u/PracticalApproachTrn

Hey everyone, I’m Steve, owner and instructor at Practical Approach Training. I’m teaching a small-group pistol class on Saturday, October 24, at Evergreen Sportsmen’s Club in Olympia.

We’ll work on marksmanship, manipulations, target transitions, and movement, then put those skills together in micro stages. The class is capped at six students so everyone gets individual coaching and feedback.

This is a good fit if you’re comfortable safely operating your handgun and want more structure in your practice. Whether you’re interested in competition, carry regularly, or just want to improve your consistency, coaching is adjusted to your ability. No competition experience needed.

• When: Saturday, October 24, 2026, 10 AM–4 PM
• Where: Evergreen Sportsmen’s Club, Olympia
• Cost: $225 per student
• Class size: Maximum six students
• Ammo: Approximately 400 rounds

Bring a reliable handgun, quality holster, at least three magazines, and eye and ear protection. Students should already be able to safely load, unload, and operate their handgun independently.

Full details, equipment requirements, and registration:
https://www.practicalapproachtraining.com/service-page/practical-pistol-1

Happy to answer questions about the class or whether it would be a good fit.

Does anyone know who makes this Xray Alpha (Matt Pranka) rifle magazine pouch?

We have 3 spots remaining for our one-day Practical Pistol Class on Saturday June 20th @shootevergreen in Olympia, WA.

You’ll work on safe weapon handling, marksmanship, target transitions, and movement through structured drills and measurable performance standards. More importantly, you’ll learn how to train yourself.

Whether you’re a civilian, military member, law enforcement officer, or preparing for your first ASI or USPSA match, this class will give you the tools and practice methods to continue improving long after the class is over.

📅 June 20, 2026
⏰ 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
📍 Evergreen Sportsmen’s Club | Olympia, WA
💲 $200
👥 6 students max
🔥 Only 3 spots remaining

Build real shooting performance—don’t just stand and shoot.

👇 Register and Gear List Here 👇
https://practicalapproachtraining.com/register-for-a-class/

#practicalapproachtraining #practicalshooting #olympiawa #firearmstraining #shootevergreen

People are staring at the sights instead of the target.

When your vision is off, it shows up everywhere:

•	Slow draw (poor index)

•	Sloppy transitions (same issue)

•	Inconsistent hits (not actually target focused)

What’s worked for me and the shooters I train:

•	Stay target focused (hard visual focus)

•	Let the sights/dot live in your peripheral

•	Pick a small spot (1” or less) and drive the gun to that exact point

That’s what cleans up index, transitions, and recoil control—regardless of what’s on the gun.

Why occluded dot?

It forces you to stay target focused. If you can’t see the dot directly, you can’t cheat and shift your focus back to it.

Honestly, this is why a lot of iron sight shooters struggle when they switch to dots—they were trained to stare at the front sight.

Curious where people are at with this—

Are you actually target focused? What helped you get there?

And she’s back. My barrel came loose the other day, so disassembly, maintenance, and reassembly were in order.

All threads degreased with acetone before reassembly. Used torque limiters to avoid over-tightening and protect the aluminum barrel shroud. Each screw head sealed with oil-based paint pen as an intermediate layer. Tomorrow I’ll witness mark everything so I can track any movement.

I don’t cover these topics in class, but these are skills every AR owner should know. If you need a basic AR class, I highly recommend Chris from Accuracy Northwest in Yelm, WA.

Next Class

Practical Pistol + Rifle

$300

📍 Evergreen Sportsmen’s Club

📅 March 15 | 10:00 AM

Registration:

https://practicalapproachtraining.com/register-for-a-class/

Got some work in today with my buddy Chris Walker from Accuracy Northwest.

Training should be challenging — but it should also be fun. If you’re not pushing your limits and actually enjoying the process, you’re probably leaving performance on the table.

We worked speed, transitions, efficiency, and decision-making under time. Missed some. Fixed it. Ran it again. That’s the game.

The session was a blast.

If you’re in WA and want structured rifle work (not just mag dumps), I’ve got a Practical Rifle course coming up Saturday, February 28th at Evergreen Sportsman’s Club.

Small group. Performance-focused. Measurable standards.

Details here:

https://practicalapproachtraining.com/register-for-a-class/

Train hard. Train smart. Keep it fun.

We were at the Upper Nisqually Sportsmen's Club in Eatonville. It’s a real nice private range where you can shoot out to 550/600 yards.

Upgraded the range setup with new paper/cardboard stands from TargetsUSA in Alaska.

For years I ran basic 2x4 stands — cheap and they work — but they take up a ton of space in storage and transport. These are a big efficiency upgrade. They break down fast, stack tight, and are much easier to move for classes and matches.

2-piece design with 30° / 60° / 90° angle options, made from 3/16” AR plate steel. Total cost was about $930, so definitely not the budget route — but I expect them to last a long time and make setup smoother.

A lot of their other products are designed to fit inside flat-rate $30 shipping boxes, which is smart. They’ve also been strong supporters of PCSL and practical shooting sports.

Not sponsored. Not affiliated. Paid full price. Just sharing something I think is well designed.

Link: https://www.targetsusa.com/target-stands.html#/

What are you running for target stands?

If you’re a Triangle Pit shooter… yes, refrigerators and washing machines count. 😆

We’re officially launching USPSA at Evergreen Sportsmen’s Club in Olympia. Our first match is going to be all classifiers, so it’s a solid opportunity to establish or improve your classification right away.

• Match fee: $35 (classifier match)

• Regular USPSA matches after this: $30

• Registration opens Sunday at 6:00 PM

Sign up here:

https://practiscore.com/evergreen-uspsa/register

We’ve been building this program for a while and are excited to get it off the ground. If you’re local to WA and looking for another place to shoot USPSA, come check it out.

See you on the range.

Video audio is a little rough here (already fixed — RØDE mic inbound 👍).

Curious what everyone’s preferred AR slide-lock reload looks like.

As a lefty, I run Magpul B.A.D. levers, Troy ambi mag releases, and ambi selector levers to make reloads and general manipulations more efficient. None of this gear is required, but ambi controls tend to reduce friction for most shooters, especially under time.

I’m deliberately moving slow in the video so the mechanics are easier to see.

This is the Four Aces drill (2–reload–2, hit-factor scoring).

Setup is simple: 1 x open USPSA target at 5–15 yards. Rifle starts on SAFE with one round in the chamber and one in the magazine. A full reload mag is on the belt in a fast mag pouch.

Procedure: At the signal, rotate from SAFE to FIRE and shoot two rounds. The rifle goes to bolt lock, which also confirms the magazine was seated correctly.

As the bolt locks back, I feel it first, then briefly shift my vision from the target to the chamber to confirm empty (this is a lefty thing and takes a fraction of a second). The left trigger finger hits the Troy ambi mag release and the empty mag drops free.

Before the support hand leaves the rail, the firing-hand index finger knuckle sweeps the selector from FIRE back to SAFE. It’s a meaningful safety improvement and costs almost no time.

The support hand moves to the belt, grabs the reload mag in a thumbs-up “beer can” grip, and drives it into the magwell. Once it’s seated, that same thumbs-up hits the Magpul B.A.D. lever to send the bolt forward.

Support hand goes back to the rail, firing-hand thumb rotates the selector from SAFE to FIRE, and two more rounds are fired. After the last shot, the selector goes back to SAFE the same way.

That’s it.

What are you doing differently, and why?

I’ve been experimenting with a slightly different manual of arms for weapon-light activation during pistol work.

Recently tried the Emissary Development extended paddles. They kind of remind me of a B.A.D. lever, but for a WML. So far I’m liking them for momentary activation—especially during reloads and other routine manipulations.

Curious what everyone else is running:

•	Stock switches

•	Extended paddles like these

•	Something different altogether

What’s been working for you, and why? Tell me in the comments…. 👇

Practical Rifle Course — Saturday, February 28

Cost: $300 | Small group instruction

This course focuses on performance-based rifle skills in a practical training environment. Each drill includes both dry fire and live fire, helping shooters identify issues and understand how to train them independently.

Curriculum includes:

•	Rifle setup and zero confirmation

•	Target-focused shooting and confirmation levels

•	Transitions, movement, and positional shooting

•	Micro stages that tie skills together

Shooters leave with clear guidance and structured dry fire and live fire drills tailored to their individual needs.

Registration link:

https://practicalapproachtraining.com/register-for-a-class/

Questions are welcome in the comments.