Phazer
.450/400 Nitro Ex
Every time I take a course, I usually leave thinking, "Man...I need to practice much, much, more." The defensive carbine course by Onsight Firearms Training proved that to me, again.
True to form, Ben started the course with a safety briefing. If you've taken OFT courses before, you've heard the briefing. It is predictable, succinct, and understandable. Repetition of important safety information is always appropriate and sets a good tone for the day.
We started the day verifying that our rifles were functionally zeroed at 25 yards (which is the max distance at the range). Ben demonstrated standard rifle positions, which we practiced, when at the line (high post, high ready, low ready, etc.) We also used kneeling, seated, and prone positions. (Just once, I'd like to take a course when it hasn't just recently rained and prone positions entail significant quantities of mud). Thankfully, Ben kept most of the non-standing positions limited to the few concrete walkways and not-so-muddy grass.
At the indoor ranges I've attended, it is impossible to practice the skills that are taught at OFT's courses. Advancing on a static target should be fairly uneventful. But, when you are doing so while: Walking through mud, trying to keep your rifle on target, trying to stay in a line with other shooters, listening for "Fight" commands, listening for "Reverse" commands, trying to reload while moving, all while handling malfunctions, is just something very different.
This was a great opportunity for me to find out what parts of my gear work, don't work, and need adjustment. For example, I don't usually use a sling when bench shooting. My carbine's charging handle is extended on the left side which allows easier single-hand charging. However, I quickly learned that when the rifle is slung, that charging handle digs into my chest or upper abdomen (depending on sling length). That handle is fine for bench shooting. But for the next course, I'm going to swap it out for a standard charging handle.
Practicing shooting around and through barricades was instructive. Personally, I realized that I cannot adequately see my current sights when trying to shoot through a ground-level opening. That is due to a combination of issues with my physical dexterity, vision, and mounted optics. I need to work on all of these issues (especially, the physical dexterity).
For the day after the course, everything aches. But...no pain, no gain. There is no excuse for aching muscles after just a few hours of walking, bending, kneeling, squatting, and sitting. This proved to me that I need to be more active.
Overall, a great course. I hadn't fired a rifle in quite awhile and I was definitely not as facile with my firearm as I'd hoped to be. I'll be back for more courses.
___________________
Here is a pic of the course conditions at the start of the day:
True to form, Ben started the course with a safety briefing. If you've taken OFT courses before, you've heard the briefing. It is predictable, succinct, and understandable. Repetition of important safety information is always appropriate and sets a good tone for the day.
We started the day verifying that our rifles were functionally zeroed at 25 yards (which is the max distance at the range). Ben demonstrated standard rifle positions, which we practiced, when at the line (high post, high ready, low ready, etc.) We also used kneeling, seated, and prone positions. (Just once, I'd like to take a course when it hasn't just recently rained and prone positions entail significant quantities of mud). Thankfully, Ben kept most of the non-standing positions limited to the few concrete walkways and not-so-muddy grass.
At the indoor ranges I've attended, it is impossible to practice the skills that are taught at OFT's courses. Advancing on a static target should be fairly uneventful. But, when you are doing so while: Walking through mud, trying to keep your rifle on target, trying to stay in a line with other shooters, listening for "Fight" commands, listening for "Reverse" commands, trying to reload while moving, all while handling malfunctions, is just something very different.
This was a great opportunity for me to find out what parts of my gear work, don't work, and need adjustment. For example, I don't usually use a sling when bench shooting. My carbine's charging handle is extended on the left side which allows easier single-hand charging. However, I quickly learned that when the rifle is slung, that charging handle digs into my chest or upper abdomen (depending on sling length). That handle is fine for bench shooting. But for the next course, I'm going to swap it out for a standard charging handle.
Practicing shooting around and through barricades was instructive. Personally, I realized that I cannot adequately see my current sights when trying to shoot through a ground-level opening. That is due to a combination of issues with my physical dexterity, vision, and mounted optics. I need to work on all of these issues (especially, the physical dexterity).
For the day after the course, everything aches. But...no pain, no gain. There is no excuse for aching muscles after just a few hours of walking, bending, kneeling, squatting, and sitting. This proved to me that I need to be more active.
Overall, a great course. I hadn't fired a rifle in quite awhile and I was definitely not as facile with my firearm as I'd hoped to be. I'll be back for more courses.
___________________
Here is a pic of the course conditions at the start of the day:
