As some of you are aware, Magpul Dynamics hosted a basic tactical carbine class in St. Augustine, Florida this last weekend, October 11 and 12th.  Although there have been a number of AAR on these classes posted here before, I thought I would jump in and share a few thoughts and comments of my own anyways.

For perspective, I have been shooting the AR15 for about six years now.  My shooting experience includes being a life-long hunter, a few years of DCM/CMP style bullseye shooting, and I have been shooting with FDCC for about five years.  I never attended any formal training for tactical shooting prior to this class.  Although I am a vet, I never received any combat training in the military.  I did not sleep in a Best Western the night before the class.

The class started almost right on time on Saturday morning, with a delay of only a few minutes getting on to the range itself.  Costa used the time to introduce himself and to get to know each student a little bit before the actual class started.  As Neil (new-arguy) and John (Hawkeye) set up the range, Costa took a few minutes to look over everyone's rifles and kit, offering a comment or suggestion here and there, such as, "move your vertical grip forward", “tighten that sling up a couple inches” or "set your stock back another notch".  These small tips that seemed minutia at 9:00 a.m. proved to be far more significant as the day progressed.

The class started with a dialogue covering the AR15 rifle system, its controls and some of its accessories.  Costa could see that everyone in the class was pretty much glossy eyed and eager to start “getting at it”, so he covered this material quickly.  

The first rounds went down range around 9:30 a.m. to zero iron sights and optics.  Once everyone's zero was confirmed, we were off and running.  I don't want to go into exhaustive detail on each and every drill to which the class is subjected.  I will say, however, that the class starts out at a level basic enough that a novice need not to be intimidated and that an experienced shooter will not be disappointed.

The consistent theme throughout the course is that we should train in a manner consistent with how we are going to react under stress, not how we are going to react under ideal conditions.  For instance, Costa does not advocate training to shoot from elegantly built, super-stable shooting positions because real-life situations simply never accommodate elegantly built, super-stable shooting positions.  

Costa demands that students never, ever look down and casually insert a magazine with the rifle pointed down at the ground.  It’s not that the practice is unsafe.  The issue is that he views each and every insertion as a training opportunity, a chance to build muscle memory (for good or bad).  Therefore, every insertion should be performed with the rifle up in front of the operator’s face, in your workspace, allowing the operator to observe what is going in front of him.  If you make a habit of looking down to load, then when under fire, you’ll be looking down instead of looking in front of you when you reload.

I had a “lightbulb” moment during one of the drills.  Costa frequently reminded me to change my grip.  The change was subtle.  The grip he recommends is actually a little painful for me due to some nerve issues, and I kept slipping back into my old habit.  He also had me make an adjustment to my right foot placement.  Again, the change was not huge, just a minor adjustment.  We were doing NSR drills (requiring a volley of seven rapid shots).  I fired one volley and, as I’ve come to expect, the dot made steady progress up and to the right as I continued firing.  Neil came up and reminded about my right foot placement, which reminded me to also correct my left hand grip.  I corrected both just as Costa called the next “BUST ‘EM!”, I popped off another seven rounds.  There was no muzzle climb, the reticle wiggled but was under my control the whole time.  Neil confirmed that, “every one of those were good hits”.  Shooting from “my” position, then from the corrected position, with just the span of a second between was very revealing.  These little, yet significant, tips kept coming all day.

Another remarkable point is that Costa seems to have a workaround for most physical limitations as well.  Some of the shooters have bad knees, some have bad backs… I have bad hands.  For each drill, Costa would ask, “Does anyone have bad knees?  If so, do this instead...”  or offer an alternative solution to the problem.

As far as gear goes, I shot my self-assembled mutt-gun.  It ran fine with the exception of when, for some reason, I decided it would be a good idea to save a round by using a dirty round off of the deck for the double-feed drill!  Neil ended up having to butt-stroke it to get it loose.  

My Eotech survived.  

For a light, I mounted up an E2DL, and put the tapeswitch right on the top rail.  I like the switch position, but the light itself… not…so…much.  It’s fine until recoil from the first round engages the second-stage five lumen setting.  I tried to get away with it as a poor man’s scout, oh well.  

The class was my first chance to use a Strip-Lula.  It was soooo worth the $20 and the time investment of putting my ammo on clips.  During reload breaks, I felt much less rushed than some of the other students, even those using the original Lula.

Final thoughts:  To quote Neil, taking the class was, “as much fun as you can have with a gun.”  I had been considering taking one of these classes for a few years now.  I’ve been procrastinating because I didn’t think I was at a level that I was “ready” for this type of training.  The opposite is true.  I should have done this much, much earlier.  Costa is an effective instructor that takes your training experience very seriously, yet maintains an approachable posture void of any of the super-macho chest-thumping bullshit I’ve read about in many of these post-class AAR’s.

If you are considering taking a class, stop considering it and just do it.  You’ll have a blast.  You’ll find out if your gun really works.  You’ll come away a better shooter.

Wow that looks like a good time and a hell of a learning experience. I think I'll be signing up for an upcoming class

What was the preferred ammo for the course?

I would have to agree with Chuck, the class was very rewarding for myself and
I would do it again in a heartbeat. Thanks to Chuck and Neil for the camera and all the bitchin Photos. And yes for everyone I did sweat my fat pig ass off under that body armor. I want to continue with all the Magpul classes in the future, and I hope to see everyone else there. Chris Costa is the Man and Gun Gallery in Jax is the Shit. oh and by the way bring more than the min ammo required and lots of water.

AAR from myself. I was there with my fiance'. . . fianc'e. . . its spelled something like that. . . :lol:

Chuck covered all of the major things, so i'll go into my personal experiences at the class.

I had a lot of "bad" habits, mainly just positioning of my feet, knees, and upper body. Both Chris, John, and Neil gave me pointers, and as class progressed, those bad habits of mine went away. They didn't go away completely, but that just comes with more practice.

Positioning of vertical grips, as Chuck mentioned, was also touched on. At first I was curious as to why they were moved forward, and grip position changed. . . but after about a thousand rounds, i knew it was for the better. both for weapon control, and arm fatigue.

Chris was very in depth with his descriptions and insight. Everything he taught us, he did himself, and explained why and where in a real world situation that position could be used. Nothing was done "just because" . . . . which is awesome.

Comparing experiences with people that have taken other classes, colleagues and myself have come to the conclusion that the Magpul class with costa is well worth the money. In fact, you get more for your money than other classes that may charge more, etc.

Neil from Gun Gallery was awesome. Anytime there was an issue, he was there to help fix it. Or if someone chipped their finger too much on their M900 weapon light, he was there to suply me. . . errr. . . the operative with a vertical grip. For what it's worth. . . that screw on the back of the light of the M900 wasn't meant for non-gloved knuckles. . . lol.

If given the chance, I would definitely do it all over again. Definitely needs lots of ammo, lots of water. I hope to continue with the Intermediate, advanced, and team tactics class. I w0ould definitely recommend this class to anyone that really wants to solidify their basics, and get a head start into intermediate/advanced tactics.

.....


And for the comedic factor. . .  . well. . . yea. . . LOL. . . this is my desktop background at work, right. . . and everytime someone walks by. . . I always get asked. . . "What exactly are you staring at, and why do you have the nod of approval, Chris?"

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b392/RedR1/People/2938962547_d89550d9e8_b.jpg

Ahahahahaah. . . .lol

i have the Houston class net week, thanks for the post.

Supurb photos!  

Thanks for sharing!  

Chuck - great write-up, thanks!

Chris, John and Neil - thanks for the terrific instruction and guidance.  It's remarkable what progress we made during the two day course.  I'll definitely be signing up for more Magpul training.

+1 on bringing lots of water and extra ammo.  It was not terribly hot during the course, but the activity and gear will dehydrate quickly even on a nice day.  You definitely do not want to have to miss out on any part of the class for not feeling well.  As for the ammo, well, can you get too much of a good thing?

For anyone considering a course - DO IT!!!  I promise that whatever level shooter you are you will come out better and more confident.  Chris really impressed me with his ability to assess each shooter as an individual and address detailed personal needs - all in a class setting.  

Another thanks to Neil and the guys at the Gun Gallery for helping me set up a rifle that performed exceptionally.  And Neil, killer photos!!!

I enjoyed meeting everyone in the class and I hope our paths cross again soon!

Brian

Brian are you still planning on taking the 1911 operator because i know I am and I hope we can get enough people to do it.

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Quoted: Brian are you still planning on taking the 1911 operator because i know I am and I hope we can get enough people to do it.

After looking at the schedule, I was hoping to take the basic handgun course in November in order to qualify for the advanced carbine course in January.  Unfortunately though, I've got a UTA on that weekend in November.  

Long way of saying yes, I'll very likely be taking the 1911 course in February.  I'll be looking forward to the next advanced carbine course being scheduled - hopefully before it gets too hot.

Great write up.  I need to take a class from Magpul.

Quoted: Quoted: Brian are you still planning on taking the 1911 operator because i know I am and I hope we can get enough people to do it. After looking at the schedule, I was hoping to take the basic handgun course in November in order to qualify for the advanced carbine course in January.  Unfortunately though, I've got a UTA on that weekend in November.   Long way of saying yes, I'll very likely be taking the 1911 course in February.  I'll be looking forward to the next advanced carbine course being scheduled - hopefully before it gets too hot.

I'm going to have to sit the November class out as well.

Something Costa mentioned at the end of the class:  He'd like to see Adv Carbine students to have taken Basic Handgun.  1911 Operator would satisfy the pre-req.  Neil mentioned that it may be possible to swap 1911 & advanced carbine, to give us two opportunities to get in a handgun class before advanced carbine.  I'm hoping that's the case, as otherwise I'll have to wait until "next time" to take advanced carbine, whenever that is.

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Quoted: height=8 Quoted: height=8 Quoted: Brian are you still planning on taking the 1911 operator because i know I am and I hope we can get enough people to do it. After looking at the schedule, I was hoping to take the basic handgun course in November in order to qualify for the advanced carbine course in January.  Unfortunately though, I've got a UTA on that weekend in November.   Long way of saying yes, I'll very likely be taking the 1911 course in February.  I'll be looking forward to the next advanced carbine course being scheduled - hopefully before it gets too hot. have Something Costa mentioned at the end of the class:  He'd like to see Adv Carbine students to have taken Basic Handgun.  1911 Operator would satisfy the pre-req.  Neil mentioned that it may be possible to swap 1911 & advanced carbine, to give us two opportunities to get in a handgun class before advanced carbine.  I'm hoping that's the case, as otherwise I'll have to wait until "next time" to take advanced carbine, whenever that is. A swap of the MAC and 1911 courses would be brilliant (assuming those already registered could make the shift).  Consider this my vote!

I'm so down like china town for that. Tell Neil and I'm in.

bumped so a friend can find the post

nice AAR.  I look forward to checking one of these classes out in the future (if there is ammo around to do it).