I attended the CSAT Tactical Rifle Course 1 at the CSAT range located in Nacogdoches, TX over the weekend of October 11 & 12, 2014.

The Lead Instructor was Paul Howe, who has an extensive background in U.S. Army Special Operations as both an Operator and Instructor. More information is available here: http://www.combatshootingandtactics.com/about.htm

Assistant Instructors for the course were Don J. and Rodney J., both Law Enforcement professionals and graduates of CSAT's Tactical Rifle Instructor Course.

Before I go any further, let me comment on Paul Howe, his Assistant Instructors and how they handled the class. With his background and experience, one would think it would be very easy for Mr. Howe to be condescending and/or have an attitude with the students. At no time did I ever detect even the slightest hint of an ego or attitude from Mr. Howe or the Assistant Instructors. They were very down to Earth, friendly and approachable. All questions were answered quickly and in adequate detail. There was also a noticeable lack of negativity...if a student didn't perform a particular task very well, they got more attention from one of the Instructors but the comments and corrective instructions were always constructive and positive. In short, I was very impressed by the professionalism of the staff.

The class was comprised primarily of Law Enforcement personnel...police officers, SWAT team members and, I believe, a couple of highway patrolmen. There was also an active duty soldier from Fort Hood as well as a few civilians, myself included. All of the Law Enforcement folks were also friendly and professional towards the civilians. In fact, all of the students, both LE and civilian, were positive and encouraging towards one another...i.e. "Hey, don't sweat it, you'll do better next time..." or "Try it like this..." and compliments were given for tasks performed in a good time or with exceptional accuracy.

DAY ONE:
We showed up for class at about 7:45am Saturday morning. We signed some waivers, received a DVD with some class materials for study afterwords and had a meeting where the instructors and class introduced themselves. Before moving out to the range, we were also given a safety briefing.

By 8:15am, we were on the range shooting.

First was the initial zero in the standing position at 7 yards...yes, 7 yards. The target was a 1-inch square and the aiming point was to put the front sight post or red dot at the bottom of the square with the goal being to have the rounds impact about 2 1/2" below the square. This gave us our rough zero. Consistent front hand position, back hand position, head-eye position, natural point of aim and controlled breathing was demonstrated and stressed starting here and repeated often throughout the course.

Once everyone was fairly comfortable or reasonably close to the desired result, we then moved back to 100 yards and the prone position. The target now was an outline IPSC silhouette target with about the upper quarter blackened with the aiming point being the center of the target at the bottom of the blackened area. The goal was to have the rounds impact right on the line or just a hair above. Once completed, your rifle was then zeroed for effective hits out to 300 yards.

Once we had good zeroes, shot timers began to be employed to add a little time stress. The goal was to start at the low-ready position, and once the beep sounded, drop down to the prone position and, while exercising proper mechanics (front hand, back hand, head-eye position, natural point of aim and proper breath control...), put 4 out 5 rounds into the score box of the target in 20 seconds or less. At this point, Paul Howe stated that while making the time deadline was desirable, he was much more concerned that we were practicing and perfecting the proper mechanics. He explained that once we got proficient at proper mechanics that speed would come.

After a few run-throughs of the 100 yard drill, we then moved up to the 75 yard line and began working on the kneeling position. The key to this position was explained to be to have your support arm as close to straight up and down as possible, utilizing solid bone for support instead of muscle which will eventually weaken and begin to tremble. Again, starting in the low-ready position, the goal was to drop to the kneeling position and fire 4 out of 5 shots into the score box in 20 seconds or less. And, again, proper mechanics were demonstrated and stressed over making the time goal.

After the 75 yard kneeling position, we moved to the 50 yard kneeling position. Here, everything was the same as at 75 yard line.

Once we were pretty comfortable with the drill at 50 yards, then we moved to the standing position at 25 yards. Now the goal was 4 out of 5 shots in the score box in 8 seconds after starting in the low-ready position.

After the 25 yard standing drill, the class was moved forward to the 7 yard line to begin work on several different speed drills. All were done in the standing position starting at the low-ready.

The drills and time goals were as follows:

1 shot into the score box in 1 second or less.

2 shots into the score box in 1.5 seconds or less.

2 shots into the score box and 1 shot into the head in 1.75 seconds or less.

5 shots into the score box and 1 into the head in 3 seconds or less. (And THAT, my friends, is SMOKIN'...)

We were given several breaks during the class for water and bathroom usage. We were given about an hour for lunch. The class moved quickly but at a pace where nobody was left behind. Again, we were constantly asked if we had any questions and all questions were answered quickly and adequately to the satisfaction of the student asking it.

Class concluded for the day at around 4:00pm.


DAY TWO:

Class began at about 7:45am when all students were present. At this time, the class was split in half, One half of the class went to "Sniper Hill" section of the range to check the zero of their rifles at 200 and 300 yards and to run the "Scrambler" course. The "Scrambler" is a course where 2 students and one of the Assistant Instructors walked/trotted/ran a lane of firing points with the students engaging one or two steel targets at various ranges at each firing point. The student was allowed 5 shots to achieve a hit and utilize whatever shooting position they wanted.

The other half of the class remained with Paul Howe and worked on barricade shooting in the standing and kneeling position at steel targets at about 80 yards and surgical shooting from the standing position at paper hostage targets at 7 yards.

Mid-way through the morning, the 2 halves of the class switched training locations with each other.

Around Noon, we took about an hour for lunch. Upon our return, the class assembled on the 100 yard range to run the qualification drill, which was the drills we ran on the first day. We weren't required to meet the standards on time and accuracy to graduate since this was a basic course, rather this was to show how much we had progressed in the 2 days of the class. Those who did happen to meet or exceed the standards received a very nice CSAT Challenge Coin from Paul Howe at the completion of the course when the attendance certificates were given out.

Class finished up around 4pm on the second day also.

This class isn't very physically demanding but it can be a little hard on the knees and lower back from getting into the kneeling position, especially for the older guys. I'm 48 and my knees & lower back were pretty sore at the end of the class.

The flyer for the course calls for 700 rounds of ammo. I took 900 just to make sure but ended up only firing about 450 rounds as did a buddy of mine who also attended the course. I used Federal American Eagle XM193 and had no issues whatsoever with it.

Most rifles being used in the course were Colt 6920's, a couple of Daniel Defense rifles as well as a couple of home-assembled rifles, too. The only issues observed during the course was with one student using some Centurion ammo. He had numerous issues with primers being loaded backwards and several rounds missing primers altogether. Other than that, there were no malfunctions that I am aware of...

I cannot say enough good things about Paul Howe and his Assistant Instructors, Don J. and Rodney J., from the course...the volume and quality of information was fantastic. Every student had plenty of individual instruction from an instructor, especially if they were having a problem meeting the goal. All comments and instruction was 100% positive and encouraging...I heard absolutely *ZERO* negative comments from anyone, either instructor or student. The CSAT staff want you to succeed and set you up for success. I plan on taking other courses there in the future...

Here's a few pictures...

This sign is at the entrance to the CSAT range:


The class milling around just prior to shooting at 100 yards:


Down at the 7 yard line receiving some instruction from Paul Howe (center of the picture...):


Day 2, checking our zeroes at 300 yards:


Me getting ready to run the Scrambler course of fire on Day 2:


My 100 yard prone target from the Qualification stage. I lost count and fired 6 shots instead of 5 but they all went into the score box and I did it in 12.69 seconds which was the fastest time of the class. The 75 yard kneeling and 50 yard kneeling positions, however, kicked my ass pretty hard:


One of the other students shooting the 75 yard kneeling position:


Myself (left...) and Paul Howe at the end of the course:

I was scheduled to be at this class but had to bow out at the last minute.  Hope to attend sometime in 2015.

I second everything said about Paul and his assistants.  I attended his Tac Pistol back in March.  Considering his history being deployed in some very hairy parts of the world, Paul has absolutely zero ego.  He is very willing to answer questions and his class is highly recommended.

Paul is a fantastic instructor without ego and with sincere caring for his folks.  I learned so much from him in his Tac Rifle Instructor course and again last year in his CRAS course.  If you ever get a chance to train with him, don't miss it.  He makes folks better at whatever they do.

I had the opportunity to run his course in 2011. Everything you put down lines up with what we did minus the challenge coins for those who passed he didnt have them when i was there.

I had a blast even though it was the hottest summer on record. I learned a lot from him and his stories are incredible.