lenzysa
01-19-10, 18:00
This is my first time taking one of Tom Perroni’s classes. I was a bit skeptical at first because I had never taken a one day course before. I have a few two, three, and five day courses under my belt but never a one day course. “How much quality training can I expect in an eight hour training course?” Should be interesting.
The day started at 0900 sharp at the Commonwealth Criminal Justice Academy (CCJA) classroom located in Fredericksburg, Va. Tom began by introducing himself and gave a brief rundown of his background, training, and teaching experience. You can read more about Tom’s background on his web/work page www.ccjatraining.com. We then each introduced ourselves. It was a small class with only four student’s total. The roster consisted of a contractor, local businessman, a civilian shooter with very little carbine experience, and me. After introductions we proceeded to the admin and classroom portion of the course. It was the usual range safety, weapons safety, nomenclature, field stripping, maintenance, BZO, etc… All the stuff most of us are already familiar with but good info none the less. You never want to stop reviewing the basics and the rules. After a short lunch break we proceeded to the range. Please bear in mind I am writing this from memory. So if I stumble or forget anything I apologize.
First was BZO’ing the carbine. Most of us were pretty close to zero and it didn’t take long before we proceeded on to the first drill. Again I am recalling the events form memory. We started with shooting from our backs! Yep! Lying on our backs! The premise was, “If you get knocked down, what do you do?” The answer is simple, “Fight your way back up!” From flat on your back, to sitting up, to kneeling, to standing! We did a few more drills involving multiple hits to transition drills.
Next was the “Conga line “! This drill consisted of putting 5 hits into a bad guy or threat, “popping out” to put a hit on steel and then peeling back to the rear of the Conga line so the next guy can engage. We each ended up peeling back maybe 5 times. Extending the range each time.
Team movements were next. We moved in pairs of two laterally and back. Shooting, moving, and covering our partners’ movement. SHOOT, MOVE, COMMUNICATE! We did this a few times until Tom felt we had an understanding of how it all should work. By this point I was having A LOT of fun! Next was the “Serpentine”! Moving through obstacles forward and backwards while engaging threats. Another fun exercise that will humble even the most experienced shooter. Shooting from stationary to shooting while moving is like night and day! Doing this while shooting steel was also humbling and gratifying at the same time. Hits are obvious but so are misses! Did I mention I was having a blast at this point? I was having such a good time at this point I asked Tom if I could go through the exercise with my pistol? Tom, seeming to enjoy watching his students’ progress, without hesitation said “sure!” Even more humbled gratification!
Next was shooting from various positions utilizing “the wall”. A wooden structure with various cut outs with a porch and a curb. This structure made the shooter utilize the more unconventional shooting positions. Support side, kneeing, crouching, prone, lying right side, lying left side, you get the picture. Again all shots were on steel!
This pretty much summed up the day. Once the course of instruction was completed Tom allowed us to shoot whatever drill we enjoyed most during the course. For me it was practicing my support side shooting from “the wall” on steel! I rarely, if ever, get to shoot steel and take advantage of every opportunity!
All in all it was a great class! Tom quickly put my skepticism to rest with his varied real world experience and training methodology. With a unique twist of humor and outspokenness, Tom managed to keep the normally dry portions of the course (classroom) interesting. In a short period of time A LOT of information and techniques were passed on. The previously mentioned civilian shooter made leaps and bounds in his skill level by the end of the course. From previously having little knowledge of the carbine, to ringing steel while moving with iron sights, is a testament to the quality of instruction received. I was impressed to say the least! Tom and his staff are very confident capable instructors and I am very happy with the course. My buddies and I are looking forward to the next opportunity to train with CCJA. Highly recommended!
Gear used:
Carbine: Bushmaster
Optic: EoTech 512
Sling: VTAC two point
Pistol: Glock 17
Holster: Safariland 6004 drop leg
Vest: Blackhawk Chest rig (2, 30round Mags, 2 pistol mags, 1 utility pouch)
Hearing protection: Howard Electronic
Ammo: Wolf FMJ 223 and 9mm
The day started at 0900 sharp at the Commonwealth Criminal Justice Academy (CCJA) classroom located in Fredericksburg, Va. Tom began by introducing himself and gave a brief rundown of his background, training, and teaching experience. You can read more about Tom’s background on his web/work page www.ccjatraining.com. We then each introduced ourselves. It was a small class with only four student’s total. The roster consisted of a contractor, local businessman, a civilian shooter with very little carbine experience, and me. After introductions we proceeded to the admin and classroom portion of the course. It was the usual range safety, weapons safety, nomenclature, field stripping, maintenance, BZO, etc… All the stuff most of us are already familiar with but good info none the less. You never want to stop reviewing the basics and the rules. After a short lunch break we proceeded to the range. Please bear in mind I am writing this from memory. So if I stumble or forget anything I apologize.
First was BZO’ing the carbine. Most of us were pretty close to zero and it didn’t take long before we proceeded on to the first drill. Again I am recalling the events form memory. We started with shooting from our backs! Yep! Lying on our backs! The premise was, “If you get knocked down, what do you do?” The answer is simple, “Fight your way back up!” From flat on your back, to sitting up, to kneeling, to standing! We did a few more drills involving multiple hits to transition drills.
Next was the “Conga line “! This drill consisted of putting 5 hits into a bad guy or threat, “popping out” to put a hit on steel and then peeling back to the rear of the Conga line so the next guy can engage. We each ended up peeling back maybe 5 times. Extending the range each time.
Team movements were next. We moved in pairs of two laterally and back. Shooting, moving, and covering our partners’ movement. SHOOT, MOVE, COMMUNICATE! We did this a few times until Tom felt we had an understanding of how it all should work. By this point I was having A LOT of fun! Next was the “Serpentine”! Moving through obstacles forward and backwards while engaging threats. Another fun exercise that will humble even the most experienced shooter. Shooting from stationary to shooting while moving is like night and day! Doing this while shooting steel was also humbling and gratifying at the same time. Hits are obvious but so are misses! Did I mention I was having a blast at this point? I was having such a good time at this point I asked Tom if I could go through the exercise with my pistol? Tom, seeming to enjoy watching his students’ progress, without hesitation said “sure!” Even more humbled gratification!
Next was shooting from various positions utilizing “the wall”. A wooden structure with various cut outs with a porch and a curb. This structure made the shooter utilize the more unconventional shooting positions. Support side, kneeing, crouching, prone, lying right side, lying left side, you get the picture. Again all shots were on steel!
This pretty much summed up the day. Once the course of instruction was completed Tom allowed us to shoot whatever drill we enjoyed most during the course. For me it was practicing my support side shooting from “the wall” on steel! I rarely, if ever, get to shoot steel and take advantage of every opportunity!
All in all it was a great class! Tom quickly put my skepticism to rest with his varied real world experience and training methodology. With a unique twist of humor and outspokenness, Tom managed to keep the normally dry portions of the course (classroom) interesting. In a short period of time A LOT of information and techniques were passed on. The previously mentioned civilian shooter made leaps and bounds in his skill level by the end of the course. From previously having little knowledge of the carbine, to ringing steel while moving with iron sights, is a testament to the quality of instruction received. I was impressed to say the least! Tom and his staff are very confident capable instructors and I am very happy with the course. My buddies and I are looking forward to the next opportunity to train with CCJA. Highly recommended!
Gear used:
Carbine: Bushmaster
Optic: EoTech 512
Sling: VTAC two point
Pistol: Glock 17
Holster: Safariland 6004 drop leg
Vest: Blackhawk Chest rig (2, 30round Mags, 2 pistol mags, 1 utility pouch)
Hearing protection: Howard Electronic
Ammo: Wolf FMJ 223 and 9mm