Gun School with Mr. Szczerbiak

We thoroughly enjoyed a 3-day Defensive Hand Gun class on March 6^th-8^th by an excellent Instructor from Frontsite, a gun school located in Nevada.

Regina went though our attic and found a few pairs of jeans and also loaned me her .45 for the class. Upon arrival, we put on our belts, magazines & pieces (.45’s/sidearms) and then put strips of duck tape with our names on back of our hats. We all sat down under the shade of the tent and listened to the first lecture, which included the four gun rules:

1. All Guns are (treated as) always loaded.

2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.

3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sites are on target and you are ready to shoot.

4. Be sure of your target and beyond.




"Line set, ready, (whistle)” --Magic




Our top notch Polish born instructor, Maciej Szczerbiak, was about 6’ 4” tall. He was nicknamed Magic and had served in law enforcement in Europe and trained SWAT teams in Nevada. Once, Magic did a 1-second prone position with his Glock, a friend asked him to and the next instant he was on the ground in a prone position and ready to shoot.

On the firing line

Our assistant instructor, Luke, helped me get my Weaver stance perfect and clear the type 3 malfunctions.

Magic taught us the kneeling position so if we see a threat behind us we can immediately reverse and face him. Another thing was the wounded hand drill; if my shooting hand was wounded I would turn 90 degrees to the left and then tuck the right hand in and shoot with the left. Surprisingly, I shot better with my left (support hand) than I did with both. J

After the class was over for the day, Magic showed us some maneuvers with our tactical lights.

The second day we practiced clearing malfunctions. That night Magic gave a lecture about the color code of mental awareness:

Dinah Joyce & I

1. White (unaware, oblivious)

2. Yellow (on the alert)

3. Red (the making of a plan)

4. Orange (determining on a plan)

5. Black (the plan being put into effect)

Jodavid & I

On the third day of the class we again practiced setting up & clearing malfunctions, hostage taker scenarios, and going faster presenting and shooting. One of the neat scenarios was if you are at arms length of your opponent and it is a dedicated opponent (as at Virginia Tech) instead of going all the way out, you would stop the sidearm at your waist, aim and shoot, if necessary.

Daddy & Mommy

Early in the evening there was the shoot-off. We were paired up. The first (and last) person I went against was Dinah! My heart sank because she is the best shot in our family. It took me two shots to bring down my target, and Dinah only one shot. She went on to compete against Victor, later on Daddy, and beat each one!

Dinah at the target

We then enjoyed a delicious dinner, after which Magic gave two lectures, one on “slicing the pie” which means safely turning a corner or coming through a doorway, the other on good tactical flashlights and how to use them. We then went back to the range for the night shoot. After about half an hour of shooting Magic and Luke went up to the Fun House and set up a scenario.

When my turn came, Magic took my .45 and handed me a simunition gun. On the right, there was a jeep and on the other side of the jeep there is about 5 ft. plus a door way ahead and then one perpendicular to it. So how on earth are you to clear all three? Magic took the role of a nervous wreck talking very fast and excitedly about how BIG this guy is and how certain that he went through that doorway. I went inside “slicing the pie” just right to go through the door and Ow! the “bad guy” was hiding behind the front-right tire. While I cleared the door just right he shot! (eeegg!!) J

I went back to the front of the barn while Luke snuck inside the doorway. Magic said “never go past someplace you haven’t cleared,” then, “Lets go get ’em!” I came back to the right place and sliced the pie. Luke came out on his knees crying pitifully that he had not had food for weeks. This was training us to only shoot when someone is armed and needs to be stopped.

My piano teacher, Miss Joyce. Shooting was not her piece of cake, but she persevered.

I can still hear Magic saying: “Any Questions? OK, First relay: eyes, ears, ammunition 5 meters.” Or “Head!” and “Take to your Nikes!” J

One important thing is that the gun is to be used defensively. We shoot to stop, not kill. If they won’t stop, it may become a necessity to use deadly force to prevent the death of innocent people. Some people think that killing is murder, period. But each of the Ten Commandment negatives have positives and vise-versa. For instance the positive of “Thou shalt not murder” is, “Thou shall preserve life.” If at Virginia Tech, a student had been armed and shot the murderer, most of those innocent lives that died could have been saved.

Victor & I patching ’em up

Here is the first stanza of King Alfred’s War song based on Psalm 18,
also known as the Warriors Psalm:

“When the enemy comes in a’roaring like a flood

Coveting the kingdom and hungering for blood

The Lord will raise a standard up and lead his people on

The Lord of Hosts will go before defeating every foe,

defeating every foe, for the Lord is our defense,

Jesus defend us, for the Lord is our defense

Jesu defend…”