RBid
11-27-2013, 12:55 AM
I wasn't sure exactly which sub-forum to post this under, but the purpose driven nature of the facilities seemed to lend Threat Dynamics to "Drills, Tests, and Practice". I'm putting this up for people located in the PNW, as well as anyone who travels to the area. If you come through, I suggest dropping in and checking the place out.
Overview:
Threat Dynamics has live fire, sim ranges, firearm rentals, firearm & accessory sales, and firearms training, all in one location. For the purpose of this write-up, I'll key in on 3 key facility components.
I. Live Fire Range
I'm only mentioning this part to acknowledge that they have live fire considerations. They've converted a shipping container into a 2 lane, 3-10 yard range. It's not awesome, but it's useful.
Sim Guns:
The sim guns at Threat Dynamics are Glock 17s converted to use pistons to cycle the slides, CO2 cartridges in the grip to approximate "mags" (they even reload the same), and lasers in the bore to mark hits. The slides reciprocate completely, and at full speed, though I perceive slightly less muzzle rise than you'd get with live fire.
II. "Flat" Sim Range
This area features a single, wall sized screen. The room has a lot of space for you to move around, so you can either plant and shoot, or go full spetsnaz and roll around the room.
Programs run in this area include some defensive scenarios, as well as a wide variety of courses of fire. You can do anything from normal 'square range' stuff to shooting at movers, while moving, or even do specific courses like shooting the new FBI qual course.
Key value points: Again... you can shoot at movers, while moving, and you can shoot as fast as you want, or as slow as you want. Want to run Bill Drills? You can do that. Want to work on shoot/no shoot? You can do that. Want to try backflip draw to headshot drills? You're a backflip away. This range lets you work on things that most shooters will never get to do.
You can even "put it all together", and run defensive scenarios from the ground up, working on everything from verbal deescalation to surprise gunfights. I'll explain a little more about how scenarios work in the 300 degree range section.
III. 300 degree range
This is the real juice.
http://threatdynamics.com/images/conveniencestore_scenario.jpg
http://img3.findthebest.com/sites/default/files/280/media/images/t2/Threat_Dynamics_1_325334.jpg
As you can see, this area surrounds you with 5 screens, and is open only at the back. Looking closely at the second pic, you'll note a computer screen low/left of the opening into the range. When you use this area of the facility, a staff member (all of whom are instructors, as well) will be at the computer. When you use verbal commands to deescalate or communicate, they can effect scenario progression accordingly. They can also screw with you by punching in sound effects or escalating scenarios, as needed. As with the flat range, you have a bit of room to move around, and scenarios obviously include human targets moving at human speed, at a variety of distances. This can be very eye opening, and does a great job of demonstrating how much distance and dynamic targets increase the difficulty of getting quality hits.
You can do nearly anything on this range, from the already mentioned scenarios, to Hogan's Alley stuff, to speed challenges.
IV. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
- the resolution and proportion of images on the screens can really impact information gathering processes. I've run the scenario depicted in the top pic, and depth perception on the left/rear screen (looking toward the back of the mini market in the scenario) was distorted. On occasion, you will find yourself wondering what you're looking at. This doesn't reduce the overall value much, if at all, but it can influence the outcome of some scenarios.
- The 300 degree range is awesome in that it really hammers home the value of scanning, assessing, and reading what is happening in front of you to help indicate what is going on behind you. For example, there is a scenario in which guys in front of you start to run for cover when a guy emerges behind you with a gun.
- They can replay scenarios after you go through them, showing you where every round fired went. There is a lot of discussion about being responsible for every round fired. This throws that right in your face. My lady sent an errant round right through the front door of the mini market, and the guy running the scenario pointed out that she could have killed an innocent beyond the door.
- It is common for people to forget to use their sights under stress, right? This was very helpful for correcting that tendency. I missed my sights in one scenario, and I was on them reflexively and consistently very shortly after.
- Speaking of stress, this can certainly provide performance stress for many users. You WILL get immersed, and find yourself yelling at the people in scenarios, moving around, and having physiological stress reaction (tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, etc). You'll decompress between scenarios, and go into them mostly relaxed, then wind up again in scenarios that escalate. The staff does a good job of manipulating this by talking to you between runs and recapping scenarios you just completed.
Overview:
Threat Dynamics has live fire, sim ranges, firearm rentals, firearm & accessory sales, and firearms training, all in one location. For the purpose of this write-up, I'll key in on 3 key facility components.
I. Live Fire Range
I'm only mentioning this part to acknowledge that they have live fire considerations. They've converted a shipping container into a 2 lane, 3-10 yard range. It's not awesome, but it's useful.
Sim Guns:
The sim guns at Threat Dynamics are Glock 17s converted to use pistons to cycle the slides, CO2 cartridges in the grip to approximate "mags" (they even reload the same), and lasers in the bore to mark hits. The slides reciprocate completely, and at full speed, though I perceive slightly less muzzle rise than you'd get with live fire.
II. "Flat" Sim Range
This area features a single, wall sized screen. The room has a lot of space for you to move around, so you can either plant and shoot, or go full spetsnaz and roll around the room.
Programs run in this area include some defensive scenarios, as well as a wide variety of courses of fire. You can do anything from normal 'square range' stuff to shooting at movers, while moving, or even do specific courses like shooting the new FBI qual course.
Key value points: Again... you can shoot at movers, while moving, and you can shoot as fast as you want, or as slow as you want. Want to run Bill Drills? You can do that. Want to work on shoot/no shoot? You can do that. Want to try backflip draw to headshot drills? You're a backflip away. This range lets you work on things that most shooters will never get to do.
You can even "put it all together", and run defensive scenarios from the ground up, working on everything from verbal deescalation to surprise gunfights. I'll explain a little more about how scenarios work in the 300 degree range section.
III. 300 degree range
This is the real juice.
http://threatdynamics.com/images/conveniencestore_scenario.jpg
http://img3.findthebest.com/sites/default/files/280/media/images/t2/Threat_Dynamics_1_325334.jpg
As you can see, this area surrounds you with 5 screens, and is open only at the back. Looking closely at the second pic, you'll note a computer screen low/left of the opening into the range. When you use this area of the facility, a staff member (all of whom are instructors, as well) will be at the computer. When you use verbal commands to deescalate or communicate, they can effect scenario progression accordingly. They can also screw with you by punching in sound effects or escalating scenarios, as needed. As with the flat range, you have a bit of room to move around, and scenarios obviously include human targets moving at human speed, at a variety of distances. This can be very eye opening, and does a great job of demonstrating how much distance and dynamic targets increase the difficulty of getting quality hits.
You can do nearly anything on this range, from the already mentioned scenarios, to Hogan's Alley stuff, to speed challenges.
IV. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
- the resolution and proportion of images on the screens can really impact information gathering processes. I've run the scenario depicted in the top pic, and depth perception on the left/rear screen (looking toward the back of the mini market in the scenario) was distorted. On occasion, you will find yourself wondering what you're looking at. This doesn't reduce the overall value much, if at all, but it can influence the outcome of some scenarios.
- The 300 degree range is awesome in that it really hammers home the value of scanning, assessing, and reading what is happening in front of you to help indicate what is going on behind you. For example, there is a scenario in which guys in front of you start to run for cover when a guy emerges behind you with a gun.
- They can replay scenarios after you go through them, showing you where every round fired went. There is a lot of discussion about being responsible for every round fired. This throws that right in your face. My lady sent an errant round right through the front door of the mini market, and the guy running the scenario pointed out that she could have killed an innocent beyond the door.
- It is common for people to forget to use their sights under stress, right? This was very helpful for correcting that tendency. I missed my sights in one scenario, and I was on them reflexively and consistently very shortly after.
- Speaking of stress, this can certainly provide performance stress for many users. You WILL get immersed, and find yourself yelling at the people in scenarios, moving around, and having physiological stress reaction (tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, etc). You'll decompress between scenarios, and go into them mostly relaxed, then wind up again in scenarios that escalate. The staff does a good job of manipulating this by talking to you between runs and recapping scenarios you just completed.