VSM: 1 day basic carbine class.
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=68070
December 11th 2010
Main Instructor: Joe Barnsfather assisted by Barry Foster.
Range: Knob Creek
Total in attendance: 12 + instructors
Range conditions:
Cold. And by cold I mean freeze your toes, fingers, and balls off cold. There was a light dusting of snow and it slick in many parts of the range. This is where gear and clothing selection is important. If you don’t have warm enough clothing or good footwear you are not going to have a good day in these conditions.
Weapons:
Everyone at the range was shooting AR pattern weapons but there were numerous configurations present. All were quality gear, and many had been built or worked on by Joe Barnsfather at Superior Firearms.
Everything was represented from a Basic Carbine with just irons to a SPR setup using a Variable power scope.
Issues:
There were only 3 weapons problems that day, one with a Primary weapon and two with secondary weapons. One gentleman, who I will now always refer to as Mr. Malfunction had his primary go down while we were checking Zero. He then switched to a backup carbine and had issues with that, but he was able to resolve them with some assistance from the instructors. He also had a doublefeed on his secondary during transitions. I will let him fill in the details if he wants later.
I had problems with my secondary. Part of this was a Zeroing issue and part of it was trigger issue. While using gloved I had the trigger hang up a few times. I have decided to switch back to the M&P platform. It just fits me better.
The important lesson here is that you need to make sure your gear is ready before a class. I missed the first drill of the afternoon portion of the class because I was switching out my secondary, and the other gentleman missed a portion of the morning because he was fixing his gear.
Class:
Much like last months Pistol Class this class was a basic class. It wasn’t about knocking down doors or doing flips while throwing axes. It was about the fundamentals of the defensive use of a carbine. As such we often stopped shooting and had discussions on the importance of what we were doing. In my not so humble opinion I feel that this was as important as the shooting portion of class.
The class started off with us zeroing our weapons.
We went prone at 50 yards. (Thanks Joe and Barry for making 50 yards under cover). About half the class had to adjust their Zero but overall it took minimal time.
We then proceeded in closer to the target and really got to work. A good portion early class was spent discussing and practicing Hold Over at various ranges. This seemed to become the theme of the class. And there were a few of us who had problems with it. I was consistently hitting about an inch low for about half of the class. Not because I didn’t understand holdover but because when engaging fast on the target my instinct is to put the dot on the middle of the target and engage. This is one of those training scars I need to get rid of. Mr. Barnsfather always says that if you do something wrong 1000 times you need to do it right 1001 times correct to fix it in your head.
One thing that was mentioned not only here but also throughout the day is how important accuracy is. If you can’t hit the target you are aiming at then you are better off not even trying. Every round is a liability and has the chance to take a life. It had better be the life you intend to take.
We moved on to reloading drills and also discussed the importance of knowing where your mags are. This is something I feel a lot of instructors overlook. You should always reload from the same place. You want to build muscle memory so that in a high stress situation, you can do it without thinking. Part of this is making sure you rotate your mags up when you get a chance.
So if you reload and then have a lull in the fight you will want to move your next full mag up to where you are going to reload from.
Another point that was discussed was not mixing full and partial mags. I know there is some debate on this and I am not sure where I personally come in on it since I don’t have enough experience. However at this point I follow the guidance of my instructor, which is to put partial mags in my dump pouch and not back on my belt.
Throughout the day we performed a number of other drills and challenges. These included
Malfunction drills:
These are just all kinds of fun. It almost hurts when you intentionally jam two rounds into the gun. I think my comment summed it up best.
“If we are going to screw our guns this bad we should at least buy them dinner first”
The Walk back Drill:
More of a challenge than a true drill but a lot of fun. I see this as a great way to teach a lesson. It isn’t the guy with the best gear or the magnified optics that wins. It is the person with the best control of the gun and the understanding of how to shoot and varying ranges.
Transitions:
We all love them don’t we? One round strong hand, one round on your reaction side. Not bad but I always fumble the transition back. This is something I need to practice dry on my own more.
Battlefield pickup:
This one was new to me. We all loaded our gun up with a fresh mag and sat it on the ground. Everyone then shifted one step to the right and picked up the gun there. We combined this with the Transition drill, which made it very interesting.
Using someone else’s gear can be a challenge. The main problem I ran into was the sling. I now look back and wonder why I ever liked single point slings!
The most interesting part was using Hawaiian Bobs gun. I felt like I was putting on a necklace with a gun hanging off of it. Maybe that can be a new style for gangsters. LOL. Does BFG want to do a gold version of their sling?
I did love the comment when they picked up my gun and said “What the hell is this”
Apparently he had never seen an ACOG Micro before.
The Test:
FML I hate this drill. For anyone who doesn’t know this drill it is 10 rounds in 10 seconds at 25 yards(10 yards for Handgun). All must be in the black.
We actually performed this in a number of ways. Eventually we closed the range and had to do 10 rounds in 5 seconds. I screwed up this one badly. I had all rounds in the black and was well under time. But apparently I forgot how to count, as I only fired 9 rounds. Like I said. FML. This Drill hates me.
Just like with every class I learned a lot here, and continue to refine what works for me and what doesn’t. I will say that the morning started off pretty disheartening. I was not shooting near to the level I know I could. I dropped way to many rounds out of the black. But as the day progressed I saw a marked increase in my shooting, along with everyone else’s. I would like to blame it on the cold, and I am sure that had something to do with it, but in the end only I am responsible for how I shoot.
In the morning I was really questioning myself. Mr. Barnsfather yelled at us a few times and while he never picked out any individuals, I know it was directed at me more than once. I was questioning at one point whether I was worthy to be in the class because I knew I was capable of doing more.
However by the afternoon I had got my act together and was performing much better. I feel that I am ready for next months class and know that with a few more of these I will be ready for more advanced classes.
I feel I have come to a happy point in my gear. My carbine performed beautifully, the ACOG TA44 is a great all around optic in my opinion and I am glad to have it. I really like having the electronics free optic.
The only thing I am not happy with is my belt. It keeps slipping down after a lot of moving around. Honestly this has more to do with my body shape than anything. Fat boy needs to lose weight!
Finally I would like to thank Joe and Barry one last time for instructing the class. I have said it before but it bears repeating that those of us in this area are lucky to have such a talented and connected couple of instructors here in this area.
I will come back and add more, as well as some photos later. Right now I am still recovering however. That cold leaves you hurting!
Here are some photos guys.
I don't care how stupid some people think they look. A Shemagh is almost a must on a day this cold for me.
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