Steve Fisher and Casey of Michigan Defensive Firearms Institute (MDFI) returned to Tucson in May 2008 for two days and two nights of level two pistol and carbine training at the Pima Pistol Club. This is the overall after action report; the four individual class reports are linked below.
Course overview
- School: Michigan Defensive Firearms Institute, taught by Steve Fisher with assistant instructor Casey
- Host: Tucson Guns and Western Artifacts
- Location: Pima Pistol Club, north of Tucson, Arizona
- Classes: Defensive Handgun II, Low Light Pistol, Defensive Carbine II and Low Light Carbine
Day one
- The class started by assessing each student’s skill set. Both instructors were skilled at spotting deficiencies and fixing them.
- Students worked many drills and learned several techniques most had never seen before. Fisher adapts his curriculum as new lessons, gear and techniques emerge.
- Night shoot: students shot while being strobed, and some engaged a target shining a Surefire light into their eyes. Both good guys and bad guys can still fight effectively when “blinded” by a high-intensity light.
Day two
- A detailed lecture on carbines, support gear and running a carbine opened the day.
- The class moved quickly through manipulations into movement and multiple-target engagements.
- Fisher showed his preferred method for each skill, plus several other viable ways to get the same result, which pushed many students out of their comfort zone.
- Night shoot: no lights, weapon-mounted lights, handheld light with a long gun, and strong-hand-only and support-hand-only shooting in the dark. Accuracy visibly improved across the class during the night session.
Observations
- Fisher’s techniques fit everyday civilian life. Many schools teach high-speed SWAT and special operations tactics to civilians without offering alternatives that suit a civilian’s world; this class did both.
- The class mixed newer shooters with people who had extensive training and real fighting experience, and everyone took something away.
Takeaways
- Low light training belongs in every shooter’s plan: being lit up by a bright light does not end a fight.
- Learn more than one way to do each skill so you can adapt to the situation.
- Read the class reports: Defensive Handgun II, Low Light Pistol, Defensive Carbine II and Low Light Carbine.
Originally published on After Action.net on May 14, 2008. Rebuilt from the archived report; the original photos were not preserved. See every class in the Training Log, or share your own training experience.
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