So, I'm sitting around the other day with Todd Jarrett, something I'm known to do from time to time, and we were just shooting the breeze. Unfortunately, when Todd Jarrett shoots the breeze, he hits it every time, which really upset the kids across the street who were trying to fly their kites. Todd, being the gentleman he is, felt bad and sent each of the kids a fruit basket with a note that said "If your going to miss, you're going to miss low - TJ". What a guy!

Anyway, I had popped a few rounds downrange myself and leaned over to TJ and said "Hey Todd, take a look at this grouping and tell me what you think." Todd looked at my grouping for about 2 seconds and told me "You're riding the trigger, you need to lean forward on your feet, and it looks like you're not getting enough fiber in your diet."

I'll be damned, after a bowl of oatmeal and a few adjustments in my stance, my grouping got smaller!

Todd then went on to do what he does best, which is put the bullet in the exact same hole over and over and over again. In fact, Todd Jarrett is so good that each time he shoots through the same hole, it gets smaller! Usually by the end of the day, he can reuse his targets. Todd likes to conserve things, he's green like that. He says he wants to make sure he leaves plenty on the Earth for his grandchildren to shoot at.

Seriously, if there was one thing I want to highlight from my little summer camp trip this past weekend is the training I received from Todd Jarrett. Sure, the Para USA pistols were sweet, the Blackwater facility beyond comprehension, the ICC Ammo and Crimson Trace grips were amazing,  but what set it all apart was the professionalism and skill of Todd.

Now, most people don't know who Todd Jarrett is. Receiving firearms training with Mr. Jarrett is the equivalent of getting golf lessons from Tiger Woods. Todd is literally at the top of his game, and being able to watch him in action was awe inspiring. What made it even better is that he helped us become better shooters by using his experience and skill to teach us where we could change what we were doing to make it better.

I liked that he was clear on the fact that his way wasn't an absolute. He simply asked us to try what he suggested and see if it worked for us (of course, it did. Duh!) He also understood that many of us had habits that weren't going to be broken in 3 days and worked within those constraints. The fact that some of us were already phenomenal shooters and some, like me, needed quite a bit of help made his job a bit more difficult, but he adjusted perfectly.

Now, I don't mean to sound all fan-boyish, but the man isn't human. First off, his forearms are mad ripped which made me realize that I really need to exercise mine to increase my grip strength. When Todd first showed up the laser grips, he put the dot across the room onto a nail hole in the wall. The dot simply did not move. I cannot hold anything that still but he was like a friggin' statue. In fact, I've even heard that Chuck Norris is afraid to shake his hand lest it crush his fingers.

The other thing that is mind blowing is the skill with which Todd handles a gun. Look at this picture (click to embiggenate)

See that little, 6", white plate all the way to the right? From the left corner where we were was about 100 yards. Todd Jarrett was able to hit that plate and knock it over. With a .45! Now, in the interest of honesty, it took him an entire magazine to sight in, but when he missed, he missed within a quarter sized hole each an every time.

When he'd rapid fire, he could group better than I could on slow fire from half the distance, and he could swap a magazine in between each of my shots and still shoot faster than I could.

The best part of it all was that he was not only willing, but anxious to show us how he does it. And those lessons will stick in my mind for the rest of my life. In fact, if I ever can swing the ~$800 it is to take another class with him, I would in a heartbeat. I improved so much in 3 days that every last penny would be worth it.

Finally, I would like to thank Todd personally and publicly for his work with us. All of us were simply floored with the quality of the instruction and I know I cannot wait to hit the range again to try it out.