I am exhausted. I had a two-day class with Gabe White and shot 941 rounds over those two days with the majority of them coming on day 2. Three days off and I was right back in the mix with the pistol performance class with the best-concealed shooter on the planet: Donovan Moore of Point 1 Tactics.
This was my third class with Donovan and this class was the most stacked lineup of shooters I have been in. Everyone was at a higher level than in prior classes I have been in, and it was great for pushing us all to perform at our highest level.
Day 1. The infamous cold start v1. This is one of my favorite drills to get started with, over the last year I went from not being able to run it clean and overthinking to being able to run it clean under time and then push it further and go for expert time. Unfortunately for me, I tend to throw one shot every single time I am on pace to pass it. 8.38 and missed my last shot on the last small logo. If you are not familiar with this cold start, I posted a blog about it a couple months ago so go check that out. If you want more info on it, check out point 1 tactics website.
The rest of day 1 was a blast. We all came to shoot and pushed eachother to perform, work the trigger, get your sights, get your hits. Blend speed and accuracy. We got to take a run at the hardest standards out right now. The 007 Standards. Here is a quick rundown of the standards that out of thousands only 5 have passed.
Stage 1: 15yds / 5rds within 2.6 seconds. Hits must be in ‘A’ zone
Stage 2: 10yds / 2rds within 1.9 seconds. Hits must be in 4″ x 4″ head zone.
Stage 3: 7yds / 2rds Reload 4rds in 4.99 seconds. All hits must be in 4″ x 4″ head zone.
Stage 4: 3yds / 6rds in 1.99 seconds. All hits must be in ‘A’ zone.
Every stage will be ran back 2 back for a total of 8 runs. 38 total rounds.
6 out of the 8 runs must be clean & you must have at least one passing run on each stage.
Mulligans are allowed: 1 per stage.
Starting positions are as follows: Hands relaxed, Hands at side, Hands High Thoracic. You are NOT allowed to prep your garment.
Stage 4, you will be REQUIRED to start with hands at high thoracic. On the beep you MUST initiate movement backwards and not pause until course of fire is complete. No rolling, or leaning, you must walk backwards.
Some people chose to start at the 15 yard stage and most chose to start bill drill. I was shooting really well, I knew I was not going to crush these, my hands were shot from the last class of shooting so going into this I wasn’t pumped on my grip. One by one people bowed out from not getting hits or not making time. My goal was to gauge time on first run, then crush it second since bill drills always get me. 2.02 just over time all clean. I knew I needed a faster split time so I locked in to a hole in the zone I wanted to hit and did not remove my eyes from it until I completed the stage. 1.82 clean and on to stage 2.
Stage 2 is one I knew I had no chance at, I never practice reloads or dry fire for that matter. This was going to bite me. beep. I step backwards like I am supposed to be walking backwards again. Somehow just barely over the time with a 5.04. That screwed me, I knew I could get it done and all i could think about was passing it instead of shooting. Beep. 4 clean, reload. first shot out of the headbox second shot dead center. I’m out and I knew it as soon as I fired the first shot. The next 4 guys go. I was the only person who made it past stage 1, I will take that small victory.
We finish out day 2 with some solid shooting but everyone is spent from the heat and putting in all the work. I am ready to go home.
Day 2. The second class to get a run at the brand new cold start v2. Reading what it was and then visualizing it, i thought it would be a lot harder than v1. I was way wrong, I feel like it is actually easier somehow than v1. Everyone was a shot away or slightly over the time as they made the way down the line to myself. My turn came and decided run it clean since I know I can do the speed portion, lets see how I do. Missed 1 damn shot. Second shot off the reload, I tired to get to the other logo faster than I should have and left early, broke the shot as I was transitioning to the other logo. Oh well, at least next time I know I can run it clean and for time.
After we did the standards we worked on transitions and attack control movement and shots. So much fun, so much work to do. We finished the day running micro USPSA Stages and we got to see just how absurd Donovan is vs even a Master Class Shooter. He walked a stage and scored higher than everyone by a ton. Effortless but so precise and dialed in. Insane to see in person.
I loved this class, a lot of it was because of the way Donovan teaches and encourages you to perform. It may be because I come from a sports background, but that’s what you want to be pushed to perfom at a level you know you are capable of. The other reason I loved it so much was because of the people nobody was light years ahead of anybody except our own Peter Woolard. Everyone was pushing eachother and competing and talking trash, it was great. Good People, Good Times. There are a couple of people I may want to take a class with but I think I will always do Donovans classes when they come around, its the best in the industry by far. If you have the chance to take one, do it!
-Cano