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June 24, 2003

From: Dr. Ignatius Piazza
Founder and Director
Front Sight Resorts
www.frontsight.com

Great Reports From The Field

Dear Students and Friends of Front Sight,

Everyday I receive wonderful e-mail from students and First
Family Members sharing real life stories relating directly to
their training at Front Sight. Reading these stories is truly
one of the the best rewards for my efforts as Director of Front
Sight Resorts.

I thought you might like to see a sampling of the stories
received in the last few days. Each is different, yet they all
have the same common thread.

Enjoy these real life stories and note that the deadline is
tomorrow (5:00pm Wednesday June 25) for getting your bid in for
the “vacated” memberships referenced in the Heads Have Rolled…
e-mail previously sent.

1. From The Courier newspaper in Humble, Texas:

A chance meeting at a firearms competition has two Montgomery
County Sheriff’s deputies headed for a prestigious firearms
training facility in Nevada, free of charge.

Det. Ken Culbreath and Training Specialist Jason Salter were
recently taking part in a shooting competition at the Thunder
Gun Range on FM 1314 in their free time. Salter had been
researching firearms training programs throughout the country
and saw a man wearing a Front Sight Firearms Training
Institute hat.

Front Sight is a prestigious program Salter was familiar
with. “I had heard good things about the school and had
researched it,” Salter said. He struck up a conversation with
the man, Dan Dennis of Humble, and one thing led to another.

On Thursday, Dennis presented Salter, Culbreath and Lt. J.C.
Fleming with a $2,400 scholarship to enable two deputies to
attend a four-day defensive firearms training course at Front
Sight’s facility near Las Vegas.

“Law enforcement officers have an extremely dangerous and
difficult job,” Dennis said. “When your life is on the line
every day, you can never get enough training. I am pleased to
be in a position to offer Front Sight’s highly regarded
firearms training courses to the men and women that serve our
communities. They deserve it.

Culbreath and Salter would be the two officers attending the
program. Being members of the Sheriff’s Department’s tactical
response team and trainers at their academy….

For the entire story see www.frontsight.com and click the link In
The News at the top of the page.

2. Teach Your Children Well

Dear Front Sight,

I am contacting you to reiterate my thanks for a superb
program. On the June 13-14 weekend my 12 year old son and my
14 year old daughter (they turn 13 and 15 July 6th and 1st)
attended the four day defensive handgun course.

It was my 11th handgun course and the 1st for the children.

Before the weekend I had several concerns. My two big ones
were: Would the children stay focused for the four days? How
would they do in heat of June? I also wondered how the staff
and the other students would treat them as they joined into a
predominantly adult activity?

All of these concerns were ill founded. Both the students and
the staff treated them very well. They may have been given
the benefit of the doubt at first, but I believe the kids
earned that continued respect.

The staff ‘s constant encouragement and assistance was a huge
contributing factor in children’s success.

During the drive home Monday night, the kids watched a movie
in the back seat. The movie was The Recruit. A CIA action
adventure movie. During the finale there was a gun fight and
a search. The following are the comments that my daughter
yelled at the screen:

“He’s not slicing the pie…Look at that.”
“He’s leaving cover for NO cover.”
“Come to the ready!”
“Get your finger off of the trigger!”
“Emergency reload you fool!”

Both kids recognized the tactical errors the actors were
making in the movie.

Very cool!

I hope to get them both into more handgun training soon.
First they want to return for Empty Handed Defense. My wife
hasn’t wanted to attend any courses until you developed the
Rope, Rappel, and Climb course. I’m hoping to get us ALL back
in September.

The vision that Front Sight had to expand the programs, will
greatly help my family and any other family that attends to
become safer and enjoy life more.

Thank you,
Gary Aglietti

3. Shall Issue Concealed Weapon Permits now in Minnesota

Dear Ignatius,

We finally got the CCP law changed in MN to a shall issue
state.

May 28th I applied for a permit and found out that Front
Sight was not yet an approved provided by the Minnesota
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Over the last few months, I have taken the 4 Day Defensive
Handgun and the Two Day Advanced Tactical Handgun courses at
Front Sight. These courses were not yet recognized for my
permit requirements.

But of course, at a 5 hour, “skim over the subject and run
them through course,” at our local gun range, I was approved.

Interestingly enough when I turned in my 5 hour course
certificate, the Deputy Sheriff said to me “It was to bad you
wasted over $2,000.00 going to Nevada for courses that did
not count.” My reply was “The courses were more than worth
while. I am not only qualified to carry a weapon – I am
COMPETENT to carry a weapon. From what I have been told by
police officers who have heard about the level of my
training, I am more competent to carry a weapon than most
peace officers.”

As it turned out I scored 99.6% (249 out of 250 points) on my
shooting proficiency test which is the highest score out of
600 applicants to date at this shooting range.

All thanks to my Front Sight training!

Please contact the MNBCA as soon as possible to become an
approved vendor. If I can assist Front Sight in any way to
become an approved vendor let me know. I would be happy to
accompany a representative of the MNBCA to Front Sight if
appropriate.

Sincerely,
Tom Child

4. Shoot Better Than The Pros.

I’m writing to tell you, “It’s all your fault.”

This weekend, Anastasia (my 7 year old daughter) and I went
boar hunting in Mendocino County, along with my cousin and
his son.

On the first night of the hunt, we got on a good group of
hogs, and I stalked to within about 40 yards of them.

I selected one that I wanted, a reddish one with a clearly
defined razorback, and when I fired it dropped to the shot.
No surprise there, because it was a pretty short shot and I
had a decent rest and I was shooting a .338.

After I finished my after action drills (such as I could,
since the pig dropped in tall grass) and put the safety back
on my rifle, I turned and yelled to my cousin who was about
40 yards behind me, “It’s a razorback!” As I did, he yelled
back, “He’s up and he’s running!”

I then spun completely around, unsafetied, acquired the
target, verified that it was a red razorback of exactly the
same size as the hog I had just fired at and then pressed the
trigger. I rolled it over on a dead run with a left to right
shot at about 70 yards just before it made the brush line. I
then did a tactical reload while running up on my hog. I had
hit it right through the lungs!

When I got near my hog, I was glad Front Sight had stressed
tactical reloads and that my training was playing out. The
rest of the group of hogs was just inside the brush, oinking
and snorting, making false charges, and obviously none too
happy. As it turned out, I didn’t get charged, but I was
awfully happy that I had topped off my rifle’s ammo stack
(and that I was carrying a sidearm that I KNEW how to use in
close quarters from the handgun classes I had taken at Front
Sight.)

As I approached the hog, however, I was confused. I knew the
first shot had been true, and I had seen the animal drop like
a rock despite its having turned slightly just as the shot
went off. I began doubting myself. Maybe I hadn’t hit it
squarely, and that’s why it got up and ran? At the same time,
I was elated because prior to attending Front Sight’s Hunter
Rifle Course I had never been able to make running shots, and
this one was perfect!

However, when I finally looked at my hog closely, it only had
ONE bullet hole in it. Now I really had some doubts! Did I
completely miss with the first shot? Did I merely graze the
big hog and knock it down momentarily?

About this time, my cousin walked up and we tried to figure
out how I could have possibly missed with the first shot. So,
doing what hunters should always do, we tracked that first
shot shot. Sure enough, there was the first pig lying there
dead! I had two hogs down (and fortunately, I had two tags in
my pocket). This was an honest mistake because the two
animals were virtually identical in color, build, and weight
(within 5 pounds), and the grass was so tall that I couldn’t
see the first pig on the ground when the second one ran.

What was AMAZING was that I had been able to make that second
shot starting out with my back to the hog when my cousin
shouted out that it was running. His question to me was,
“Where on earth did you learn to shoot like THAT?!” Of
course, you know what I told him. Now he wants to come to
Front Sight, so I gave him a certificate which he plans to
use to take the 4 day rifle course.

I attribute this ability to shoot rapidly, smoothly, and
accurately entirely to the rifle training I have received
this year.

So, no laws were broken, no safety rules were breached, the
freezer is now full of meat!

All I can say is, “It’s all your fault!”

I thought you’d enjoy this story of Front Sight’s training
being put to use in the field.

All the best,
Ken Fish