For 49 years, the mission of Gunsite Academy has been crystal clear; the institution teaches folks how to defend themselves and their loved ones with firearms.

LTC Cooper created the curriculum after watching the “Leatherslap Matches” of the 1960s where shooters from all walks of life (not just law enforcement and military) competed. He evaluated the equipment used, the techniques demonstrated, and the results achieved before codifying the results into the Gunsite doctrine of the Modern Service Pistol. 

Simply stated, he learned from the winners, and some of those winners learned their skills in various competitions, both with written rules and other contests where survival was the only rule.

Over the last half a century some of his teachings have been modified based on continued observation by Gunsite instructors of new equipment and techniques. Competitive shooting champions have also influenced the need for enhanced training. In addition, DOD Special Operations Command has mandated improved training techniques for their personnel. This demand ushered in a new shooting genre dubbed “performance shooting” by the professionals, applicable in both combat and competition.

Gunsite Academy has created a new division at the famed institution called “The Gunsite Performance Center.” The differences between this and other Gunsite classes are the specific performance mechanics, training methodology, diagnostics (data collection, analysis, etc.,), and sustained focus on the quantifiable improvement in one’s shooting skills. You’re on the clock and under the microscope the whole time you’re on the range.

On April 26, 2025, at 7:30 a.m., the first Gunsite Performance Class gathered at the Arizona campus. Following completion of the mandatory paperwork, Rangemaster and sometime RECOIL contributor Steve Tarani gave a brief lecture on the newest Gunsite Academy class: GPC 101, “Introduction to Performance.” 

After welcoming the class, he said, “This class is about improving your on-demand performance, aka how well you shoot. Where you choose to apply those skills, e.g. self-defense, competition, etc., is up to you after graduation.” There are four training objectives in GPC 101. These include: Rapid Deployment, Optimized Fire Control, Rapid Recovery and Realignment, and Rapid Transition and Re-Acquisition. 

If these sound familiar, it’s because they are. The difference between this and other Gunsite classes is the total focus on improving shooting skills. All shot placement and times are meticulously measured, recorded, reviewed, and referenced to verify improvements or failures.

The pressure to improve is constant throughout the class. And because you chose to improve your shooting, the pressure is self-applied. As Steve continued through the presentation, it became clear that the material being covered deserved more than the 20 to 30 minutes allotted. He spoke of multiple learning points being the guidelines to performance shooting, stressed the importance of staying focused on the shooting process rather than chasing the results, and measuring/recording everything so that improvements are documented rather than just imagined or believed. There will be failures — without which there can be no improvement. If you try to stay in your comfort zone (and we all tend to do that), you will remain at your current performance level.

Train by pushing to failure and develop your skills beyond the failure point. He showed a learning curve for a typical student; it looked like a seismograph during a major earthquake. Over half the presentation dealt with the 10 key learning points, which are the guidelines to performance shooting. Some of these were immediately understandable, while others were more difficult to fully comprehend. Over the two days of shooting exercises on a square range, all 10 became clear.

What really nailed my attention early was the discussion of “Control being commensurate with competence” and the four stages of progress.

Stage 1) Unconscious Incompetence: This is basically a new shooter unfamiliar with firearms, but as there are qualifications required to participate in the Performance Center classes, there were no new shooters present. Applicants are vetted regarding former training and skill levels.

Stage 2) Conscious Incompetence: The shooter is consciously thinking about operating the pistol, evaluating what is correct versus incorrect based upon what techniques feel comfortable.

Stage 3) Conscious Competence: The shooter is gaining confidence and some consistency by virtue of repetitive successes. He can feel when something’s wrong because he is still thinking about running the gun.

Stage 4) Unconscious Competence: The shooter has achieved competence through sustained consistency. There is no need to think about the pistol; he knows he can operate it and has confidence in his shooting ability, so he is now free to think about what’s going on around him and how to deal with that, whatever it is.

When you achieve the level of “unconscious competence,” you are much more able to deal with an unexpected emergency that arises. I believe the briefing used the phrase “when the wheels come off” to describe this type of scenario. 

This was visible in the last event of the class where students competed head-to-head, engaging a variety of steel plates with mandatory reloads at certain points. For those shooters who had made an initial transition to Stage 4, there was no sign of panic when a shot was missed. They had enough confidence in their skill level to make an adjustment and handle the problem. 

For some shooters the wheels frequently came off on the first target, which was a small, partial plate shaped like a crescent moon with very little surface area exposed. It was engaged coming from the holster with a mandatory reload after being hit. It was a challenging shot deliberately placed first in the event so that a miss would have maximum impact on the student’s newfound confidence. Some students were partially into the mandatory reload before they realized they had missed the crescent moon, and their recovery process did resemble a wheel falling off.

At Sunday’s graduation, discussions were both energetic and encouraging. All students had something positive to say about lessons learned and their enhanced understanding of the process of becoming a better shooter. Interestingly, it appeared that all students seemed to relate to different elements of the class. No one denied he or she had experienced a failure at some point in the two-day session or that the failure was a positive step in rising to the next level of performance.

So what’s the future of Gunsite’s new program? I don’t see a change in the Academy’s focus on defensive shooting scenarios for existing classes. 

People have been flocking to the Academy for almost 50 years to address their concerns over the safety of their families, so why would the institution mess with a commercial success by trying to fix something that ain’t broke? And it’s not like the world has become a safer place. 

On the other hand, the foundation of successfully defending yourself with a handgun is built on the ability to shoot well and teaching the specific skills that will help you do that is the primary mission of the Performance Center.

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