January 25th of this year, I had the pleasure of attending USPSA Grandmaster Jake Walker’s Performance Pistol. Jake is a close friend of mine and offered me a slot in his class so that he could get some feedback on his curriculum from someone who has been shooting with him for a few years. The class was hosted at Barracks 616, a high-end indoor range in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The staff was extremely helpful when needed. And the facilities were well maintained and accommodated the class of 10 shooters well. Jake is a one-man show and made a point to work with each student throughout the day. Our class size kept him very busy, and if there were more students, it would likely be a bit much for anybody to handle solo.
Gear Selection for Class
For this class, I shot a Glock 17 MOS with Holosun 407c X2 carried in a Safariland 6390 RDO on a Blue Force Gear CHLK belt. Each performed as best as could be expected and gave me no issues.
The only issue I ran into related to gear was the steel-cased Magtech 115-grain 9mm ammo. Towards the end of the day, working on a movement drill, I had an undercharged round that was a near-squib. The slide did not cycle, the case did not eject, but the bullet left the barrel. It was noticeably wrong during the string of fire and brought that rep to a screeching halt. Once I confirmed there was no bore obstruction, I kept on trucking.
Thoughts on Performance Pistol with Jake Walker
Jake’s Performance pistol class is not a beginner’s course, and the skill level of the shooters present reflected that. Jake did a great job giving attention to each student regardless of their skill level. There is nothing worse than being the best shooter in a class and consequently being completely ignored by the instructor for the duration of your paid practice session. Jake’s attention ensured that nobody came away feeling ignored or left out at the end of the day.
Speaking of which, Performance Pistol is a one-day course that is balls-to-the-wall in terms of pacing. In eight hours, we covered grip, shooting at speed, transitions, and movement. While it might not sound like a lot on paper, any seasoned competitive shooter knows that the above has been stretched into many a two-day class at the cost of the students in attendance. Jake’s curriculum doesn’t mess around and is a concentrated shot of information and skills to take your competitive shooting to the next level.
Q&A with Jake Walker
Following the class, Jake was able to sit down with me for a quick Q&A on his training style and his class.
Q: What is your background as a shooter?
A: I grew up hunting and that’s pretty much it. I saw a video in, I think, 2015, of a guy shooting Three-Gun and thought “Oh, that looks pretty cool maybe I’ll do that some day.” And I ended up not doing it until 2019. Up until then I basically just watched YouTube Videos like T-Rex Arms and GarandThumb and thought all that was pretty cool. When I turned 21 I got my CPL and realized “I should learn how to shoot this thing.” So I was doing a lot of research and YouTube watching, trying to teach myself how to shoot effectively and adequately protect myself. When I finally got around to signing up for a match in April of 2019 I thought I was just gonna do great, and I did not. I was dropping mags, and missing targets.
Q: All those 1-reload-1’s weren’t doing it for you back then?
A: [Laughter] No they were not!
Q: What gun and caliber are you shooting the most right now?
A: CZ Shadow 2 in 9mm is what I am shooting most matches and training the most with. I bought a CZ P01 for carry but have not started carrying it yet.
Q: What do you like about the Shadow 2?
A: Well, when I first bought it, it was just because it was a sexy gun; I never intended on competing with it. But the more I shot it and messed around with it, I realized it was extremely customizable and I could tailor it to fit my hands very well, shoots super nice, and is well balanced. It raised the ceiling of what I could do compared to other pistols, which encouraged me to train more.
Q: What dot are you running?
A: I’m running three different dots on three different guns right now [laughs]. Primarily, I run a Trijicon SRO or a Holosun 507 Comp. Being that it is the off-season, I decided to test a couple other dots. So, I have a Bushnell, a Lux, and a Vortex Defender that I am testing out. So far, I’m pretty confident I’m sticking with the Holosun.
Q: How would you describe your Performance Pistol Class?
A: I would say the intentions of the class are to teach students how to learn and how to train. There are good drills that we do that will make you a better shooter. But the intention behind them is not for you to then practice those drills forever, but also how to learn and assess your shooting, assess your target, and self-diagnose your deficiencies to continue improving beyond the class.
Q: What kind of students would you say your class is catered towards?
A: Usually I tell people anywhere from C-Class to M-Class as far as USPSA skill-level goes. For the general public all I ask is that you are safe drawing from a holster and capable of hitting the A-Zone with minimal pressure. I don’t often run into students who are too highly skilled to attend the class.
Q: What do you find that most students need more of?
A: Dry fire. And I am looking at incorporating more of that into the class. Most people don’t want to pay for a class to do dryfire, but most students need to learn how to properly dry fire. 90% of training should be dry fire. There’s a lot that you can get out of dry fire that you may not even get out of dry fire.
Q: In terms of skill level, what does your ideal class look like?
A: A class with high B or M class shooters would allow more focus on more of the minutia or the mechanics of shooting. Focusing on shooting on the move when someone can’t shoot static isn’t going to be beneficial. There might be some benefit for that person in taking the class, but a higher-skill shooter will get a lot more and learn how to find a lot of efficiency in shooting a stage.
Q: What is the coolest thing that you teach?
A: The thing that excites me the most is movement and transitions. So many people focus on draws and reloads, or doubles. Someone who focuses on speed and shoots .15 splits can get annihilated by a shooter with .25 splits who efficiently approaches a stage.
Q: If you could give me your sales pitch on yourself as an instructor, what would it be?
A: My goal is that you, as a student, don’t need to take a class every year and leave equipped with the tools to build yourself into a better shooter. Ideally, I want people to acquire the mindset of seeking out efficiency in their own training. Having that mindset of “how do I get better,” and “why am I getting better” allows students to diagnose their own inefficiencies and make themselves better at training without needing to pay more money.
Q: If you could add another topic to your class, what would it be?
A: If I could go over stage planning more and include stages, that would be great. I’m trying to incorporate shooting a stage into a two-day course to allow for more discussion and practice on stage planning.
Q: Are there any nuggets of info you would like to pass on?
A: Draws are not nearly as important as people think they are in competition. You only draw 10 times a day.
Q: Any shout-outs? Sponsors?
A: First of all, you, for being a good training partner back in the day when we were neighbors. Josh Espinoza has always been one to bounce ideas off of, and a solid dude who kept my head in a good place when it wasn’t and I could lean on him for shooting and non-shooting related. Sponsors, there’s Blade and Brass LLC., which has been with me since B-Class. Summit City Bullets has been hooking me up, and Barracks 616, a local store and range who has been a great friend.
Closing Thoughts on Performance Pistol with Jake Walker
To close, I would strongly recommend that anybody seek out instruction from Jake Walker. Students looking to master their pistol will take a lot away from this course. There is also a wealth of performance mindset material that will benefit life outside of shooting. Give him a follow on Instagram at @bullets_n_bandaids
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