Pat_Rogers
05-17-07, 07:25
AAR Dane County 2007
EAG returned to the land of rain and cheese for another Carbine Operators Course. As has been the case, Pat Kelly and Rob Richardson and the Dane County SO hosted another interesting and productive class.
WX was typical, with rain, hot sun and high winds. Fortunately the really bad WX held off until we were leaving the range on TD3 when a hail/ T-storm passed through.
The overall quality of the class was high. The fact that this has been a trend for me makes me wonder if we aren’t going to get a whole class of Zero’s down the line (grrrrr…)
Equipment issues were relatively minor, though aggravating.
While optics are dominating the market, the quality of the mount has to match that of the optic. In one case a shooter had his EOTech mounted on a gooseneck mount (fixed carry handle). There was barely enough negative elevation on the optic to get it on paper. The mount was not up to the task (Note- NEVER EVER buy any optical mounts from Sportsmans Guide or Cheaper Than Dirt……)
The shooter believed that copious application to Loctite would solve the shaky/ loose problem.
It did, sorta’, but the lock nut (clearly made from recycled cell phones, another Chinese plot to take over the world) cracked after one magazine worth of shooting.
Another shooter lost his EOTech when the crossbolt came loose (the one they advise not to Loctite) and caused the optic to depart the UMP. Unfortunately for this shooter, he was the only one in the class not to realize it, and therefore made for a Very Special Moment as it was retuned to him….
We had two M4’s (real ones) that were problematic for the class. One needed bolt rings (note to self- placing the bolt face down on a table and allowing the weight of the carrier to press down is a more accurate method of determining bolt ring wear), but still had cycling issues. We put a new BCG in the other, but both cops used my guns (a Defensive Edge SLR and a S&W M&PT). After the class ended we found that both ran with M855, but neither would run with the loose ammo they brought with them (grrr…).
Ammo continues to be a problem (both in quantity and quality). Two shooters from one agency brought UMP’s because they had no 5.56 ammo for them to train with.
One UMP went down, primarily to age and dirt. Mike caused it to be reanimated in short order.
The P-Mags continue to work as advertised. An AAR on them would be boring. (Loaded 30 rounds. Shot same. Repeated as necessary.)
A special note of admiration to the 3 Dane County SWAT Deputies- Pat, Rob and Sabrina, who ran the course in full kit. Also thanks to the range staff for their cooperation.
Pat invited us over to his house for a cook out. His lovely wife and children (and dog) kept us entertained- especially when his daughter managed to cook his CamelBak in the toaster oven. This made for another Very Special Moment at the end of the class when he received a new one (among other things…)
One noteable MIA was Pat Harvath, who wussed out due to an eye infection. We airdropped some industrial strength Vagisil to him to soothe his libido.
Kudos to Mike Hueser for continuing to keep me on track and performing minor surgery on a wide variety of guns and gear.
Kudos also to Paul Buffoni of BCM fame for not only being High Shooter (a substantial task considering the crew) but also for working on students guns at night and providing a bewildering amount of gear for the class to fondle and use. Paul is a class act, and I wish that a lot of others in this business had his ethics and sense of honor.
Special thanks to Viking Tactics, CamelBak, Larue Tactical, Eagle, EOTech, and Aimpoint for their continued support.
EAG returned to the land of rain and cheese for another Carbine Operators Course. As has been the case, Pat Kelly and Rob Richardson and the Dane County SO hosted another interesting and productive class.
WX was typical, with rain, hot sun and high winds. Fortunately the really bad WX held off until we were leaving the range on TD3 when a hail/ T-storm passed through.
The overall quality of the class was high. The fact that this has been a trend for me makes me wonder if we aren’t going to get a whole class of Zero’s down the line (grrrrr…)
Equipment issues were relatively minor, though aggravating.
While optics are dominating the market, the quality of the mount has to match that of the optic. In one case a shooter had his EOTech mounted on a gooseneck mount (fixed carry handle). There was barely enough negative elevation on the optic to get it on paper. The mount was not up to the task (Note- NEVER EVER buy any optical mounts from Sportsmans Guide or Cheaper Than Dirt……)
The shooter believed that copious application to Loctite would solve the shaky/ loose problem.
It did, sorta’, but the lock nut (clearly made from recycled cell phones, another Chinese plot to take over the world) cracked after one magazine worth of shooting.
Another shooter lost his EOTech when the crossbolt came loose (the one they advise not to Loctite) and caused the optic to depart the UMP. Unfortunately for this shooter, he was the only one in the class not to realize it, and therefore made for a Very Special Moment as it was retuned to him….
We had two M4’s (real ones) that were problematic for the class. One needed bolt rings (note to self- placing the bolt face down on a table and allowing the weight of the carrier to press down is a more accurate method of determining bolt ring wear), but still had cycling issues. We put a new BCG in the other, but both cops used my guns (a Defensive Edge SLR and a S&W M&PT). After the class ended we found that both ran with M855, but neither would run with the loose ammo they brought with them (grrr…).
Ammo continues to be a problem (both in quantity and quality). Two shooters from one agency brought UMP’s because they had no 5.56 ammo for them to train with.
One UMP went down, primarily to age and dirt. Mike caused it to be reanimated in short order.
The P-Mags continue to work as advertised. An AAR on them would be boring. (Loaded 30 rounds. Shot same. Repeated as necessary.)
A special note of admiration to the 3 Dane County SWAT Deputies- Pat, Rob and Sabrina, who ran the course in full kit. Also thanks to the range staff for their cooperation.
Pat invited us over to his house for a cook out. His lovely wife and children (and dog) kept us entertained- especially when his daughter managed to cook his CamelBak in the toaster oven. This made for another Very Special Moment at the end of the class when he received a new one (among other things…)
One noteable MIA was Pat Harvath, who wussed out due to an eye infection. We airdropped some industrial strength Vagisil to him to soothe his libido.
Kudos to Mike Hueser for continuing to keep me on track and performing minor surgery on a wide variety of guns and gear.
Kudos also to Paul Buffoni of BCM fame for not only being High Shooter (a substantial task considering the crew) but also for working on students guns at night and providing a bewildering amount of gear for the class to fondle and use. Paul is a class act, and I wish that a lot of others in this business had his ethics and sense of honor.
Special thanks to Viking Tactics, CamelBak, Larue Tactical, Eagle, EOTech, and Aimpoint for their continued support.