Voodoo_Man
07-31-12, 17:57
“The storm before the calm.”
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6038_resize.jpg
Summary
This is the second class (private) with F2SConsulting which I have taken this year. The first class was a two day practical carbine course. That class gave me a hunger for more specific instruction, including tactics, "what-if" scenarios, stress-inducing situations and breaking through "barriers" both literal and figurative. Since this class was held late in July, shooting and range-work was something many of the students who attended, including myself did/do often, given the weather. This class required working operational knowledge of how your rifle, pistol, and kit functioned, and how to fix it if it quickly. Stressful situations occur unprovoked and unanticipated often times, mitigating that stress which ensues quickly, helps to reach a successful result. When a firearm is used in a deadly force style situation it is as stressful of a moment as there can be, in my opinion, training to manage that and the issues which may arise before, during and after, are very important. I will not go in to detail concerning every drill we ran, some of the pictures show a few so I will describe some aspects, but rest assured that the level of stress during drills Jack put us through is not something any of the students will soon forget. My objective for this class was to pinpoint specific issues which I need to work on/out which arise during stressful situations/scenarios and how I react to those situations. I want to turn "unconscious incompetence into unconscious competence" (Grossman, On Combat) as quickly and effectively as possible. Jack puts things into perspective, slowly increasing the stress level on each student, respective to their abilities, in order to force adaptation to a specific situation. The objective was to induce stress in such a manner to make it manageable as to not allow the student to lose control, something I found Jack to apply very skillfully. The class is the first of its kind I have attended and the result was a better understanding of how I personally was able to adapt and defeat stress while performing with firearms.
Equipment
SCAR 16s w/ H1 on Larue, PWS SRX, Insight WX150, Larue handstops, "Good Iron" brake, MS3 sling
Glock 17 (Gen4) w/ TLR1s, Ameriglo Pro-I sights, Scherer 3.5lb trigger
ATS Warbelt w/ fastmags, protech mouches, safariland holster, 5.11 dump pouch
PIG Gloves
Tyr Tactical BPC w/ Camelbak
Wolf 9mm 115gr
Wolf 62gr .223
The First Half (Day1)
We started with the formalities of a safety briefing and a general overview of how to make sure everyone stayed alive and left with as many holes as they came with. Jack explained what he thought stress was and how he was going to go about conveying that to us. There was no zeroing, there was no kit choice discussion, there was a quick overview of what we were going to be doing and we got into it. We started off running some benchmarks, to see where everyone was and how much stress they could be put through based on their abilities.
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0645.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0647.jpg
Most of the drills we ran were timed and scored, including a transition drill as pictured above.
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0674.jpg
Accuracy, however, was king and if you failed to put rounds where they were supposed to be, even under the stress of a buzzer, timer and score you had to pay.
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0700.jpg
Everyone ended up paying at least once for throwing a shot here or there. Some got it easy, others got it hard.
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0556.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0562.jpg
Most of Day 1 was about drills and proving that you had the capacity to make accurate hits on a small target when under pressure or stress. While we had a "break" every now and then it was nothing substantial and Jack worked through the breaks to help the students that needed instruction in certain places - such as accuracy.
The Second Half (Day1)
One aspect of stress is the unknown, especially with shooting at/into objects which may obstruct the desired outcome. Since vehicles are everywhere, and there may be a chance that shooting into a vehicle becomes reality, Jack gave us some targets to shoot at with different ammo-types to see what happens. Takes the stress out of not knowing where the bullet may go.
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0729.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0731.jpg
We shot far away, close up, all types of different ammo from rifles and pistols, and the results varied to a degree which gave certain impressions on ammo choices and penetration. I shot Hornady Critical Defense in 9mm, 115gr. At 25y the bullet penetrated the windshield but split and lost mass.
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6045_resize.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6047_resize.jpg
Good to know, if I had not tried that specific ammo I would not have known exactly what it does when hitting a windshield. Others were shooting everything from Gold Dot +P to HST (which ran the best, in my opinion), there were a few other defense ammo used but I do not recall the specific names (I am sure other students will correct me and I will change this later). We shot rifles as well, and for the most part, windshields did not do much to stop them, then again neither did pistols.
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0739.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6113_resize.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6041_resize.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6118_resize.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6044_resize.jpg
We had some fun, and the windshields lots. Stress reliever!
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6094_resize.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6075_resize.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6086_resize.jpg
So Day1 concluded and we were all sad. But we went and got beer and steak so it was not so bad. Things learned during Day1 was that accuracy is absolute and no matter how fast you move, how fast you draw, or what type of kit you have, you better make good hits or bad things happen. Which set the stage for Day2.
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6038_resize.jpg
Summary
This is the second class (private) with F2SConsulting which I have taken this year. The first class was a two day practical carbine course. That class gave me a hunger for more specific instruction, including tactics, "what-if" scenarios, stress-inducing situations and breaking through "barriers" both literal and figurative. Since this class was held late in July, shooting and range-work was something many of the students who attended, including myself did/do often, given the weather. This class required working operational knowledge of how your rifle, pistol, and kit functioned, and how to fix it if it quickly. Stressful situations occur unprovoked and unanticipated often times, mitigating that stress which ensues quickly, helps to reach a successful result. When a firearm is used in a deadly force style situation it is as stressful of a moment as there can be, in my opinion, training to manage that and the issues which may arise before, during and after, are very important. I will not go in to detail concerning every drill we ran, some of the pictures show a few so I will describe some aspects, but rest assured that the level of stress during drills Jack put us through is not something any of the students will soon forget. My objective for this class was to pinpoint specific issues which I need to work on/out which arise during stressful situations/scenarios and how I react to those situations. I want to turn "unconscious incompetence into unconscious competence" (Grossman, On Combat) as quickly and effectively as possible. Jack puts things into perspective, slowly increasing the stress level on each student, respective to their abilities, in order to force adaptation to a specific situation. The objective was to induce stress in such a manner to make it manageable as to not allow the student to lose control, something I found Jack to apply very skillfully. The class is the first of its kind I have attended and the result was a better understanding of how I personally was able to adapt and defeat stress while performing with firearms.
Equipment
SCAR 16s w/ H1 on Larue, PWS SRX, Insight WX150, Larue handstops, "Good Iron" brake, MS3 sling
Glock 17 (Gen4) w/ TLR1s, Ameriglo Pro-I sights, Scherer 3.5lb trigger
ATS Warbelt w/ fastmags, protech mouches, safariland holster, 5.11 dump pouch
PIG Gloves
Tyr Tactical BPC w/ Camelbak
Wolf 9mm 115gr
Wolf 62gr .223
The First Half (Day1)
We started with the formalities of a safety briefing and a general overview of how to make sure everyone stayed alive and left with as many holes as they came with. Jack explained what he thought stress was and how he was going to go about conveying that to us. There was no zeroing, there was no kit choice discussion, there was a quick overview of what we were going to be doing and we got into it. We started off running some benchmarks, to see where everyone was and how much stress they could be put through based on their abilities.
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0645.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0647.jpg
Most of the drills we ran were timed and scored, including a transition drill as pictured above.
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0674.jpg
Accuracy, however, was king and if you failed to put rounds where they were supposed to be, even under the stress of a buzzer, timer and score you had to pay.
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0700.jpg
Everyone ended up paying at least once for throwing a shot here or there. Some got it easy, others got it hard.
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0556.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0562.jpg
Most of Day 1 was about drills and proving that you had the capacity to make accurate hits on a small target when under pressure or stress. While we had a "break" every now and then it was nothing substantial and Jack worked through the breaks to help the students that needed instruction in certain places - such as accuracy.
The Second Half (Day1)
One aspect of stress is the unknown, especially with shooting at/into objects which may obstruct the desired outcome. Since vehicles are everywhere, and there may be a chance that shooting into a vehicle becomes reality, Jack gave us some targets to shoot at with different ammo-types to see what happens. Takes the stress out of not knowing where the bullet may go.
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0729.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0731.jpg
We shot far away, close up, all types of different ammo from rifles and pistols, and the results varied to a degree which gave certain impressions on ammo choices and penetration. I shot Hornady Critical Defense in 9mm, 115gr. At 25y the bullet penetrated the windshield but split and lost mass.
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6045_resize.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6047_resize.jpg
Good to know, if I had not tried that specific ammo I would not have known exactly what it does when hitting a windshield. Others were shooting everything from Gold Dot +P to HST (which ran the best, in my opinion), there were a few other defense ammo used but I do not recall the specific names (I am sure other students will correct me and I will change this later). We shot rifles as well, and for the most part, windshields did not do much to stop them, then again neither did pistols.
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/smash/DSC_0739.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6113_resize.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6041_resize.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6118_resize.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6044_resize.jpg
We had some fun, and the windshields lots. Stress reliever!
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6094_resize.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6075_resize.jpg
http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j341/shevon_vspec/2012/073012_highstress/AAR/IMG_6086_resize.jpg
So Day1 concluded and we were all sad. But we went and got beer and steak so it was not so bad. Things learned during Day1 was that accuracy is absolute and no matter how fast you move, how fast you draw, or what type of kit you have, you better make good hits or bad things happen. Which set the stage for Day2.