AAR: 3-Day Reactive Steel (Rogers Range) - Dodd & Assoc - Chattanooga, TN - July 2021
Been 10 years since I shot at a Rogers Range. Jumped on a slot at Dodd and Associates late July 2021 while I was on vacation.
Ronnie has a 2 Rogers lanes setup on his property, just north of Chattanooga, TN. He's going to be adding a 3rd lane.
His head instructor, David Smith, is a solid shooter and one of few people to clean a 125/125 on "The Test" - using a Beretta!
He runs his classes like they do at Roger in Ellijay: 3 people per lane. Someone shooting, someone coaching/counting, and someone stuffing magazines... :D
There is a lot of time dedicated to developing the draw, low ready and ability to scan for targets/drive the gun.
Oh yeah, and strong-hand and weak-hand shooting... You get to do A LOT of strong hand and weak hand... :o
http://instagram.com/p/CRtsFF-jzTY/
There were 5 of us in the class - a nice husband and wife couple from VA, a Judge from GA, a gentleman from CA, and a pizza from FL.
Apparently, there was an additional person that never showed.
The skill level varied greatly.
We had the couple using RDO M&P's with Swamp Fox optics, the judge using a Glock or a Sig 320 with RDO (Trijicon), California using a stock G17.
I shot the class using my LTT RDO Beretta 92 with an SRO. I shot AIWB with a Tier 1 Concealment Axis(?) (I can never remember which one I have...)
I used some "cheater" extendo MecGar mags with Grams followers (23+1) and some beat up MecGars that had been resprung (17+1).
http://instagram.com/p/CRxCjmgDTo6/
I knew what to expect, for the most part. I mean, I didn't go in having dry-fired "The Test" and memorizing the sequences - I just wanted to burn rounds with a red dot and enjoy some vacation time.
When I go back again, I'll be sure to game the shit out of it and earn a 125... :p
There's been a debate about just what exactly the Rogers class is trying to do... For some, it's just playing the game and getting the score. For others, it is developing consistency and getting solid practice.
I remember my first time at Rogers and really letting that vision-driving experience sink in. It was good medicine at the time. I wanted this experience to be pretty much the same, except with the RDO.
I think the system helps develop accountability and reflexive shooting ability for most folks that need to get a high level of training (e.g. non-gamers and pistol aficionados). For the people that struggle, I think it shows them just what/where they're inconsistent and need the work; I noticed that people fail in predictable ways: people get behind and then lose mental ability, people fail in the basic mechanics or sighting and trigger press, or people fail in the non-shooting manipulations.
I'll be back... It was fun, I learned a ton about the dot.
