Someone said I needed to get out more and train with some other instructors.  Duly noted.  I had the opportunity of replacing a guy who "had" to go to HALO school (lucky bastard) and left an empty slot in this class.  So I jumped on it.  Here's what happened.

Bobcat Tactical is fairly new on the scene, as most of you guys have probably never heard of him.  That's because until recently this guy was a Sgt Maj of a special missions unit.  So we start off with impeccable credentials.  But not only that, the Sgt Maj is also a gifted instructor and all-around fun, interesting guy.  More on that later.

His business, Bobcat Tactical, mainly trains active duty guys in between deployments at this point.  But he is slowly looking to train vetted civilians as well.  How I slipped through the cracks I'll never know.  I was surrounded by a class of SF vets, with numerous deployments.  I was well and truly "that guy".  I sucked compared to these badasses.  But they still worked with and encouraged me to stretch out and achieve the standards.  

What made this class different from anything else I've ever done.  Well, the Sgt Maj  insists on hits, not just anywhere on target, but good CNS hits.  This really stretched me to my limits and beyond.  Most of the time we shot steel, and frequently little 8" or 6" plates.  This really forces you to put it all together, as rapidly as possible, and put the bad guy DOWN.  This was the entire focus of the training.  Each and every evolution meant you had to hit the target, all the targets.  Or the class came to a screeching halt, until you did so.  Everyone shared stories of guys they'd shot, some multiple times, and didn't go down. So it was driven home that accurate, fast shooting kills the MF's.  The Sgt Maj said: "Lots of guys were in gunfights and shot at people.  Only a few were in gunfights and killed people."  That kinda sums it up.

The COI itself was kinda a hybrid, one-day rifle/pistol course, in that some guys wanted a little pistol time, so the Sgt Maj customized the class to their needs.  He is more than willing to do this, if you get a group of 4-5 guys together and want to work on specific techniques.  Which I think is pretty cool.  The rifle portion works on engagement techniques from 50m, to 100, 200, and 300.  You work on building your position, based on the range and sit, and then work on target acquisition, and trigger squeeze.  , He is very pragmatic (as opposed to dogmatic) about this.  You use whatever position and technique needed to make the hits.  For example, inside 100m, you are shooting "offhand".  Past that, you need to look at what's required to make the hit.  It may be steading against cover.  It may be kneeling.  Or even prone.  Whatever it takes.  He is very task-oriented about getting good hits on target.  It's up to you to decide how to best to do it.  After running the ranges, and getting our "come-ups" for 100-300m, we switched over to closer, urban style work.  BTW, he recommends a 100m zero, which gets you on target, center mass at 100, neck hold at 200, and head hold at 300.  It's a good system.  

For the close-up stuff, we worked from an "urban wall" type of cover (aka "Viking Tactics" Wall), engaging multiple targets, with some movement thrown in as well.  This was interesting because I don't have much experience shooting from this kind of urban cover.  Learning muzzle management with close barriers like that is a new skill set.  

After the rifle work, we switched to pistol and ran through the same close range urban drills, as done with rifle.  This required a change in mindset, going from red dot sight to irons, with much shorter bbls.  We, well I, had to slow down again and get the basics down to make good hits on target.  I had been neglecting pistol work and it showed.  I did a few extra rotations to get up to speed.  But I'm happy to report, with a little coaching, I was getting the deal done by the end of the class.  

Equipment.  Here is the interesting thing.  When training with the real deal guys, you don't see a lot of flashy weapons and equipment.  They bear little, if any resemblance to all these guys in their Gucci gear you see all over the internet.  I have seen this time and again.  SF guys don't wear a bunch of shit cuz it looks cool, or whatever.  They only wear what they need to get the job done.  In this case, they strip down to basic rifle and pistol kit.  If uniforms, body armor, and assault packs are not required, they don't wear them.  All these guys wore a basic belt, with pistol, pistol mags, and rifle mags.  Not much else.  Their rifles were also very business-like.  Free-floated rails, optics, and good triggers.  That's about it.  GI mags for the most part.  I have found this to be a common theme among the snake eaters.  Good solid, reliable kit.  I was the only guy in cammies, chest rig, and assault pack, which I shit-canned as the class progressed.  Lesson learned.

Another thing, on the equipment thing.  The Sgt Maj went over equipment set up, and how this affected your weapons handling.  Things like rapid access to ready mags, and how your mags are staged for reloading, that kind of thing.  Again very pragmatic in setting your kit up so you can reload rapidly.  Both rifle and pistol.  I switched out some things based on his recommendations.  

Weather.  Cooler fall temps.  Starting at high 40's in the morning and getting up to mid-60's during the day.  Cool, but about right once you start training hard.  Had to adjust clothing layers once or twice, no big deal.    

Facilities.  Typical private club range stuff.  Good ranges out to 300m.  Smaller side ranges out to 50m.  Porta-potties.  That sort of thing.  Primitive but adequate.  The COI more than made up for any lack of amenities, not that this crowd could give a shit.

Bring a sack lunch.  Short breaks, snack as you can.  Hydration a must.  Even in colder weather.

Clothing and equipment.  As I said, these guys keep it basic.  I ram OCP cammies, which always perform well.  Lowa Zephr boots which rocked out as usual.  I was in and out of a PCU L2 gridded fleece zip-top which worked perfectly for this class.   The other guys wore an assortment of cargo pants, and zip-tops.  And LIGHT weight boots.  

Round Counts.  Were pretty reasonable, at about 300 per rifle and pistol.  Note:  While 55gr, especially Russian steel case, is perfectly fine for most live fire work, I found it's a bit anemic out past a couple of hundred yards.  I will probably use at least 62 gr for the next class.  Most guys were rocking out the 77gr and, yeah, it works.

Overall, this was an extremely interesting and challenging class.  What I found fascinating was the explanation of the actual firefights that these techniques were employed in, and why they worked, and other things did not.  This is not theoretical.  He describes firefights where he killed guys with the techniques he is teaching you.  And the other class members chimed in with their own experiences.  A rare opportunity to sit at the feet of warriors and learn.  It also pushed me WAY past  my comfort zone or competence level.  I was running hard to keep up with the big dogs!  Now I would add, this was a unique class, and that going forward, I'm sure the tempo will be set by each individual class, so I don't want to scare anyone off by all this.  In an open enrollment class of civilians, I'm sure he will adjust as required.  But be advised, you need to come prepared, with a good zero, and everything pretty much sorted out beforehand.  This is not an entry-level class.  And he does vet civilians.  A CCW is highly recommended.  And having someone he knows vouch for you doesn't hurt a bit.  But it was a fascinating experience, to meet the Sgt Maj, to train with him, and then just to shoot the shit with him.  A really down to earth, soft spoken guy, who really knows his shit.  

Sustain.  The quality of instruction.  Practical application not just theory.  Insistence on good hits, every time.  Feedback from actual firefights.  

Improve.  Access to civilians is sketchy right now.  Stand up more open enrollment classes as time and facilities permit.

Good AAR. Sounds like a rare treat to train with a whole group of experienced guys.

Sounds like a good one, will definitely be interested when he starts letting us civvies in.

ETA: looked them up online and didn't find anything. Is there a website yet?