shooter521
07-14-09, 15:13
Web version with pics: EAG Pistol Level 2 2009 (http://home.comcast.net/~shooter2_indy/EAG_pistol_2009.html)
Bunches more pics: EAG Pistol 2009 pictures by shooter521 - Photobucket (http://s72.photobucket.com/albums/i188/shooter521/EAG%20Pistol%202009/)
________________________
EAG Pistol Level 2, 2009
"I don't care what you use, it just has to work." - Pat Rogers
DISCLAIMER: I do not represent EAG Tactical in any way; I speak only as a satisfied customer.
Pat Rogers is a retired NYPD sergeant and Chief Warrant Officer of Marines with more than 30 years in service. His company, EAG Tactical, was founded in 1992 and provides tactical training and security consulting services to various military, law enforcement and government entities. Pat has worked in the Middle East, South America, the "emerging republics" of the former Soviet Union, and other locations around the world. He is also a regular contributor to SWAT magazine. On top of all this, Pat makes time each year to instruct a limited number of open-enrollment classes at various locations around the country.
One of Pat's regular teaching stops is the Boone County Sheriff's Department range in Lebanon, Indiana. During the summer, the BCSD plays host to a number of well-known instructors, offering courses in all manner of armed and unarmed self-defense disciplines. BCSD is a progressive department that recognizes the value of a trained police force, and, equally as important, a trained citizenry. Sheriff Ken Campbell regards armed citizens as the "first line of defense" against crime, and takes great pride in bringing first-class training opportunities to central Indiana. The Department is fortunate to have Ken at its helm, and we Hoosiers are fortunate to have such a resource available.
I have taken several courses with Pat over the past few years, mostly focusing on the AR and AK carbine platforms. I decided that in 2009, I wanted to get back to my roots so to speak, and seek some additional pistol instruction. When notice went up on the EAG website that Pat would be conducting a two-day Pistol Level 2 course at Boone County, it was a no-brainer; I signed up on the spot.
THE STUDENTS
There were 18 students in the course (held July 8-9). Enrollment was about evenly split between mil/LE and ordinary citizens, and new students and alumni. Of note were a family of 6 (Dad and 5 kids), a husband and wife team, and contingents from the Indianapolis Metropolitan and Alliance, OH, Police Departments.
THE HARDWARE
The majority of students were shooting Glocks of one sort or another, but there was also a smattering of 1911s, and single examples from Beretta and HK. Pat was able to get in a bit of trigger time, as well, shooting his M&P .45. I ran the same pistol setup I had used in the Magpul Dynamics carbine course a couple months prior - my Glock 17/M3 light combo, riding in a Safariland ALS holster on my ATS "War Belt". Spare mags - a mix of Glock factory and South Korean "Khan" aftermarket brand - were carried in an Eagle Industries "FB" double mag carrier on my support side, and I stuffed a couple extras into the open-top AR mag pouch behind it, so I could back-fill the FB carrier during administrative lulls. Ammo was a mix of Georgia Arms "Canned Heat" and S&B "Range Safe" 115gr FMJ.
THE COURSE
TD1
Weather was overcast and quite cool (for Indiana in July, anyway!). We started with a welcome from Sheriff Campbell and a review of general safety and range medical procedures, then Pat began the classroom portion of the program, covering the mechanics of the basic fighting stance (both Weaver and Isoceles were addressed) and grip, and weapon manipulations such as loading (flat of magazine to flat of grip, accelerate through), press check, the tactical reload, sight picture, trigger control and the importance of follow-through. We then discussed proper shot placement, firing multiple shots (to include controlled pairs, hammers, failure drills and NSRs), EAG's 5-count drawstroke (grip, clear, rock, smack, look), and the post-engagement sequence (assess, tac load, holster). Pat is non-dogmatic when it comes to stance and grip; he opines that the Weaver and Isoceles techniques have morphed so much over the past couple decades that their "modern" forms are much more similar to each other than they once had been, and arguing over which is "best" is essentially wasted breath - each has its pros and cons, and appropriate circumstances under which it could/should be employed. Further, EAG's 5-count drawstroke is basically a more detailed version of the 4-count technique I learned from FR&I many moons ago, so it required no real adjustment on my part.
Live fire began with a series of simple trigger control drills at 3, 5 and 7 yards to get us warmed up. We then moved to the 5-yard line and practiced the multiple-shot techniques we had discussed earlier, before breaking for lunch. After lunch, we came back and shot a series of 5-shot slowfire diagnostic drills at 5, 10, 15 and 25 yards, so Pat and his assistant instructor Mike H. could evaluate our base skill level, then rolled right into 2 shot/speed reload/2 shot drills at 7, 15 and 25 yards. Following that, Pat delivered a brief lecture on strong-hand-only and support-hand-only shooting before sending us to the line to practice it with 5-yard brain shots, 10-yard failure drills and 15-yard slowfire strings. We then adjourned for dinner; Pat, Mike and and several of the students met for dinner at a local restaurant, as has become customary. It was nice catching up with the people I knew - Pat brought some new stories with him this time - and getting to know some of the guys I hadn't trained with before. After a couple hours, we returned to the range for some low-light shooting.
TN1
As we waited for the sun to go down, Pat took the opportunity to let us get in some more trigger time, taking us through failure drills (two rounds center mass, followed quickly by a brain shot) at 3 and 10 yards, strong-hand only at 5 yards, and pairs to the brain at 15 yards. Then Mike H. stepped in to give us a lecture on the different types of lights, covering the pros, cons and capabilities of LED vs. incandescent and weapon-mounted vs. hand-held types. He then demonstrated some of the more popular hand-held light techniques (Harries, Rogers/Surefire, FBI and Neck Index), as well as a simple way to conduct a reload while utilizing a hand-held light in conjunction with the pistol. We then got on line and practiced the various techniques dry, before loading up and experimenting with them under live fire at 3 yards. This familiarization period was followed by a series of drills using weapon-mounted lights (those without would continue to utilize their hand-held lights) at 5, 7 and 10 yards. Contrary to the low-light training I had received elsewhere, Pat advocates leaving the light on from target acquisition/identification until the end of that engagement. I shot the drills both ways, as I believe there is a time and place for leaving the light on, as well as for using it intermittently in conjunction with movement. We ended the low-light shoot around 10:30PM, and I headed home to load mags and get ready for the next day's activities.
TD2
The morning brought slightly warmer temperatures and threatening skies, and we began by warming up with slowfire 5-shot strings from back at the 25-yard line. Pat bemoans the fact that most people - citizens, LE and military alike - have lost the ability to accurately shoot pistols beyond 15 yards. The farther out you get, the more attention you have to pay to getting the fundamentals right, so this was a good exercise. We then moved in to 15 yards for more slowfire, then bumped up to 10 yards and ran some 2/speed reload/2 drills. After that came a block of instruction on multiple-target engagement sequences: firing a hammer pair on each target; "Roadhouse Rules," where each target gets one round before before anyone gets seconds (single shot to target 1, hammer on target 2, single shot on target 1); and the "Box Drill," which is essentially firing a failure drill on two targets (hammer on target 1, hammer on target 2, brain shot on target 2, brain shot on target 1). We applied these techniques from the 5-yard line.
When it came time to practice variations on the double-kneeling position (which Pat has affectionately dubbed "Monica"), the skies opened up and it began to rain - a drizzle at first, but by the time my relay was on-line, it was a steady downpour (we found out later that Sheriff Campbell had to leave the county for a bit that morning, so we didn't have the benefit of his "sheriff superpowers" to keep the rain at bay!). We pressed on, however, shooting 5-round strings from the neutral, high, low, left and right variations of the double-knee from 15 and 25 yards before heading under cover to have lunch and get dried off.
After lunch, we started shooting on the move - first on single targets from 15 to 3 yards, then on multiple targets from 7 and 10 to 3 yards. We then shot the pistol portion of the MEU(SOC) qualification course, which Pat uses as a performance benchmark in all of his classes. The MEU(SOC) qual brought together all the elements we had been practicing up to that point, incorporating shooting at various distances (3 to 25 yards), from multiple stationary positions as well as on the move, on single and multiple targets, and including a speed reload – all under time pressure. I shot a 93, which is generally about what I score when I practice it at my "home" range, but was a little disappointing, given how well I had been shooting the prior day and a half.
Following the MEU(SOC) course, we upped the difficulty level a bit with some shooting on the move, one-handed (strong only then support only), on single and multiple targets from 7 to 3 yards. This was probably the single most challenging thing I had done all weekend. I practice shooting pistol with the support hand only (and carbine off the support shoulder) on a semi-regular basis, but usually not on multiple targets and never while on the move! It was an eye-opener and a BIG confidence builder. We then switched to shooting NSRs (Non-Standard Response; a burst of more than 3 rounds but less than a full magazine, delivered at close range) at 3 yards to practice trigger management, recoil control and flash sight picture.
We ended the course with a couple of extreme close-quarters techniques. The first was the "shove and shoot," where on command, each student would palm-strike the "face" of his target and rapidly take a step back while drawing, and engage the target with several rounds. The second was shooting from retention, where the student would place his hand on the target's head to simulate a strike or eye gouge, then draw and fire several rounds center-mass while keeping the gun tucked in tight to the body to prevent a gun grab. These techniques are not only useful (and something most folks don't get to practice very often), but are a lot of fun and always get the heart rate up.
Total Rounds Fired: 668
EQUIPMENT PROBLEMS
Pistol courses tend to be less taxing than carbine courses, both on shooters AND their equipment. That said, there were still a few guns that had difficulties. These included a high-end 1911 that suffered an extractor failure (unknown round count; the owner replaced the part and the gun ran for the duration), a Beretta shooting mixed-bag ammo of unknown pedigree that would occasionally fragmenting coming out of the barrel, and a mil-spec Colt 1911 with an in-line stovepipe that had to be taken offline for clearing. My G17 did not experience any malfunctions, despite not having been cleaned before or during class (I did lube it prior to TD1, though).
GOODIES
After we performed a brass call, Pat offered some closing words and presented our certificates of completion. The high shooter for the course was a Carmel, IN police officer, who shot a perfect score on the MEU(SOC) qualification - something I've never seen in any of the EAG courses I've attended, nor been able to do in practice on my own time. BIG props to him! For his efforts, he received an EAG T-shirt of his choice. ALL of the students received swag bags from LaRue Tactical (hat, 'dillo, 'dillo dust and catalog), Bravo Company USA (hat, stickers, catalog) and SLIP2000 (samples of 725 Gun Cleaner and Extreme Weapon Lube). All three companies make outstanding products for shooters and are run by outstanding Americans. For their continued support of EAG Tactical's classes, they have my gratitude.
IN CLOSING
It was, as always, a pleasure training with Pat and company, and alongside a first-rate group of people. I did not have any "aha moments," this time around, but I was able to get a lot more time in with the G17/M3/Safariland rig, and feel much smoother and more comfortable with it than I did coming in. Additionally, I was able to practice some things that I haven't done for quite awhile (low-light shooting) or at all (support-hand shooting on the move on multiple targets) under Pat's watchful eye, and generally brush up on my pistol skills. Thanks go out to Pat and to Mike H. for putting on another excellent class, and to Sheriff Ken and his crew for continuing to bring training opportunities like this to central Indiana. I recommend the EAG Pistol Level 2 course without reservation to anyone interested in learning how to fight with a handgun.
Bunches more pics: EAG Pistol 2009 pictures by shooter521 - Photobucket (http://s72.photobucket.com/albums/i188/shooter521/EAG%20Pistol%202009/)
________________________
EAG Pistol Level 2, 2009
"I don't care what you use, it just has to work." - Pat Rogers
DISCLAIMER: I do not represent EAG Tactical in any way; I speak only as a satisfied customer.
Pat Rogers is a retired NYPD sergeant and Chief Warrant Officer of Marines with more than 30 years in service. His company, EAG Tactical, was founded in 1992 and provides tactical training and security consulting services to various military, law enforcement and government entities. Pat has worked in the Middle East, South America, the "emerging republics" of the former Soviet Union, and other locations around the world. He is also a regular contributor to SWAT magazine. On top of all this, Pat makes time each year to instruct a limited number of open-enrollment classes at various locations around the country.
One of Pat's regular teaching stops is the Boone County Sheriff's Department range in Lebanon, Indiana. During the summer, the BCSD plays host to a number of well-known instructors, offering courses in all manner of armed and unarmed self-defense disciplines. BCSD is a progressive department that recognizes the value of a trained police force, and, equally as important, a trained citizenry. Sheriff Ken Campbell regards armed citizens as the "first line of defense" against crime, and takes great pride in bringing first-class training opportunities to central Indiana. The Department is fortunate to have Ken at its helm, and we Hoosiers are fortunate to have such a resource available.
I have taken several courses with Pat over the past few years, mostly focusing on the AR and AK carbine platforms. I decided that in 2009, I wanted to get back to my roots so to speak, and seek some additional pistol instruction. When notice went up on the EAG website that Pat would be conducting a two-day Pistol Level 2 course at Boone County, it was a no-brainer; I signed up on the spot.
THE STUDENTS
There were 18 students in the course (held July 8-9). Enrollment was about evenly split between mil/LE and ordinary citizens, and new students and alumni. Of note were a family of 6 (Dad and 5 kids), a husband and wife team, and contingents from the Indianapolis Metropolitan and Alliance, OH, Police Departments.
THE HARDWARE
The majority of students were shooting Glocks of one sort or another, but there was also a smattering of 1911s, and single examples from Beretta and HK. Pat was able to get in a bit of trigger time, as well, shooting his M&P .45. I ran the same pistol setup I had used in the Magpul Dynamics carbine course a couple months prior - my Glock 17/M3 light combo, riding in a Safariland ALS holster on my ATS "War Belt". Spare mags - a mix of Glock factory and South Korean "Khan" aftermarket brand - were carried in an Eagle Industries "FB" double mag carrier on my support side, and I stuffed a couple extras into the open-top AR mag pouch behind it, so I could back-fill the FB carrier during administrative lulls. Ammo was a mix of Georgia Arms "Canned Heat" and S&B "Range Safe" 115gr FMJ.
THE COURSE
TD1
Weather was overcast and quite cool (for Indiana in July, anyway!). We started with a welcome from Sheriff Campbell and a review of general safety and range medical procedures, then Pat began the classroom portion of the program, covering the mechanics of the basic fighting stance (both Weaver and Isoceles were addressed) and grip, and weapon manipulations such as loading (flat of magazine to flat of grip, accelerate through), press check, the tactical reload, sight picture, trigger control and the importance of follow-through. We then discussed proper shot placement, firing multiple shots (to include controlled pairs, hammers, failure drills and NSRs), EAG's 5-count drawstroke (grip, clear, rock, smack, look), and the post-engagement sequence (assess, tac load, holster). Pat is non-dogmatic when it comes to stance and grip; he opines that the Weaver and Isoceles techniques have morphed so much over the past couple decades that their "modern" forms are much more similar to each other than they once had been, and arguing over which is "best" is essentially wasted breath - each has its pros and cons, and appropriate circumstances under which it could/should be employed. Further, EAG's 5-count drawstroke is basically a more detailed version of the 4-count technique I learned from FR&I many moons ago, so it required no real adjustment on my part.
Live fire began with a series of simple trigger control drills at 3, 5 and 7 yards to get us warmed up. We then moved to the 5-yard line and practiced the multiple-shot techniques we had discussed earlier, before breaking for lunch. After lunch, we came back and shot a series of 5-shot slowfire diagnostic drills at 5, 10, 15 and 25 yards, so Pat and his assistant instructor Mike H. could evaluate our base skill level, then rolled right into 2 shot/speed reload/2 shot drills at 7, 15 and 25 yards. Following that, Pat delivered a brief lecture on strong-hand-only and support-hand-only shooting before sending us to the line to practice it with 5-yard brain shots, 10-yard failure drills and 15-yard slowfire strings. We then adjourned for dinner; Pat, Mike and and several of the students met for dinner at a local restaurant, as has become customary. It was nice catching up with the people I knew - Pat brought some new stories with him this time - and getting to know some of the guys I hadn't trained with before. After a couple hours, we returned to the range for some low-light shooting.
TN1
As we waited for the sun to go down, Pat took the opportunity to let us get in some more trigger time, taking us through failure drills (two rounds center mass, followed quickly by a brain shot) at 3 and 10 yards, strong-hand only at 5 yards, and pairs to the brain at 15 yards. Then Mike H. stepped in to give us a lecture on the different types of lights, covering the pros, cons and capabilities of LED vs. incandescent and weapon-mounted vs. hand-held types. He then demonstrated some of the more popular hand-held light techniques (Harries, Rogers/Surefire, FBI and Neck Index), as well as a simple way to conduct a reload while utilizing a hand-held light in conjunction with the pistol. We then got on line and practiced the various techniques dry, before loading up and experimenting with them under live fire at 3 yards. This familiarization period was followed by a series of drills using weapon-mounted lights (those without would continue to utilize their hand-held lights) at 5, 7 and 10 yards. Contrary to the low-light training I had received elsewhere, Pat advocates leaving the light on from target acquisition/identification until the end of that engagement. I shot the drills both ways, as I believe there is a time and place for leaving the light on, as well as for using it intermittently in conjunction with movement. We ended the low-light shoot around 10:30PM, and I headed home to load mags and get ready for the next day's activities.
TD2
The morning brought slightly warmer temperatures and threatening skies, and we began by warming up with slowfire 5-shot strings from back at the 25-yard line. Pat bemoans the fact that most people - citizens, LE and military alike - have lost the ability to accurately shoot pistols beyond 15 yards. The farther out you get, the more attention you have to pay to getting the fundamentals right, so this was a good exercise. We then moved in to 15 yards for more slowfire, then bumped up to 10 yards and ran some 2/speed reload/2 drills. After that came a block of instruction on multiple-target engagement sequences: firing a hammer pair on each target; "Roadhouse Rules," where each target gets one round before before anyone gets seconds (single shot to target 1, hammer on target 2, single shot on target 1); and the "Box Drill," which is essentially firing a failure drill on two targets (hammer on target 1, hammer on target 2, brain shot on target 2, brain shot on target 1). We applied these techniques from the 5-yard line.
When it came time to practice variations on the double-kneeling position (which Pat has affectionately dubbed "Monica"), the skies opened up and it began to rain - a drizzle at first, but by the time my relay was on-line, it was a steady downpour (we found out later that Sheriff Campbell had to leave the county for a bit that morning, so we didn't have the benefit of his "sheriff superpowers" to keep the rain at bay!). We pressed on, however, shooting 5-round strings from the neutral, high, low, left and right variations of the double-knee from 15 and 25 yards before heading under cover to have lunch and get dried off.
After lunch, we started shooting on the move - first on single targets from 15 to 3 yards, then on multiple targets from 7 and 10 to 3 yards. We then shot the pistol portion of the MEU(SOC) qualification course, which Pat uses as a performance benchmark in all of his classes. The MEU(SOC) qual brought together all the elements we had been practicing up to that point, incorporating shooting at various distances (3 to 25 yards), from multiple stationary positions as well as on the move, on single and multiple targets, and including a speed reload – all under time pressure. I shot a 93, which is generally about what I score when I practice it at my "home" range, but was a little disappointing, given how well I had been shooting the prior day and a half.
Following the MEU(SOC) course, we upped the difficulty level a bit with some shooting on the move, one-handed (strong only then support only), on single and multiple targets from 7 to 3 yards. This was probably the single most challenging thing I had done all weekend. I practice shooting pistol with the support hand only (and carbine off the support shoulder) on a semi-regular basis, but usually not on multiple targets and never while on the move! It was an eye-opener and a BIG confidence builder. We then switched to shooting NSRs (Non-Standard Response; a burst of more than 3 rounds but less than a full magazine, delivered at close range) at 3 yards to practice trigger management, recoil control and flash sight picture.
We ended the course with a couple of extreme close-quarters techniques. The first was the "shove and shoot," where on command, each student would palm-strike the "face" of his target and rapidly take a step back while drawing, and engage the target with several rounds. The second was shooting from retention, where the student would place his hand on the target's head to simulate a strike or eye gouge, then draw and fire several rounds center-mass while keeping the gun tucked in tight to the body to prevent a gun grab. These techniques are not only useful (and something most folks don't get to practice very often), but are a lot of fun and always get the heart rate up.
Total Rounds Fired: 668
EQUIPMENT PROBLEMS
Pistol courses tend to be less taxing than carbine courses, both on shooters AND their equipment. That said, there were still a few guns that had difficulties. These included a high-end 1911 that suffered an extractor failure (unknown round count; the owner replaced the part and the gun ran for the duration), a Beretta shooting mixed-bag ammo of unknown pedigree that would occasionally fragmenting coming out of the barrel, and a mil-spec Colt 1911 with an in-line stovepipe that had to be taken offline for clearing. My G17 did not experience any malfunctions, despite not having been cleaned before or during class (I did lube it prior to TD1, though).
GOODIES
After we performed a brass call, Pat offered some closing words and presented our certificates of completion. The high shooter for the course was a Carmel, IN police officer, who shot a perfect score on the MEU(SOC) qualification - something I've never seen in any of the EAG courses I've attended, nor been able to do in practice on my own time. BIG props to him! For his efforts, he received an EAG T-shirt of his choice. ALL of the students received swag bags from LaRue Tactical (hat, 'dillo, 'dillo dust and catalog), Bravo Company USA (hat, stickers, catalog) and SLIP2000 (samples of 725 Gun Cleaner and Extreme Weapon Lube). All three companies make outstanding products for shooters and are run by outstanding Americans. For their continued support of EAG Tactical's classes, they have my gratitude.
IN CLOSING
It was, as always, a pleasure training with Pat and company, and alongside a first-rate group of people. I did not have any "aha moments," this time around, but I was able to get a lot more time in with the G17/M3/Safariland rig, and feel much smoother and more comfortable with it than I did coming in. Additionally, I was able to practice some things that I haven't done for quite awhile (low-light shooting) or at all (support-hand shooting on the move on multiple targets) under Pat's watchful eye, and generally brush up on my pistol skills. Thanks go out to Pat and to Mike H. for putting on another excellent class, and to Sheriff Ken and his crew for continuing to bring training opportunities like this to central Indiana. I recommend the EAG Pistol Level 2 course without reservation to anyone interested in learning how to fight with a handgun.