John Hearne
11-16-08, 09:41
Rogers Shooting School Review
Intermediate/Advanced Handgun and Short Range Carbine
I just returned from the Rogers Shooting School in Ellijay, GA. I completed their Intermediate/Advanced Handgun Program as well as their Short Range Carbine course. For those that don’t like detail, the class was an excellent value and I learned a lot. I highly recommend the Rogers program for shooters wanting to increase their shooting speed and accuracy.
My Background
So you’ll know where I’m coming from, I’ve been a Federal law enforcement officer since 1991. I’ve attended two basic academies as well other government training over the years. I serve as a firearms instructor for my agency and also teach firearms in the private sector for Tom Givens of Rangemaster in Memphis, TN.
I’ve been seriously studying the combative use of firearms since 1999 when I took my first private sector training class. Since then, I’ve been hooked on the value of private sector courses. I’ve taken training from Gunsite (250C, 223), Thunder Ranch (Handgun 1, 2, & 3, Urban Rifle 1 & 2), and Front Sight (Four-Day Defensive Handgun, Two-Day Tactical Handgun). I’ve also taken courses from the notable traveling trainers including Pat Rogers (3-Day Carbine Operators Course), Larry Vickers (Handgun 1), Louis Awerbuck (Tactical Carbine), Jeff Gonzales (Combative Pistol), Scottie Reitz (SWAT Combat Course), Randy Cain (Tactical Handgun 101), and Chuck Taylor (Advanced Tactical Handgun).
I’ve also completed the Firearms Instructor Program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), the FBI’s Police Firearms Instructor Program, and the NRA’s LE Tactical Shooting program. I’ve shot competitively and have won a few local 3-gun and IDPA matches and have been recognized as a top practitioner at the NTI.
Early Warnings
I had known about the Rogers School for some time. I was attending the course with a friend of mine who had attended Rogers three times previously and spoke very highly of it. I also knew the Head Instructor, Claude Werner from conferences we had attended and internet forums. I picked both of their brains for advice before the course started.
I was advised that a recognizable cycle occurred with the students where they tended to shoot worse as the week progressed until about Thursday when they started to improve. I was advised that most folks did not want to change the way they shot and simply “tried harder” until they crashed. Once they had crashed, they listened to the instructors and began to improve. I made it a point to avoid this mistake and listen to the instructors the first time.
I was also cautioned about shooting a .45 for the course. I was told that the course consists of a lot of one handed shooting and the recoil of the .45 would make this more difficult. I was also told that firing over 2000 rounds of .45 in a week would be exhausting. It was suggested that I pickup a P226 and shoot it as I have to carry a Sig.
Finally, I was cautioned against having too many obstacles in my path. Apparently, a lot of folks will shoot a snappy pistol (like a Glock 22) from a level 3 duty holster all week. Because they are fighting the holster and a light gun with snappy recoil, they tend not to progress as quickly. I was advised to shoot a simple holster at first and then upgrade once I was shooting at the level I wanted. My goal was to learn as quickly as possible and I made every effort to try what they suggested (except for shooting a 9mm).
Gear
I have to carry a classic Sig for work. That’s it no other choices. Rather than gripe and carry something different off-duty, I’ve simply learned to shoot the Sig well. Over the years and several guns, I’ve formed some opinions about what I like in a pistol. For the course, I shot a semi-custom 5” P220 Stainless Elite. My pistol is based on a stainless steel Elite frame which means it comes with a short reset trigger (SRT) and beavertail. To accent the SRT, a welded overtravel stop has been added to the factory short trigger and the factory "thin grips" are added. The slide assembly is a 5” version with factory night sights that I was able to track down before Sig stopped making them. Together, they make a hefty but infinitely shootable single stack pistol.
http://thecurmudgeon.freeservers.com/sig_5inch_left_side.jpg
I was able to borrow two factory Sig 10 round magazines and one 10 round ProMag to help with some of the capacity issues. I brought almost every 8 round magazine I owned but used just a few. For ammo, I handloaded 3,000 rounds on my Dillon 550 (thanks to my wife, Ginger, for loading primer tubes and checking loaded rounds) I ended up using a Comp-Tac belt holster that had been modified to allow the extra barrel and slide to protrude through though I did shoot from concealment on one of the colder mornings.
The Philosophy of the Course
It is impossible to understand the Rogers shooting school without understanding the target system they use. With rare exception, all shots are fired on steel targets. Rogers believes that the brain must be able to assimilate positive results immediately if a lesson is to be absorbed. Thus, Rogers wants you to see “what works” immediately and try to remember it. To this end, the steel was painted after every string of fire.
The range is a set of six bays, all basically identical. There are seven steel targets, T1-T7, and one paper target holder T8. Three of the targets have a body and head plate, the remaining four targets are simply 8” round “head plates” though T5 is not a full value target, it simulates someone sticking their head over a wall. Every head plate appears and disappears but either moving vertically or horizontally. Every string of fire is started by a visual signal of a target appearing. All of these targets are controlled by a computer and the targets are capable of very quick presentations – like 0.5 second exposures. The approximate distance of the targets range from ~7 yards for T1 to ~20 yards for T7. See the picture below:
http://www.dvctargets.com\misc\rogers_range_cropped_sm_labeled.jpg
Target exposures are based on the concept of “human reaction time” which is considered to be 0.25 second. A target is exposed only for the minimal number “reaction times” necessary to complete the task. For instance, if a task takes 6 reaction times, like seeing 3 threat targets, responding from the ready, and hitting the 3 targets with a pistol, a shooter is given 1.5 seconds to perform it. If a followup shot is needed to the same target then only 0.25 second is given for the next shot.
The final premise of the course deals with how people learn to perform demanding physical tasks that require large amounts of hand/eye coordination. This premise is – “You can’t learn to hit a fast pitch by swinging at slow ones.” In a nutshell, from day one, the targets move at full speed and you, the shooter, have to learn how to hit them. This leads to the first day being quite overwhelming as the shooter is left wondering “they expect me to hit what in how long?” Long term this does work because working at full-speed all week alters what the shooter considers “fast” and “difficult.”
All of these ideas come together in the “Test” which is shot once a day except Thursday when it is shot twice. The “Test” consists of 125 possible targets. The shooter must hit 70 targets to earn a “Basic” rating. For an “Intermediate” rating, a student must hit 90 targets. For the coveted “Advanced” rating, a student must hit 110 targets. While this may seem easy at first, it is important to realize that roughly half the shots fired are fired with just one hand, either strong or support side by itself. To keep things interesting, the times for the one-handed shooting are no more generous than the two-handed shooting. Finally, the “Test” includes strong-hand and support hand only reloads to make sure the student can shoot and maintain a continuity of fire with just one-hand. To give some idea of the overall difficulty of the “Test,” nobody has ever shot a perfect score on an actual Test. The number of “Advanced” ratings in a given year is small, no more than 6-7% of the students in a given year will earn the rating.
Monday Through Friday
The course works by shooting a pretty standard series of drills. On Monday the drills are shot from an extended ready, on Tuesday from compressed ready, on Wednesday from the holster and strong hand only, and on Thursday support-hand only. The drills are a good mix that include a lot of ball and dummy, either randomly or alternating. These are designed to teach “calling the shot” and they work really well for this purpose. In addition to ball and dummy, multiple shot drills are emphasized to make sure the shooter is controlling the gun.
Before any drill is shot by a student, an instructor demonstrates it first. The instructors don’t just fire one or two shots, they fire the whole drill. This works well and is useful because the Rogers course is so demanding. While the required tasks may seem “superhuman” at first, seeing an instructor shoot them shows what is possible. Thus, a drill is explained and demonstrated, it is shot by the first relay and then the second relay. The next drill is introduced and the cycle repeats.
In addition to the standard set of drills, every day incorporates some special drill. These included retention shooting, shooting through specialized ports, and shooting while moving. At the end of the day, and in the morning on Thursday, students shoot the 125 round test.
Rogers is a true meritocracy. Scores are announced and relays are reordered based on the cumulative test scores. This is actually beneficial for several reasons. First, it allows the worst shooters to be coached by the best shooters and allows the worst shooters to watch the better shooters. Second, it induces stress during the test which the student must deal with. (A noted firearms instructor with real-world experience who attended Rogers multiple times advised that the "Test" was more stressful than any gunfight he ever encountered)
Long Gun Training
In addition to the principal handgun class, Rogers also offers an optional additional training block for either the shotgun or the carbine. I took the “Short Range Carbine” which is shot on the standard target system using AR’s in 9mm equipped with Aimpoint red dot sights. The carbine portion follows a similar structure as far as drills that lead to a test, with a possible score of 75 points. The main difference is that the carbine tests add additional targets that have to be shot in the same time frames. For instance pistol test one is 3 hits in 1.5 seconds (1-Body 1-Head to T1 and T5). The carbine test added an additional target requiring one hit to the body of T1, one hit to the head of T1 and then engage T3 and T5 in 1.5 seconds. That’s right, you are required to fire four hits on four distinct targets in 1.5 seconds – this is fast and you’re supposed to remember the offset between your sights and bore while doing it.
The test also included shooting while moving, rapid engagement of disappearing targets, and reloads under strict time pressures. One of the most useful tests evaluated your snap shooting. You would be presented with the head of T1 and one other random target. The rifle started at the high ready with the safety on. You had to mount the rifle, disengage the safety and hit the head of T1 quickly – like 0.5 seconds quick and then engage a second target.
Thoughts on the Course – Positive
Overall, I thought the course was excellent and eye opening. The course forces you to shoot under rigorous time pressures. My idea of what is “possible” was greatly expanded. Shooting problems that started out as greatly daunting were mostly manageable and some were even easy by the end of the week. The drills that are shot are very well selected. Since it was practiced every day, my ability to call my shots vastly improved.
I’ve had a fair bit of training and didn’t get the feeling that I was in over my head. There were people who struggled throughout the course and one person was never able to reach the minimum score for a rating (70/125). My previous training was both useful and burdensome throughout the course. My ability to manipulate the weapon, especially reloads, helped tremendously, especially since I shot a single stack pistol. Rogers teaches an entirely different method of trigger control – a flip and press technique. The technique is counter-intuitive and I struggled with it throughout the week. I’m still undecided on the overall value of the technique but the more I used it, the better I shot.
Your rating at Rogers is based on your high score for the week – in my case a 106. This earned me an “Intermediate” rating and I was just four targets away from an “Advanced” rating. The Carbine scoring is even tighter, requiring 70/75 for an “Advanced” rating. I shot 73/75 and was really happy with that performance.
Thoughts on the Program - Negative
I have very few criticisms of the Rogers program. I did struggle with their balance of speed, power, and accuracy (DVC). In particular, they work speed so much that accuracy is arguably sacrificed. The drills require several hits on a “Body” size target that is literally an entire body. I’d like to see those shots required in a smaller zone. I’ve thought about it and have concluded that their goal is to push speed to the limits of human capability. If this happens, accuracy is going to suffer but it can be argued that your performance on the Test won’t be any worse than your shooting in real-life.
Several of the drills of the Test do not use randomly appearing targets. Thus, as one learns the Test, you can learn to drive the gun to a spot where you know the target will be. This strikes me as choreography of very limited value. I can assure you that the tests which include seemingly random targets are far more difficult.
I have mixed feeling about their carbine program. They don’t offer a lot of instruction on the use of the carbine and seem to assume that the pistol skills will bleed over to the rifle. This actually does work pretty well but it would be very difficult for a complete carbine novice to do well in the course. The course originally called for 800 rounds of pistol ammo for the carbine and we only went through 350 rounds in three days. It would be really helpful if more actual hours were spent on the carbine skills instead of simply warming up and taking the Carbine Test.
There were several points of the Rogers rifle instruction I simply didn’t agree with. They like the collapsible stock all the way out (they claim this is for reliability of the 9mm ARs) and aren’t afraid to let the strong side arm “chicken wing.” The rifles were setup with single point slings and their instructions had them so tight that effective snap shooting was difficult. After the first day, I opened mine up while keeping the stock short and the snap shooting was much easier.
They didn’t have a particular recommendation about where to place the support hand but did mention that a magazine well hold might limit the ability to rapidly transition the rifle from target to target. I used the “three gunner” method where I use my support side trigger finger to point the muzzle. It worked very well and I was able to shooter 23 of 21 on the last carbine test. (You can double tap targets but you can’t score more than the maximum possible for the COF).
Miscellaneous Thoughts – Shooting With Both Eyes Open
One issue I struggled with all week was shooting with both eyes open. I was aware that the rapidly appearing and disappearing targets required shooting with both eyes open in order to see them. I've never done this and started working with both eyes open during my dry practice. This simply wasn't enough and I struggled with it the entire course. In a nutshell, I was unable to reliably track the correct front sight during my firing cycles and it was frustrating.
I forced myself to shoot with both eyes open and resorted to having the lens over my non-dominant eye taped to occlude its view. I made vast improvements over the week and had no problems getting hits on the closest targets with both eyes open. My results at distance were not as consistent. Often, I would close an eye after acquiring a target and then quickly open it after breaking the shot. By Friday I was getting hits on T-7 with both eyes open which was a dramatic improvement. I think it would take another week of intensive work to really do this well.
Miscellaneous Thoughts – Low Light
The class also had a low-light portion on Thursday night. It was an interesting session as only the “Rogers ” method (a term which Bill Rogers refuses to use) and a weapon mounted light was used. I’ve never shot the Rogers method well but because so many targets were presented, I was actually able to find a passable technique that worked better than anything else I’ve done.
The weapon mounted light use was a true eye opener. First, I had with me a Surefire X300. My buddy borrowed it and called it the “Jesus Light” because the first time he turned it on, he said “Jesus!” When I used it on the course, it was amazing because it generated so much light and made shooting so easy. The ability to keep both hands on the gun are a huge advantage and I plan on carrying a weapon mounted light when I go on-duty next time.
Miscellaneous Thoughts – Course Design
While I can’t say this with certainty, the course seems to ultimately be setup for high end military operators doing lots of room clearing. If one looks at a range bay, it is narrow and long. Most of the targets are as close as they would be in a room with T7 being at most down a hall. Most of the shooting takes place in a doorway and heavy emphasis is placed on not projecting the muzzle into the downrange area. It is very easy to imagine that T6 is popping up behind a sofa or some similar obstacle.
Each bay has a “window” that is hinged at the top. One of the drills, (not scored on the test), had us open the port with our support hand and then engage two targets without projecting the gun into the “room.” This seemed like a pretty esoteric drill and I asked about its origins. I was advised that the skills were used to 1) kill tank drivers and 2) shipboard by SEALS to initiate assaults.
Miscellaneous Thoughts - Gear
I didn’t find the low capacity of the P220 to be a huge handicap, more of a small annoyance. I did have two factory 10 round magazines which I used and they helped mitigate some of the capacity issues. I had a “vision” moment where I realized that I would be facing eight targets and have only 10 rounds to deal with them. Once I realized this, I made sure I fired “hits” and not “shots.” I did not find the recoil of the 45 ACP “punishing” as the pistol was an all-steel piece.
My Sig ran perfectly with the exception of the “freebie” 10 round Pro-Mag magazine I tried. The Pro-Mag simply did not work reliably. After three malfunctions caused by the front of the round diving, I stopped using it and it marked for the trash bin. Because I’ve had bad luck with my long slide 45 Sigs, I did detail strip the pistol and clean it thoroughly every night. This probably contributed to the flawless performance of the pistol.
My buddy, who was shooting S&W M&P's was not so lucky. He had planned on brining two Performance Center M&P Pros. One of the guns had to go back to S&W before the course, so he only came with one pistol. That M&P did not last the first day of the course as it would not reliably ignite primers and was replaced with a borrowed, stock M&P. That pistol had several failures throughout the course related to ejection. My buddy has now sold all of his M&Ps and is now trying Glock 34's. It was observed by more than one person that the M&P may not be ready for "prime time."
Miscellaneous Thoughts – Value
Training can be expensive. I’ve been doing a lot of training with traveling instructors because the cost per day is more reasonable. Of course with traveling instructors, you don’t get the benefit of an extensive infrastructure, like a shoothouse or a Rogers range. Fixed facility courses can run well over $1500 for a five day course. Rogers charges $1000 for their five day course. To make it an even better deal, you can stay at the “lodge” for $75 for the whole week. Stays at the “lodge” include all of your meals. Even if you don’t stay at the “lodge” you’re lunch and dinner are included in tuition – this is a good deal.
Miscellaneous Thoughts – What I Learned
Another way to value a course is by what you take away from it. Rogers taught me several important points or enhanced already existing abilities. Besides expanding my concept of what is humanly possible, shooting with both eyes open and the value of a weapon mounted light, I was reminded of the importance of hitting. Often, people would fire a shot, miss, fire a shot more quickly, miss, fire a shot even more quickly, and miss. (This seems to be the principle vice of folks who shoot high capacity weapons). I was strongly reminded that you are better off taking 0.10 seconds to refine your sights and get a hit than you are taking 0.50 seconds to fire several misses.
Another hard lesson was the value of properly seating magazines. Two of my "Tests" were sub-standard because I fouled up my reloads. On one test, I failed to seat a magazine on both my strong hand only and support hand only reload - that really, really hurt my score. On a subsequent test, I performed a tactical reload and did not fully seat a magazine. While my immediate action was automatic (surprisingly so) it cost me several targets. I will definitely be tugging on magazines and making sure they lock in the future. This also reminds me of my I like speed reloads versus tactical reloads. I've never had a speed reload not lock a magazine into the weapon, it has happened before with tactical reloads.
Of all the skills that were improved by the course, Rogers really helped my ability to call my shots the most. A large number of the drills work on this and it really did help me. By the end of the week, I knew every shot I had missed by the location of my sights at the time my shot broke. Often, this knowledge allowed an immediate followup shot that was a hit. This is a great "takeaway."
Conclusion
Overall, I’m very satisfied with my experience at Rogers. Like my buddy who took the course with me for his fourth time, I plan on returning. I will be doing a lot of shooting with just one-hand. I lost few if any points when shooting with both hands but my one-handed shooting kept me from the “Advanced” rating. I don’t plan on repeating that mistake.
Intermediate/Advanced Handgun and Short Range Carbine
I just returned from the Rogers Shooting School in Ellijay, GA. I completed their Intermediate/Advanced Handgun Program as well as their Short Range Carbine course. For those that don’t like detail, the class was an excellent value and I learned a lot. I highly recommend the Rogers program for shooters wanting to increase their shooting speed and accuracy.
My Background
So you’ll know where I’m coming from, I’ve been a Federal law enforcement officer since 1991. I’ve attended two basic academies as well other government training over the years. I serve as a firearms instructor for my agency and also teach firearms in the private sector for Tom Givens of Rangemaster in Memphis, TN.
I’ve been seriously studying the combative use of firearms since 1999 when I took my first private sector training class. Since then, I’ve been hooked on the value of private sector courses. I’ve taken training from Gunsite (250C, 223), Thunder Ranch (Handgun 1, 2, & 3, Urban Rifle 1 & 2), and Front Sight (Four-Day Defensive Handgun, Two-Day Tactical Handgun). I’ve also taken courses from the notable traveling trainers including Pat Rogers (3-Day Carbine Operators Course), Larry Vickers (Handgun 1), Louis Awerbuck (Tactical Carbine), Jeff Gonzales (Combative Pistol), Scottie Reitz (SWAT Combat Course), Randy Cain (Tactical Handgun 101), and Chuck Taylor (Advanced Tactical Handgun).
I’ve also completed the Firearms Instructor Program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), the FBI’s Police Firearms Instructor Program, and the NRA’s LE Tactical Shooting program. I’ve shot competitively and have won a few local 3-gun and IDPA matches and have been recognized as a top practitioner at the NTI.
Early Warnings
I had known about the Rogers School for some time. I was attending the course with a friend of mine who had attended Rogers three times previously and spoke very highly of it. I also knew the Head Instructor, Claude Werner from conferences we had attended and internet forums. I picked both of their brains for advice before the course started.
I was advised that a recognizable cycle occurred with the students where they tended to shoot worse as the week progressed until about Thursday when they started to improve. I was advised that most folks did not want to change the way they shot and simply “tried harder” until they crashed. Once they had crashed, they listened to the instructors and began to improve. I made it a point to avoid this mistake and listen to the instructors the first time.
I was also cautioned about shooting a .45 for the course. I was told that the course consists of a lot of one handed shooting and the recoil of the .45 would make this more difficult. I was also told that firing over 2000 rounds of .45 in a week would be exhausting. It was suggested that I pickup a P226 and shoot it as I have to carry a Sig.
Finally, I was cautioned against having too many obstacles in my path. Apparently, a lot of folks will shoot a snappy pistol (like a Glock 22) from a level 3 duty holster all week. Because they are fighting the holster and a light gun with snappy recoil, they tend not to progress as quickly. I was advised to shoot a simple holster at first and then upgrade once I was shooting at the level I wanted. My goal was to learn as quickly as possible and I made every effort to try what they suggested (except for shooting a 9mm).
Gear
I have to carry a classic Sig for work. That’s it no other choices. Rather than gripe and carry something different off-duty, I’ve simply learned to shoot the Sig well. Over the years and several guns, I’ve formed some opinions about what I like in a pistol. For the course, I shot a semi-custom 5” P220 Stainless Elite. My pistol is based on a stainless steel Elite frame which means it comes with a short reset trigger (SRT) and beavertail. To accent the SRT, a welded overtravel stop has been added to the factory short trigger and the factory "thin grips" are added. The slide assembly is a 5” version with factory night sights that I was able to track down before Sig stopped making them. Together, they make a hefty but infinitely shootable single stack pistol.
http://thecurmudgeon.freeservers.com/sig_5inch_left_side.jpg
I was able to borrow two factory Sig 10 round magazines and one 10 round ProMag to help with some of the capacity issues. I brought almost every 8 round magazine I owned but used just a few. For ammo, I handloaded 3,000 rounds on my Dillon 550 (thanks to my wife, Ginger, for loading primer tubes and checking loaded rounds) I ended up using a Comp-Tac belt holster that had been modified to allow the extra barrel and slide to protrude through though I did shoot from concealment on one of the colder mornings.
The Philosophy of the Course
It is impossible to understand the Rogers shooting school without understanding the target system they use. With rare exception, all shots are fired on steel targets. Rogers believes that the brain must be able to assimilate positive results immediately if a lesson is to be absorbed. Thus, Rogers wants you to see “what works” immediately and try to remember it. To this end, the steel was painted after every string of fire.
The range is a set of six bays, all basically identical. There are seven steel targets, T1-T7, and one paper target holder T8. Three of the targets have a body and head plate, the remaining four targets are simply 8” round “head plates” though T5 is not a full value target, it simulates someone sticking their head over a wall. Every head plate appears and disappears but either moving vertically or horizontally. Every string of fire is started by a visual signal of a target appearing. All of these targets are controlled by a computer and the targets are capable of very quick presentations – like 0.5 second exposures. The approximate distance of the targets range from ~7 yards for T1 to ~20 yards for T7. See the picture below:
http://www.dvctargets.com\misc\rogers_range_cropped_sm_labeled.jpg
Target exposures are based on the concept of “human reaction time” which is considered to be 0.25 second. A target is exposed only for the minimal number “reaction times” necessary to complete the task. For instance, if a task takes 6 reaction times, like seeing 3 threat targets, responding from the ready, and hitting the 3 targets with a pistol, a shooter is given 1.5 seconds to perform it. If a followup shot is needed to the same target then only 0.25 second is given for the next shot.
The final premise of the course deals with how people learn to perform demanding physical tasks that require large amounts of hand/eye coordination. This premise is – “You can’t learn to hit a fast pitch by swinging at slow ones.” In a nutshell, from day one, the targets move at full speed and you, the shooter, have to learn how to hit them. This leads to the first day being quite overwhelming as the shooter is left wondering “they expect me to hit what in how long?” Long term this does work because working at full-speed all week alters what the shooter considers “fast” and “difficult.”
All of these ideas come together in the “Test” which is shot once a day except Thursday when it is shot twice. The “Test” consists of 125 possible targets. The shooter must hit 70 targets to earn a “Basic” rating. For an “Intermediate” rating, a student must hit 90 targets. For the coveted “Advanced” rating, a student must hit 110 targets. While this may seem easy at first, it is important to realize that roughly half the shots fired are fired with just one hand, either strong or support side by itself. To keep things interesting, the times for the one-handed shooting are no more generous than the two-handed shooting. Finally, the “Test” includes strong-hand and support hand only reloads to make sure the student can shoot and maintain a continuity of fire with just one-hand. To give some idea of the overall difficulty of the “Test,” nobody has ever shot a perfect score on an actual Test. The number of “Advanced” ratings in a given year is small, no more than 6-7% of the students in a given year will earn the rating.
Monday Through Friday
The course works by shooting a pretty standard series of drills. On Monday the drills are shot from an extended ready, on Tuesday from compressed ready, on Wednesday from the holster and strong hand only, and on Thursday support-hand only. The drills are a good mix that include a lot of ball and dummy, either randomly or alternating. These are designed to teach “calling the shot” and they work really well for this purpose. In addition to ball and dummy, multiple shot drills are emphasized to make sure the shooter is controlling the gun.
Before any drill is shot by a student, an instructor demonstrates it first. The instructors don’t just fire one or two shots, they fire the whole drill. This works well and is useful because the Rogers course is so demanding. While the required tasks may seem “superhuman” at first, seeing an instructor shoot them shows what is possible. Thus, a drill is explained and demonstrated, it is shot by the first relay and then the second relay. The next drill is introduced and the cycle repeats.
In addition to the standard set of drills, every day incorporates some special drill. These included retention shooting, shooting through specialized ports, and shooting while moving. At the end of the day, and in the morning on Thursday, students shoot the 125 round test.
Rogers is a true meritocracy. Scores are announced and relays are reordered based on the cumulative test scores. This is actually beneficial for several reasons. First, it allows the worst shooters to be coached by the best shooters and allows the worst shooters to watch the better shooters. Second, it induces stress during the test which the student must deal with. (A noted firearms instructor with real-world experience who attended Rogers multiple times advised that the "Test" was more stressful than any gunfight he ever encountered)
Long Gun Training
In addition to the principal handgun class, Rogers also offers an optional additional training block for either the shotgun or the carbine. I took the “Short Range Carbine” which is shot on the standard target system using AR’s in 9mm equipped with Aimpoint red dot sights. The carbine portion follows a similar structure as far as drills that lead to a test, with a possible score of 75 points. The main difference is that the carbine tests add additional targets that have to be shot in the same time frames. For instance pistol test one is 3 hits in 1.5 seconds (1-Body 1-Head to T1 and T5). The carbine test added an additional target requiring one hit to the body of T1, one hit to the head of T1 and then engage T3 and T5 in 1.5 seconds. That’s right, you are required to fire four hits on four distinct targets in 1.5 seconds – this is fast and you’re supposed to remember the offset between your sights and bore while doing it.
The test also included shooting while moving, rapid engagement of disappearing targets, and reloads under strict time pressures. One of the most useful tests evaluated your snap shooting. You would be presented with the head of T1 and one other random target. The rifle started at the high ready with the safety on. You had to mount the rifle, disengage the safety and hit the head of T1 quickly – like 0.5 seconds quick and then engage a second target.
Thoughts on the Course – Positive
Overall, I thought the course was excellent and eye opening. The course forces you to shoot under rigorous time pressures. My idea of what is “possible” was greatly expanded. Shooting problems that started out as greatly daunting were mostly manageable and some were even easy by the end of the week. The drills that are shot are very well selected. Since it was practiced every day, my ability to call my shots vastly improved.
I’ve had a fair bit of training and didn’t get the feeling that I was in over my head. There were people who struggled throughout the course and one person was never able to reach the minimum score for a rating (70/125). My previous training was both useful and burdensome throughout the course. My ability to manipulate the weapon, especially reloads, helped tremendously, especially since I shot a single stack pistol. Rogers teaches an entirely different method of trigger control – a flip and press technique. The technique is counter-intuitive and I struggled with it throughout the week. I’m still undecided on the overall value of the technique but the more I used it, the better I shot.
Your rating at Rogers is based on your high score for the week – in my case a 106. This earned me an “Intermediate” rating and I was just four targets away from an “Advanced” rating. The Carbine scoring is even tighter, requiring 70/75 for an “Advanced” rating. I shot 73/75 and was really happy with that performance.
Thoughts on the Program - Negative
I have very few criticisms of the Rogers program. I did struggle with their balance of speed, power, and accuracy (DVC). In particular, they work speed so much that accuracy is arguably sacrificed. The drills require several hits on a “Body” size target that is literally an entire body. I’d like to see those shots required in a smaller zone. I’ve thought about it and have concluded that their goal is to push speed to the limits of human capability. If this happens, accuracy is going to suffer but it can be argued that your performance on the Test won’t be any worse than your shooting in real-life.
Several of the drills of the Test do not use randomly appearing targets. Thus, as one learns the Test, you can learn to drive the gun to a spot where you know the target will be. This strikes me as choreography of very limited value. I can assure you that the tests which include seemingly random targets are far more difficult.
I have mixed feeling about their carbine program. They don’t offer a lot of instruction on the use of the carbine and seem to assume that the pistol skills will bleed over to the rifle. This actually does work pretty well but it would be very difficult for a complete carbine novice to do well in the course. The course originally called for 800 rounds of pistol ammo for the carbine and we only went through 350 rounds in three days. It would be really helpful if more actual hours were spent on the carbine skills instead of simply warming up and taking the Carbine Test.
There were several points of the Rogers rifle instruction I simply didn’t agree with. They like the collapsible stock all the way out (they claim this is for reliability of the 9mm ARs) and aren’t afraid to let the strong side arm “chicken wing.” The rifles were setup with single point slings and their instructions had them so tight that effective snap shooting was difficult. After the first day, I opened mine up while keeping the stock short and the snap shooting was much easier.
They didn’t have a particular recommendation about where to place the support hand but did mention that a magazine well hold might limit the ability to rapidly transition the rifle from target to target. I used the “three gunner” method where I use my support side trigger finger to point the muzzle. It worked very well and I was able to shooter 23 of 21 on the last carbine test. (You can double tap targets but you can’t score more than the maximum possible for the COF).
Miscellaneous Thoughts – Shooting With Both Eyes Open
One issue I struggled with all week was shooting with both eyes open. I was aware that the rapidly appearing and disappearing targets required shooting with both eyes open in order to see them. I've never done this and started working with both eyes open during my dry practice. This simply wasn't enough and I struggled with it the entire course. In a nutshell, I was unable to reliably track the correct front sight during my firing cycles and it was frustrating.
I forced myself to shoot with both eyes open and resorted to having the lens over my non-dominant eye taped to occlude its view. I made vast improvements over the week and had no problems getting hits on the closest targets with both eyes open. My results at distance were not as consistent. Often, I would close an eye after acquiring a target and then quickly open it after breaking the shot. By Friday I was getting hits on T-7 with both eyes open which was a dramatic improvement. I think it would take another week of intensive work to really do this well.
Miscellaneous Thoughts – Low Light
The class also had a low-light portion on Thursday night. It was an interesting session as only the “Rogers ” method (a term which Bill Rogers refuses to use) and a weapon mounted light was used. I’ve never shot the Rogers method well but because so many targets were presented, I was actually able to find a passable technique that worked better than anything else I’ve done.
The weapon mounted light use was a true eye opener. First, I had with me a Surefire X300. My buddy borrowed it and called it the “Jesus Light” because the first time he turned it on, he said “Jesus!” When I used it on the course, it was amazing because it generated so much light and made shooting so easy. The ability to keep both hands on the gun are a huge advantage and I plan on carrying a weapon mounted light when I go on-duty next time.
Miscellaneous Thoughts – Course Design
While I can’t say this with certainty, the course seems to ultimately be setup for high end military operators doing lots of room clearing. If one looks at a range bay, it is narrow and long. Most of the targets are as close as they would be in a room with T7 being at most down a hall. Most of the shooting takes place in a doorway and heavy emphasis is placed on not projecting the muzzle into the downrange area. It is very easy to imagine that T6 is popping up behind a sofa or some similar obstacle.
Each bay has a “window” that is hinged at the top. One of the drills, (not scored on the test), had us open the port with our support hand and then engage two targets without projecting the gun into the “room.” This seemed like a pretty esoteric drill and I asked about its origins. I was advised that the skills were used to 1) kill tank drivers and 2) shipboard by SEALS to initiate assaults.
Miscellaneous Thoughts - Gear
I didn’t find the low capacity of the P220 to be a huge handicap, more of a small annoyance. I did have two factory 10 round magazines which I used and they helped mitigate some of the capacity issues. I had a “vision” moment where I realized that I would be facing eight targets and have only 10 rounds to deal with them. Once I realized this, I made sure I fired “hits” and not “shots.” I did not find the recoil of the 45 ACP “punishing” as the pistol was an all-steel piece.
My Sig ran perfectly with the exception of the “freebie” 10 round Pro-Mag magazine I tried. The Pro-Mag simply did not work reliably. After three malfunctions caused by the front of the round diving, I stopped using it and it marked for the trash bin. Because I’ve had bad luck with my long slide 45 Sigs, I did detail strip the pistol and clean it thoroughly every night. This probably contributed to the flawless performance of the pistol.
My buddy, who was shooting S&W M&P's was not so lucky. He had planned on brining two Performance Center M&P Pros. One of the guns had to go back to S&W before the course, so he only came with one pistol. That M&P did not last the first day of the course as it would not reliably ignite primers and was replaced with a borrowed, stock M&P. That pistol had several failures throughout the course related to ejection. My buddy has now sold all of his M&Ps and is now trying Glock 34's. It was observed by more than one person that the M&P may not be ready for "prime time."
Miscellaneous Thoughts – Value
Training can be expensive. I’ve been doing a lot of training with traveling instructors because the cost per day is more reasonable. Of course with traveling instructors, you don’t get the benefit of an extensive infrastructure, like a shoothouse or a Rogers range. Fixed facility courses can run well over $1500 for a five day course. Rogers charges $1000 for their five day course. To make it an even better deal, you can stay at the “lodge” for $75 for the whole week. Stays at the “lodge” include all of your meals. Even if you don’t stay at the “lodge” you’re lunch and dinner are included in tuition – this is a good deal.
Miscellaneous Thoughts – What I Learned
Another way to value a course is by what you take away from it. Rogers taught me several important points or enhanced already existing abilities. Besides expanding my concept of what is humanly possible, shooting with both eyes open and the value of a weapon mounted light, I was reminded of the importance of hitting. Often, people would fire a shot, miss, fire a shot more quickly, miss, fire a shot even more quickly, and miss. (This seems to be the principle vice of folks who shoot high capacity weapons). I was strongly reminded that you are better off taking 0.10 seconds to refine your sights and get a hit than you are taking 0.50 seconds to fire several misses.
Another hard lesson was the value of properly seating magazines. Two of my "Tests" were sub-standard because I fouled up my reloads. On one test, I failed to seat a magazine on both my strong hand only and support hand only reload - that really, really hurt my score. On a subsequent test, I performed a tactical reload and did not fully seat a magazine. While my immediate action was automatic (surprisingly so) it cost me several targets. I will definitely be tugging on magazines and making sure they lock in the future. This also reminds me of my I like speed reloads versus tactical reloads. I've never had a speed reload not lock a magazine into the weapon, it has happened before with tactical reloads.
Of all the skills that were improved by the course, Rogers really helped my ability to call my shots the most. A large number of the drills work on this and it really did help me. By the end of the week, I knew every shot I had missed by the location of my sights at the time my shot broke. Often, this knowledge allowed an immediate followup shot that was a hit. This is a great "takeaway."
Conclusion
Overall, I’m very satisfied with my experience at Rogers. Like my buddy who took the course with me for his fourth time, I plan on returning. I will be doing a lot of shooting with just one-hand. I lost few if any points when shooting with both hands but my one-handed shooting kept me from the “Advanced” rating. I don’t plan on repeating that mistake.