Gunsite Academy, located in Paulden, Arizona, was founded in 1976 byLt.
The school was then known as The American Pistol Institute, or API.
It was commonly known then and now as Gunsite.
Jeremy Tremp recently representedThe Armory Lifeat the Lockdown event at Gunsite. Participants had a chance to use some exciting new gear at this premier training facility.
The Modern Technique is a method of using a handgun for self-defense that was developed by Cooper himself.
The Modern Technique is based on Jack Weavers stance and method of shooting.
In 1999, Buz Mills purchased the school and named it Gunsite Academy.
While Gunsite is an important part of American history, its best days are not in the past. The training center provides exceptional firearms education to citizens from all over the country.
Cooper took part in the instruction of the classes until his retirement in 2003.
Gunsite is one of the largest private firearms training centers in the world.
But more on that later.
Gunsite has a number of outdoor and indoor ranges designed to teach shooters techniques with handguns, rifles and shotguns.
After lunchtime, we got our hands on pistols to work some drills on paper and confirm zero.
My pistol was anXD-M Elite Tactical OSP 9mmwith a Crimson Trace RAD red dot.
After we zeroed the pistols, we worked on theEl Presidente pistol drill.
The SecureWall panels from Lockdown give shooters an excellent method for organizing their shooting gear.
We then moved to an indoor shoot house and worked on clearing rooms with shoot and no shoot targets.
There was a mixture of 1-6X, 1-8X and 1-10X variants.
I ended up with a 1-8X in Mils, which was perfect for me.
During the Gunsite event, attendees were able to train with Springfield Armory products such as SAINT rifles.
These aresecond focal plane scopes.
The combination of the lightweight rifle and the smooth magnification ring made shooting the course a lot of fun.
Suffice it to say, we didnt spend a ton of time on that range.
The author shot the Springfield XD-M Elite Tactical OSP with a Crimson Trace red dot optic.
It gave me vault room envy; I cant wait to finish mine out.
Famously known for its laser sights, Crimson Trace also offers optics like the RAD which is a reflex sight that works great on defensive pistols.
Here the author is pushed to improve both accuracy and speed under the pressure of a shot timer.
In addition to red dot sights, Crimson Trace manufactures variable power scopes like the 1-8X Hardline shown above.
When paired with a quality rifle like the SAINT Victor, shooters can get accurate rounds on target with the Hardline scopes.
True Shot Gun Club helped make the event possible by delivering ammo for the attendees to use.
This bag of 9mm ammo from True Shot Gun Club helped to keep the author’s XD-M Elite up and running.
