So you want to go to a Training Course for the first time?

[JSantoro]

Sorry, gents....

He admitted to having found correct info using the Search functions....and being unwilling to peruse it because his screen is too small.

Let's not encourage that kind of intellectual laziness by pushing info to him when he's clearly capable of pulling it himself.

That's putting aside the fact that this thread isn't meant for specific gear selections, to begin with.

[dw_player]

Sorry my friend but 'intellectual laziness' isn't the issue. I challenge you to search for 'gun vise' and tell me within 30 minutes what data I was looking for.
Not about the small screen either it's inherent function on search on a mobile platform. Hit 'search' and see what happens. You get a pop up that disappears when you type one character.
Sorry you jumped to a conclusion.
I thought selecting the proper gear would be appropriate for a first class. Thanks for your input.

Sorry, gents....

He admitted to having found correct info using the Search functions....and being unwilling to peruse it because his screen is too small.

Let's not encourage that kind of intellectual laziness by pushing info to him when he's clearly capable of pulling it himself.

That's putting aside the fact that this thread isn't meant for specific gear selections, to begin with.

[GrandPooba]

some observations I made during RB1 carbine course last weekend:

- properly attach optics past finger tight and make sure you have at least a decent zero. best to zero from a supported prone position at a known distance range.

- locktite anything with screws

- bring a LULA loader or ammo on stripper clips. Minimize time spent loading mags during breaks so you can maximize your time taking notes, rehydrating, asking questions, etc.

- bring a proper sling. A carry strap/parade sling that attaches to the bottom sling swivels on the barrel and buttstock is not ideal for classes like this.

- bring a notebook and pen. Take notes! There is a lot of info to cover in a multi day class

[G_M]

Something I started to do a while back:

1) Write down objective for the class (for starters just copy the class objectives) and keep track of them. Make sure they are met by the end of the course.

2) Have some questions to ask the instructor ready before training day one and then another set for each subsequent day.

3) This applies to after your first course. Bring less gear then you did the previous one. Anything is game including things in your car/suitcase/purse. The goal here is to make you really think about your gear and the importance of each piece. It is quite rewarding.

[Sticks]

A matter was brought up in another thread about a member wishing he would have had more than a months notice about the class.

Fact of the matter was that the schedule was posted 5 months ago. One can not expect every single trainer to post a separate thread for each and every class for the year as soon as they are scheduled.

If you want to take a class there are two things that you need to do.

1: Research the different instructors, read up the AAR's on them, pick one or three, then find their current posted schedules and see when and where you can attend (providing you have the means to do the added expense of extended distance travel, buying ammo locally if flying in, vehicle rental, etc...)

2: Find all the ranges within a decent driving distance of where you live (decent distance being how long you are willing to sit in your vehicle to get there - for me no more than 3 hours). Find those ranges websites, locate their calendar of events, and search for the training classes that they have scheduled for the year. Then you can go to those trainers websites to look into what type of class it is, and sign up if you want.

A third option: Put out feelers with your shooting buddies, friends, ect, and set up a private class with an instructor of your choice. That instructor will give you their requirements (time, range conditions, cost per head, minimum number of bodies in the class, and so on), and a time during the year when they would be willing and able to come to you. Once you get the basics nailed down, the instructor should be able to assist you with stetting up the arrangement with the range.

[Noodl3s]

Great advice! I'll def be coming back and reading this for a carbine course in the summer and fall.

[TehLlama]

3- Have dependable equipment.
The first time you use a piece of gear should not be day 1 of the course. Your gear should fit, hold what it needs to hold, and be relevant to your expected method of employment. If you are a normal guy you probably don't need to wear a BALCS armor package with front, back, and side plates, 12 mags in triple mag pouches, a MICH helmet, Crye combat top and trousers, and 2 gallons of water. Likewise, if you are a mil student, it's a bit silly to show up looking like a 3-gun competitor. FYI- the instructor and other students won't be impressed by your gear if you don't know how to use it, don't have a reas

I cannot emphasize enough how important it was for me to rely on quality stuff - due to the nature of leave requests (unimaginable asspain) and having to acquire hardware just for a class, I found myself a week before the class with:
1 new carbine, 1 new pistol, 1 new belt, 7 new pouches (all of them), with untested helmet and armor system. Needless to say I didn't have time to dick around with questionable stuff, or weak ammunition.

Since my objective wasn't to get good at malfunction clearance, I ponied up a bit more money for the carbine(DD V5), and spent the day before driving down to the class with my BIL to get a rough zero on the carbine and start figuring out the new trigger on a new pistol platform (M&P9/Apex FSS). Same applied to the belt setup (HSGI SureGrip/UBL/6004/BFG HW Pouches), and while I was obviously not as up to speed as I should have been with it, I was miles ahead of many at the class just by having a carbine that was hitting roughly where I was aiming, and having some dry repetitions of drawing from that holster.


I would set up a caddy for breaks - put some gatorade/water in it, sunscreen, loading tools (LULA, UPLULA), some snack bars, and maybe a small cheap chair. I used my wife in the capacity at a recent RB1 class, and would recommend it highly (having the stuff handy, not stranding a SO at the range all day).
If nothing else, the time spent waiting on the rest of the line to dick around a re-prep themselves is a great opportunity to talk one-on-one with instructing staff, or do dry runs of drills with them watching over to solidify instruction. Best learning I got was getting private time while most were grab-assing getting their kit back together.

Last is attitude. Overstated all the time, but even spending my own time/money on leave to go to the course wasn't enough motivation to keep my fully paying attention, wanting to get the most tangible and repeatable improvement from my time there was it.

[rocsteady]

Wanted to give a big "thank you" to M4c and especially to Failure2Stop for the extremely helpful thread on taking your first carbine class.

I had the opportunity in the past few weeks to get some extra training done through work and the checklist that I made from this post was perfect.

The training was for pistol and carbine but here are some thoughts from someone who is relatively new to the M4/AR platform, I had read tons but didn't have much experience.

The big things I took from this included:

• Have a quality rifle (BCM mid16 mod 2 performed flawlessly. Not even a hiccup when 500 rounds/day was the norm. More than I usually shoot in several months. Saw others spending time with problems that I just didn't experience.)
  
• Have rounds on stripper clips (allowed me a lot of extra time to help with range setup, talk to other, more experienced students, hydrate, check gear, etc)
  
• Test your gear before you show up at class (followed another poster's advice; running 100 yards, jumping up and down and bending to pick things up while in full "kit" to ensure I could. Changed a few things after doing this and it worked out very well. I found that after some small tweaks to my gear, I was able to run, crawl, climb and transition with no problems other than my own lack of muscle memory. Big props to the VTac 2 point adjustable sling which made me feel like a pro.)
  
• Train in the gear you will fight in (some things that were easy or comfortable in my living room in jeans and a t-shirt just didn't work out once I had my vest and duty belt all together. Found out what they were and made changes during training so I won't have to when it gets real.)
  
  And on a final note; again after reading and watching videos, there is no substitute for training from quality instructors and actually seeing what you and your AR are capable of...The last day included the Army's 300m rifle course which seemed easier than I could have imagined thanks to the great instruction we received, the BCM and the Aimpoint red dot.
  
  I am going to offer this checklist to every officer in my unit and to any friends outside of work before they head to training.
  
  Thanks again, you guys rock!!!
  
  forgot to add: having a notebook and leatherman was a plus. Was able to help out other students with each.

[xCONTRAKTx]

thanks for the great wealth of info fellas!

[drck1000]

I am taking my first formal class next week, a basic carbine course with RB1. I will be taking two carbines with me, with one as a primary and the other as a backup. Those of you who take two guns with you to classes, do you typically run the backup gun sometime during the class, even if your primary is running just fine?

Both guns are setup up pretty similarly.

1) LMT MRP (rifle length), M4s, X300
2) BCM Ltwt Middy, T-1, G2X in Haley mount

I believe that they will have a session during the class to zero the guns. Both are currently zeroed, but I will be flying to this class. I am arriving in town a day early and will have time to hit the range to verify zero before the class starts. So I should be GTG in that regard.

My intention is the LMT to be my primary gun, so I want to get most of the training time with that gun. But I also would like to run the BCM if nothing more than just to see how it runs and if that setup works/feels better.

Your thoughts on use of a backup gun?

Thanks! Great thread here with lots of useful information!