Wicked
08-22-10, 01:52
Last weekend I attended a 3 day Tactical Rifle I course at Tactical Defense Institute (TDI) hosted by John Benner and his staff in West Union, OH. I chose TDI because it was the closest full-spectrum weapons training facility, the cost seemed reasonable and I had heard & read good things about them. Classes ran from 9am to 5pm with an hour break for lunch (pack your own cooler) and an evening shoot was scheduled for Day 2. The nearest lodging, meals and medical facility are at least a 20 minute drive.
http://www.tdiohio.com/home.html
This is my first attempt at writing an AAR, so be gentle. I didn't take notes or pics and did not make any real effort to mentally document my training for the purpose of reporting it - so I may have missed a thing or two. I went to TDI seeking instruction, and concentrated my time on listening, watching, participating and gathering knowledge. I've only attended 2 other training classes, so take my random comments with that fact in mind.
The Class
* This was a Level I carbine class. There were 21 students (2 female)and approximately 8 to 10 instructors working during different portions of the class. For the most part, a 2 to 1 student/instructor ratio. All students were .civ with the lone exception of a NROTC Cadet. Ages ranged from 20 to 50+. All but two of the instructors were from a law enforcement background, only one listed military qualifications. In my opinion, a good portion of the students had very limited carbine experience, but during the entire class at no time did I see an unsafe condition on the range.
* Day 1 - Intro, classroom lectures, sighting in, presision shooting. The morning was spent in the classroom covering the basics: shooting positions, firearms safety, ammo & ballistics, different rifle types & parts, ect. PowerPoint presentations and chalkboard diagrams were used to illustrate topics. The afternoon was spent sighting-in and shooting from prone at 25, 50, 100 and 200 yards in 5 shot groups. (Take a shooting mat, you’ll want one here.) The instructors stressed, "They'll run dirty; but not dry." Many guns started out the day completely dry - no oil. The instructors wanted 100yd zeros on all rifles for conformity. Understood, as some students arrived with new optics freshly screwed onto weapons - no zero on the gun. I went with 25yd zeros on all 3 of my uppers and they're going back there now that I am finished with the class. There was a classroom session at the end of Day 1 on rifle maintenance, care and cleaning.
* Day 2 - CQB. Day 2 was spent shooting at close ranges. An instructor would explain each new concept, demonstrate it (often multiple times) and then take questions. Students then got the opportunity to practice dry and then shoot the drill. Stance and squaring up to the target, ready positions and sight over bore were introduced. Reloading drills, malfunction/ clearance drills, practice shoooting singles-doubles-tripples at different points of aim, moving and shooting and transition to a secondary were then added. The bulk of my shooting took place on Day 2 with a slightly lower round count on Day 3.
* Low light/Night Shoot - Scheduled for the end of day 2 but the weather did not cooperate and it rained down cats-n-dogs. Time was instead spent in the classroom covering entry techniques. As much as I wanted to spend the very limited time I would get to shoot in low light working with a new Surefire 9v light, the time spent in the class was not wasted. The entry techniques would be needed the next day in the shoot houses.
* Day 3 - Five Shooting Stations. Day 3 came with a bit of relief from the heat thanks to the previous night’s rain. The group was broken up into five 4 person ‘teams.’ Each team took turns at 5 separate stations: 1.) run and gun targets on the Lower Range, 2.) two person teams in Live Fire Houses 1 and 2, 3.) a timed combo medium-range precision and CQB course on the Rifle Range, 4.) a Jungle Trail course to spot and shoot concealed targets, and 5.) a cover and concealment Obstacle Course on the Upper Range that really tested your cardio/breath & trigger control if you did it right.
* These five individual scenarios required the collective use of the skills and shooting techniques we had learned over the previous 2 days classes. Much of the course up to this point was review and reinforcement for me. These were the dynamic shooting experiences I had hoped to get from taking a class. This was my first time clearing rooms in a live fire shoot house with a carbine. That, and the extensive feedback from the instructors on my performance there were the most bendficial and informative part of the course for me. The techniques & lessons learned in the Live Fire House alone were worth the price of admission, as my home is the most likely scenario where I would deploy a carbine as a civilian. It's funny, every hallway I enter now gets disected and think about where I should stand, how I'd position my body and weapon and then how I would drop-in if I had to enter a room.
Other Random Thoughts & Observations
* 19 students used some brand or another of DI AR platform, 2 ran piston guns. Most were simple, basic 16" M4 clones. A few failures to extract were the main rifle malfunctions and one student went out and purchased a new SIG with Leuopold CQB after a frustrating first day. A new Eotech that wouldn’t adjust to point of impact got replaced by an Aimpoint. The instructors were extremely patient, answering a lot of basic gun & equipment questions and freely offered personal insight on different types of guns and gear. They weren’t afraid to honestly tell you what they thought of anything, in a polite fashion.
* Many students did not arrive prepared with weapons and gear proved out, but this was a basic entry level class and probably is to be expected. Only a few students ran weapon mounted lights and some students shot irons the whole weekend. Most others used a red dot of some kind: one ACOG, one 1-4x scope, the rest Aimpoints or Eotechs. Some students borrowed optics/mounts or rifles from TDI who had limited loaners on hand.
* TDI has a small pro shop with a small selection of quality optics, slings, stocks, ect. for sale and offered basic gunsmith services if/when required. A number of students needed slings, mounts, ect. and were able to get these items on site. They can provide your ammo too, if notified in advance.
* All but 1 student carried a pistol, but it was required only infrequently. Malfunction/clearance drills were presented and practiced. Transition drills were covered and students got limited practice time with swaping from primary to secondary. Transitions were only required in the event of a malfunctioning primary. The recommended 100 rounds was plenty.
* For Ohio, the weather was unusually HOT. Temps of 96+ corrected for humidity at 105. This greatly slowed the pace of the class. The instructors were very clear about the dangers of dehydration and heat stroke. Water/Gatorade was provided in quantity and students were frequently encouraged to hydrate.
* Frequent breaks were required as the high heat & humidity had a real effect on some students. The extra breaks kept the overall pace at a slow crawl during much of day 1 and 2, but honestly - at times it was brutally hot. The instructors did repeatedly caution everyone against overexertion and the need to stay hydrated. At this temp, staying hydrated was vitally important. The slower pace did allow me time to switch back and forth between guns with different uppers. I put some trigger time on a new SBR and got to run both my other guns too.
* Everyone was quickly a hot & sweaty mess, but those students running chest rigs/vests or wearing pants looked very uncomfortable. I wore shorts and ran a firstline belt (Warhog by US Grunt Gear) and having nothing on my chest made me a lot more comfortable in the heat. Very few students had a method for carrying any amount of ammunition and water on their person, but we were never really far from our vehicles.
* I may have had the only IFAK on the range, but then I'm over-cautious. Chances of an accidental GSW or serious injury are probably lower than low, but it happens. The location is very remote and medical assistance would take time. Don't know what the instructors had in their vehicles or their level of e-med training.
* The recommended 1800 rds of ammo was well over what I needed for a full class of 20 students and the pace in the heat. I probably only got off 1200 and that was shooting repeated doubles and tripples most every drill. I ran 55gr. Wolf ammo (with extra power extractor springs and Crane O-rings) and experienced no weapon failures of any kind.
Over-All
I was pleased with my experience at TDI. I was made to feel welcome, learned plenty of new things to think about and definitely got a good deal for the price of the class. They offer plenty of classes that interest me and I will definitely return next year for additional courses.
http://www.tdiohio.com/home.html
This is my first attempt at writing an AAR, so be gentle. I didn't take notes or pics and did not make any real effort to mentally document my training for the purpose of reporting it - so I may have missed a thing or two. I went to TDI seeking instruction, and concentrated my time on listening, watching, participating and gathering knowledge. I've only attended 2 other training classes, so take my random comments with that fact in mind.
The Class
* This was a Level I carbine class. There were 21 students (2 female)and approximately 8 to 10 instructors working during different portions of the class. For the most part, a 2 to 1 student/instructor ratio. All students were .civ with the lone exception of a NROTC Cadet. Ages ranged from 20 to 50+. All but two of the instructors were from a law enforcement background, only one listed military qualifications. In my opinion, a good portion of the students had very limited carbine experience, but during the entire class at no time did I see an unsafe condition on the range.
* Day 1 - Intro, classroom lectures, sighting in, presision shooting. The morning was spent in the classroom covering the basics: shooting positions, firearms safety, ammo & ballistics, different rifle types & parts, ect. PowerPoint presentations and chalkboard diagrams were used to illustrate topics. The afternoon was spent sighting-in and shooting from prone at 25, 50, 100 and 200 yards in 5 shot groups. (Take a shooting mat, you’ll want one here.) The instructors stressed, "They'll run dirty; but not dry." Many guns started out the day completely dry - no oil. The instructors wanted 100yd zeros on all rifles for conformity. Understood, as some students arrived with new optics freshly screwed onto weapons - no zero on the gun. I went with 25yd zeros on all 3 of my uppers and they're going back there now that I am finished with the class. There was a classroom session at the end of Day 1 on rifle maintenance, care and cleaning.
* Day 2 - CQB. Day 2 was spent shooting at close ranges. An instructor would explain each new concept, demonstrate it (often multiple times) and then take questions. Students then got the opportunity to practice dry and then shoot the drill. Stance and squaring up to the target, ready positions and sight over bore were introduced. Reloading drills, malfunction/ clearance drills, practice shoooting singles-doubles-tripples at different points of aim, moving and shooting and transition to a secondary were then added. The bulk of my shooting took place on Day 2 with a slightly lower round count on Day 3.
* Low light/Night Shoot - Scheduled for the end of day 2 but the weather did not cooperate and it rained down cats-n-dogs. Time was instead spent in the classroom covering entry techniques. As much as I wanted to spend the very limited time I would get to shoot in low light working with a new Surefire 9v light, the time spent in the class was not wasted. The entry techniques would be needed the next day in the shoot houses.
* Day 3 - Five Shooting Stations. Day 3 came with a bit of relief from the heat thanks to the previous night’s rain. The group was broken up into five 4 person ‘teams.’ Each team took turns at 5 separate stations: 1.) run and gun targets on the Lower Range, 2.) two person teams in Live Fire Houses 1 and 2, 3.) a timed combo medium-range precision and CQB course on the Rifle Range, 4.) a Jungle Trail course to spot and shoot concealed targets, and 5.) a cover and concealment Obstacle Course on the Upper Range that really tested your cardio/breath & trigger control if you did it right.
* These five individual scenarios required the collective use of the skills and shooting techniques we had learned over the previous 2 days classes. Much of the course up to this point was review and reinforcement for me. These were the dynamic shooting experiences I had hoped to get from taking a class. This was my first time clearing rooms in a live fire shoot house with a carbine. That, and the extensive feedback from the instructors on my performance there were the most bendficial and informative part of the course for me. The techniques & lessons learned in the Live Fire House alone were worth the price of admission, as my home is the most likely scenario where I would deploy a carbine as a civilian. It's funny, every hallway I enter now gets disected and think about where I should stand, how I'd position my body and weapon and then how I would drop-in if I had to enter a room.
Other Random Thoughts & Observations
* 19 students used some brand or another of DI AR platform, 2 ran piston guns. Most were simple, basic 16" M4 clones. A few failures to extract were the main rifle malfunctions and one student went out and purchased a new SIG with Leuopold CQB after a frustrating first day. A new Eotech that wouldn’t adjust to point of impact got replaced by an Aimpoint. The instructors were extremely patient, answering a lot of basic gun & equipment questions and freely offered personal insight on different types of guns and gear. They weren’t afraid to honestly tell you what they thought of anything, in a polite fashion.
* Many students did not arrive prepared with weapons and gear proved out, but this was a basic entry level class and probably is to be expected. Only a few students ran weapon mounted lights and some students shot irons the whole weekend. Most others used a red dot of some kind: one ACOG, one 1-4x scope, the rest Aimpoints or Eotechs. Some students borrowed optics/mounts or rifles from TDI who had limited loaners on hand.
* TDI has a small pro shop with a small selection of quality optics, slings, stocks, ect. for sale and offered basic gunsmith services if/when required. A number of students needed slings, mounts, ect. and were able to get these items on site. They can provide your ammo too, if notified in advance.
* All but 1 student carried a pistol, but it was required only infrequently. Malfunction/clearance drills were presented and practiced. Transition drills were covered and students got limited practice time with swaping from primary to secondary. Transitions were only required in the event of a malfunctioning primary. The recommended 100 rounds was plenty.
* For Ohio, the weather was unusually HOT. Temps of 96+ corrected for humidity at 105. This greatly slowed the pace of the class. The instructors were very clear about the dangers of dehydration and heat stroke. Water/Gatorade was provided in quantity and students were frequently encouraged to hydrate.
* Frequent breaks were required as the high heat & humidity had a real effect on some students. The extra breaks kept the overall pace at a slow crawl during much of day 1 and 2, but honestly - at times it was brutally hot. The instructors did repeatedly caution everyone against overexertion and the need to stay hydrated. At this temp, staying hydrated was vitally important. The slower pace did allow me time to switch back and forth between guns with different uppers. I put some trigger time on a new SBR and got to run both my other guns too.
* Everyone was quickly a hot & sweaty mess, but those students running chest rigs/vests or wearing pants looked very uncomfortable. I wore shorts and ran a firstline belt (Warhog by US Grunt Gear) and having nothing on my chest made me a lot more comfortable in the heat. Very few students had a method for carrying any amount of ammunition and water on their person, but we were never really far from our vehicles.
* I may have had the only IFAK on the range, but then I'm over-cautious. Chances of an accidental GSW or serious injury are probably lower than low, but it happens. The location is very remote and medical assistance would take time. Don't know what the instructors had in their vehicles or their level of e-med training.
* The recommended 1800 rds of ammo was well over what I needed for a full class of 20 students and the pace in the heat. I probably only got off 1200 and that was shooting repeated doubles and tripples most every drill. I ran 55gr. Wolf ammo (with extra power extractor springs and Crane O-rings) and experienced no weapon failures of any kind.
Over-All
I was pleased with my experience at TDI. I was made to feel welcome, learned plenty of new things to think about and definitely got a good deal for the price of the class. They offer plenty of classes that interest me and I will definitely return next year for additional courses.