Front Sight Training

After Action.net’s four-day Defensive Handgun course at Front Sight in November 2006 combined a thorough curriculum, good facilities and very professional instructors in a comfortable, fast-paced atmosphere.

How the training ran

• Basics first: the class was quickly brought up to speed on the range, the safety rules and basic range commands, so everyone knew how to keep the line safe.
• Everyone treated the same: men and women, young and old, beginners and experienced shooters got the same professionalism and attention. Nobody was talked down to or ignored.
• Peer coaching: paired students coached each other, which helped each shooter evaluate their own performance and focus on their specific needs.
• Format: most lessons began with a demonstration, then questions, then straight to the line. More involved exercises got a few dry runs before live fire.
• Training guns first: provided training guns were used on day one until everyone knew how to do dry practice safely; after that, students used their own pistols.
• Ammunition planning: instructors announced roughly how many rounds the next block would need, so nobody had to haul all their ammunition around. Cars were close by and secure for resupply.
• Mostly shooting: there were lecture blocks, but most of the time was spent running drills on the firing line.

Takeaways

• Coaching a partner teaches you to see errors you miss in your own shooting.
• Learn safe dry practice early and keep doing it at home after class.
• See Front Sight Training Lectures for the classroom side of the course.

Originally published on After Action.net on November 28, 2006. Rebuilt from the archived report; the original photos were not preserved. See every class in the Training Log, or share your own training experience.