MP47 Training, Vehicle Combat
May 22, 2021
9:00a-5:00p
Madison, Ohio
C4 Shooting and Training Center

Vehicle Combat is a curriculum that utilizes unconventional positions, movement, multiple target engagement, as well as the complexities of sitting in a vehicle while utilizing your fundamental skills to problem solve. This class was taught by Mike Asbury, the President of MP47 Training and Consulting, LLC. Mike’s background is in Law Enforcement as both a prior Swat Operator and a Law Enforcement firearms instructor, holding numerous certifications from the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy (OPOTA). While many of the day’s tips, tricks, and mindset coaching were based on Mike’s law enforcement background, he ensured that there were armed citizen parallels to each and every phase of the course. There are classes that teach fundamentals, then there are classes that utilize fundamentals when introducing students to new concepts and creating new skill sets. This class strongly falls into the second category.

I was really looking forward to this course, as I continue to seek training opportunities which highlight skills I wish to obtain or improve upon existing capabilities. C4 Shooting and Training Center was a wonderful and hospitable venue, providing a range able to accommodate the shooting scenarios planned, as well as machinery to move around disabled cars. Frequent safety and wellness checks were implemented throughout the day, ensuring that all participants were hydrated and functioning at their highest level. This class quickly sold out following its posting, and that only added to the anticipation. Students were a mix of civilian, former military, and LE students.

Class began with a safety briefing and introduction by Mike and assistant instructor Eli Shepherd. Students immediately dressed the line for a flow drill ensuring that all students understood the carry positions and vernacular we would be using throughout the day. This class utilized high carry during movement, and Mike ensured that every student understood contact points necessary to index the pistol in high carry and ensure safe movement. Students used chairs to model the seated positions to practice prior to entering real vehicles in class. Following the flow drill and seated drills, students broke from the line and retrieved any additional weapon systems they wished to use in the live-fire demonstration and study. Students had an opportunity to see and experience the strengths and weaknesses of various parts of the cars used for the course.

This ballistic demonstration was one of the things I was most excited to take part in and take notes on. A, B, and C columns of a Ford sedan were shot with pistols using both range and defensive ammunition, rifles using penetrator and FMJ ammunition chambered in 556, 300blk, 7x62x39, and 308, and pistol caliber carbines in 9mm. Other parts of the car, including door panels, glass (door and windshield), trunk, and wheel wells were engaged as well. Between each weapon students, were able to approach the car and examine interior and exterior penetration to develop a practical understanding of cover vs. concealment in a common 4 door sedan. This allowed students to see the lecture concepts put to use in a live-fire setting, for a more complete understanding.

Each vehicle scenario took about 1:30 - 2 minutes for a student to complete with critique and direction from Mike following each run. As the day progressed, students were given the “steering wheel” (pun intended) to make decisions regarding when to leave their car, seek new cover, move to engage etc. as scenarios built from one car, to two cars and added complexity. In earlier scenarios these actions were made at the direction of Mike but the “why” was explained in full detail to ensure the students understood the decision making under stress. To keep the class moving and active, students were able to run various drills on a second range to minimize downtime between runs on the cars. Drills ranged from single shot draws on steel, one round one, and dueling steel on TA Target’s trees allowing students to have a little bit of friendly competition while working some skill sets.

I chose to run a training belt for this class, but fully intend on running it a second time at a later date from concealment. Of the 10 students in attendance, it was almost a 50/50 split between shooters running concealment vs. a training or duty belt set up. This class called for 300 rounds of ammunition. I packed 300 on the dot and found that I exhausted every round. This class was an excellent opportunity to drink from the fire hose of knowledge that Mike and Eli shared while building my personal knowledge base in observation of the ballistic demonstration, to identifying my strengths and weaknesses working in and around the cars.

MP47 Training and Consulting, LLC
www.mp47.org

Photos by North Coast Tactical