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US Shooting Academy Tactical Rifle 230 - Tulsa, OK
3/19/2010 5:47:42 PM
I just returned from my first tactical rifle course with USSA in Tulsa, OK. Although I am professionally trained with a pistol at the FLETC in Artesia, NM, I have not received any training with a rifle until now. Here are my impressions of the overall experience. The facilities were top-notch with paper, steel, moving, long range, and shoothouse courses. Outdoor rnages were finished with 20 ft. berms on three sides, allowing a wide margin of safety.
Day one was inititiated in the main lodge with Erik Lund, our primary instructor and included administrative, motivational, combat mindset, safety, and instuctor/student introduction briefings. By 1000 hours we were on the range with a large class of 21 students and 6 instuctors. Basic drills were briefed, professionally demonstrated, then taught and critiqued by the staff. One-on-one instuction was executed without hesitation for those of us that did not pick up on the skill initially. Repitition and critique were the rule throughout the course. All rifles were nominally zeroed at 50 meters the first day and this zero sufficed until day two where we refined our zero at 100 meters.
Day two began with a basic, fast paced review of all previously learned fundamentals. New skills were introduced as a compilation of day one skills and the "combat bubble mindset" was fervishly reinforced. Our group had been split up into two groups to facillitate an increased pace of instruction. These two groups reamined intact until the final "block of instuction" at the shoothouse.
Day three involved a practical scenarios at 5 - 50 meters, concentrating on skills such as shooting from cover, zipper shooting, long range shooting from 200 - 300 meters, and the shoothouse. I was particularly impressed with the level of professionalism and attention to safety of the staff at all times. Any time a student indicated he required help or additional training, an instuctor was there immediately, but without a condescenting attitude or the slightest indication of frustration. There was still emphasis on the "fix it yourself" and "fight through it" philosophy without resorting to any coddling of the students.
The instructors were both highly experienced and knowlegable, however they seemed equally skilled at listening to the students, collecting yet more information for their own use, and were open-minded to new concepts and other's experiences. Another really impressive quality of these instuctors was the ability to change their presence, adapting instantaneously to the needs of the student, thereby giving the student just enough leeway to learn and advance somewhat at his own pace. We were constantly pushed harder and harder, and the staff were always cogniscent of the student's mental and physical status.
By the end of the course, each and every one of us had reached a comfortable niche with our new skills and our rifle. The three days of instuction, mild, but continual pressure to perform, and repitition were concluded with the traditional sales pitch, but only for a few minutes. This course was all about rilfe shooting - not sales. The student body was a mix of professionals, businessmen, LEOs, shooting entusiasts, and military/ex-military men - in other words, a very diverse group. Some of these men had even taken this same course before and was simply their "requal". This definately speaks for the conduct and content of the course itself, as well as the intsructors, staff, and management.
If you want to learn your rifle the right way, without becoming an "operator" right now, this is the way to do it. I will likely retake this same course once and continue to TR231, a more advanced treatise of the same fundamental skills. I can also state, that a fairly good physical condition is required to sail through this course, because I was not only very sore after day one, but quite exhausted after each day.
I do wish to thank the entire instuctor staff (Erik, Virgil, Thad, Patrick, & Jeff), a couple of instructor trainees, the management, and of course, a great group of fellow students who all busted their tails to make this both a rewarding and memorable experience. What we learned about our rilfles was tremendous; what we learned about ourselves, our support equipment, and our mental attitudes was yet greater. And just like Arnold said, "I'll be back!"
Phil Weber
Day one was inititiated in the main lodge with Erik Lund, our primary instructor and included administrative, motivational, combat mindset, safety, and instuctor/student introduction briefings. By 1000 hours we were on the range with a large class of 21 students and 6 instuctors. Basic drills were briefed, professionally demonstrated, then taught and critiqued by the staff. One-on-one instuction was executed without hesitation for those of us that did not pick up on the skill initially. Repitition and critique were the rule throughout the course. All rifles were nominally zeroed at 50 meters the first day and this zero sufficed until day two where we refined our zero at 100 meters.
Day two began with a basic, fast paced review of all previously learned fundamentals. New skills were introduced as a compilation of day one skills and the "combat bubble mindset" was fervishly reinforced. Our group had been split up into two groups to facillitate an increased pace of instruction. These two groups reamined intact until the final "block of instuction" at the shoothouse.
Day three involved a practical scenarios at 5 - 50 meters, concentrating on skills such as shooting from cover, zipper shooting, long range shooting from 200 - 300 meters, and the shoothouse. I was particularly impressed with the level of professionalism and attention to safety of the staff at all times. Any time a student indicated he required help or additional training, an instuctor was there immediately, but without a condescenting attitude or the slightest indication of frustration. There was still emphasis on the "fix it yourself" and "fight through it" philosophy without resorting to any coddling of the students.
The instructors were both highly experienced and knowlegable, however they seemed equally skilled at listening to the students, collecting yet more information for their own use, and were open-minded to new concepts and other's experiences. Another really impressive quality of these instuctors was the ability to change their presence, adapting instantaneously to the needs of the student, thereby giving the student just enough leeway to learn and advance somewhat at his own pace. We were constantly pushed harder and harder, and the staff were always cogniscent of the student's mental and physical status.
By the end of the course, each and every one of us had reached a comfortable niche with our new skills and our rifle. The three days of instuction, mild, but continual pressure to perform, and repitition were concluded with the traditional sales pitch, but only for a few minutes. This course was all about rilfe shooting - not sales. The student body was a mix of professionals, businessmen, LEOs, shooting entusiasts, and military/ex-military men - in other words, a very diverse group. Some of these men had even taken this same course before and was simply their "requal". This definately speaks for the conduct and content of the course itself, as well as the intsructors, staff, and management.
If you want to learn your rifle the right way, without becoming an "operator" right now, this is the way to do it. I will likely retake this same course once and continue to TR231, a more advanced treatise of the same fundamental skills. I can also state, that a fairly good physical condition is required to sail through this course, because I was not only very sore after day one, but quite exhausted after each day.
I do wish to thank the entire instuctor staff (Erik, Virgil, Thad, Patrick, & Jeff), a couple of instructor trainees, the management, and of course, a great group of fellow students who all busted their tails to make this both a rewarding and memorable experience. What we learned about our rilfles was tremendous; what we learned about ourselves, our support equipment, and our mental attitudes was yet greater. And just like Arnold said, "I'll be back!"
Phil Weber
3/20/2010 8:08:04 PM
Hey I was in the same course with you last weekend, I was wondering if I should do a review or if someone else was going to do one. I was in group 1 if that helps, but I think you were in group 2? Paragraphs man, paragraphs 
anyways glad you had a good time and will be back and the weather wasn't that bad, it was really nice for me since I like cool weather. Stay safe.
Chad
anyways glad you had a good time and will be back and the weather wasn't that bad, it was really nice for me since I like cool weather. Stay safe.
Chad
3/20/2010 8:15:04 PM
Originally Posted By FIDO54:
I just returned from my first tactical rifle course with USSA in Tulsa, OK. Although I am professionally trained with a pistol at the FLETC in Artesia, NM, I have not received any training with a rifle until now. Here are my impressions of the overall experience.
The facilities were top-notch with paper, steel, moving, long range, and shoothouse courses. Outdoor rnages were finished with 20 ft. berms on three sides, allowing a wide margin of safety. Day one was inititiated in the main lodge with Erik Lund, our primary instructor and included administrative, motivational, combat mindset, safety, and instuctor/student introduction briefings. By 1000 hours we were on the range with a large class of 21 students and 6 instuctors. Basic drills were briefed, professionally demonstrated, then taught and critiqued by the staff. One-on-one instuction was executed without hesitation for those of us that did not pick up on the skill initially. Repitition and critique were the rule throughout the course. All rifles were nominally zeroed at 50 meters the first day and this zero sufficed until day two where we refined our zero at 100 meters.
Day two began with a basic, fast paced review of all previously learned fundamentals. New skills were introduced as a compilation of day one skills and the "combat bubble mindset" was fervishly reinforced. Our group had been split up into two groups to facillitate an increased pace of instruction. These two groups reamined intact until the final "block of instuction" at the shoothouse.
Day three involved a practical scenarios at 5 - 50 meters, concentrating on skills such as shooting from cover, zipper shooting, long range shooting from 200 - 300 meters, and the shoothouse. I was particularly impressed with the level of professionalism and attention to safety of the staff at all times. Any time a student indicated he required help or additional training, an instuctor was there immediately, but without a condescenting attitude or the slightest indication of frustration. There was still emphasis on the "fix it yourself" and "fight through it" philosophy without resorting to any coddling of the students.
The instructors were both highly experienced and knowlegable, however they seemed equally skilled at listening to the students, collecting yet more information for their own use, and were open-minded to new concepts and other's experiences. Another really impressive quality of these instuctors was the ability to change their presence, adapting instantaneously to the needs of the student, thereby giving the student just enough leeway to learn and advance somewhat at his own pace. We were constantly pushed harder and harder, and the staff were always cogniscent of the student's mental and physical status. By the end of the course, each and every one of us had reached a comfortable niche with our new skills and our rifle.
The three days of instuction, mild, but continual pressure to perform, and repitition were concluded with the traditional sales pitch, but only for a few minutes. This course was all about rilfe shooting - not sales. The student body was a mix of professionals, businessmen, LEOs, shooting entusiasts, and military/ex-military men - in other words, a very diverse group. Some of these men had even taken this same course before and was simply their "requal". This definately speaks for the conduct and content of the course itself, as well as the intsructors, staff, and management. If you want to learn your rifle the right way, without becoming an "operator" right now, this is the way to do it. I will likely retake this same course once and continue to TR231, a more advanced treatise of the same fundamental skills. I can also state, that a fairly good physical condition is required to sail through this course, because I was not only very sore after day one, but quite exhausted after each day.
I do wish to thank the entire instuctor staff (Erik, Virgil, Thad, Patrick, & Jeff), a couple of instructor trainees, the management, and of course, a great group of fellow students who all busted their tails to make this both a rewarding and memorable experience. What we learned about our rilfles was tremendous; what we learned about ourselves, our support equipment, and our mental attitudes was yet greater. And just like Arnold said, "I'll be back!"
Phil Weber
I just returned from my first tactical rifle course with USSA in Tulsa, OK. Although I am professionally trained with a pistol at the FLETC in Artesia, NM, I have not received any training with a rifle until now. Here are my impressions of the overall experience.
The facilities were top-notch with paper, steel, moving, long range, and shoothouse courses. Outdoor rnages were finished with 20 ft. berms on three sides, allowing a wide margin of safety. Day one was inititiated in the main lodge with Erik Lund, our primary instructor and included administrative, motivational, combat mindset, safety, and instuctor/student introduction briefings. By 1000 hours we were on the range with a large class of 21 students and 6 instuctors. Basic drills were briefed, professionally demonstrated, then taught and critiqued by the staff. One-on-one instuction was executed without hesitation for those of us that did not pick up on the skill initially. Repitition and critique were the rule throughout the course. All rifles were nominally zeroed at 50 meters the first day and this zero sufficed until day two where we refined our zero at 100 meters.
Day two began with a basic, fast paced review of all previously learned fundamentals. New skills were introduced as a compilation of day one skills and the "combat bubble mindset" was fervishly reinforced. Our group had been split up into two groups to facillitate an increased pace of instruction. These two groups reamined intact until the final "block of instuction" at the shoothouse.
Day three involved a practical scenarios at 5 - 50 meters, concentrating on skills such as shooting from cover, zipper shooting, long range shooting from 200 - 300 meters, and the shoothouse. I was particularly impressed with the level of professionalism and attention to safety of the staff at all times. Any time a student indicated he required help or additional training, an instuctor was there immediately, but without a condescenting attitude or the slightest indication of frustration. There was still emphasis on the "fix it yourself" and "fight through it" philosophy without resorting to any coddling of the students.
The instructors were both highly experienced and knowlegable, however they seemed equally skilled at listening to the students, collecting yet more information for their own use, and were open-minded to new concepts and other's experiences. Another really impressive quality of these instuctors was the ability to change their presence, adapting instantaneously to the needs of the student, thereby giving the student just enough leeway to learn and advance somewhat at his own pace. We were constantly pushed harder and harder, and the staff were always cogniscent of the student's mental and physical status. By the end of the course, each and every one of us had reached a comfortable niche with our new skills and our rifle.
The three days of instuction, mild, but continual pressure to perform, and repitition were concluded with the traditional sales pitch, but only for a few minutes. This course was all about rilfe shooting - not sales. The student body was a mix of professionals, businessmen, LEOs, shooting entusiasts, and military/ex-military men - in other words, a very diverse group. Some of these men had even taken this same course before and was simply their "requal". This definately speaks for the conduct and content of the course itself, as well as the intsructors, staff, and management. If you want to learn your rifle the right way, without becoming an "operator" right now, this is the way to do it. I will likely retake this same course once and continue to TR231, a more advanced treatise of the same fundamental skills. I can also state, that a fairly good physical condition is required to sail through this course, because I was not only very sore after day one, but quite exhausted after each day.
I do wish to thank the entire instuctor staff (Erik, Virgil, Thad, Patrick, & Jeff), a couple of instructor trainees, the management, and of course, a great group of fellow students who all busted their tails to make this both a rewarding and memorable experience. What we learned about our rilfles was tremendous; what we learned about ourselves, our support equipment, and our mental attitudes was yet greater. And just like Arnold said, "I'll be back!"
Phil Weber
I hope this doesn't offend you but I edited your review so it would be more readable.
3/21/2010 5:00:52 PM
Howdy, Chad - I do remember you from the class. Thanks for the rework of the review - definately helps, so I went back and edited the original message as well. Maybe you were an English teacher in a former life. I have a buddy that hunts with me (737 captatin for CAL in Houston) who wishes to take the course as well, and when USSA indicated we could "retake" the course again at half price, I sold my buddy on the plan. I believe we'll sign up and return in November. Hopefully the weather will be as cooperative as it was this March. Maybe we'll cross paths in TR 231 sometime.
Good Luck,
Phil
Good Luck,
Phil
3/22/2010 8:11:12 AM
Originally Posted By FIDO54:
Howdy, Chad - I do remember you from the class. Thanks for the rework of the review - definately helps, so I went back and edited the original message as well. Maybe you were an English teacher in a former life. I have a buddy that hunts with me (737 captatin for CAL in Houston) who wishes to take the course as well, and when USSA indicated we could "retake" the course again at half price, I sold my buddy on the plan. I believe we'll sign up and return in November. Hopefully the weather will be as cooperative as it was this March. Maybe we'll cross paths in TR 231 sometime.
Good Luck,
Phil
Howdy, Chad - I do remember you from the class. Thanks for the rework of the review - definately helps, so I went back and edited the original message as well. Maybe you were an English teacher in a former life. I have a buddy that hunts with me (737 captatin for CAL in Houston) who wishes to take the course as well, and when USSA indicated we could "retake" the course again at half price, I sold my buddy on the plan. I believe we'll sign up and return in November. Hopefully the weather will be as cooperative as it was this March. Maybe we'll cross paths in TR 231 sometime.
Good Luck,
Phil
Phil,
That's funny that you would say that because I am a teacher at Tulsa CC and have been there for over 10 years now. The "re-take" discount was news to me as well, and I've been a member there for 3 years now, but is a good deal either way you look at it. I was looking at going straight into 231 but the ammo count is keeping me from enrolling. I'll need to work on my ammo stash a little bit before I enroll in the next one.
Good luck on your training and the weather in November can be just like March or there about so it should be a good time.
Chad...
