shootist26
04-02-2012, 10:28 AM
Summary of Redback One 2-day Basic Carbine course held March 31-April 1 in Wallingford, CT.
This was my first class dedicated to the tactical use of the carbine. My previous experience has been an appleseed, the occasional 3-gun and IDPA style defensive multigun match, and general range time. I have been shooting the AR15 for a little over 1 year. Equipment used was an LMT 14.5" carbine with Battlecomp 1.5, AImpoint T1, Surefire G2 LED, and VCAS sling. Pistol was a Beretta 92FS. Mag pouches were kydex Ready-Tac. I ran two carbine mags and two pistol mags on my belt for the course. Most people had tactical vests. Two spare mags were enough for most drills, but I did run completely empty on one occasion and had to leave the line to pick up more mags.
I think we had around 15 shooters in the class. Most were civilian with a couple mil and LEO students. Skill level ran from very experienced to very new to the carbine. The usual mix of Aimpoints and EOtechs with some people running only irons. Lots of brakes and comps (including the dreaded Miculek brake) as this was CT.
TD1:
We were in the classroom from 8am to around 2pm or so. During the classroom session, Jason went through an indepth discussion on a variety of topics. First were the course and training objectives. We then dived into the four weapon safety principles and reasons that negligent discharges occur. This is not your usual NRA safety rules type stuff. Jason used relevant real world examples to illustrate the importance of his safety concepts. As the day progressed, we discussed technical info and data, maintenance/cleaning, and marksmanship fundamentals. I appreciated Jason explaining how specific fundamentals directly impacted relevant shooting skills (for example, how stance and grip affect recoil management). We then headed to the range to zero at 25m and 50m. Some people came with a solid zero, while others were shooting untested sights that were way off. I recommend that everybody who takes a carbine course to get a decent zero at a known distance range prior to coming to the class...it will save you a lot of time and effort. We finished off day one doing weapons presentations and shooting at targets from various ready positions, with Jason demonstrating the advantages and disadvantages of each one.
TD2:
Day 2 started immediately on the range. Before lunch, we worked on carbine to pistol transitions, malfunction drills, and cadence shooting. Jason incorporated fast paced dry manipulations work to build muscle memory and get our heart rate flowing. We ran some laps around the range and did some sprints and pushups as well to build the stress level before doing the dry manipulation drills. I felt Jason's methods for doing transitions and malfunctions were easy to understand and practical. Cadence shooting was done to work on recoil management and trigger control. After lunch, we worked on 90 and 180 degree turns, shooting on the move, and use of cover. The day concluded with a simple movement exercise that included multiple barriers. I thought Jason was excellent in explaining the advantages, disadvantages, and tradeoffs involved with all of these skills. Very enlightening stuff.
There is not too much more to say. Despite the range and time constraints, we covered a lot of material and learned a lot. I can't ask for more. I highly recommend taking this class, and can see myself taking more RB1 classes in the future. Thanks to Jason for coming up to the northeast to train despite the shit gun laws. Also, thanks to the volunteers who made this class run smoothly, especially Ben for letting me use PMAGs and letting me shoot his suppressed AR.
This was my first class dedicated to the tactical use of the carbine. My previous experience has been an appleseed, the occasional 3-gun and IDPA style defensive multigun match, and general range time. I have been shooting the AR15 for a little over 1 year. Equipment used was an LMT 14.5" carbine with Battlecomp 1.5, AImpoint T1, Surefire G2 LED, and VCAS sling. Pistol was a Beretta 92FS. Mag pouches were kydex Ready-Tac. I ran two carbine mags and two pistol mags on my belt for the course. Most people had tactical vests. Two spare mags were enough for most drills, but I did run completely empty on one occasion and had to leave the line to pick up more mags.
I think we had around 15 shooters in the class. Most were civilian with a couple mil and LEO students. Skill level ran from very experienced to very new to the carbine. The usual mix of Aimpoints and EOtechs with some people running only irons. Lots of brakes and comps (including the dreaded Miculek brake) as this was CT.
TD1:
We were in the classroom from 8am to around 2pm or so. During the classroom session, Jason went through an indepth discussion on a variety of topics. First were the course and training objectives. We then dived into the four weapon safety principles and reasons that negligent discharges occur. This is not your usual NRA safety rules type stuff. Jason used relevant real world examples to illustrate the importance of his safety concepts. As the day progressed, we discussed technical info and data, maintenance/cleaning, and marksmanship fundamentals. I appreciated Jason explaining how specific fundamentals directly impacted relevant shooting skills (for example, how stance and grip affect recoil management). We then headed to the range to zero at 25m and 50m. Some people came with a solid zero, while others were shooting untested sights that were way off. I recommend that everybody who takes a carbine course to get a decent zero at a known distance range prior to coming to the class...it will save you a lot of time and effort. We finished off day one doing weapons presentations and shooting at targets from various ready positions, with Jason demonstrating the advantages and disadvantages of each one.
TD2:
Day 2 started immediately on the range. Before lunch, we worked on carbine to pistol transitions, malfunction drills, and cadence shooting. Jason incorporated fast paced dry manipulations work to build muscle memory and get our heart rate flowing. We ran some laps around the range and did some sprints and pushups as well to build the stress level before doing the dry manipulation drills. I felt Jason's methods for doing transitions and malfunctions were easy to understand and practical. Cadence shooting was done to work on recoil management and trigger control. After lunch, we worked on 90 and 180 degree turns, shooting on the move, and use of cover. The day concluded with a simple movement exercise that included multiple barriers. I thought Jason was excellent in explaining the advantages, disadvantages, and tradeoffs involved with all of these skills. Very enlightening stuff.
There is not too much more to say. Despite the range and time constraints, we covered a lot of material and learned a lot. I can't ask for more. I highly recommend taking this class, and can see myself taking more RB1 classes in the future. Thanks to Jason for coming up to the northeast to train despite the shit gun laws. Also, thanks to the volunteers who made this class run smoothly, especially Ben for letting me use PMAGs and letting me shoot his suppressed AR.