Oklahoma Shooting Skills

08/26/2026

I made a post earlier this week regarding the passing of Vince O'Neill. I left it vague, because at that point, I didn't have a clue how to express my thoughts and emotions. Honestly, I still don't.

My Facebook feed is full of words about Vince. "Mentor," "biggest influence," "toughest man I've ever known" are phrases seen repeatedly, and all written by men I admire greatly. Vince was the guy admired by the guys I admire. A force of nature. Vince was the storehouse of all the information the rest of us want and need. And, more importantly, he had the ability to express and communicate that in a way that us mere mortals could absorb and understand. We are all truly less without him.

I will share a single personal memory of Vince. Many of us had gathered for dinner. Imagine all the tables in the back half of a restaurant pushed together, and filled with gunmen from all over the country. John Farnam was holding court. Vince was sitting across from me, and he had moved to the new CLEET campus in Ada. Trying to make conversation, I asked, "So, Vince, what do you think of the new CLEET campus?" He looked directly at me, a little too hard. His eyes narrowed. And he said, in a quiet voice, "The administration building is beautiful." I was absolutely stunned. In one sentence he told me that training facility failed to meet his expectations. AND if I were to quote him, he said something positive about it. WOW! Very few of the action heroes around that table have that level of communication skill combined with social grace. He could say exactly what he meant in a way that could never be used against him. Bravo, Vince. I miss you already. See you on the other side, Brother.

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08/24/2026

It's been said that when an old man dies, a library burns. Vince O'Neill passed this morning. If you knew Vince, you understand the loss we have all suffered. If you didn't know Vince, watch this page. Once I regain my composure I will attempt to describe him appropriately. At the moment I'm too emotional to give him, or you my readers a fair eulogy.

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08/21/2026

We're a month out!

On September 19, 10 AM start, we will be at the excellent Meadhall Range doing a defensive handgun class. It will consist of a Pistol Skills 2, 3, and as much of Pistol Skills 4 as we have time to cover in a day. We will doing a deep dive into details of technique that we rarely have time to cover in the shorter indoor versions of these classes.

Drop me a note to get enrolled. It will be a good time!

07/13/2026

So I do some CLEET annual handgun qualifications. I get many of these people, trying to re-qualify with their handgun after training and original qualification, who act like they've never seen a real gun before. They have no clue how to grip a pistol. They act like they've never been introduced to sights on a pistol. I see them miss the 2 foot by 3 foot paper the target is printed on as close as 7 yards. And they expect me to believe they did this stuff a year ago.

Am I to assume they forgot simply EVERYTHING in a year? Or am I to assume the academy who did their original training and qualification "fudged" the paperwork by approximately 100%?

I have noticed that the bulk of them all mention the same academy.....

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06/29/2026

Just back from the last ever Pin Shoot by Richard Davis and his family and crew. It was just as much fun as last year, with a twinge of sadness that this decades old tradition is coming to an end.

I'm sure many of you are curious about my match performance. Let's just say I functioned at approximately my expectation. My equipment, however, wasn't so cooperative. My PCC spontaneously converted itself into a new variant with a 2 piece firing pin. On the rare occasion if actually fires, it resolutely refuses to feed ammo from the magazine. There may have been some harsh language involved.

As I was shooting the concealed carry main event, I was hitting the pins as expected. My pistol functioned flawlessly. Everything was great, EXCEPT, I wasn't getting the action on the pins I expected. The pins got hit, they tipped over, and a high percentage of them required a second hit to take them off the table. I was thinking I got a bad batch of ammo, as this load worked great at home. After the shooting was over, I picked up 2 pins from the tables. One new one, and a pin that had been shot off the last table of the last run of the Pin Shoot. I weighed them both. The "well experienced" pin is 1 pound, 4 ounces and a few tenths heavier than the new one. My ammo was fine. I had heavy pins to contend with.

In short, my match scores aren't great. I don't care. I grew up reading about Richard Davis's Pin Shoot. I watched all the documentaries filmed about them. This was more pilgrimage than match for me. It's an amazing gathering of "old guys" like me.

I'm absolutely grateful I was able to attend and experience the culture. I'm grateful that I had opportunity to trade sarcasms with Richard Davis. It was a great experience, AND I got to shoot a few rounds!

Special thank you to Lacy Stonebraker for going with me, and encouraging my shooting and travel habits.

06/13/2026

June 27 Carbine Class is cancelled. See us later in the year

06/03/2026

Coming Sunday PCC class at Wilshire 3PM

05/24/2026

I'd recommend that anyone who follows my page to go read The Book of Five Rings by Miyamota Musashi. Yes, I know he was a sword guy, not a gun guy. And I also know that martial mindset and training is universal. I try to re-read this book once a year. Today, I'd like to hold up this quote:

"In strategy it is necessary to treat training as part of normal life with your spirit unchanging."

We need to make our training a part of our lives, and let our lives be reflected in our training. This means we shoot dressed as we live, with "normal" guns. Let's stop leaving our "carry gun" at home and going to class with the gun we shoot. Let's train as we live, so the training is appropriate to our lives. So we might learn something useful that fits into our lifestyles.

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05/15/2026

May 23, 10 AM, Meadhall Range, shotgun class!
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05/11/2026

Sunday, 3 PM. Pistol Skills 4 at Wilshire Gun. Sign up now!