AAR LMS Defense AK Clinic and AK Skill Builder

Training Training AAR's
1

AK Clinic, Henderson, Nevada 8 October 2011
LMS Defense recently conducted an AK Clinic in Henderson, Nevada on October 8, 2011. Eight students registered for the class and many had various training back grounds. Three had no previous training whatsoever.
Weather: Clear, slight breeze, temperature approximately 70 degrees with low humidity.
AK platforms included: Arsenal SGL-21 (7.62x39), Arsenal SLR-106FR .223, Molot Vepr-Kreb’s KTR (.223), Romanian WASR (7.62x39), Bulgarian Parts kit gun (5.45x39) assembled by Investment Grade Firearms, Bulgarian parts kit gun assembled by Piece of History Firearms.
Weapon Platform Observations: The Arsenal line of AK rifles offered the best performance and was the most visually pleasing and offered almost zero malfunctions. The Bulgarian parts kit gun from Investment Grade Firearms had a US Palm rail and an Aimpoint T1 installed. I am not sure if the rail installation impinged the bolt carrier piston but the final travel in chambering ammunition the bolt carrier and bolt would freeze and fully chamber, take the round out and the bolt would close all the way. The Romanian WASR rifles worked, not pretty, but they worked.
Magazines: magazines included after-market TAPCO and the balance was of Asian or Eastern European factory manufacture and none offered any issues or problems during the two training days.
Ammunition: Tula Ammo, Brown Bear, Wolf, Wolf WPA 7.62x39mm, and Soviet surplus 5.45x39mm. American Eagle Tactical .223. All of the ammunition offered no issues or problems. Note: the American Eagle Tactical really flashes!
Support Gear: US Palm Racks, US Palm Plate Carrier, Raven Concealment Belt Kydex magazine pouch, various unidentified offshore gear that was probably not meant to carry AK magazines of any type. The name brand, well known manufacturers support gear worked as designed. The other gear had severe limitations.
TD1: Training started at 0900hrs with a safety brief, explanation of the medical evacuation if needed, staging of evacuation vehicles. A brief explanation of the weapon system and its history was given. Right away we verified Zero at 14m as outlined in various manuals and I have found to be the best zero range for preliminary confirmation of zero. This took only about an hour with some minor adjustments. This had to be the shortest time I have spent confirming zero.
Basic explanation of the AK platform was explained. Methods to manipulate the safety mechanism were explained and demonstrated. Sights were explained and compared and contrasted to other weapon platforms, namely the AR. It was not a matter of what is better and what is worse, just the differences. Students then went to the shooting line and practiced what they were taught. All of them quickly understood the value of quality gloves in using AK’s.
Facing movements were explained and demonstrated. Students then practiced what they were taught and the instructor staff made subtle corrections when needed.
A short lunch break was taken and during this time, we demonstrated and went over various published materials that we like. Support gear that we used and support was shown so that the students could be exposed to support gear that is quality made and will support their needs.
After lunch, we went over what we have learned so far, and then went into positional shooting…namely standing, kneeling, prone positions. We went over these positions several iterations. Near to the end of the training day, we added shooting on the move. We ran these individually with each of the students and once they got the hang of it, we ran two at a time. Each of the students was very safe. Each student demonstrated they could do the task. Approximately 1600 we indexed for TD1.
AK Skill Builder 9 October 2011
TD2
LMS Defense recently conducted an AK Clinic in Henderson, Nevada on October 8, 2011. Eight students registered for the class and many had various training back grounds. Three had no previous training whatsoever.
Weather: Clear, slight breeze, temperature approximately 70 degrees with low humidity.
AK platforms included: Arsenal SGL-21 (7.62x39), Arsenal SLR-106FR .223, Molot Vepr-Kreb’s KTR (.223), Romanian WASR (7.62x39), Bulgarian Parts kit gun (5.45x39) assembled by Investment Grade Firearms, Bulgarian parts kit gun assembled by Piece of History Firearms.
Weapon Platform Observations: The Arsenal line of AK rifles offered the best performance and was the most visually pleasing and offered almost zero malfunctions. The Bulgarian parts kit gun from Investment Grade Firearms had a US Palm rail and an Aimpoint T1 installed. I am not sure if the rail installation impinged the bolt carrier piston but the final travel in chambering ammunition the bolt carrier and bolt would freeze and fully chamber, take the round out and the bolt would close all the way. The Romanian WASR rifles worked, not pretty, but they worked.
Magazines: magazines included after-market TAPCO and the balance was of Asian or Eastern European factory manufacture and none offered any issues or problems during the two training days.
Ammunition: Tula Ammo, Brown Bear, Wolf, Wolf WPA 7.62x39mm, and Soviet surplus 5.45x39mm. American Eagle Tactical .223. All of the ammunition offered no issues or problems. Note: the American Eagle Tactical really flashes!
Support Gear: US Palm Racks, US Palm Plate Carrier, Raven Concealment Belt Kydex magazine pouch, various unidentified offshore gear that was probably not meant to carry AK magazines of any type. The name brand, well known manufacturers support gear worked as designed. The other gear had severe limitations.

TD2: Training started at 0900hrs with a safety brief, explanation of the medical evacuation if needed, staging of evacuation vehicles. We started with a brief review of the skills covered in TD1. Students went to the firing line and demonstrated competency with all the skills they learned during TD1. A couple new positional shooting positions were covered, namely roll-over prone and SBU Prone. Students were expected to safely manipulate the safety and make their hits onto the steel target that was placed at a safe distance. Immediate feedback was instrumental at learning for the students.
Shooting on the move was covered again with the placement of cones that the students had to travel in a serpentine path and make hits on the steel. We moved as fast as we could with the students still making effective hits. This was covered until we felt that it was time we could cover the use of the barricades. We used the VTAC style of barricades and ran the students through many, many different scenarios. Later in the day, we numbered the various apertures and would call out the number and the student had to identify the number and the port and get one hit on the steel target.
Near the end of the day we did some timed events to see who the top shooter was and identify skill hierarchy of the class. Modest prizes were given to the top shooter as well as the bottom ones to motivate them to attend future classes. We indexed training operations about 1630 hrs.

2

Nice AAR. I’m hoping LMS is able to offer an AK class or clinic up here in western Washington at some point. There aren’t really any companies offering AK specific instruction in this area (AFAIK) and I really enjoyed the intermediate carbine clinic I did a few months back with Kevin Williams.

3

Nice Arsenal advertising.

4

I buy Arsenal rifles…

5

AK Clinic and Skill Builder
October 8-9, 2011
Henderson, NV

Instructors: Yancey Harrington, Colby Rupert
Range: Boulder City Rifle and Pistol Club, Bay 10
Rifles: Arsenal, VEPR, Bulgarian kit, WASR. Mix of red dot and open sights.
Calibers: 5.56x45, 7.62x39, 5.45x39.
First line/support gear: Mix of chest rigs, belt pouches.

Personal gear: Bulgarian AK74 demilled parts kit from unfired weapon and ORF receiver. MI/US Palm fore end, US Palm grip, Aimpoint H1. Magazines were a mix of Bulgarian and Polish black polymer with polymer followers. Springfield Mil-Spec 1911 with Surefire X200. DBT belt, with 3 Eagle FB 1911 pistol pouches, 2 Eagle M4 FB pouches (FB inserts removed), DBT CR123 pouch, admin pouch. Safariland 6004 with mid-length hanger, single leg strap. Eagle dump pouch. Hatch Operator gloves.

TD1

Students: 8 students, multi-level. 3 with no previous training experience.
Wx: 72, sunny, slight breeze over the berm.

We arrived at the civilian range at 0830. The facility itself was large and well organized. Bay 10 is a 100 yard range. There were 10 small sighting in targets on the 0 line. Orange-painted range markers at the 3m, 5m, 10m, 15m, 25m, and 50m. 14 yard marked zero line.

Admin and liability releases were handled first. Then there was an introduction and instructor bio session along with the safety brief. Safety covered Cooper’s 4 rules, along with a 5th LMS rule regarding dropped weapons. Colby did a detailed medical brief with location of the medkit, evac procedures, hospital, and primary and back up on-site medics. Weapons were to be grounded on the line, or cold, when in the rack.

The students then did a brief intro and brief training CV. There were 3 students with no training experience. The rest had some form of training, with 3 of them never having trained with the AK platform. In total, at least 6 of the 8 students had never formally trained with the AK.

Yancey then gave a detailed history of the AK47/AKM/AK74, including some insight into M. Kalashnikov’s design inspiration. He then went over the components and basic operation of the weapon.

At approximately 0940, we proceeded to the 14m line to zero our weapons. With the rear sight in the “infinity” position at the very rear, we fired 3 shots from the prone (POA center) on a sighting in target. Optics and front sights were adjusted for impact and another 3 shot group was fired to confirm POA/POI.

Once the weapons were sighted in, the rear sight was moved forward to the “1” or 100m position. With the AK, there is a 2.5” height over bore. We then swapped out targets to a male humanoid profile paper target with ghosted CNS and heart. Yancey and Colby processed through magazine placement in the pouch (bullets down, facing the rear, beer can hold, pinky indexed on the baseplate for consistency), the basics of the fighting stance, administrative loading (mag to mag), speed loading, selector manipulation (with the strong hand index or middle finger on the safety and thumb on the grip, or “Russian” style with strong hand supporting the mag and thumb on the safety) , manipulating the bolt (under or over the rifle with the support hand), sights, high ready, and low ready.

We did a series of firing strings at the 15m line to familiarize ourselves with the trigger, selector manipulation, charging the weapon, and magazine changes. We were encouraged to try different methods and to see what works best for us.

At approximately 1200 hrs, we broke for a 30 minute lunch, following which Yancey and Colby reviewed different manuals and publications on the AK system as well as various support gear available on the market. Yancey then demonstrated positional shooting (standing, kneeling, prone) and variations of each position.

We went back on the line and fired at the standing, kneeling, and prone. We then shot on the move, forward and backwards.

At approximately 1530, rifles were made safe. There was a debrief and class was concluded.

Observations:

  1. At the safety brief, it would be advisable to mention that at all times, every student in the class is an RSO and should call out any safety violations. In a multi-level class such as this one, this may be more important than at a class with experienced shooters. Regardless, it’s another level of safety in an inherently unsafe environment.
  2. One student with an H1 had a POI approximately 1.5” low, windage zero. After coming up 12 clicks, there was no noticeable change to the POI. Another 12 clicks was dialed in, with the same results. A total of 48 clicks were given, before another student dialed in approximately 60 additional clicks. The POI/POA was perfect. This was due to the ½” @ 100 yards vs. 14m zero.
  3. My Bulgarian kit gun did not go into battery on subsequent shots, due to an unknown reason. Fortunately, Yancey had an open sighted AK74S he generously loaned me.
  4. Throughout the day, Yancey and Colby reiterated that they are teaching A way to run the rifle, not THE way. It was up to us to decide what worked best. I appreciated this aspect. Instructors like to tell students to “bring an open mind”, which I agree with. Likewise, instructors need to have an open mind to different TTPs as they may apply to individual body mechanics, age, etc….
  5. On the shooting on the move (forward) evolution, we were advised to break the shot on the foot fall. I tried it, but found too much bounce, especially having not shot on the move for a while. I defaulted to my training and shot with one foot off the ground.
  6. On the shooting on the move (backward) evolution, we were advised to use a “skating” or “sweeping” motion where our foot would remain in contact with the ground and we would “ice skate” backwards. Rationale was in contacting material objects on the deck. Although this was new and interesting, I’m not convinced this is the most suitable technique and in my opinion, would be dependent on the AO. That being said, I’m not well versed in shooting on the move, have not taken a specific SOMC class and can not speak intelligently on this matter.
  7. The AK firing sequence is no different than an M4. You acquire an acceptable sight picture and press off the shot. As expected for running the weapon for the first time, what I struggled with is the selector manipulation and reload. A combination of a stiff selector lever and a weak communication finger precluded the use of the thumb/palm on the grip. Consequently, from the ready position, the selector was manipulated with the entire hand forward of the magazine, then as the weapon was brought into a firing position, the strong side hand would slide into the grip. There’s still a lot of practice to be had.
  8. Someone had commented that I did not reload the weapon in my workspace during one evolution. Subsequently, I made a conscious decision to tuck the stock under the right arm during the reload.
  9. As in the M4 platform, sweeping the charging handle should be done with the weapon’s ejection port canted down. I learned this while clearing the weapon and making it safe. It was canted to the left and with a less than firm sweep, the round fell back into the space between the dust cover and the bolt carrier and got stuck. The dust cover had to be removed and the round cleared.
  10. The metal AKS stock is not comfortable for sustained fire.
  11. A shorter “Warsaw” length stock worked well for me, since I normally shoot the M4 with the stock in the #1 position (ie. nose to charging handle).
  12. Shooting with stock open sights was a challenge. Having shot RDS exclusively on the M4, the foreign AK sight picture, and especially the front sight “wings”, prevented rapidly acquiring the proper sight picture.

TD2

Students: 9 students, multi-level. 3 with no previous training experience.
Wx: 74, sunny, slight breeze over the berm.

We arrived at the range at 0815. Admin sign in and liability releases for 2 new students were handled first. The 2 new students were introduced and Colby ran the safety and medical brief. Attention was made to safety violations on TD1.

In addition to a new female humanoid profile paper target with ghosted CNS and heart, there was a steel IPSC-type plate between the #5 and #6 target stands and 3 VTAC barricades at 25m. A clear line was made forward of the steel, and note was mode not to fire on the steel beyond that line. We began on the line with a review of TD1 and were introduced to variations of the prone position (roll over).

Instruction was given by Yancey and Colby on the proper use of the VTAC barricades and the integration of the different positions for each barricade position and side, including transition to weak sided shooting. We then individually processed through the barricades with close instruction, shooting on the steel.

We broke for a 30 minute lunch at approx. 1200 hrs. At that time, I had reassessed the bolt carrier impingement on the Bulgarian AK74. I removed the gas tube, re-attached it, lubed all metal to metal contact surfaces, paying special attention the bolt/bolt carrier and shot 3 full magazines into the backstop. On the first 2 rounds, the bolt would not go into full battery, as on TD1. Subsequently, the rifle performed flawlessly on the remaining rounds/magazines.

After lunch, we proceeded to shoot on the steel while moving along a pre-determined path and then moving to a called shape or number, painted on the ground, with a given number of shots. We then returned to the VTAC barricades and shot a timed evolution, processing through all three barricade sides, standing, kneeling, and prone, then through each aperture, manipulating the safety between each aperture, shooting weak sided, as necessary, and through all positions.

We also did a timed evolution, with the weapon at the low ready, full magazine, empty chamber and safety on. At the buzzer, we would have to take the safety off, engage the charging handle, chamber a round, acquire the target and press off the shot. We finished the day on the VTAC barricades. Each student shooting each barricade in succession with the RSO calling out numbered apertures.

TD2 was concluded at 1625 hrs. Certificates were handed out, and prizes were given for individual performance on the timed evolutions.

Observations:

  1. On the previous day during dinner, a casual comment was made to Yancey regarding safety violations (sweeps). During the safety brief, this was brought up. I appreciate the fact that this matter, however it was made, was taken seriously and not blown off.
  2. Instructors attitudes were a good balance of serious and light. Safety was obviously apparent during the live fire evolutions, with the new shooters well coached.
  3. A possible explanation for the malfunctioning Bulgarian parts kit AK74 would be the Envirotech finish, which is a resin black bonded finish. The coating may have been thick enough to prevented the bolt from going into battery. I will have to check with the manufacturer. There was no noticeable metal on metal impingement on the piston or gas tube.
  4. Again, a RDS is much faster than open sights.
  5. Stress evolutions are the best way to identify deficiencies in shooter performance. I really like this aspect of the class.
  6. A sling like the VTAC can be detrimental on the AK system. The long magazine can get hung up on the sling.

Total rounds expended for both TD1/TD2: 477

Conclusion: One of my favorite classes. Even for a multi-level class, the tempo, safety, and material were outstanding, with lots of takeaways. As in any good class, both instructor and student egos were kept in check and thus, learning was enabled. Yancey and Colby worked very well as a team to communicate, teach, and maintain range control. Outstanding experience.