This weekend I had the opportunity to attend Full Spectrum Shotgun with Zach Cox (Apache Solutions), Adam Roth (Aridus Industries), and Jonathan Willis (Train With Willis, Gunset, TDI). Bottom line upfront: this was an outstanding training experience and an exceptional defensive shotgun class. Keep your eye on these three if you are interested in tactical shotgun training. Let’s get into the after-action review!
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Full Disclosure: I paid full-price for attendance at this course. Though Zach did text me to let me know about Full Spectrum Shotgun, I received no discounts whatsoever. I paid all tuition, travel costs, ammunition, and other expenses out-of-pocket. This review is my unbiased opinion.
Full Spectrum Shotgun
Full Spectrum Shotgun was billed as a shotgun class covering the range of shotgun skills including recoil management, reloading, target transitions, unconventional shooting positions, and plenty more. The class certainly lived up to that! It was held at Apache Solutions in Yadkinville, NC.
Apache Solutions hosts a number of national-level trainers (I’ll be back in August for Tom Givens’ Defensive Shotgun Instructor). The facility perfectly supported the class. There was a large overhang which offered an escape from the rain the first morning and a very welcome respite from the sun during both sunny, humid afternoons.
Class was held over two days. I didn’t pin down an exact number of students due to a couple of folks being there for one day but not the other, but there were approximately 14 students in the class. Full Spectrum Shotgun was a unique training experience because it was taught by not one, but three instructors: Zach Cox, Adam Roth, and Jonathan Willis. this allowed them to tag-team the material, say fresh, and focus on their strengths.
Full Spectrum Shotgun, Day 1 AM
A bit of morning rain kept us under the shed first thing, and Zach talked us through some fundamentals. Day one began with the mnemonic “PMSFL,” pronounced “PMS Florida.” This acronym holds the keys to shooting a shotgun well: Platform (or stance), Mounting, Sighting, Firing, and Loading (as well as reloading and unloading).
Before hitting the range we had an excellent safety brief. I’ve been through some pretty piss-poor classes, and nothing sets my teeth on edge off the bat like a poor (or completely absent) safety brief. I shouldn’t have worried. Medics, 911-callers, and guides (to help EMS find the range) were assigned. We then reviewed the four firearms safety rules. With a solid safety brief out of the way, we hit the range.
In a first for me in a shotgun class, two instructors (Cox and Roth) ran Beretta 1301s, while Willis ran an Vang Comp 870. Every single technique was explained with both semiautos and pump shotguns in mind, and demonstrated with both.
Getting Started
The morning moved on at a rapid clip. We began with singles from the high- and low-ready positions. Willis explained the concept of the “legal low ready” or muzzle just below or between the feet, not covering flesh. This was functionally identical to Erick Gelhaus’ low-ready that I adopted way back at the Cognitive Conclave.
From there we moved on to single shots, alternating with them coming from high and low readies. Next, we moved on to two- and three-shot up drills. The push/pull technique was heavily emphasized throughout Full Spectrum Shotgun as a means of recoil management. Instructors diligently monitored and provided detailed feedback which was helpful to all.
Closet Ready
With some basics out of the way we moved on to the closet ready. This is a variation of cruiser ready that is more appropriate to civilian context: rather than storing the gun in a cruiser it is stored in a gun safe or closet. For semiautomatic shotguns there was little functional difference between cruiser and closet ready: the chamber is empty, the tube is loaded, and a round is placed on the lifter.
For pump shotguns, the chamber is empty and the tube is loaded, but with one significant difference from cruiser ready. Rather than having the action unlocked, Willis recommended leaving it locked. This prevents the action from being opened if the gun falls or something falls on it, and minimal time is added to hit the action release button. I don’t disagree; the time to find and actuate the action release is minuscule.
One difference for both techniques was the safety. It was recommended that for pumps and semis the gun be left with the safety on. I wholeheartedly agree with this one, and this is how I have run my shotgun for years. As soon as you work the action the gun is ready to fire. Disengaging the safety takes a fraction of a second, and in my opinion is well worth it for the additional safety factor; if the time to disengage the safety and action release is a difference-maker for you, you’ve probably done a lot of things wrong leading up to the fight.
After practicing this several times we concluded with a man-on-man heat: retrieve the shotgun, load it, and fire a shot on the clock.
Gunset Time-In
The last thing before lunch was the Gunset Time-In. This standard is broken into three stages: a single shot from low ready, three shots on one target, and one shot on three targets. Times are cumulative for all three iterations, similar to my own Ten Second Standards. The par time is 4.5 seconds, and 3.5 seconds is the time for a “master” level run.
We shot this drill twice: once here, and once at the end, as a means of measuring progress. On my this run I shot a 3.85 seconds. I was well under the par but fell short of a master-level run. I chalk this up partially to not having shot for the last seven months due to being in the police academy, and partially due to running a new shotgun (more on that later).
After the Gunset Time-In we broke for lunch. Students had an opportunity to purchase the Aridus Imperium forend for their Beretta 1301s, which I took full advantage of. Adam was even kind enough to install them on quite a few shotguns before we returned from lunch, including mine.
Full Spectrum Shotgun, Day 1 PM
The afternoon really picked up steam, and we covered a lot of techniques. The afternoon focused on manipulations used to reload the shotgun. A number of loading styles were addressed for both emergency (chamber) and magazine reloads. These included over the top and under the bottom (of the receiver) chamber loading. The instructors were agnostic on which technique we used, but strongly recommended that we become comfortable with all of them – an approach I really admire.
Next, we got into loading the magazine tube. The techniques taught included in-position loading, without removing the gun from the shoulder. Adam taught violin loading, both the chamber and the magazine tube. I’ve never been a huge fan of this technique until now. Adam had a way of explaining it that made it make sense to me. Though it won’t replace over-the-top chamber loading for me, it is a technique I will work much harder to become familiar with.
Practicing reloads concluded with a iterative drill of shoot-1-load-1, shoot-2-load-2, all the way up to shoot-6-load-6. The day ended with a mini-Valhalla Drill: shoot-1-load-1, shoot-2-load-2, shoot-3-load-3 for time. After that we debriefed, cleaned up the range, and headed home to rest and refuel for Day 2.
Fortunately for me, I got to stay about an hour away, with my friend Walt (of the Distinguished Savage Podcast) and his girlfriend Char. They were amazing hosts, and took me to some awesome spots in Hickory including (my favorite) an amazing Irish pub called McGuire’s. Thanks to Walt and Char for your amazing hospitality – you guys rock!
Full Spectrum Shotgun, Day 2 AM
Day 2 began a little differently than most shotgun classes. Jonathan Willis is well known for his Real World Trauma class. He brought some of that flavor to Full Spectrum Shotgun with a Stop The Bleed class. Everyone showed up a little early on Sunday morning for this phenomenally well-taught class. Even as a paramedic and instructor of various medical classes, I still got a lot out of this! This was incredibly valuable and appreciated by all. I am a huge proponent of broad emergency medical education after someone trained in CPR saved my life last year, and highly recommend Willis’ Real World Trauma (keep an eye on trainwithwillis.com).
After Willis wrapped up with Stop The Bleed, we got back on the line. Things began to move even faster than they did on Saturday. We began with a 20-round warm-up that was designed to refresh and reinforce all the skills and manipulations previously taught. After that we got into multiple target transitions.
After working with target transitions, we shot the Shotgun Casino Drill. Begin with an arbitrary number of rounds (selected by the instructors and the same for everyone) in the gun. For one round on the target labeled “1”, two rounds on “2”, and so on up to 4. This required 10 total rounds, and some reloading. The par time for this drill is 21 seconds. Though I was certainly nowhere near the fastest I’m happy with my time of 12:30 on this drill. After the Casino Drill we broke for lunch.
Full Spectrum Shotgun, Day 2 PM
When we returned from lunch, we jumped into some advanced techniques not typically seen in shotgun classes. We began with alternative shooting positions, which was most various kneeling positions. I would not have minded digging a little deeper into this and practicing prone/supine, squatting/rice-paddy prone, or other non-standard, non-flat-range positions. This will certainly drive some of my personal training going forward.
Next we worked on transitioning from right shoulder to left shoulder. This is another area where I need to spend more time. I greatly appreciated this being included in the class, and another thing I’ve yet to see in a shotgun class. As the final instructional block, we did some corner transitions, and shooting around barricades, which further reinforced L/R shoulder transitions.
The afternoon finished up with several competitive events. First, we did the Gunset Time-In for a second run to see how we had improved. I managed to sneak into the Master level with a 3.47, and was pretty happy with this. This was followed by Adam Roth’s “Plate Rack Party Pack” and several stages of rolling thunder.
The second day ended with a debrief, certificates being issued, a range clean up, and goodbyes.
The Guns
I know you guys probably want to know about the guns used. In short: the 1301 is the “Glock of the shotgun world:” ubiquitous and boring. Of 16-ish total students, only two shot pumps. One was the guy on the line beside me in my relay, Darren. Darren is a highly skilled pump shotgun shooter and turned in some very impressive times. The other “pump guy” was Toby, who had an 870 and a Mossberg. Sadly, the only shotgun to go down hard was Toby’s Mossberg, which required disassembly to unload.
I recently purchased a 1301 with the intent of learning how to use it at this class, and that goal was accomplished. This crew of instructors certainly know the 1301 and how to operate it to maximum effectivness. In approximately 250 rounds fired, I had two malfunctions. Both were due to operator error (letting the charging handle hit my finger when sending the bolt home, preventing it from going fully into battery). The gun ran just fine, though. Though I shot my 870 SBS a little, I primarily ran the Beretta (the featured image shows me shooting Willis’s Vang Comp-built 870).
I immediately saw the need for some heat shielding on top of the barrel and bought one of Adam’s Imperium handguards at lunch on Day 1. it made a BIG difference, and is also far less abrasive to the hands than the factory forend. I also appreciate that it is aluminum; I just feel better about mounting lights and slings to an aluminum rail than a plastic one. Other accessories used are the Aimpoint Acro P-2, Vang Comp Shotgun Cards, Modlite PHLv2, and an Edgar Sherman Design sling.
Closing Thoughts
I felt very lucky to find out about this course, and that it worked with my schedule. this was a very rich training experience for several reasons.
First, the student body was, in a word, impressive. No one here was an entry-level shotgun shooter. Everyone had trained previously as was obvious, and everyone was a serious practitioner of the shotgun. I felt challenged by every single student there. It was awesome to be in the company of such great shotgun shooters, and I regret that I didn’t have the time to make personal connections with more of them.
Zach, Adam, and Jonathan (presented in this order alphabetically but last name), did an incredible job. I really appreciated the three-instructor approach. All were able to focus on their strengths, all were extremely comfortable with semiautomatic and pump shotguns. Everything was explained and demonstrated, and verbiage was consistent across all three instructors. All were extremely capable instructors and masters of their craft.
I would train with these three again – solo or as a group – without hesitation, and highly recommend Full Spectrum Shotgun if it shows up on a range near you!
