AAR - P&S Training Summit

Overview - On September 5-7th 2020, I attended the Primary and Secondary Training Summit in Logan, UT.  The event was held at the Cache Valley Public Shooting Range (pictured below).  The range provided seven pistol bays, a 100y rifle range and a 300y rifle range. 

This was the first of what is expected to be an ongoing annual event.  The summit brought together multiple instructors from several different disciplines and backgrounds around the tactical training community.  Classes were broken down into 4hr blocks and training went from 0800-0200 on the 5th and 6th.  The instructors that were present are listed below, as well as a copy of the class schedule.

Gear – I wore the belt kit that I wear teaching (very similar to what I wore while deploying.  More shot timers, fewer frags but mostly the same).  I wore my personal OpsCore helmet and Crye JPC when necessary (NVG class).  I used a PVS-14 for the NVG/IR portion.  NSTR for gear.

Guns - I brought a Larue Tactical AR with an Aimpoint T2, Surefire flashlight and Steiner IR laser.  I shot a G17 for the entire weekend and alternated between a pistol with Dawson adjustable iron sights and one with an RMR depending on the class.  All three guns ran without issue.

Hotel room gear layout w/ obligatory stuffies sent with me so I don’t feel lonely.

Instructor roster:

Chad Albrecht – lecture: Learn about how to navigate the world of AR15s. Everything from a hobby to professional use standards and how to select them. Includes micro armorer and upkeep.

Bill Blowers – range: Diagnostic Pistol: Learn ways to improve using refinement through focused drills and documentation. 300 rounds pistol

Darryl Bolke – lecture: Training Habits of Highly Successful Gunfighters

range: Backups/Snubbies: Many people carry a snubby or backup, but how many train with them? Increase your effectiveness using these compact weapons with this block of instruction. 200 rounds pistol

Varg Freeborn – lecture: criminal mindset/violence of mind: discuss common misconceptions about criminals and their capabilities. What are they looking for and how do you react?

Chuck Haggard – lecture: Understanding low light and maximizing your light.

range: Backups/Snubbies: Many people carry a snubby or backup, but how many train with them? Increase your effectiveness using these compact weapons with this block of instruction. 200 rounds pistol

Scott Jedlinski – range: RDS Life: Learn methods to hone your red dot pistol performance. 300 rounds pistol

Matt Little – range: Staccato 2011: Try out the new Staccato 2011 and learn how to use it more effectively. 250 rounds pistol

Mike Mihalski – lecture: Learn about how to navigate the world of AR15s. Everything from a hobby to professional use standards and how to select them. Includes micro armorer and upkeep.

Chuck Pressburg – lectures: Gear Setup and NVG/IR use

range: No Fail Pistol: Focusing on absolute performance melding shooter and weapon. 200 rounds pistol

Jared Reston – lecture: starting and ending the fight

range: 300y Carbine: Patrol rifle or special purpose rifle, you need the skills to engage at distances beyond your pistol. 250 rounds rifle

Mark Smith – Range: Sooner Versus Faster: Faster for most means to rush, in this block Mark teaches methods to maximize efficiency which translates to faster times (pistol or carbine). 300 rounds pistol or rifle

The classes I attended were;

Blowers – Diagnostic Pistol: This was an excellent class on basic pistol.  The instructor’s presentation was fast, aggressive and very funny.  The focus of the class was on how to build a personal training program and track your performance across time to assess weaknesses.  I’ll attempt to train with Mr. Blowers in the future if he comes through southern Colorado.

Reston – 300y Carbine: This was a decent carbine class.  The focus was on the fundamentals of rifle marksmanship.  Most of the class was shot from the 100y line into NRA bullseye targets.  It was only during the last hour that we moved back to the 300y line and shot steel targets from 50y – 300y.  I would train with Mr. Reston again if he came to CO but the class didn’t blow me away.  If you’re a semi-competent rifleman, this one was more practice then learning.

Jared Reston demos moving from standing to prone.

Smith – Sooner Vs. Faster (shot with rifle in low-light conditions): Smith is a competition guy.  Young-ish (late 20s?) and a USPSA Grand Master.  His class focused on efficiency of movement (both gun and body) to speed yourself up rather than “moving faster”.  I wasn’t overwhelmed by the instruction but some of the drills were outstanding and I’ll definitely be incorporating them into my own training.  I wouldn’t fly to SC to train with Mr. Smith but I’d hit his class if he came to CO.  My biggest critique is that he drifted out of his lane a few times and began discussing NOD/laser use and CQB.  The rest of the class was good enough for me to overlook it but it was annoying.    

Pressburg – No Fail Pistol/NVG Practical x2: SGM (R) Pressburg puts on a phenomenal class.  His experience and mindset are evident in everything he does and teaches.  His No Fail Pistol class was focused on high accountability pistol work from 15 - 25y.  I would travel to attend his full class and will attempt to do so within the next year. 

The NVG practical was useful but too abbreviated to include much new information.  I primarily attended to observe how SGM(R) Pressburg runs a night range and steal any useful tips/tricks that I could. 

Chuck Pressburg talking night vision with a class.

The lectures I attended were;

Pressburg – Gear Setup/NVG IR Use: The gear setup lecture was basically SGM (R) Pressburg going through his kit from his time with the Army’s SMU.  He talked about everything from what he carried in which pockets and why to how he would adjust his gear depending on his assignment. 

The NVG/IR use lecture was data heavy and extremely interesting from a tactical nerd POV.  The focus was more on the nomenclature and science behind the different lasers/NODs on the market (gen 1/2/3, filmless vs thin filmed, autogated, etc.) than recommending a particular set up.      

Bolke – Training Habits of Successful Gunfighters: Interesting lecture on the training habits of well-known gunfighters from the early – middle 20th century.  Frank Hamer, Jelly Bryce, Bill Jordan, Jim Cirillo, etc.  The lecture was intended for LEOs but there were some interesting take-aways.  Primarily, building a training plan with zero-tolerance for unaccounted for rounds and the use of small targets on bigger silhouettes (B8s on USPSA for example).  I have read books on most of the men discussed, so it was fun to hear Mr. Bolke’s take.       

Bob M., Author, Erick Gelhaus (of Cougar Mountain Solutions), and Darryl Bolke discuss something that was probably super important… or not

Haggard – Use of light: This was an excellent lecture on handheld and weapon mounted light selection and employment.  It included a small practical application portion held in the indoor .22 range at the training facility.  No major lessons learned, but good practice.

Freeborn – Violence of mind: Mr. Freeborn’s lecture was focused on the criminal mindset and differing perspectives on violence based on culture, confidence, experience and moral values.  This was a lecture that I was personally interested in attending since reading Mr. Freeborn’s book several years ago.  There was a short discussion on concealment that could be made applicable to mobile teams but otherwise it was primarily focused on CONUS criminal populations.

Overall – This was not a “shoot for half a day and BS/drink the rest of the time” kind of event.  I was on the range 16-18hrs/day for the first two days and about 10hrs on the last day because the organizers decided to put together a pistol match and the Utah NG hosted a rifle match.  There were definitely some bugs to work out on the admin/logistics side, however, since this was the first time this event was held it’s understandable if no less frustrating.  The quality and variety of instruction on offer was more than worth it regardless.  I would recommend anyone in the business of carrying a gun attend if possible.  At the very least, it allows a potential student to get a preview of several different instructors without committing to a two- or three-day class.  There were also several SMEs/vendors in attendance and were happy to talk to people during the limited downtime.  All in all, a weekend well spent.