AAR Defensive Kalashnikov
4/9/2022 Culpeper, VA
In the opinion of Barnabas Pike
Introduction
This After-Action Report [AAR] by and for folks looking to get some training for the AK-style carbine. Someone, say, who picked up their AK and the required minimum-level of 7.62x39 ammunition and wants to invest in themselves and learn how to operate it safely and efficiently. In addition, there were plenty of folks who just came out to brush up on their skills and have a great time.
The Defensive Kalashnikov course is an eight-hour course put on by the Green-Ops team in Culpeper, VA. With twenty students, our course’s instructor/student ratio was about 1:6. The Virginia Green-Ops Instructor cadre has a diversity of experience that they bring to the table [Military, Law Enforcement [LE], Contractors, competitive Grandmasters, etc.] and they clearly love what they do. Josh Shaw served as Lead Instructor with Fred, the “walking AK knowledge base”, Moore gave us a history of the rifle and its variants over the years and Coach Luke also served with Fred as assistant instructors. These guys are all approachable and great resources to glean more knowledge regarding your goals, equipment, etc. Pro tip: feel free to contact Green-Ops at info@green-ops.com before your class to address any course-related questions that you may have.
Equipment used:
My equipment choices are based on “trusted affordability,” preferably made by people, like me, who love this country and its freedoms. My shooting skills aren’t exactly top-of-the-line and, with a kid in school, neither is my budget.
- Rifle: Palmetto State Armory 16” barrel.
- Optic: I ran the iron sights but most folks used optics, mainly Red Dot Sights [RDS]. After the class, I installed a Sig Romeo5 RDS w 2MOA [a smaller dot for more accuracy at distance]. Other optics seen in class were Vortex Crossfires and better. Expect to pay $200 on up for these. Do yourself a favor and avoid the cheaper ones found on Amazon.
- Sling: arguably an essential piece of kit. I opted for the Magpul MS1 Two-Point Quick-Adjust Sling. Look for something as good or better.
- Mag pouches: here, I cheap-ed out and used some no-name product that had three pouches that worked well enough for the class. I connected them to my belt and carried them round my support-side hip.
- Belt: 1 ½” with steel core for added strength. Cheap-ass belts just won’t cut it. Expect to pay $50 or more for something decent.
- Ammo: 300 rounds of Tula brand steel-cased ammo on the paper targets and some Belom brass-cased rounds for their steel targets.
Again, Green-Ops can help you with your equipment selection process.
Course Content:
After sighting in our AKs at the 10 yd distance from the prone position [see note below about coming to class with your weapon being sighted in already], we worked on standard “ready up” drills. We then focused on proper stance and sight picture.
Bearing in mind that the AK is a completely different platform than the AR, the instructors then lead us thru how to efficiently reload and recharge our Kalashnikovs as well as clearing malfunctions [super easy].
We went thru movement drills and shooting the “Bill Drill” [six shots into the A-zone of a silhouette target] and the “El Prez” drill [two shots each in three targets, reload, and repeat].
Finally, they even took us thru supine [laying on your back] shooting as well as shooting from behind barricades.
My Experience:
This was my second course with Green Ops. The first one earlier this year was such a positive experience that I signed up for this one a month later. As a newer AK shooter, I benefitted from actually getting out there and putting myself and my carbine thru the paces. Having basic safe gun-handling skills, knowing how to bring your weapon on-line, how to handle reloads and malfunctions and the like are unspoken minimum expectations. I got to see which accessories worked with it and which ones were rubbish. Also saw how others had theirs’ dialed and what they recommended to get/avoid. The key here for newer shooters is to become more familiar with their firearms and to avoid learning hard lessons when they can least afford to, should it come to that. And the best way to do that is thru training.
One thing that COVID taught us is to do today that which can be done today. Whether it’s stocking up on life’s necessities or getting firearms training, procrastination is no longer an option.
Recommendations:
Come with an “empty-vessel” teachable mind-set, bring a notebook and take notes!, be sociable, encouraging and make friends and ask a lot of questions. Banish all negative self-talk and expect to be in the lowest 20% if you’re just starting out like me. As long as you are behaving safely and learning from your experiences, you are on the right path.Sight in your AK at either 25 or 50 yards before coming to class. This will save you time, ammo and embarrassment during class. Bring lots of hydration and ice, apply sunscreen early and often, bring a backup weapon, if you have one, and extra magazines and ammo. Don’t forget the instructions and adjustment tool for your RDS [as well as an extra battery for it] or for your iron sights.
So, look at Green-Ops training schedule, find the classes you need to take to fill in your gaps, put together the equipment required for the class and sign up today so that you can have the skills that you need when you need them.
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Originally Posted by Barnabas Pike
