Jim Davis
Newbie
Instructors: Northern Red (Chris K. and Kurt H.) 3rd Group CIF guys with 13 and 19 years in, respectively. Chris K. with additional post .mil experience in theater with another organization.
Course: Carbine Gunfighter
Cost: $800
Rounds: 900 rounds carbine, some pistol for those who wanted to transition
Dates: April 22-24, 2016
Location: Bethlehem, PA
My background: This was my third time training with Northern Red, second time training with Chris K., and first time training with Kurt H. This was also my first carbine 3 day format class with them. I've done a variety of classes (mostly pistol) with Defoor, Vickers, Hackathorn, SouthNarc etc. before as well. I'm a civi who works in the sales end of the industry and participates in USPSA on occasion. This AAR is strictly from memory, so the order of some of the material might be off some.
Class composition: 15/18 students had a badge and 12 of those were teams guys, the rest of us were "gun guys" or patrolmen with more than a few classes taken.
Equipment used: lightweight 16" Aero build (faxon pencil barrel, 12" ALG M-LOK rail), SilencerCo Specwar Brake, Aimpoint H1, ALG ACT trigger, USGI/Lancer/PMAGs, Magpul SL-K & Vltor stock, VTAC sling on BFG U-loop, Xm193 ammo.
Day 1: Safety brief, then 400 point diagnostic/ standards cold. After that, intros. After intros we started shooting prone groups of 10 at 100 yards, focusing on one aspect of technique at a time (breathing, position, trigger control, eye position, etc). After numerous scored reps of this, it was repeated for time, standing to prone in 30 seconds on a B8 bull with a mag change.
After that, kneeling was shown the same way, working on one aspect at a time, scored at 100 yards on a B8 bull. After numerous runs in a variety of positions (shooters choice), it was run again for time, always scored, again 30 second, standing to kneeling with a mag change at 100 yards.
After lunch, stance was heavily covered with an emphasis on what people who "shoot for blood or money" use. Taking this info we began to work up close on IPSC targets working towards a .7 second shot to the A-zone from the low ready at 10 yards. After 1 shot was covered for time, 2 shots were covered for time. We may have covered mag changes for the first time today as well.
Day 2: Safety brief, then 10 rounds at 100 yards standing to prone in 30 seconds with a mag change, cold. Further work on prone shooting to tighten up groups. After that, heavy work on the kneeling position - what they believe to be the most under-trained and most often needed shooting position in their experience. A bunch of us struggled to score well with this position, myself included, getting 77-81 for a score pretty consistently. This is something I need to work on personally.
After lunch reloads were worked heavily, along with shooting on the move (forwards) and target transitions (vertical and horizontal). A talk was given on anatomy, and what bullets do or don't do in the body (timers and switches). Kit talk, gear and rifle setup and Q&A. Multiple shot drills working speed modulation and reloads, as well as target transitions (2x2x2 drill). Getting into position to shoot from a run, as well. We ended the day with a 1 on 1 competition for speed on a 1-reload-1 string, Thunderdome style.
Day 3: Safety brief, then prone at 100 yards for time again. After scored runs, we worked on getting into prone at speed. After prone, we did the same for kneeling, standing to kneeling with the first shot within 2.5 seconds to a hit in the black... not all of us got that one.
After lunch, speed work at 10 yards (still scored, as always), as well as shooting on the move laterally, and more target transitions and speed modulation for target exposure (head body head, etc). Another run at the 400 point diagnostic. 1 on 1 competition via El Pres drill Thunderdome style again. Wrap up of marksmanship work, then lecture. In depth lecture on mindset, willingness, training considerations and priorities, covering the aftermath as well. This material was longer and heavier than you might expect... exceptionally valuable though.
Some of my take away lessons/ quotes I remember:
The human body isn't very impressed with bullets. Looking for effect on target after a few rounds is a valuable waste of time you might not have. ("No-one dies fast enough.")
No one has ever ended a gunfight by hiding behind cover/surviving, they ended it by killing the bad guy ("Don't survive to death.")
Support the rifle on anything you can when some distance is involved, getting into position as rapidly as possible.
Train for me against me, not me against a crackhead/savage.
Plates are for accidents, your rifle and your ability to use it is the primary means of protection on the battlefield.
Don't be the only guy on your side without a suppressor, everyone focuses fire on you.
Shoot through any armor or suicide vest - their plate isn't stopping a half mag of anything you've got loaded, and projectiles won't detonate almost any explosive material.
If your weapon handling isn't subconscious, the time you have to spend on consciously working on the gun is time you won't be taking in information about friendly and enemy movements or changes to your environment. (the brain can't multi-task so you have to be able to have your conscious mind free to work on problem solving, not reloading or light activation)
The only predictable thing people do when they're shot is move (straight down is a direction, too).
Eye position behind your optic matters a ton on your zero at distance.
When it comes to gear, light is right.
Don't put anything on your kit that can't take a life or save it.
Things that were sub 1%'ers in combat: support side shooting, self aid, head shots on upright targets, emergency reloads to finish a specific threat, carbine malfunctions, pistol transitions out of necessity, sub .20 splits in combat, using the BUIS's. (All things that they put out across friends/contacts in the community and were only able to find 1-3 examples of at best.)
Though this class I gained a ton more confidence in my ability to shoot quickly with a rifle. I've had marksmanship down for a while, but never felt great delivering at 25 yards and in with a rifle (I used to shoot pistol just as fast and accurately at 25 and in). What I figured out through instruction was that my firing hand/arm was applying way too much of the pressure on the gun and that rigidity was fighting against me on target transitions and recoil management... letting my support hand apply all the back pressure and drive the gun made a world of difference in every aspect where speed was a factor. My reload is way cleaner than it was before, focusing on the steps taught smoothed it up significantly, speeding it up as well. My speed at entering prone and kneeling is going to require additional homework if I want to make the standards on these positions.
Gear notes: The SL-K stock isn't my preferred stock for shooting 300+ rounds in a day with, even with a braked rifle, I switched out to the Vltor after day 1 due to some discomfort. I like it otherwise, just not for lengthy range sessions. I'm really digging USGI mags again, they seemed much easier to seat fully loaded than the PMAGs and Lancers I was using, and slicker going in and out of the mag well. I had to move my forward sling attachment point totally forward as the slack sling loop was constantly getting in the way of my incoming mag on a reload. My Streamlight Polytac HP in a VTAC mount positioned an inch or so behind the brake baffles stopped working when checked a few times (no low light portion of the class), a hard wack brought it back to life but it will be getting serviced/ replaced.
Overall, Chris and Kurt were able to cite personal events from their time in combat to support the how and why behind every part of the Northern Red curriculum. While they didn't tell cool guy war stories from start to finish, snippets of events where lessons were learned in blood or embarrassment were plentiful, leaving no doubt behind why something is necessary or recommended. A lot of "Yep, we used to think that too. Here is how we figured it out" was shared between strings of fire. I left this class with a solid understanding of what needs improvement and how to get there. Highly recommended.
Course: Carbine Gunfighter
Cost: $800
Rounds: 900 rounds carbine, some pistol for those who wanted to transition
Dates: April 22-24, 2016
Location: Bethlehem, PA
My background: This was my third time training with Northern Red, second time training with Chris K., and first time training with Kurt H. This was also my first carbine 3 day format class with them. I've done a variety of classes (mostly pistol) with Defoor, Vickers, Hackathorn, SouthNarc etc. before as well. I'm a civi who works in the sales end of the industry and participates in USPSA on occasion. This AAR is strictly from memory, so the order of some of the material might be off some.
Class composition: 15/18 students had a badge and 12 of those were teams guys, the rest of us were "gun guys" or patrolmen with more than a few classes taken.
Equipment used: lightweight 16" Aero build (faxon pencil barrel, 12" ALG M-LOK rail), SilencerCo Specwar Brake, Aimpoint H1, ALG ACT trigger, USGI/Lancer/PMAGs, Magpul SL-K & Vltor stock, VTAC sling on BFG U-loop, Xm193 ammo.
Day 1: Safety brief, then 400 point diagnostic/ standards cold. After that, intros. After intros we started shooting prone groups of 10 at 100 yards, focusing on one aspect of technique at a time (breathing, position, trigger control, eye position, etc). After numerous scored reps of this, it was repeated for time, standing to prone in 30 seconds on a B8 bull with a mag change.
After that, kneeling was shown the same way, working on one aspect at a time, scored at 100 yards on a B8 bull. After numerous runs in a variety of positions (shooters choice), it was run again for time, always scored, again 30 second, standing to kneeling with a mag change at 100 yards.
After lunch, stance was heavily covered with an emphasis on what people who "shoot for blood or money" use. Taking this info we began to work up close on IPSC targets working towards a .7 second shot to the A-zone from the low ready at 10 yards. After 1 shot was covered for time, 2 shots were covered for time. We may have covered mag changes for the first time today as well.
Day 2: Safety brief, then 10 rounds at 100 yards standing to prone in 30 seconds with a mag change, cold. Further work on prone shooting to tighten up groups. After that, heavy work on the kneeling position - what they believe to be the most under-trained and most often needed shooting position in their experience. A bunch of us struggled to score well with this position, myself included, getting 77-81 for a score pretty consistently. This is something I need to work on personally.
After lunch reloads were worked heavily, along with shooting on the move (forwards) and target transitions (vertical and horizontal). A talk was given on anatomy, and what bullets do or don't do in the body (timers and switches). Kit talk, gear and rifle setup and Q&A. Multiple shot drills working speed modulation and reloads, as well as target transitions (2x2x2 drill). Getting into position to shoot from a run, as well. We ended the day with a 1 on 1 competition for speed on a 1-reload-1 string, Thunderdome style.
Day 3: Safety brief, then prone at 100 yards for time again. After scored runs, we worked on getting into prone at speed. After prone, we did the same for kneeling, standing to kneeling with the first shot within 2.5 seconds to a hit in the black... not all of us got that one.
After lunch, speed work at 10 yards (still scored, as always), as well as shooting on the move laterally, and more target transitions and speed modulation for target exposure (head body head, etc). Another run at the 400 point diagnostic. 1 on 1 competition via El Pres drill Thunderdome style again. Wrap up of marksmanship work, then lecture. In depth lecture on mindset, willingness, training considerations and priorities, covering the aftermath as well. This material was longer and heavier than you might expect... exceptionally valuable though.
Some of my take away lessons/ quotes I remember:
The human body isn't very impressed with bullets. Looking for effect on target after a few rounds is a valuable waste of time you might not have. ("No-one dies fast enough.")
No one has ever ended a gunfight by hiding behind cover/surviving, they ended it by killing the bad guy ("Don't survive to death.")
Support the rifle on anything you can when some distance is involved, getting into position as rapidly as possible.
Train for me against me, not me against a crackhead/savage.
Plates are for accidents, your rifle and your ability to use it is the primary means of protection on the battlefield.
Don't be the only guy on your side without a suppressor, everyone focuses fire on you.
Shoot through any armor or suicide vest - their plate isn't stopping a half mag of anything you've got loaded, and projectiles won't detonate almost any explosive material.
If your weapon handling isn't subconscious, the time you have to spend on consciously working on the gun is time you won't be taking in information about friendly and enemy movements or changes to your environment. (the brain can't multi-task so you have to be able to have your conscious mind free to work on problem solving, not reloading or light activation)
The only predictable thing people do when they're shot is move (straight down is a direction, too).
Eye position behind your optic matters a ton on your zero at distance.
When it comes to gear, light is right.
Don't put anything on your kit that can't take a life or save it.
Things that were sub 1%'ers in combat: support side shooting, self aid, head shots on upright targets, emergency reloads to finish a specific threat, carbine malfunctions, pistol transitions out of necessity, sub .20 splits in combat, using the BUIS's. (All things that they put out across friends/contacts in the community and were only able to find 1-3 examples of at best.)
Though this class I gained a ton more confidence in my ability to shoot quickly with a rifle. I've had marksmanship down for a while, but never felt great delivering at 25 yards and in with a rifle (I used to shoot pistol just as fast and accurately at 25 and in). What I figured out through instruction was that my firing hand/arm was applying way too much of the pressure on the gun and that rigidity was fighting against me on target transitions and recoil management... letting my support hand apply all the back pressure and drive the gun made a world of difference in every aspect where speed was a factor. My reload is way cleaner than it was before, focusing on the steps taught smoothed it up significantly, speeding it up as well. My speed at entering prone and kneeling is going to require additional homework if I want to make the standards on these positions.
Gear notes: The SL-K stock isn't my preferred stock for shooting 300+ rounds in a day with, even with a braked rifle, I switched out to the Vltor after day 1 due to some discomfort. I like it otherwise, just not for lengthy range sessions. I'm really digging USGI mags again, they seemed much easier to seat fully loaded than the PMAGs and Lancers I was using, and slicker going in and out of the mag well. I had to move my forward sling attachment point totally forward as the slack sling loop was constantly getting in the way of my incoming mag on a reload. My Streamlight Polytac HP in a VTAC mount positioned an inch or so behind the brake baffles stopped working when checked a few times (no low light portion of the class), a hard wack brought it back to life but it will be getting serviced/ replaced.
Overall, Chris and Kurt were able to cite personal events from their time in combat to support the how and why behind every part of the Northern Red curriculum. While they didn't tell cool guy war stories from start to finish, snippets of events where lessons were learned in blood or embarrassment were plentiful, leaving no doubt behind why something is necessary or recommended. A lot of "Yep, we used to think that too. Here is how we figured it out" was shared between strings of fire. I left this class with a solid understanding of what needs improvement and how to get there. Highly recommended.