Advanced Combat Pistol Level 1
I had the pleasure of attending ACP Level 1 on June 23-24 in Bennett, Nebraska. The course was taught by Marshall Luton and Jeremy Snow. Class started with a prayer (which I really appreciated) then a thorough safety brief. The safety protocols were enforced throughout the class and Marshall and Jeremy did a fantastic job of catching any infractions or potential infractions before they happened.
I personally have over 240 hours of professional handgun training from various instructors, most of whom are well known in the firearms industry. This was by far the best handgun shooting class I have ever attended. If I had to summarize the overall focus of this class, I would have to say that by far the main point of the curriculum is accuracy. In my experience, accuracy often takes a backseat in pistol training to other things like proper grip, proper stance, or even the presentation from the holster. In some classes, as long as students can keep the majority of their shots inside an FBI Q target at 5 yards, the instructors will focus on ensuring that students simply look proper doing it. While I believe stance, grip, and presentation are important, the DSA instructors did a very good job in covering and critiquing those areas as well. Above that, they placed a huge emphasis on getting your hits first, then quickly preparing to deliver a subsequent hit. Roughly 85% of the rounds fired in this 2-day class were fired at 3-inch circles at 5 yards. While Marshall and Jeremy were expecting your rounds to be inside those circles, they also encouraged you to push the speed and drive your gun to find your limitation. If you were getting all of your hits inside that little circle, then you could and should be trying to do it faster.
The step-by-step class progression was absolutely perfect for the new and experienced shooter. We focused on one thing at a time and then added to the primary tasks once the students had a grasp on what was covered in the previous block of instruction. Regardless of your ability level, taking this class will make you a better, faster shooter.
