Ron Dodge Tactical, Pistol Diagnostics Module 1
April 11, 2021
4:00p-7:00p
Amherst, Ohio
Northeast Ohio Tactical Training Center

I met Ron previously at Strategic Dark’s Darkness 1 course in March, aside from brief “Hellos” I had very little knowledge of his background prior to attending Pistol Diagnostics Module 1. I found his style of instruction to be very clear, hands on, and his bag of tricks as a trainer of trainers shined as he navigated working with each individual student. Round count for this class was listed as 200, but I found myself shooting approximately half that. Drills were designed for students to learn and experience concepts while being cognizant of ammunition availability, and ensuring every round was sent with purpose.

This course was part of an inaugural weekend of open enrollment courses offered by Ron Dodge Tactical hosted at Northeast Ohio Tactical Training Center in Amherst, Ohio. The course began with an introduction by Ron Dodge giving students a background on his nearly two-decade career in Law Enforcement, SWAT operations, and Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy instruction. His experience teaching firearms instructor courses and “train the trainer” style curriculum was apparent by his word choice and approach. Ron spoke at various times about adult learning theory and gave students a look into the “why” behind his curriculum. The Ron Dodge Tactical Pistol Diagnostics program is split into five modules. Each module is an individual class focusing on one specific element of pistol shooting. The “why” is to allow students to hyper focus on the individual element to hone that skill or building block to be reapplied to their shooting as a whole in later practice. Module 1 is focused on sight alignment and trigger manipulation.

Of the 13 students in attendance, 10 were equipped with iron sights on their pistols, three were utilizing red dot sights. The instruction focused on iron sights by use of visual training aids during lecture but were explained in parallel for shooters using red dots after each segment. The course began with discussion and explanation of sight alignment and sight picture in the staging area, establishing a base line for terminology and concepts prior to heading to the firing line. Steel targets were utilized throughout this course to allow students to have the auditory feedback of their hits while focusing on their sight alignment and sight picture. Students shot C zone steel targets or B8 bullseye round targets depending on skill level and preference. All drills were conducted from the 10-yard line. While this course is not designated as an advanced or beginners’ course, students were expected to have familiarity with safe firearms handling, holstering, load and make ready procedures, and general firearm manipulation. In attendance were three assistant instructors who diligently watched the line as well as provided individual attention to students struggling through any phase of instruction. Two students identified themselves as new shooters with less than 1,000 rounds of shooting experience. Ron, as well as the assistant instructors warmly welcomed them into the course and provided individual attention to each shooter, ensuring their success. All drills were demonstrated by Ron or an assistant prior to student’s execution.

The first drill on the firing line involved students aligning their sights for their ideal sight picture on target, being partnered with another student who would manipulate the trigger. This was demonstrated by Ron and an assistant.  Students were told if they were not comfortable with this drill, they could either elect to perform it with an instructor or choose to only observe. The “cone of influence” was explained by Ron; This was the position at which a student could stand to both manipulate and observe the trigger, grip, and sights of their partner. This placed shooters in a coach/teammate relationship with another shooter. Through coaching or assisting another shooter, the students themselves were reinforcing their understanding of the concepts discussed. This was the kind of methodology that demonstrated Ron’s background in training the trainer and instructor development course work. I felt this was an example of the necessity for students to understand this was not a “how to shoot” course, but a how to hone a select dissection of their shooting skills course. The following drills began to move at a faster pace due to subject matter and time constraints of a 3-hour block of instruction. Trigger manipulation, staging the trigger to 99% on the reset, and being prepared to send follow up rounds down range took the majority of the live fire shooting time on the line. Students were given demonstration, and ample time to practice this concept via dryfire. Back on the firing line students were instructed to index their trigger finger on the frame, align their sets, and at the command of “touch” begin to prep their trigger awaiting the command to fire.  At each direction to fire they were to automatically re-prep their trigger to this point of 99% of effort awaiting the next command. Class culminated with a walk back from 10 to 25 yards, allowing students to see and experience the influence of sight alignment, sight picture, and trigger manipulation as distance increased, demonstrating how those variables effect on accuracy impacted their success to higher degrees. A final 10-yard, 10 round, standard shot on paper B8 targets gave students a measurable display of their sight alignment and trigger manipulation performance following the course.

Ron presents himself to students as a true teacher of his craft and I look forward to seeing what other offerings Ron Dodge Tactical offers in the future.

www.rondodgetactical.com

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I've had the pleasure of taking several of his courses over the past year, and I will tell you he is an absolute subject matter expert at shooter development. Very deep knowledge base and ability to diagnose and correct shooter issues, and he has the professional experience to back it up. His system just works, so much so that I've seen other "instructors" try to rip it...I hope more people find out about just how much value Ron's courses provide.

My biggest take aways were his abilities to communicate with shooters who may not have the experience or terminology. When I mention a hands on style of instruction I mean it. Watching him trouble shoot one students grip by manipulating individual fingers to a simple trick of placing a magazine across the back sight to allow a student to better understand looking through the rear notch. He just had some really cool tips and tricks to get these individuals successful.