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I spent last weekend with 11 other motivated students, all of us trying to make the million dollar shot. Many had trained with Justin before, and this class, while similar to previous classes I have had with Justin, went into even more detail about what it takes to make an accurate shot.
The focus of the class was definitely on accurate shot placement, rather than pure speed, but Justin believes, as I do, that speed cannot come without the ability to hit the target. The more accurate you can be (within reason) on a given target, the faster you can display a lower but acceptable level of accuracy at a higher speed. Justin spent a fair bit of time delving into the mental process for firing the “million dollar shot”, his term for a shot that you really don’t want to miss. Though I have discussed this stuff with Justin for years now, he is always exploring the depths of ability, and he has some unique and effective ways of imparting correct mental and physical shot management to the students.
I shot right about 1200 rounds in the 2 day class, which was held at the Dallas Pistol Club. Wayne Dobbs hosted the class, as he has for the past 4 years now. Shooting and hanging out with Wayne is always a treat, as he is a wealth of knowledge on all things firearms, and a real Texas gentleman to boot. He also knows how to tell an excellent story, and while I learned a lot on the range, I also learned a lot off the range. I just can’t repeat any of that here to protect the guilty.
Justin’s classes can probably be taken by anyone at almost any level, but I really view them as most beneficial for upper intermediate type shooters. There aren’t a lot of those out there, I assure you. Many of the students in the class are instructors themselves, and came to Justin’s class to sharpen their teaching skills as well as their shooting skills. If you already have some decent technique and can hit what you want much of the time, I recommend getting into one of Justin’s classes. You might just get to shoot the Berzerker Box Drill (BBD).
Alright, I know you have been reading patiently, wondering when I was going to cover that drill. You wouldn’t think much really needs to be said about that drill. It is obviously the most important, advanced, reality based tactical drill you can do. If you haven’t done this drill at a school yet, you have been ripped off and should ask for your money back. Of course, it is only for uber advanced shooters, so if you haven’t done it, it may be because your instructor of choice did not feel you were ready for the enlightenment that would come from it. If you have missed it previously, here it is in all its glory. https://www.instagram.com/p/DQ-h28ygKo-/
The internet is ok with watching instructors throw their gun across the range, jump up and down like a gorilla, dryfire in public elevators, even aim rifles at passing aircraft. But watch a perfectly safe drill that you have no idea what the purpose is? Heaven forbid.
Justin designed the BBD to solve the problem that many of us see in classes all the time. Some students are unable to get into a good one handed shooting position. You can tell them how it is done, demonstrate till the cows come home, but not everyone has the kinesthetic awareness to do it correctly. Justin figured that if you made them hold a tomahawk in their off hand, it might drive the type of body position he is looking for. This is the second class he has tried this with, and in both classes, students enjoyed the levity that the drill brings. Is it a “go- to” drill to make you better? Of course not. Justin is known for creating popular shooting drills that are used all over the place. This one was designed to solve a specific problem for some students. No more, no less.
As far as the shooting portion of the drill goes, the point is not to be realistic in any way. No one cares how well you swing the hawk (except that one guy in the comments who wants to feel tough). What matters is that you don’t sweep your hawk hand and that you get your hits. It may also help people start to move their one handed shooting to the subconscious. The targets were B8’s on the bottom and 3.3″ circles up top. Good, realistic, tight targets for one handed shooting at close range. It was a nice break that allowed the students to bond a bit more and relax after all the million dollar shots.
One of the concepts that Justin talked about was the grip, trigger, vision triangle. This is a mental model he came up with to help shooters understand what they are doing when they try to shoot accurately. We followed up the concept with specific drills to focus on using your grip, trigger and vision. This was an area that many of the students found valuable and were able to use throughout the class, even when Justin did not remind them about it beforehand. I’m pretty sure some of them will be teaching it in other places going forward.
Of the students in the class, three of us were shooting LTT P30 variants. Turns out that one of mine does not like lawman ammo very much, but the others did just fine with it. Go figure. Other than the uber pistols, there were a few Glocks, a Sig 365, a Springfield Operator, and a Glock clone. I think that covers it. More than a few malfunctions were seen on the line, but other than the weird issue with the few mags of Lawman I shot, all the P30’s ran flawlessly. I mostly shot American Eagle, which runs and shoots great in all my LTT guns.
I could go on about how good the class was, since it was a really good class. I am a bit biased since I consider Justin a close friend and collaborator. I take several classes a year and occasionally write some of them up here. If you have the chance to train with Justin, you should take advantage of it. I don’t say that about a lot of classes these days.
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