AAR: Northern Red Gunfighter Pistol / Carbine - 9/2015 - Council Bluffs, IA

[R.E.Schoening]

5 W's / 1 H
• Who: Northern Red
• What: Gunfighter Pistol / Carbine
• When: September 26/27, 2015
• Where: Council Bluffs, IA
• Why: Pistol / Carbine.
• How: Discussion and Practical application.

Instructors:
• Zach - U.S. Army Special Forces, former operational member of SFOD-D. Special Operations Combat Veteran with multiple combat tours.
• Kyle - U. S. Army Special Forces, Special Operations Combat Veteran with multiple combat tours.

Students:
• Civilians, Current / former MIL, former PSD's with overseas time.

Equipment:
• Pistols: Glocks, HKVP9, 1911's - No problems noted.
• Carbines: BCMs, Bushmaster, several "Frankenstein" carbines - No problems noted.

Weather:
• Day 1: Sunny, temperatures into the 70's.
• Day 2: Sunny, temperatures into the 70's.

Course Format:
• Day 1 - Pistol.
• Day 2 - Carbine.

Pistol Content:
• Loading / Unloading / Clearing.
• Accidental vs. Negligent Discharges.
• Fundamentals of Marksmanship @ 25 yards.
• Marksmanship Training - Why, When, How long, ETC.
• Practical Application - Why, When, How long, ETC.
• Ready Positions.
• Presentation of the Pistol from the Ready.
• Holsters - Types, Positions (Benefits of one over another).
• Presentation of the Pistol from the Holster - Draw Stroke.
• Re-holstering.
• Controlled Pairs vs. Double Taps and Tempo Changes.
• Reloads - Types, When, Goals, Why we practice them.
• Target Transitions (Multiple Targets) - Why and How we do it in training.
• Shooting on the Move - Side to Side, Forward and Backward, Moving (Running) to a Stop.

Carbine Content:
• Loading / Unloading / Clearing.
• History of the AR platform.
• Parts / Pieces / Optics / Sights / Gadgets / Ammo - Where, Why, Positives and Negatives.
• Sling Considerations.
• Zero Considerations - Distances, Goal of picking a zero distance, how often.
• Ready Positions.
• Use of Safety.
• Shooting Positions - Prone, Kneeling (Multiple Kneeling positions)
• Marksmanship Fundamentals @ 100 yards.
• Reloads - Types, When, Goals, Why we practice them.
• Rifle to Pistol Transitions - Why, When, Goals.
• Target Transitions (Multiple Targets) and Tempo Changes.
• Shooting on the Move: - Side to Side, Front to Rear, Moving (Running) to a Stop.

Misc Content:
• Creating Habits
• Learning types / styles
• Mindset
• Differentiating Basic and Advanced skills
• Target selection during training.
• What true "Slow" fire is...it's probably not what you think.
• Myth Busting.
• Experienced Shooters vs. Inexperienced Shooters - What they know and can get away with.
• Stress - Physical, Mental, Peer Pressure, Timers, Good vs. Bad Stress.
• "Work Space" - Where, Why.

Summary:
• Pistol / Carbine Content - Not wanting to give too much away in the form of what all we did and how we did it, I'll just tell you that the first part of each day, the morning session was all about the Fundamentals and heavily accuracy focused...as in smoke you mentally, 1 round at a time, for four hours smoke you! Zach and Kyle worked us over from the 25 with Pistol and 100 with Carbine introducing, tweaking, honing our abilities and skills on bulls eye targets...as I said already it was a smoker and very beneficial. Remember, it's harder to fake it at a slightly more extended distance and targets don't lie.

While the morning sessions were Marksmanship and Fundamentals where we worked on bulls eye targets, the afternoon sessions were all about what I'll call Practical Application using VTAC targets where we focused on presentation, reloads and movement at a variety of distances under a variety of time standards. The afternoon sessions contained lots of movement to include forward, backward, side to side and running to a stop.

In addition to specific Pistol and Carbine content there was tons of hidden gems uncovered by both instructors throughout both days. Specific blocks and discussion included Myth Busting, Mindset, Teaching / Learning Techniques, Threat Engagement / Neutralization, ETC.

One of the most impressive things about the course was the layout of the content, it just made a ton of sense and forced me to reevaluate what it is that I do personally on the range.

• Instructors - Serious, all business guys who were clear and concise communicators, approachable and able to demonstrate and expand on the techniques to the standard (tough standards). Both of them worked their asses off floating from student to student looking for anything/anywhere they could give some helpful feedback...hands on guys and true professionals from the start to the finish.

• Overall Thoughts - This was my first Course with Northern Red and I personally had no knowledge of who Zach or Kyles were prior to TD1. That said, they represented Northern Red very well and exceeded the expectations I had for the course. Top notch in every regard and without a doubt worth every penny. I'll have Northern Red back again for future courses and am excited to see what a dedicated 2 day Pistol or Carbine Course looks like!

V/r - Rob