Questions like “Is this a Threat?” and “where do the rounds need to go?” are the only questions you should be asking yourself in the real world. How those rounds are going to get there should be subconscious. – Jason Falla
Redback One 2-Day Advanced Tactical Carbine
Jason Falla
August 13th and 14th, 2011
Highview, WV
I was fortunate that all the tumblers fell into place, albeit a bit late, and I was able to attend my first class with Redback One and Jason Falla. This class was billed as an advanced tactical carbine class expected to reach higher levels than a standard marksmanship course, and as expected, it lived up to its description. The quote above, paraphrased a bit from the exact words spoken by Jason on training day one, captures the gist of this block of instruction. A brief review of the fundamentals of marksmanship, and “we’re away” as Jason would say.
Training day one started with approximately an hour’s worth of classroom lecture on the course as a whole, and the details there within. Jason’s safety brief at the beginning of the lecture was a bit different from what many who attend organized training are probably accustomed to. Of course, the four golden rules we all have memorized were part of the puzzle, but the broader picture weapons safety, both on a square range and a three dimensional real world battlefield, was the true focus of Redback One’s safety brief. Specifically, Jason did an excellent job of explaining what skills, attitude, and knowledge are required to eliminate unauthorized discharges of our weapons and avoid punching a hole in something or someone that doesn’t deserve it.
Next, Jason introduced the objectives of the course - what we were going to learn and practice and why over the next two days. Many are familiar with the axiom that there is no such thing as advanced marksmanship, on the fundamentals applied at an advanced level. Though Jason did not parrot these exact words, they were none the less the heart of this class. After a brief refresher on the fundamentals of shooting, Jason stressed the importance of practice to the point of these fundamentals occurring in the subconscious so that our stream of conscious thought can turn to completing the task at hand. This course provided a safe environment in which the fundamentals can be mated with the thinking side of shooting to accomplish a task.
Like all carbine classes, we confirmed zero on our weapons. We started at the 25 yard line, and then retreated to the 50 and finally the 100 to confirm. As always, this took just a bit longer than is anticipated. However, having a proper zero and understanding its importance on marksmanship at varying distances is crucial. No matter how many times you’ve been there, done that, it is still good material to cover. Next, we moved closer in to assess and fine tune the fundamentals of stance, grip, trigger control, sight picture, and recoil management. Jason also covered various ready positions, their strengths and drawbacks, and when and how each can or should be employed.
The pace increased significantly towards the end of the first day, and Jason incorporated drills that had us moving the gun a bit, and discriminated between high and low percentage shots that forced us to speed up or slow down to meet time and/or accuracy standards. We ran a bit of a scrambler or meltdown drill that involved less than full magazines, transitions to pistol, and high and low percentage shots. Day one was completed with a series of Redback One standards that were challenging, yet attainable that included both time and accuracy standards from varying distances. Then it was back the hotel for a quick bite, some maintenance on one of my rifles, and a recharge of the batteries for a more challenging day two.
Weather forecasters called for torrential rains on Sunday, with a high temperature in the upper 70’s. Sunday was one of the many times the experts were dead wrong, but for the better. Sunny, humid, and a little on the warm side was the reality, but at least it wasn’t raining. I need to find a job in which I can be right about half the time and still get paid.
Day two began with more classroom instruction, this time on the function of the carbine, and how and why malfunctions typically occur. Jason made a very valid point – we don’t need to run “torture tests” on our guns by putting 100k rounds through them without cleaned them or without using lube, etc. The manufacturers and most likely the US Government have already done that. Clean and lube the damn things, and do a little preventative maintenance by replacing parts known to wear at regular intervals, and we’ll all be happier and less frustrated at the end of the day. We stepped back out on the line for some live fire exercises practicing the appropriate techniques for clearing common malfunctions quickly and efficiently. One of our fellow classmates running Wolf ammo through his Bushmaster had already spent a great deal of his time beating the shit out of the earth with the butt of his rifle trying to clear multiple failure to extracts, so this lesson was particularly pertinent to him. Unfortunately, his troubles did not end until he cleared his weapon after the final drill.
The balance of day two went by in a blur. We rehearsed switching shoulders and shooting from the support side, engaging targets at oblique angles, and moving and communicating while shooting with others. The day culminated with a stress exercise that was physically and mentally demanding. If shooters were expending their energy and focus on marksmanship fundamentals, they were committing errors that on a two way range, would have most likely been met with unpleasant results. After completing this exercise, one could plainly see how months could be spent training in those specifics outside of marksmanship to become truly proficient and increase survivability when the bad guys are moving and shooting back and chaos is introduced.
Conclusions
I’ve had the good fortune to train with several of the top instructors, and without a doubt, Jason Falla and Redback One are firmly among the very best. Jason’s knowledge of and passion for what he teaches is quite evident and resonates with each evolution. Often, once a shooter attends a certain amount of training, he or she may come to feel they reach a point of diminishing returns and further classes become a simple rehash of the same old drills and TTP’s. I can honestly say this course did not fit that portrayal for me. Though we covered many topics I have been exposed to time and time again, I was still able to garner new knowledge and skill from Jason that ultimately will lead to an increase in my shooting ability. Tools in the toolbox, arrows in the quiver, alternate ways to skin a cat, pick your cliché. Some of the concepts or skill sets Jason teaches vary greatly from other top level instructors, and some are simple small nuances that make a difference in speed, accuracy or some other aspect that improves performance and ultimately may lead to an increased chance of survival should, God forbid, they day ever come that you are forced to employ these skills.
A word on gear and malfunctions (because the question always comes up). I experienced my first ever malfunction in a training class. Early on in day one, I had a dead trigger while shooting one of the drills. It went away for a couple of strings, and then came back with a vengeance and the gun locked up completely. I switched to my other rifle and finished out the day. During one of the breaks in the action, I broke the gun open and found a primer rattling around the trigger mechanism. I was shooting Federal XM193 through a BCM rifle with a standard milspec trigger. That night and the hotel, I pulled the trigger assembly, removed the primer, cleaned the inside of the lower receiver, reassembled it and did not have any further problems for the remainder of the class.
We had various broken small parts. I know one shooter had the buffer retaining pin break in his lower. I believe he was shooting a short barreled LWRC upper on a Rock River lower. Our Wolf Ammo shooters seemed to be plagued with multiple problems. At times, it looked as though people were digging fox holes with trenching shovels.
Total round count for the class was close to the course description – nearly 1,000 rifle, and about 300 pistol.
My thanks to Paul and Grey Group for organizing the class, and to CR and Echo Valley Training Facility for hosting it. CR has put together a top notch training facility, and I hope to return again sometime soon. Shivan, it was a pleasure meeting you. Always nice to put a name face to a name on the board.
Thanks for reading. Safe shooting,
JF
