TexasCHLforum.com

2010 TexasCHLforum Day at PSC

The 2010 TexasCHLforum Day at PSC was held on Saturday, Oct. 23rd at the PSC Shooting Club in Friendswood, TX. We had a great turnout with 92 people registered and very few “no-shows.” It was fun to put some faces, and real names, with TexasCHLforum screen names and to see old friends again.

HISTORY

For those new to the Forum and this event, it started in 2006 as a simple gathering of Members of the Forum. Eighteen people came to PSC Shooting Club and we had fun socializing and shooting the Texas Stars. At that point, no thought had been given to making this an annual event, but people thought it would be a good idea, so a proposal was taken to the Board of Directors at PSC. The proposal was to create something entirely new and unique in the shooting community; a day long event consisting of seminars and shooting clinics covering a broad range of skills critical to safe and proficient use of handguns in self-defense. The proposal was enthusiastically approved by the Board and this strong support has allowed the event to grow and improve.

Both the format and content of what became known as “Forum Day” were refined over the years. New subjects were added to both the seminars and shooting clinics, and the format of the clinics were changed to meet increasing participation by TexasCHLforum Members. What remained constant over the years is the dedication of the instructors and staff who donate their time, talent and skills to make this event a wonderful day of learning for all.

MINIMAL FEE

The fee for this event has been kept very low so more people can attend. The fee is set at an amount to cover lunch that is provided to participants, with a little left over to feed the staff, speakers and instructors. This is possible in part because the PSC Board generously waived the customary non-member fee charged when non-PSC Members participate in matches at the Club. This year the fee was $20 and included a great lunch catered by Luna’s Mexican Restaurant.

EVENT PREPARATION

A lot of work always goes into putting on the Forum Day, but this year was especially taxing. A maintenance issue with the plate rack forced its closing shortly before this year’s event. Plus, some timing setbacks were threatening the opening of the computer-controlled running and turning targets on Bay C. With only days to complete all the necessary work, the event crew decided everything, including the plate rack and the computer-controlled target systems, were going to be operational on Forum Day!

Roger Smithwick did the tractor work to refurbish the berm and Tom Neal put together a volunteer crew to install a cross-tie bulkhead. (This crew consisted primarily of PSC Members who shoot in the monthly IPSC matches at PSC.) Jim Pierce, Eric Achord and Kevin Svetlik set polls for the new protective shield that would go over the plate rack. Then they built and installed the shield and plate racks.

Jim and Kevin also put in countless hours building and installing switch brackets, making custom cabling, and wiring the control panel for the computer-controlled targets. Karl Decker also worked on the panel and computer programming and provided much needed expertise for the computer control system.

There is no way the written word can really do justice to the level of dedication these men put into these individual projects as well as the overall Forum Day. It’s easy to simply write that they did a good job and put in a lot of hours, but that’s like saying World War II was a squabble between the Brits and the Germans. The 2010 TexasCHLforum Day at PSC quite literally would not have happened without the long hours put in by Jim Pierce, Kevin Svetlik, Eric Achord and Karl Decker.

INSTRUCTORS:

I cannot say enough good things about our instructors. Every shooting clinic and mini-clinic is taught by experienced shooters who are not only good at the craft, but who are also gifted in being able to teach others. The ability to “do and teach” do not always go together. These men and women volunteer year after year because they believe in the mission of this event. Just as the Forum Day would not exist without the facilities available at PSC, this “day of learning” would never take place without our dedicated and talented instructors.

PARTICIPANTS:

You folks make all of the work worthwhile. We hosted the Texas State IDPA Championships for six years (2001 - 2006) at PSC so we have a lot of experience putting on major shooting events. I can honestly say that the folks who attend the TexasCHLforum Day at PSC every year make it a joy to put in the hours necessary to make this event happen. The instructors and staff have commented that it’s much easier to volunteer for people who truly appreciate your efforts. I wholeheartedly agree!

2010 TEXASCHLFORUM DAY AT PSC CREW:

Here is a list of the people who donated their time and talent to make the 2010 Forum Day a success:

Staff:

• Eric Achord
  Gary Ashorn
  Charles Cotton
  Martha Cotton
  Karl Decker
  Dave Eickhoff
  Marc Gentine
  Jim Pierce
  Lee Pierce
  Kevin Svetlik
  Jeremy Thompson

Speakers:

• Charles Cotton
  Marc Gentine
  Donna Vandermolen
  Steve Vandermolen

Instructors:

• Eric Achord (Basics: Grip, trigger, sights)
  Jim Duncan (Drawing and Engaging)
  Dave Eckhoff (Texas Stars)
  Gregg Garrett (Moving Targets & Moving Shooters)
  Marc Gentine (Drills-4-Skills)
  J.P. Guidry (Speed Reloading Semi-Autos)
  Jason Hall (Malfunction Drills)
  Gary Montgomery (Engaging Multiple Targets)
  Danny Stowers (Proper Use of Cover & Concealment)
  Steve Vandermolen (Introduction to IDPA Competition)
  Donna Vandermolen (Ladies Only General Pistol Skills & Drills)
  Ed Williams (Retention Shooting & Withdrawal)

A great time was had by all. Kudos and many thanks to all of you.

A BIG TEXAS THANK YOU to everyone who worked so hard to put this together!
I look forward to this event all year long and I am very grateful for the opportunity to attend.

We appreciated the level of "educational sense" that the instructors showed. I've been tasked to train instructors in various fields, and much of that simply cannot be taught -- it must be brought by the person.

We saw excellent instruction throughout the day!

USA1 wrote:A BIG TEXAS THANK YOU to everyone who worked so hard to put this together!
I look forward to this event all year long and I am very grateful for the opportunity to attend.

Here! Here! I totally agree. Thank you to all of the PSC staff, the speakers and instructors!! I had a great time a learned a ton of stuff. Thank you also to all the forum members who traveled the miles to attend.

We just got home a few minutes ago after a trouble free drive. I want to give Charles and the PSC my most heartfelt thanks for a really great event. I'm going to post a thread later, after I've had a chance to rest a bit, with my takeaways from this event; but let me just say that this has fundamentally altered for the better the way we will approach training and preparation from now on.

I posted our thanks in another thread, but it is well worth repeating!

This is our third visit for a Forum day and it just keeps getting better. The caliber of the instruction is beyond price and more than a bargain - at the cost of the meal.

WowThank you all again for sharing your commitment in making the day worth every minute!

We spent a good long soak in the hot tub today, though! Even with few sore muscles, we can't wait to come back for the next one!!

This was our first chance to attend forum day, and Divided Attention and I enjoyed ourselves greatly. Thanks to Charles, the instructors and PSC staff for hosting the event and giving us an opportunity to learn, shoot and meet folks face-to-face that we have only known via the forum. Great job, everyone.

All I can say is thank you to everyone who put this on. It was my second time to come and God willing I will be at all others in the future and hopefull have more time this coming year to volunteer to help with it. It was great, I learned a lot and had a lot of fun, even if I was humiliated on one of the bays.... won't mention which one..... lot of ammo left on that one... Oh well, my bag was lighter to carry back at least and I did watch and video some really great shooters in the one horrid bay. (I'll be back Texas Star....) My hat off to all of you who worked to put this together. thanks

Gary

OldSchool wrote:We appreciated the level of "educational sense" that the instructors showed. I've been tasked to train instructors in various fields, and much of that simply cannot be taught -- it must be brought by the person.

We saw excellent instruction throughout the day!

As a very newcomer to shooting in this kind of an environment, I very much appreciated the patience that I was shown. It was a terrific event for me, I learned a lot and I'm VERY GRATEFUL to all of those who helped me, directly or indirectly.

Chas.

Want to add my thanks to all who made this possible, as well. I was able to attend 1 seminar and 3 mini-clinics, and picked up something significant at each session. Although I have been shooting for several years, I went to the Basics mini-clinic, and Eric helped me identify some things to correct a tendency to shoot right that I have been battling for some time. Thanks again to all involved.

I would like to add my thanks to all those that worked to make this day possible. I was helped tremendously in some areas that have been a real problem for me. Also, thanks Charles for letting us know about those folks at PSC that had to put in lots of "overtime" to get the physical aspects up and running - a special "thank you" to those guys. It was my first time and certainly had certainly had incredible value for me.

GREAT EVENT ... THANKS so much for everyone who made this event possible. I learned a lot, enjoyed meeting some of you, and had a very safe time. Special thanks to all the instructors. You were all terrific.

Thank you to all the instructors and volunteers!

Charles Cotton, Friendswood PSC staff, instructors, et al:

Texas CHL Forum Day was great and let me also chime in with a
big THANK YOU.

Joining the Forum online enables anyone to become much more
familiar with our Texas gun world, and I feel all Texas CHL's should
be here.

The mini-clinics I attended this year were taught by topnotch shootists
who are excellent gunhandlers,marksmen,and tacticians.The hands on
mini-clinics definitely increase anyone's thinking about gun-related
encounters in the non-range world.

As someone whose shooting has primarily been at enclosed ranges, my
experience level at any other kind of shooting had been nil. You don't
know what you don't know until a pro shows you the ropes.

Some of my takeaways from the mini-clinics:
1. My gun handling while doing fast reloads is sub par and a timewaster.
I need to retain the pistol in my strong right hand and do all other actions
with my left. My home practice will now include the correct method.

2. Although I was feeling prepared while carrying because I had "31 rounds
on body" as my signature states, I determined that the ballistic nylon double ammo
pouch I have been using to carry 2 extra 10 round mags is woefully inadequate
for fast reloads/retention work. I will be remedying this by replacing them
with kydex ammo holders which allow the mags to be retrieved more easily.

SIA