Taking firearms training classes is a good idea. Not only do you learn and improve your performance and build the skill set that you may need to save you in a life threatening emergency (cue reference to our current times) , you also get to test your gear under circumstances that may be tough. Will you be engaging in a firefight with a criminal assaulter that requires you to fire 1,500 rounds of ammo? I would hope not. Of course, again in reference to current events, that is a tad more feasible than it might have been last week, but still, even now it would be an incredible outlier/black swan event. However, putting your equipment through that level of demand can truly pressure test your gear, and most importantly HOW YOU INTERFACE WITH SAID GEAR. And if we are honest with ourselves, this should be an ongoing effort. New gear comes out, new methods are found for using extant gear, and we need to constantly check what we are doing and what we are carrying.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to do just that by taking a class with one of my favorite instructors, Chris Fry. Yes, he is a very close friend so I am a bit biased, but I truly think he is one of the best around, and has an uncanny way of communicating especially to private citizens. Not really a surprise when you consider that over twenty years of running his company MDTS Training, he averaged over 1,000 students a year. That is a lot of time to perfect your craft and learn the best ways to get information across to people.

The course I took was a half day Fundamental Shotgun class, and in 5 hours we covered a lot of concepts and ideas, and we still managed to put our shotguns through live fire of over 150 rounds 9mostly birdshot, though the last portion was firing buck in a difficult evaluation drill, and testing the patterning of our guns with our loads. What was really helpful was that it gave me plenty of opportunity to hone in on some gear choices.

To sum up, poor gear really sucks, and well thought out and well made gear helps performance. It does not make you better, but it allows you to reach your potential much more effectively than poorer equipment does.

A few takeaways :

I personally have zero use for a sling on a shotgun – this is not a blanket statement for anyone else, but totally personal. As primarily a home defense tool for me, I saw little need for a sling except as a administration aid during classes. So I do have my main shotty (a Beretta 1301) set up with a QD single point. I used it only a bit in the Rangemaster Shotgun course I took from Tom Givens last June, but had more time to use it here, and I hated it. It got in the way of handling, reloading, and did nothing to help shooting, so about halfway through I removed it and have no desire to ever go back to one.

A red dot on a 1301 is as good as cheating as anything I have seen with firearms. The 1301 is already a light and fast handling gun, and manipulations are almost effortless, but adding a RD makes the actually firing part like it is on automatic. When we shot some temp drills (to allow you to find the best pace to functionally use the gun while still allowing for mental processing and correct recoil control), Chris allowed me to use his RD set up 1301 for part of it. My own was pretty nice, but adding that sighting system made it jump light years beyond. I am definitely going that route ASAP.

Wilderness Tactical makes awesome and bomb proof stuff. Their Shell belt, twin loader, and dump pouch were fantastic, and even after being tossed onto gravel, loaded/unloaded/reloaded constantly, they both look brand new. I have been a fan and customer of theirs since the mid-80’s, and this past Saturday only solidified that more.

Make sure you buy good shell cards if you use that ammo carry method. I have one from Vang Comp and Brown Coat Tactical that are super durable and even after heavy use, never lost a shell. I also have some crappy low priced ones (shown in the pic) that dropped rounds like a sieve. The price difference between the good stuff and the bad in tiny; the functionality gap between them is huge.

So take the opportunities in training courses to put the gear you may count on to help you protect your life or your loved ones to the test as often as you can.