Just Completed AP1 Course

R

rhshooter

Regular
EE Expired
Location
Richmond Hill
My brother and I just did the AP1 course at Silverdale yesterday and I have to say it was completely worth it. We learned a lot and the entire experience was very impressive. The instructor running the course (Aaron) kept it fun while pushing us and doing an excellent job of cramming an absolute ton of information on all of us (I'm still absorbing a lot of it really...) The other instructors were great as well and were there to positively identify and correct our mistakes throughout (and there were plenty!)

We shot a LOT for one day and by the end my hands were pretty raw. Most people shot between 650 and 1000 rounds. Special thanks to instructor Doug who patiently pointed out the errors that I kept making and kindly lent my brother one of his guns after his Norinco broke towards the end of the class. The only other gun that broke was an M & P...

Scott and the entire TDSA organization were great and the absolute focus on safety made us feel very comfortable in what could be a dangerous environment. The course was well run and efficient but moves very fast. You can't help but get better.

I recommend this course to pretty much anyone interested in becoming a better pistol shooter. This is not a PG rated environment so if some language and friendly mockery bothers you it might be better to go elsewhere but I think everyone was having a good time yesterday. You are shooting at steel targets from about 10 meters and you will get hit with plenty of spalling shrapnel so keep your 'eyes' on at all times. Bring non-greasy sunscreen. You will be doing lots of speed reloads so expect to drop your magazines in the dirt. If you have a second pistol bring it as a backup because guns break when you fire this many rounds this fast. Be prepared for your M & P to be made fun of.

My thanks to Scott and the guys and if my work schedule permits I hope to be at the shotgun course in June.

Jeff
 
Still alive said:
So what was the predominant handgun at the course? Glocks, 1911s and Shadows?

Was this a static line shoot or was there movement involved?
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Lots of Glocks and 1911s, a SIG and a Walther that I could identify. This course is a static line only. The course includes a holster certification as well.

Jeff
 
Cool! Is there an AP2 and 3 too?
Here's a tip. Now that you've learnt enough to make your head spin, write as much of it down as you can. You'll be surprised how much you forget in a very short time. Also write down any jewels your instructor may have said. Sometimes, the pro tips are worth more than the course itself.
Then practice the skills often. Shooting is a degradable skill unless you constantly refresh it.
 
There is an AP2 and some other more advanced pistol courses. You are right about writing it all down and in fact TDSA sends everyone a "cheat-sheet" right after the course to help you remember as well as to help guide our practice. I personally think I would retake this course and practice a lot before I took the AP2. A number of guys at the course were doing it for the 2nd or 3rd time...
 
rhshooter said:
There is an AP2 and some other more advanced pistol courses. You are right about writing it all down and in fact TDSA sends everyone a "cheat-sheet" right after the course to help you remember as well as to help guide our practice. I personally think I would retake this course and practice a lot before I took the AP2. A number of guys at the course were doing it for the 2nd or 3rd time...
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Here's another tip. Since you are doing static line shooting with a holster, go online and print out the DOT Torture targets. They are 2" circles x10 with different instructions for each circle. Shoot the targets at 10ft. The skills involve support hand shooting, draws and reloads. Pretty sure you will find it useful after your AP1 course. Good luck and enjoy!
 
So you are holster qualified once you completed the AP1 course? Is it the same with black badge course then?
Is IWB allowed?

Too bad you have to be Silverdale member to attend. :(
 
What happened to your M&P? I thought you switched cause of mag issues? Any idea what the make of the 1911 that broke was?

Re the guns used: it was quite the healthy mix. Definetely quite a few Glocks, M&Ps, a few 1911s. I saw at least two sigs, a Walther and an HK. Oddly enough, I don't think I saw a Shadow out. As for calibre, it was mostly 9mm, but at least three people were using 40, and one was a 45.

ETA: oh, and tip for people looking to take the course: Clean your gun the night before the course. It was strange watching people suddently have a series of stoppages after lunch and ~500 rds. Course some of that might have been fatigue.
 
bacardi said:
So you are holster qualified once you completed the AP1 course? Is it the same with black badge course then?
Is IWB allowed?

Too bad you have to be Silverdale member to attend. :(
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I can't speak to the IWB since I think everyone was OWB but it's not the same as BB. Not every club will recognize the TDSA qualification for general use (EESA for example.) And don't have to do a match a year to maintain it.
You also don't have to be a Silverdale member to attend the courses. Worst case you pay a 10/20$ entry pass to the range.
 
Neil Burke said:
What happened to your M&P? I thought you switched cause of mag issues? Any idea what the make of the 1911 that broke was?

Re the guns used: it was quite the healthy mix. Definetely quite a few Glocks, M&Ps, a few 1911s. I saw at least two sigs, a Walther and an HK. Oddly enough, I don't think I saw a Shadow out. As for calibre, it was mostly 9mm, but at least three people were using 40, and one was a 45.

ETA: oh, and tip for people looking to take the course: Clean your gun the night before the course. It was strange watching people suddently have a series of stoppages after lunch and ~500 rds. Course some of that might have been fatigue.
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Wasn't me that broke... I was shooting a Glock. The 1911 that broke was my brothers .45 Norinco. It was cleaned and well maintained. It is a new gun with maybe 500 rounds before the course. The slide stop sheared in half. He was the guy with all the stoppages after lunch.

Jeff
 
rhshooter said:
Wasn't me that broke... I was shooting a Glock. The 1911 that broke was my brothers .45 Norinco. It was cleaned and well maintained. It is a new gun with maybe 500 rounds before the course. The slide stop sheared in half. He was the guy with all the stoppages after lunch.

Jeff
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Oh, did you use a M&P on a previous course or was it someone else they were giving flack about shooting the Glock better than the M&P? And damn, probably a poorly qc'd material used to make the slide stop. I could have sworn it wasn't just him having stoppages, though. Eh, my memory could be off for all I know.

Still alive said:
Took a quick look at the TDSA site. Quite impressive for a Canadian school.
750rd count/ day is a very high number!
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The 750 count is the high end number. I think I shot 616 rds in the course itself. You can shoot more or less depending on how many mags you bring and how quickly you can load them.
 
bacardi said:
So you are holster qualified once you completed the AP1 course? Is it the same with black badge course then?
Is IWB allowed?

Too bad you have to be Silverdale member to attend. :(
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Hello bacardI,

Yes. Our AP1 class will get you our holster certification and our holster card.

Yes you may use your IWB holster, and you need not be a silverdale member. Just pay the gate fee up at the office.
 
Still alive said:
Do you accept training certs from other firearm training courses for your AP2 and 3 courses or must you take the AP1?
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That is correct, AP1 is the pre requisite for Ap2. Also, you must have taken AP1 & AP2 in order to take AP3.

The classes all build on each other. So an individual would be at a big disadvantage trying to take the 2nd teir class without taking the first.

That being said, our 2nd level classes are 90% dynamic. The first level are all static shooting. You learn our platform and techniques in AP1 that the content in Ap2 builds on.

Also keeping safety in mind of course, we don't want anyone taking a dynamic course that hasn't already proved they can be safe in a static position.
 
Let me add my endorsement too. The day was awesome - most fun I've had at Silverdale to date. There was a great instructor to student ratio and the instructors were all great - knowledgeable, friendly and enthusiastic. Being able to shoot steel was a big plus, especially the drill where all of us (16?) were shooting as fast as possible, lots of noise including the crazy pinging of bullets hitting the targets.

Ian (one of the Sigs)
 
Just a short aside as I'm not a member at Silverdale and the AP1 isn't named on the courses page, but what did the course cost? I'm assuming it was a bring your own ammo affair or was that included.
 
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