AAR for NPE Counter Robbery Meadhall Range, OKC June 10-12, 2022
This is an AAR written by one of the students and I thought that there are most likely many people on the forum that don't look at Facebook so I am posting it here.
My AAR of the Counter Robbery in a Non Permissive Environment June 10-12, 2022 at Mead Hall Range McLoud, Oklahoma.
This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the NPE counter robbery class instructed by Darryl Bolke, Cecil Burch, and Legendary Law Man Chuck Haggard. It was held at the Mead Hall Range in McLoud Oklahoma.
First a little bit about the Range: Bill Armstrong has established an utterly incredible training mecca in the heart of Central Oklahoma. I’ve been able to train at a few places around the country but there is no privately owned range that I’ve seen that compares with Mead Hall in terms of ability to deliver training to small to medium sized groups of students (notice that I didn’t say “shooters”). Bill began working on the infrastructure at Mead Hall in late 2017 and the changes he has wrought there have been quite remarkable. There is a large and well thought out air-conditioned restroom building within just a few yards of the shooting range itself. It contains both men’s and women’s facilities. Bill also put a lot of thought into the classroom area. There is a nice projector set up and a couple of large dry erase boards in the classroom, as well as two large television sets slaved to the projector screen that allow students sitting towards the back of the classroom to easily see and hear what is on the screen. The classroom is designed with plenty of space for hands-on and combative classes, and it was well utilized over this particular weekend. The chairs that furnish the classroom are comfortable and well-padded for those times that instruction goes for a couple of hours between breaks, for as we know, the mind can only absorb what the butt can tolerate. The restrooms adjacent to the classroom are like the range restrooms in that they are spacious and nicely furnished with hand soap and lead decontamination soap, along with paper towels, as opposed to those blow drying things that tend to get water all over the floor and also manage to not dry your hands in the process.
I was able to talk Bill into allowing me to take a look at his Smokeless Range. This is a firearms training simulator that allows training both for fun and for tactical use. The variety of programs in the smokeless Range at Mead Hall is large, with seemingly something for every application. I spent just a few minutes trying it out, but I do intend to go back and spend a lot more time on it. For a new shooter the benefit of working with less recoil and noise, and immediate feedback should not be overlooked. For more experience Shooters the ability to have immediate feedback with precise scoring and no ammunition cost for all definitely factors to be considered.
So far I have discussed the classroom, the Smokeless Range, and all the restrooms (Restroom access when you are shooting is a thing. Sometimes it is cool to just go to the woods and pee for us of the male persuasion. Most of the time that is not so cool for ladies. At Mead Hall, EVERYBODY gets a climate controlled bathroom, on the range or in the classroom.) but the outdoor range is also extremely sophisticated. Bill has a bank of 10 turning targets with an app controlled moving target in the plane immediately behind the turners. Very well thought out and extremely usable. Bill’s target shed is the biggest I’ve ever seen, well organized, and is of course climate controlled as well. Bill understands how paper degrades in heat over time, and he also understands that sending someone into a hyper heated target shed on a hot Oklahoma day certainly has the potential for creating heat injury. The variety of targets both paper and steel in the shed is almost overwhelming, and Bill can tell you about intended and possible use for ALL OF THEM. Bill has provided shaded picnic table seating for I’m not sure how many people at 9 picnic tables in the area by the target shed, an ideal place for discussion or even lunch if the weather is not blazingly hot (like heat index of 108 degrees!). Another picnic table is at a designated safe area, currently unshaded, but which Bill intends to shade in the very near future.
All in all, an INCREDIBLE facility that I am so lucky to have right down the road!
Now, on to the training itself…
Class began at 6 PM on Friday evening. We started promptly and got right into an overview of what our instructors would be presenting over the next 2 1/2 days. The instructors were concise in their descriptions but gave enough detail for participants to know that the instructors were flexible in meeting students where they were. The coursework was described to us as an introduction to how we as armed citizens function in a non-permissive environment and the whys, wherefores, good ideas and really bad ideas regarding that of which we should be aware.
After the overview we moved into managing unknown contacts (MUC) with Cecil. This is coursework that I was somewhat familiar with, having been through ECQC in 2014 and repeating the MUC basics several times since with different instructors. Cecil started with a very basic introduction to MUC but explained that as we change repetitions (reps) of those basic concepts we would be building onto those. We built those reps for the rest of our class time this first evening, then broke in time for all to get to their homes or hotel rooms and get some rest for the next 2 days of training.
Training day 2 began with the safety briefing during which Darryl emphasized the concept of a “responsibility lifestyle.” Darryl was very clear that, “Every time you touch a firearm you are making a life, death, and financial decision.” All participants were helped to understand clearly that they were responsible for following all four of the firearm safety rules at all times during the rest of our training weekend. We also covered in interesting permutation of muzzle safety regarding moving with a firearm, as well as discussing the concept of “no shoot” versus “no cover” targets. Darryl then discussed Colonel Cooper’s combat triad and his particular take on it, which I found to be well thought out.
After the safety briefing the class was split into the first shooting relay and the first continued MUC relay. I was in the first continued MUC relay so my perspective through this AAR will reflect that. Cecil revisited the basics of MUC with a relay then gave us a quick lesson on balance and we discussed the concept of MUC really being boundary enforcement, designed to provide practitioners with physical distance, which equates reaction time, as well as in some cases helping to “reset” a violent criminal actor’s (VCA) OODA loop. We continued to practice our MUC with additional steps added in, not only to the MUC practitioner side but also to the encroaching partners role. We built reps with this added complexity, knowing that in the real world, things are not always simple and clear cut when approached by unknown persons.
The first relay of shooters returned to the classroom building and our relay headed to the range. After some discussion of multitasking versus task stacking we began our first firearms component of the day with simple marksmanship drills, increasing distance after each 5 or 6 shot group (5 shots for those using 5 shot revolvers, 6 shots for everyone else). I am not really a revolver shooter but was hoping to run a Ruger LCR .327 throughout the course as I am hoping to make that my NPE firearm. I had previously only fired around 100 rounds through this revolver due to some time and ammunition constraints. I discovered quickly as we moved back from the targets that my trigger manipulation was not at all sufficient in quality to make the hits that I needed to make. I switched over later in the day to a Boresight Solutions Glock 48 that i have more time in on and my accuracy was much better. I’ll be spending a LOT of dry fire time on the Ruger and my S&W 442 in the coming months to get my trigger manipulation where it needs to be to make fast(er) hits at 7 and 10 yards.
After our morning range session we returned to the classroom for a working lunch with discussions of OC spray use and issues pertaining to that topic. We then split again into our former groups. My relay stayed in the classroom for OC training with inert units by Legendary Lawman Chuck Haggard. This was my first formal instruction in OC use and I found it extremely valuable. If you carry OC spray in any form (and I believe that if you are concerned in any way with personal safety, that you should consider doing that), then I believe that you will find formal training in it’s use very helpful. Chuck Haggard is the noted authority on OC use and should be your go to person for that training. I am hoping to find an OC spray instructor training with him somewhere nearby in the next year or so, he is just that good.
Once again the first relay returned from the range and our relay marched down in the very comfortable Oklahoma warmth to take our spot. Darryl briefed us on the course of fire for a heavily modified El Presidente drill. I will not divulge the modifications, but a level of cognition was required to complete the drills successfully that I have not ordinarily seen in shooting classes. The modifications to classic drills as well as completely new contextual shooting/not shooting work were what made the shooting portion of this class so valuable in my opinion. All of this is proprietary to Darryl Bolke and so of course I can’t discuss it in detail but suffice it to say that it is a big part of what makes this class worth the investment. More about that later.
We wrapped up training day two after this shooting portion and all headed home to hydrate and rest up for training day three. Some fortunate class participants went to dinner with instructors, all were invited. I was unable to attend due to a previous commitment.
Training day three began with a quick review and an opportunity to ask questions of all three instructors before we again broke into to relays. My relay continued with MUC, adding even more context, complexity, and use of some defensive tools, including using OC spray. We again built reps with these added components, which is such an important part of gaining competence with any learning.
The first relay returned from the range and my relay headed down. Darryl had informed us the evening before that we would be shooting a drill with a delightful label. I’m not going to share the name of the drill here, not because it is proprietary to Darryl (even though it is), but rather because it is kind of funny and I want to save the laughs for you for when you take the class. Again, context ruled the day, there were numerous failures to complete the drill correctly, but this is exactly what this class is about. Providing learning opportunities and ability to see what you need to work on. In fact, I do not remember whether I successfully completed all three iterations of this drill. I do remember that it reminded me that assessment is a very important, if not the most important, part of a shooting decision. We wrapped up this portion of the day with some discussion about, again, context, under the very welcome shade at Mead Hall range.
Back to the classroom for a working lunch and a comprehensive discussion of gear choices. Gear is not the most important part of winning a violent encounter, but it is a part nonetheless, and gear optimization is a real thing for many of us. Our three chief instructors have a lot of years of experience in both competition and on the street, and so as one of them mentioned, “If all three of us show up to class using a piece of gear, that might be considered a clue.” There were plenty of opportunities for students to ask questions related to their own gear choices (in fact that was true all weekend and I personally took advantage of that several times).
After lunch the first relay was off to the culmination of the shooting exercises. My relay was in painful suspense - we knew that this final exercise was going to be special. The suspense dissipated rapidly as we moved into the last of our MUC development, adding in both proactive and reactive measures on top of what was already a pretty complex MUC system. Again we got as many repetitions in as possible in the time allotted to us, supplemented as always by Cecil stopping the group to answer questions or to add in fine points. The other piece that we received, which for me was very helpful was Cecil’s “How Not To Lose” talk (I think of this as How Not To Get Jacked Up). I made sure to write down the 4 points that he gave us as I think they will be helpful not only in the practice of MUC, but in my beginning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu journey as well.
The first relay returned from the range somewhat sweaty and my group headed down to our doom. OK maybe it really wasn’t our doom, but we knew something was coming. In fact what was coming was some pretty big learning. Darryl had designed a final exercise for the class that involved a transitional area encounter with some bad guys. Not surprisingly there was important assessments and decisions to be made regarding how to and whether or not to deploy deadly force.
I straight up murdered a couple of people.
OK, let me rephrase that. I wounded a no shoot target that was placed in close proximity and slightly behind one of my shoot targets. I failed to correctly assess one of the bad guy targets and shot it even though there was not a reason for lethal force present. Like I said, big learning.
There were lots of failures on this exercise in my group. I haven’t mentioned this before in this little narrative but one of the outstanding qualities that Darryl Bolke possesses is the ability to process failures in these drills with his students. He was careful to caution us regarding allowing these failures to bruise our egos too much. He processed both individually with us as he saw the need and collectively with the relay each time we shot. It is clear that Darryl understands the principles of adult education and how to work with adult students. In my case, we had a conversation about what he saw as I was shooting the drill. I knew where my mistakes were before the conversation but he was able to put some finer points on it for me. I left that drill with some concrete short term and long term goals for contextual shooting. As I am not a competition shooter (I do occasionally shoot every day carry competitions but more as an audit than as a competition), the contextual aspect of this class was of immense importance to me.
After processing the final exercise the first relay joined us on the range for an opportunity to try out different firearms that we had seen over the weekend. Instructors put firearms on the table and some students shared firearms as well. I had an opportunity to share my Ruger LCR.327 with some of my classmates which was a lot of fun for me and hopefully them. There’s been a lot on Facebook and the ‘grams over the last few weeks about this little revolver so I won’t belabor that here. I think everyone enjoyed the opportunity to shoot something different and determine if it might be a fit for them, without having to rent a beat up gun range firearm.
My overall impression of this class is way more than favorable. I don’t believe that it is a class that is suitable for a beginning shooter but I think folks who are comfortable drawing from the holster and who have a Journeyman’s grasp of marksmanship would be well advised to take this class if they are truly interested in not only surviving but winning a violent encounter.
Now my disclaimer - I am not nor have I ever been a law enforcement officer or served in the military. I am just a regular 63 year old retired dude who has been in some violent situations and is very interested in surviving all future violent situations in which i might find myself
Further caveats. It is possible that I may have gotten a couple of these descriptions incorrect in so far as the order of them. I accidentally left my notebook on the range Saturday morning and didn’t recover it until later in the day so my notes are not entirely complete. Also, I’m not a particularly great note taker so while I drew much of this from my notes some of it is also just from my memory and that is certainly subject to my own forgetfulness.
Thank you for reading and I look forward to perusing any comments.
