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August 2026 Recap
On Saturday, August 1, 2026, I taught Precision Pistolcraft at the Klingman’s Range in New London, Ohio. I had five students with 9mm pistols ranging from a Glock 19 with a Holosun optic, a Glock 19 with iron sights, a Kimber 2K11 OR, a rainbow edition Sig P365 XL, and a Smith and Wesson Shield X with a Holosun 407K. I demonstrated drills with my Smith and Wesson M&P 2.0 Metal with a Holosun 509T green dot optic. None of the guns had any issues to speak of. The Kimber 2K11 OR is an impressively reliable compensated 2011, but I feel like it is too big for most people to conceal easily. This course is designed to teach students how to shoot their pistols precisely even out to rifle distances. All students passed the final shooting test and earned their certificates. Bruce scored the highest earning him the Top Shot Patch.
On Sunday, August 2, 2026, I taught Pistol Standards to four students at the Klingman’s Range in New London, Ohio. Guns in attendance were all 9mm pistols ranging from a Glock 19 with a Holosun, a Glock 19 with iron sights, a rainbow edition Sig P365 XL, and a Smith and Wesson Shield X with a Holosun 407K. I demonstrated drills with my Smith and Wesson M&P 2.0 Metal with a Holosun 509T green dot optic. Except for some magazines not wanting to eject freely from the P365XL, none of the pistols had any issues to speak of. This is usually due to the over insertion of magazines that are longer than what typically comes with the pistol. This is common across all makes and models. We recommend you stay away from extended magazines for this reason.
Pistol standards is a course that is designed to help prepare students to be able to shoot state and multiple federal level qualifications. It’s perfect for those looking for a challenge and at the same time, it improves your current skills with your pistol. Not to mention, it’s documentation that you reached a certain standard in court after a defensive shooting. All students passed the state level, while only two passed the first federal level qualification. Bruce once again earned the Top Shot patch, shooting the best score on the FBI qualification.
On Saturday, August 8, 2026, I conducted another private training lesson with a regular student of mine at DTS’s Range near Troy, Ohio. She brought her Springfield Hellcat with Shield RMS Optic. I demonstrated with my BTC Glock 48 with a Trijicon RMRCC from a Viktos sling bag. She typically trains how she carries - in a Zendira Friday Bag. We spent more time on proper presentation than usual because she finally got a trigger guard cover to be able to use the Friday Bag as its designers intended. We also covered lateral movement, multiple targets and reactive targets. Neither pistol had any issues to speak of during our three-hour training session.
On Saturday, August 15, 2026, I taught Women’s Defensive Handgun to a mother/daughter pair at Darke County Fish and Game in New Paris, Ohio. Guns in attendance were all in 9mm, a Smith and Wesson Shield and a Taurus G3C. I demonstrated drills with my Smith and Wesson M&P 2.0 Metal with a Holosun 509T green dot optic. The only issue occurred when one of the students Taurus exhibited multiple stove pipes which was caused by a loose grip. Once the student gripped the pistol tighter, the stoppages went away. Lacy, the daughter, earned the Top Shot patch. These two deserve special recognition as they left the range carrying their pistols, something they were highly cautious of undertaking at the beginning of class. Defensive Handgun isn’t your typical CCW/CHL course, it prepares you to carry your gun from the moment you leave class.
On Sunday, August 16, 2026, I had two students take Get Up Pistol at DTS’s Range near Troy, Ohio. This class teaches you how to react when you get knocked on the ground and teaches you how to fight your way up to your feet and fight in every unorthodox shooting position in between. Guns in attendance were 9mm pistols, a Glock 19 and a Smith and Wesson Shield X with a Holosun 407K on it. I demonstrated drills with my Smith and Wesson M&P 2.0 Metal with a Holosun 509T green dot optic. All pistols ran fine, including with water and mud submerging the pistols and their owners. The range was flooded due to the over foot of rainfall we had prior to the weekend. All students passed the shooting test at the end. Sharon took top shot and celebrated by telling Bruce that he’d been beaten by a girl!
On Sunday, August 16, 2026, I taught CYA Pistol to three students at Defensive Training Solution’s Range near Troy, Ohio. This class teaches students the proper way to use cover. This is a skill that most shooters lack or don’t even consider important for a long healthy life. Guns in attendance were all in 9mm. Students brought a Glock 19, a Glock 48 and Smith and Wesson Shield X with a Holosun 407K. I demonstrated drills with my Smith and Wesson M&P 2.0 Metal with a Holosun 509T green dot optic. I cannot recall any issues amongst any of the pistols in attendance, although they and their operators were submerged in mud and water just like the mornings class. All students passed the shooting test at the end and demonstrated great use of cover throughout. Bruce redeemed his ego by once again earning the Top Shot Patch.
On Saturday, August 29, 2026, I taught No Weak Hand Pistol to three students at Carmichaels Sportsman’s Club in Carmichael, Pennsylvania. This course teaches students how to draw, shoot and manipulate your pistol with either hand. This skill is necessary because getting shot in the arm or hand is very common in gunfights. Sometimes, we also foolishly just shoot the pistol with one hand.
Guns in attendance were two Glock 19’s and a Smith and Wesson M&P 2.0 Metal in 9mm with a Holosun Optic. I demonstrated drills with my Smith and Wesson M&P 2.0 Metal with a Holosun 509T green dot optic. The Smith and Wesson’s in attendance had issues. My M&P 2.0 Metal needed a firmer grip with my other dominant hand to cycle the slide than what it normally requires. This pistol has had over 2,000 rounds shot through it since its last cleaning. The classes two weeks prior, caked the pistol in mud and water, which had now dried forming a paste with the burnt powder residue. To say this pistol has been neglected is an understatement. The students M&P 2.0 Metal suffered a loose optic once one of the optic screws broke. Luckily, he had his Compensated Compact Metal 2.0 with him as a backup and immediately switched out.
The student confessed to not having a torque driver and further review discovered a broken optic screw due to too much torque during installation by the installer. This is why I prefer the American made steel optic screws that CHPWS sells compared to the softer Chinese steel screws that come with the Holosun. If you have Holosun screws, I don’t recommend you tighten it past ten-inch pounds and go liberal with the blue Loctite when installing the optic.
Two of the three passed the challenging shooting test at the end of class requiring all students to pass with both hands individually. Bruce took Top Shot and did two things that I don’t think have been done by a student of this course to date:
1.) He passed it with his right hand only in the time that I give students to complete the same test with both hands in Defensive Handgun 2.
2.) He passed the tests on his first attempt with both his right hand and left hand only.
This takes an extreme amount of dedication to dry practice and continual training, as we practice and preach. Way to go Bruce!
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