AAR: 914 Consulting Carbine Class 4/17/2011 At C2

[Semper Paratus]

Well let me the first to say that Chris is a great and patient instructor. We had a small goup of 5 students raging from early 20s to early 50's (me). There was a good variety of experience...One shooter, has made training a big part of his life and you could tell when it came to various skills drills. Most of us were experiencing our first formal carbine training. A good chunk of us were either active duty military or some old exes like this old Coasty. My last formal training with the M-16/M4 platform was 32 or 33 years ago at the 1000 inch range in Wallingford CT. I was using a M-16 A1 which was way the heck to short for my 6'4" frame and long neck.

Equipment:
Rifles
3 M4 Platform carbines, at least one with a mid length gas system. My version of the M4 featured an A2 stock to suit my already noted no longer lanky 6'4" frame
1 AK 47 (WASR I think)
1 SCAR
and a variety of weapons used by Chris to demonstrate skills Including atleast one M4 and an AK.


Optics:
AK ran Iron sights
SCAR ran an ACOG for some but Irons for the bulk.
3 H1/T1 Aim Points (Chris ran one on his primary weapon)
1 M2 Comp


Slings
2 single point (SCAR and AK)
4 Two Point


Equipment/Ammo Problems
AN Ambi safety stopped progress for a few minutes while an allen wrench was located to snug up the ambis.
One minor ammo issue from an improperly sized reload (mine)
A couple of sets of not disengaging the safety on my part starting a failure drill.


Lessons Learned on my part:
I feel like I should have ridden the short bus instead of driving though.

You need a good foundation to make good hits

I need better shock absorbers for shooting on the move.

Remeber the safety you nertz.

When you drive the rifle 10 rounds in 5 seconds from low ready with good hits is really doable

When the rifle drives you 10 rounds in 10 seconds its hard to make good hits

My eyes are fifty-one years old...the front sight on a carbine is at an awkward distance for my single vision sunglasses

My instinct is to put the dot COM instead of thinking about sight offset and my hits showed it consistently low unless I really thunk on it.

Too much square range time...After a string of fire my immediate action is to safe the weapon before scanning for additional threats

I missed some good training opportunities in not shooting dry and reloading instead of topping off when a mag was low.

The key is to do the simple junk early not automatically assume that you are dry or jammed try the safety you nertz.

[Vinh]

Chris and I have crossed paths at many classes over the years and it's been cool to observe our development and progression over time. When I learned he was teaching VSM classes, I had to jump at the opportunity.

Topics covered included:
Equipment
Maintenance
Zero
Reloads
Malfunctions
Positional shooting
Turns
Multiple targets
Switching shoulders
Barricades
Shooting on the move

I shot a stock SCAR 16S without the muzzle brake. Started the day with an optic, but decided to just shoot irons as I hadn't done so in a while. No stoppages, and the gun has gone 3900 rounds without cleaning or lube. For gear, I simply added a mag pouch to my regular belt holding an AIWB P30.

I got to try out shooting on the move from my left side with irons, which I've neglected in the past, so definitely something I can improve. Also need to improve my reloads.

I love nice optics, but shooting irons was a good change of pace and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Will probably stick with it for a while.

I don't carry a rifle in real life, and with the emphasis on switching shoulders the past few years, I've stuck with the single point sling. I've finally grown tired of the disadvantages, so moving forward I'll probably switch to 2-point.

Overall, a good group of guys and a lot of fun made for a great weekend. Chris has a lot of potential as an instructor and I look forward to training with him again in the future.

[subzero]

Oh man, I missed another chance to shoot with the Vinhinator? Shiftwork SUCKS.

Glad to hear the class went well. I know Chris has been looking forward to doing this for a while. Hopefully we'll get much more VSM classes in the near future!

[NCPatrolAR]

Sounds like it was a good class and everyone enjoyed themselves

[UncivilEngineer]

Took this along with the handgun class the previous day. First real training besides basic quals and familiarization with the Navy.

Learned a lot about effectively utilizing a carbine, as well as gear to support it. This was a great opportunity to see what works and what doesn't.

I really recommend taking the pistol and the carbine class together, if possible. The fundamentals of shooting really don't change across platforms, and Chris was great both days. Plan on returning to both after some practice on my own.

[Semper Paratus]

Hey Chris....You had the camera. How about some photos???

[chris914]

Ask and you shall......

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