JackNeat
.45 acp
This weekend was a great shooting weekend for many reasons. First was I got to meet up ( very briefly unfortunately ) with @fnfalguy so we could complete a sale of some 9mm ammo he listed. Wish we had a few minutes to talk shop and about the training we've both done with @OnSight Firearms Training but the traffic on Friday night was not forgiving. Maybe we'll meet at a class in the future!
Next was my first Carbine class with Ben in the way of the Rifle Carbine Workshop class which was offered at Hudson Valley Shooting Sports. Pretty expansive shooting facility from what I saw. Heard some chatter it was a school or something like that. Looked like it could have been but enough of that. This was a good class and we covered a lot of stuff in a fairly short 4 hours. I only say short because I've been used to taking the full day weekend classes with Ben up to this point. As with all the classes Ben and his staff run safety briefs first and a quick run down of the basics he expects everyone to focus on. Having fun and learning in the process can't happen if safety is not paramount on everyone's mind through the entire course. It's appreciated that all of Ben's classes spend some time on this at the start and that he pays close attention to how each student is handling their weapon. Next we moved into some quick dry-fire drills going through the motions we would be using for the rest of the evening. Before long, we were back at the tables and the range went hot for the rest of the evening. We did some standard drills on paper from different distances and then we moved into working from behind obstacles. That was a great experience and we learned from watching Ben's demo and then trying for ourselves firing at two paper threats downrange. The second threat involved leaning out on an angle while still maintaining as small a seen profile as possible. Doing this in different stances pointed out how switching from shooting leg to support side leg made a real difference is handling this angle. Also thrown into the drill was switching the carbine to the support side and running the same drill from multiple stances with the different feels switching your footing provided. Definitely going to be working those corners in my house and hopefully the neighbors don't get too freaked out by my silhouette on the second floor. Next we went low light with just the carbine mounted flashlights to locate the targets being called out. Paper targets were numbered randomly and a name called with the target number(s). 3 to chest 2 to cranium. Then came the math equations to figure out your target... lol. We were slowly memorizing where the numbers were and then that monkey wrench came flying into the room. I was the first hit in the head with that one. lol. The next half of that low light was spent facing up range and the numbers/targets were shifted around. Then only the shooter turned and had to locate their target(s). No chance to cheat and see where your target was and you had to hit them in the order called. That brought us to the end of the evening but not before everyone got to mag dump what they had left... of course everyone popped in a fresh mag for that
I really enjoyed the carbine class and I'm already signed up for the full day Carbine 2 class in December.
Today was the all day Defensive Shotgun class. I mean I don't know what else to say about this class I haven't already said before. The Shotgun just is balls out fun and lets you know you shot it all day long. See the same comments above for the safety and dry-fire portions of the day. The live fire involved a handful of drills that demanded keeping your shotgun topped off as we fired in succession down a firing line, increasing the count each time. We did the famed forward, reverse, FIGHT drill which sets up half the class as shooters and the second half as spotters. The shooters are given the commands which are followed until a new command comes at you. Adding in the element of moving and not knowing when the call to fight is coming ( sometimes it took a few movement changes and sometimes the fight command came at you a multiple number of times in succession. Keeping your gun topped off and maintaining your position across the line of students takes more that you initially think it does. It is a good drill for putting everyone under a palpable level of stress that can expose your weakness in technique. Of course we patterned some buck shot and got to sample the good shit if you didn't have any of your own good shit - hint, the good shit makes a basketball sized pattern into a fist size pattern of problem solved. We reviewed why bird shot is not a good HD round and one of the most easy to dispose of shotgun myths to put to bed. After 00Buck we moved onto slugs and easily dispelled the myth you can't make accurate distance shots with a shotgun. You just need the right ammo and the Shotgun can perform nearly as accurately as any carbine at normal HD engagement ranges and even out much further and do so with a single projectile with a level of devastation not possible with another HD weapon. This all dispels another myth that shotguns are not good HD weapons. ( but most of you all know that already. Ben's classes just add proof that is hard to deny )
Both classes had great group of students, many returning faces on the Shotgun day and a lot of new ones ( for me ) on the Carbine class. It's a real privilege getting to know all of the other students and forming some new friendships during the day. Everyone comes out willing to learn, humble in doing so and eager to share the experience with the shooters on their left and right. What an awesome community that follows Ben, Rachel and the rest of @OnSight Firearms Training
All that brings me to the last event for the weekend. This AAR and a glass of some very fine tasting bourbon. Until December 13th... keep spreading the joy of slinging lead, brass and copper Ben - I hope you, Rachel, the OFT family and all the great students I met this weekend have a great Thanksgiving!
Next was my first Carbine class with Ben in the way of the Rifle Carbine Workshop class which was offered at Hudson Valley Shooting Sports. Pretty expansive shooting facility from what I saw. Heard some chatter it was a school or something like that. Looked like it could have been but enough of that. This was a good class and we covered a lot of stuff in a fairly short 4 hours. I only say short because I've been used to taking the full day weekend classes with Ben up to this point. As with all the classes Ben and his staff run safety briefs first and a quick run down of the basics he expects everyone to focus on. Having fun and learning in the process can't happen if safety is not paramount on everyone's mind through the entire course. It's appreciated that all of Ben's classes spend some time on this at the start and that he pays close attention to how each student is handling their weapon. Next we moved into some quick dry-fire drills going through the motions we would be using for the rest of the evening. Before long, we were back at the tables and the range went hot for the rest of the evening. We did some standard drills on paper from different distances and then we moved into working from behind obstacles. That was a great experience and we learned from watching Ben's demo and then trying for ourselves firing at two paper threats downrange. The second threat involved leaning out on an angle while still maintaining as small a seen profile as possible. Doing this in different stances pointed out how switching from shooting leg to support side leg made a real difference is handling this angle. Also thrown into the drill was switching the carbine to the support side and running the same drill from multiple stances with the different feels switching your footing provided. Definitely going to be working those corners in my house and hopefully the neighbors don't get too freaked out by my silhouette on the second floor. Next we went low light with just the carbine mounted flashlights to locate the targets being called out. Paper targets were numbered randomly and a name called with the target number(s). 3 to chest 2 to cranium. Then came the math equations to figure out your target... lol. We were slowly memorizing where the numbers were and then that monkey wrench came flying into the room. I was the first hit in the head with that one. lol. The next half of that low light was spent facing up range and the numbers/targets were shifted around. Then only the shooter turned and had to locate their target(s). No chance to cheat and see where your target was and you had to hit them in the order called. That brought us to the end of the evening but not before everyone got to mag dump what they had left... of course everyone popped in a fresh mag for that
I really enjoyed the carbine class and I'm already signed up for the full day Carbine 2 class in December.Today was the all day Defensive Shotgun class. I mean I don't know what else to say about this class I haven't already said before. The Shotgun just is balls out fun and lets you know you shot it all day long. See the same comments above for the safety and dry-fire portions of the day. The live fire involved a handful of drills that demanded keeping your shotgun topped off as we fired in succession down a firing line, increasing the count each time. We did the famed forward, reverse, FIGHT drill which sets up half the class as shooters and the second half as spotters. The shooters are given the commands which are followed until a new command comes at you. Adding in the element of moving and not knowing when the call to fight is coming ( sometimes it took a few movement changes and sometimes the fight command came at you a multiple number of times in succession. Keeping your gun topped off and maintaining your position across the line of students takes more that you initially think it does. It is a good drill for putting everyone under a palpable level of stress that can expose your weakness in technique. Of course we patterned some buck shot and got to sample the good shit if you didn't have any of your own good shit - hint, the good shit makes a basketball sized pattern into a fist size pattern of problem solved. We reviewed why bird shot is not a good HD round and one of the most easy to dispose of shotgun myths to put to bed. After 00Buck we moved onto slugs and easily dispelled the myth you can't make accurate distance shots with a shotgun. You just need the right ammo and the Shotgun can perform nearly as accurately as any carbine at normal HD engagement ranges and even out much further and do so with a single projectile with a level of devastation not possible with another HD weapon. This all dispels another myth that shotguns are not good HD weapons. ( but most of you all know that already. Ben's classes just add proof that is hard to deny )
Both classes had great group of students, many returning faces on the Shotgun day and a lot of new ones ( for me ) on the Carbine class. It's a real privilege getting to know all of the other students and forming some new friendships during the day. Everyone comes out willing to learn, humble in doing so and eager to share the experience with the shooters on their left and right. What an awesome community that follows Ben, Rachel and the rest of @OnSight Firearms Training
All that brings me to the last event for the weekend. This AAR and a glass of some very fine tasting bourbon. Until December 13th... keep spreading the joy of slinging lead, brass and copper Ben - I hope you, Rachel, the OFT family and all the great students I met this weekend have a great Thanksgiving!
