Louis Awerbuck's Level I at BCSD

[abnk]

I almost wish that I would have taken careful notes of the sequence of events and post an elaborate AAR like Gungho, but was too busy trying to absorb the invaluable information. I'll try to post a "Cliff Notes" version instead.

First off, this class, despite its name, is not really for beginners in my opinion. If you have a family member or friend who is completely green to firearms, Sheriff Campbell's Intro to the Defensive Pistol would definitely be a better start. Louis does not really delve into firearm and gear selection, terminal ballistics, etc. He goes over the basics of marksmanship, but no to the extent that Ken does in his class with visual aids made so easy that a first-grader would understand. Ken also gives a long lecture on mindset, which Louis barely touches. I have hear that lecture several times and I'm glad Louis did not go over it again; however, to a person who has never heard it before, it will likely be a life-changing speech.

By any means, I'm not saying that Louis class is a lesser one compared to Ken's--they're just different. Louis assumes that most people have their shit together as far as gear and their motivation for being there so he does not waste any time with that unless someone really needs it. Throughout the course, he made a lot of suggestions to students regarding different gear problems, however.

After the admin notes, he continued by asking if anyone had any shooting problems. About half of the class did. First thing on the range, he addressed the shooting problems of those who admitted to them and those who didn't (or did not know they had any). As many have stated before, Louis is a master diagnostician. Then we continued with more shooting.

On the second day, we started with the same drills as the previous day, but with three dimensional targets. One thing to keep in mind as you read this, I am using the word "drill" for lack of a better word because Louis always changes things to break away from routine and requiring the student to think. As the day progressed, those three dimensional targets were made assymetrical by being moved at different horizontal and later perpendicular angles. To make things even less routine, we started switching positions on the relay so we would be required to (guess what?) think. I really saw the impact of this when I had to shoot a three dimensional target which was laying down with "feet" toward me and "head" toward the backstop while exposing only the left side of the body. I fired a decent group considering the distance and speed, however, this group was on the left shoulder of the target. Louis explained to me that my "fussilade" had not scored any major organs and to have such effect, I would have to aim at the lower belly. That worked as advertised.

One of the most impressive things that Louis did was pull us to ~25yards and had us shoot a water bottle. The quicker, the better. The results were amazing. Everyone either hit or came damn close to it. We did this again the next day, where I tried to take a perfect shot from ~30yds and I missed. Then I tried it Louis' way, without overthinking it and lo and behold, I hit the bottle.

In the afternoon of the second day, we covered low-light shooting techniques, but never really got to try them after dark due to DST. On this day, we did most of our shooting.

On the third day, we did significantly less shooting, but the lessons were probably the most important of the entire class. We did shooting while moving out of the line of attack, turns, strong-hand-only shooting, weak-hand-only shooting, employment of secondary guns, "bad-breath" distance confrontation, kneeling positions, and some more stuff.

During the "bad-breath" distance confrontation, I had an epiphany. We were to strike the adversary, draw and fire 2-3 rounds one-handed with the weapon "sucked in", then move away while shooting another four-five rounds two-handed, then do a speed reload because supposedly we'll always fire more than we think. I started with 17+1 rounds. When I finished, Louis asked me how many rounds I thought I had left. I really thought I had about nine rounds left, but to be on the safe side I thought I would underestimate it so I said seven. He counted my rounds and I only had four left. That's when I had my epiphany: Carry a spare magazine regardless of how many rounds your Glock holds.

At the end of the day, we did the moving manekins and I'll tell you, they move like they're on crack and Red Bull. Most people did very well, however. We did this exercise individually and then in teams of two.

Sorry, I got carried away and this turned out longer than intended. I'll spare you the tedious details and jump to the conclusion. What separates Louis from other instructors is the fact that he does not teach doctrine and "accepted standards". He has an open mind and does not force his methods on students. He is a strong advocate of having a student use whatever works for them. Louis will show you the different ways of skinning a catfish then allow the student try and stick to whatever works for them. There was a gentleman who was firing with his support hand cupped under the magazine, but it working for him so he was just left alone. On mindset, while he did not harangue us with a lecture, mindset was a constant of every drill. Thinking was also a part of every drill. There was no robotic response.

If you can only take one class next year, let it be with Louis Awerbuck and you will likely not be disappointed.

I had a great time and learned a LOT. It was nice shooting with JMB79 and some others that I knew from before, as well as meeting Kirk Freeman and other new shooters.

Below are some pictures that I took. Obviously, I did not take pictures of the best events because I was too busy trying to soak in the information.

If anyone does not want to be seen on a public forum, please let me know and I'll remove the picture.

Lastly, I am sure I have missed a lot and this review does not do justice to the course.

[Fenway]

Great write up abnk! Thank you!

[Scutter01]

Very nice AAR. Thanks for posting it!

[abnk]

It's pretty unorganized and all over the place, but I'm glad you like it.

[Fenway]

Is that Kirk in the yellow? Very sexy!

[abnk]

You recognized him from the backside? Just sayin'...

[Fenway]

Originally Posted by abnk

You recognized him from the backside? Just sayin'...

[Barry in IN]

Good review.

I see "Don't overthink it" made the signature line. How many times did you hear that? I know I've heard it a few.

Yes, Louis is an amazing instructor. It never fails to surprise me just how many things he can see at once.
I've never known anyone who could make such strong points with just a plastic water bottle stuck in the backstop.

[rhino]

Good report, abnk!

Level II is happening as we write this.

[Kirk Freeman]

Yellow is sexy to you, Fen?

Man, I can't wait for my foot to heal. Those photos show how much I need to get back to running. Hide the forks!

as well as meeting Kirk Freeman and other new shooters

I appreciate your attempt to hide my age, but I am not a new shooter! Although, I do shoot like a new shooter at times! *snicker*