AAR: Justified Defensive Concepts Variable Power Optics 2

[Tannhauser]

What: Justified Defensive Concepts Variable Power Optics 2

When: June 29, 2024

Where: Echo Valley Training Center, High View WV

I attended the day Justified Defensive Concepts (JDC) class Variable Power Optics 2 (VPO2) held at the Echo Valley Training Center in High View, WV.

The course started with a thorough safety and medical briefing, followed by a brief period of instruction on the shot process. I attended the prerequisite for this class, Variable Power Optics 1 (VPO1) , back in May and this class covered the shot process in more detail. I think the level of instruction at the beginning was a good match to the audience, as the group attending this class were all well past the beginner stage, with several students being clearly very experienced.

Class size was 8 students with (by my count) 5 instructors. For me, the low ratio of students to instructors is a very positive aspect of every JDC course I have taken.

We verified zero by shooting paper at 100 yards prone. The Atlas Bipod I had purchased for this class after taking VPO1 (where I discovered shooting prone with a bipod is more accurate than without) worked great. My zero was spot on at 100 yards with the 75 gr Hornady BTHP load I was using. The class proceeded to shoot prone at 200, 300, 400, 500 and finally 600 yards. A variety of steel targets were employed, the most typical being a steel A-C Zone, followed by circular gongs of various sizes. I had never shot a rifle past 300 yards, much less an AR pattern rifle, and scoring hits at 600 yards on (I believe) an 18"gong was a huge confidence builder.

The rifle I brought to class as a primary was an 18" White Oak Armament SPR midlength rifle, with an Athlon Helios BTR 2-12 with mil/mil adjustment/reticle. Ammunition was 75 gr Hornady BTHP loaded by myself using TAC.

y rifle and ammunition performed without a hitch, but I had minor equipment issues with two items, and the instructor staff was quick to help me out. The first was my shooting mat - the one I brought was inexpensive, thin and frankly sucked. With the amount of prone shooting in the class, an instructor offered a padded mat of much higher quality, and it was significantly better. I'll be buying a higher quality shooting mat for future classes. I also left my house without a sling. I was loaned one off of an instructor's rifle. My equipment issues were minor, but some shooters had more significant issues with their hardware, but the staff was able to get everyone sorted out. One of the benefits of the instructor to student ratio is an instructor could work with a student one on one to resolve gear or technique issues while the remaining class moved forward with the material.

The second half of the class involved shooting from barricade positions, off of tripods and transitioning between targets at various ranges under time constraints. The less stable shooting positions combined with cognitive load made the process more difficult, but with good coaching I was able to make hits. I am dealing with a bad knee (will need a replacement in a few years), and I could not complete some of the drills. The instructors were more than willing to modify the drill process due to mobility constraints.

Final summary - this class was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. I wish I had regular, easy access to a range where I could shoot from field positions out past 100 yards. I now want to attend the JDC Precision Rifle courses at some point in the future.

[RegularGuyMatt]

Solid write up, really nice seeing you again.
Thanks for both coming out, and the excellent review.