FosterEDC
Newbie
Class- TAPS
Instructor- Pat Mac
Location- Benton Gun Club, Benton AR
Date- May 13-14
Equipment used:
Archer EPR
Aimpoint T1
Roland Special
Bawiddaman Holster and Mag Pouch
BFG rifle belt pouches
Ammo used:
124gr Speer Lawman
Mix of Tula, Wolf, and Federal 55gr 5.56 and .223
Conditions:
Sunny, 80F
Day 1:
Day 1 began with range safety and introduction followed by an introduction from Pat. Once the formalities and fundamentals were over he immediately rolled into basic rifle marksmanship standards and positions. Everyone as a group then went about confirming or adjust for zeros on 50yd B8 targets. Once that was aschieved each shooter worked at their own pace on the practice of shot calling and discovery learning in regards to different shooting positions and effects they can have on rifle zero if braced off objects or canted. Pat calls this discovery learning and its a big part of his instruction.
After working with rifle for a few hours we then switched gears to handgun. Again we worked basic drills and fundamentals as well as specific courses of fire Pat had created to help drive his instructed points home. One big learning point was that presentation is as much a shooting fundamental as anything else. Pat showed us how the correct draw and presentation can allow us to start putting accurate hits on target sooner. Even before reaching full presentation.
The rest of the day was a back and forth culmination of rifle and handgun allowing us to work on skills that would be combined on the second day.
One student brought weights and various equipment so 6 of us including Pat did a 7 stage circuit workout post class. Vid can be found on his IG page if interested. This was a fun way for us to end the day as well as show how serious each of us were about being there.
Day 2:
Waking up somewhat sore from the workout the day before, Day 2 was much more intricate and demanding in the skills category. We began the shooting portion of the say immediately with 50 yard strong hand only drills on IPSC target (showing a huge deficit in my skill set). We then proceeded into more and more handgun drills.
After a couple hours we broke the rifles out again working on transitions and reloads, followed by the use of cover and Pats shameless plug for his "sling ding" which is actually pretty bad ass. After the group worked on cover and barricade drills for a while it was time to break out the steel and do the harder work. The rest of the day involved shooting and moving, communication, bounding, looking at the world in full spectrum, and being accurate shot placing thinkers instead of mindless trigger pullers.
The end of the day was sealed with a handgun round robin featuring several of Pats personal favorite drills. To say that he likes to incorporate fluid movement with accurate shot placement is an understatement.
Overall:
Overall this was probably my favorite class to attend to date. There was more than enough knowledge brought to the table to be devoured. One of my favorite things would have to be that Pat made us engage our brains more than anythig. Several drills we had to think through on our own in order to complete successfully. I liked this much more than "heres a drill go do it" that i had gotten in the past. Pats over all character and interaction with his students is great as well. Keeps it fun and interesting without it being immature or causing issues with knowledge and safety being transfered to us. I already have plans for a two day handgun class at the first of next year. If you havent taken any courses from Pat you are truly doing yourself a disservice. There is so much more to one of Pats classes i cant really relay. As the cliche goes, "you just had to be there."
Instructor- Pat Mac
Location- Benton Gun Club, Benton AR
Date- May 13-14
Equipment used:
Archer EPR
Aimpoint T1
Roland Special
Bawiddaman Holster and Mag Pouch
BFG rifle belt pouches
Ammo used:
124gr Speer Lawman
Mix of Tula, Wolf, and Federal 55gr 5.56 and .223
Conditions:
Sunny, 80F
Day 1:
Day 1 began with range safety and introduction followed by an introduction from Pat. Once the formalities and fundamentals were over he immediately rolled into basic rifle marksmanship standards and positions. Everyone as a group then went about confirming or adjust for zeros on 50yd B8 targets. Once that was aschieved each shooter worked at their own pace on the practice of shot calling and discovery learning in regards to different shooting positions and effects they can have on rifle zero if braced off objects or canted. Pat calls this discovery learning and its a big part of his instruction.
After working with rifle for a few hours we then switched gears to handgun. Again we worked basic drills and fundamentals as well as specific courses of fire Pat had created to help drive his instructed points home. One big learning point was that presentation is as much a shooting fundamental as anything else. Pat showed us how the correct draw and presentation can allow us to start putting accurate hits on target sooner. Even before reaching full presentation.
The rest of the day was a back and forth culmination of rifle and handgun allowing us to work on skills that would be combined on the second day.
One student brought weights and various equipment so 6 of us including Pat did a 7 stage circuit workout post class. Vid can be found on his IG page if interested. This was a fun way for us to end the day as well as show how serious each of us were about being there.
Day 2:
Waking up somewhat sore from the workout the day before, Day 2 was much more intricate and demanding in the skills category. We began the shooting portion of the say immediately with 50 yard strong hand only drills on IPSC target (showing a huge deficit in my skill set). We then proceeded into more and more handgun drills.
After a couple hours we broke the rifles out again working on transitions and reloads, followed by the use of cover and Pats shameless plug for his "sling ding" which is actually pretty bad ass. After the group worked on cover and barricade drills for a while it was time to break out the steel and do the harder work. The rest of the day involved shooting and moving, communication, bounding, looking at the world in full spectrum, and being accurate shot placing thinkers instead of mindless trigger pullers.
The end of the day was sealed with a handgun round robin featuring several of Pats personal favorite drills. To say that he likes to incorporate fluid movement with accurate shot placement is an understatement.
Overall:
Overall this was probably my favorite class to attend to date. There was more than enough knowledge brought to the table to be devoured. One of my favorite things would have to be that Pat made us engage our brains more than anythig. Several drills we had to think through on our own in order to complete successfully. I liked this much more than "heres a drill go do it" that i had gotten in the past. Pats over all character and interaction with his students is great as well. Keeps it fun and interesting without it being immature or causing issues with knowledge and safety being transfered to us. I already have plans for a two day handgun class at the first of next year. If you havent taken any courses from Pat you are truly doing yourself a disservice. There is so much more to one of Pats classes i cant really relay. As the cliche goes, "you just had to be there."