits of food to replenish electrolytes lost to sweat meant they were in much better condition to learn than I was.  It's nearly 10pm, and I still have a mild headache even after drinking nearly a gallon of water.  Tomorrow morning I will pick up a case of water, an 8 pack of Gatorade, and assorted snacks.

Sage Dynamics Defensive Handgun I - Day 2