Tag: Pistol

[Same introduction, note, and disclaimer as before.]

WML & Recoil:

• Surefire is the best brand of WML, generally speaking. Streamlight and Insight can both interrupt the recoil of .40 handguns with plastic frames, especially if overtightened. (The sharpness of .40 recoil means the frame needs to flex, which – being plastic/polymer – it can, no problem, unless you bolt a steel reinforcement (WML) to it.)

Calibers & Cartridges:

• .40 S&W had slight performance edge over 9mm (basically being +P/+P+ pressures, i.e., firing a proof load, every load) in the olden days, but with modern bullets, 9mm uber alles.
• [Insert notes on the history of the .40 S&W as an underpowered 10mm, which are probably well known already by anyone who would be interested in them and aren’t relevant to the rest of the notes or specific to Pat Goodale.]
• #1 recommendation is Speer Gold Dot – FBI round.
• Winchester SXT, Federal HST perform approximately on the level of Speer Gold Dot.
• Another alternative is Hornady Critical Duty. (Duty, which is the LE round. Defense is underpowered by comparison.)

Handheld vs. Weapon-Mounted Light (WML):

• Handheld is the most useful, utilitarian
• WML only useful for shooting, not scanning (can’t scan without muzzling)
  • That said, WML is easier to use shooting than separate handheld
• Nightstand gun – WML (no need for concealment, able to bounce light to avoid muzzling, home turf familiarity, etc.)
• Concealed carry – NO WML (much harder to conceal, if at all, muzzling-when-scanning concerns)

Continue reading “Pat Goodale – Practical Firearms Training (PGPFT) Low-Light Handgun AAR” →

A brief introduction – this AAR and the Low-Light Handgun and Tactical Rifle AARs to follow are all based on a private course weekend. Defensive Handgun was on Saturday, Low-Light was that evening, and Tactical Rifle was Sunday from morning until mid-afternoon. As such, it doesn’t match up exactly with the Defensive Handgun I/II/III, Tactical Rifle – X Days, etc. courses on the website, but I think it still gives a good idea of what level of detail and which topics to expect to encounter.

Another note – since these notes were written up primarily to organize and remember the concepts and drills that were covered, they omit details of the range, class setup, etc., but the range was awesome, the class setup was superb, the instructors were excellent – honestly, it’s an unqualified recommendation. I can’t think of anything negative to say about it, so if you read no further and take nothing else away from this – strong recommendation.

And the obligatory disclaimer – these were typed up from my hastily-scrawled notes and dissipating recollections over the week, week-and-a-half after two days jam-packed full of shooting and excellent (have I said that I recommend it?) instruction, so – as always – if something is wrong or seems amiss, that’s almost certainly on me. Similarly, all of the drills were done under the close supervision of trained professionals by participants whose performance levels were constantly monitored and accounted for in the instructors’ selection and setup of said drills, so… honestly, if you’re the type of person who’d read a random person on the internet writing about running through the woods with a rifle engaging targets 100+ yards away and go out and actually do that on your own, well, you either don’t need this disclaimer, or you wouldn’t heed it anyways, so… on with it!

Continue reading “Pat Goodale – Practical Firearms Training (PGPFT) Defensive Handgun AAR” →