Last month, I had the pleasure of attending Contextual Revolver: Fundamental Revolver Skills taught by Citizens Defense Research instructor Caleb Giddings. This was hosted by the well-known Northern Virginia firearms training company Green Ops. Over the course of two days, students left with more confidence in their revolver handling skills regardless of knowledge level. Below is an overview of the instructor, class, and what Caleb is looking to do in the future as far as other revolver opportunities.
The Instructor
Caleb Giddings is one of the top knowledgeable revolver handlers today. He is a Master Class shooter in IDPA and routinely competes in competitions such as the Bianchi Cup and IDPA World Championship. He also actively serves in the United States Air Force and trains Airmen in firearms handling, something prevalently referred to in class. Meanwhile, he is also the marketing manager for Taurus USA.
It’s worth noting Caleb gave a few students loaner guns and gear for the class. Honestly, this was the only way I could take the class due to not owning a revolver or the necessary equipment. This was very kind of him and shows how much passion he has for growing the sport and knowledge.
For this class, Caleb taught under Citizens Defense Research. The owner of Citizens Defense Research, Melody Lauer, was at this class taking photos.
The Students
The level of knowledge within the class varied. About half the class had at least some experience with shooting revolvers, some prevalently shot competition with revolvers, and a very small amount of the class (me included) had zero knowledge of revolvers. This was the first time I’d ever shot a full day with a revolver and equipment.
I ran Caleb’s Taurus 856 Toro, leather holders, Speed Beez loaders, Safariland holders, and a fanny pack with loose ammo. Many students had competition setups, while some pocket-carried a J-frame.
Day 1
Instructional
The class started at 8 am on a private range in Northern Virginia. Caleb went around to everyone and asked them what they brought to the class. He called this a “gear survey” and wrote it down on a large board in front of the class. This is the first time I’ve seen someone do this, but it makes sense for a revolver class. There were a ton of different-sized frame revolvers and accessories. A lot of people even brought two guns.
Caleb also went over:
- Revolver Utility Curve/special uses
- Gear recommendations, he was very specific on this, which was helpful
- Concealment and holsters
- Dry weapons manipulations, trigger press (rolling vs staging), grip, reloads
The large takeaway from this was learning the basics of different-sized revolvers and watching Caleb do and talk through weapon manipulation techniques. Students could then decide the type of reloads they wanted to try during the live range.
Live Fire
Day 1 live fire consisted of:
- Verify Zero
- United States Air Force qualification
- Various transition drills
The Air Force qualification was a large part of the class. It involved everything from 7-yard out to 25-yard failure drills. Failure drills mean a headshot at 25 yards. It also involved kneeling and shooting at 25 yards.
At the end of the day, Caleb went over maintenance procedures for revolvers. This is specific to Caleb as he maintains guns in the Air Force as well. Maintenance is easy for a lot of instructors to not mention because they honestly lack the knowledge nor care about it. Caleb focused on screws that need tightened and places to lube. He also covered the why’s and how to do it before day two of shooting.
Day 2
We started shooting immediately at the beginning of day two:
- Air Force Qualification (x2)
- Various drills, transitional, reload, 25-yard headshots
- Head-to-head shoot-off
The top shooter of the Air Force qualification walked away with a Taurus gun, which is pretty cool. It’s worth noting he carried a larger frame revolver with Aimpoint ACRO on top.
The last part of the day was a head-to-head shoot-off with a twist. This was my favorite part of the class due to Caleb’s spin on it. Due to everyone carrying different-sized revolvers with different carry methods, Caleb put each shooter in a different start position. If someone carried a medium-sized revolver with an OWB holster, Caleb started them with hands up. If they carried a smaller frame with the gun AIWB, he may let them have their hands in front of their shorts. This was to make it fair.
After doing the process of elimination, the fastest shooters in the head-to-head were two pocket J-frame guns with hands starting in the pocket. When you think about it, it really looks the most natural and is a very realistic and effective way of carrying these small revolvers. This shoot-off just proved that theory.
Gear Needed
The overall gear needed depends on what kind of revolver you are running and/or how you are carrying it. Below are some general needs that really helped students out.
#1 is a FANNY PACK!
Yes, that was the most used item. Loose rounds can be stored on your body, and during downtime downrange, you can simply reload your speedloaders on the line or plus up your gun with onesies or twosies. Very handy.
Speed Strips/Speed Loaders
Many shooters had speed strips if they ran smaller guns and wanted to run reloads out of a pocket. Speed strips were great for that. They take a little more time to get through the reload but are very concealable. Caleb gave me three Safariland holders and three Speed Beez speedloaders. It was great to practice with, as I will probably stick with speedloaders, but I may try out different kinds.
Holster
This can be outside the waistband or concealed appendix inside the waistband.
Ammunition
The round count for this class was around 300-400. If Caleb decides to alter the class, this may also change.
Personal Takeaways
Overall, I got a lot from Caleb. I showed up with ZERO knowledge and skills pertaining to revolvers. By the second day, I scored 10 more points on the Air Force qual than day one, reloaded more quickly, and won head-to-heads in the shoot-off. I felt confident after only two days due to a great instructor and students by my side.
Caleb laid out a great foundation of need-to-know knowledge and then continued to focus on each student to comment on what they need, just as any good instructor should. Caleb specifically helped me out with reloads pertaining to pointing the gun straight in the air when ejecting cases so they don’t stick onto the ejector or in the cylinder. He also touched on 9mm and primers causing issues for a student. There wasn’t one question or gun he didn’t know. If you’re wondering about a revolver and what ammo to use with that gun and for what application, he will have an answer.
If I were to ask for anything different, it would be to practice more reloads on the clock. While many felt the round count was fine due to revolvers beating up your hands (looking at you, J-frame guys), there were some students who wanted to throw more lead downrange and work on specialty skills such as reloads. Two-day classes are funny like that. By the second day, things are getting smoother, and the confidence is growing, which makes you want to work harder and bring in more stress. What it really comes down to, though, is we had way too much fun and wanted to keep shooting. That’s an easy thing to want when you have a great instructor and shooters by your side.
Future Classes
Looking forward, Caleb talked about wanting to do a seminar in regard to irregular revolver carry positions. This will probably involve things such as ankle or pocket carry. Caleb will also be doing more classes like this one under Citizens Defense Research.
Information for Citizens Defense Research can be found at citizensdefenseresearch.com
You are welcome back to Virginia anytime, Caleb!
