[Adam Helmer]

We have a neat gun club nearby where every Tuesday morning a dozen guys show up and shoot PPC as well as a Combat Course on an adjacent range. The PPC is the usual course timed at 7, 15 and 25 yards. After a "warm-up" on the silhouettes, we move over to the adjacent range. There we have a few silhoiuettes, a few gongs and two walls that channel the direction of fire. The combat course score is based on time and accuracy. Again it comes clear: "Fast is fine, but accuracy is final."

There are a few revolvers on the combat course, but most are semi-autos. Lots of M1911s, Glocks, Springfields and Berettas. While moving behind the wall, it is the shooter's choice when to change magazines. Almost everyone recharges their pistols regardless of the rounds remaining in the magazine.

About half our shooters are retired LEOs and the other half are just regular citizens running the course. We are fortunate to have a gun club where realistic shooting scenarios are "Run" again and again by participants. Recharging the handgun, keeping to cover while reloading and engaging multiple targets develops skill sets NOT available to those shooting bullseye targets at gun clubs where drawing from the holster on the firing line is prohibited. Some clubs are better than others, I suppose.

Adam