CQC.45
10-24-11, 10:53
AAR: VSM Carbine Basic
Instructor: Matt Schultz
Location: Albion, MI
Background: I have taken several handgun courses with Matt and one he hosted with LAV, however this was my first formal Carbine course.
Gear: I used a DD midlength 14.5 w/ a BC 1.5 and Aimpoint Micro. Secondary was a Glock 17. I ran a HSGI 1st line belt with mostly PSS gear for holsters and mag carriers. All performed excellent.
For the class, I T&E’d a PSS pistol 3x mag pouch called the PMA (Parallel Magazine Attachment). A separate, in depth, review will be up soon on M4C. I will say that it performed very well and I think it is especially well-suited to those running more than one gun (i.e. primary and secondary).
The DD performed well but started to short stroke with .223 towards the end (ran fine with 5.56). This may be a result of one or more of the following: Dirty, H2 buffer, Sprinco (standard pressure) spring, gun having less than 150rds through it before the class (of .223), and attempting to run it with a BAD lever (I know, I know…). I will say the DD really impressed me with its accuracy, and with the BC it was very smooth and fast.
The Glock 17 was boringly reliable as always.
There was also a Noveske 16” midlength gun with ran 100%. Another shooter was using some kind of 7.62x39 AR which ended up breaking a bolt lug towards the end. Matt lent him his DD for the remainder of the course.
The Course
We started at 9:30 with the standard safety brief. From there we moved to confirm zero. Matt talked about the 25/100 zero vs. the 200 zero and why he prefers the former. Being already sighted in at 100 we were pretty much good to go. At 100 yds I was able to put 5 shots (yes I know the whole 5 vs. 10 shot thing…take it for what it’s worth) within an inch of each other with a LW DD CL barrel using cheap .223 PMC. Not bad.
With that out of the way we talked about hold over. We started about 5 yds away from the target and moved progressively rearward so we could get a feel for where we needed to be in regard to various distances. After shooting handguns for so long, I admit it was difficult to remember to hold over at times during some of the quicker drills inside of 25yds.
We then moved to what Matt described as one of the best, accuracy focused, drills to run. There’s not really a name for it, we called in the “100 – in” drill. Essentially it looked like this:
-10 shots, 100yds, prone, 60 seconds
-10 shots, 75yds, sitting, 45 seconds
-10 shots 50yds, kneeling, 30 seconds
-10 shots, 25yds, standing, 15 seconds
Shots inside the 9 ring (black) were 0, on paper outside black were -1, on cardboard were -3 total miss -5. Matt was saying the class average for an intermediate class was around -15. I shot a -8 on my first run and a -3 on my second…so I was pretty happy about that.
With that we broke for lunch. We were able to sit down and talk with Matt to pick his brain on a few topics. What amazed me was how much handgun skills transferred to shooting a carbine and how easy it was in comparison. It honestly felt like I was cheating (not trying to make any claim to being an awesome shot with the carbine, just speaking in terms of my relative skill/experience with both).
After lunch we went over reloads. Matt spoke to the time and place for reloads as compared to a transition to secondary. 25yds and in: transition to pistol…outside that: reload. I ran bullets rear for my AR mags and found it to be better bullets forward for me.
We then worked the steps to clear various malfunctions (which were notably similar to handgun in several instances). Once again, the clear malf vs. transition to secondary was covered in a similar way to reloads.
Around this time, I noticed a wasp on my target. Those who know me know I hate any sort of stinging insect, so I decided this would be my victim. Matt decided 10 yds would be sporting distance so he and I took alternating shots at it. I ended up hitting it on my second shot leaving a wasp-blood stain on my target for the duration of the class.
After this was transitions. The transition itself was pretty strait-forward. However, I cant believe how much my handgun shooting degraded after just a few hours of shooting the carbine. I found myself slapping the trigger on the pistol instead of clean presses and my handgun shots were pulling low and left. I had been spoiled by the carbine in the matter of a few hours which was much more forgiving. I think that is an important dynamic to consider when going back and forth between primary and secondary weapons. Around this time other individual’s 7.62x39 gun broke a bolt lug, and he had to use Matt’s for the duration of the class.
Lastly we drilled shooting on the move using the same drills we had done in handgun classes before. First we practiced parallel and perpendicular movement going through the proper upper and lower body movements for each. Then we essentially created shapes (triangle, square, figure 8) with objects at the range and worked moving along the sides. Once again, it is so much easier with a carbine than a handgun it’s ridiculous.
After it was time for goodbyes and certificates were handed out. A good time was had by all.
Take aways:
-Carbine shooting is MUCH easier than handgun shooting. This is both a curse and a blessing, as I saw my handguns skill erode in just a few hours of carbine shooting when trying to switch directly from one to the other.
-Proper trigger control skills pan across various weapons.
-Don’t forget holdover
-Need to figure out the cycling/pressure issue with the DD. Either need to go to an H1 or run a bunch of 5.56 before I try the .223 again.
-Practice often.
Instructor: Matt was great as always. Not much I can say that I haven’t already in other reviews. Knowledgeable guy and a great instructor. Would highly recommend him to anyone in the MI area.
Pictures to follow soon.
Instructor: Matt Schultz
Location: Albion, MI
Background: I have taken several handgun courses with Matt and one he hosted with LAV, however this was my first formal Carbine course.
Gear: I used a DD midlength 14.5 w/ a BC 1.5 and Aimpoint Micro. Secondary was a Glock 17. I ran a HSGI 1st line belt with mostly PSS gear for holsters and mag carriers. All performed excellent.
For the class, I T&E’d a PSS pistol 3x mag pouch called the PMA (Parallel Magazine Attachment). A separate, in depth, review will be up soon on M4C. I will say that it performed very well and I think it is especially well-suited to those running more than one gun (i.e. primary and secondary).
The DD performed well but started to short stroke with .223 towards the end (ran fine with 5.56). This may be a result of one or more of the following: Dirty, H2 buffer, Sprinco (standard pressure) spring, gun having less than 150rds through it before the class (of .223), and attempting to run it with a BAD lever (I know, I know…). I will say the DD really impressed me with its accuracy, and with the BC it was very smooth and fast.
The Glock 17 was boringly reliable as always.
There was also a Noveske 16” midlength gun with ran 100%. Another shooter was using some kind of 7.62x39 AR which ended up breaking a bolt lug towards the end. Matt lent him his DD for the remainder of the course.
The Course
We started at 9:30 with the standard safety brief. From there we moved to confirm zero. Matt talked about the 25/100 zero vs. the 200 zero and why he prefers the former. Being already sighted in at 100 we were pretty much good to go. At 100 yds I was able to put 5 shots (yes I know the whole 5 vs. 10 shot thing…take it for what it’s worth) within an inch of each other with a LW DD CL barrel using cheap .223 PMC. Not bad.
With that out of the way we talked about hold over. We started about 5 yds away from the target and moved progressively rearward so we could get a feel for where we needed to be in regard to various distances. After shooting handguns for so long, I admit it was difficult to remember to hold over at times during some of the quicker drills inside of 25yds.
We then moved to what Matt described as one of the best, accuracy focused, drills to run. There’s not really a name for it, we called in the “100 – in” drill. Essentially it looked like this:
-10 shots, 100yds, prone, 60 seconds
-10 shots, 75yds, sitting, 45 seconds
-10 shots 50yds, kneeling, 30 seconds
-10 shots, 25yds, standing, 15 seconds
Shots inside the 9 ring (black) were 0, on paper outside black were -1, on cardboard were -3 total miss -5. Matt was saying the class average for an intermediate class was around -15. I shot a -8 on my first run and a -3 on my second…so I was pretty happy about that.
With that we broke for lunch. We were able to sit down and talk with Matt to pick his brain on a few topics. What amazed me was how much handgun skills transferred to shooting a carbine and how easy it was in comparison. It honestly felt like I was cheating (not trying to make any claim to being an awesome shot with the carbine, just speaking in terms of my relative skill/experience with both).
After lunch we went over reloads. Matt spoke to the time and place for reloads as compared to a transition to secondary. 25yds and in: transition to pistol…outside that: reload. I ran bullets rear for my AR mags and found it to be better bullets forward for me.
We then worked the steps to clear various malfunctions (which were notably similar to handgun in several instances). Once again, the clear malf vs. transition to secondary was covered in a similar way to reloads.
Around this time, I noticed a wasp on my target. Those who know me know I hate any sort of stinging insect, so I decided this would be my victim. Matt decided 10 yds would be sporting distance so he and I took alternating shots at it. I ended up hitting it on my second shot leaving a wasp-blood stain on my target for the duration of the class.
After this was transitions. The transition itself was pretty strait-forward. However, I cant believe how much my handgun shooting degraded after just a few hours of shooting the carbine. I found myself slapping the trigger on the pistol instead of clean presses and my handgun shots were pulling low and left. I had been spoiled by the carbine in the matter of a few hours which was much more forgiving. I think that is an important dynamic to consider when going back and forth between primary and secondary weapons. Around this time other individual’s 7.62x39 gun broke a bolt lug, and he had to use Matt’s for the duration of the class.
Lastly we drilled shooting on the move using the same drills we had done in handgun classes before. First we practiced parallel and perpendicular movement going through the proper upper and lower body movements for each. Then we essentially created shapes (triangle, square, figure 8) with objects at the range and worked moving along the sides. Once again, it is so much easier with a carbine than a handgun it’s ridiculous.
After it was time for goodbyes and certificates were handed out. A good time was had by all.
Take aways:
-Carbine shooting is MUCH easier than handgun shooting. This is both a curse and a blessing, as I saw my handguns skill erode in just a few hours of carbine shooting when trying to switch directly from one to the other.
-Proper trigger control skills pan across various weapons.
-Don’t forget holdover
-Need to figure out the cycling/pressure issue with the DD. Either need to go to an H1 or run a bunch of 5.56 before I try the .223 again.
-Practice often.
Instructor: Matt was great as always. Not much I can say that I haven’t already in other reviews. Knowledgeable guy and a great instructor. Would highly recommend him to anyone in the MI area.
Pictures to follow soon.