AAR for Alliance 18 hour Shoothouse Instructor Course, Taken 29-30 May 2013

Going into this course I had previously taken the Alliance two day shoothouse course and was eager to build upon the skills and knowledge gained there. This course would be holding all participants to a high standard, as it should, with the end goal of producing a student capable of safely running shoothouse scenarios back at their own training program. The course heavily stressed safety considerations, instructor responsibilities, and efficient planning of shoothouse curriculum. The student base was a mix of veteran law enforcement personnel, along with civilian firearms instructors (myself included). Instructor Joe Weyer of Weyer Tactical lead the course with the help of “Doc” Jones and a special guest appearance of Mike Jones of Alliance Ohio Firearms Tactics and Training. The class was held at the highly regarded Alliance Ohio shoothouse and police range frequented by many big names in the industry such as Pat Roger’s E.A.G Tactical, Magpul Dynamics, and LMS Defense.

Day 1: The day started off with a thorough and necessary classroom session to discuss the special considerations that must be made to effectively run a shoothouse course. This included procedures to account for and maintain control of the student body and all other personnel, required medical and other safety equipment, along with proper contingency plans incase undesirable situations arise. The common sense approach presented gives you a model as an instructor to effectively and safely run a shoothouse program. Information contained here was highly valuable and necessary to competent performance as both a student, and an instructor. I especially liked the use of the “sand table’ to visually display entry scenarios, safety considerations, and brief overviews of TTP’s. It should be stated that this is NOT a tactics course, but it very important to make sure everyone is on “the same sheet of music” to ensure a safe and consistent learning environment is present. I’d like to note that this classroom session included one of the best safety talks I’ve ever heard. As shooters we hear the rules ad-nausem, but I admire the staffs bold and demanding safety standards. Many time a laissez–faire approach to safety is present in circles, it’s refreshing to see those that drive home the necessity and benefit to a dedicated adherence of the four firearms life safety rules. The standard demanded by the staff; If you can’t teach them yourself in theory and application, you have no business being an instructor.

After the classroom portion it was onto some dry runs through the shoothouse, putting into practice the talking points covered earlier into the day. Here we would perform simulated entry protocols, proper room clearing theories, and a variety of other things specific to working in the shoothouse environment that is often absent from the sterile confines of the square range. Each dry run the students were given instant feedback on their actions, along with discussion on what situations we may face as instructors, and how to think ahead to what may happen when less experienced shooters get ahead of themselves. The theme of instant feedback, and forward thinking required of us as instructors would be prevalent throughout the entire course. Following the dry runs a multitude of live fire entries with two man teams were performed. After each one the scenario would be changed, the difficulty carefully raised, and new problems would be thrown at students. On the spot feedback was consistently offered and questions were encouraged. The staff was never hesitant to go into the “why” of what we were being taught.

Day 2: Day two would require that the students now play instructor, just as they will after leaving the course. The staff assigned each student pair to present it’s own safety brief, setup various shoothouse runs, and handle all the necessary administrative work that would be required. Each student pair would instruct his fellow classmate peers as they put them through increasingly difficult scenarios. We were required to construct our shoothouse runs with purpose, specifically targeting learning points we wanted to convey to other shooters buy making each other think, often fail, and learn via doing. All of this while maintaining the attention to safety and accountability that would be expected of us. The Alliance staff kept a close and watchful eye on the soon to be instructors leading their class through each safety brief and scenario. Once again, immediate and valuable feedback was given on one's performance not only as students, but instructors as well. The staff successfully cultivated a learning environment where the staff and students playing both classmate and instructor could learn from each other no matter what role they played. I found this method of teaching extremely effective in conditioning oneself to perform to the level we would have to out on our own. This is something I have not experienced before and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is rewarding to participate in a comprehensive learning environment with squared away shooters that demand a high standard from both themselves and others.

These student run scenarios are the most valuable lessons as an instructor I have ever had in firearms course. Simple things from changing the way a reactive target will behave when shot by one of your fellow classmates, to the more complex thinking skills required to negotiate ever changing shoothouse runs provided valuable substance to everyone involved.

Summary: This class proved very beneficial in giving me more information both as a shooter and as an instructor when it comes to shoothouse environments. You can expect to screw up and learn lots. The instructors Joe Weyer and the “Mike Jones” duo were professional while at the same time being fun to interact with. They made it a point to both provide positive and negative feedback in order to give the students the much needed critique in this demanding environment. The student base was free of bad egos, and everyone brought a variety of experiences and skills to help the sharing of knowledge. I’d like to thank Weyer Tactical and Alliance Firearms training for hosting a great class that was both fun and informative. In my opinion they offer fantastic training at an unbeatable value.

Gear Highlights: While a good head on your shoulders and safety are the biggest assets in this type of environment; good gear can definitely help. My Blue Force Gear LMAC plate carrier proved to be light and comfortable all day, and cut down on the fatigue I saw other lower quality bulky contraptions I saw people getting into. It’s quick on and off, and rides good for me.

The Frank Proctor 2-point sling by way of the gun kept my rifle in check when I needed it to be and was very light weight and slick. These new slings are becoming a favorite of mine.

Muzzle brakes are hell on your teammates. .22lr is great for shoothouses on a budget. On a final note I found the Panteo Productions “Intro to the shoothouse” video by Pat Rogers to be a great supplement to the course.