Rockwell Tactical Group Review Thread

[tremis]

I went to the Bug Out Bag/72 Hour Emergency class a few weeks ago. Jared gave a great lecture. As a guy who has put a decent amount of thought into this subject, I can say it wasn't groundbreaking for me, but my buddy that came with me would say the opposite. The class opened his eyes quite a lot. He started his preparedness journey that night.

Even though I said it wasn't groundbreaking, it was still informative and I appreciated another perspective, especially one from an instructor with Jareds level of experience in the matter. Being the head of household for a family of 5, I have prepared a Bug Out Bag for each member of my family and a "Get Home Bag" for both vehicles. After the lecture I re-evaluated those 7 bags (plus the mini-bag at work) and did make a few changes based off of what I learned. The lecture was certainly worth the price of admission and I will be attending more classes in the future.

Prior obligations prevented me from attending the field exercise the following weekend. I would have like to put my BOB to the test. I know there were a few in the lecture who were attending it, I hope they give an AAR on it somewhere.

[victwin]

Yesterday I attended the Carbine 101 class run by Rockwell Tactical at the Mill Creek Sportsmen Association's gun range in Lancaster. Since the class has been reviewed and summarized before in this thread, I won't give a play by play. I'll mention what I got out of the class and my overall opinion of it.

I got my first AR in 2011 and had taken a first steps NRA course back then so that at least I was competent in firing and servicing it. In the two years since then I have practiced using my AR-15 on my own at my local range while referring to books, youtube and forum posts for some guidance. I found that I made some progress and at the least I became very familiar with my rifle but by no means did I feel I was really using my carbine in any way close to what it was capable of. For this reason I sought some instruction. After reading the reviews here in this thread and the fact that the class was held in Lancaster (I live in Reading) it was a no brainer to sign up for the Carbine 101 class.

To start off, I found the class excellent! Jared is a great and patient teacher and I found his instruction invaluable. Our class was a little unique from the April class reviewed in this thread because of a last minute change in the venue. The range where the class took place yesterday was adequate but unfortunately smaller than the range where the class is normally held. For this reason all drills were done in smaller groups and so there was a little more waiting than in the typical class. I really didn't find this as a negative because it gave you a chance to catch your breath after your turn and also observe the good and bad habits of the other students and how the instructors reinforced or corrected them. I find I learn as much this way as when the instructors are commenting on my own form.

Three huge things I learned from the class that made my attendance more than worthwhile was improving my stance and hold of the rifle, driving the rifle for every shot, and much improved trigger manipulation. After Jared's instruction I found an aggressive and comfortable stance for me that allowed me to manage recoil and really drive each shot downrange much more than before. I also learned that I was slapping the trigger on every shot. By the end of the day I was manipulating the trigger in a much more controlled way needed for tactical shooting. When we did the half and half drills at the end where you were shooting 10 rounds at shorter distances and times I felt a lot more controlled and comfortable than at the beginning. I learned a lot of other little things from the class such as faster magazine changes and malfunction clearing. The latter came in handy when I had to do a quick magazine change and tried to load in a mag that I had inadvertently overloaded with 31 rounds. The magazine seated correctly but the fact that it was overloaded caused a jam in the feed. Using the tap and rack method they showed us earlier I was able to get my rifle back functioning with little pause.

Since this was my first tactical-type class I was able to really test out some of my equipment such as the rifle itself, optics, chest rig, and magazines. I felt that the choices I've made in all of these were fine though I did see some things my fellow students had that I will do research on such as mag pouches, belts, etc. I am looking forward to taking the Carbine 201 class to learn more and really put to the test a lot of the fundamentals I learned in this class. For now I will be practicing as many of the drills that I learned at my usual range as I can assuming I have enough ammo.

[Suburban]

I see New Holland Rifle and Pistol Club has ranges that go out to 600 yards. How much of that are they using for the carbine courses?

[B.A.]

I see New Holland Rifle and Pistol Club has ranges that go out to 600 yards. How much of that are they using for the carbine courses?

I think most of rockwells stuff is under 100 yards at least that was my experience. I believe Jared told me when I did the AK course that in his experience most fire fights happen at about 50 yards so most of their training takes place under that. Their courses are more focused on teaching you what you need to know to and how to employ it. Then you can practice on your own to get proficient.

[bigdog02]

Time for me to add a review! I know it was given play by play earlier, but I will just lay it all out again.

A buddy and I took the Carbine 101 class that was offered yesterday at the Littlestown Fish and Game (SW of Gettysburg) that was instructed by Jared and his wife.
In total there were 8 people in the class (with a 9th that showed up late).
Guns ranged from a converted Saiga AK, to run of the mill ARs, to a gorgeous LWRC rifle (with suppresor).

The class started out with introductions so we could give the instructors an idea of our backgrounds and our firearms knowledge/shooting knowledge.
Afterwards, we jumped into a safety briefing - both from Jared (the instructor) and the club representative, going over safety, who is aid trained, location of aid kit, etc. We went over the rules of firearm safety as well and then we got into the meat of the class.
We started with a basic overview of the carbine, how it is used, what the goal of the class was in regards to the carbine etc.
Next we covered the shooting fundamentals and how they would apply to us and how we should go about employing them once we were at the firing line.
Lastly we covered the proper load/unload procedure for the day and the commands we would be given (when to shoot, etc.)
In total we were in the classroom for about 1 to 1.5 hours.

The rest of the day was all on the range. Everything we did in the Carbine 101 was 25 yards and under.
We started out on the range at a nice slow pace, using the shooting fundamentals we talked about in the classroom portion.
It was a very friendly, relaxed pace - where we were really worked on the fundamentals and getting them together to form a good shot.
As the day progressed, the drills got more complicated but since we had worked up to them throughout the day, it was not overwhelming or anything we could not handle. It really built as we went through the day. By the end of the day we were doing things that there was NO WAY we would have even thought of attempting at the start of the day.

Jared and his wife were fantastic instructors. They took the time to work with every person, while still moving the entire class along really well. Jared was a fantastic teacher and was extremely helpful to all of us in the class - he took time with each of us to get us squared away as the day went on.
He made things easy to understand. He would explain how to do something and then WHY we were doing it that way.

Honestly I don't have anything negative at all to say about the class! Rockwell put on a fantastic training, and I was VERY pleased with what I got for the money spent on the training. It was well worth it in my opinion.
I plan to take more class offerings that Rockwell has and know that they will be worth the money as well.

Very pleased!

[Suburban]

There were 12 students at New Holland Rifle and Pistol Club for the Carbine 102 course. I believe most of them had taken Carbine 101 the previous day. I opted to skip 101.

I'm pretty sure there were no NDs in the class, and if there were any obvious violations of safety rules, I didn't see any personally. Thanks guys!

For the drills, the instructors would tell you what to load in your magazines for the next drill. Loading up a whole bunch of magazines to capacity will likely be more a hindrance than a help, as there were only a few drills that required a full 30-round magazine. You can get by with 3 magazines, and two mag pouches. A 3rd mag pouch might be helpful, but you could shove that mag in a dump pouch or a pants pocket. The PMags with windows might be a good idea, but not necessary. We did some emergency and tactical reloads, on the clock, but it wasn't a big focus of the class. We may have done some shooting at a little bit more than 25 yards, but most shooting was done at less than 25 yards.

This is not a run-and-gun class. You don't need to be a athlete. If you can handle being in the sun for 6 or 7 hours, you should be okay.

Are these guys for real?
Skills were most definitely demonstrated. RESPECT!! Certainly Jared and Bill are several skill levels beyond me. Jared runs the show, and he was a Green Beret. I guess you could call Bill the guest instructor. Bill runs Advance Tactical, and spent five years in US Army Special Operations (1st Ranger Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment).

Tips
If you take a carbine class at New Holland Rifle and Pistol Club, you will be out in the sun. Plan accordingly. Definitely pack some sunscreen, and bring it with you to the range along with your rifle, ammo, something to mop sweat, and water.
Even if you prefer a 1-point sling, bring a 2-point sling. Neither sling type will really give you any disadvantage for Carbine 102, and a 2-point will make it easier for you to get slung up, and up to the firing line.

Random Notes
I've now encountered the PMag20 malfunctions that I've heard others talk about. 1 bolt-over-base stoppage on the 2nd to last round, and several failures to lock back. Although my bolt carrier was a little dirty, I don't think the spring has enough power.
Although my M4 cycled the Wolf .223, I'd swear that I heard and felt a couple of undercharged rounds. This might explain the wild flyers I was getting when shooting off the bench. I think I'm going to relegate it to range trips only, and stick to brass-case ammo for training from now on.
Although pistols are not made a part of any of the drills, a few shooters had them. Your choice, I guess, if you want to use your regular load-out.
All shooting was done from the "strong-side" shoulder. No changing shoulders, No barricades.
I wish I had magnified safety glasses. With my 20/40 vision, I had trouble reading the numbers on the targets.

Apologies
It was hot and I'm afraid that I might have stank by the end of the day. Sorry about the B.O..
I got flustered a time or two, and reverted to Magpul Dynamics techniques. My apologies to the instructors for not following instructions. That was "training scars," not me intentionally ignoring instruction.

Criticisms?
All shooting was done on the Rockwell paper targets. By the time we got to target transition drills, we pretty much stopped checking targets at that point. It's on the shooter to take it seriously, and not just chuck bullets downrange. I understand that there is a time constraint, and we actually ran late, but using steel targets would have given feedback that we were actually getting hits without adding much time.

Did it make me a 1st class tactical operator?
Hehe, nope. I didn't expect it. But I learned some of my strengths and weaknesses, and I think that's really the point. I'm considering booking another Rockwell class, maybe Pistol/Carbine 51, but I'm not sure if I can make that happen this year. I have a Glock armorer class scheduled right around the same time.

EDIT: I also took a 3 Rivers Tactical Carbine I class this summer, a two-day class with night shoot. I feel like I got a lot more out of that than Rockwell Carbine 102, even though I didn't shoot as much.

[moshan]

I took Rockwell's' Pistol 103 Class last Thursday and Friday (July 31st, August 1st, 2014) Pistol 103 is a combination of 101 and 102 taken over two consecutive days. 102 is repeat of the same principles and many of the same drills as 101 but at a much faster pace with some more intensive drills added.

Have to say that it was the best money I have spent in pursuit of the hobby in many years. The class breaks down the eight principles of combat pistol marksmanship and runs through a series of drills to reinforce these principles. Jared Ross is a great instructor, who, despite having "been there, done that” in the service of our country, is remarkably approachable and easy going. He is absolutely lacking the attitude I have experience from some other ex military instructor and he is genuinely concerned that students gain core principle skills. His style of instruction is hands on explanations with some real world examples of how the principle is applicable. Instruction never turned into a history lesson, but Jared did flavor his presentation with some stories that kept the non shooting minutes fun and engaging

The class is the next step for those who want to improve their shooting skills or those (like me) that need to break some bad habits that were impeding performance on the range. After a safety briefing and a presentation on shooting fundamentals, the class was led through a series of shooting drills. Each drill built upon the last and the instructor reviewed the performance of each student throughout the day to correct errors in grip, sight picture, breathing, etc

If you are into three gun or other similar competitive shooting, this class may be a tough day as some of the fundamentals such as stance are going to go against what you may use in the game. Think of the exaggerated forward lean Weaver stance that many three gunners adapt to rip across a series of plates. That stance will earn you a little nudge from behind from Jared and a stumble forward between your shot sets. While that stance works in competitions, is not a balanced stance to react and move as you would need to if your targets are shooting back.

Another warning for those double action / single action guys out there. All of the class save for myself (and one 1911 guy) was using Glocks or Springfield XDs . I was using my Sig 226 with short reset trigger. I was instructed to decock after each series of shots. Single shot and controlled pair drills were extra challenging dealing with that long take up and heavy double action trigger. Figuring I was only cheating myself, I stayed true to the "decock after each series” exercise. Normally i train with rack and go, so my booger hook was definitely cramping up by the end of the 2nd day. Not saying you should go out and buy a Glock for the class, but just be aware and get comfortable with the initial double action shot if that is what you are using

Went to the range Sunday to run some of the drills and already am seeing a marked improvement in first shot placement as well as follow up.

Can't recommend this class enough, and already looking at my schedule to take another Rockwell course

[tremis]

I took the Basic Trauma First Aid Instructor class last week. A great class, here's my AAR

http://youtu.be/poxnnkeqKzU

[tnguyen600]

I inquired about a training course. After I sent my first e-mail, I received a reply within a minute.

I replied back the next day and never heard back again. I even sent two additional follow-up e-mails. Nothing.

[SuperMoose]

Attended the free training day that RTG put on this past Friday. All day they ran different seminars on either classroom training (ie. medical, mindset) or range (shotgun, pistol, carbine).

There were a lot of people who showed up and it was a great time. RTG certainly knows how to teach in a manner that is conducive to not only the beginner but the advanced individual.

Couldn't ask for better training from a better group of people. If you haven't had the chance, in the spirit of my first post, I highly suggest you get out and catch a class with them. You'll be nothing but pleased.