Class Name / Date: Carbine 1 / Sunday, January 15th, 2012
Instructor: Frank Proctor, Way of the Gun
I heard about this class from a friend, who informed me that Frank Proctor is an active SF soldier and competitive shooter who instructs professionally when not deployed or otherwise tied up. Naturally, I jumped on the chance. The class was scheduled to start at 9:00am. I drove about an hour from my place and rolled up to the Heritage Rifle Club in Argo, Alabama at 8:45am. I had a case of ammo, my 11.5" SBR, and an open mind.
A few guys showed up and we all greeted each other and Frank, who was putting the finishing touches on the range set up - all steel silhouettes. Frank went over safety/muzzle awareness, basic operation, and parts of the AR15 variant rifle. As I sipped my coffee, Frank discussed operating systems, gear, magazines, aftermarket parts, optics, etc. This class was for 10yds-50yds work, so each of us had some type of red dot / holographic sight - ready to go (remember this is Carbine 1 - no sidearms). Eye/Ear pro check, then all of us made to the firing line empty and Frank talked about stance, grip, and shouldering the weapon properly for a good sight picture. He lectured in detail about the basics of the proficient active shooter’s stance - everything from head to toe to hands and why. He spoke on seeing fast vs shooting fast. About realizing when you miss and making up for it fast. He then discussed AR variant weapons malfunctions and reloading and gave some demonstrations appropriately. Then we stepped up to the line and did some drills on sight picture, reloading, and weapons manipulation.
Frank assessed our skill level, and decided to move forward. We reloaded our mags and moved on to moving and shooting as a group, engaging multiple targets, shooting on the whistle, reload/move/shoot drills - all the while Frank speaking on the point of the drill and demonstrating and giving tips to each individual on what to do to better perform the task at hand. More reloading and a quick snack and water and that was that for lunch break - straight back to shooting! We worked more on moving and shooting as a group, communication, muzzle awareness, and seeing fast - realizing mistakes and making up for them fast. The afternoon came on and we focused on shooting/moving drills against cones and a pro timer. I thought this was really great. It felt to stellar go through the whole progression from the ground up and finish at a more dynamic level. Pretty soon it was about 4:00pm, I had shot up 700+ rounds of XM193, and there were smiles all around. I realized that my support arm was feeling tired, but I didn’t care. I broke out my suppressed .45 for a little pistol fun, and then I picked up some brass, said my thanks and goodbyes, and headed for home.
In conclusion, I can say that Frank is the REAL DEAL and the class easily met and exceeded all of my expectations. Best I can tell, Frank was able to give me three things that I can’t get training on my own: Quality Instruction (via the professional expertise of a well-trained special forces soldier), Accountability, and Intensity.
The Instruction part was easy - this guy lives and breathes this stuff. He knows what a person needs to hear and what they need to learn. Accountability - Frank will tell you immediately if he sees something he does or doesn’t like. (I.E. - we were doing the shoot/reload/move drills and I made a crappy reload by stripping the empty mag out and then reaching for a new one. Frank grabbed my shoulder, leaned in, and reminded me to make sure and bring the new mag to the gun if the spent mag doesn’t drop free.) Intensity - You cannot get this kind of intensity by yourself at the range. Shooting against the whistle, timer, vocal queues, etc is very stimulating to your mind. If you screw up people are watching you until you get your stuff straight.
I look forward to taking more classes from Frank as soon as possible. He is very reasonably priced and easily found. Right now he is doing training in Alabama and Georgia. Just Google “Frank Proctor Way of the Gun” if you want to learn more about him or contact him. The guy is a class act. I will add a few pics tomorrow.
Good Shooting,
Bryant