AAR: Origin Shooting at Echo Valley Training Center - High View, WV - July 22, 23

Origin Shooting LLC Pistol and Rifle After Action Report
July 22 and 23, 2017
Echo Valley Training Center
High View, West Virginia
Instructors Ken Bloxton and Jason Hobson


General Thoughts

This was my first time at this particular location and it was a very refreshing experience compared to all indoor and outdoor ranges I’ve been to in the past. An easy 1.5-2 hour drive from Northern Virginia, The Echo Valley Training Center has the ability to shoot at close and far distances within a near 180-degree downrange arc, along with forwards, backwards, and lateral movement. Multiple target transitions and shooting on the move are not allowed elsewhere, so this location is extremely valuable for training those skills.

Equipment for this class can be as basic as a belt, holster, and magazines in pockets, all the way to competition or tactical belt loadouts. With the experience of the instructors along with some of the students, equipment and firearms can be loaned to new students for the entirety of the class. Electronic hearing protection is a definite recommendation to hear instructions, but also because other areas of the range may be firing even if the class is not. Since the shooting bays are a combination of dirt, gravel, and spent casings, boots and pants are recommended as well. Pants are also recommended due to ticks in the grassy areas at the long distance shooting range.

Be sure to bring food for lunch, snacks, and drinks. There are bathrooms but no running water. As the location is isolated, you only have what you bring.

This course is heavily focused on shooting speed and accuracy. Time is measured throughout the course to see your performance and progression. A blend of both is needed to have the fastest time and good hits on target. The targets for the day were anywhere in the A-zone of cardboard targets, or anywhere on a steel target. The instructors taught students not to wait for a perfect shot in the middle of the target. Why wait for a perfect shot when you can get a “good enough” hit and be faster?

The pistol class included 6 students the rifle class had 10 students. Some attended both days, others attended only one day.

I won’t be going into an entire review of the two days, however I will give my thoughts on certain portions that I thought were beneficial and unique to the class.


Pistol Day - Saturday July 22, 2017

For the first part of the class we lined up at the 7 yard line. We slow fired a few 5 round groups at a standard USPSA cardboard target. The main goal was to focus on the front sight and our trigger control. After finding an accuracy baseline the class shifted to dry fire, something I haven’t experienced in a class setting before. The dry fire portion didn’t consist of any unheard of concepts, but the drill itself and later use of a timer are both difficult to replicate alone. The drills forced us to concentrate both on maintaining proper trigger control, along with focusing on our front sight and keeping the pistol steady. When we switched back to live-fire we used the shot timer to initiate our shots. After alternating between only focusing on the front sight then only on the trigger press, students’ groups noticeably improved with a preference to one or the other.

During the pistol course we also discussed and practiced “shot calling”. I don’t want to give away what I believe is the best way I’ve heard it explained, that’s for you to find out by going to the class. However if you want to get faster at multiple shots on a target and target transitions in competitions, this is vital information. The actual shooting portion of it was well worth the time and multiple walks downrange to check if your “shot call” was accurate. Having never actually specifically practiced “shot calling”, I was surprised both with how close and how far off I was in some of my predictions.

The malfunction drill we did in this class is also worth mentioning. I’ve done malfunction drills in the past that are pre-set by the shooter and cleared out to fire once. This practically defeats the purpose of even drilling malfunctions, since you already know what is wrong before you see it. The course had a better approach, that I can only describe as a “malfunction meltdown”. Without giving too much away, the malfunctions were randomly spread by a partner throughout 3 loaded magazines that you had to fire consecutively. This gave a more realistic duration of fire, as the gun would sometimes fire, malfunction, or be empty. During the drill there were flinches, unexpected slide locks, and at the end were tired hands.

A real benefit, as stated earlier, is the course’s ability to shoot steel anywhere within the bay. With multiple steel targets, the course offers a large number of drills to practice various skills that are difficult if not impossible to practice on your own. The importance of proper stance was quickly revisited here, since we are not just shooting in one direction. Without a good stance, some targets would be difficult to hit quickly. Multiple targets placed close to each other allowed us to focus on looking through the sights while transitioning. Further spread out targets required us to turn our heads to see a target across the bay before turning our gun and hips. Other targets at various ranges in a line made us focus more on our sight picture and cadence of fire. Firing at a line of 7 targets while moving laterally left and right was how we practiced the balance of our moving pace to our shooting pace. The “shot calling” technique taught earlier proved essential to be able to quickly transition to the next target.


Rifle Day - Sunday July 23, 2017

Until this class, I had never shot out past 100 yards with my rifle. The ranges in my area lack the ability to go further than this distance. My common practice days at the range were usually always within 50 yards focusing on free standing shots. I had a red dot optic at the class that I used at all distances from 10 to 400 yards.

Coming to the class I had a 50/200 yard zero, but I now have a 100 yard zero and a good understanding of why along with some range experience. The process to get everyone zeroed at 100 yards took up some time, but was important for the class as it put everyone on the same page. The benefits over other zeroing ranges were explained with a diagram that made it much easier to understand. Holdovers in unconventional positions were also addressed, which really drove home the point for why the instructors choose the 100 yards zero. Other new information to me was how to more accurately zero a red dot for precision and use the size of the reticles themselves as measuring tools. I will certainly be using this information the next time I go shooting. The only knock I’d say about this part of the class was I would have liked to see a chart for the actual holdovers at various distances. Although they’re easily obtainable on the internet, there was no cellular service at the range for me to look up a reference chart for my newly acquired zero.

Another benefit to this course was the ability to chronograph the ammo we brought. The real measured speed of the bullets out of our rifles can be used for ballistic data if we so choose.

During the course, we performed a small number of up-drills from the low ready, high port positions, and competition table pickup. I had never done a table pickup before, and the technique was certainly different than what I was used to. I like that they included it in the course, even though it is a chance that people might actually need to use it.

Malfunctions were also covered in the rifle course. There were a few more to cover than pistol that were demonstrated but we didn’t try to replicate individually. Although we had a partner setup our magazine just like in the pistol course, I was disappointed that there wasn’t a “malfunction meltdown” of 3 magazines in a row, as I thought it was an excellent drill.

An excellent part of the course was after we had completed the structured drills. We set up mini courses of fire in the bay with multiple targets. Each student went through the courses as if it were a competition. We had the ability to shoot on the move, transition between targets, and run to different shooting positions.

With the use of laser rangefinders and a spotting scope, target distances were known and even the furthest targets could be seen. There were more than a dozen targets spaced between 25 to 50 yards apart, and the majority of them were 6 inch poppers and 10 or 12 inch hanging plates. With a target rich range and only 5 students on the line firing from prone at a time, there was almost never confusion over who hit what target. This was my first time shooting past 100 yards, and using a red dot was surprisingly not as difficult as I had imagined to reach out to 300 yards. Past 300 yards, some of the targets were under tree cover making them more difficult to clear see without magnification. Multiple times while firing, I had an instructor approach me and ask me how I’m holding my dot over the target for various ranges. However, the close range poppers couldn’t be brushed off easily. Their small size required students to maintain proper fundamentals in order to hit them. A sloppy trigger pull or improper sight picture could still mean you’d miss at 50 yards.

Various positions through, under, and around barricades were explained and students were given plenty of time to try each out. When firing from a position with the rifle sideways, the 100 yard zero and the instructor’s explanation really came into effect. The difference between the first half of the rifle course and second half is the flexibility. There was no minimum or maximum round count, as it was up to the student when they wanted to try a different position and target distance. While not firing, you can be spotting and calling hits to those shooting. The class is laid out so during the first half you learn the basics and information to reach longer ranges. The second half is firing from different positions at long ranges to know what you can comfortably hit and where you need improvement.

The long range portion of the course was perhaps the best part of the course. It was also the most flexible part in terms of class structure, in a good way. Because each student had their own personal or loaner rifle, there were 10 different optics. This meant that some had magnification while others did not. Being able to get 10 students of various levels of experience with various optic choices shooting out to 400 yards is no easy task, but I think the instructors did an excellent job.


Final Thoughts

Ken and Jason both know the material and are able to convey it to students. A real strength of their course is that they have a structured class that builds on itself. From the start of the day to the end, each portion of live and dry fire had a specific purpose. By the end of both pistol and rifle, you needed to be proficient in all aspects covered in order to be successful.

This course absolutely took me out of my typical static range comfort zone. To become a better shooter, I need instructors that are able to show what areas I need to make improvements in, and this course has certainly done that. I now have quite a few changes to make and I look forward to coming back to their course for more practice.

Origin Shooting’s website and Facebook page would greatly benefit by having a schedule of training and practice days for the year or a few months in advance. After taking their class, or “Training Day”, I can now attend their “Practice Days”. The difference is formal class versus an open day to run drills and courses of fire as many times as you want. A planned out schedule would be appreciated as it would let myself and others know in advance what is coming up.

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Nice review.