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 AAR: Magpul Advanced Pistol in Miami, fL ... ((56K Death))
Miami02TJ  [Team Member]
4/19/2009 3:25:36 PM
I've created an AAR post for anyone interested .. its in the HTF and can be found here:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=8&f=10&t=357462&page=1
Magsz18  [Member]
4/22/2009 12:40:11 AM
I will post this here since it pertains to the class.

Day 1
In an effort to not repeat myself too much im going to condense my opening here and simply thank the people that need to be thanked.
Magpul Dynamics, you guys rock, everyone involved. Omi for setting this up, Sharron of Pop Deans for allowing us to shoot and the class for being a standup group of guys with a genuine interest in leaning and improving themselves in as safe a manner as possible.

To date this was the most enjoyable class I have taken and I really must take a second to extend an additional round of thanks to the Magpul Dynamics dudes for putting a strong emphasis on practical applications of skills as it applies to the modern day yuppie, ie me.

My gear on day one consisted of the following:
Eagle duty belt
ICE tactical belt pad (piece of shit)
Safariland 6004 w/ light
2X bladetech M&P pouches (defective upon arrival, had to use a heat gun to allow them to accept the magazines and actually allow them to be removed) As a side note, teklok does not work very well with molle webbing. Their molle locks are about as useless as tits on a bull.
Double Tactical Tailor mag pouch on my strong side for reaction side reloads.
Spec ops suspenders to hold the whole thing up.

Day one began smartly at 8:15 and after a detailed safety briefing we were off to the races. Chris began with some simple demos and we lined up. Surprise, surprise, the shooters had something new in store for them. Two targets on the line per shooter. I knew this was going to be interested and it only got better. Chris asked us to load our magazines with no more than 10 rounds so we could warm up and warm up fast with some speed reloads. Over the next 30 minutes the sound of crisp, controlled gunfire, shooters reloading and Chris shouting commands ruled the day. Shooters eyes scanned the targets and their surroundings after each string, ensuring success.
Digressing slightly I have to commend Chris on his ability to assess shooter skill level and tailor a class and a rate of education accordingly in no time at all. Within the first 30 minutes Chris had made up his mind as to how fast we were going to travel and he stuck to that pace the entire weekend. No punches were pulled and we moved along and learned at a pace I was exceedingly pleased with.

Ok, back on track! After a quick warm up on the line engaging multiple targets and getting right up to speed with our reloads we moved the line back slightly. “Don’t take what you can get, tighten up those groups”. Magpul Dynamics emphasizes consistency speed and accuracy. Utilizing a pistol at 5 yards is no different than utilizing a pistol at 15. Your draw time is always the same speed although your set time differs as you concentrate just a little bit more on breaking that perfect shot at an extended distance. As the day wore on I began to wonder if I was going to wear out my Safariland. We had moved past compressed ready and were now drawing and firing exclusively from the holster. The complexity of engaging multiple targets with multiple shots while drawing from a holster added a new dynamic to my catalog of shooting abilities. Ive never really had an opportunity to shoot in this manner until this class and I thoroughly enjoyed concentrating on breaking shots properly while transitioning from target to target. Working this way forces the shooter to concentrate on tightening muscles and ensuring they are not wasting movement when transitioning between targets. I found it highly interesting that if a student were to slow down Chris or any other experienced shooters and watch the track of their pistol between targets you would see that they are not robotically moving between targets. The pistol never stops moving and the shots will break while the pistol is in motion. It is a very fluid and very smooth almost hypnotic way of transitioning from target to target. Very cool stuff.

We ran several drills that took me out of my comfort zone. We talked about sighted fire versus unsighted fire and we moved into an evolution concentrating on unsighted fire. We did not do this to extol the virtues of point shooting or anything of the sort. The reasoning behind unsighted fire is that if the shooter is keenly aware of his level of mastery in regards to the fundamentals he can still effectively break shots to a certain degree of reliability. Grip, trigger press and stance became paramount at this portion of the class. Shooters that struggled with proper hand placement on the firearm now had to be extra sure of how they were gripping the handgun. These unsighted drills really forced everyone to slow the hell down in an effort to concentrate on the basics. Sure, this is an advanced class but even advanced shooters need a tuneup every now and then so long as its done at a reasonable pace.
The next evolution swiftly moved into some drills that emphasized proper trigger press. Man…I either need more dry fire practice or a smack to the head because I dipped the hell out of my gun barrel during these sets of drills. I wont go too in depth about what we practiced since on paper it sounds rather boring but it sure as shit was effective. I wasn’t sure whether or not I was anticipating recoil during these dry fire drills or what but I really do need to work on my trigger press.
We wrapped up with the basics and immediately moved into some positional shooting. We ran the normal kneeling, and supine drills and practiced drawing from the supine. The emphasis was on safety at every step of the way here and all of the shooters were conscious of the fact that a foot or an ankle could easily be removed at any moment if they were lax on their commitment towards safe shooting.

Malfunction drills were next on the chopping block and not a breath was wasted. One handed manipulation of the firearm, one handed malfunction clearing. One handed reloading. You name it and we were probably doing it. Take a class, challenge yourself and you will quickly learn that there are many complexities to operating your weapon system efficiently whether you have one or two hands and arms at your disposal. All that I will say is that this component of the class really gets you thinking about how god awful hard it really would be to do these types of manipulations under stress. Train, practice, train some more and then when you’re seriously tired of wearing out your boot soles from racking the slide of your pistol get out and train some more. God willing I will never have to use this type of action to save my life but if I ever do, im fairly confident I will at least have the presence of mind to monkey my way through the steps instead of simply being lost. Get out there and TRAIN!

After finishing this evolution we moved on to our lunch break and got some much needed grub. A lesson to all, eat some breakfast before any strenuous activity even if it is only a piece of fruit. I was running on zero sleep and no food and honestly, I wasn’t doing so well by mid day. A quick sandwich and some hatorade and I was back and ready to rock.

We reconvened after lunch and didn’t waste a precious moment. Shooting and moving was next on the chopping block and we began running drills engaging multiple targets yet again while moving forward, aft and laterally. The additional targets really made things interesting and far more difficult than concentrating on one target. Tunnel vision would be death in a situation like this. Students were forced to bring all of the skills we worked on earlier together while increasing the level of complexity by having to apply those principles with movement. Moving and shooting is definitely an art. A marked level of coordination is required if you want to effectively land shots while moving. I found this difficult but immensely challenging and rewarding.

The rest of the day prior to dinner was spent working some simple two man team drills and additional movement exercises. Ive got to say that the level of intensity was ramping up considerably along with a distinct and overt commitment to operating safely. Chris was on hand to demonstrate each and every drill and take questions as they arose. Regardless of how off the wall the question may have been Chris answered succinctly and accurately and made his responses applicable and accurate to the questions. We got off topic several times but each and every student stood quietly, attention riveted on Chris as he spoke. You could hear a mouse fart three hundred yards away. The level of intensity at this point emanating from both Chris and the class was palpable.

Slight diversion at this point if I may yet again. If any of you out there have ever been in the presence of someone that you greatly respect then you will understand what I am about to speak of. There are certain people out there that captivate and have a presence that ensconces anyone that falls within their aura. The MD guys have that type of stature and every time they speak ears perk and concentration is ramped up a notch. Chris, Travis and Patrick have a unique ability to bore into your soul and ram home the reality of what they are speaking about. There is no theory behind their words. There is only truth based upon experience as they have endured it. It is truly captivating and anyone that is interested in taking a training class seriously needs to consider who they are learning from. There is no rock star bullshit. There, there is only respect, a huge ass helping of it. You can feel it amongst the students and in turn you receive it from your instructors so long as you are not a dipshit.

Before breaking for dinner we ran one more shoot and move drill that consisted of two classmates bounding laterally across the range engaging the targets as they saw them. Lots of reloading, lots of movement in sul position and lots of heavy breathing. Fuck, im out of shape.

After running this drill we broke for dinner and reconvened in an hour for the beginning of our low light session.
The lowlight component was interesting and challenging as always and I truly enjoyed manipulating my pistol and my light at the same time. I also learned that I need a lot of practice in this regard and quite frankly, I started getting pissed at my TLR-1. The activation levers require that I break my thumbs forward grip in order for me to activate the light. I also had a “SHUT YOUR LIGHT OFF DICKHEAD” moment again when I left the light in constant on while trying to figure out a more comfortable position in which my thumbs could activate the damned light. Learned my lesson there. I may move to an X300 due to the smaller footprint of the activation levers. They’re closer in to the light body and since the light isn’t as tall as the TLR1 they are closer in position to my thumb. We will see at the next pistol class how that work out if I do indeed make the switch.

Day 2.

Day two began promptly yet again and before we lined up Chris took a few moments to explain why the emphasis on that day was on shooting from concealment. I have never shot from concealment before beyond putzing around at the range in an ideal situation, ie my shirt tucked in, no over garment and the planets aligned. I also do not own a true concealment holster as I carry my pistol in a manbag (yeah I know, im a queer) so I was given the opportunity to borrow a Raven Concealment Systems Holster. I ran this holster on my eagle belt with the Bladetech pouches teklocked to the belt as well. Long story short, the pouches while still defective at least stayed put this time around. The holster was fantastic although not the ideal solution since the butt of the muzzle poked into my hip just a bit. I believe a holster without the 5% degree cant and a compact pistol would be beautiful in this particular set. Raven makes great shit, if you’re looking for a kydex holster jump on what they’ve got to offer, you wont be disappointed, especially if you run a light. Moving beyond the gear I also wore a BDU jacket unbuttoned over my tools.

Chris started the day by demonstrating several different drawing techniques from concealment and immediately after the demo we were off and running. It was up to the students to figure out what works for them. The MD guys merely show you A way, not THE way and allow the student to figure out what fits their personal techniques, body composition and overall comfort level. I picked my method and ran with it. It seemed to work well until my dumb ass holstered my jacket. What a clusterfuck that was. See, again, we come back to the reason why we train and why we don’t just buy a gun and proclaim ourselves supermen. Ive never had a thick swath of cotton caught in my holster before. How do you deal with it? What do you do? These types of situations are learning experiences and I would much rather goatfuck myself during an MD class than on the street with three South Beach drag queens looking for my lunch money.

Day two combined all of day one into one gigantic ball of informational goo and it was up to the students to digest it and run with it. The drills got progressively more difficult and the courses of fire increased in complexity tenfold. We were moving, shooting, reloading, clearing malfunctions and engaging multiple targets for basically the rest of the day. Things got really interesting towards the end of the day when the barricades and the truck were brought out onto the range.

If you’ve ever taken a pistol course and think you’re a combat ninja I would strongly recommend you reassess your own ability and TAKE A MAGPUL DYNAMICS DYNAMIC PISTOL 2. Make sure that if you are going you have SOMEONE out there willing to lend the class the use of their car or truck. I will tell you right now the information you will glean from the class is absolutely priceless. I think this class set a record for the number of car jacks in one day. Shooting from inside the cab of a truck is truly a unique experience and it should be on every shooters short list. This portion of the class was eye opening, extremely information intensive, unique and horribly complex. There is so much going on when you are shoved into a confined space with a firearm on your hip. So many things to do, so much to be aware of, it is information overload and the way that individuals react is amazing. Take this class, run to sign up, do what you can to secure a vehicle for training purposes and get your learning hat on.

The day ended with partner drills out of the truck and man, talk about ramping up the difficulty level. It was intense and amazing. In case you cant tell how much im gushing from my writings here let me again, go on record as saying this was the most informative and challenging Magpul Dynamics class I have attended and were I given the opportunity to repeat this class, funds allowing I would do it in a heart beat.
An individual cannot know ones own limits unless they are tested to the brink of failure. You must push yourself if you want to improve. Pushing yourself under the guidance and council of great instructors like the Chris Costa, Travis Haley and Patrick Garcia allow you to fall with a safety net. It is a pleasurable learning experience and one that you will walk away from greatly enriched for having experienced it. Dollars are scarce these days, especially for poor jackhole college students like myself. Spend your money wisely. Buy right or buy twice. Magpul Dynamics is buying right.
Payback99  [Life Member]
4/23/2009 9:23:36 PM
Great AAR, Ian.

NOW WHERE ARE THE PIX???!!!

Thanks again for the course, Omi.

NOW WHERE ARE THE VIDEOS???!!!



Hope to see you guys in June....
Magsz18  [Member]
4/25/2009 2:58:26 AM
No pictures unless you return in June.
Payback99  [Life Member]
4/25/2009 9:18:42 AM
Ooooohhh, I see how it is!!!


You are a bad, bad man!!!
Payback99  [Life Member]
4/28/2009 5:49:09 PM
Where are the videos, Omi?
Payback99  [Life Member]
5/7/2009 12:10:46 PM





Videos, Omi!!! Pix, Ian!!!
Payback99  [Life Member]
8/20/2009 9:44:46 AM
Omi, I can't believe you lost that video of me and Costa bailing out of that vehicle!!!
chromeluv  [Team Member]
8/21/2009 6:48:37 AM
I can.
costa  [Team Member]
8/21/2009 9:08:20 AM
After Chromeluv reloaded all zombies were dead, on a side note he also put out the fire in the back ground so were all still trying to figure that one out.

BOOM,

costa
Payback99  [Life Member]
8/21/2009 10:50:06 AM
Originally Posted By chromeluv:
I can.



Chromeluv, why you gotta hate on ol' Payback? You totally cleaned those first 7 zombies. We're not talking about how I took down the other 15 while you were dicking around with that nickle plated sissy pistol!!!

chromeluv  [Team Member]
8/24/2009 8:02:30 PM
Originally Posted By Payback99:
Originally Posted By chromeluv:
I can.



Chromeluv, why you gotta hate on ol' Payback? You totally cleaned those first 7 zombies. We're not talking about how I took down the other 15 while you were dicking around with that nickle plated sissy pistol!!!



No hatin' on payback.

More hatin' on Omi and his Ghost photographer. All the times he was risking life and limb and we still haven't seen one god damn video or picture.
Payback99  [Life Member]
8/25/2009 11:34:27 AM
I KNOW, RIGHT!?!?!
matt7184  [Member]
9/1/2009 11:50:40 AM
Omi is busy making coffee...let him be...