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Day One (AR1)
The class started out with a sit-down discussion of basic safety rules. Because of his background, Tommy teaches the Marine Corps version of firearms safety; Treat Never Keep Keep
Treat every weapon as if it were loaded.
Never point your weapon at anything you don’t intend to shoot.
Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you intend to fire.
Keep your weapon on safe until you intend to fire.
I've always heard the NRA's version of firearms safety rules. Same difference. But I think the Marine Corps version, once drilled into your noggin, makes it easier to remember.
After the safety brief there was a discussion about the Fundamentals of Marksmanship (FOM); steady positioning, breath control, sight-alignment and trigger control. We went over the different commands we might expect hear while on the range. And finally, we were reminded about muzzle awareness.
Once we'd covered the basics, we moved to the range to zero our rifles. And from that point forward, we engaged in a variety of practice drills, steadily putting rounds down range for the rest of the day. All in all, I think the round-count (over two days) was around 600. Target distances ranged from 5 to 35 yards.
Question: If you zero your AR at 25 yards, what happens to Point-of-Aim (POA) vs Point-of-Impact (POI) as you move closer to the target? (Hint: barrel offset)
Practice Drills
Accuracy Drills (Aim Small, Shoot Small)
Box Drills (moving rapidly from target to target)
Controlled Pairs vs Hammer Pairs
Failure Drills (put two in the chest, target fails to fall down and play dead, put one more in the head or groin)
Speed Reloads vs Tactical Reloads
Question: Which is a more effective/manageable follow-up shot; head or groin? Why?
A 4-walled structure had been constructed to simulate a room with doors and windows. Also, strewn about the training area were some 55 gallon drums, a large plastic traffic-style barricade as well as an inoperable truck that had been towed in (though we didn't use that).
More Practice Drills
Shooting Positions; Sitting, Kneeling, Standing (using bone rather than muscle for support, where possible)
Effective Use of Barricades
Concealment vs Cover
Question: What's the advantage of shooting an AR with a red-dot (or similar sight) vs back-up sights? (Hint: why do they call them back-up sights?)
End of Day
Common Core Math Quiz
Accuracy Test (applying the skills you'd spent the day practicing ... when you're just a little tired).
Day Two (AR2)
I was the only person to take both classes that weekend, so we started the day with a fresh set of faces and a recap of the basics; Treat Never Keep Keep, FOM and watch your muzzle, dammit! The AR2 class assumes some level of experience, so we didn't dwell on any one subject for long. Once the "classroom" portion was done, since we had new students on the line, the first order of business was zero'ing weapons. My gun was zero'd, so I didn't need to participate in the drill. I didn't "need" to ... but I did. I mean, who passes up the chance to send lead down-range?
Practice Drills
Same drills, different day ... though as I mentioned, at a faster pace.
Shooting Positions
Same drills ... [How are your knees feeling there, champ? Hey, maybe now's a good time to start that diet. Just sayin'.]
This time concealment vs cover drills also included shooting over, around and under that old truck.
Question: Which is better, a 1-Point or 2-Point sling? Why?
The Fun Part (frankly, all of it was fun to me)
Tactics for Room Clearing; A Slice of Pie, Dynamic Entry, Hybrid
Team Tactics; Room Clearing in Pairs (is that your muzzle or are you just happy …)
Vehicle Exfil; Getting out of a vehicle, getting behind cover and getting your weapon on target
Team Tactics; Covering for your team member while they get to the side of the vehicle that has less holes in it.
Question: Do you sling your rifle while inside a vehicle?
And Now, Deep Thoughts …
Sprinkled throughout the post above are some of the topics of discussion (questions) that arose throughout the two-day curriculum. Even if you've never had formal AR-training, you can probably noodle a fairly accurate answer to most of the questions. Some answers are a matter of personal preference (what works best for you). But, to that point, the best answers to any of these questions avail themselves when you have to answer them RTFN; when your ability to effectively engage a target is defined entirely by your chosen answer. And you can only get to that answer with hands-on, live-fire training; when someone else is pushing you to accomplish a task RTFN.
You can practice a variety of drills and tactics in the privacy of your own home and get a lot out of it. In fact, I personally think you should not only practice regularly in the home, but you should do so in whatever you normally wear when you sleep at night ... because that's what you'll most likely be wearing if/when you ever have to engage in home defense. Myself, I like to sleep in light cotton pajamas with a nice blue/harvest gold paisley pattern. Of course, winter is on the way, so perhaps some classic red flannel PJ's might be the order of the day ...
But I digress.
At the end of the day, after the fat lady has sung and the cows have come home to roost, there is no substitute for live-fire training with an experienced instructor, especially an instructor who has been there and done that. You'll not only learn effective ways to perform certain tasks (tactical reloads, for example), but an instructor will stand back, watch you run through a drill and then point out what you might be doing wrong, or offer another way to get it done (perhaps more efficiently).
You can practice those tactical reloads at home, for example, until you've got it down pat. And then there you are during live-fire training, pleased with yourself at how smooth you just did that tactical reload and got your weapon back up on target. "Smooth is fast. Fast is slow.", you repeat to yourself confidently. But then, while your mentally patting yourself on the back, you hear the instructor's voice from somewhere behind you calmly mention that you just put a half-empty mag back in a mag-pouch on your rig.
[sigh]
Training costs money and money doesn't grow on the trees in my backyard (I check ... regularly). But from my perspective, if you’re going to invest money in firearms; for sport, hunting or especially self-defense, the best firearms investment you'll ever make is firearms training. And having AR-training within comfortable reach from anywhere in the Bay Area in the setting of a private gun club is a greater value still.
For comparison's sake, I've taken AR-based training at Rifles Only (Kingsville, Texas) and TFTT (Southern CA). Based on previous experience, I can report that Tommy Loveless knows his chosen subject and has developed a thorough training curriculum. Tommy offers pistol classes as well. Suffice it to say, I'm planning on signing up for future events with Tommy and EDC Solutions. For upcoming classes, you can contact Tommy at NapaEDC@gmail.com or 707.299.8314. You can also find out a lot more about EDC Solutions on their Facebook page.
One Final Note, Tommy also operates a non-profit group called RangeDayForVets, which is all about organizing events to raise awareness (and funds) to help his fellow vets make the sometimes difficult transition back to civilian life. There's a web-site RangeDay4Vets as well as a Facebook page. I encourage all CalGunners to check it out … and get involved.
/okay. so it wasn't exactly ... brief.
The class started out with a sit-down discussion of basic safety rules. Because of his background, Tommy teaches the Marine Corps version of firearms safety; Treat Never Keep Keep
Treat every weapon as if it were loaded.
Never point your weapon at anything you don’t intend to shoot.
Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you intend to fire.
Keep your weapon on safe until you intend to fire.
I've always heard the NRA's version of firearms safety rules. Same difference. But I think the Marine Corps version, once drilled into your noggin, makes it easier to remember.
After the safety brief there was a discussion about the Fundamentals of Marksmanship (FOM); steady positioning, breath control, sight-alignment and trigger control. We went over the different commands we might expect hear while on the range. And finally, we were reminded about muzzle awareness.
Once we'd covered the basics, we moved to the range to zero our rifles. And from that point forward, we engaged in a variety of practice drills, steadily putting rounds down range for the rest of the day. All in all, I think the round-count (over two days) was around 600. Target distances ranged from 5 to 35 yards.
Question: If you zero your AR at 25 yards, what happens to Point-of-Aim (POA) vs Point-of-Impact (POI) as you move closer to the target? (Hint: barrel offset)
Practice Drills
Accuracy Drills (Aim Small, Shoot Small)
Box Drills (moving rapidly from target to target)
Controlled Pairs vs Hammer Pairs
Failure Drills (put two in the chest, target fails to fall down and play dead, put one more in the head or groin)
Speed Reloads vs Tactical Reloads
Question: Which is a more effective/manageable follow-up shot; head or groin? Why?
A 4-walled structure had been constructed to simulate a room with doors and windows. Also, strewn about the training area were some 55 gallon drums, a large plastic traffic-style barricade as well as an inoperable truck that had been towed in (though we didn't use that).
More Practice Drills
Shooting Positions; Sitting, Kneeling, Standing (using bone rather than muscle for support, where possible)
Effective Use of Barricades
Concealment vs Cover
Question: What's the advantage of shooting an AR with a red-dot (or similar sight) vs back-up sights? (Hint: why do they call them back-up sights?)
End of Day
Common Core Math Quiz
Accuracy Test (applying the skills you'd spent the day practicing ... when you're just a little tired).
Day Two (AR2)
I was the only person to take both classes that weekend, so we started the day with a fresh set of faces and a recap of the basics; Treat Never Keep Keep, FOM and watch your muzzle, dammit! The AR2 class assumes some level of experience, so we didn't dwell on any one subject for long. Once the "classroom" portion was done, since we had new students on the line, the first order of business was zero'ing weapons. My gun was zero'd, so I didn't need to participate in the drill. I didn't "need" to ... but I did. I mean, who passes up the chance to send lead down-range?
Practice Drills
Same drills, different day ... though as I mentioned, at a faster pace.
Shooting Positions
Same drills ... [How are your knees feeling there, champ? Hey, maybe now's a good time to start that diet. Just sayin'.]
This time concealment vs cover drills also included shooting over, around and under that old truck.
Question: Which is better, a 1-Point or 2-Point sling? Why?
The Fun Part (frankly, all of it was fun to me)
Tactics for Room Clearing; A Slice of Pie, Dynamic Entry, Hybrid
Team Tactics; Room Clearing in Pairs (is that your muzzle or are you just happy …)
Vehicle Exfil; Getting out of a vehicle, getting behind cover and getting your weapon on target
Team Tactics; Covering for your team member while they get to the side of the vehicle that has less holes in it.
Question: Do you sling your rifle while inside a vehicle?
And Now, Deep Thoughts …
Sprinkled throughout the post above are some of the topics of discussion (questions) that arose throughout the two-day curriculum. Even if you've never had formal AR-training, you can probably noodle a fairly accurate answer to most of the questions. Some answers are a matter of personal preference (what works best for you). But, to that point, the best answers to any of these questions avail themselves when you have to answer them RTFN; when your ability to effectively engage a target is defined entirely by your chosen answer. And you can only get to that answer with hands-on, live-fire training; when someone else is pushing you to accomplish a task RTFN.
You can practice a variety of drills and tactics in the privacy of your own home and get a lot out of it. In fact, I personally think you should not only practice regularly in the home, but you should do so in whatever you normally wear when you sleep at night ... because that's what you'll most likely be wearing if/when you ever have to engage in home defense. Myself, I like to sleep in light cotton pajamas with a nice blue/harvest gold paisley pattern. Of course, winter is on the way, so perhaps some classic red flannel PJ's might be the order of the day ...
But I digress.
At the end of the day, after the fat lady has sung and the cows have come home to roost, there is no substitute for live-fire training with an experienced instructor, especially an instructor who has been there and done that. You'll not only learn effective ways to perform certain tasks (tactical reloads, for example), but an instructor will stand back, watch you run through a drill and then point out what you might be doing wrong, or offer another way to get it done (perhaps more efficiently).
You can practice those tactical reloads at home, for example, until you've got it down pat. And then there you are during live-fire training, pleased with yourself at how smooth you just did that tactical reload and got your weapon back up on target. "Smooth is fast. Fast is slow.", you repeat to yourself confidently. But then, while your mentally patting yourself on the back, you hear the instructor's voice from somewhere behind you calmly mention that you just put a half-empty mag back in a mag-pouch on your rig.
[sigh]
Training costs money and money doesn't grow on the trees in my backyard (I check ... regularly). But from my perspective, if you’re going to invest money in firearms; for sport, hunting or especially self-defense, the best firearms investment you'll ever make is firearms training. And having AR-training within comfortable reach from anywhere in the Bay Area in the setting of a private gun club is a greater value still.
For comparison's sake, I've taken AR-based training at Rifles Only (Kingsville, Texas) and TFTT (Southern CA). Based on previous experience, I can report that Tommy Loveless knows his chosen subject and has developed a thorough training curriculum. Tommy offers pistol classes as well. Suffice it to say, I'm planning on signing up for future events with Tommy and EDC Solutions. For upcoming classes, you can contact Tommy at NapaEDC@gmail.com or 707.299.8314. You can also find out a lot more about EDC Solutions on their Facebook page.
One Final Note, Tommy also operates a non-profit group called RangeDayForVets, which is all about organizing events to raise awareness (and funds) to help his fellow vets make the sometimes difficult transition back to civilian life. There's a web-site RangeDay4Vets as well as a Facebook page. I encourage all CalGunners to check it out … and get involved.
/okay. so it wasn't exactly ... brief.
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