I just got off the phone with Pete and Phil and the carbine class is a go at the McDonald Sportsmen's Association.

We have directions and maps linked from the carbine page at our website.

www.fireinstitute.org/fire_mcdonald_directions.htm

McDonald Sportsmen's has their own website here.

I'd like to thank the students enrolled in this class for their patience while we searched for a host facility. Hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience

ETA: There are still slots available in this class. If anyone is interested call us at 412.381.8035 (daytime).

Quoted: Has anyone posted an AAR for this class? I'd like to hear how it went........

Well,

It was a small class and since I'm not sure anyone will take the time to write up a detailed AAR I'll post my thoughts and observations. IMHO these usually mean more coming from the students but it seems to be fashionable of late in some circles for instructors and staff to write AAR's so here goes.

Gear

Even top shelf gear can fail. One student was using an EoTech Rev F on a Larue QD mount. IIRC, shortly before the class at a range session he noticed a screw, spring, detent or some combination thereof laying on the shooting bench. Apparently the Larue puked some parts. He gathered them up and reinstalled them.

On TD2 he noticed some apparent *front-to-back* movement of the optic. I don't know if it was the Larue collateral to the aforementioned range session failure or if he simply didn't have the tension on the throw-lever adjusted properly. Nevertheless it didn't seem to cause much in the way of shift in POI but OTOH it did make it difficult to interpret some issues with POA/POI throughout the rest of the course.

He also had some confusion regarding cowitness of his optic and BUIS. His Larue QD mount put the front sight post in the lower third of the Eotech *window* which is customary for Larue hardware (except for their aimpoint RAS II Rings). He *wanted* the inner dot to sit directly on top of the tip of the front sight and once we realized this, we believe it explained some of the issues he experienced when establishing zero on TD1.

Moral of the story? Owning top shelf gear is only one piece of the puzzle. Understanding the design parameters is also critical.

Another student used an SBR format. Parts kit lower and RRA complete upper with the addition of a Noveske Krink. It also wore a Surefire M900 and with the bull barrel profile it was quite heavy for a shortened carbine. He became quite fond of the Indoor Ready position as it provided his biceps with much needed respite. I gotta hand it to him cuz he did manage tough it out. His optic was the Trijicon Tripower which performed very well. I must say it was a very sexy looking carbine. Short format carbines can be problematic but this particular specimen was quite reliable. He did seem to have some binding of the BCG or CH but we could not determine the root cause.

Slings. Where to begin? Single Point, 2 Point and 3 Point. They all have their pros and cons. Pete started hosting Steve Tarani of Operational Skills Group for contact distance defense classes in February 2003. Since then we've come to the conclusion that unless you have a mission specific need for an *exotic* sling, the old standby, the 2 point carry strap, has certain advantages over the Single Point and 3 point systems if the fight goes H2H and you end up on the ground.

Before I get into the specifics of the course, we had quite a time finding a host facility for this course. We ended up at the McDonald Sportsmen's Association and used their Cowboy Action ranges. These were not ideal as they were somewhat narrow and not very deep but with the small class it wasn't an issue.

Bay #1 did allow for a distance of 50 yards and we were able to use their primary rifle range for initial zero. They had an event scheduled on our TD2 which meant we couldn't start until 3pm. I thought Pete did a very remarkable job of *fitting* the normal course syllabus into the time format with which we were forced to contend.

TD1

Typical admin stuff. Lecture on safety and range rules, proper lubrication, trigger press, follow through, stance and a short discourse on retention - takeaway which included discussion of the various types of slings and their pros and cons relative to this very important issue. Initial 50 yard zero from unsupported prone and confirmation on pepper poppers at 200 and shoot the qual CoF. TD1 of the F.I.R.E. Institute basic tactical carbine course is traditionally a somewhat slower pace with allot of discussion and explanation of issues related to the defensive application of the carbine.

TD2

TD2 is the *meat and potatoes*. All the skill sets and techniques are covered and reviewed. Trigger press, follow through and stance again, loading, unloading, speed and tactical reloading, status check, IAD's, tactical advance and withdraw, shooting on the move, etc., etc.

Reviewed the various kneeling positions.

TD2 also includes a review of the tactical principles and a demonstration of their application but I believe we may have done this on TD3. In this course Pete used the clubhouse to demo a room clearing.

In the evening we cover basic low light - night drills to include options using hand held lights. Here is where I'll express an opinion FWIW. Lots of light ND's. This is usually attributable to the student's first opportunity shooting at night. You'd think something as simple as coming up on target, light on, firing a std. response, light off and stepping off the line of attack would not be too difficult but it can be your first time shoting at night. My thoughts on this are that human beings are'nt nocturnal and until you get these skills fully programmed, it's an adventure.

I mostly attribute the light ND's to the momentary on/off tape switches. This is why I have personally come to favor the click on/off tailcaps. They are much more *positive* in their operation. Not saying momentary switches don't have a place, just that I primarily prefer the constant on/off option.

Capped off the night shoot with an outdoor simulator. Shoot and no-shoot targets are placed strategically around and about and the student has to move from point A to point B in search mode and challenge and/or engage targets.

TD3

More of the same except today more so in the context of shooting drills (stance, loading, unloading, speed and tactical reloading, status check, IAD's, tactical advance and withdraw and shooting on the move, etc.). IOW, *putting it all together*.

Also reviewed the other firing positions and shot lollipops at 200.

Capped off TD3 with another outdoor simulator and the *formal* qual CoF.

We usually don't do a night simulator but I think the students very much appreciated the effort it took to set it up and the opportunity it afforded them.

The weather was FANTASTIC.

Given the idiosyncrasies of the Cowboy Action range and given that Phil and I were preoccupied with setting up the simulators I may have listed a thing or two or three out of sequence.