Posted: 4/8/2014 10:31:13 AM EDT
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I went to train with Rathmines a little depressed about my accuracy and ability to use the weapons that I have. Before our training session, I asked to have the training focus on four items: accuracy, siting, shooting positions, and overall firearms fundamentals. When the training started, the weather was terrible, and it appeared it might be a long day of rain. But it abruptly stopped raining, and we were able to get on the range quickly due to the quality of drainage in the overall range set up. I appreciated this because sometimes you want to go train or learn, and mud, water, and other exterior factors which you will have to deal with in real life slow down the learning curve for a beginner.
We quickly proceeded to point of impact training for my handgun and my AR 15. I gained some valuable fundamentals that now make me look forward to going out to the range understanding because I won't have frustration. We quickly moved into a situation shooting where we started putting rounds into targets, learning about sighting in philosophies, point of impact philosophies, overall efficiency, and the handling of a firearm. I was extremely clumsy and uncoordinated and didn't understand how to do many things, but as the minutes passed, John very easily showed me why these issues were taking place and how to correct them. Fast forward to later in the day, John touched base with the four items that I requested very effectively, and then he was able to take me out to 50 yards and teach me how to put my rifle precisely on target. The next thing we did was take some extended range shots using the fundamentals learned. John talked to me about where to aim, how to hold my body, how to stabilize it, how to utilize a missed shot for immediate correction. This is was after three hours of class. I wish there could have been a classroom portion incorporated in our small training class, but that might've been unfeasible due to the timing and intense nature of this instruction. He touched base effectively, yet briefly, on rifle maintenance, operations of the weapon, and ballistics, which I thought to be very helpful understanding the weapon system. The building blocks of sighting in and aiming/point of impact are now in my head. If John had the ability to put a small portion of classroom training in, which would be a more relaxed environment, it would help me tremendously. That's my personal opinion because I was a little overwhelmed at the fast-paced teaching and the nature of the training. Again, this is from a complete rookie, but some takeaways and handouts and information could be a benefit to upgrade the training from its absolute incredible level that I experienced. If you want to do training in the West Tennessee/ North Mississippi area, I urge you to set up a time with John Rathmines. You can get four to twelve of your friend sand get a personalized set of instructions just by scheduling with him in advance. <edit - by NoloContendere>, and the access to his site is easy as it gets. I'm very thankful for what I've learned and look forward to growing into more of a safety conscious shooter thanks to John. <advertising removed- NoloContendere> |