Written by: Kenny O.
How many times has someone said “there’s something wrong with this gun” yet it performs perfectly in someone else’s hand? This is where You Suck, It’s Not The Gun was born. People are always ready to blame an equipment failure when there are certain aspects at play that cause them to fail. Recently, I had the opportunity to train with Erik “Trek” Utrecht, owner of Michigan Defensive Firearms Institute, MDFI, and learn how and why I suck. The gun just does what it’s told.
Trek starts out by giving us some background, interspersed with movie quotes every now and again, and tells us what to expect for the day. Hearing that we will only be firing 115 rounds for a full day seems incredulous at first. How can so few rounds make one a better shooter? It all comes down to taming the wolves. After a 10 round qualification, at 10 yards, the day really gets going. Trek tells you to bury that qualification target somewhere that you won’t see it for the rest of the day. What comes next is the introduction of the two wolves that need to be tamed.
Obviously, these are not real wolves. They are analogous to the controls that we need to master to be better shots. They are referred to as the Sight Wolf and the Trigger Wolf. The illustration that is set up is one of two children, one adolescent and one teenager. The younger of the two is kind, gentle, and obedient. This is the Sight Wolf; he wants to behave. The Trigger Wolf is not the same. He is the bad seed, rebellious, hellion of a child that will buck authority and society at every opportunity. The challenge is teaching this Wolf to obey and not corrupt the good wolf. The first way to tame him is to take your time with him. The motto of the class therefore is there is no time limit. It doesn’t matter how fast you can miss a target.
Starting at the 1 yard line, the fundamentals get refined making many of the students 1 yard snipers. Get the T-shirt, it should be good for a laugh. Being a 1-yard sniper doesn’t sound impressive, but it helps to build on the fact that good shooting is a possibility. After a break, Trek continues to emphasize how the wolves can be tamed and becomes a chef. His shooting recipes for wolves will highlight your strengths and weaknesses on the firing line. After the first recipe or two, shooters really start to see where they need to improve or continue what’s working for them.
Trek might just be the Bobby Flay of the shooting world because his recipes can be magical. This is evidenced at the 3 and 5 yard lines with more drills. All these drills use a 1” dot as the target. There is something to be said about using a small target to aid in improvement. It is also incredibly rewarding when you’re able to keep your shots inside of the dot. By the end of the day, after all the recipes, stories, and wolf warnings have been shared, it’s time to reshoot the 10 yard qualification. After only firing about 100 rounds, many of the students saw a significant improvement in their shooting. I myself was able to cut my group size in half from morning to afternoon.
I strongly recommend anyone that wants to improve their shooting skills to take this class. It is not sexy, cool, or tactical. It is practical though and well priced at $175. Every bullet that a shooter fires, whether on the range or on the street, has a lawyer attached to it. Wouldn’t you want the confidence of knowing your rounds are going where you want them to go? I know I do and I consider this a small price to pay to help me do that. Trek is a great instructor who keeps what could be boring and mundane entertaining and enlightening. He is not overbearing, and he has a good sense of humor. Throughout all of that, safety is paramount. I was not in fear of injury like I have been in other classes. It was clear that I suck, it’s not the gun.
I learned valuable lessons that day of how to suck less so I can be a better shooter.
