This past Saturday was another round of classes at KR Training. We had one of our good combo days: Basic Pistol 2 and Defensive Pistol Skills 1.

There isn’t much to say here that hasn’t been said before about these classes, because the things that students encounter, the enlightenment, it surprises, etc. is all pretty typical for those classes. Trigger control and sight alignment remain the order of the day. 🙂  Really tho, part of why there’s not much to say is because these two classes were pretty awesome. A fantastic group of students in both classes. One thing that we noticed in DPS1 was how little we taped the targets — students were really doing well! And apart from a little rain here and there, which was easy to work around, classes went smooooooth.

But I did see a few things worth mentioning.

M&P Shield – Saw a LOT of these during the classes. I should have counted, didn’t, but there were numerous and so quickly after introduction. Shows the explosion of this gun’s popularity. But I saw a couple of things that bothered me.

1. I’ve been seeing the Shield fail to go into battery more than enough times. It goes like 98% into battery, which isn’t enough, and the gun doesn’t work. And it happens over and over. I’m not sure why it’s happening, but I’ve seen it with my Shield, and I saw it happen to multiple students and their respective Shield’s. I have no idea what to call the culprit tho… but it’s just something that gives me pause.

2. One student had a brand new Shield with a magazine disconnect. Rumor has it that now every Shield is made this way because of Massachusetts? I don’t yet know if this is the case, but if in fact EVERY Shield is now made with a disconnect well…. since I can’t recommend a gun with a disconnect, then that means I can no longer recommend the Shield. That sucks. I’ll try to look into this more.

Demographics – This morning’s The Shooting Wire had this blurb about new shooters

Having said that, I admit some concerns when a new shooter is sporting body piercings, body art and a decidedly goth dress code. Today, however, that new shooter may be male or female. They’re just expressing themselves, albeit differently from anything I’d ever considered.

Instead of accenting differences, I’m increasingly trying to convince myself to take the things we agree on (like guns) and use them as the lubrication needed to get beyond my personal

We had a wide range of students in class: young to old, male and female, and while there were no goths, there were certainly some people who broke the stereotypical gun owner mold. And one of those guys was shooting pretty damn good.

I always point out demographics because I see the reality of what gun ownership is like, and who is shooting… and who is starting to learn to shoot. It’s growing, it’s widening, it’s diversifying. No pigeonholing here.

Personal note  – On a personal note, I need to remember to keep my voice relaxed… let the PA/bullhorn do its job. It’s hard to… you have ear muffs on, I’m deaf enough already, you start to speak louder… and that just kills the vocal chords. I did better… voice made it all the way through class. But still. 🙂