Wayneard3413
08-09-13, 13:29
Practical Firearms Training
Advanced Tactical Rifle
Owner/Lead Instructor: Pat Goodale
Instructors: Rob Tackett, Bart Baker, Wayne Fisher
On 3-4 August, 2013, Practical Firearms Training conducted their Advanced Tactical Rifle course in Alderson, WV. This course is designed for shooters who have attended previous training with PFT or other known and respected instructors. We had a total of 13 students with most of them having trained with us in the past. It allows shooters a chance to use their weapons throughout its entire spectrum, from contact distance to several hundred meters and forces them to step outside of their comfort zones.
After a short introduction we were on the range and ready to go hot. TD1 started out with zero verification and a skills review just to knock the rust off and get everyone warmed up. Skills included balancing speed and accuracy with standing snaps at increasingly further distances, sprinting into various firing positions, and a drill that incorporates numerous firing points and shooting positions while engaging steel targets at 125 yards. It was quickly apparent to students that we would not be engaging paper from 7 yards all weekend.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1004821_690591124287672_538006223_n_zps4c3d34bd.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1004821_690591124287672_538006223_n_zps4c3d34bd.jpg.html)
Next up was a refresher on transitioning from strong to support side and malfunction clearance before a block on single hand manipulation techniques. This was an eye opener for many and more than a handful of students were regretting some of the accessories they decided to bolt on to the gun.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/14487_690592134287571_1336856623_n_zps3a5c986e.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/14487_690592134287571_1336856623_n_zps3a5c986e.jpg.html)
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146462_690592934287491_504174796_n_zps0a39b371.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146462_690592934287491_504174796_n_zps0a39b371.jpg.html)
From there, we moved on to transitioning to a handgun. This was ran static on paper and then on the move while engaging steel targets for the shooter has instantaneous feedback.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/954758_690593704287414_1404695226_n_zps70b47216.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/954758_690593704287414_1404695226_n_zps70b47216.jpg.html)
We then went into rifle retention, including how to keep control of the weapon and how to fire from there if needed.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146726_690593047620813_904215110_n_zpsbd45173a.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146726_690593047620813_904215110_n_zpsbd45173a.jpg.html)
At this point, the class was split into relays. One asset of having a cadre of instructors is that students can be split into smaller groups on separate parts of the range. This means more drills in a day and less downtime standing around waiting for other shooters to finish.
We then got back to moving. One drill had students sprint to the berm, climb up it without exposing themselves and then taking a shot on distant steel.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1098052_690594177620700_988763317_n_zps8ce4036f.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1098052_690594177620700_988763317_n_zps8ce4036f.jpg.html)
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1148842_690594194287365_968314134_n_zpsef7bb2db.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1148842_690594194287365_968314134_n_zpsef7bb2db.jpg.html)
Students then ran other movement drills. One of which included over 100 yards of diagonal movement while engaging targets as well as another that forced them to dash from 4 different points of cover in 4 different directions.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1150982_690593267620791_1172103581_n_zps90b1ac78.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1150982_690593267620791_1172103581_n_zps90b1ac78.jpg.html)
Next up was a progressive use of cover drill. This forced shooters to move from one piece of cover to another while firing off the strong or support side. Most shooters have not tried a support side shot, around cover, on a target at 100+ yards.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1150799_690595344287250_1279748449_n_zps0f57ffeb.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1150799_690595344287250_1279748449_n_zps0f57ffeb.jpg.html)
TD2 started out with a warmup before the class split again. One group prepared for the shoothouse while the other ran vehicle based drills.
The class was largely made up of civilians. Due to this, an outside/in shoothouse run isn’t exactly relevant to their life. Due to that, the scenarios were based around a home defense situation with the shooter starting out in bed and the rifle staged as it would be in real life. The shooter heard his “wife” scream from the other room and had to make his way to her.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/12959_690596067620511_1634137572_n_zpscf70ab8c.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/12959_690596067620511_1634137572_n_zpscf70ab8c.jpg.html)
Multiple vehicle drills were ran, both with the rifle up front and in the trunk. The shooters engaged multiple moving targets in this block.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/988285_690596177620500_984318389_n_zps91a858f3.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/988285_690596177620500_984318389_n_zps91a858f3.jpg.html)
At this point, we packed up and headed to our offsite training facility. This is a fairly austere environment but it allows us near 360 degree fields of fire, up to 900 yards to engage targets, inclines, declines, steep angle engagements, and more.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146717_690596387620479_1394859976_n_zps8c5e9d6e.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146717_690596387620479_1394859976_n_zps8c5e9d6e.jpg.html)
First up was a chance to for shooters to see what their rifles actually did at 200 yards with their 50/200 zero. After that, the thought of laying down to comfortably fire a string was nothing more than a distant memory.
The next drill incorporated several hundred yards of dashing with multiple firing points where students would engage targets from different positions.
This drill was also ran as a split as others started out on a rifle scrambler. This drill involved over 150 yards of movement while identifying and engaging hidden targets at distances between 5 and 225 yards. These ranged from camouflaged cardboard TacStrike/PFT targets hidden in trees, steel placed at 60 degrees below the shooter at the bottom of a cliff, to quarter scale targets placed across the pit. It was a big change to shooters who are used to standing in front of a known target and engaging it with a known number of rounds.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1003882_690597867620331_1673306660_n_zps87f135e8.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1003882_690597867620331_1673306660_n_zps87f135e8.jpg.html)
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1150425_690598174286967_252186978_n_zpsec0ad961.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1150425_690598174286967_252186978_n_zpsec0ad961.jpg.html)
The class was wrapped up with yet another split. One half of the class went to the lower pit to run some drills on paper and against the clock. This gave each a personal matrix on exactly what they could do and included single and multiple target engagements.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146601_690598427620275_1286353904_n_zps4e382b27.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146601_690598427620275_1286353904_n_zps4e382b27.jpg.html)
While this was going on, the other half of the class were running drills to help break the idea of the “180 rule”. Here students engaged multiple steel targets across a firing fan of over 270 degrees.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/534256_690598574286927_19745203_n_zps48bc18ea.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/534256_690598574286927_19745203_n_zps48bc18ea.jpg.html)
With this, Advanced Tac Rifle was complete. Students had fired approximately 1,000 rounds from 1 yard to 300. They had engaged targets inside houses, out of vehicles, and behind them. They got to see just how fast they could engage a known target on the clock and get a feel for finding unknown targets at various distances. They got to smooth out manipulations ranging from speed reloads and up to single handed double feed clearances. In our minds, this is what an “Advanced” class should be. Finding and surpassing the limitations of the shooter and his equipment throughout its entire range of use and not just using it like a big pistol.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1004532_689779164368868_899943233_n_zps04100446.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1004532_689779164368868_899943233_n_zps04100446.jpg.html)
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/936538_690590864287698_1151816535_n_zpse061f510.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/936538_690590864287698_1151816535_n_zpse061f510.jpg.html)
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/993340_690597897620328_850135783_n_zpse97ab5ec.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/993340_690597897620328_850135783_n_zpse97ab5ec.jpg.html)
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/993677_690681824278602_397626439_n_zps0b7dfb01.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/993677_690681824278602_397626439_n_zps0b7dfb01.jpg.html)
You can find more information about PFT and our classes at the following:
http://www.pgpft.com/
https://www.facebook.com/PracticalFirearmsTrainingPFT
We would also like to thank the following companies for their support in this class:
http://www.aresgear.com/
http://hjamesstanton.com/
http://www.herdtactical.com/
http://www.virginiaarms.com/
http://www.valleyguns2.com/
Advanced Tactical Rifle
Owner/Lead Instructor: Pat Goodale
Instructors: Rob Tackett, Bart Baker, Wayne Fisher
On 3-4 August, 2013, Practical Firearms Training conducted their Advanced Tactical Rifle course in Alderson, WV. This course is designed for shooters who have attended previous training with PFT or other known and respected instructors. We had a total of 13 students with most of them having trained with us in the past. It allows shooters a chance to use their weapons throughout its entire spectrum, from contact distance to several hundred meters and forces them to step outside of their comfort zones.
After a short introduction we were on the range and ready to go hot. TD1 started out with zero verification and a skills review just to knock the rust off and get everyone warmed up. Skills included balancing speed and accuracy with standing snaps at increasingly further distances, sprinting into various firing positions, and a drill that incorporates numerous firing points and shooting positions while engaging steel targets at 125 yards. It was quickly apparent to students that we would not be engaging paper from 7 yards all weekend.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1004821_690591124287672_538006223_n_zps4c3d34bd.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1004821_690591124287672_538006223_n_zps4c3d34bd.jpg.html)
Next up was a refresher on transitioning from strong to support side and malfunction clearance before a block on single hand manipulation techniques. This was an eye opener for many and more than a handful of students were regretting some of the accessories they decided to bolt on to the gun.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/14487_690592134287571_1336856623_n_zps3a5c986e.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/14487_690592134287571_1336856623_n_zps3a5c986e.jpg.html)
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146462_690592934287491_504174796_n_zps0a39b371.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146462_690592934287491_504174796_n_zps0a39b371.jpg.html)
From there, we moved on to transitioning to a handgun. This was ran static on paper and then on the move while engaging steel targets for the shooter has instantaneous feedback.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/954758_690593704287414_1404695226_n_zps70b47216.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/954758_690593704287414_1404695226_n_zps70b47216.jpg.html)
We then went into rifle retention, including how to keep control of the weapon and how to fire from there if needed.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146726_690593047620813_904215110_n_zpsbd45173a.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146726_690593047620813_904215110_n_zpsbd45173a.jpg.html)
At this point, the class was split into relays. One asset of having a cadre of instructors is that students can be split into smaller groups on separate parts of the range. This means more drills in a day and less downtime standing around waiting for other shooters to finish.
We then got back to moving. One drill had students sprint to the berm, climb up it without exposing themselves and then taking a shot on distant steel.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1098052_690594177620700_988763317_n_zps8ce4036f.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1098052_690594177620700_988763317_n_zps8ce4036f.jpg.html)
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1148842_690594194287365_968314134_n_zpsef7bb2db.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1148842_690594194287365_968314134_n_zpsef7bb2db.jpg.html)
Students then ran other movement drills. One of which included over 100 yards of diagonal movement while engaging targets as well as another that forced them to dash from 4 different points of cover in 4 different directions.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1150982_690593267620791_1172103581_n_zps90b1ac78.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1150982_690593267620791_1172103581_n_zps90b1ac78.jpg.html)
Next up was a progressive use of cover drill. This forced shooters to move from one piece of cover to another while firing off the strong or support side. Most shooters have not tried a support side shot, around cover, on a target at 100+ yards.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1150799_690595344287250_1279748449_n_zps0f57ffeb.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1150799_690595344287250_1279748449_n_zps0f57ffeb.jpg.html)
TD2 started out with a warmup before the class split again. One group prepared for the shoothouse while the other ran vehicle based drills.
The class was largely made up of civilians. Due to this, an outside/in shoothouse run isn’t exactly relevant to their life. Due to that, the scenarios were based around a home defense situation with the shooter starting out in bed and the rifle staged as it would be in real life. The shooter heard his “wife” scream from the other room and had to make his way to her.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/12959_690596067620511_1634137572_n_zpscf70ab8c.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/12959_690596067620511_1634137572_n_zpscf70ab8c.jpg.html)
Multiple vehicle drills were ran, both with the rifle up front and in the trunk. The shooters engaged multiple moving targets in this block.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/988285_690596177620500_984318389_n_zps91a858f3.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/988285_690596177620500_984318389_n_zps91a858f3.jpg.html)
At this point, we packed up and headed to our offsite training facility. This is a fairly austere environment but it allows us near 360 degree fields of fire, up to 900 yards to engage targets, inclines, declines, steep angle engagements, and more.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146717_690596387620479_1394859976_n_zps8c5e9d6e.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146717_690596387620479_1394859976_n_zps8c5e9d6e.jpg.html)
First up was a chance to for shooters to see what their rifles actually did at 200 yards with their 50/200 zero. After that, the thought of laying down to comfortably fire a string was nothing more than a distant memory.
The next drill incorporated several hundred yards of dashing with multiple firing points where students would engage targets from different positions.
This drill was also ran as a split as others started out on a rifle scrambler. This drill involved over 150 yards of movement while identifying and engaging hidden targets at distances between 5 and 225 yards. These ranged from camouflaged cardboard TacStrike/PFT targets hidden in trees, steel placed at 60 degrees below the shooter at the bottom of a cliff, to quarter scale targets placed across the pit. It was a big change to shooters who are used to standing in front of a known target and engaging it with a known number of rounds.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1003882_690597867620331_1673306660_n_zps87f135e8.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1003882_690597867620331_1673306660_n_zps87f135e8.jpg.html)
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1150425_690598174286967_252186978_n_zpsec0ad961.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1150425_690598174286967_252186978_n_zpsec0ad961.jpg.html)
The class was wrapped up with yet another split. One half of the class went to the lower pit to run some drills on paper and against the clock. This gave each a personal matrix on exactly what they could do and included single and multiple target engagements.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146601_690598427620275_1286353904_n_zps4e382b27.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1146601_690598427620275_1286353904_n_zps4e382b27.jpg.html)
While this was going on, the other half of the class were running drills to help break the idea of the “180 rule”. Here students engaged multiple steel targets across a firing fan of over 270 degrees.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/534256_690598574286927_19745203_n_zps48bc18ea.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/534256_690598574286927_19745203_n_zps48bc18ea.jpg.html)
With this, Advanced Tac Rifle was complete. Students had fired approximately 1,000 rounds from 1 yard to 300. They had engaged targets inside houses, out of vehicles, and behind them. They got to see just how fast they could engage a known target on the clock and get a feel for finding unknown targets at various distances. They got to smooth out manipulations ranging from speed reloads and up to single handed double feed clearances. In our minds, this is what an “Advanced” class should be. Finding and surpassing the limitations of the shooter and his equipment throughout its entire range of use and not just using it like a big pistol.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1004532_689779164368868_899943233_n_zps04100446.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/1004532_689779164368868_899943233_n_zps04100446.jpg.html)
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/936538_690590864287698_1151816535_n_zpse061f510.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/936538_690590864287698_1151816535_n_zpse061f510.jpg.html)
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/993340_690597897620328_850135783_n_zpse97ab5ec.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/993340_690597897620328_850135783_n_zpse97ab5ec.jpg.html)
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/Wayne3413/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/993677_690681824278602_397626439_n_zps0b7dfb01.jpg (http://s1138.photobucket.com/user/Wayne3413/media/Advanced%20Tac%20Rifle/993677_690681824278602_397626439_n_zps0b7dfb01.jpg.html)
You can find more information about PFT and our classes at the following:
http://www.pgpft.com/
https://www.facebook.com/PracticalFirearmsTrainingPFT
We would also like to thank the following companies for their support in this class:
http://www.aresgear.com/
http://hjamesstanton.com/
http://www.herdtactical.com/
http://www.virginiaarms.com/
http://www.valleyguns2.com/