Ed Stock works on his presentation from the holster with his XS-equipped SIG 226.

Few will dispute the importance of both speed and accuracy in any defensive use of a firearm. While accuracy will always be paramount, to ignore speed would be, well, fatal.

I once read a very interesting study in which the author posed and defended the hypothesis that the person who lands the first solid hit in a gunfight will likely be the winner. Well, duh--I could have saved him a lot of time and effort as this, in my opinion, would fall within the realm of common sense.

Yes, I know that common sense is not all that common, and just because one lands the first solid hit does not mean that he, too, will not get shot, thus ending up a "loser." But as a general rule, the first accurate hit in an armed confrontation is something worth working toward. All defensive firearms fundamentals, techniques, tactics and mindset training comes down to putting ourselves into a position so that we get the first solid hit.

Recently, I had the pleasure of spending time with two companies within the firearms arena that have dedicated themselves to offering products that will help good guys get this first-shot advantage. XS Sight Systems offers the Express fast-acquisition sight system for handguns and long guns. Comprising a large-dot front sight and a shallow V-notch rear, the XS sight is one of the fastest-on-target sight systems ever developed. The other company is Gunsite Academy, known in the past as the American Pistol Institute, which was founded by the legendary Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper in 1977. What started out as one square range with a trailer as a classroom is now the foremost public training facility in the world.

These two companies got together and invited a few writers to go through a two-day training course in an effort to display just how well they complement one another. Throw in a little Surefire flashlight training on the evening in between, and the result was a fast, but solid, information "dump" on all who attended.

XS 24/7 sights come in both large- and small-dot configurations.

It is not unusual for manufacturers to put on informational seminars for writers when they introduce new products, but it is quite unusual for a manufacturer to display its product in the environment for which it was designed, yet that is what XS Sights does when it brings writers to Gunsite. Calling it a "Writer Roundtable," it is essentially Gunsite instructors putting the writers through a small sliver of the course instruction that Gunsite offers. The only caveat is that all guns used during the roundtable are to be equipped with one of the many sights offered by XS.

This was the fourth year for the event; the last three have also been held at Gunsite. All have been spearheaded by long-time Gunsite instructor Giles Stock. Giles is a retired Phoenix, Arizona, police sergeant who has been with Gunsite since 1981. Prior to his retirement, Giles was the primary firearms instructor for Phoenix PD as well as the armorer supervisor for its SWAT team.

Helping Giles with this year's roundtable was his brother, Ed, who has the distinction of being Gunsite's longest-serving instructor, having continually been on the staff since 1980. Ed is still serving with the Arizona Department of Public Safety as the senior explosives-disposal officer and SWAT-team member. Additionally, Ed recently returned from a six-month stint in Baghdad, where he was involved in security operations. His stories of what went on and what gear/tactics work and do not work could have filled the two-day period.

Each of the writers received individual instruction where needed. Here Giles Stock works with Dave Douglas on his trigger control.

Dave Biggers is the new law enforcement sales manager as well as the PR guy for XS Sights, so he headed up the XS contingent for the roundtable. He brought along chief gunsmith/custom-applications guru Bo Wallace in the event that any technical problems or questions developed. Both of the XS guys went through the entire program with the writers.

The first day began with a greeting from the new Gunsite owner, Owen "Buz" Mills. Mills is singularly responsible for returning Gunsite to its top-rung level of prominence in the firearms-training community by buying the school and then investing a great deal of money into it. I was at Gunsite a number of years ago, when it was being run by a previous owner, and I was concerned that the facility would not last another year. The last few times I have been there, however, I could not help being impressed with the improvements that have been made.