Front Sight Members Check In Here!

[ohhh s.k]

finished the 4 day rifle over the weekend, got to play in the rain. froze my butt off but it was fun

[dad4mnc]

Has anyone that upgraded to Commander or Patron received their hats etc?

No

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Muzz]

Has anyone that upgraded to Commander or Patron received their hats etc?

I received my Patron hat a while ago back on August 1st. Nothing on Commander though.

[beanz2]

I'm betting your memberships are not able to be used to upgrade, and it will still cost the fee, only some diamonds can be used to upgrade existing members, if you got yours as part of any "included with your purchase of' ambassador etc.. They cannot be used to upgrade

Thanks for that clarification. How do I tell if a certain Diamond membership can be used to upgrade an existing member? I have one Diamond membership I'd like to give to my daughter.

I received my Patron hat a while ago back on August 1st. Nothing on Commander though.

That is

[Muzz]

That is

I wish the hat was like that.

[waveslayer]

Thanks for that clarification. How do I tell if a certain Diamond membership can be used to upgrade an existing member? I have one Diamond membership I'd like to give to my daughter.



That is

by its serial number. has a letter in it, not sure which let though

[AAShooter]

Call FS and let us know. I was told only non-member transfer and I have a wide variety of memberships.

[acegunnr]

EL PRESIDENTE

http://www.stetsonhat.com/products_detail.php?id=258#

[envelope]

My First FS Experience

I was requested to provide feedback on my first FS experience, so I hope my thoughts are useful to some folks.

Overall Impression:
I attended the 4-day defensive handgun course as my first-ever visit. I think it’s a great training facility for the cost. Although I don’t agree with everything they teach, I learned that I’ll really get back what I put in.

My background:
I’ve been shooting for about 3 years and consider myself having just begun my journey. I’m very fortunate to have had the opportunity to train with former law enforcement instructors, become an NRA-certified instructor, and compete in USPSA. With that context, here’s my story:

Pre and Post impressions:
I bought into the expectation that attending FS would throw me back to 1970 and adamantly teach me things like a super bladed weaver stance or to teacup my wrist (http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/...y_1682017c.jpg ). I expected a ton of Ron Burgundy mustaches, fanny packs, and a bunch of faded pastel granny shorts. I expected something worse than a scientology pitch—I expected the full personification of an Ignatius Piazza spam email at every turn.

But I didn’t encounter those (Ok, there were a few pairs of granny pants). Instead, I encountered well-thought out logistics, tons of staffing, and the largest facility I’d set foot in thus far. The instructors were receptive to how I approached things, as there was mutual understanding of the pros and cons to different schools of thought. What I appreciated most was how the instructors still found key areas for my improvement, and ways to push through those areas. Although I’ve heard instructors are sometimes hit and miss, mine were less bent on teaching me “their way” and more concerned about shepherding me one step closer to excellence.

In terms of how and what they teach, I agree with:

• The build-up of the marksmanship fundamentals
• The emphasis on trigger prep, steady trigger press
• After-action drills (however, I’d prefer enforcing them like you mean it vs just going through the motions)
• The notion that doing it right is more important than doing it fast
• Overall I think at the very least, they provide a GREAT stake in the ground for beginners. If they can take the brand new shooters in our class and get them to do headshots in 3 seconds, they’re clearly doing something right. However, I do have minor points of contention.

I disagree with (but understand why)

• The death ray known as a “controlled pair”. During one of the seminars, the speaker was talking about home invasions, and sometimes the “only thing that’ll put the bad guy down is a controlled pair”. Although I interpret this school of thought as mitigating potential legal action after a defensive shooting, I much prefer the approach, “shoot and keep shooting ‘til the threat is no longer a threat”
• The absurd amount of tactical loads we did. Although I agree that topping off is important, I think the extent which it was emphasized takes away some of the opportunity to practice emergency reloads under stress. I would have liked to see more emergency reloads to start conditioning real-time responses to a live stoppage.
• Weaver . However, I understand my heavy bias as more of an iso guy.

I disagree with (and do not understand why)

• Unholstering to the ready position, let alone the low ready position in its entirety. Instead of being fully extended at a downward 45-degree angle, why not go with the high compressed ready position? This allows for greater leverage/control, a more natural extension to the target (no need to “bowl”, as your sights are a more parallel to the ground), and is more tactically sound.
• “Pointing in” with the finger on trigger, slack removed… then not firing. At least for me, if I don’t think a subject is a threat, my finger is indexed against the slide. At the very least, if I’m stressed out and my finger is on the trigger ready to fire at any moment, I’d rather not play with the delicacies of holding the trigger between the slack and break.

I think that’s all I have! If anyone has any reasoning that supports the FS methods I disagreed with, I’d love to understand the background and context better. Thanks in advance!

[acegunnr]

I was requested to provide feedback on my first FS experience, so I hope my thoughts are useful to some folks.

Overall Impression:My background:Pre and Post impressions:
I bought into the expectation that attending FS would throw me back to 1970 and adamantly teach me things like a super bladed weaver stance or to teacup my wrist (http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/...y_1682017c.jpgIn terms of how and what they teach, I agree with:

I disagree with (but understand why)


I disagree with (and do not understand why)

Well reasoned write up and review. Thanks for sharing!

Sent from my Nexus 7

[Muzz]

I disagree with (and do not understand why)

I hope you provided this critique to the FS office. The curriculum has and does change occasionally due to feedback like this.

[Citizen_B]

Good review. Thanks for sharing.

• Unholstering to the ready position, let alone the low ready position in its entirety. Instead of being fully extended at a downward 45-degree angle, why not go with the high compressed ready position? This allows for greater leverage/control, a more natural extension to the target (no need to “bowl”, as your sights are a more parallel to the ground), and is more tactically sound.

For me, I'd put this in the "sort of agree" category. There is a school of thought that the extended/downward ready position is 'safer' than a compressed high ready. The downward ready should be low enough to not naturally point at someone in the room/ahead, where the compressed high ready would be pointed straight ahead possibly sweeping. Personally I think the different ready positions have their place depending on the situation, but as a standard training methodology trying to keep things simple, I understand why FS does it. FS does teach compressed high ready on corners/door entry, so there is a little ambiguity.

• “Pointing in” with the finger on trigger, slack removed… then not firing. At least for me, if I don’t think a subject is a threat, my finger is indexed against the slide. At the very least, if I’m stressed out and my finger is on the trigger ready to fire at any moment, I’d rather not play with the delicacies of holding the trigger between the slack and break.

I agree. I was told it's because you've made the mental decision to prepare to fire, but not yet fire. I don't agree with that but also understand why they teach it for that level. The pause gives you a "last chance", but the downside is, well... a pause.. while you have gun pointed at threat. Like you, I think the finger should always be out of the trigger well until you intend to fire. The caveat would be if you're already on target and for whatever reason pause and have time to prep the trigger for a smoother shot. I think it would be better to prep the brain/finger to go into the well, stage, and pull as a single smooth action.

Semi-related to this, I've seen and heard too many stories of guys (in hostile stress environments, not just standing around) with finger on trigger, get startled, bumped, trip, whatever and bang. Now, at the next level of training, I think conditioning with finger on trigger is ok, but that is generally not for John Q Public.

[AAShooter]

I disagree with (and do not understand why)

• Unholstering to the ready position, let alone the low ready position in its entirety. Instead of being fully extended at a downward 45-degree angle, why not go with the high compressed ready position? This allows for greater leverage/control, a more natural extension to the target (no need to “bowl”, as your sights are a more parallel to the ground), and is more tactically sound.

Realize that some of the advanced classes teach alternatives.

[drbs]

Envelop thanks for the write up. Very well presented. Do you anticipate returning for other classes?

[rkt88edmo]

Frankly, I think there is a good adminsitrative and safety for extended low ready.

Easier to keep people pointed in on the deck.

Compressed high ready is just harder to manage and visually check given the size of the line.