Carbine 0.5 Proof of Concept

Last weekend, 14-15 April 2012, I ran the first prototype course of the Carbine 0.5 shooting class.  For those not familiar with the concept, the idea is this...

I have noticed more and more instructors moving away from the introductory courses.  I have no idea why this is, but it leaves a void in the training market that also leaves shooters looking for ways to begin to get involved.  Much like the waiter jobs I tried to apply for in high school, you can'get a job if you don't have experience, but you can't get experience if you haven't gotten a job.  New shooters are left with a similar challenge when they WANT to train but they find that all of the courses they want to take have pre-requisites.  Additionally, many shooters new to the sleepaway training class don't know what to expect and don't want to shell out the cash (easily $1k+) or the time (2-4 days depending on travel) if they aren't ready or aren't going to like it.  Enter the 0.5-level course which addresses all of these concerns.  This is not the course for the guy that's already been to several classes with name instructors, but is more for the shooter that may have a safe full of stuff he really doesn't know how to use, or perhaps a wife or adult child that has always been interested in what dad is up to but never had the outlet to learn it.

So, last weekend at Rocky Creek Ranch, a friend and I ran the first prototype of the Carbine 0.5 course.  The format at this location included a 2-3 hour portion on Saturday before dinner and then an all-day range portion on Sunday.  We had a total of 4 students for the Saturday portion and one could not return for the Sunday portion so we had three on the range day.  Experience levels varied from pretty used to running the carbine, to familiar with handgun shooting but no real carbine experience, to little to no shooting experience at all.  The students were great, and I want to give a big thank you to Justin, Keith and Anna.

During the Saturday portion of the class we began with Cooper's four rules of safe gun handling

1. All guns are always loaded.
2. Never point your muzzle at anything you are not prepared to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target.
4. Be sure of your target.

We discussed what each rule meant, how they work together, etc.  From there we moved on to the controls of the rifle, from the charging handle, to the magazine release, to the bolt catch and release, to the safety and performed dry manipulations of them all, finishing up with discussion of ready positions (indoor, low, and high port) and dry manipulations of the trigger getting the feel for the ease to reset.

Once the classroom portion was done we had an excellent meal of BBQ chicken and ribs, mashed potatoes, and salad.  This is one of the benefits of training at Rocky Creek Ranch, having lodging and (great) meals provided right on site. While training sites should be all about the training first, I'm certainly not going to complain if I can stay in a nice place, have a nice meal, and save driving all over God's creation getting from ranges in the sticks into town to stay at some fleabag hotel.  Total commute time at Rocky Creek Ranch from the lodge to the range is 5 minutes.

On Sunday we began with breakfast of bacon, eggs, and grits along with coffee, orange juice, yogurt, and bagels.   Once we moved out tot he range we had a review of the four rules and gave BCM Gunfighter charging handles to the two students that were able to repeat a rule on demand.  Special thanks to Bravo Company USA for helping sponsor this event with the charging handles and hats, posters and stickers for all the students.

Once we had refreshed everyone's memory on the safety rules we went over the ready positions and controls again before we covered loading and unloading the carbine with several rotations through to get the hang of it.  This was followed by an explanation of the mechanical offset of sighting systems.

We then walked the students through a method of demonstrating the offset to themselves.

We then had the students shoot while holding on the X of the NRA B-8 Repair Center to further demonstrate mechanical offset and holdover, and then had them compensate for same by holding high as necessary.  During this portion of the firing drills we covered easing to reset, and had the students hold the trigger to the rear after each shot so that they could feel the gun ease to reset and get the feel for the concept.

Positions followed, and we covered prone and kneeling positions and had the students shoot from these positions at 25 yards in order to minimize walking time on the range.  Once they had a handle on things at 25, we moved out to 50.  Before lunch we wound up with malfunction clearances and an introduction to speed/emergency reloads.  Again, being able to retreat to the lodge for a nice lunch of sandwiches in air conditioning was a welcome change of pace from courses where you eat lunch huddled under a shed.

For the afternoon portion we covered other topics such as shooting at cadence, prone at 100 yards, live-fire practice of emergency reloads, and we finished up with a walkback drill on steel plates.  We then moved out to 200 yards and ALL students were able to reliably hit the A/C-zone steel plates from 200 yards with regularity.

We finished up with a totally voluntary fam-fire portion wherein I laid out the various T&E carbines I have, as well as my personal guns, and gave anyone that wanted to an opportunity to check out different triggers, brakes, optics, slings, etc. to help inform their own future purchases.  I believe this portion is something that will help set the 0.5 courses we offer apart.  We don't want to prioritize gear but in today's market you can't ignore it either and if we can help students make an informed choice then so much the better.

For her vast improvement from 08:30 to 16:30, Anna received a Blue Force Gear Vickers Combat Applications sling.  Thanks go out to Blue Force Gear as well for their participation and sponsorship in this.  Anna began the day almost totally inexperienced with the AR platform and finished by hitting steel at 200 yards, which is a great improvement in my book.

I believe the course went extremely well, and all of the students saw improvement and indicated positive feedback when the course was complete.  A partner and I are starting a new training company based around this concept of the 0.5-level course, so keep your eyes peeled for announcements of more classes in the near future.  If you'd like to be added to our mailing list to be notified of future training events you can drop me a line at rob@tacticalyellowvisor.net and we'll keep you posted.

I also want to thank everyone that was involved.  Anna, Keith, and Justin were great students, listened well, performed the drills we asked them to and were patient with each other when someone else was struggling.  I couldn't have asked for a better group.

Chris, Gene and Nic of Rocky Creek Ranch were similarly fantastic.  Meals were great, lodging was seamless, and all of those in attendance were impressed and anxious to come back.

To Paul from Bravo Company and Stephen and Brittany of Blue Force Gear, thank you again for the schwag.  I appreciate the confidence in this new venture, and the students always like getting good gear as a reward for good performance.

Be sure to find all of these guys at their websites but also at their facebook pages
https://www.facebook.com/rockycreekranch
https://www.facebook.com/blueforcegearinc
https://www.facebook.com/BravoCompanyUSA

and my own page
https://www.facebook.com/TacticalYellowVisor

and the placeholder page for our new training venture
https://www.facebook.com/GoalOrientedTraining
("like" us for updates as we roll out more 0.5 training)

And finally, extra special thanks to my friend Kevin who acted as assistant instructor for this course.  He did a fantastic job and knew exactly when to pipe up to add to what we were discussing without breaking the tempo of the course.  He also worked individually with students who were struggling with one thing or another so that the rest of the class could keep pace.  Kevin was "never a disabler, always an enabler", to quote Pat McNamara.  Fantastic having you there bro.

Rob (Instructor), Kevin (AI), Keith, Anna, and Justin (students)