I found the equipment used on the Gunsite range to be very interesting. Half of our class shot a 1911-style pistol. The other half shot polymer-framed pistols; 9mm, .40 S&W, 10mm, and .45 ACP were well represented. With all the rounds that went downrange that week--some 1500 rounds per student--I know of only two pistol problems that surfaced. One student was having problems because his pistol was not properly lubricated; the other kept getting tied up with his extra-long slide stop.

Practical marksmanship training ought to emphasize delivering the bullet to the target quickly and accurately. The keys are mastering the "flash" sight picture and accomplishing a smooth trigger press.

Actually, a week at Gunsite is an excellent way to test your chosen defensive gear. We all try to use common sense when selecting our defensive pistol, fighting ammo, and holsters, but the No. 250 Defensive Pistol class serves as the supreme test of just how common our sense really is.

My advice for the prospective student would be to attend the class with a virtually stock pistol. All you really need is a reliable gun that has high-visibility sights and a decent trigger. Shooting some 1500 rounds, under the supervision of the Gunsite training staff, will let you know what other accessories, if any, you actually need. My guess is you will find that you need very few. However, there is an on-site pistolsmith who can provide most needed parts in short order. Quite frankly, the average handgunner would be smart to avoid a bunch of custom work and accessorized gizmos, and put the money saved towards the tuition at Gunsite or the purchase of practice ammunition. Fancy gizmos on your fighting pistol will not make up for a lack of shooting skill.

Of course, it's your money and you can do with it what you want, but a smart person does his best to attend a shooting school, such as this one, with an open mind and a desire to learn. If you seek knowledge, any good defensive-handgun school can teach you valuable techniques that you didn't know anything about. But if you're not really there to learn, you need to know that Gunsite, and most other schools, do not do miracles.

Students need to practice what they learn by running through indoor simulators and outdoor courses, such as the Donga Run at Gunsite pictured here.

Someone might want to ask me what I'm doing going to a defensive handgun school after all of my years of handgunning and packing a badge around. Well, let me tell you that it was absolutely amazing how many bad habits we old geezers can pick up. McNeese and Senior Rangemaster Ed Stock kindly pointed out that I was slapping the trigger like I would a shotgun (I have a little-known affliction for upland bird shooting). And over the years, I had modified my shooting stance in ways that really weren't to my benefit. These and other petty problems were gently pointed out during the week. They were even so bold as to suggest that my efforts to correct these minor ailments were the reason that I began to hit the target better and quicker. I don't know, could be.

While a person ought to be in reasonably good physical condition, Gunsite's Defensive Pistol class is not boot camp, nor is it spring training for football. One of my fellow students was a gentleman from the fine state of Oklahoma (great quail hunting up that way). He was born with birth defects that left him with two fingers on his right hand and one finger on his left hand. However, he refused to consider himself handicapped; he had come there to learn, and God willing, that's just what he was going to do. A lot of shooting schools might have turned him away, but not Gunsite.