We fired three stages from 25 yards. I opted to fire all three stages two-handed, as I have not yet mastered that position. At first, I worried about shooting 10 shots in five minutes, comparing it to service rifle where slow-fire stages have one minute per shot. I needn’t have worried — I fired all 10 shots far too quickly, with Lt. Col. Sleem reminding me to slow down. I errantly carried this thought into the timed and rapid-fire stages, saving a few rounds. It didn’t matter as all this was practice for the actual match, which for me was still just practice.
Before each stage came a short preparation period — time for you to hold the gun, dry-fire and get a natural point of aim. At the conclusion of this three-minute time frame, the cardboard targets turned sideways. When the command was given and the targets again turned broadside, a flurry of shots range out. The line was made safe after each stage as we walked forward to score and paste the targets for the next round.
Pistol Small Arms Firing School
$50 Annual Training Course at the National Matches
The raincoat was a last-minute thought. I slipped my phone and a few other necessary items into its gaping pockets and headed towards Camp Perry’s historic Hough Theater, where the classroom portion of the 2021 Small Arms Pistol Firing School (SAFS) was to be held.
I first visited Camp Perry, Ohio in 2015, attending the rifle small arms firing school. These short clinics, open to the public, date back to 1918. Federal law actually requires pistol and rifle SAFS to be held annually during the national matches. Over a thousand people go through the training each year, which teaches basic marksmanship as well as competition skills for more advanced shooters. Both the pistol and rifle SAFS have a basic and advanced class. Advanced students remain in the classroom longer while the basic class heads out to the range for extra time with instructors.
People attend these courses for different reasons. For one thing, they are inexpensive. Where else can you get training from members of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) with loaner firearms, ammunition provided and a T-shirt for $50? Some make the annual pilgrimage with family or friends for the experience. Others are new to firearms or contemplating a jump into service rifle or pistol competition. More still have attended the course previously and come back year after year in pursuit of their first excellence in competition (EIC) points towards their Distinguished Rifleman or Distinguished Pistol Shot badge. Both SAFS schools consist of a classroom portion and live fire with an M9 Pistol EIC or M16 EIC match following practice. The top 10% of those without any EIC points earn four introductory points toward the respective badge.
So why does this matter? Distinguished Badges are highly sought after and coveted awards representing excellence in marksmanship. They are the highest honor for marksmanship commissioned by the U.S. Government. There exist both military and civilian badges. While there are more specifics, in short, one earns the badge by earning 30 EIC points by placing well in specific competitions.
I went Distinguished in service rifle in 2019, but the 2021 Pistol SAFS was my introduction to service pistol. Lecture instruction is always somewhat dull, but important to cover safety rules and introduce those completely unfamiliar with firearms to the basics. A hands-on learner, I gained much more from the live fire experience, which definitely presented a challenge I now want more of.
My parents and I attended the school together. Upon benches positioned 25 yards away from a row of targets sat two green ammo cans, each containing a Berretta M9 pistol, ammunition, targets and pasters. One coach worked with two shooters at each bench. Lt. Col. Sleem assisted me and my mom, coaching us through the process and entertaining us with clever quips.
The M9 Pistol EIC Match course follows a special course of fire compared to traditional pistol matches.
My groups were far from stellar, though my rapid-fire targets were consistently better than my slow-fire ones. Lt. Col. Sleem attributed this to the shorter time period and the fact I had less time to think about what I was doing rather than doing it. He warned against “sprayin’ and prayin’,” firing too fast and hoping they’d land in the center (which never happened) and spoke of the importance of a wide base for a more secure stance, which he compared to a Christmas Tree. (You’d rather have a tree with a full, wide base than the same width top to bottom for stability’s sake.)
Despite the rain and humbling scores, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was an affordable and simple way for me to learn more about service rifle’s sister discipline and gave me an even greater respect for bullseye pistol shooters. It certainly isn’t as easy as it looks.
