This is posted with the express permission of Pat Rogers

EAG conducted a Carbine Operators Course at the Southern Exposure Training Center, Lakeland FL, 18-20Dec2015. This was our last class for 2015, and our 13th consecutive year at Southern Exposure.

This was, like most of our classes, OPEN Enrollment, and was populated by a group of very switched on shooters. Irv and Watfa are competent and generous hosts who have an unbelievable amount of experience in both taking and hosting classes.

WX:
  • T1 Heavy rain for about 5 minutes followed by a drizzle before class started and then overcast, 55-65

  • T2 Clear, 40-60

  • T3 Clear, 55-70


Guns and Gear:

On T2 a shooter had his gun lock up on the last shot of the day. The usual cause for this is either a popped primer or a broken bolt lug with the pieces entering into a place where they shouldn’t. He was able to separate the upper/ lower and with the gentle application of a hammer, knocked the BCG out the back of the upper. As suspected, it was a broken bolt lug. Actually, two lugs. This is not unusual, and depending on how harsh the firing schedule (and based on M4A1’s) can be from 7k-14k rds. Clearly there are many factors at play here. If the BCG meets the spec, the type of shooting done, how many rds etc. The issues here were that it broke at under two thousand rounds.

The bolt was from the Sharps Rifle Company, called the Relia-Bolt which was in a Sharps Rifle Company Balanced Bolt Carrier. They have apparently- according to their website as well as other sources- been having problems with the misnamed Relia- Bolt. I am not an engineer, so I can make no statements other than the fact that I won’t be buying any of them. Of course, neither can I see any reason to buy one.

KOAM had a Bar-Sto barrel in his G-Lock, and it flat refused to like Gold Dots. He also had some issues with an HK High Reliability magazine. Which wasn’t. Color me surprised…

Two shooters ran the Trijicon MRO red dot sight - the first ones we have seen at class. I’ve had the opportunity to see and shoot one of these, but this is the only time we have seen them in class, which is a better arena to observe performance Both shooters were more than satisfied. I’ll wait until we see enough rounds downrange with them in order to have a better idea as to their reliability.


Maybe 2/3 of my classes are repeat offenders, with a bunch having been to 10 or more classes. This is especially true at Southern Exposure. This class was exceptional as far as classes go, and to a certain extent exceptional even for Southern Exposure. Not one Moosecock was awarded. No That Guy. Not everyone shot as well as they could/ should have, but they all shot very well. No problems, no issues, no aggravation-just some very solid shooting.

Thanks to Donna who does the hard work while we have the fun. Thanks as well to John Mattera who did his usual superb job.
Thanks to Mike Fisher VP of Magtech ammunition who provided the class with his excellent ammunition. Mike was here with Wade Lynton of the Evans Group, and ensured that every student had another promo bag to take home. Both of these guys exemplify what this industry should be- people who make decisions based on their knowledge of the business, their ability to interact with the user community, and the fact that they are rock solid shooters, and understand what shooters want and need. BZ guys!

Many, many thanks to Irv and Watfa who continue to do a sterling job of hosting classes. They do it like no other! We will return in Dec 2016 for Class #14. Southern Exposure is another one of those almost magical places where great people come together to do great things, and some of them travelled pretty far to do it. Sue Young travelled from Anchorage AK for this 3 day class.

People find all kinds of excuses not to attend class, and the constant bleating of excuses is nauseating. Train or don’t train, it is your call. But please quit the whining. It is they.


EAG has been extremely fortunate in a great many ways.
One of those is that some very good companies support our students.
This support ensures that everyone leaves with something, and some leave with more than that.