WEBVTT 00:00:00.017 --> 00:00:04.397 This is the Concealed Carry Podcast, Season 11, Episode 8. 00:00:05.520 --> 00:00:15.440 00:00:15.177 --> 00:00:16.737 And welcome to the Concealed Carry 00:00:16.737 --> 00:00:22.217 Podcast, part of the ConcealedCarry.com network, brought to you by HK. 00:00:23.037 --> 00:00:27.117 Today is Wednesday, what is it, March 12th, 2025. 00:00:27.637 --> 00:00:28.097 Yes, sir. 00:00:28.097 --> 00:00:32.157 As of recording of this episode, I am your host, Riley Bowman, 00:00:32.237 --> 00:00:34.617 joined by co-host, Jacob Paulson. 00:00:35.377 --> 00:00:41.197 Yes, and Riley is the guy who failed today to achieve his goal of an eight-minute mile. 00:00:41.677 --> 00:00:45.517 Riley runs a lot, but you specifically just, I don't know, maybe even out of 00:00:45.517 --> 00:00:48.957 the blue said, today I'm going to see if I can do a mile in under eight minutes, and you just fell short. 00:00:49.697 --> 00:00:52.337 Yeah, yeah. There you go. Just fell short. 00:00:52.937 --> 00:00:53.497 Next time. 00:00:53.637 --> 00:00:57.297 I am not the fastest runner, never have been, but I've been getting a little bit better at it. 00:00:57.977 --> 00:01:01.617 I'm sure I could not run an eight-minute mile today, right now. 00:01:02.137 --> 00:01:06.317 I would say long-term, I'd love to get to being in the sixes. 00:01:07.237 --> 00:01:11.457 I don't know. But, I mean, one can hope, right? 00:01:12.157 --> 00:01:16.657 I definitely think it's possible. In my prime, I ran a 432. Do I get any credit for that? 00:01:16.837 --> 00:01:17.877 Dude, that's insane. 00:01:18.417 --> 00:01:22.097 This is what I did. I was on the track team. I was a runner. 00:01:23.037 --> 00:01:26.977 432. 432. I dropped out. I cheated, too. That was a huge elevation drop. 00:01:27.297 --> 00:01:33.137 I lived at about 6,400 feet and I ran that 432 at about 4,400 feet. 00:01:34.257 --> 00:01:39.077 So yeah, oxygen was good. Yeah. Yeah, that's a good point. I feel pretty good 00:01:39.077 --> 00:01:41.657 about doing what I can do at my age at... 00:01:42.790 --> 00:01:44.890 Basically mile high you know we 00:01:44.890 --> 00:01:45.690 Are just getting older. 00:01:47.590 --> 00:01:52.610 Well as i guess you just gave me your uh your guy who jacob's the guy who used 00:01:52.610 --> 00:01:54.510 to run cross country cross 00:01:54.510 --> 00:01:58.030 Country and track it's true i did the run thing. 00:01:58.030 --> 00:02:03.910 I pretty regularly run a 5k i mean about once a week i usually do a 5k and i 00:02:03.910 --> 00:02:07.030 mean i know there's some of you out there like ah you know i run you know that's 00:02:07.030 --> 00:02:10.970 that's rookie numbers or whatever but but i feel pretty good you know putting 00:02:10.970 --> 00:02:17.930 in a 5k dang near every week and i could do it in about 28 29 minutes it 00:02:17.930 --> 00:02:23.370 Is my goal to do a 5k two or three times a week but it has been many months 00:02:23.370 --> 00:02:26.710 since i output that i'm kind of rebuilding back. 00:02:26.710 --> 00:02:32.490 Now yeah yeah right on um welcome to today's episode today we're going to be 00:02:32.490 --> 00:02:37.410 talking about gear trends, specifically things like red dots, lights, 00:02:37.930 --> 00:02:42.470 malfunctions, and things that we've noticed in recent classes. 00:02:42.810 --> 00:02:46.590 Specifically, we're going to share some data from a recent pistol intelligence 00:02:46.590 --> 00:02:50.290 class that I taught that Jacob assisted and came to as well. 00:02:51.070 --> 00:02:54.850 Jacob's the one who really actually tracked that stuff. I don't normally have 00:02:54.850 --> 00:03:00.510 even the brain resources at all to even be thinking as I'm trying to focus on 00:03:00.510 --> 00:03:04.830 teaching and delivering my curriculum to, hey, what are these students using? 00:03:04.970 --> 00:03:08.690 I kind of anecdotally have a sense. I see things. 00:03:08.710 --> 00:03:12.830 I pay attention generally, but not like writing it down and tracking it. 00:03:12.930 --> 00:03:14.970 So we're going to share some of that from a recent class. 00:03:15.210 --> 00:03:21.650 And also, I think that'll bring up other things we've noticed over the recent 00:03:21.650 --> 00:03:25.010 history, the last year or two or whatever, in terms of gear trends, 00:03:25.570 --> 00:03:28.990 conferences, and other events we've been to that, you know, of course the Guardian 00:03:28.990 --> 00:03:33.130 Conference, we see a lot of different gear show up at the Guardian Conference each year. 00:03:34.070 --> 00:03:37.510 So what are some of the lessons and takeaways from, you know, 00:03:37.690 --> 00:03:39.810 the current, I guess, gear 00:03:42.011 --> 00:03:47.251 I mean, there's some trends. Maybe there's some, what's the word? 00:03:48.531 --> 00:03:53.431 There's trend, but there's also like, I'm not gimmick, but you know what I mean? Like fads. 00:03:53.731 --> 00:03:54.831 Fads. Ooh, I like fads. 00:03:54.951 --> 00:03:55.871 You know, I don't know. 00:03:56.051 --> 00:03:58.351 Trends, fads, and gimmicks. Oh, my. 00:03:58.551 --> 00:04:03.431 Yeah, right. So we'll talk about some of that and kind of our thoughts and takeaways 00:04:03.431 --> 00:04:07.691 and kind of where we think the industry is at, where people are at. 00:04:07.691 --> 00:04:10.531 Today's episode sponsored brought to you 00:04:10.531 --> 00:04:13.531 by a pistol intelligence 00:04:13.531 --> 00:04:16.451 course online pistol intelligence course uh that 00:04:16.451 --> 00:04:19.991 we filmed a couple years ago i should say really we 00:04:19.991 --> 00:04:22.811 didn't film directly but uh thank you 00:04:22.811 --> 00:04:25.631 to john correa and his crew at active 00:04:25.631 --> 00:04:28.391 self-protection filmed a course that 00:04:28.391 --> 00:04:31.151 i taught in arizona where most of 00:04:31.151 --> 00:04:34.471 the active self-protection crew was involved so that 00:04:34.471 --> 00:04:37.751 got filmed and then we did some some further editing to 00:04:37.751 --> 00:04:40.991 it and things and realized actually at one point there was 00:04:40.991 --> 00:04:44.091 a section a kind of an important drill that was missed 00:04:44.091 --> 00:04:49.651 just nature of running out of you know storage on memory cards or whatever when 00:04:49.651 --> 00:04:52.371 it was originally filmed and so we went to the range and made sure that was 00:04:52.371 --> 00:04:56.311 filmed so that that that critical drill is included in our version of the pistol 00:04:56.311 --> 00:05:03.431 intelligence course available at concealedcarry.com forward slash piq course Jacob, 00:05:03.731 --> 00:05:07.131 you've been through the course, you've observed me teaching it a time or two. 00:05:07.731 --> 00:05:12.651 Kind of like, what would you tell somebody like, why should they at the very 00:05:12.651 --> 00:05:16.251 least view and go through the online pistol intelligence course? 00:05:17.233 --> 00:05:21.813 Well, this is not a tactics course. This is a pistol performance course. 00:05:21.993 --> 00:05:27.293 This is about increasing your ability to manipulate the tool efficiently and effectively. 00:05:28.253 --> 00:05:34.093 And I think my experience, I guess there's two things that I immediately think 00:05:34.093 --> 00:05:36.253 about when I think about the PIQ curriculum. 00:05:36.593 --> 00:05:42.913 The first is kind of a new approach to things that are probably part of most curriculums. 00:05:43.073 --> 00:05:46.753 Things like grip and curriculums. Is that plural, right? 00:05:47.913 --> 00:05:51.273 Curricula curricula there you go so so yes 00:05:51.273 --> 00:05:54.133 pretend i said curricula like a really intelligent person yeah 00:05:54.133 --> 00:05:56.993 there you go um so things like grip and 00:05:56.993 --> 00:05:59.973 stance and you know recoil management things that you know looking 00:05:59.973 --> 00:06:04.733 at things that are part of any pistol performance or even you know traditional 00:06:04.733 --> 00:06:08.173 defensive pistol curriculum and saying you know what's the more efficient way 00:06:08.173 --> 00:06:11.813 to think about this and approach this and learn it and teach it but then the 00:06:11.813 --> 00:06:15.333 second like major thing i think about when I think about PAQ is that it's about 00:06:15.333 --> 00:06:17.593 vision. It's about seeing things. 00:06:18.493 --> 00:06:24.573 And kind of unlocking the power to be able to send the shot and know where it's 00:06:24.573 --> 00:06:26.373 going to go before it leaves the gun. 00:06:26.933 --> 00:06:31.473 And that's like this foundational thing that has all these ripple effects, 00:06:31.473 --> 00:06:35.053 all of these kind of byproduct things. 00:06:35.213 --> 00:06:40.573 Like I think that being able to see that also allows you to be able to shoot 00:06:40.573 --> 00:06:43.293 faster. It allows you to handle recoil more efficiently. 00:06:43.893 --> 00:06:47.913 I think it even impacts the way you grip the gun. Because if you're tracking 00:06:47.913 --> 00:06:50.153 the sights throughout the entire process, 00:06:50.353 --> 00:06:56.353 it changes for you what's important relative to the consistency of which the 00:06:56.353 --> 00:06:58.973 gun moves. So anyway, lots of things like that. 00:07:00.013 --> 00:07:03.113 It's interesting to hear your perspective. And I appreciate you sharing that. 00:07:03.313 --> 00:07:07.133 I hope that that's also of interest to some of you watching or listening. 00:07:07.773 --> 00:07:11.893 My big thing is I want people to be able to see better so they can shoot better. 00:07:12.153 --> 00:07:16.413 I think that that's just really critical that if we can see what's happening 00:07:16.413 --> 00:07:21.913 between us, target, and gun, then we can shoot better. 00:07:22.869 --> 00:07:27.909 So, there you go. Check it out, concealedcarry.com forward slash PIQ course 00:07:27.909 --> 00:07:33.929 to check out and sign up for, I guess, purchase the pistol intelligence course. 00:07:34.109 --> 00:07:39.789 You can also view it completely as included membership if you're a Guardian Nation member. 00:07:39.949 --> 00:07:42.969 So, you can also join Guardian Nation if you'd prefer that instead and get full 00:07:42.969 --> 00:07:46.289 access to our whole video training library at Guardian University. 00:07:46.289 --> 00:07:54.109 Uh today's class or class episode is also sponsored by ksg armory specifically 00:07:54.109 --> 00:07:59.869 we're highlighting today the revere holster which is a light bearing holster 00:07:59.869 --> 00:08:04.289 it's it's well i mean think about it paul revere right what was the famous by 00:08:04.289 --> 00:08:05.189 One land two. 00:08:05.189 --> 00:08:12.029 By sea right uh famous Paul Revere's ride, midnight ride, right? 00:08:12.309 --> 00:08:19.809 And so, you know, when we were thinking about names for products of holsters at KSG Armory, 00:08:19.909 --> 00:08:22.049 it was like, hey, you know, if it's a light bearing holster, 00:08:22.049 --> 00:08:25.369 we're going to call it the Revere because all the holster names have a tie in 00:08:25.369 --> 00:08:28.389 somewhere to essentially like, you know, 00:08:28.569 --> 00:08:31.189 the American Revolution, you know, kind of timeframe. 00:08:31.429 --> 00:08:35.609 And so, so there you go. That's the Revere holster. if you'd like to, 00:08:35.889 --> 00:08:39.829 or if you're in need of a light bearing holster that we can't unfortunately 00:08:39.829 --> 00:08:43.549 currently support all models of guns with all models of lights, 00:08:43.729 --> 00:08:48.509 but we have many of the most popular ones available, uh, that are light bearing. 00:08:48.749 --> 00:08:55.329 So, I mean, a really popular one is like the Glock 43X48 with a TLR7 sub or 00:08:55.329 --> 00:09:00.089 a P365 or P365X macro with a TLR7 sub light. 00:09:00.229 --> 00:09:03.709 Those are super popular, it seems with the light bearing option. 00:09:03.889 --> 00:09:08.049 And so those are certainly available as a Revere holster from KSG Armory. 00:09:08.209 --> 00:09:14.529 Check out ksgarmory.com forward slash Revere, R-E-V-E-R-E, if you... 00:09:15.253 --> 00:09:17.673 He'd help with spelling Revere. There you go. 00:09:17.913 --> 00:09:18.593 That's how you spell it. 00:09:19.233 --> 00:09:22.413 So let's jump into today's topic. 00:09:23.213 --> 00:09:27.453 Yeah. Yeah. So I think my first disclaimer, I think, that needs to be made is 00:09:27.453 --> 00:09:33.513 that I documented, and I got this idea from John Correa. We already mentioned him once this episode. 00:09:34.133 --> 00:09:38.213 But he does this a lot. When he comes back from a class on Facebook, 00:09:38.213 --> 00:09:41.453 he posts all the guns that he saw on the line in his class. 00:09:41.613 --> 00:09:45.073 Right. And so I just thought, I'm going to take this a step further. 00:09:45.253 --> 00:09:47.753 The other organization that does this really well is A Girl and a Gun. 00:09:48.133 --> 00:09:51.353 So every year, A Girl and a Gun puts out a report after their national conference 00:09:51.353 --> 00:09:54.293 of all the gear that's used by all the ladies at that event. Right. 00:09:54.453 --> 00:09:57.673 And theirs is much more detailed. I mean, like what brand of pants they're wearing, 00:09:58.273 --> 00:10:00.833 you know. I mean, that kind of level of detail. 00:10:01.133 --> 00:10:02.113 Yeah, you're pro, I pro. 00:10:02.193 --> 00:10:06.193 Oh, the whole thing. So I thought I would try and document some of that at this 00:10:06.193 --> 00:10:07.833 particular class you had in Spokane. 00:10:08.033 --> 00:10:12.673 There were basically 19 shooters on the line. You had 18 students plus the host 00:10:12.673 --> 00:10:16.233 who was jumping in and out off the line at different points. 00:10:16.793 --> 00:10:21.313 So I – and this is not a negative reflection on anybody. Like no one's in trouble 00:10:21.313 --> 00:10:22.313 here. Like it's all good. 00:10:22.813 --> 00:10:26.193 But I think that the first disclaimer I wanted to make is that people don't 00:10:26.193 --> 00:10:29.253 always bring the same gear to class that they would carry with. 00:10:30.333 --> 00:10:34.973 So some people do. Some people certainly do say, hey, this is my EDC loadout. 00:10:35.653 --> 00:10:38.593 This is the gun I carry each day and this is the holster and so this is what 00:10:38.593 --> 00:10:42.453 I'm going to take to class and use. but there's plenty of things at the class 00:10:42.453 --> 00:10:45.413 that clearly that was not what they are running on average day. 00:10:45.413 --> 00:10:48.493 Yeah i mean to that point 00:10:48.493 --> 00:10:54.693 it is not uncommon i've seen this many times where a student shows up to class 00:10:54.693 --> 00:11:00.453 and they are showing up with something they've never really trained with before 00:11:00.453 --> 00:11:03.093 and i understand why some would 00:11:03.093 --> 00:11:06.793 do that it's like hey there's this opportunity I'm going to expend six, 00:11:07.073 --> 00:11:09.073 seven, 800 rounds over two days. 00:11:09.933 --> 00:11:13.933 It's a, it's a class. So it's intended to be a learning opportunity. 00:11:13.933 --> 00:11:19.373 Well, I mean, you can certainly learn about that new gear choice that you are 00:11:19.373 --> 00:11:20.693 showing up to the class with. 00:11:22.493 --> 00:11:27.653 And some do that successfully, but quite often it's unsuccessful for students. 00:11:27.833 --> 00:11:31.653 And what I mean by that is it ends up being a struggle, you know, 00:11:31.713 --> 00:11:33.013 kind of the struggle bus of, 00:11:33.893 --> 00:11:37.573 well, you know, gun's not quite running right, or the ammo is not running right, 00:11:37.573 --> 00:11:41.413 or I'm having an issue with the optic, or I've never used an optic before at 00:11:41.413 --> 00:11:43.453 all, and now I'm doing it for the first time ever. 00:11:45.093 --> 00:11:47.813 And so, and I'm not here to judge anybody for that, because certainly, 00:11:47.953 --> 00:11:51.273 like, you're welcome to use whatever you want to use. It's America. 00:11:51.533 --> 00:11:54.613 I even get questions from students, sometimes even just the, 00:11:54.693 --> 00:11:58.173 you know, days leading up to the class of, you know, well, should I bring more 00:11:58.173 --> 00:12:02.753 of my competition setup or, or a concealment setup or, you know, 00:12:02.893 --> 00:12:05.133 a duty gear kind of setup or, you know, whatever. 00:12:05.453 --> 00:12:10.853 And I'm always like, I, this class is not specific to a certain type. 00:12:11.644 --> 00:12:17.024 Of gear or shooting style necessarily. It's just, I want to teach you how to 00:12:17.024 --> 00:12:19.764 shoot better because that benefits. 00:12:20.404 --> 00:12:23.484 And part of the reason, I mean, I'll be honest, one, I enjoy teaching people 00:12:23.484 --> 00:12:28.124 how to shoot better and to teach them how to do that from a somewhat of a unique 00:12:28.124 --> 00:12:33.104 perspective in the way that that curriculum is delivered, but also because it's 00:12:33.104 --> 00:12:35.164 applicable to no matter who you are. 00:12:35.264 --> 00:12:39.624 If I taught just purely a tactics oriented course, then the competition folks 00:12:39.624 --> 00:12:44.224 don't want to show up if i taught a purely competition-oriented class then the 00:12:44.224 --> 00:12:49.564 tactical folks don't want to show up you know and so you know it's kind of why the class is the way 00:12:49.564 --> 00:12:53.424 It is i think i think too we have to like if you're listening to this and you 00:12:53.424 --> 00:12:54.764 maybe have a class coming up, 00:12:55.424 --> 00:12:57.964 there's a con i think there's a common out there's a couple commonalities that 00:12:57.964 --> 00:13:00.704 i see you know at the guardian conference that classes that i teach that you 00:13:00.704 --> 00:13:05.884 teach one of those is sort of like the class justifies the purchase i just signed 00:13:05.884 --> 00:13:09.524 up for this class this justifies me going and buying some new gear. Yeah. 00:13:09.784 --> 00:13:12.604 So, hey, as long as I'm going to take a new class, I'm going to get a new gun. 00:13:13.304 --> 00:13:15.104 And I don't think there's anything wrong with that, by the way. 00:13:15.184 --> 00:13:18.244 I just think that's commonality. Another thing I'll see is the opposite. 00:13:18.364 --> 00:13:22.544 Like I bought a new gear, so I'm going to go sign up for a class so I can kind 00:13:22.544 --> 00:13:26.044 of put that gear through it. Yeah. And we see this a lot with optics these days. 00:13:26.984 --> 00:13:31.804 I've been wanting to switch to an optic, to a red dot, but I wanted to take a class with it. 00:13:31.904 --> 00:13:34.404 So I signed up for a class, and then I went and got the dot, 00:13:34.524 --> 00:13:39.064 put it on the pistol, and I'm going to go take that class and work out the kinks with my dot. 00:13:39.464 --> 00:13:43.684 So my point is there's some really legitimate reasons why people might show 00:13:43.684 --> 00:13:47.824 up with gear that is completely untested and unproven to them, 00:13:47.884 --> 00:13:49.624 for them, you know, that they've never used before. 00:13:49.924 --> 00:13:53.844 We did have, though, there was a student on your line who was running her EDC 00:13:53.844 --> 00:13:56.944 gun and her EDC holster, a KSG holster, as it were. 00:13:57.284 --> 00:14:01.324 I think it was a P365, if I'm not mistaken. It was P365XL. 00:14:02.624 --> 00:14:03.084 So... 00:14:04.900 --> 00:14:07.680 And she made it very clear. This is what I carry. This is how I carry it. 00:14:07.700 --> 00:14:11.040 This is what I'm running. And she did that for two days straight through. 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:12.900 And did very well with it. 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:19.240 Yeah, and she did very well. I'm at a point in my life where I kind of know why I'm doing this. 00:14:19.300 --> 00:14:22.080 And that's a lot about this too is sort of this purpose-driven thing. 00:14:22.380 --> 00:14:26.580 And so I do this because I want to be able to shoot bad guys if they try and hurt me and my family. 00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:33.160 So like last year, I took a three-day 40. I was at S12. I guess I was not a student in that one. 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:37.820 But, you know, when I go to trainings like S12 or your PIQ class or whatever 00:14:37.820 --> 00:14:41.000 thing I might be a student in these days, I show up like this. 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:45.060 The only thing I really change is I'll throw a spare mag or two on. 00:14:45.300 --> 00:14:48.620 And I might, you know, one in a mag pouch and one in a pocket. 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:53.440 And that's really it. And that's like, here I am, like, take me as I am. 00:14:53.760 --> 00:14:55.900 But that's because that's my objective. That's my purpose. 00:14:56.300 --> 00:14:59.820 We had a lot of guys at the Spokane class, kind of this group of dudes that 00:14:59.820 --> 00:15:02.940 look like they're all buddies who showed up in their battle rattle. 00:15:02.940 --> 00:15:05.860 I mean, they were not wearing plate carriers, but, you know, 00:15:05.940 --> 00:15:10.860 drop leg duty holsters, you know, that looked pretty serious. 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:16.540 And so that's not their carry gear, but their objective for that class might 00:15:16.540 --> 00:15:21.440 have been, hey, I want to optimize my ability to – in fact, these guys were 00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:24.500 quite keen on your PIQ standards. They know they're going to be tested. 00:15:24.700 --> 00:15:28.960 They know that there's going to be some results, some data, so they maybe choose 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:31.160 gear that optimizes their ability to score well. 00:15:31.740 --> 00:15:34.300 Sure, which is fine. I simply don't care. 00:15:34.420 --> 00:15:41.020 The point is, as we go through this, it may not be atypical of concealed carry setups. Yeah. 00:15:41.620 --> 00:15:46.460 So, I mean, I'll just, on this topic where we sort of started this conversation 00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:49.940 today, I would just, I'll say two things. 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:55.620 One, I think that there is something to be said for, this is advice, okay? 00:15:55.620 --> 00:15:58.500 And some of you watching like maybe i mean some of 00:15:58.500 --> 00:16:02.640 you or listening when's the last time you took a one 00:16:02.640 --> 00:16:08.540 day or two day like a pretty involved training course uh maybe never maybe you're 00:16:08.540 --> 00:16:11.120 newer to all this or you just have never gotten around to it i would encourage 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:14.380 you to do that i would encourage you to find a reputable instructor or training 00:16:14.380 --> 00:16:18.900 program or class and go and do it um and and if that is something you've done 00:16:18.900 --> 00:16:21.860 before do it again because there's great value to be had i I mean, 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:26.180 some of my most significant growth as a shooter came because I went and took 00:16:26.180 --> 00:16:31.040 some classes with different instructors to see and learn different things and perspectives. 00:16:31.160 --> 00:16:36.780 And it was super helpful to me and informative to me to come away with different 00:16:36.780 --> 00:16:38.420 takeaways that I could then implement 00:16:38.420 --> 00:16:43.200 in my own practice and then see huge gains in my personal growth. 00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:49.900 So my advice is, the first thing is, I think it is a pretty good idea to show up to a class and. 00:16:50.903 --> 00:16:56.543 I should say this, if your goal is to learn the most that you can learn from 00:16:56.543 --> 00:17:04.143 a class or instructor, show up with the gear that you most often train or shoot with. 00:17:04.283 --> 00:17:05.683 That's the most comfortable with. Yep. 00:17:06.283 --> 00:17:09.983 So that's the key. If you want to get the most out of that class, 00:17:10.163 --> 00:17:13.023 then do what you do the most of. 00:17:13.243 --> 00:17:16.763 So not a new gun, not a new holster setup, or a different way, or whatever. 00:17:17.503 --> 00:17:22.003 If you are looking to test something else and also learn in, 00:17:22.203 --> 00:17:24.243 you know, along the process. 00:17:24.883 --> 00:17:30.323 So you want to, uh, like maybe you spend most of your time at the range training 00:17:30.323 --> 00:17:33.223 with a, you know, battle belt as they call them. 00:17:33.423 --> 00:17:38.623 Uh, but yet you are carrying concealed most of the time in terms of a practical sense. 00:17:38.963 --> 00:17:43.043 Okay. Okay. Maybe the class is a good opportunity for you to actually show up 00:17:43.043 --> 00:17:46.723 and see how you can do, you know, from a concealment draw. using concealment 00:17:46.723 --> 00:17:48.823 gear with maybe a different gun, a smaller gun, whatever. 00:17:49.423 --> 00:17:53.423 Or maybe you want to test different equipment and see how it does, 00:17:53.543 --> 00:17:57.543 sort of like a torture test of sorts over the two days or whatever of a course. 00:17:58.654 --> 00:18:02.754 That's fine. But the point, but the fact is, is that you are testing or, 00:18:02.774 --> 00:18:07.934 or discovering or learning something different or in addition to what you're 00:18:07.934 --> 00:18:09.194 also there to learn in the class. 00:18:09.334 --> 00:18:13.194 So if you want to maximize learning in the class, then show up with whatever 00:18:13.194 --> 00:18:15.074 you are most comfortable with. That's the advice. 00:18:15.074 --> 00:18:19.714 Yeah, well, just this, that it's okay to bring multiple loadouts and change 00:18:19.714 --> 00:18:23.314 them in the class, whether it's a one-day class or a two-day class. 00:18:23.434 --> 00:18:25.734 You can say, hey, you know, it's the morning of day one. I'm going to run with 00:18:25.734 --> 00:18:30.274 this gear, see how I feel about it, and then if it's driving me crazy or I feel 00:18:30.274 --> 00:18:33.474 like it's limiting my ability to learn, then I'm going to dump that gear and 00:18:33.474 --> 00:18:36.574 go back to this other thing I'm more comfortable with. Whatever the thing is, it's okay to switch. 00:18:36.714 --> 00:18:39.634 And we saw that. We saw, I'm thinking, at least one of your students in the 00:18:39.634 --> 00:18:43.274 Spokane class swapped out guns at least twice. 00:18:43.274 --> 00:18:46.914 I've had plenty of students over the years that have, you know, 00:18:47.014 --> 00:18:52.734 done concealment on day one and more of a duty setup or battle belt setup on day two. 00:18:52.934 --> 00:18:57.494 I actually make a point as an instructor, I'll typically teach day one from 00:18:57.494 --> 00:19:02.754 concealment and then day two from an open carry setup of some kind. 00:19:02.754 --> 00:19:05.914 Uh it might be my competition uh rig 00:19:05.914 --> 00:19:08.734 or it might be like this this class the spokane class i 00:19:08.734 --> 00:19:11.674 actually used both a sort of a battle belt with 00:19:11.674 --> 00:19:14.634 a duty holster as well as a competition holster with 00:19:14.634 --> 00:19:17.394 you know that setup but i did i think most of day one from 00:19:17.394 --> 00:19:20.714 concealment and then i also make a point to to demonstrate 00:19:20.714 --> 00:19:23.814 and use different guns as well as iron 00:19:23.814 --> 00:19:27.174 sight and red dot equipped guns just 00:19:27.174 --> 00:19:31.014 as the instructor i want to be able to demonstrate things in different 00:19:31.014 --> 00:19:33.894 ways using different setups different gear part of 00:19:33.894 --> 00:19:37.114 that is to be able to speak a little bit more to and 00:19:37.114 --> 00:19:40.214 sort of help others that are in the class that maybe have different setups 00:19:40.214 --> 00:19:43.974 and other people to kind of like help them see like hey it's cool you know you 00:19:43.974 --> 00:19:48.174 know you're set up you're still running irons you know as john correa calls 00:19:48.174 --> 00:19:53.894 it you know amish you know gun amish folks still using iron sights on guns kind 00:19:53.894 --> 00:19:57.834 of thing that's okay i usually do some demos with iron sights 00:19:58.655 --> 00:20:02.515 I just try to mix it up so that you can kind of see that no matter the gear 00:20:02.515 --> 00:20:04.575 that you are using, shooting is still shooting. 00:20:04.835 --> 00:20:07.555 And that's really kind of a key component of my class. All right. 00:20:07.595 --> 00:20:09.415 Let's get into some statistics. 00:20:09.655 --> 00:20:12.235 Okay. So we'll start with the guns. 00:20:12.595 --> 00:20:12.955 Yeah. 00:20:13.275 --> 00:20:16.795 Okay. So I'm going to go through 19 guns here, and I'll just say them out loud. 00:20:16.795 --> 00:20:24.075 So Shadow Systems, a Shadow Systems, a P365XL, a Glock, a P365, 00:20:24.415 --> 00:20:29.755 another Glock, an M&P, a Glock, a Glock, another Shadow Systems, 00:20:30.375 --> 00:20:39.875 Staccato, an M&P, a P320, a Prodigy, an HK, a Glock, a Glock, a Glock, and an HK. 00:20:40.135 --> 00:20:44.335 I like how you didn't specifically list it was a Glock 19 or 17. 00:20:44.435 --> 00:20:50.135 A Glock be a Glock be a Glock, man. Yeah, some of these have some aftermarket stuff on them too. 00:20:50.335 --> 00:20:53.575 So we're not, you know, Glock with whatever, slide with, you know, 00:20:53.595 --> 00:20:55.635 whatever, you know. And we'll get into some dots and lights too. 00:20:56.635 --> 00:20:59.815 Basically, these Glocks are Glocks are Glocks for me. Okay. 19, 00:21:00.015 --> 00:21:02.415 17, 19X, you know, I think those are what we're really seeing. 00:21:02.715 --> 00:21:05.275 So a lot of, I mean, definitely Glock is winning here. 00:21:05.695 --> 00:21:13.555 One, two, three, four, five, six, seven out of 19 guns are a Glock in this particular class. 00:21:14.195 --> 00:21:18.155 Shadow Systems was impressive of its turnout. Three of them. 00:21:18.515 --> 00:21:23.195 This was probably the most I think I've seen concentration-wise in a class. 00:21:23.455 --> 00:21:29.995 Yeah, three Shadow Systems was very remarkable to me. Two 365s. 00:21:29.995 --> 00:21:32.375 That's actually about half. If you think about it, because the Shadow Systems 00:21:32.375 --> 00:21:34.175 is basically a Glock wannabe. 00:21:35.015 --> 00:21:36.235 So now we have 10 out of 19. 00:21:36.555 --> 00:21:40.035 Sorry, Shadow Systems. I'm not trying to offend anybody by saying a Glock wannabe. 00:21:40.675 --> 00:21:42.295 I'm all for Glock wannabes. 00:21:42.295 --> 00:21:47.895 So about half of the guns are essentially Glocks. And then the rest is kind of a mix of... 00:21:47.895 --> 00:21:53.715 Two HKs, two 365s, a P320, a Staccato, a Prodigy, two M&Ps. Yeah. 00:21:55.612 --> 00:21:59.432 And one of those M&Ps was a duty gun. 00:22:00.092 --> 00:22:03.812 I mean, that person's got a badge and that's their duty gun. 00:22:04.772 --> 00:22:06.712 And that was iron-sided, if I recall. 00:22:07.212 --> 00:22:14.932 Yes, that one is iron-sided. Both M&Ps were running irons. And they were both badged people. 00:22:15.372 --> 00:22:18.372 Yeah, yeah. So they were running, you know, essentially they're, 00:22:18.532 --> 00:22:22.872 I don't know if it's issued or at least it's department approved gear. 00:22:23.572 --> 00:22:27.772 So, you know, whether, you know, an optic is even an option for that particular 00:22:27.772 --> 00:22:32.132 agency or department, I don't even know. I didn't even ask, but that's what they were running. 00:22:32.312 --> 00:22:38.052 But by and large, so we talked about the gun types or gun brands slash models. 00:22:39.192 --> 00:22:41.792 How many, though, were running optics versus irons? 00:22:42.052 --> 00:22:46.172 A lot of optics, man. Okay. So let's see. Optics. 00:22:47.052 --> 00:22:51.032 So you count how many optics. I'm going to name the optics. All right. 00:22:51.892 --> 00:22:58.172 So i'll also say irons but just skip the iron so irons trijicon romeo hollow 00:22:58.172 --> 00:23:06.252 sun hollow sun trijicon irons hollow sun hollow sun hollow sun hollow sun irons 00:23:06.252 --> 00:23:09.052 trijicon hollow sun hollow sun, 00:23:12.132 --> 00:23:16.772 an unnamed red dot i'm not sure what that one was a hollow sun and a hollow 00:23:16.772 --> 00:23:20.532 sun and a hollow sun so there are three irons in there yeah. 00:23:20.532 --> 00:23:24.672 Oh i count i think 15 um optics but i might have been off by 00:23:24.672 --> 00:23:28.772 One yeah so so three or four irons you know then a whole bunch of dots so a 00:23:28.772 --> 00:23:31.512 ton of stinking dots and clearly all. 00:23:31.512 --> 00:23:32.192 Of a sudden is 00:23:32.192 --> 00:23:37.232 Yeah a couple of trichcon rmrs and one that i did not identify like probably 00:23:37.232 --> 00:23:41.392 i looked at it like i couldn't tell so it was kind of an unusual thing for me 00:23:41.392 --> 00:23:44.832 and then i i just didn't get around to asking that person what it was yeah i'm. 00:23:44.832 --> 00:23:49.632 Trying to think if i could to remember what that was. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. 00:23:50.132 --> 00:23:54.752 It's probably a Holosun. But anyway, so a lot of stinking Holosuns. 00:23:54.912 --> 00:23:59.252 Holosuns are extraordinarily dominant on these guns by far. 00:23:59.252 --> 00:24:00.112 Why do you think that is? 00:24:00.332 --> 00:24:01.252 I think that... 00:24:03.363 --> 00:24:07.983 Certainly, we care about good gear, but Holosun has kind of created its niche 00:24:07.983 --> 00:24:14.863 in this kind of space between acceptable in terms of cost, but also acceptable in terms of quality. 00:24:15.183 --> 00:24:18.483 So I think people feel like, hey, if you want the top tier, if you want to go 00:24:18.483 --> 00:24:21.623 spend the money and get stuff that's a little bit more proven, you could. 00:24:21.943 --> 00:24:25.563 But if you're looking for a budget-friendly thing that has an acceptable level 00:24:25.563 --> 00:24:28.563 of quality, Holosun has that brand, has that reputation. 00:24:29.263 --> 00:24:35.403 I'm running Holosun on my gun right now. Same. I have a Swamp Fox on my other 00:24:35.403 --> 00:24:40.703 VP9, but I would call it comparable in perceived value to me. 00:24:41.603 --> 00:24:45.623 So yeah, I think that there's certainly going to be some people out there like, I want the best. 00:24:45.703 --> 00:24:51.183 I want the thing that the dudes are running in the military or that is battle-tested in combat. 00:24:51.403 --> 00:24:54.083 And so yeah, you're going to see some Trijicon, you're going to see some aim 00:24:54.083 --> 00:24:56.163 points, you're going to see some things like that for those people. 00:24:56.283 --> 00:24:59.923 But by and large, I think that in the consumer group that we're running around 00:24:59.923 --> 00:25:05.243 with, which is a bunch of just normal joes uh hollow sun has an acceptable level 00:25:05.243 --> 00:25:08.443 of quality but is more affordable than a lot of that other stuff. 00:25:08.443 --> 00:25:12.823 Yeah i agree with that uh very uh 00:25:12.823 --> 00:25:21.323 yeah it's a solid i mean the there's enough data now to suggest that it's pretty 00:25:21.323 --> 00:25:25.343 reliable of an optic uh i've been running all sense for a number of years now 00:25:25.343 --> 00:25:30.963 as well they actually have not had any issues with any of my Holosun optics yet. 00:25:31.223 --> 00:25:34.103 I mean, I'm not saying they couldn't happen, but I haven't had any that have 00:25:34.103 --> 00:25:37.983 gone down or quit working or anything like that. I swapped out some batteries, but that's about it. 00:25:39.503 --> 00:25:44.123 So that's pretty impressive, you know, to have a pretty good track record and 00:25:44.123 --> 00:25:47.023 still be pretty affordably priced, you know? 00:25:47.323 --> 00:25:50.763 Yeah, and it's interesting too, because in our industry, we tend to be a little 00:25:50.763 --> 00:25:53.663 bit more patriotic of a people. 00:25:55.023 --> 00:25:56.343 And Holosuns are made in China. 00:25:57.725 --> 00:26:01.525 And despite that, they tend to be more successful than other brands that come 00:26:01.525 --> 00:26:04.365 out of China. And I think it's mostly because they've done a good job on the quality side. 00:26:04.665 --> 00:26:08.005 They also have a pretty significant U.S.-based operation. Oh, 00:26:08.005 --> 00:26:09.785 sure, sure, sure, sure. With U.S. employees. 00:26:10.165 --> 00:26:13.885 Yeah, when we go to their booth, it's a bunch of Americans that we're talking to. 00:26:13.985 --> 00:26:18.225 Whereas there are plenty of other Chinese manufactured products where you show 00:26:18.225 --> 00:26:20.405 up at the booth and you're looking for somebody who speaks English. 00:26:20.805 --> 00:26:20.945 Yep. 00:26:21.165 --> 00:26:25.525 So, yes, that's a valid point. They have a big U.S. operation. 00:26:25.525 --> 00:26:27.965 They understand the u.s consumer yeah well. 00:26:27.965 --> 00:26:31.925 Yeah that's true and actually a lot of their employees take 00:26:31.925 --> 00:26:35.105 what they do very seriously they're also shooters uh 00:26:35.105 --> 00:26:38.405 they also take classes uh some of their uh 00:26:38.405 --> 00:26:44.425 folks over there i know like have spent you know considerable amount of time 00:26:44.425 --> 00:26:49.225 on the range in classes with instruct with reputable instructors putting holosun 00:26:49.225 --> 00:26:53.085 gear to the test they have some folks that are competitive shooters as well 00:26:53.085 --> 00:26:55.565 uh that you know shoot quite a bit and so So, 00:26:55.645 --> 00:27:02.305 you know, that I think has helped with the growth of that brand and the perception that, 00:27:02.905 --> 00:27:05.025