FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Not long after initially reaching out to Training Sights, a shipment
arrived at my office. Inside the box were not only the standard size
4”x6” versions of common pistol and rifle sights but also pocket size
versions measuring approximately 3”x2.5” versions that fit perfectly
inside the pouches on my gear. One set for the classroom, another
conveniently on hand on the range. Each card was rigid and very
well made. The imagines were spot on representations of popular
iron sights, red dots and even scope reticles. Just in a handful of
plastic cards, the training possibilities seemed endless.
I immediately distributed the cards to my co-instructors and
fellow gun writers, Clint Steele and Candace Swanson. Clint comes
from a twenty-year military career that spanned the US Marine Corps
and US Army, as well as security in the private sector. Candace grew
up shooting among a family that lived the gun culture and aside
from being my wife of almost a decade, she is a very accomplished
NRA and USCCA instructor when she isn’t busy constructing military
installations for the government. Through working with the national
not for profit organization, The Well Armed Woman, Candace
personally runs three different chapters as well as serves as the
State Leader here in Florida over 800 ladies spread out over 26
chapters. Though teaching classes and working together to host a
TWAW State Shoot each year with over 250 guests and personnel,
our team teaches hundreds of students each year from large courses
to 1 on 1 private training sessions.
TRAINING SIGHTS IN ACTION
Over the following few months, the Training Sights cards proved
their weight in gold. The ability for us as instructors to take concepts
off the overhead screen and clearly illustrate them in front of
students worked perfectly. Clint was able to help new shooters
understand fundamental concepts in leaps and bounds by having
them use the cards to demonstrate their understanding of sight
alignment and sight picture. The cards allowed the students to see
the sights on target just as they were on the range. Clint pointed
out that by having the students using the cards, it helped them gain
that “light bulb comes on” or “ah ha” moment happen sooner than
without using them.
Candace enjoyed working with the Training Sights while
teaching the ladies who make up her monthly TWAW meetings. In
her experience, Candace has noticed her members are usually more
visual learners and typically don’t come from in depth firearms
backgrounds. By having the sights in their hands to use, Candace
can walk them through understanding how the sight alignment
and sight picture can control the trajectory of the bullet’s path. The
Training Sights cards noticeably gave students more confidence in
learning and prompted more dialogue about the training concepts
that PowerPoints alone fail to produce.
From my own experience there were two distinct advantages
I noticed aside from what was stated by Clint and Candace. Those
came with having USCCA candidate instructors work with the
Training Sights cards during their student teaching segments and
for advanced shooting students who were either learning how
to use pistol or rifle red dots. For the prospective instructors, the
cards allowed them to practice walking around the room engaging
each student as they taught. This freed them from having to
stand stationary and point at a TV screen with their back to the
audience. For some, having the cards in their hands relieved some
of the tension of having to articulate the concepts based off screen
overhead by having something in their hands to manipulate.
For advanced shooters who may have mastered the concept
of sight alignment and sight picture, the Training Sights cards help
them put aside everything they have learned about the three point
TRAINING SIGHTS
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