N
nate89
Guest
Training AAR: LMS Carbine Clinic
I recently had the opportunity to attend the one day Carbine Clinic from LMS defense. Chappy was the instructor, and it took place at their range near Twin Falls. Weather was windy (it’s Idaho, so that almost goes without saying), and the morning started out with a bit of a wind chill, but it quickly warmed up to an almost perfect ~70. The biggest problem with weather was target stands being blown over a few times. My equipment was a BCM 16” midlength upper on a lower I built. Mags were an assortment of aluminum GI, Pmags, and a few Tango Down ARC mags in taco pouches on a belt. Sling was a Vtac two point that Chappy helped me set up. Sights were A2 FSP and a DD rear sight. I had two problems over-inserting mags on an open bolt, but otherwise equipment ran perfect, and didn’t interfere with learning.
Overview
I have shot a carbine a bit, but have chosen to dedicate my training resources primarily to handguns because, as a regular guy who doesn’t use a long gun for work purposes, I figured I should be training on the weapon I have on me and have the greater chance of needing. I do have my AR available near my bed, and I wanted get more proficient with it, so I started looking for a long gun class. Being from Northern Utah, LMS was a logical place to go; it’s only a few hours away, and the instruction looked to be high quality. As a general overview, this class was like drinking from a firehose for me. Chappy brings a wealth of info and experience, and a solid curriculum that built on itself, and gave me a lot of things to work on myself after the class. I especially appreciated Chappy’s individual advice, and his ability to observe and diagnose problems with individual people. I think we have all been to classes were you are simply turning money into noise; this was not the case here. Chappy is a skilled teacher, and presents the material very well.
I don’t really intend to provide a course curriculum (we zeroed guns, then did ready positions, then shot from XX distance, etc.), but rather put down a few observations. Hopefully this can help someone out. If nothing else, it’s something I can refer back to.
1-be a prepared student. I have heard this, and read it over and over, but since people still come to classes unprepared, I’ll mention it. I tried my best to have working gear ready to go. I zeroed my rifle beforehand and made a one click adjustment to windage to get zeroed at class. There was at least one person off paper at 50 yards, and some with optics that weren’t working properly which took time to square away. Chappy almost ran out of rental guns, as student’s guns were going down like it was going out of style. Mental prep, and coming with an open mind is just as important.
2-“Am I here to make you feel better, or shoot better?” “Everyone’s a sniper at 10 yards.” There are classes that I’ve heard called ‘ballistic masturbation.” Everyone comes and does things they are already ‘good’ at, or that are easy and don’t stretch you. That does no good, and isn’t going to be worth the price of admission. I was pushed, and felt like that was making the class worthwhile.
3-“Speed is a natural progression.” I have felt like I was really jerky and inconsistent when ‘trying to go fast’ with reloads, trigger, etc. with both a handgun and long gun. Chappy kept us working smooth, getting good repetitions without interruption. Although I have a lot to practice, I stopped having major breakdowns reloading for example, because it was one continuous motion without the frantic feel that I used to have.
4-Having a good time, but getting right back to work. I talked three other friends into coming with me to the class, and we had a good time. There was plenty of ball-busting, and having a good time, but it was also something that was put aside immediately when it was time to work. Chappy really made it a good time, and gave all of us plenty of crap, but was the one to shut it down and get into a drill right away. It really was a perfect mix for me.
5-Finally, you will get out of class what you put into it. Despite the joking, I was taking in (and writing down when I could) a lot. When Chappy would give you a suggestion or an observation, you knew it was something to keep in mind. You can also really tell during the AAR at the range who was there to learn, and who wasn’t. I could have talked for a long time about all the tweaks I needed to work on, and others just didn’t seem to really even care. That’s their gig, and good for them for at least coming out, but I feel like of anyone there, I got more out of my time and money than anybody else there. I can say that over the course of the day I both had the most enjoyable and biggest learning experience that I’ve had on the range, and I look forward to taking more classes with LMS defense.
A final thank you to Kris for helping us get signed up, sending instructions, and taking care of the paperwork and logistics side of the class. I also really appreciate the assistant instructor, although I can’t recall his name (shame on me). If anyone wants more specifics, let me know, there’s plenty left that I haven’t included.
I recently had the opportunity to attend the one day Carbine Clinic from LMS defense. Chappy was the instructor, and it took place at their range near Twin Falls. Weather was windy (it’s Idaho, so that almost goes without saying), and the morning started out with a bit of a wind chill, but it quickly warmed up to an almost perfect ~70. The biggest problem with weather was target stands being blown over a few times. My equipment was a BCM 16” midlength upper on a lower I built. Mags were an assortment of aluminum GI, Pmags, and a few Tango Down ARC mags in taco pouches on a belt. Sling was a Vtac two point that Chappy helped me set up. Sights were A2 FSP and a DD rear sight. I had two problems over-inserting mags on an open bolt, but otherwise equipment ran perfect, and didn’t interfere with learning.
Overview
I have shot a carbine a bit, but have chosen to dedicate my training resources primarily to handguns because, as a regular guy who doesn’t use a long gun for work purposes, I figured I should be training on the weapon I have on me and have the greater chance of needing. I do have my AR available near my bed, and I wanted get more proficient with it, so I started looking for a long gun class. Being from Northern Utah, LMS was a logical place to go; it’s only a few hours away, and the instruction looked to be high quality. As a general overview, this class was like drinking from a firehose for me. Chappy brings a wealth of info and experience, and a solid curriculum that built on itself, and gave me a lot of things to work on myself after the class. I especially appreciated Chappy’s individual advice, and his ability to observe and diagnose problems with individual people. I think we have all been to classes were you are simply turning money into noise; this was not the case here. Chappy is a skilled teacher, and presents the material very well.
I don’t really intend to provide a course curriculum (we zeroed guns, then did ready positions, then shot from XX distance, etc.), but rather put down a few observations. Hopefully this can help someone out. If nothing else, it’s something I can refer back to.
1-be a prepared student. I have heard this, and read it over and over, but since people still come to classes unprepared, I’ll mention it. I tried my best to have working gear ready to go. I zeroed my rifle beforehand and made a one click adjustment to windage to get zeroed at class. There was at least one person off paper at 50 yards, and some with optics that weren’t working properly which took time to square away. Chappy almost ran out of rental guns, as student’s guns were going down like it was going out of style. Mental prep, and coming with an open mind is just as important.
2-“Am I here to make you feel better, or shoot better?” “Everyone’s a sniper at 10 yards.” There are classes that I’ve heard called ‘ballistic masturbation.” Everyone comes and does things they are already ‘good’ at, or that are easy and don’t stretch you. That does no good, and isn’t going to be worth the price of admission. I was pushed, and felt like that was making the class worthwhile.
3-“Speed is a natural progression.” I have felt like I was really jerky and inconsistent when ‘trying to go fast’ with reloads, trigger, etc. with both a handgun and long gun. Chappy kept us working smooth, getting good repetitions without interruption. Although I have a lot to practice, I stopped having major breakdowns reloading for example, because it was one continuous motion without the frantic feel that I used to have.
4-Having a good time, but getting right back to work. I talked three other friends into coming with me to the class, and we had a good time. There was plenty of ball-busting, and having a good time, but it was also something that was put aside immediately when it was time to work. Chappy really made it a good time, and gave all of us plenty of crap, but was the one to shut it down and get into a drill right away. It really was a perfect mix for me.
5-Finally, you will get out of class what you put into it. Despite the joking, I was taking in (and writing down when I could) a lot. When Chappy would give you a suggestion or an observation, you knew it was something to keep in mind. You can also really tell during the AAR at the range who was there to learn, and who wasn’t. I could have talked for a long time about all the tweaks I needed to work on, and others just didn’t seem to really even care. That’s their gig, and good for them for at least coming out, but I feel like of anyone there, I got more out of my time and money than anybody else there. I can say that over the course of the day I both had the most enjoyable and biggest learning experience that I’ve had on the range, and I look forward to taking more classes with LMS defense.
A final thank you to Kris for helping us get signed up, sending instructions, and taking care of the paperwork and logistics side of the class. I also really appreciate the assistant instructor, although I can’t recall his name (shame on me). If anyone wants more specifics, let me know, there’s plenty left that I haven’t included.