I attended Mike Pannone’s Advanced Carbine class in Pueblo West, Colorado on March 10 and 11 of 2012. Primary instruction for the Class was handled by Mr. Pannone.
Gun/Gear – I was shooting a registered LMT lower with a 10.5in LWRCi M6A2 upper. Gun jewelry included an Aimpoint T1, Surefire 556-212 suppressor, Surefire mini scout light, Laser Devices DBAL A2 and a Larue FUG. A BFG Padded Vickers sling kept me from dropping all that non-sense onto the deck. As a side arm, I was using a G19 with a Surefire x300 pistol light.
1st line – I wore a maxpedition LIGER belt and a JM Custom Kydex holster and pistol mag pouch and a BFG Fastmag to carry a rifle mag.
2nd line – Mayflower low-pro armor carrier and QD chestrig. The chestrig has (from my right to left) a BFG “Trauma Kit Now”, Paraclete rifle mag pouch, BFG Fastmag and Paraclete double pistol mag pouch.
CLASS POI –The class began with a short and sweet safety brief before moving into zeroing. The farthest range we were shooting at was 100yds but most shooters seemed to like the 50M zero. Mr. Pannone was very upfront at the beginning of class that he would do his best to impart the WHY for his methods, not just the how.
This came into play immediately while discussing the advantages of different zeros. Mr. Pannone emphasized that a 50M zero is NOT the same as a 200M zero no matter what the ballistic calculator tells you. If you want a 200M zero, zero at 200M. Just because the theory says it works doesn’t make it so. Get out and confirm it.
The first exercise we shot after the class got their zeros was a 400pt aggregate. 10 rounds from the prone at 100, 10 rounds from the sitting at 75, 10 rounds from the kneeling at 50 and 10 rounds from the standing at 25. The time limit for each string is 60 seconds. This is an excellent drill to asses or practice basic marksmanship. The shooter has to adjust his point of aim a bit depending on the distance to achieve the highest score.
The 400pt aggregate was followed up by one of Mr. Pannone’s variations on the half and half drill. He took the standard half and half drill and cut both the round count and the time in half. The drill as fired was 5 rounds from the 20 in 5sec, 5 rounds from the 10 in 2.5sec and 5 rounds from the 5 in 1.25sec. As you can imagine, this changes the whole feel of the drill.
This drill lead to one of the most rewarding conversations on training methodology I’ve had in a long time. Mr. Pannone has clearly invested a lot of time into considering WHY he shoots or teaches the drills that he does and how they can be adapted depending on what area you need to work on. He gave me a good deal to think about.
Day one also included a short class on shooting off of your non-dominant shoulder followed by lots of practical application. This is a skill set I’ve always had a bad attitude about. I’m faster and more accurate from my dominant shoulder and I’ve allowed myself to get into the habit of never/rarely practicing with my left. This was reflected in my smoothness and accuracy. It’s tough to make an argument about not needing to work on this skill when confronted by a man who lost his right eye on a breech.
Day two began with Mr. Pannone’s malfunctions class. As long as I’ve been carrying a gun, I have never had someone break malfunctions down as simply as he did. The class spent the morning clearing malfunctions with our fingers that would have had me getting my multi-tool out when the day started. The drill culminated with each student clearing four weapons with different malfunctions while blindfolded. These couple of hours alone was worth the price of admission.
Following the malfunctions drills we shot some non-standard positions and some more variations on drills we had shot on TDay 1. I was impressed by how much the feel of a drill can be changed by adjusting one variable.
Towards the end of the day We backed up to shoot the 400pt aggregate again. When we went down to check targets it became clear that the class had largely reached a point of tracer burnout. Group sizes had opened up significantly. Mr. Pannone called us to the center of the firing line and we chatted briefly about training efficiently and the point of diminishing returns. After that it was back to base for debrief and cocktails.
Personal Lessons Learned –
BRING A GUN THAT WORKS – I felt like “that guy” during this class. I had a week ejector on my bolt (swapped it out for a new bolt Tday 1) on the first day that caused me a few failures to eject. I then had a problem with my bolt catch on Tday 2 that caused my bolt to randomly lock to the rear even with a full/partial magazine in the gun. At the range it felt like the spring had gone UA. When I got the gun home and took it apart there was a very slight lip of metal pushed up in front of the bolt catch plunger causing it to become wedged in a “disengaged” position. I’ve never seen that before, I have no idea how it happened. I filed the excess metal down. Hopefully it won’t be an issue in the future.
AIM SMALL MISS SMALL – We’ve all seen The Patriot, but that trash holds true. Pick a good point of aim don’t just fling rounds at the target.
KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND WHY YOU’RE DOING IT – This was my big take away from the malfunction clearing drills. Understanding the cycle of operations on your weapon, understanding the type of problem you’re having and clearing it in the most efficient manner possible. Anything else is just wasting time you may not have.
DON’T LET YOURSELF STAGNATE – Constantly update what you consider fast/accurate. Don’t just shoot drills out of a book and accept their standards for speed and accuracy. Push yourself right up to the point of failure and then back off just a touch. Be able to ride that line.
Overall this was a great class. I’d retake it in a heartbeat and I wouldn’t feel like my time was wasted.
Gun/Gear – I was shooting a registered LMT lower with a 10.5in LWRCi M6A2 upper. Gun jewelry included an Aimpoint T1, Surefire 556-212 suppressor, Surefire mini scout light, Laser Devices DBAL A2 and a Larue FUG. A BFG Padded Vickers sling kept me from dropping all that non-sense onto the deck. As a side arm, I was using a G19 with a Surefire x300 pistol light.
1st line – I wore a maxpedition LIGER belt and a JM Custom Kydex holster and pistol mag pouch and a BFG Fastmag to carry a rifle mag.
2nd line – Mayflower low-pro armor carrier and QD chestrig. The chestrig has (from my right to left) a BFG “Trauma Kit Now”, Paraclete rifle mag pouch, BFG Fastmag and Paraclete double pistol mag pouch.
CLASS POI –The class began with a short and sweet safety brief before moving into zeroing. The farthest range we were shooting at was 100yds but most shooters seemed to like the 50M zero. Mr. Pannone was very upfront at the beginning of class that he would do his best to impart the WHY for his methods, not just the how.
This came into play immediately while discussing the advantages of different zeros. Mr. Pannone emphasized that a 50M zero is NOT the same as a 200M zero no matter what the ballistic calculator tells you. If you want a 200M zero, zero at 200M. Just because the theory says it works doesn’t make it so. Get out and confirm it.
The first exercise we shot after the class got their zeros was a 400pt aggregate. 10 rounds from the prone at 100, 10 rounds from the sitting at 75, 10 rounds from the kneeling at 50 and 10 rounds from the standing at 25. The time limit for each string is 60 seconds. This is an excellent drill to asses or practice basic marksmanship. The shooter has to adjust his point of aim a bit depending on the distance to achieve the highest score.
The 400pt aggregate was followed up by one of Mr. Pannone’s variations on the half and half drill. He took the standard half and half drill and cut both the round count and the time in half. The drill as fired was 5 rounds from the 20 in 5sec, 5 rounds from the 10 in 2.5sec and 5 rounds from the 5 in 1.25sec. As you can imagine, this changes the whole feel of the drill.
This drill lead to one of the most rewarding conversations on training methodology I’ve had in a long time. Mr. Pannone has clearly invested a lot of time into considering WHY he shoots or teaches the drills that he does and how they can be adapted depending on what area you need to work on. He gave me a good deal to think about.
Day one also included a short class on shooting off of your non-dominant shoulder followed by lots of practical application. This is a skill set I’ve always had a bad attitude about. I’m faster and more accurate from my dominant shoulder and I’ve allowed myself to get into the habit of never/rarely practicing with my left. This was reflected in my smoothness and accuracy. It’s tough to make an argument about not needing to work on this skill when confronted by a man who lost his right eye on a breech.
Day two began with Mr. Pannone’s malfunctions class. As long as I’ve been carrying a gun, I have never had someone break malfunctions down as simply as he did. The class spent the morning clearing malfunctions with our fingers that would have had me getting my multi-tool out when the day started. The drill culminated with each student clearing four weapons with different malfunctions while blindfolded. These couple of hours alone was worth the price of admission.
Following the malfunctions drills we shot some non-standard positions and some more variations on drills we had shot on TDay 1. I was impressed by how much the feel of a drill can be changed by adjusting one variable.
Towards the end of the day We backed up to shoot the 400pt aggregate again. When we went down to check targets it became clear that the class had largely reached a point of tracer burnout. Group sizes had opened up significantly. Mr. Pannone called us to the center of the firing line and we chatted briefly about training efficiently and the point of diminishing returns. After that it was back to base for debrief and cocktails.
Personal Lessons Learned –
BRING A GUN THAT WORKS – I felt like “that guy” during this class. I had a week ejector on my bolt (swapped it out for a new bolt Tday 1) on the first day that caused me a few failures to eject. I then had a problem with my bolt catch on Tday 2 that caused my bolt to randomly lock to the rear even with a full/partial magazine in the gun. At the range it felt like the spring had gone UA. When I got the gun home and took it apart there was a very slight lip of metal pushed up in front of the bolt catch plunger causing it to become wedged in a “disengaged” position. I’ve never seen that before, I have no idea how it happened. I filed the excess metal down. Hopefully it won’t be an issue in the future.
AIM SMALL MISS SMALL – We’ve all seen The Patriot, but that trash holds true. Pick a good point of aim don’t just fling rounds at the target.
KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND WHY YOU’RE DOING IT – This was my big take away from the malfunction clearing drills. Understanding the cycle of operations on your weapon, understanding the type of problem you’re having and clearing it in the most efficient manner possible. Anything else is just wasting time you may not have.
DON’T LET YOURSELF STAGNATE – Constantly update what you consider fast/accurate. Don’t just shoot drills out of a book and accept their standards for speed and accuracy. Push yourself right up to the point of failure and then back off just a touch. Be able to ride that line.
Overall this was a great class. I’d retake it in a heartbeat and I wouldn’t feel like my time was wasted.
