Last Saturday I took a Combat Pistol 1 Class from GreenOps.

(My Handgun background:
I have 20 yrs in the military and carried an M9 for much of that time.... but never really received any formal instruction on it beyond  safety, how to load it and clean it ...when we did the occasional yearly qualification. I felt I did quite well compared to my peers... but lets face it the Artillery doesnt emphasize handgunning.. The last 4 years of my military career I was attached to a Concepts Development/Battle Lab shop where we never qualified......

In the past 5 years I have been doing a lot of Revolver shooting and had become quite proud of my performance with that weapons system but recently my performance has declined (eye surgery made me far sighted on my eyes but especially on my dominant eye ...this means I must now shoot with my non dominant eye when using irons.
So when it comes to hand-gunning I am mostly self taught. Fertile ground for a formal class I figured))

... so I am transitioning to Semi-autos for 2 reasons.. .357 Magnum Revolvers maybe be beautiful and wonderfully visceral.. but they are heavy .. too heavy really for casual just-if carry in many situations .. and also have a very low round capacity.
So I purchased a couple of MP9s and went to the range with them in the past year to practice.

So I decided I need  a formal Pistol course and went with GreenOps as they are local and I very much liked a previous course of theirs.

From my previous Carbine II Class I expected a fast paced quality Course and I was not disappointed.

We started with a skills check.. a timed shoot from the holster.
First on a pair into center mass at 5-7 yards and then a separate timed shoot into the head of a steel target.

Afterwards we went to various dot torture drills, updrills etc.
The instructors did point out some possible improvement for my grip.

I had heard it before... during yearly Pistol Qualification at my current work I have heard this before.. but I trusted these professionals here a lot more than those guys at my civilian DOD agency
So I worked on my grip based on their input..

This slowed me down a bit since I struggled with this new grip and sometimes I defaulted to my standard grip.
Having shot revolvers for so long i have kinda of an old school revolver grip that I default to....but the instructors took the time to properly explain this new grip....
even guide my fingers where they needed to be and most importantly why this is a better grip than I was using.

A word about the instructors:

They are smart competent and respectful..
I can be a bit of  a difficult student since I am set in my ways a bit and wont change easily unless provided with a good "why" explanation that I understand 100%.
These guys delivered that and more.

I simply cannot say enough about the professionalism shown here not just as shooters... but as Instructors.
Since I play the role of AR15 instructor for many of my buddies from work I am resolved to learn from them not just content but delivery as well.

I don't really want to regurgitate every drill we did but suffice it to say we ran all the way form 3 to 25 meters, standing and kneeling.. with and without mag changes (I have an old school covered magazine holder.. not  a friction type one... so changing mags w/ the clock counting was  a challenge to me.. but challenges are good otherwise why come?)


from 9 am -10 am was verbal instruction on various topics..
then we shot from 10 to 6 pm.

Kept us busy all day ..
At a previous training provider I noticed the class started slowing down and then shutting down between 3:30 and 4 pm.. not so here!
They were determined to work us hard to maximize training effects.
Shot approx 400 rds of 9mm.
This doesnt sound like all that much when you are used to carbine work... but for handguns this is a good volume for a days shooting.

I learned where (and most importantly how!) I can improve and will be back.

In summary:
Great training provided by quality folks using a clearly well developed POI (program of Instruction) for the modern Handgun
Cant ask for anything more.

We definitely had a great class and some perfect weather to boot! I had been meaning to get around to typing up an AAR of my own, but since you already touched the major points I’ll just add on here to keep things condensed.

As was already mentioned the first part of the class was lecture with a focus on the justification for the use of lethal force. The information was well presented, well demonstrated, and easily understood. As is typical there was a brief safety refresher.

I wouldn’t call this class a basic Pistol course, but the instructors were able to tailor their instruction to what each student needed to work on the most. For the OP that was working through a revolver grip and for me it was working through my jerk-like-a-damn-mule trigger finger. The first drill of the day on the steel silhouette I choked something terrible on the headshot. 4 shots and 10 seconds later I finally got the hit. More on this later…

IIRC there were 16 shooters in the class separated into two relays. Skills and equipment varied greatly across the class but everyone was well suited for the course. With 3 instructors coaching 8 shooters at a time, the instructor-student ratio was more than adequate. While your relay was off the line there was plenty of time for hydration, quick snacks, and stuffing pistol mags. The range was in an old stone quarry with towering cliffs behind the target line to keep everything controlled. There were a couple picnic tables and a port-a-john onsite. By my best count, I fired 380rds through my M&P40.

We ran a gambit of drills and exercises at all ranges from holster and ready positions alike. We worked reloads, single-hand shooting, shooting from cover, and clearing malfunctions among other things. For each drill one instructor would perform the task while another described what was the shooter was doing. This was generally done once slowly and once at speed and I have to say these instructors can SHOOT.

Towards the end of the class we shot a simulated LE qualification test firing 44 rounds IIRC. I dropped a few shots between the 25yd firing and the weak hand only, but still managed a high-30’s score. Room for improvement, but not disappointed by any means. For the last drill of the day we revisited the very first drill engaging the steel silhouette from the holster for 2 center mass hits and then again for 1 headshot. Admittedly I was nervous- I had choked early in the class but I was hell bent on not choking again. Two shots center mass on steel… no problem. When the timer sounded off on the headshot it felt like the entire day came together with a smooth fast draw and a clean hit to the head in 1.94s.

I had a ton of fun and left with the tools I needed to practice deliberately and make noticeable improvements. If you want to hone your handgun skills and you’re willing to put in the time and work, the guys at Green-Ops can definitely get you pointed in the right direction.

WOW! Two great AARs in one thread.  We're humbled to have such serious students.  Thank you!

Signed up for Combat Pistol II on 17 June
Will let everyone here know how that goes.

Combat Pistol II featured some of the same but also many different drills.
For example for this more advanced class instructors expected students to learn to call where their shot was off center.

Also we transitioned from a "sight picture" approach in Level I to a "sight movie" approach to enable faster firing at realistic Handgun ranges.
I might yet make Combat Pistol II a separate thread but so many of my Combat Pistol I comments apply...

Again competent, and respectful instructors that explained the "why" on the techniques and who emphasized that different schools of thought exist.
Classy and professional.

I will come back for both Combat Pistol i and Combat pistol II to internalize my new found skills.
But really feel empowered to dominate the guys at work on the handgun range.

Our joint team (mil, gov civ, ctr civ )has qualification tomorrow and there always seems to be one guy who beats me.. lets see how it goes this time.
There is another guy ...a real jackass..also an active member of a Service that has  a reputation for loud-mouthedness.. (Sorry, Brett nothing to do w/ you...). I did beat him last time but just barely.. close enough he was arguing it.. this time I intend to really put the hurt on him

Thanks you all for your support, your hard work and the kind comments. We look forward to training with you all again.

Excellent reviews thanks for posting.