The sun has risen on the 5th and final day of the 250 Defensive Pistol course at Gunsite Academy, the original course at Gunsite designed and taught by founder Col. Jeff Cooper. The 250 pistol course is now referred to as “The Gunsite Experience.” Perhaps it has always been that way, but today Gunsite is … Continue reading
Day 3 of the 5 day Gunsite Academy 250 Defensive Pistol course is the day on which the classroom presentation on mental conditioning or “mindset” is given. Rangemaster Bill Halvorsen delivered the mindset lecture today. The three key elements were: The Combat Triad: Mindset, Gun Handling and Practical Marksmanship The 7 principles of personal defense … Continue reading
I am only 2 days into my observation of the 5 day Gunsite Academy 250 Pistol course — “the Gunsite Experience” — and I can already tell it is going to take me some time to digest all that I am seeing. So, for now something brief (and not at all novel). The only published … Continue reading
What better way to pass the time flying West to observe a 250 Pistol Course at Gunsite Academy than revisiting Principles of Personal Defense by The Colonel, Jeff Cooper? Originally published in 1972 and again in 1989, my copy is the 2006 Paladin Press edition with a foreword by the late Louis Awerbuck. In the … Continue reading
Following up on my recent post about Gunsite and the early history of private citizen gun training classes, as well as previous posts based on Mike Seeklander’s American Warrior Show podcast (on Tom Givens, on Gabe Suarez, and on Seeklander himself), this post presents some insights from an interview with Ken Hackathorn (show #21 from … Continue reading
The end of the semester is always a difficult time to keep up with my writing because of final exams and grading, as well as the coinciding conclusion to the college tennis season. Last week I was in Georgia stringing rackets for Wake Forest’s mens tennis team, who were the top seed in the NCAA … Continue reading
Continuing my work on the gun training industry, I of course have to say a brief something about Gunsite Academy. I am looking forward to visiting Gunsite this June to observe their famous Gunsite 250 Pistol Class, a.k.a., “The Gunsite Experience.” Between now and then, I am trying to do as much background work as … Continue reading
