Red Dot Pistol Performance Workshop

Orion Training Group

Louisburg, NC

5/25/2024

Lead Instructor: Joe Pistone

Overview

This class took place at a private range in Louisburg NC.  I had never trained with Orion Training Group (OTG) before but I wanted to attend based on what I’ve seen from OTG online, as well as the low cost and relatively close proximity. I have taken numerous classes over the past ten years (primarily focused on mindset and tactics), but this was my first class designed to improve skill by diagnosing performance and I really enjoyed it.

The class had 13 students and Joe Pistone was the lead instructor. I believe all had some level of prior training and many had prior classes with Orion Training Group. There was a mix of active and former military and law enforcement with about 50% “civilians”.  The class began with the medical plan and a short safety brief, then we spent a short time on student introductions which included what we hoped to learn in class. The facility, not Orion, required a cold range at this particular location.

Goals

My goals going into the class were specific to the pistol optic. I had been issued a pistol optic at a prior department, had carried it for about a year on and off duty, and I had completed the department’s in-house training for the optic.  However, it had been about a year since I had used a pistol with an optic and had never had a full private training class on the topic.  I had just purchased my own personal optic and was hoping to learn more about implementing it effectively, as well as getting more reps for currency.

Equipment

For this class, I was using a Glock 19 MOS with an Aimpoint Acro P2.  I mounted the optic myself using a Forward Controls Design MOS mounting plate and had zeroed it at 25 yards prior to class.  The backup iron sights were Ameriglo blacked-out suppressor height irons and the pistol also had a Streamlight TLR7 attached, but neither were used during class.  I was one of two students who shot this class from concealment, everyone else was using a duty belt style setup.  I used an NSR XC1 holster and magazine pouch, an SOE EDC belt, and Blue Force Gear 10-speed magazine pouches.  This is the equipment I typically carry every day, with the exception of the extra pistol pouches, they were just for convenience during training.  I was shooting a mix of steel case and brass case ammo.  I didn’t experience any malfunctions or gear issues during class.

Class Structure

We started class by shooting an “evaluation” (very similar to a “qualification” at an agency) where the instructor was watching and evaluating our technique and making notes.  He then based the drills for the rest of the day on what he noticed we needed to work on, as well as our goals for the class. Joe taught the class by running small 4 and 5 student relays so he could give each student more individual attention.  The evaluation was 50 rounds and was scored, shot between the 50 and 3 yard line.

Joe had lots of good feedback and I was very impressed with his ability to articulate points of correction.  Specifically with me, one thing he corrected was my stance.  I’ve been told numerous times over the years by different instructors to correct my stance but this is the first time I’ve really felt like I understood how to do so.  His instruction reminded me of “cues” when lifting weights.  Mental “waypoints” to ensure I’m physically moving my body in such a way to use good technique.

We covered draw and presentation, and I learned a new technique for presentation. This technique fit nicely into Joe’s “sunset” technique for finding the red dot immediately upon presentation.  We also went over reloads before lunch.

After lunch we worked some movement, accelerating and decelerating and finding our way in and out of our stance.  We discussed speed in the movement as well as speed on the gun.  A great quote I wrote down that Joe (and a student) brought up was “It’s almost like you’re in constant motion, even though you stopped to shoot”.  We also learned techniques about moving with the gun efficiently in context. Later we did some one-handed shooting and I learned a new technique focused on recoil control with one hand that was interesting and different from anything I had been taught before. Lastly, we worked recoil control under speed.  Joe had some more feedback that under the pressure of trying to go fast, I reverted to tensing up and using a bad stance so it’s definitely a bad habit I need to improve. We then did some positional shooting in the prone and kneeling with an occluded optic to practice target focus.

Finally, we ended the day with shooting the same evaluation we started class with.  For this evaluation, we kept the optics occluded to force target focus with the optic.  I was happy to have improved a lot in my score between the morning and the afternoon, although I noticed shooting the evaluation with the occluded optic that I was having trouble in certain positions target focusing.  Because I struggled in certain positions, using the occluded optic to force target focus will become a staple of my dry practice.  Lastly, we ended the day by debriefing class and I appreciated hearing other students’ takeaways as it was a good reminder of some important points I forgot to write down during class.

Conclusion

I enjoyed the class and learned a lot. I think Joe is a great instructor and plan to train with him and Orion Training Group in the future.  I achieved my goal about learning more about implementing a pistol optic and getting more repetitions with the equipment. I also came away with a ton of things to work on that I didn’t expect.  I’d estimate that even if a student didn’t have a pistol optic, they would still get 85-95% of the same benefit out of the class.  If you’re looking for a skill-based class, I think this is a great value and I highly recommend it.