GFH Urban Pistol 1 & Urban Pistol 2 Class Review

[TheWombat 67]

MrsWombat and I have just returned home from the GFH Urban Pistol 1 & 2 courses held by GunForHire at Cedar Grove. Our instructors were Joe and Chuck (who both also run the Simunitions).

 

Urban Pistol 1

 

Course Description: 'This course will serve as an introduction to Urban Pistol Shooting for the novice shooter. The course will begin with the fundamentals of shooting on move into tactical pistol shooting drills. Topics covered to include safety, fundamentals of shooting, drawing, multiple targets, shooting positions, shooting on the move, shooting behind cover. Moving with a loaded weapon and basic building search technique'

 

There were 6 students, which is the perfect size to allow for learning from others while keeping a rapid pace to the course. There is no theory/PowerPoint presentations - the entire class is held in the range. We started on some dot drills, multiple shots and drawing from holster. What stance is preferred, how to move forwards and backwards and how to use cover effectively.

 

We shot about 300 to 350 rounds each and the class was well put together and run safely. Having the ability to practice moving and shooting was great. Handling some of the malfunctions (forced and accidental) that firearms may have while having some degree of pressure was perfect, and it was interesting to see which firearms had no issues (PPQ) and which had some issues (no comment.... )

 

Urban Pistol 2

 

Course Description: 'This 4 hour course is an advanced Urban Pistol shooting course not for the faint hearted. The course will begin with a quick review of the fundamentals and move right into advanced shooting techniques. Topics covered to include safety, fundamentals review, drawing, reloads, malfunctions, multiple targets, shooting positions, shooting on the move, shooting behind cover. Moving from cover to cover position with a loaded weapon. Shooting from motor vehicles. Basic building search to include follow on rooms.'

 

There were 9 students (5 from the Urban Pistol 1) and 4 students who had taken the UP1 at a previous time. The level 2 stepped up the pressure considerably, including items such as:

• Shooting while lying on your back
  
• Shooting while sitting in a chair
  
• Moving sideways (as well as backwards and forwards)
  
• Shoot, don't shoot scenarios
  
• Taking on a multiple targets with hostage situations while moving through a 20yd by 25yd course of fire, including moving forwards, backwards, sideways etc
  
• More advanced shooting from cover etc
  
• Exercises covering clearing malfunctions and reloading while moving
  

We shot about 300 to 350 rounds each and the class, as per Urban Pistol 1, was well put together and run safely.

 

Summary

 

Well worth while attending, we were able to practice situations that would absolutely happen in real life that would not be able to be practiced in a normal shooting range session. So far I'd rate it on par with Simunitions in terms of the learning. Both MrsWombat and I found some changes/tweaks we need to make to our holsters, mag pouches etc which we would not have uncovered just shooting normally at a range. In addition it reinforces the differences that occur to one's technique between standard range practice and a more realistic scenario. Now I have additional tips to help continue to drill in good behaviours.

 

I would rate the class overall as a solid 'A'.

 

In total with the PPQ I shot 600 rounds between the two classes (550 Winchester Whitebox 124gr NATO and 50 Sellier & Belot 124gr) and had no failures of any type (other than those purposefully introduced by the instructors as part of the training).

 

There was a mix of firearms being used by students including Kimber 1911, Sig, Springfield XD, Glock, Beretta 92 and the PPQ. The students who had the more simple firearms typically had far fewer issues (either with the user or the firearm)

 

And a big thank you to Joe and Chuck for making the long day fun, interesting, safe and a great learning experience.

 

:-)

 

TheWombat

[Krdshrk 3,877]

FYI - IDPA competitions will help with shooting from cover, shooting from sitting, lying down, moving, etc.

[MrsWombat 7]

I thoroughly enjoyed the courses - great instructors and course structure, although I think at times I unintentionally dropped one F word or two....

 

I am buying 2 cones of shame, one for me and one for my Kimber.

[TheWombat 67]

FYI - IDPA competitions will help with shooting from cover, shooting from sitting, lying down, moving, etc.

 

Agreed, IDPA would help with this course, and this course would help with IDPA..

 

TheWombat

[TheWombat 67]

I thoroughly enjoyed the courses - great instructors and course structure, although I think at times I unintentionally dropped one F word or two....

 

I am buying 2 cones of shame, one for me and one for my Kimber.

 

I may take the Ed Brown to the next GFH course I do and see how well it holds up, having seen what happens on these courses I think even my premium 1911 may struggle to be as reliable and robust as the Glocks/PPQs etc. It will be interesting to see though.

 

If nothing else the course was an eye opener for what I had already heard from other instructors, that Glocks and simple guns are best as a practical weapon for many people and that (many) 1911s and firearms with specific safeties either are not as suitable or require significantly more training.

 

However throughout the entire day, MrsWombat never lost her cool and ended up getting much more practice than I did on clearing failures, which is not a bad thing to practice!

 

:-)

 

TheWombat

[Old Glock guy 1,127]

Wombat, nice review. I've taken both of those courses (UP 1 twice, because I'm a slow learner), and you summarized the experience very well.

I'm looking forward to UP3, which I believe will be scheduled in the spring.

 

Just curious, did Joe and Chuck give Mrs. Wombat preferential treatment, or did they holler and yell at her like they did to the rest of us?

[TheWombat 67]

Wombat, nice review. I've taken both of those courses (UP 1 twice, because I'm a slow learner), and you summarized the experience very well.

I'm looking forward to UP3, which I believe will be scheduled in the spring.

 

Just curious, did Joe and Chuck give Mrs. Wombat preferential treatment, or did they holler and yell at her like they did to the rest of us?

 

They hollered at her 150% more than they did to anyone else - probably because she has a 1911 :-) It was all well natured and fun!

 

:-)

 

TheWombat