AAR: Cumberland Tactics Indoor Tactics, Lakeland FL, 14-15SEP2019
Cumberland Tactics
Indoor Tactics
14-15 September 2019
Southern Exposure Training Center, Kathleen, Florida
Instructor: Randy Cain
Class Size: 8
Instructor to Student Ratio: 1:8
Ammunition Requirement: 500 rounds
Actual Rounds Fired: 547
Tuition: $450 (+ $30 in range fees)
Introduction & Training Background
This was my ninth Cumberland Tactics course. I’ve taken about a dozen classes since I started taking training seriously in 2012. Most of my firearms training has been under Randy’s tutelage (I’ve repeated his Handgun 1 and 2 several times, along with one carbine course). I’ve also taken TRICON Pistol 2, Pannone’s Covert Carry, Langdon’s Tactical Pistol Skills, and ShivWorks ECQC. Since 2011, my practice regimen has consisted of range trips two to three times each month and an average of 9,000 rounds fired annually. I work in security management and I ride a desk, so my reason for taking this class was purely to further my proficiency for self-defense, as I currently do not carry a gun on the job.
This class was made up entirely of average earth people: a welder, IT guy, engineer, florist, etc.
Location
The class was hosted at Southern Exposure, north of Lakeland. This is one of my favorite places to train, as it’s private and only open for training classes taught by vetted instructors. With a pair of 25-yard pistol bays, a 200+ yard rifle range, and a shoothouse, Southern is well-equipped to handle a variety of classes. Being the only group on the range is truly a treasure, as there are no distractions to worry about.
Gear
I shot from concealment for this course, which I prefer to do for pistol courses. I’ve carried IWB at the 3:30 for about nine years, and started the transition to AIWB in July 2019 with the purchase of a Phlster Floodlight, upgraded with Discreet Carry Concepts clips and a flat muzzle pad from V Development Group. These days I only carry a single spare magazine, which I ran in a JM Custom AIWB carrier. This holster and mag carrier combined with a Graith Specialist AI belt (and some weight loss) has me concealing a duty-size gun and weapon-mounted light with relative ease. I’m quite pleased with this setup, and I don’t think I’ll ever voluntarily return to behind-the-hip carry for concealment.
I shot my dedicated range beater VP9, which at the start of class had just over 18,000 rounds fired. She’s been upgraded with a Gray Guns Striker-Fired Action Package and grip work by the now-defunct Sweaty Muddy Bloody. In August 2019, I sent the slide off to Primary Machine for RMR milling and refinishing in black nitride, as well as installation of Dawson suppressor-height iron sights.
I’m relatively new to pistol-mounted optics. I briefly owned a milled G19 but sold it when I transitioned to HK in early 2016. Leading up to class, I was able to put around 1,600 rounds through the RMR’d VP9 over the course of five range trips, which was just enough to gain some basic proficiency with it. Still lots of work to be done to get up to speed, but I am loving the accuracy, target focus, and most of all the ability to more easily self-diagnose when I flub a trigger press. My RMR is an early 2013 model, and it worked flawlessly during the course, but started to experience some issues with randomly adjusting brightness levels in November 2019, so it’s currently back at Trijicon for warranty service.
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The VP9 was set up with a Streamlight TLR-1 HL. I go back and forth between Streamlight and SureFire. I like the higher output of the X300U, but also prefer the shorter length of the TLR1 when carried in the Floodlight. The profile of that holster is more comfortable for me when seated as compared to the X300U version of the Floodlight. I won’t get into a debate about whether a WML is necessary for the average citizen carrying concealed. All I will say on the topic is that I shoot far better with two hands on the gun than with one hand on the gun, so if there is no negative impact to concealment or comfort, I prefer having that capability over needing to use a handheld light.
Magazines were all OEM HK 15-rounders coated in NP3+ by Robar and upgraded with Wolff +10% springs. Ammunition was PMC Bronze 115gr. I did not experience any weapon-related issues during the course.
Apparel for the course was the same as my everyday attire—shorts and fishing shirts. PPE consisted of TCI DEHP muffs upgraded with NoiseFighters gel seals over EAR Inc. custom-molded plugs and Rudy Project Tralyx Slim glasses with ImpactX-2 photochromic lenses.
I didn’t have any significant gear-related issues.
Course Description
From the Cumberland Tactics website: “This is the class where you are taught to search or clear buildings, ‘slice the pie’ on corners, work through doors, negotiate confined spaces such as narrow hallways, stairs, closets, and more. The course is an in depth look at ‘tactical residential architecture’ and how you can utilize these principles to defend your own home.”
Course Summary
Rather than give an hour-by-hour breakdown, I’ll cover some of the notable takeaways from class. Many of these may seem like common sense, but I’m writing this as someone with no formal training on indoor tactics before this class.
Each day started with a warmup on the flat range. The focus on day one was to ensure we could shoot with an acceptable degree of accuracy. While the house is contained within a berm, the walls themselves are not ballistic, so it was preferable to keep one’s rounds inside the movable bullet traps to avoid damage to the house. Because most of the runs were done one-on-one with Randy, this would have left most of the class twiddling their thumbs waiting for their turn. Fortunately, Randy was able to get longtime student Steve Feltus to AI the class. Steve kept the flat range going while Randy was in the house, which allowed us time to tune up on the fundamentals in between runs. This was value-added, and something I hope continues in future classes. Steve kept things interesting with a variety of drills, some timed, on paper, steel, using barricades, etc.
By far the biggest lesson I learned is that I do not ever want to attempt to clear a structure by myself unless there is absolutely no other option. I live alone and I have a solid home defense plan, which means I am unlikely to have to move through my house during a home invasion scenario. That said, there are scenarios that might require me to move through a structure (like trying to get to safety during an active shooter event). Clearing an unknown layout is hard. My first run through the shoothouse was the first time I ever set foot in it, and by the end of what was maybe a 15-minute evolution, I was soaked in sweat, and not just because of the temperature.
Doors. Many lessons learned here. Don’t crowd the door if you don’t have to, and don’t stand in front of an open doorway. If there’s enough space, open the door and quickly back away to minimize your exposure, then start working the corner.
Movement. Use the step-and-slide method to feel out possible trip hazards. Don’t outrun your headlights. Movement should be deliberate and slow enough to allow you to see everything you need to see. Folks have a tendency to rush through the house the first time, which results in moving faster than you can mentally process.
Use what’s available. Reflective surfaces can be your friend, or your enemy. They may allow you to see into a room before exposing yourself to danger. They may also allow you to be seen.
Lighting. When standing in a well-lit room, it may be difficult or impossible to see into an adjacent dark room, whereas being in a dark room and looking into a well-lit room, you may have concealment while the bad guy is backlit by lights or windows. The shoothouse at Southern has several areas where there is plenty of natural light, but there are also some enclosed rooms with very poor lighting, so having a WML came in handy. The brighter the light, the better, especially when dealing with photonic barriers. I had one particularly difficult shot that was maybe 10 yards, but the target was in a dim room, with a very brightly lit room between me and the target. Using the WML, at that distance it didn’t punch through the natural light enough for me to positively identify the target as a threat—I had to get closer to be sure before taking the shot. Granted, this being a paper target, I assume it is more difficult to identify than a three-dimensional target probably would be. It would have been interesting to see the X300U side by side with the TLR-1 to determine whether the jump from 800 to 1,000lm would have made a perceptible difference. I’d also note that the lens of the TLR-1 may have been a little cloudy at that point from practice on the flat range (all my WMLs have Thyrm CLENS protectors on them, but I wasn’t swapping them out before each run through the house).
Intersections. L-shaped intersections are relatively simple, but T-shaped intersections are dangerous for a single man. Approaching a T, zigzagging allows you to see as much as you can around each corner before breaking the plane of the hallway. When you do break the plane, you’re pretty much flipping a coin and hoping for the best while looking one way and then quickly turning around to clear the other direction. Be cautious of flagging your position by leading around a corner with a gun fully extended and exposed long before your eyes can see around the corner. Not everything is an L or a T. At a certain point you must commit and go somewhere even if doing so exposed you to danger from another direction. I don’t want to give this one away, but suffice it to say one of the layouts in the house at Southern is impossible to do safely by yourself. Yet more reinforcement that solo-CQB is a terrible idea.
Clear everything. Charles Manson was found concealed in a cabinet under a bathroom sink. Closets, cabinets, attics, basements, under beds—there are a ton of hiding spots and they’re not all immediately obvious.
Don’t clear everything. Some things simply cannot be safely cleared by yourself. This one, you need to learn by taking the class.
Target identification. Not everyone you encounter needs to be shot. In a civilian context, the opposite is usually true. Without giving away specifics, each run through the house got progressively more difficult, both in terms of the layout and the targets. Fortunately, I didn’t shoot any definite no-shoot targets, though I did engage one target that was arguably not a threat based on how far away it was. Use verbal commands if you encounter something questionable.
Maintain your fundamentals. During the debriefs at the end of the first day, Randy identified that for most of the class, fundamentals went out the window once they stepped into the shoothouse. People were shooting faster than they could see, barely staying on paper, forgetting to top off, etc. For the most part, I managed to maintain my accuracy, though I did need some prompting to remember to tac-load (a training scar of almost always running to empty when I’m on the range). The more time spent on the square range, the better prepared you are for a 360° environment, keeping in mind that the square range is not the ultimate goal. The hundreds of hours of practice and thousands of rounds fired over the past decade allowed me to focus on the problems in front of me while the gunhandling and marksmanship programs ran pretty much subconsciously. Trying to clear a building while also having to consciously think through trigger manipulation and sight picture would be a nightmare, and I can understand why some of the students were overloaded by the situation and all but abandoned their fundamentals.
Everything is better with a partner. The final run on the second day was with a partner. Working in pairs adds some complexity in terms of safety, but pays off overall, because those spots where you can’t see in two directions at the same time are now much more manageable with a friend watching your back. Communication is huge—tell your partner when you see something he cannot. Make brief halts to formulate plans for going through doors. Who’s opening the door and who’s moving in first, and what direction is he going? Let your partner know when you need to fix a malfunction or tac load so he can provide cover. I was fortunate to be paired up with another long-time Cumberland student named Matt, and we quickly fell into a rhythm of using Randy’s red/green verbalization from previous handgun classes to communicate who is up and who is loading. Announce your engagements so your partner stops moving until you’ve finished shooting, especially in a confined area where the partner may walk in front of your muzzle if you plant and shoot while he is still moving.
There are many more minute details that I’m deliberately omitting. To paraphrase the late Pat Rogers, learning only occurs after repeated, demoralizing failure, and who am I to take away your chance to experience that firsthand? If you carry a gun, you will benefit from this class. This class will not make you in a CAG assaulter. What it will do is educate you enough to have a fighting chance if you’re forced into a situation where you have no choice but to move through a structure by yourself.
