These were my 4th and 5th class at Tactical Response. Previous courses I have taken are the trifecta courses (fighting pistol, Immediate Action Medical, and The Fight). The first day of fighting rifle was basically a bunch of drills to get our muzzle to sight off sets memorized and get familiar with our rifles. Safety was paramount to this course including the use of muzzle discipline and the actual safety on the rifle. These two things were driven home to me and all of the students. The drills primarily focused of shooting “DEA dots” and humanoid targets. Everyone in the class shot from standing, kneeling, sitting, supine, walking forwards, and backwards. Certain techniques that were taught include proper ways to reload and charge your rifle, proper use of safeties, proper use of cover, and awkward shooting positions (off handed shooting and etc.). Also communication was covered and expect from everyone. You learn what to say and what not to say. Instead of saying “I’m out” you should say “cover”. Don’t let the bad guys know what you are doing. We did get into some light team tactics, mainly teams of two. This Regular Fighting Rifle course is perfect for the person who wants to learn how to better defend their home. The instructors for this course were Tim Morris and Jerry Nuss.

The Advance Fighting Rifle course is truly a step above the regular Fighting Rifle. If you want more of team tactics training and more intense of an environment this is it. Everything from peel drills to medical aid under fire was covered. We learned to communicate more efficiently and team drills that consisted of the whole class. This course is NOT for beginners and will tax you hard. The payoff is immense, you will shoot from more complex shooting positions while on the ground. While rifle to pistol transitions were covered in the regular Fighting Rifle class, this advance course certainly uses them more. The drills used in this class consist of the drills from the regular Fighting Rifle and some more advance drills. The Australian Peel drill is a fine example of an advance drill. Along with the “medical aid under fire drills” in which you were task with putting tourniquets and H bandages on a 185 lb dummy, and dragging him to safety. Sometimes students would be selected to be “wounded” and would have to self treat or find someone to treat them. While this is all happening someone needs to be putting rounds into the bad guys down range. This drill was very intense and showed that one person getting shot in a fire fight could take another 2 people at least out of the fight just to treat that one person effectively. This course is definitely for the person who seeks advance knowledge on team tactics and Personal marksmanship. The instructors for this course were Tim Morris and Jay Gibson.