Iowa Basic and Intermediate Pistol Classes Aug 24th & Sep 28th

We're Back! 

In conjunction with the Cedar Valley Defensive League, we will be offering the following classes:

Basic Defensive Pistol, Saturday Aug 24
This class is a beginner class and no prior firearms knowledge is necessary. Range portion will include taking your first shots, acquiring adequate trigger control and shooting from the ready position. Upon Completion a certificate will be awarded for use to obtain Iowa Carry Permit.

Intermediate Pistol Training Saturday, September 28
This class is designed to enhance your shooting capabilities. The total day will be at the range. Holster is required. The class will entail 200-300 rounds of ammo. Upon Completion a certificate will be awarded

Instructors: John and Melody Lauer, NRA Instructors

To reserve your place in class and details:
Contact: Joyce Kienast
Cedar Valley Defensive League (CVDL)
Phone 319-404-5792

We had a lot of good feedback from the ladies only class last month, these upcoming classes are co-ed.

Course topics for the "Basic" include

Fundamentals of Pistol Shooting
Principles of Self Defense
Carry Lifestyle
Iowa Code
Equipment (beyond firearms)
Tactics
A Female Specific handout as well as a 100pg Student Handout and Reference Packet.
Live Fire Training

This is a FULL day class. Not a 2-4 hour thanks for coming here's your certificate type of class.

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The Intermediate Class as stated is ALL on the range.

We start with working from the holster and on to reloads, one-handed usage, malfunction clearing, basic movement, multiple targets and shooting from cover.

A Whole New World...

For many years if you wanted your Iowa Permit to Carry Weapons you pretty much shot a bulls-eye style match shooting at 50' on a bulls-eye target (NRA B3) with a score of 65 (up to 85 pending on where you went). This was to obtain your permit to carry weapons on your person, to be used for defensive purposes...that never sat right with me. Most students who didn't know what they were walking into would come to class bringing the gun they intended to carry with them. Students bringing a pocket auto or j-frame revolver had very little chance of passing the course of fire with their carry guns and after flushing I don't know how many hours and dollars worth of rounds, they would then be handed a .22LR target gun to complete the course of fire. And the passed.

But what did that really accomplish?

Keeping the Skills Sharp

Many students have asked how to go about staying sharp on the skills they learn in our classes. Fist and foremost dry practice is highly recommended. It's cheap, it utilizes gear that you all ready have and will will also help increase gun handling & familiarity. All you need are some spent casings or snap caps and you're ready to go. There are a couple different ways to go about dry fire practice, I tend to just hang a target on the wall of my basement. Dry practice is not for firing only, work your reload skills as well. I have some pads that I stand on to help preserve my mags as the basement floor is concrete, but it pays off. The thing to remember with dry practice is that there is to be NO AMMUNITION anywhere near where you are practicing, and once practice is over, stop handling the gun. The internet is full of stories regarding shot TVs and bedroom walls.

Next up is general range practice, pending on what's available you may be limited on what you can do at the range. Fixed firing points, rules prohibiting working from the holster etc. can put a damper on your improvement, but it's better than nothing. if you have a friend to go with you you should shoot in pairs as one can watch what you're doing and provide feedback.

My favorite means of skill maintenance is currently competing at the local level in IDPA and every once in a great while USPSA, I want to attend more of the USPSA shoots and get a better feel for it, but between being a home owner, husband, father, full time radio technician, part time instructor, etc I can't shoot nearly as much as I want to. I try to make one match a month, thankfully in central Iowa I'm close to plenty of clubs that cater to IDPA and USPSA.