Kchen986
06-02-10, 12:37
I recently attended the VTAC Carbine 1.5 class in Linden, NC. I was hoping to sharpen up my shooting before I ship out for basic and to reward myself for finishing my second year of law school. Hopefully I’ll shoot an ‘expert’ in BCT.
The weather was relatively uncooperative, raining the day before Day 1 and then becoming blazing hot on Day 2. We lucked out on Day 3 though, with a light breeze. Regardless, I came away with some sun-burns. The course was taught by Dan, an active duty SF guy with approximately 15 years of experience down range.
The attendees were a mix of civilians (students, engineers), contractors (security, overseas contractors), and a lot of LEOs (narcotics, SWAT, officers).
Classes started at 0800 on day 1 and ended around 1630. We started at 0900 on Day 2 and Day 3.
The Facility
The range consisted of 3 berms, with us training exclusively on one berm. There was no gravel and due to the rain, there was a lot of mud on the range. As a result, during Day 1, and Day 2, I ended up doing a lot of shooting in the mud. I think the facility is one portion which I felt like the course could have improved on. In another class I took, we had gravel from 25 yards in. Although I suppose I received better training from running around in the mud, it really was a pain in the ass getting the mud off my gear before I stepped back in to my hotel.
The classroom portions were also taught outside, with us standing around Dan. One thing that I think could have helped would have been a quick classroom portion. I had brought a pad and pens to take copious notes but ended up only taking notes for the malfunction drill.
http://x42.xanga.com/617f62f1c6633268208280/b213942897.jpg
Staging Area:
http://xf5.xanga.com/d20f6bf1c6232268208297/m213942910.jpg
Day 1
We started off with zeroing our weapons at 25-50-75-100 yards. Dan first explained that with a 50 yard zero, you’ll never be more than ~1.3” off from 25-200 yards. As a result, we all zeroed our weapons for 50 yards. Unlike other courses, we really took our time with getting a good zero. We spent approximately 90 minutes shooting, and then walking down range to adjust for zero. As you’ll see from this AAR, one thing I really liked about this class is that we really took our time to get it right before moving on. 10 x 5 shot groups later, I had my ACOG zeroed dead center at 100 yards.
We then moved to doing a NRA style shooting match. Dan instructed us at the various positions available and we shot from 100-25 yards in various positions, then scored our shots. We then broke for lunch.
After lunch, we started going over shooting stance. I had been taught to square up to provide maximum protection from my armor plate. However, Dan made a good point, “don’t count on the other guy shooting you to determine your shooting stance.” Consequently, we adjusted our stance for a modified weaver-type stance. This stance proved to be much more stable, and we were able to shoot much quicker as a result. We also learned some fundamentals of shooting, such as snapping your weapon up, follow-through, reset, etc. Following the instruction, we practiced drilling the stance and shooting strings.
After drilling the shooting strings over and over again, we moved to timed engagements. We shot from various distances and timed ourselves at both our speed and accuracy. Another extremely strong point of this class was the emphasis on both speed and accuracy. This wrapped up Day 1.
Day 2
Day 2 started off with malfunctions. Dan first instructed us how to clear the various malfunctions we’d see on an AR. One of the things I really liked was learning how to clear a bolt override by ‘creating space.’ We then ran the 3 little kittens drill with 3 jammed rifles.
http://x9e.xanga.com/d05f61e534032268208335/m213942938.jpg
Afterwards, we moved to turning and shooting drills.
http://x24.xanga.com/5a8f4be6c8530268208360/m213942960.jpg
http://xe4.xanga.com/184f75eac8533268208362/m213942962.jpg
http://x66.xanga.com/07ef70f3d1033268208545/m213943110.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLatqLH47ec
We then moved to pistol transitions:
http://x14.xanga.com/271f8ae464d34268208379/m213942979.jpg
Dan went through the pistol transitions, then we drilled transitions over and over and over again. We’d get mags loaded with various round counts and we’d practice transitioning. For the remainder of the day, we kept our pistols on us and transitioned whenever we ran dry. I really liked practicing this and using transitions as the day went on.
Finally, we ran moving & shooting drills
http://xb2.xanga.com/d6ff81e5c4d34268208387/m213942987.jpg
As stated before, we transitioned to our pistol when we ran dry, so in essence we were practicing moving, shooting and transitioning. In previous carbine courses, we did not continuously practice transitioning, so this was great.
Day 3
We shot steel on Day 3
http://x77.xanga.com/050f85e444d34268208388/m213942988.jpg
We began with shooting positions, sitting, brokeback prone, SBU prone, modified kneeling, rice paddy squat, etc.
http://xcc.xanga.com/7eef6be505532268208391/m213942989.jpg
http://xc9.xanga.com/fa9f6aeac8732268208393/m213942991.jpg
We then moved to weak-side transitions. We first learned how to transition, then transitioned over and over again, before running transitions hot—over and over again.
After drilling transitions, we moved to barricade shooting.
http://x77.xanga.com/e5ef7af1d3033268208651/m213943196.jpg
After shooting barricade, we ran various competitive drills and timed drills which really stressed transitions, speed, accuracy, and incorporated pretty much everything we learned during the day.
General Comments/Cliff Notes
The strength of this class was the emphasis on speed and accuracy, as well as the repetitive training to build muscle memory. A couple things I *personally* felt could have been improved, was that I think this course could have been more pedagogical. For example, we walked towards the left by stepping OVER with our right foot, which seemed like we were crossing our feet. Dan told us that it’s not ‘crossing our feet’ so much as creating a stable platform to move left. I think Dan could have explained that one more. We also ran in to a lot of unorthodox things, like placing our muzzle on to the grass and clearing a stuck casing. Most schools are highly against muzzle on the ground (for fear of mud getting in there). Dan explained that by saying in theater, you will most likely use it on concrete or on a vehicle. I felt like that could have been explained more too.
Nonetheless, the instruction was great and I really learned *a lot* and really had the opportunity to practice and build muscle memory.
Gear Queer notes:
For those who aren’t addicted to hardware, stop here, but for those who like gear comments read on:
I ran a large CIRAS which was heavy and uncomfortable. I ran plates for about 2 hours then ditched the plates and ran without it. I tried shifting the weight of the CIRAS on to my hip by putting a battle belt underneath it but the weight still ended up on my shoulders. Another student ran a London Bridge Trading Plate Carrier (6094A) no problems, so I am looking in to purchasing one of those. Most of the students ran belt rigs, which seems to be in vogue right now. However, I am not sure if belt rigs are run the same way in theater, so I am leery of using one. In addition, belt rigs aren’t ambidextrous so I’m still on the fence. I’ll most likely buy a belt rig and try to run it underneath my PC as second line gear.
My LWRC ran great through ~1,500 rounds. Around ~1,300 rounds I had one spontaneous double feed and another double feed caused by improper hand placement during weak-side firing. A lot of guys had rifles going down, so I was pleased that I only had 1 double feed (which came during a competitive event, but thanks to my teammate’s excellent shooting I had time to quickly clear the two double feeds and we won the event).
I also ran an ACOG, which was *great* for 100 yard and 50 yard shooting. However, during weak side shooting in unconventional positions I could NOT get a sight picture. With my rifle canted and in an awkward position, I tried transitioning to the MRD on top, but at 50 yards I was missing poppers.
The BAD lever was *EXCELLENT* highly recommended. Fast reloads, great for locking bolt back during malfunctions.
Lessons Learned:
Buy sunscreen.
Wear something to cover your neck. I got showered with brass during a competitive event (really distracting from shooting) and had another spent casing brand a hole in my neck.
Account for your shots.
Load up ~20 mags before doing to class (pain in the ass to load mags while sweaty and tired with 20lbs of gear on).
When weak-side transitioning: Firing grip to magwell!
Safety on when moving. Always be mindful of your safety.
Hope this provided a good review of the Carbine 1.5. If anything is not kosher, PM or email me and I'll pull it down. It really was a pleasure shooting with everyone. :)
The weather was relatively uncooperative, raining the day before Day 1 and then becoming blazing hot on Day 2. We lucked out on Day 3 though, with a light breeze. Regardless, I came away with some sun-burns. The course was taught by Dan, an active duty SF guy with approximately 15 years of experience down range.
The attendees were a mix of civilians (students, engineers), contractors (security, overseas contractors), and a lot of LEOs (narcotics, SWAT, officers).
Classes started at 0800 on day 1 and ended around 1630. We started at 0900 on Day 2 and Day 3.
The Facility
The range consisted of 3 berms, with us training exclusively on one berm. There was no gravel and due to the rain, there was a lot of mud on the range. As a result, during Day 1, and Day 2, I ended up doing a lot of shooting in the mud. I think the facility is one portion which I felt like the course could have improved on. In another class I took, we had gravel from 25 yards in. Although I suppose I received better training from running around in the mud, it really was a pain in the ass getting the mud off my gear before I stepped back in to my hotel.
The classroom portions were also taught outside, with us standing around Dan. One thing that I think could have helped would have been a quick classroom portion. I had brought a pad and pens to take copious notes but ended up only taking notes for the malfunction drill.
http://x42.xanga.com/617f62f1c6633268208280/b213942897.jpg
Staging Area:
http://xf5.xanga.com/d20f6bf1c6232268208297/m213942910.jpg
Day 1
We started off with zeroing our weapons at 25-50-75-100 yards. Dan first explained that with a 50 yard zero, you’ll never be more than ~1.3” off from 25-200 yards. As a result, we all zeroed our weapons for 50 yards. Unlike other courses, we really took our time with getting a good zero. We spent approximately 90 minutes shooting, and then walking down range to adjust for zero. As you’ll see from this AAR, one thing I really liked about this class is that we really took our time to get it right before moving on. 10 x 5 shot groups later, I had my ACOG zeroed dead center at 100 yards.
We then moved to doing a NRA style shooting match. Dan instructed us at the various positions available and we shot from 100-25 yards in various positions, then scored our shots. We then broke for lunch.
After lunch, we started going over shooting stance. I had been taught to square up to provide maximum protection from my armor plate. However, Dan made a good point, “don’t count on the other guy shooting you to determine your shooting stance.” Consequently, we adjusted our stance for a modified weaver-type stance. This stance proved to be much more stable, and we were able to shoot much quicker as a result. We also learned some fundamentals of shooting, such as snapping your weapon up, follow-through, reset, etc. Following the instruction, we practiced drilling the stance and shooting strings.
After drilling the shooting strings over and over again, we moved to timed engagements. We shot from various distances and timed ourselves at both our speed and accuracy. Another extremely strong point of this class was the emphasis on both speed and accuracy. This wrapped up Day 1.
Day 2
Day 2 started off with malfunctions. Dan first instructed us how to clear the various malfunctions we’d see on an AR. One of the things I really liked was learning how to clear a bolt override by ‘creating space.’ We then ran the 3 little kittens drill with 3 jammed rifles.
http://x9e.xanga.com/d05f61e534032268208335/m213942938.jpg
Afterwards, we moved to turning and shooting drills.
http://x24.xanga.com/5a8f4be6c8530268208360/m213942960.jpg
http://xe4.xanga.com/184f75eac8533268208362/m213942962.jpg
http://x66.xanga.com/07ef70f3d1033268208545/m213943110.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLatqLH47ec
We then moved to pistol transitions:
http://x14.xanga.com/271f8ae464d34268208379/m213942979.jpg
Dan went through the pistol transitions, then we drilled transitions over and over and over again. We’d get mags loaded with various round counts and we’d practice transitioning. For the remainder of the day, we kept our pistols on us and transitioned whenever we ran dry. I really liked practicing this and using transitions as the day went on.
Finally, we ran moving & shooting drills
http://xb2.xanga.com/d6ff81e5c4d34268208387/m213942987.jpg
As stated before, we transitioned to our pistol when we ran dry, so in essence we were practicing moving, shooting and transitioning. In previous carbine courses, we did not continuously practice transitioning, so this was great.
Day 3
We shot steel on Day 3
http://x77.xanga.com/050f85e444d34268208388/m213942988.jpg
We began with shooting positions, sitting, brokeback prone, SBU prone, modified kneeling, rice paddy squat, etc.
http://xcc.xanga.com/7eef6be505532268208391/m213942989.jpg
http://xc9.xanga.com/fa9f6aeac8732268208393/m213942991.jpg
We then moved to weak-side transitions. We first learned how to transition, then transitioned over and over again, before running transitions hot—over and over again.
After drilling transitions, we moved to barricade shooting.
http://x77.xanga.com/e5ef7af1d3033268208651/m213943196.jpg
After shooting barricade, we ran various competitive drills and timed drills which really stressed transitions, speed, accuracy, and incorporated pretty much everything we learned during the day.
General Comments/Cliff Notes
The strength of this class was the emphasis on speed and accuracy, as well as the repetitive training to build muscle memory. A couple things I *personally* felt could have been improved, was that I think this course could have been more pedagogical. For example, we walked towards the left by stepping OVER with our right foot, which seemed like we were crossing our feet. Dan told us that it’s not ‘crossing our feet’ so much as creating a stable platform to move left. I think Dan could have explained that one more. We also ran in to a lot of unorthodox things, like placing our muzzle on to the grass and clearing a stuck casing. Most schools are highly against muzzle on the ground (for fear of mud getting in there). Dan explained that by saying in theater, you will most likely use it on concrete or on a vehicle. I felt like that could have been explained more too.
Nonetheless, the instruction was great and I really learned *a lot* and really had the opportunity to practice and build muscle memory.
Gear Queer notes:
For those who aren’t addicted to hardware, stop here, but for those who like gear comments read on:
I ran a large CIRAS which was heavy and uncomfortable. I ran plates for about 2 hours then ditched the plates and ran without it. I tried shifting the weight of the CIRAS on to my hip by putting a battle belt underneath it but the weight still ended up on my shoulders. Another student ran a London Bridge Trading Plate Carrier (6094A) no problems, so I am looking in to purchasing one of those. Most of the students ran belt rigs, which seems to be in vogue right now. However, I am not sure if belt rigs are run the same way in theater, so I am leery of using one. In addition, belt rigs aren’t ambidextrous so I’m still on the fence. I’ll most likely buy a belt rig and try to run it underneath my PC as second line gear.
My LWRC ran great through ~1,500 rounds. Around ~1,300 rounds I had one spontaneous double feed and another double feed caused by improper hand placement during weak-side firing. A lot of guys had rifles going down, so I was pleased that I only had 1 double feed (which came during a competitive event, but thanks to my teammate’s excellent shooting I had time to quickly clear the two double feeds and we won the event).
I also ran an ACOG, which was *great* for 100 yard and 50 yard shooting. However, during weak side shooting in unconventional positions I could NOT get a sight picture. With my rifle canted and in an awkward position, I tried transitioning to the MRD on top, but at 50 yards I was missing poppers.
The BAD lever was *EXCELLENT* highly recommended. Fast reloads, great for locking bolt back during malfunctions.
Lessons Learned:
Buy sunscreen.
Wear something to cover your neck. I got showered with brass during a competitive event (really distracting from shooting) and had another spent casing brand a hole in my neck.
Account for your shots.
Load up ~20 mags before doing to class (pain in the ass to load mags while sweaty and tired with 20lbs of gear on).
When weak-side transitioning: Firing grip to magwell!
Safety on when moving. Always be mindful of your safety.
Hope this provided a good review of the Carbine 1.5. If anything is not kosher, PM or email me and I'll pull it down. It really was a pleasure shooting with everyone. :)