AAR: Vickers Tactical AK class May 30-31

[drummerdude1188]

AAR: Vickers AK class
Weapons:

SA 1911 mil-spec

Gear/kit/equipment:
SKD all molle chest rig with sjauch short straps, EGL triple shingle, and double pistol pouch
Wilderness 5 stitch instructor belt
Sidearmor holster
Raven concealment kydex single mag “holder/pouch”
Rolly Polly dump pouch


TD1: Got squared away and did some shooting from different ranges under 50m. Low ready, up, two shots, scan assess. Then some prone stuff then we zeroed. Then the walk back drill… I hit the target at the 50 and 100 but missed on the 120. I had never shot out to even a 100m before so I was surprised I had made it that far. We worked on reloads. The kydex mag pouch really worked great on the reloads. Larry stressed this was one of the hardest parts of using the AK well. Every one pretty much used the “traditional” reload. Take the mag out, put it wherever, get the new one and insert, rack bolt with support hand over or under gun. Went on to do some pistol shooting and I was very inconstant. Shooting a pistol good is damn hard and I was snatching the trigger, when shooting live ammo, but when dry firing I didn’t snatch the trigger. I need some more trigger time on the pistol. Did some transition drills between rifle and pistol and had a final walk back of the day. As the day had progressed I had noticed I was shooting constantly worse with both rifle and pistol. At the end of the day I was a little frustrated but eager to shoot and lean more to improve.

TD2: Started off with some shooting at some distance I can’t remember then had a walk back pretty early. After that went right on to shooting on the move. I was shooting much better and was actually doing pretty well with the shooting on the move. We did some team drills and the teams were as follows: Team Asshole, Team Biden aka Biden Boys and Team Eunuch. I was on team Eunuch. Broke for lunch and then one of the highlights of the class…. The ppsh 41. Tim was kind enough to let us shoot a few bursts through it and man was it fun. After that some team shooting on the move drills and that pretty much concluded the day. I defiantly noticed improvement on day 2 and continuted to shoot better as the day progeressed. Overall a great two days of shooting.


More later, Im still writing the rest

[drummerdude1188]

All of the below is my thoughts and opinions on my experience in the class. This was my first formal training so I was essentially a “clean slate" This is some of what I took away from the class.


Thoughts on Training

Muscle memory
-Muscle memory developed very fast for me. I was Originally used a standard safety selector for a good few hours then switched over to the blackjack. I found myself several times trying to manipulate the blackjack the way you manipulate the standard safety. After a few minutes I got the hang of it but it stick in my mind about how easy it could be to develop “training scars”. For instance I was wearing a dump pouch, but when I ran empty wit the rifle outside of 25m I never put the empty in the pouch. I just dropped it on the ground, because I thought that always taking the empty and trying to “prom night” it in my dump pouch would develop a habit of doing that, and I would not want to do that inadvertently in a gunfight. Same thing with a “click” on the rifle inside of 25m, it took some getting used to just transition immediately to the handgun instead of trying to address the malfunction or reload the rifle. I will need to practice this one some more.

Trigger Control
-I need to work on trigger control! I was el snatcho especially when shooting the pistol and it showed. Whenever I did dry fire with the shell casing on the front sight I did fine and the shell did not fall of. But when shooting live ammo I jerked the trigger a lot. Again, something I just need more practice with.



Thoughts on gear/kit:

Overall Setup
-I thought my setup was very optimal. I did a lot of research before I bought all this stuff and I got it right. The only things I would change are to get a dump pouch that can clip onto the belt rater than be run thought it as this limits the placement of it and can get in the way. I would rather have my pistol pouches for the primary reload be on the belt rather than the chest rig. Due to me being short there’s not a lot of room on my waist/belt for shit so im still working on that one. This is especially problematic since I was running a 1911. Other than that the gear I about was quality and held up excellently


-I almost exclusively used the chest rig as a magazine carrier and reloaded the empty rifle from the kydex on my belt. The kydex was my primary reload unless I was prone. This was for several reasons. It’s very easy to locate on your body and I didn’t even have to look or feel around for it. Much more of the mag is exposed allowing you to get a better grip closer to the top of the mag, which makes the “rock and lock” more consistent. Reloading from the chest rig was slow and “fumbly” and not was as fast or consistent as the kydex pouch.

[HighSpeedDreams]

Good write-up Drummer Dude. I am a little surprised not to see your usage of the Rambo bandana included in your Gear T&E section.

Nick was my hero the entire class!

[drummerdude1188]

Good write-up Drummer Dude. I am a little surprised not to see your usage of the Rambo bandana included in your Gear T&E section.

Nick was my hero the entire class!

Well since I didn't actually wear it on the field I thought I would leave it out, lol, although I should have since my forehead is toast right now. Im still a little disappointed Jeff didn't wear the helmet. Good shooting with you man.

[Valkyrie]

[QUOTE=HighSpeedDreams;380737]Good write-up Drummer Dude. I am a little surprised not to see your usage of the Rambo bandana included in your Gear T&E section.

Nick was my hero the entire class!

HighSpeedDreams: Thanks for the compliment, but maybe you should raise your standards a bit - I was just another guy in the class. I made my share of errors: forgetting to "click" after the last round in one of the drills, a screwed-up mag change here and there and let's not forget when I was demo-ing the transition drill with Larry and actually fired my G19 when he told me to "take the shot" (not literally) when he wasn't wearing earpro.

[Battlepack]

Man I really wanted to make that class, but family obligations prevailed.

Two questions:

1. How many were running optics, and did anyone have the LaRue IronDot?

2. I shoot like Larry does (in practice, not skill level ). Namely, I shoot rifle left-handed and pistol right-handed. How did he handle safety manipulations left-handed?

[drummerdude1188]

Man I really wanted to make that class, but family obligations prevailed.

Two questions:

1. How many were running optics, and did anyone have the LaRue IronDot?


2. I shoot like Larry does (in practice, not skill level ). Namely, I shoot rifle left-handed and pistol right-handed. How did he handle safety manipulations left-handed?

1. At least 5 but maybe 6 people ran optics, all had ultimak's with micros, nothing else.

2. IIRC, when shooting left handed, the right hand comes back to the magazine and reaches with the thumb to manipulate the safety.

[m4fun]

Good write-up - optics ruled - Ultimak/Aimpoint T1s are the "KATS AZZ." The BlackJack/Krebbs safety also rocks.

I was using an SLR106 and it was great.

Shooting on the move kicks my rear all the time. Still need to work on that.

Again, great training with you folks! Jeff defiantely wussed in not wearing the Kevlar.

HighSpeedDreems - keep in touch about the Cove.

[drummerdude1188]

Does anyone remember the specifics of the drills we did. I can remember kinda what we did but I cant remember the par times/ # of rounds / and distance that we we shooting at. I would like to write these down so I can practice them so if anyone remembers some of them pipe up.

[d90king]

It was great shooting and meeting some of you guys this weekend. I ran the Ultimak and Micro and I highly recommend it.

It is very fast on target and doesn't f-up your rifle..... There were a few others running it and we consistently were on target quickly with it. That said others did well with irons they just were not as fast. Not a must, but it is a great setup.

I look forward to seeing you guys again at another class with Larry...